As an entertainment icon returns to theaters, a modern horror franchise reaches its third installment and a beloved director adapts an equally beloved kids book. Meanwhile, the creators of Once Upon a Time […]
Month: June 2016
First-Ever Shelby Cobra Could Bring $10M at Auction
-Interested in buying a legend? The original Shelby Cobra, the very first car that Carroll Shelby hand-built, the one that kicked off the Shelby legacy that still carries on today, is going up for sale at RM Sotheby’s Monterey Auction on August 19. We have a feeling this car is going to generate some intense bidding.
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When we say original, we mean it. This is the very first of the Cobras-created in 1962 when Carroll Shelby shoehorned a 260-cubic-inch Ford V-8 between the wheel wells of a British-made AC Ace roadster. When that engine met that body, a legend was born.
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The car, known as CSX 2000, served as the development prototype for what would become the Shelby empire. And it never left the founder’s hands-Shelby maintained this car as his personal Cobra from day one. It is truly a one-owner car.
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That’s not to say it was pampered, though. In a tale that is now legendary, Shelby pulled a little scam on the car magazines that tested this car. After the Cobra was made public, CSX 2000 was sent out to every major car magazine for testing. But Shelby, wanting it to seem like he’d already built a fleet of Cobras, had the car repainted a different color before each magazine test. The magazines each thought they’d gotten a different car, and Shelby’s legend was sealed.
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“It is the actual pen with which he signed his declaration of war and the idea upon which he built his company and revolutionized American racing-and the greater auto industry as a whole,” RM Sotheby’s writes. “It is, without exception, the single most important and history-rewriting sports car ever offered at auction, after over 50 years of ownership and without ever leaving the care of its founding father.”
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Hyperbole? Maybe not. It’s hard to think of a single automobile that changed the course of sports-car history as definitively as the Cobra. This was the car that sealed Shelby’s career, that led Ford to become a 1960s racing powerhouse, that founded the American tradition of front-engine, rear-drive, hairy-chested roadsters that still beats in our veins today.
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- Car and Driver Tested: The 12 Quickest Cars of the 1960s
- Shelby American Is Building Brand-New Daytona Coupes
- Watch Oak Ridge National Lab 3D-Print a Replica Shelby Cobra
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And among all the immensely collectible Shelby products of skyrocketing value, this will assuredly be the most coveted. Dave Kinney, publisher of the Hagerty Price Guide, estimates that this Holy Grail Cobra could bring $10 million-or more. Carroll Shelby had an unerring sense of the value of his cars; no wonder he held onto this one.
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A version of this story originally appeared on Road & Track.
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Fantasy Hockey: Pre-Free Agency Top-50 Forward Rankings
It’s that time of the year in the hockey world when we are about to hit free agency. Many teams will look slightly different come October when training camp and the regular season roll around. Between now and then, all the moves in free agency will be hotly debated as to how they affect teams.
Before all that begins, lets take a look at the top-50 forwards heading into next season. Bear in mind that these rankings could change based on players entering or leaving during free agency. A player could leave a team and go to a better situation and jump up, as could the players he is slated to skate with. And vice-versa if a player were to leave and someone on this list slides because of it.
These rankings will change over the course of the next few months, not only because of free agent signings but also the unforeseen trades that could happen. So without further ado, lets take a look at the end of the year, pre-free agency Fantasy Hockey forward rankings:
The Top 10
- Patrick Kane, RW CHICAGO
- Jamie Benn, LW DALLAS
- Sidney Crosby, C PITTSBURGH
- Alex Ovechkin, LW WASHINGTON
- Tyler Seguin, C DALLAS
- Joe Pavelski, C/RW SAN JOSE
- Vladimir Tarasenko, RW ST. LOUIS
- John Tavares, C NEW YORK (ISLANDERS)
- Claude Giroux, C PHILADELPHIA
- Connor McDavid, C EDMONTON
As you can see this is a very potent list of players. Some will be surprised to see McDavid this high, but after the season he had for Edmonton he will be in the conversation to be a top-10 player early next season. It will be interesting to see the effect on Taylor Hall not being on a separate line for McDavid, meaning opposing defenses will be able to key in on his line as the Oilers big threat. However those in keeper leagues could go be tempted to take him in the top-5, which isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Tavares had a down year for the Islanders but he is still capable of being a top-10 player and has been drafted in that spot the last few seasons, delivering on that ranking in the past.
