Should Fro just go? It’s time to say - yes

The situation involving Alexander Frolov and his being benched on Monday for the Los Angeles Kings game against the Dallas Stars has led to the return of rampant speculation about whether or not the Kings should do whatever is necessary to part ways with their enigmatic forward. But before I give my opinion, let me re-state what happened for those unaware of the situation.

But before I even do that, I need to quantify this piece by stating the following publicly: in the ten months that I have covered the Kings for Examiner.com, I have never spoken to Frolov. I have never spoken to him individually; I have never been one of several reporters huddled around his locker following a game or a practice, and I haven't felt the need to do so. From what I've been led to believe, I know him to be an approachable guy, and someone who is a good guy in the room with teammates. I've never heard of him refusing anyone an interview, or any fan an autograph or a handshake. So for me to say that Frolov is a bad guy, in the mold of Sean Avery or Terrell Owens, would be a grievous mistake.

I have also never written negatively about him for Examiner. For one thing, it's not like he's a sullen malcontent; he always seems loose with teammates in the locker room and during practice. He isn't showing up on the police blotter, isn't showing up late for practice or being a disruptive force in the locker room. By all accounts, he is a good teammate and a good citizen. So, dear reader, do not read into this personal blog piece that I am simply running scattered-shot over a guy for any personal reasons.

Frolov is a talented forward who came to the Kings from Russia with skills as a first round draft choice in 2000. He made his debut with the Kings during the 2003-04 season, and scored 24 goals in 77 games. He played 48 games in Russia during the lockout, scoring 22 goals. He returned to the Kings for the 2005-06 season: in his last four full seasons, he has produced goal-scoring totals of 21, 35, 23, and 32.

But when you read all of the scouting reports ever produced about him, and talk with fellow members of the media, off the record with past and present management personnel and scouts, and with hockey fans in general, they all have the same relative conclusion. And that is that Frolov has an incredible and untapped scoring talent due to his great body size, his length with his stick, and his soft hands.

He's always been a no-brainer selection for Russia's national team when they compete in international competition. This is partly because of a love of country that is admirable in the most basic sense. The loyalty to winning for a country rich in historic hockey excellence is hard to ignore; if you've been brought up with a sense that winning a gold medal for your country is more important than winning a Stanley Cup for your team, it's hard to divorce yourself from that sentiment.

So if the Kings are intent on keeping him beyond this season, when his current contract expires, perhaps they should petition the league to allow him to wear his Team Russia jersey in games instead of his Kings sweater. In my humble opinion, when I've watched Frolov play for Russia in the World Championships the last two years, scoring eight goals in 16 games, you can see the full embodiment of his talent and desire to play at a high level. And I have no doubt that he will do so for Russia in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver this February.

And there's the rub. When playing for country, he is fully plugged in. But when playing for the team that pays his salary, which this season is $4 million, he becomes hockey's version of Kevin McReynolds. Let me explain:

McReynolds was an outfielder for the San Diego Padres. Following the 1986 season, when the New York Mets won 108 regular season games and their first World Series title in 17 years, McReynolds was traded to new York as part of a trade to help bolster the Mets' chances in the future. Indeed, he produced great offensive numbers for that era, hitting 29 homers and driving in 95 runs in 1987, and following that up in 1988 with 27 homers, 99 RBI, and 21 steals, allowing him to finish third in the MVP balloting that year.

But any Mets fan watching the team every day like I did back in the late 80's cringes anytime McReynolds name is mentioned – that's because he would hit the most unimportant home runs ever. When he was at bat in a game with two on and two out trailing by one run, you could count on him to fail to drive the tying run home. But when the score was 11-2, in either direction, you could force your friends to buy rounds the rest of the night by predicting he would smash a home run. In other words, as I became known for saying around my Met friends and baseball friends, 'the next big home run Kevin McReynolds hits will be the first.' Not only that, but he was asked prior to Game 7 of the 1988 NLCS, a win or go home game against the underdog and inferior Dodgers, about his mindset for the game his response was something to the effect of, "I'll be happy either way; I'll either be going to my first World Series or going home to do some hunting and fishing."

