Take Care Ozzy

A little music to set the mood:




It's official: Roy Oswalt is no longer a Houston Astro. The guy has earned a chance at a championship and, let's face it, that isn't gonna happen in Houston. I hope he gets the chance to pitch for a ring but I'm gonna miss him. The guy always brought it, he pitched the first game I ever saw at Minute Maid Park and, on top of that, his neck is as red as they come. If you dislike Roy you're basically saying you wanna piss on the American flag and let the terrorists run the country. Pennsylvania, he may be from Mississippi, but he's a man after your hearts and you can take it to the bank that he'll be at the front lines when hunting season opens up. Cheers Roy, good luck, and I hope you know that when I get back to the States I'll toss on a John Deere hat, shotgun a Bud heavy, and grab a tin of Grizzly in your honor.

Frolov to the Rangers

Now, for the grand opening of Amateur Hour, we were gonna kick this off right and have it coincide with the start of NFL training camp. Alexander Frolov signing for one year, $3 million, changed my plans. Since I'm stoked, and this is supposed to be a hockey blog anyway, I decided a little NHL in July never hurt anyone.

I love this signing. Frolov takes the spot that Jokinen left and gives the Rangers a 20 goal scorer they desperately needed because there's almost no way Gaborik is going to play 76 games again this year. The honeymoon was great and all, but at some point he'll be gliding to the bench grimacing and our entire offense will go with him for 25 games. Frolov will take some pressure off Gaby by playing on the opposite side, and a power play with him, Gaborik and Prospal will be nothing to shake a stick at. With Biron coming in to give Henrik a few days off, suddenly this team looks decent even though I dismissed them as hopelessly crappy a few weeks ago when they signed Boogaard. In all the hoopla over his ridiculous contract everyone, myself included, forgot that the dude can flat out fight. The Anaheim guy that seemed to crumple to the ground for no apparent reason? Broken cheek bone. That's a heavy paw. Boogaard, as much as I hate his contract, provides toughness that Brashear was supposed to bring until he became a vegan and forgot how to tie his skates. The first time he gives someone a concussion or puts a guy through the glass the Garden's gonna go nuts and fans will love him. Frolov, however, fits this entire team together. He gives them offense that isn't developing up in Hartford, opens things up for Dubinsky and Callahan, and keeps fans from increasing the pressure on Drury to be the goal scorer that he is not. He has the chance to be a clutch scorer that Jokinen never was. If nothing else, he makes them interesting and if Wade Redden gets caught selling blow to Canadian high schoolers I'll be able book my playoff tickets early.