Forwards 11- 20
- Johnny Gaudreau, LW CALGARY
- Steven Stamkos, C TAMPA BAY
- Anze Kopitar, C LOS ANGELES
- Evgeni Malkin, C PITTSBURGH
- Blake Wheeler, RW WINNIPEG
- Phil Kessel, RW PITTSBURGH
- Logan Couture, C SAN JOSE
- Nikita Kucherov, RW TAMPA BAY
- Nicklas Backstrom, C WASHINGTON
- Artemi Panarin, LW CHICAGO
The second 10 of the forwards ground is arguable as stacked as the first 10. You can make the argument that Stamkos should be higher, but he gets knocked for missing the playoffs and having the looming questions about his long-term health with regards to the blood clot issue that caused his surgery. Gaudreau is on the cusp of being a top-10 player after an almost point-per-game sophomore season with 79 points in 78 games, following his impressive 64-point rookie campaign.
Couture arguably could have won the Conn Smythe even with the Sharks losing the Stanley Cup, and after his playoffs he easily could be a top-15 fantasy forward to start next season. Wheeler is one of the most underrated players in the league and finished tied for sixth in scoring with 78 points and was fifth in the league with 52 assists on an improving Jets team.
Forwards 21- 30
- Evgeny Kuznetsov, C WASHINGTON
- Patrice Bergeron, C BOSTON
- Joe Thornton, C SAN JOSE
- Corey Perry, RW ANAHEIM
- Wayne Simmonds, RW/LW PHILADELPHIA
- Filip Forsberg, LW NASHVILLE
- Jack Eichel, C BUFFALO
- Ryan Getzlaf, C ANAHEIM
- Ryan Johansen, C NASHVILLE
- Tyler Johnson, C TAMPA BAY
Another list with a ton of talent and a few players that made massive jumps this past fantasy season. One surprising name is Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds has blossomed into a solid fantasy contributor in his five season in Philly and was fantastic playing with Brayden Schenn and Claude Giroux for most of the season. The talented winger tied his career-high of 60 points and broke the 30-goal barrier for the first time. Eichel arrived to much of the fanfare that McDavid did last season and solidly put up 56 points in 81 games. He finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting behind Panarin, McDavid and Shayne Gostisbehere.
Eichel could potentially have much-coveted college free agent Jimmy Vesey joining him in Buffalo this season, but if not he should still take a step forward offensively and is a top-25 player to draft in keeper leagues. Johnson dealt with injuries to him and his linemates, and saw lineup shuffling as well. He should see a bounce-back season this year for the Lightning especially after his 17 points in 17 playoffs games.
Forwards 31- 40
- Alex Steen, C/W ST. LOUIS
- Jason Spezza, C DALLAS
- Max Pacioretty, LW MONTREAL
- James Neal, RW/LW NASHVILLE
- Zach Parise, LW MINNESOTA
- Aleksander Barkov, C FLORIDA
- Nathan MacKinnon, C COLORADO
- Taylor Hall, LW NEW JERSEY
- Mark Scheifele, C WINNIPEG
- Sean Monahan, C CALGARY
This is really where the debates begin about who should be where in the ranks. Hall’s fantasy value gets dinged because of his recent trade to New Jersey. He goes from an up-and-coming situation and playing with the likes of McDavid, Eberle and Draisaitl to the Devils, the team that finished dead last in goals scored per game last season (2.22). There are questions going forward with Hall: Is Adam Henrique a number one center for him to play with? Will Mike Cammalleri return from his injuries next season and back to his near point-per-game form? And who will be on the Devils power-play unit with them going forward?