So while I appreciate Frolov's talent, to me he is the Kevin McReynolds of the Kings – the next big goal he scores will be the first. Hey, it's great that he has 24 career game-winning goals – but how many of those came late in the third with the score tied? How many has he scored to answer a goal by the other team, as a top three goal scorer should? Can Kings' fans honestly remember an important goal that he has ever scored for them?

To be fair, the fact that he plays well in the World Championships may not just be because of love for country. For all we know, he might be the next great playoff goal scorer, a guy that thrives on the big stage, a 'step up when money is on the table' kind of guy. We don't know for sure, because he hasn't participated in the Stanley Cup playoffs yet.

And therein lies the problem. The Kings have counted on him to be one of their top scorers his entire career. In order to make the playoffs this season, if he's here all season, they will need 30+ goal production from him. But at what cost? How can we measure whether he will step up his play in the playoffs if he can't help lead his team to the playoffs?

Which is why, if I were made GM for a day, my first order of business would be to find a taker for Frolov. Despite this recent situation which forced his benching, his trade value has not diminished. If anything, the tease that is his unlimited potential and talent would certainly make any of the other 29 GM's around the league want to at least talk about making a deal, hoping that a change of scenery would help.

Atlanta would seem to be an ideal fit, if only to allow for him to play every night with his Team Russia linemate Ilya Kovalchuk. Chicago was rumored to be seeking his services just prior to the start of training camp, a club that has seemingly pushed all of their chips to the middle of the table to win the cup this season. Nashville and Minnesota have struggled out of the gate in both the victory and goals scored columns; perhaps they might be willing to shake things up for a scorer. In essence, this is a Jimmy Buffet style of trade: changes in latitude, changes in attitude.

The other issue in this trade conjecture is that the trade deadline is March 3rd. Why is that an issue? Because the Olympic break begins February 15th and ends on February 28th The season re-starts March 1, and is only 36 hours underway before the trade deadline commences. Many experts around hockey have surmised that there won't be a flurry of activity at the deadline, but rather just before the Olympic break.

But I wouldn't even wait that long. In a blog posting this past week on the Los Angeles Times blog site The Fabulous Forum, Kings television game analyst Jim Fox discussed the Frolov situation, and made great points on both sides of the argument. The most compelling in favor of Frolov was the fact that he isn't being utilized correctly on the checking line. The most damning came straight from Murray's meeting with Frolov before announcing the benching. In the meeting, Frolov apparently showed no emotion, no real reaction.

The quotes from Murray should suffice. When asked if Frolov was receptive to what Murray was saying about his play, Murray said following a long pause, "There's nothing coming back. That's the 10th meeting along those lines, and nothing ever comes back." When pressed about the response, Murray's response was most unflattering:

"That's been going on for seven years… I'm not the first coach, not the first GM and not the first in line in any of those categories… when he's on his game, he's a 30-goal scorer and a big part of our hockey club, but it has to come with that love for the game… you prepare to win games, is in the practice (and execution), and that's an area that I have to have him better in."

Seven years and no one has reached him yet? Alcoholics Anonymous states that the definition of insanity is repeating the same mistakes over and over again, hoping for a better result. At this point, if you still believe he's on the cusp of a breakout season where he scores 40+ goals, gets important goals, and plays night in and night out without taking shifts off, then it's time to check into rehab yourself. As one executive told me this summer, "…if you are expecting that from Alex, you're going to be disappointed."

So what am I saying? Look, for his own good, for the team's own good, maybe it's time to move him. Again, I'm sure he's a good guy, and means well. Call it addition by subtraction. Call it giving him a fresh start, maybe somewhere that the expectations aren't as high as they are here.

But whatever you do, call it time to trade him now, for everyone's sake.

Running on Empty

ITEM ONE: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

"Money, so they say, is the root of all evil today." - Pink Floyd

I'm in the soup again in terms of monies owed to me. Say what you want about me, and believe me there is plenty to be said, but one thing I seem to be is a little bit gullible. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt beyond what most other people would do, and certainly what many people have done with me in certain circumstances.

If you've been looking for my Internet radio show the last 2 weeks, you know that it hasn't been on the air, and that's because of money. I had been working a full time job for a company, but that company has been unable to pay me, or any of my fellow employees, for several months now.

