What I learned in MIS

In my Management and Information Systems class this semester at the University of Windsor, I learned how important knowledge of these systems can be for a manager and how much of an advantage they can be.

If you know about the different programs involved, they can really help make your workload a lot lighter because of how powerful they are and the amount of work they actually do. Instead of trying to write a program in Excel to try to do something, you can just use these programs and most of that programming is already in there so it cuts out a lot of the work you have to do.

One disadvantage is because the programs are so immense and powerful, you really have to take a lot of time to be properly trained on the use of them so you can take full advantage of them. Knowing all the in's and out's of a program can really be helpful to make you more productive.

So, in conclusion, this class has really taught me a lot about different programs, especially Microsoft Access which can really be helpful in running a business. Because of this class, I've actually chosen Computer Science as a minor so that I can have a distinct advantage in that field over someone that might not have any computer training.

rough night for canucks

After looking good by winning three straight at home and hosting a Detroit Red Wings team that had lost their past three on the road, it almost seemed like the Vancouver Canucks had an advantage in last night's game. You wouldn't guess it from the game.

The Canucks were leading 2-0 after scoring 2 goals on 4 shots and chasing Chris Osgood out of the net. In came Jimmy Howard, the Wings' backup goalie. Howard was solid throughout the game, even though he did let in 3 in a wild third period. He kept the Wings in the game long enough for them to score a couple of key goals, and the Wings took advantage of their solid goaltending.

The final score was 5-4 for the Wings, in a game that was worse for the Canucks than it seemed. Ryan Johnson crashed heavily into the boards and lay on the ice for what seemed like a long time. Kirk Maltby motioned over to the bench for medical assistance and Brad May came and stood over Johnson. Johnson was carried off the ice on a stretcher and a spokesperson said that he was alert in a local hospital.

Today, it was announced that Luongo was out indefinitely with an unspecified injury. Sources say that it most likely happened when Alexander Edler pushed Todd Bertuzzi into him. It's not for sure how long he'll be out, but Andrew Raycroft is expected to start the next game and Cory Schneider is expected to be called up.

quick note about booth hit

I just wanted to say something about the hit on David Booth. I just saw a poll on TSN.ca asking if people thought that the hit on David Booth was dirty - the options were "it was a dirty hit" and "Booth should have kept his head up".

I just watched the video of it again. Richards came from the right side of Booth, and he was more behind him then ahead of him. Booth just made a pass - his head was up. The only way he could have avoided it was if he was looking to his right for some reason, which wouldn't make sense given the situation (he had just passed left). I'm not trying to rip on Mike Richards, he's a great hockey player and I'm sure he wouldn't try to catch someone off guard on purpose. But for the people that blame Booth and say his head should have been up, please look at the video again. It was a blind side hit.

Which brings me to the next point - if Richards received an "intent to injure" penalty and misconduct on the play, why was he not suspended? If someone is allegedly trying to injure someone, wouldn't you suspend them for a couple of games at least?

slewfoots, blindside hits, and hits from behind

There has been a rash of suspensions and fines handed out in the past couple of weeks. Tuomu Ruutu's blatant hit from behind on Darcy Tucker, Alexander Ovechkin's slewfoot on Rich Perverly, Evgeny Artyukhin's slewfoot on Matt Niskanen, and the list goes on and on.

Not only have there been suspensions and fines, but there have been the hits where players go unpunished and the only player that suffers is the player that received the damage. Take Mike Richards and Willie Mitchell for example; both delivered crushing hits that did damage to the opposing players. Both Jonathan Toews and David Booth are still out after being destroyed by the aforementioned players.

It seems to me that there is a definite lack of respect from players to other players in the NHL. It's not like the good old days where when you have a problem with someone on the ice, you fight them and get it over with. Nowadays, if you want to get back at another player, it's not enough to just beat them in a fight; you REALLY have to do some damage.

The funny thing is, most of these plays aren't out of revenge. These are just players that get caught in a vulnerable position and get taken advantage of in that position. Sure, you might say that Darcy Tucker got what he deserved because he's not the cleanest player. But, there is no known history between him and Ruutu.

If you respect another player, you're not going to take their feet out from underneath them as they go towards the boards. You're going to think twice before you slam that player's head facefirst into the boards. You're not going to come from where the player can't see you and destroy them with a blindside hit. You would take that split second to consider your next actions before you might end that player's career. Players need to look at the good examples in the league and follow those examples.

vancouver wins one

The Vancouver Canucks won their first game of the season after losing all three of the earlier ones. They beat the Montreal Canadiens 7-1 at GM Place to snap their losing streak and go to 1-3.

After Roberto Luongo looked dismal in the first three games, one of which he was actually replaced by backup Andrew Raycroft, he stopped 27 of 28 shots to get the win. He let in a soft goal by Andrei Kostitsyn, but otherwise was solid stopping Mike Camalleri twice on the same powerplay and shutting the door during a goal mouth scramble. This was the Luongo that the Canucks needed.

On the other side of the arena, the Montreal Canadiens turned in one of their worst performances of the season to become 2-2 on the season. Defensive turnovers, horrible line changes (one that led to Henrik Sedin's 2-on-0 breakaway goal), and a lack of offense. The Canadiens will have to turn their game around if they want a win on Saturday in Edmonton.

emery looking good so far

Ray Emery had an interesting season with the Ottawa Senators two years ago. He had a number of incidents with his own teammates as well as some others teams, most notably against the Buffalo Sabres when he fought Martin Biron and Andrew Peters.

Along with several incidents during practices and the fact that his performance was slipping, the Senators thought it was best for the team that Emery not return. Emery then went to Russia and played for Atlant Moscow in the KHL. He was involved in an altercation with the team's trainer after being pulled out of a game. After a year in Russia, Emery returned to North America and signed with the Philadelphia Flyers.

And, despite everything that has happened around him, he's had a good start to the season. Emery has played a solid three games so far, recording three wins and one shutout so far. The season is still young, but Emery has definitely shown a turnaround and it wouldn't be surprising if he carried the Flyers a long way this year. In fact, several hockey analysts and experts predict that the Flyers will either make it to the Stanley Cup Finals or even win the Cup.

just a note...

Just letting you know that this will be more of an editorial site for hockey. You can get your hockey news anywhere.