Barkov and Scheifele took huge steps forward last year and will be in better situations next year. Barkov’s offense and PP production will be helped by the addition of Keith Yandle and Scheifele could potentially add Patrik Laine to his line with Blake Wheeler, number 15 on this list. Don’t be surprised if both centers are top-30 fantasy forwards by the end of next season with one creeping into the top-25. Monahan is a solid center and could easily jump up near the top-30 as well thanks to his centering Johnny Gaudreau.
Forwards 41- 50
- Brad Marchand, LW BOSTON
- Matt Duchene, C/LW COLORADO
- Jonathan Toews, C CHICAGO
- Daniel Sedin, LW VANCOUVER
- Patrick Sharp, RW/LW DALLAS
- Jonathan Huberdeau, LW FLORIDA
- Jonathan Drouin, LW TAMPA BAY
- Patric Hornqvist, RW PITTSBURGH
- Brayden Schenn, C/W PHILADELPHIA
- Rick Nash, LW NEW YORK (RANGERS)
A few surprises in the final 10 here. Sharp could be higher if he player permanently with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, both top-5 fantasy forwards. He drops to here if he players with Jason Spezza and is still productive from a fantasy standpoint. Huberdeau could take another step forward next season with a full year of Barkov and Jaromir Jagr. With everything cleared up in Tampa Bay between Jonathan Drouin and the team, and with Steven Stamkos coming back, Drouin finds himself penciled into a top-six role there alongside the Bolts captain.
Hornqvist will break camp where he finished the year, on Sidney Crosby’s right wing. Schenn looks to be a lock to return to a line with Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds in Philadelphia to continue their solid play together. Nash had a bad fantasy season, after a 40-goal season the year before. If he’s fully healthy this season he could find his way back to 25+ goals easily playing with Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello.
A lot will change over the coming weeks and months with regards to the fantasy hockey landscape. Things already have with the three major moves earlier this week. We do not know how free agency or the trade market will shake out before fantasy draft season, but this list will look different by the time September and October roll around and we get a clearer picture of the roster landscape. Until then, enjoy the frenzy.
Subban/Weber, Hall/Larsson Trades Rock ‘ NHL 16’
It’s not even July 1 yet and the NHL has been rocked by two trades that drastically alter all four teams involved. The Montreal and Nashville swap of PK Subban and Shea Weber changes the chemistry on both teams entirely, giving Nashville more youth and providing Montreal with a leader it hasn’t had in years. The New Jersey Devils one for one pickup of Taylor Hall gives them their most dynamic scorer since Ilya Kovalchuk and allows Edmonton to shed salary and get much-needed blue line help.
Here’s a first look at these stars in their new digs and how they’ll impact their new teams in “NHL 16.”
The New Jersey Devils have a sniper in Taylor Hall.
The New Jersey Devils acquired forward Taylor Hall from the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Adam Larsson:
How Move Helps Both Teams: New Jersey needed offense worse than Brent Burns needed a beard trim. With Hall in the lineup, the Devs are definitely more potent with the puck. As far as Edmonton goes, already loaded with young talent upfront without Hall, they get a solid and year two-way defender in Larsson who can play big minutes and should respond well to more responsibility. Just by being on their power play and first line, Hall makes playing with the Devils in an NHL game fun for the first time in years.
The Nashville Predators acquired defenseman PK Subban from the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Shea Weber.
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How will Subban respond to the move to Nashville?
How Move Helps Both Teams: The Predators get a feisty and energetic defenseman that can join the rush, entertain fans and can produce just as much as Weber, while the Canadiens get tougher and get a much-needed leader in the locker room. In terms of “NHL 16,” the Predators just got a lot more aggressive on the puck, while the Canadiens powerplay just got a ton more potent, thanks to Weber’s insanely hard shot. Add in Weber’s physical ability and that of recently acquired Andrew Shaw and the Habs are a whole lot tougher as well.
Something to Think About: After performing the straight up trade of Subban and Weber, Subban got the Nashville captaincy.