I don't want to get into specifics about this because I'm still hoping that my checks will be made available any day now, which is what I and my fellow employees have been told for months now that things would be resolved. I don't want to further add to the troubles that the company has faced trying to resolve this situation, based upon what they've been telling me is the problem as best they can. It has to do with their relationship with the banks and the verification of funds.

Nevertheless, I have reached a real breaking point because of this. And not that losing a stream of finances can ever come at a good time, for me in my attempts to launch my radio career, it couldn't have come at a worse time.

This is because I need to generate payments for air time, studio location, and those helping me produce the show. I'm hoping to reach out to prospective advertisers to hopefully alleviate this situation, but I know this will likely take some time.

Of course, this is not the first time this has happened to me. In fact, three of my last four major employers have faced financial issues. One of them currently owes me $5,000 from a three-month project. The other still owes me a large deferment of salary from a couple of years ago.

So if you've wondered why you haven't heard from me on Twitter or Facebook, via e-mail or cell phone, and why the show is currently 'on hiatus', now you know. The second that these funding issues resolve themselves, I will be back on the air and hopefully better than ever.


ITEM TWO: NFL 2009 preview
Well, at least I get to ease my pain and numb my depression with the start of the NFL season tonight as the Titans visit Pittsburgh in the opener.

I've moved through projecting the final standings using several simulation sources, and here's what foggy view through my cracked crystal ball looks like:

AFC EAST
New England 13-3, NY Jets 9-7, Miami 7-9, Buffalo 4-12
AFC NORTH
Pittsburgh 12-4, Baltimore 12-4, Cincinnati 6-10, Cleveland 5-11
AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis 12-4, Tennessee 10-6, Jacksonville 8-8, Houston 6-10
AFC WEST
San Diego 12-4, Denver 6-10, Kansas City 4-12, Oakland 4-12

NFC EAST
NY Giants 11-5, Philadelphia 10-6, Dallas 9-7, Washington 7-9
NFC NORTH
Minnesota 9-7, Green Bay 8-8, Chicago 8-8, Detroit 4-12
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta 10-6, Carolina 9-7, New Orleans 9-7, Tampa Bay 3-13
NFC WEST
Arizona 11-5, Seattle 10-6, St. Louis 4-12, San Francisco 4-12

My playoff teams (in order of seeding) are New England, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Indianapolis, Baltimore, and Tennessee in the AFC; NY Giants, Arizona, Atlanta, Minnesota, Seattle, and Philadelphia in the NFC

My Super Bowl prediction (take it for what it's worth): Patriots versus Giants


ITEM THREE: Other stuff

Although my radio show is on the shelf for now, I will still be covering the LA Kings for Examiner.com and will be at the first day of practice this coming Sunday morning. The Hockey Fest that took place two weeks was amazing, and the Kings deserve an enormous amount of credit for putting on a first-class show, despite weather challenges (maybe the hottest weekend all summer here in LA)... My college football picks by conference: Florida State in the ACC Atlantic, Virginia Tech in the ACC Coastal, West Virginia in the Big East, Penn State in the Big Ten, Nebraska in the Big 12 North, Oklahoma State in the Big 12 South (you read that right), East Carolina in Conference USA East, Houston in Conference USA West, Buffalo in the MAC East, Central Michigan in the MAC West, TCU in the Mountain West, California in the Pac-10 (yep, you read that right too), Florida in the SEC East, Ole Miss in the SEC West, Florida Atlantic in the Sun Belt, and Boise State in the WAC. I'm picking Florida over Penn State in the title game... I think Oregon handled the mess with running back LeGarrett Blount properly. I think Boise also handled things appropriately, but I think that they should use video imaging to single out the people who antagonized Blount from the crowd and ban them from games... excited for the new TV season to begin in two weeks. Five shows I'm going to try out this year are: NCIS Los Angeles, Three Rivers, The Good Wife, Modern Family, and FlashForward

First week in the books

It's been an exhaustive process getting the two radio shows on the air this week. A lot of people have helped to make this happen, and I want to thank them for their support not just over the last few weeks, but in some cases over the last few years.

The members of our crew have been very influential in this process: Christopher Kerr has been invaluable providing technical assistance in setting up our equipment and providing transportation in those situations; Ray Manukay, Brittany Salsberry, and Amanda Salas have been very supportive and understanding of the many false-starts that we had; and everyone at the Sports Journey Broadcast Network, specifically Lake Lewis and Monica Lewis, have been very supportive as well.

