The Bulletin., January 21, 2021, Page 9, Image 9

THE BULLETIN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 A9
NHL
DEAR ABBY
Write to Dear Abby online at dearabby.com
or by mail at P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Dear Abby: My colleagues
and I were recently notified
that our company is closing
next month. My work part-
ner and I have collaborated
closely for four years, and he’s
an expert at the software I
need to know to get a job in
my field.
When I asked if he would
give me a couple of lessons
via Zoom, I was thinking it’d
be about a three-hour com-
mitment for him. But he was
enthusiastic and designed a
20-plus-hour curriculum for
me.
He keeps saying he doesn’t
want me to pay him, but I
want to find an appropriate
way to express my gratitude.
What would be an appropri-
ate amount to compensate
him without getting too steep
(which is why I didn’t do the
full-price software training
in the first place. It was $2K)?
Thanks for any advice.
— Thankful in Illinois
Dear Thankful: If you
know of any interests, hob-
bies, a sport, etc. your partner
has outside the workplace,
consider going online to see
if you can find something
connected to that activity
he would enjoy that’s within
your budget.
Dear Abby: Every year
on Facebook’s “National
Daughter’s Day,” my daugh-
ter’s mother-in-law professes
her love, respect and admi-
ration for her own daughter,
but never acknowledges her
daughter-in-law (my daugh-
ter).
Yet on “National Son’s
Day,” she posts glowing trib-
utes not only to her sons, but
also to her son-in-law.
We all live within miles of
each other, and this recurring
slight makes it difficult to act
like everything is fine when,
in truth, this is hurtful to my
daughter and to our family.
Should I address this issue
with the mother-in-law or
continue to bite my tongue?
— Dismissed in Texas
Dear Dismissed: If you are
smart, rather than address
the issue with your daughter’s
mother-in-law, who either
has the emotional intelligence
of an oyster or really doesn’t
care for your daughter, men-
tion it to your son-in-law and
point out to him that being
slighted is hurtful. There may
be a better result if HE brings
it up to his mother.
Dear Abby: I battle with a
double chin, and I loathe it.
My chin hides itself only if I
am under 126 pounds. Any-
thing over that and it’s there.
I’m not overweight, but my
double chin makes me feel
that way.
I have read that dermal
fillers in the chin can dis-
creetly get rid of this issue.
The problem? My husband.
He’s against any type of plas-
tic surgery. He doesn’t like
my double chin either, but he
wants me to only get rid of it
“naturally.”
Normally I would agree.
I have been exercising (run-
ning four times a week) with-
out success. I don’t feel com-
fortable looking this way.
I think I deserve this short-
cut. Should I get the filler
without my husband’s bless-
ing, or should I continue this
struggle?
— Taking It On the Chin
Dear Taking It: You are an
adult, and it’s your body. You
do not need permission to
do something that will help
you feel better about yourself.
If your husband is against
any type of plastic surgery
(and by the way, fillers do not
qualify as plastic surgery),
HE should forgo having it
when his frown lines begin to
look like tractor furrows and
he develops a wattle.
YOUR HOROSCOPE
By Madalyn Aslan
Stars show the kind of day you’ll have
õ õ õ õ õ DYNAMIC | õ õ õ õ POSITIVE | õ õ õ AVERAGE | õ õ SO-SO | õ DIFFICULT
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR THURSDAY, JAN. 21, 2021: Exciting,
colorful and passionate, you’re headed straight for the top. You’re both
driven and pleasure-loving, and this year your star quality allows a project to
grow and be very profitable. If single, you’re a heartbreaker and lovers never
forget you. You don’t commit this year. If attached, you work hard if you wish
to remain so. Your private life’s separate from your public life. AQUARIUS
inspires you to go far.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
õõõõõ Today underscores how emotional impulses and early family con-
ditioning have affected your financial choices, and offers insights into mak-
ing changes for the better regarding this. You will feel unexpectedly grateful.
Tonight: A cherished bond grows and matures through honest discussion.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
õõõõõ Today ushers in a renewed zest for life. Leadership skills are
present, and you’ll enjoy physical activity. This inspiring pattern continues
throughout the day. A touch of humor and tolerance helps you make the
best of complex situations. Tonight: Up late burning the midnight oil.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
õõõ Today finds you more reserved, cherishing private time. A dream
conveys important messages. Others have opposing tastes and priorities.
Compromise and tolerance will smooth over differences. Take more time out
for yourself. Tonight: Early beddie-byes and a deep slumber, for once.