Subban/Weber, Hall/Larsson Trades Rock ‘ NHL 16’
It’s not even July 1 yet and the NHL has been rocked by two trades that drastically alter all four teams involved. The Montreal and Nashville swap of PK Subban and Shea Weber changes the chemistry on both teams entirely, giving Nashville more youth and providing Montreal with a leader it hasn’t had in years. The New Jersey Devils one for one pickup of Taylor Hall gives them their most dynamic scorer since Ilya Kovalchuk and allows Edmonton to shed salary and get much-needed blue line help.
Here’s a first look at these stars in their new digs and how they’ll impact their new teams in “NHL 16.”
The New Jersey Devils have a sniper in Taylor Hall.
The New Jersey Devils acquired forward Taylor Hall from the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Adam Larsson:
How Move Helps Both Teams: New Jersey needed offense worse than Brent Burns needed a beard trim. With Hall in the lineup, the Devs are definitely more potent with the puck. As far as Edmonton goes, already loaded with young talent upfront without Hall, they get a solid and year two-way defender in Larsson who can play big minutes and should respond well to more responsibility. Just by being on their power play and first line, Hall makes playing with the Devils in an NHL game fun for the first time in years.
The Nashville Predators acquired defenseman PK Subban from the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Shea Weber.
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How will Subban respond to the move to Nashville?
How Move Helps Both Teams: The Predators get a feisty and energetic defenseman that can join the rush, entertain fans and can produce just as much as Weber, while the Canadiens get tougher and get a much-needed leader in the locker room. In terms of “NHL 16,” the Predators just got a lot more aggressive on the puck, while the Canadiens powerplay just got a ton more potent, thanks to Weber’s insanely hard shot. Add in Weber’s physical ability and that of recently acquired Andrew Shaw and the Habs are a whole lot tougher as well.
Something to Think About: After performing the straight up trade of Subban and Weber, Subban got the Nashville captaincy.
Amazon starts selling unlocked Android phones as low as $50 with built-in ads
Android phones have gotten very cheap in the last few years at the same time the overall quality of budget hardware has been improving. You can get a reasonably good phone for under […]
2018 Toyota Camry Spied: Normalness in a New Generation – Future Cars
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2016 Mini Cooper Clubman 1.5T Manual Tested: Absence of Options Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
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Nearly every Mini we test these days gives us sticker shock: We’ve seen a base-model Cooper Hardtop that broke the $30,000 mark and a ridiculously pricey John Cooper Works Countryman that rang in at an unbelievable $46,045. But the window sticker for the Mini Clubman reviewed here was shocking for a different reason: At $26,500, it was cheaper than any Mini we’ve tested since 2011-and it was a whopping $13,000 less than a loaded Clubman S we tested earlier this year. READ MORE ››
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Rebuilding Through the Draft: Two Rebuilds. Two Philosophies.
Rebuilding through the Draft is a trend we’re seeing a lot of these days and this strategy is being used not just by the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the Carolina Hurricanes as well.
Taking a look back to the beginning of the Leafs’ rebuild, you’ll see that they are currently a couple months into their third year. Toronto’s ‘Shana-plan’ may be the most publicized rebuild in the National Hockey League, but they’re not the only ones going through the process. The Carolina Hurricanes began rebuilding 17 days after Toronto did; Hurricane’s General Manager Ron Francis was hired on April 28, 2014 and Toronto Maple Leafs’ President and Alternate Governor, Brendan Shanahan was hired on April 11, 2014.
Leafs Aren’t Exclusive to the Draft
The two rebuilding plans are completely different, yet both focus their efforts on the draft, as well as trading for younger players. Shanahan explains it in this statement at a press conference at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on April 10, 2016:
Building through the draft has to be a staple, especially at this time. The successful teams have shown, especially in a salary-cap world, you have to build through drafting and developing, but that’s not to say we’re going to build exclusively that way… We have to be ready to also build through astute drafts and signings, but the draft has to really be the backbone of your build. – Shanahan
When it comes to trading players, teams in rebuild mode are often trading for youngsters and that’s exactly what the Hurricanes and Maple Leafs have been doing since Francis and Shanahan took office. In the chart below, we’ll see the number of players both the Maple Leafs and Hurricanes traded for AND obtained between February 2015 and today:
The Maple Leafs traded for 11 more players than the Hurricanes, but if you look at the players aged 24 and younger, you’ll see they’re more evenly matched. What they do with these youngsters is one of the ways we can see their differences.