Additionally, my friends and family have been very supportive of this effort as well, and I really appreciate their enthusiasm.

Our guests this first week have been outstanding. Guests such as Howard Schnellenberger, Charlie Weatherby, Ryan Herrington, and others. Jim Fox, Heidi Androl, and Daryl Evans have all appeared this week to help me talk-up the Kings Hockey Fest later this month, and they have been tremendous in those interviews. Special thanks to the Kings PR department for their incredible efforts in making these guests available. I hope in the next two weeks leading up to that big event that they will continue to make others available to us. Other guests next week include Ed Berliner and Dan Rosen.

We've also spent time this week attempting to 'brand' our correspondents. This week alone, we brought on-board AJ Smith (NBA), Courtney Ports (NHL), Bradley Weber (Auto Racing), Ivan Jones (boxing), and Chris Griffin (college football). Sunday morning on The Sunday Tailgate, you'll hear again from Christopher Kerr (NFL) and Ray Manukay (MLB) On Monday, we will introduce Jennifer Colli (college basketball) and Mario Melara (soccer).

Finally, a couple of people need special acknowledgement: Arny Schreer, a mentor at a young age who encouraged me to seek the morning announcements gig at Saddle River Day in the 8th grade; my three best friends growing up, Patrick & Brian D'Errico and Bob Larsen, for putting with my 'play-by-play' of all of our sporting events growing up; Jeff Shade, who was the production manager at WFAN when I interned there - he, and I remember John Minko as well, who both thought I had talent and encouraged me to pursue this as a profession - I'm not completely there yet, but I appreciate their part in that process; Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, along with Art Russ Jr, Dave Sims, and Howard Cosell, all of whom inspired me to want to host a sports radio show. I should also mention Charley Steiner, who once upon a time was Art Russ's fill-in on 'Sports Talk' on WABC radio back before there was even a WFAN.

And finally, my family has been most supportive of me my whole life, and have been extremely patient with me when I was 'struggling'. I especially want to acknowledge my father, for fostering a belief in me and my keeping my dreams alive. They haven't fully come true yet, but I'm standing on the stage of it and beginning what I hope is a long and glorious walk across the stage. None of this happens with you Dad.

I thank all of you for being so patient these three months while we were in 'pre-production', and for listening this week. I hope you enjoyed listening to it, because trust me when I tell you I enjoyed performing it.

Visit our blog sites for the two shows at these addresses:
Moncrief in the Morning:
http://moncriefinthemorning.blogspot.com
The Sunday Tailgate:
http://thesundaytailgate.blogspot.com

Also, become a fan of our show on our Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Moncrief-in-the-Morning

and follow us on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/moncriefintheam

No more excuses - RADIO SHOW begins THIS WEEK!

Hello everyone, this brief blog posting is to let all of you in Crief Case Nation know that the radio shows I've been talking about are finally going live! Here's the scoopage:

- The network is the Sports Journey Broadcast Network. You can find it on your computer at http://www.sportsjourney.com

- I'll be hosting a weekday morning show starting on Monday, August 3rd. The show is called Moncrief in the Morning and will air from 9AM until Noon Eastern time Monday through Friday mornings.
- Our first show on Monday features Examiner.com National Sports Columnist Ed Berliner from Stone Cold Sports.com.
- On Tuesday morning, Marty Appel, author of the book 'The Life and Death of a Yankees Captain' about Thurman Munson, will join us.
- And beginning this Friday, we will be providing previews of every single Division 1-A (a.k.a FBS) team.

- This Sunday, August 2nd, is the premiere of The Sunday Tailgate. It airs from 10AM - 1PM Eastern Time every Sunday. It features my co-host Ray Manukay.
- This Sunday, our guests include: Tina Cervasio from MSG Network; Lake Lewis from the Sports Journey Radio Show; and Paula Duffy, national sports columnist for Examiner.com.


No more delays. No more technical issues. No more location issues. It is finally happening!

By the way, if you can't listen to the show live, you can still listen to it by clicking on the 'Past Shows' tab on the website and listening to it as a podcast. So for those of you here on the left coast, if 7AM local doesn't work for you, fear not - you can listen on tape-delay too.