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
õõõõ Healing and growth are due. A larger-than-life quality prevails, but
stay grounded and keep your perspective. Seek efficiency. Kind, talented
associates open appealing avenues of activity for you. Become more active
in community work or groups. Tonight: Online networking.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
õõõ Work hard and be patient today. Prepare a poster with pictures and af-
firmations portraying your aspirations. Use it to visualize where you want to
go with your life. Protect your professional credibility by doing the very best
you can. Tonight: Then just release the situation.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
õõõ Today encourages thoughts of travel and exchanging information. Lis-
ten carefully. Worthwhile information comes your way during casual conver-
sations. Foreign languages and imported items intrigue you. Tonight: Reach
out to a foreign-born friend or colleague residing in a land far away.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
õõõõ The afterlife and reincarnation captivate you today. Heed a message
brought by a spectral visitor or the fey folk. Strategy helps resolve any mon-
etary glitches. The sunset offers glimpses into other dimensions. Tonight:
Thinking what a strange day it has been.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
õõõ Companions will present ambitious plans and ideas. Trust your
instincts and all will be well. An established partnership is entering a new
phase. A loved one is experiencing a temporary setback or facing a legal
issue. Tonight: Your support and loyalty would be appreciated.
Flat salary cap forces teams to get creative
BY STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
In the 16 years since the sal-
ary cap has been a reality in
the NHL, it never has been this
much of a challenge to maneu-
ver.
Teams that made moves in
2019 and right up to the 2020
trade deadline expected the cap
to increase substantially from
the current $81.5 million. Then
the coronavirus pandemic hit,
the league and players’ asso-
ciation agreed to freeze the
ceiling at that number and ex-
ecutives had to get creative to
be cap-compliant for opening
night of the most unusual sea-
son in hockey history.
The defending Stanley Cup
champion Tampa Bay Light-
ning set a roster that, when in-
jury allowances are factored in,
is just $334 from the cap ceiling.
It’s a similar situation for the
St. Louis Blues, who are within
$300,000 of the cap with hopes
of adding Vladimir Tarasenko
when he’s ready to return from
another shoulder operation.
The Vegas Golden Knights
started with the an unusual
lineup of five defensemen and
13 forwards because they fig-
ured playing short on the blue
line was less risky than expos-
ing a young player to waivers.
“This is the hardest year to
manage a flat cap,” Blues gen-
eral manager Doug Armstrong
said . “It’s certainly no one’s
fault at the league or the PA
or the players or the manage-
ment. It just caught everybody
off guard.”
A team can’t be over the cap
and would have to play with
fewer than the standard 18
skaters if necessary. It has hap-
pened a handful of times since
McCollum
Continued from A7
The timing isn’t great. Not
only did the injury occur
during what so far has been
the best season of his career,
but the team is already without
center Jusuf Nurkic. Plus, it’s
McCollum’s third major foot
injury of his career dating back
to his days at Lehigh. Still, Mc-
Collum appeared to be manag-
ing the news well.
“I think I’m at the point in
my life where you control what
you can control,” McCollum
said. “I’m not going to feel
sorry for myself. I live a good
life. I’m still going to live a
good life.”
McCollum’s injury is the
latest in a run of bad luck for
the franchise over the past few
years. This season, the Blaz-
ers (8-6) were already without
forward Zach Collins (ankle)
for at least a few months, Nur-
kic for at least eight weeks and
now McCollum. Coach Terry
Stotts chalked it all up as being
a part of the NBA.
“My thoughts always go to
the player first in these situa-
tions,” Stotts said. “What they’re
going to be going through. It’s
much more how it impacts
them and how they come back
from it. Obviously, it affects our
team and we have to get back
on track and figure out ways to
win games without him. ”
Let’s recap the team’s run of
bad luck just for context:
The Blazers began last sea-
son without Nurkic, who broke
his foot in March 2019. In No-
vember of the following sea-
son, forward Zach Collins was
lost for several months with a
shoulder injury. A month later,
Rodney Hood was lost for the
season with a torn Achilles.
Nurkic and Collins returned
to the team during the bub-
ble restart last summer. There,
Collins fractured his ankle. He
Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP file
Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov, left, celebrates his goal against Toronto
during a game in 2019 in Toronto. Kucherov’s hip injury has helped the
Stanley Cup champion Lightning to stay just under the salary cap .
the cap was implemented in
2005.
What’s usually a difficult bal-
ancing act became a trapeze
show this year for GMs and
their cap gurus to save every
dollar. According to the data-
base site Puckpedia, 22 of 31
teams either started the season
using the long-term injured
reserve exemption to go over
or were within $2 million of
the cap.
The Lightning faced a
crunch before becoming bub-
ble hockey champions and
were only able to avoid more
treacherous cap gymnastics
and losses when star Nikita
Kucherov was lost for months
because of a hip injury that
required surgery. They still
gave up a second-round pick
and center Cedric Paquette in
a trade with Ottawa and had
to play opening night without
forward Tyler Johnson to make
it work. He was stashed on the
taxi squad — created this sea-
son to help teams deal with
roster headaches — after clear-
ing waivers.
“It isn’t ideal, but it’s man-
ageable,” Tampa Bay GM Julien
BriseBois said. “Part of the in-
gredients necessary to success
in the NHL is team depth. In
order to have team depth, you
need to properly manage your
cap space.”
