Avalanche Additions

It's late June, so you know what that means...hockey!

As it turns out, this week there was a big Avs trade, the draft and the schedule released. This is basically a way for me to keep track of everything.

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Roster Additions

C Carl Soderberg (acquired FA)
D Nikita Zadorov (trade)
C Mikhail Grigorenko (trade)
C prospect J.T. Compher (trade)
F Mikko Rantanen (drafted 10th overall)
(31st overall pick tbd - via trade. Edit: traded to get 39th pick plus 2016 second rounder)
LW AJ Greer (drafted 39th overall)
D Nicolas Meloche (drafted 40th overall)

Fun fact: Carl Soderberg is legally blind in one eye due a to a high-sticking accident a few years ago. He played all 82 games for the Bruins last year. One tweet described him as a third-line center. Someone else said he has trouble playing wing because of the eye situation.

Look at those four players via trade, what a haul! How did that happen...

Roster Departures

C Ryan O'Reilly
F Jamie McGinn

O'Reilly is a great player, in my opinion easily the best player in the addition or departure column. But has been in contract disputes for years. Now that drama is behind the team.

2015-2016 Schedule

Just like last year, the Avs first opponent will be their most recent playoff rival, the Minnesota Wild. The Avs have them at home on opening night and hope to do better than they did last year, starting 0-2 on the season with both games against the Wild.

November is dominated by a 7-game road trip that could have a big impact on the season.

The Champs come to Denver for the first time on New Year's Eve for an 8pm game. So Kane, Toews, etc will be watching the ball drop in Colorado.

Long-time rival Red Wings only play once in Denver but it won't be at the Pepsi Center. On Saturday February 27, the Avs will host Detroit at an outdoor game in Coors Field on national TV (NBC.)

7 of their last 8 games are against Western Conference playoff contenders: Wild, Predators, Blues, Blues, Predators, Stars, Ducks. Enough games to make or break a playoff run.

Top Ten Beers (as of Summer 2015)

On April 6, I joined Untappd. The first day I entered 34 beers. That's a lot of beers in one day. Of course, they were beers that I either had tasting notes on or just remembered my opinion.

Over the last 11 weeks, I've entered 81 unique beers. That's an average of just over a beer a day. There have been weeks where I've had one beer a day, many days where I don't have any, any some days where I have a flight and enter 4 or 5 on a day. Here are the permalinks to my favorite beers and wish list.

Reviews

Wish List

Since I've tried and learned a lot in the last few months, I thought it would be interesting to break down my top ten beers of the moment, knowing this will likely change over time, particularly as I try new ones.

IPA
Lagunitas
Odell
Deschutes Fresh Squeezed

Double IPA
Russian River Pliny the Elder
Odell Myrcernary
Ninkasi Tricerahops

Golden Ale/Summer Ale
Victory Summer Love
Deschutes Twilight Summer

Winter Warmer/Root Beer
Anderson Valley Winter Solstice
Small Town Not Your Father's Root Beer

That feels about right. I've discovered that Double IPA is my favorite style and that Odell, Deschutes, Lagunitas, and Russian River are my favorite breweries.

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Edit: So above I broke down my top ten beers by category. But since I only covered four categories, I figured I should add some other categories and note my favorites in those as well.

Session IPA
Left Hand Introvert IPA

Porter
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

Local Brewpub
LowDown IPA

Red
Wynkoop Colorojo

Pale Ale
Deschutes Mirror Pond

Farmhouse Ale
Great Divide Collette

I've now captured a Calcutta victory in NFL and NHL as well as a bracket win, but March Madness Calcutta still eludes me.

We're nearing the All-Star Break and the teams with the best records in each league are the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals?

I-70 World Series? I-70 World Series!

(Also, the idea that the Royals, the freaking Royals, could break the record for most starters in an All-Star Game hurts my head more than anything.)

Excellent idea

A horse threw a pitch?

100 games of Euchre

Not only have I played 100 games of Euchre, I have the stats to prove it. First of all, as for the 17 hours, virtually all of it has been multitasking. Either waiting for the kids to fall asleep or a quick game while they watch SpongeBob. It averages out to just over 10 minutes per game. I'll post all the stats and do some analysis. 

There's a lot to digest here. First thing that's odd is a slight advantage in tricks and games, but a disadvantage in hands won.

I'll note that I call trump 22.5% of the time, so slightly less than you'd think in a four-player game. Perhaps, I'm a bit conservative.

I'm content with the 88.6% success rate in calling trump. Obviously you don't want to go set and give up two points, but if you were much higher, you would be leaving points on the table.

I've been set 31 times but set opponents an average of 37 times, so that's good. Also, I play stick the dealer, so some of those times being set I really didn't have a chance.

I'm also content with a 30% loner rate. It's good to try for the loner whenever you'll likely get four tricks and just need luck for the fifth.

One of my favorite stats is taking all 5 tricks at a rate 14% better than the opponents. That's an extra point and I think is a sign of playing skill more than anything. Anybody can take a couple tricks. It's working with your partner, knowing when to lead trump, that is required to get all 5 tricks.

Please watch the video starting at the 1:20 mark and see Michael Bradley make a world-class run.

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