My thanks to all of you for your support during this 'pre-production' stage - GAME ON!

Radio Show Update - July 27

My thanks to those of you out there in 'Crief Case Nation' still waiting for the debut of the internet-based sports radio shows. We have had several near-misses in this process, but I feel as though we are about to turn a corner.

UPDATE: Today we are in the process of finalizing the deal to secure our professional studio location to air the shows. Also will likely be renaming both shows, with reasons to be included in official "It's On" post coming Wednesday.

Some very exciting news in terms of guests to be announced in the coming weeks as well. So keep checking back here for more info.

Bottom Line: likelihood of Sunday show debuting this week, August 2: 90%

*******

Meanwhile, I'm in the process of beginning to organize the third season of the Kokua Football League; this is the fantasy football league that originated from my days working with the fine folks at Mahalo. So far, I've heard from five of the ten owners I was able to track down from last season, and four of them are eager to return. By the way, if you are not currently an owner and advised me at any point in the last 9 months that you want in, you'll be hearing from me shortly.

So as I plan to begin a new season, I need help selecting a team name. In the past, these have been some of the names I have used:

Oakland Invaders, Montvale Whalers, Central Red Army, Miami Vice, Jessica Biels, Jennifer Garners, Jennifer Love Hewitts, Terry Court Bombers, Mookie Wilsons, Wide Right (sorry Raj), and the Pascack Thrillers.

I'd like to choose a new name for this season... thoughts?

Draft Day with the Kings

So I had the pleasure to be invited to an NHLTweetup with other Los Angeles Kings fans for the 2009 NHL Draft. We had the chance to meet some great hockey fans, and I spent most of the draft with four great people:

- Melody Husky, who's official title with the Kings is Social Networking Coordinator, and made me and the others feel extra special
- Howard K. Brodwin, Managing Director of Team Marketing Systems, and a fellow Jersey boy now residing in SoCal (he and I were the only ones enjoying a hardy laugh that one of the draft prospects was being compared to former 80's Ranger Reijo Rutosalainen)
- Hedid Androl, host on Kings Vision and of the NHL.com program "The Cisco All-Access Pre-Game Show"
- Luc Robitaille, the newly minted Hockey Hall of Fame selection, who flew back that morning from Montreal to be at the event

For photographic evidence, I submit the following photo of Heidi and Luc posing for a picture with me.

Clearly this is my Robert Evans moment.

For those that don't get the reference: in the documentary film 'The Kid Stays in the Picture' about legendary Hollywood film producer Robert Evans, he talks about the night that he attended the premiere of the film The Godfather in New York, and walked the red carpet with his then wife Ali McGraw and the Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

His famous quote about that experience, "...I had the most beautiful woman in the world on one arm, and the most powerful man in the world on the other."

Working through more kinks - going live soon

Stop me if you have heard this one before: the radio shows are still in a holding pattern on the runway, ready for take-off. We're just experiencing one minor technical glitch.

In short, we are able to broadcast our voices onto the network, but the commercials and sound effects, both of which are vital to the show, are still not getting through our hardware equipment. We will be attempting to fix this again on Wednesday night, and if all goes well, we will begin broadcasting shows on the Sports Journey Broadcast Network starting on Monday July 6.

I'll keep you posted - thanks for your continued support and patience. I promise it will be worth the wait.


s7zakn2vgb

SHOWS WILL DEBUT JUNE 7 & 8

Okay folks, I know that this seems very much like "The Song Remains The Same", but we were in the process on this Saturday night, watching Detroit defeat Pittsburgh 3-1 in Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals and watching Orlando eliminate Cleveland tonight in the NBA Playoffs, of setting up to finally launch our sports shows this week.

For those not yet dialed into this situation, I'm going to be hosting a pair of sports talk radio shows on an Internet broadcast company called Sports Journey. But there have been a few delays along the way.

Tonight, it feels like I'm sitting inside the rocket, having it warm up on the launch pad, only to have mission control give us the thumbs down just prior to the final countdown before liftoff.

The bottom line is that we will get these technical issues worked out this week, and I can tell you that we will be debuting the two shows next week:

- Sunday Scores and More will debut next Sunday, June 7th, at 10AM
- SportsRock, which airs weeknights, premieres next Monday, June 8th, at 10PM

Thanks for your continued patience and support, and I look forward to talking about sports for your listening enjoyment next week. I will post more information this week as it develops...

