Archive for the ‘Conspiracies’ Category

Are the Vancouver Canucks “Cody Hodgson’ing” Roberto Luongo’s stats?

Posted by Justin Bourne under Conspiracies, Spitballin' on Jan 30, 2013

The term “Cody Hodgson’ing” refers to the idea that the Vancouver Canucks put Hodgson in a position to have success at the NHL level…but only when they were trying to trade him (they eventually turned him into Zack Kassian in a swap with Buffalo). You play a guy with some good players, give him more starts in the offensive end, chuck him some PP time, and watch his stats inflate beyond what they would actually be if given regular usage, then you shop him saying “LOOK HOW GOOD HE IS.” Thomas Drance has done a lot of the leg work on Hodgson, the Canucks, and this concept (you can read his original post on it here, and his follow up with hindsight here).

Welp, methinks the Canucks are at it again, this time with goaltender Roberto Luongo, who they’ve not-so-subtly been trying to move.

Here’s Vancouver Sun writer Elliott Pap on the case:

Read the rest of this entry »

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The man trying to unionize CHL players is a mystery, may be a “fraudster”

Posted by Justin Bourne under Conspiracies, News on Nov 01, 2012

Is Randy Gumbley "Derek Clarke?"

Over the past few months, word has emerged that someone has been trying to put together a union for CHL players, to “…represent all CHL players in a manner that is fair and equitable, always keeping in mind the physical, mental, educational and financial well-being of each player now and in the future.”

They’d like to have education money for the players put in a trust, and to see them compensated when their images are used for things like video games. Georges Laraques was named head of the proposed union.

It all sounds fine and dandy, until you hear that it isn’t. The man behind getting the union organized, “Derek Clarke,” seems to be somewhat of a ghost. Aside from Laraques, few people, if anyone, has actually met him in person.

There are concerns that “Derek Clarke” may in fact by Randy Gumbley, a man who’s been convicted of two counts of fraud, fittingly coming from scamming minor hockey teams, one of which involved using an alias.

Joe Warmington of the Toronto Sun wrote about the situation yesterday: Read the rest of this entry »

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Spitballing: The Jonathan Toews car accident was the weirdest incident of the 2011-12 season

Posted by Justin Bourne under Conspiracies, Gossip, I'mma need more than that on Jul 11, 2012

I’m not writing this post to be accusational, and I have no inside knowledge of the story whatsoever, but just come with me for a quick walk here. Was the weirdest story of the 2011-2012 NHL season not the Jonathan Toews one-man car crash that went *poof* in a cloud of ninja smoke and just…never happened? (Yes, I waited for the off-season to throw out this question.)

It was crazy how little we heard about why it happened, and just how much we heard about Toews’ condition. Obviously his health was the most important thing, but after he turned out to be “good,” I was ready to move from “the most important thing” to “what the hell happened there?”

Here’s the first story I read that day about how it happened: Read the rest of this entry »

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