The 2016 NHL Trade Deadline was on February 29 and, as you can see, Toronto was very active during the month of February, 2016:
February 2016
In the same month, Leafs’ Head Coach Mike Babcock promoted nine youngsters to play in the NHL for the very first time in the 2015-16 regular season, three of which were promoted on February 29, 2016:
At first glance, it’s appears they have nothing in common, other than they’re all between the ages of 20 and 24, and started playing in the NHL for the first time within two months of each other. They were drafted anywhere from No. 8 to No. 209, weigh anywhere from 165 pounds to 216 pounds, and played between four and 22 games during the 2015-16 regular season.
Here’s something that’s interesting though; Brendan Leipsic is 5′-9”, and weighs 165 pounds, and played in four games with the Leafs during this season. Mitch Marner is only two pounds lighter (and two inches taller), but didn’t play in any Leafs games that season. Why do you think this is? Leipsic played in a total of 139 AHL games, and Marner hasn’t played in any, and Marner’s also three years younger. If we reorganize these nine players in order of number overall drafted and compare their ages, we’ll start to see some commonalities that suggest a reason as to why Leipsic played in the NHL, and Marner didn’t.
Younger players drafted in the first, second and third rounds of any given Draft had an opportunity to play for the Leafs in the 2015-16 season. Older players drafted in later rounds were also given the same opportunity. Whether or not the Leafs were indifferent to losing, or if their goal was to lose, these nine players were given an opportunity that may never be given to anyone else in upcoming years.
My conclusion regarding Leipsic is since he was drafted at the tail end of the third round at No. 89, he was given the opportunity to play for the Leafs in an effort to increase his overall value. Although Marner weighs nearly as much as Leipsic, his value is already very high and the risk of injury outweighs the risk of increasing his value even further.
Hurricanes Prospects Advance to NHL
The Carolina Hurricanes only promoted four players to the NHL in the 2015-16 regular season for the first time, but it doesn’t appear that their entry dates had anything to do with the 2016 NHL trade deadline. It seems that with Carolina, when a player is ready to play in the NHL, he plays in the NHL. With Toronto, on the other hand, a number of different factors are taken into consideration when players are promoted to the NHL rankings.
In fact, Noah Hanifin was a first round 2015 NHL Entry Draft pick who went No. 5, and Toronto had the opportunity to pick him first. Toronto had the No. 4 draft spot that year and Carolina had the No. 5 spot, yet Toronto strategically chose Marner. In an article published by the National Post early this year, writer Mike Zeisberger said,
…there was a school of thought among some within the [Leafs] organization that defenceman Noah Hanifin might be a better building block [than Mitchell Marner] – Leafs officials even hosted Hanifin and his family just one day before the first round – Hunter had the final call, using it to take a talented playmaker in Marner who played for him in London…
Hanifin played in 79 regular season games with the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2015-16 season. He was a draft pick who was ready to play in the NHL immediately after being drafted. Toronto had put serious consideration into drafting him, but decided against a short term impact.
Noah Hanifin: Making an Impact
The Rebuilding Verdict: Hurricanes & Maple Leafs
It’s really too soon to say if either team has proven success in their differing strategies of rebuilding a team, but there’s a whole lot of educated opinions already. Some experts say the Carolina Hurricanes are doing great at building for the future (Real Sport), they’re quickly rebuilding the prospect pipeline with picks (Hockey’s Future), are ahead of the rebuild game with smart trades (Yahoo! Sports), and their rebuild is better than anybody expected (Vice Sports).
When it comes to the ‘Shana-plan’, experts are saying they’re putting their rebuild into overdrive with draft picks (Toronto Sun), their rebuild is getting a big boost from the Marlies’ playoff success (The Hockey News), it’s taking a bite out of Rogers’ bottom line (National Post), but their dry, calculated rebuild is long overdue (Sportsnet).
Why the Goodwood Festival of Speed Is Incredible in 20 Photos
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jeffreybcarbone 