Tom Petty stars as "The Boy Who Cried Crief"

Yes, the waiting is the hardest part.
Okay, okay, so one more freaking week, jeez....

Sorry folks, but the long awaited and much anticipated launch of Sunday Scores and More is now scheduled for Sunday May 31, which is 9 days from this posting. It will happen then, and we will have some great guests, and I will have much more on this in a few days time.

My thanks to all of you asking about the start of the show and for your support of both it and the weeknight version, SportsRock, which debuts the next night June 1st at 7PM local (10PM Eastern). Thanks - more to come...

Radio show updates and a quick take on Metro

Hey there Crief Case fanatics: can't get enough of my takes? Want to hear me as well as read me?

Well, we are getting closer to the launch of my radio shows on the internet. Here's the latest info:

- Sunday Scores and More will make its debut on the Sports Journey Broadcast Network on Sunday morning, May 24. The air time will be live from 10AM to 1PM Eastern time, which means 7-10AM Pacific time. My co-host will be Ray Manukay, and we are close to announcing our update anchor. Please check out the blog site that we have set up for the show, including details of guests for the first show, by clicking here.
- SportsRock, a nightly two-hour hosted by me from 10PM to midnight Eastern (7-9PM Pacific) Monday through Friday nights, begins on June 1st. For more info, you can visit the blog site set up for that show by clicking here.

Meanwhile, I will keep you posted on other appearances I'll be making on other shows as they happen.

**********

So as many of you know, I use the local bus and train service here in Los Angeles to get around. For the most part, it is one of the best kept secrets in SoCal, that you can actually get where you need to without driving a car and sitting in traffic, provided you are willing to do a little prep work and route yourself.

But I wanted to take a minute to express some frustration with the folks at Metro, because they could be doing a better job of serving the community and they need to do a better job. A couple of issues that I have are:

- Customer Relations: while its nice to have the ability to call Metro's 800 number and get routed on-the-fly, the service is only available between 9-6 weekdays, and fewer hours on weekends. This should be available 24 hours a day. Furthermore, there is no one live to register complaints about service (or lack thereof), which is very frustrating in the moment.
- Drivers: these fall into two categories: one group is dedicated, friendly, courteous, and try to do right by the riders. However, I would say that this group only makes up about half of the drivers. The other half are surly, unprofessional, and uncaring. They are unhelpful and disrespectful. This needs to be addressed further.
- Lack of Real Time Tracking: Other area bus companies, such as the Big Blue Bus in Santa Monica, have the ability to track their buses in real time using GPS. So if you are waiting for a bus that is late and you call their CS line during business hours, they actually pinpoint where the bus and let you know when it will arrive. How its possible that Metro can't do this is beyond me. It would ease a lot of frustrations with passengers if they could get updates on late arriving buses.
- Safety: For the most part, Metro is good about the safety of their passengers. Still, there are certain bus lines that have buses get so jam-packed with passengers that it is unsafe for them to ride. The 720 line that runs down Wilshire Blvd is notoriously overflowing with passengers during most hours of the day. Why they don't correct this problem with more buses running is beyond me. Perhaps they are waiting for an accident which causes passenger deaths, leading to media-driven outrage and/or wrongful death lawsuits, before they correct this...
- Fare enforcement: This is the worst one. In other cities, you have turnstiles that prevent people from riding the trains without paying the fare. In Los Angeles, they use the honor system, which doesn't really work well. So, in order to recoup what must be staggering losses, they've started using LACSD officers to check fares at various locations. The problem though is two-fold with this: (1) they are constantly slowing down people trying to get onto connecting trains by checking people AFTER they've completed their ride. Shouldn't the idea be to check people BEFORE they get on the next ride? And (2) are you telling me that the crime and murder rates in LA County are so minuscule that we can allow these officers to spend their time checking for fare-jumpers as opposed to solving more important crimes? Plus, it just seems disingenuous that Metro, which from my experience has about a 75% on-time rate (which could be much better), is hassling customers when it isn't providing impeccable service.

Don't get me wrong, I swear by Metro, it's been better than I could have ever anticipated it would be. But it could be so much better than it is right now.