Even without Kucherov —
who could be activated for the
playoffs when the cap doesn’t
matter — Tampa Bay is again a
title contender.
“A big part of that is what
Julien was able to do,” coach
Jon Cooper said. “To be able
to keep a group together that
had some success last year, ob-
viously, that took some work.
And you have to be prepared
for every scenario that’s going
to come at us. He was.”
Armstrong and Blues as-
sistant Ryan Miller were, too.
They went through several
“what if?” scenarios after it was
clear that forward Alex Steen
couldn’t keep playing because
of an injury.
Much like the Washington
Capitals used long-term in-
jury cap allowances to make up
for losing goaltender Henrik
Lundqvist and defenseman Mi-
chal Kempny by signing former
Boston captain Zdeno Chara,
the Blues made the most of
Steen’s retirement by adding
one of the top free agents avail-
able in Mike Hoffman just be-
fore training camp.
Oh, and they should get
Tarasenko back healthy and
under the cap just in time for
the stretch run.
“Our goal is to have him
ready,” Armstrong said.
And the dance isn’t over.
The Montreal Canadiens con-
tinue to cycle some of their top
young players through their
taxi squad for no reason other
than to bank cap space for later;
those players don’t need waiv-
ers and instead are paid a mi-
nor league salary for taxi squad
days while they practice and
await a call-up.
Sitting Stars
The NHL’s first COVID-19
outbreak came for the Dallas
Stars, who had 17 players test
positive for the coronavirus.
Their first four games were
postponed, with the new sea-
son opener scheduled for Fri-
day at Nashville, which had its
game Tuesday against Carolina
postponed.
Veteran coach Rick Bowness
is prepared for more changes.
“I’ve laid out this whole
thing and a map on a day-to-
day basis and it’s in pencil, so
we can erase it and change it,”
Bowness said. “We’ll adapt and
we’ll just roll with what each
day brings us.”
“There’s a lot of people
going through a lot worse
situations than me. So, I’ll
be OK. I’ve been through
injuries before.”
— C.J. McCollum, Trail Blazers
guard
was expected to return this sea-
son by the end of January but
recently underwent a second
surgery that could cost him
several more months.
Then, Nurkic went down
with a broken wrist last Thurs-
day while trying to steal the
ball during a loss to Indiana.
Saturday night, McCollum
broke his foot in the oddest of
ways.
He drove to the basket in the
first quarter against Atlanta.
After scoring on a layup, Mc-
Collum landed and Atlanta
center Clint Capela came down
on his foot and it twisted.
“There’s no training for a
7-footer landing on your foot,”
McCollum said. “There’s noth-
ing you can do about it.”
McCollum hopped to the
bench. He passed his normal
stress reaction test he uses but
acknowledged that his adrena-
line was also high at the time.
“I was definitely moving dif-
ferently,” he said.
McCollum figured he could
play a few more minutes but
ended up finishing the half.
“Once halftime came, it got
stiff,” he said.
McCollum sat out the re-
mainder of the game. An MRI
that night determined he had a
sprained foot.
Later that evening, the team
issued a release stating that
McCollum’s foot was fractured
but that fortunately it would
not require surgery. The frac-
ture is so small that doctors
didn’t notice it in the initial
MRI, according to McCollum.
Rich Pedroncelli/AP file
Sacramento Kings’ Buddy Hield, left, fouls Portland Trail Blazers’ C.J.
McCollum during a game in Sacramento, California, on Jan. 9. McCol-
lum will be out several weeks due to a fracture in his foot on Saturday
against the Atlanta Hawks.
Overall, McCollum said he
is in good shape compared to
past foot injuries.
In January 2013, McCollum
broke his left foot, ending his
senior season at Lehigh.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be as
low as I was when I hurt my
foot in college,” McCollum
said. “That was probably as low
as I’ve ever been besides my
grandfather. So, I’ll be all right.”
He came out OK from those
ordeals and expects to do the
same with the latest bad break.
“I like to think that since I
work so hard on my body and I
do things the right way that I’m
going to be in a boot for a few
weeks as opposed to having to
get surgery,” McCollum said.
McCollum said he isn’t expe-
riencing any pain. He will wear
a boot to protect the foot. All
he can do is rest. After some
time, he’ll be able to work out
in a pool.
In four weeks, the boot
comes off and doctors will ex-
amine his fracture.
“I don’t have a timeline,” Mc-
Collum said. “I’ll return when I
feel like myself.”
Losing McCollum, Stotts
said, will require some adjust-
ments, of course. He said the
Blazers must figure out how
to make up for the loss of his
26.7 points and five assists per
game.
Players such as Gary Trent
Jr., Rodney Hood and An-
fernee Simons will see time
at the shooting guard spot in
place of McCollum. And, of
course, Lillard might have to
take on even more of the offen-
sive load, although that’s not
ideal.
“I don’t want to overwork
Damian,” Stotts said. “Obvi-
ously, we’re going to still rely on
him to carry a lot of shoulders.
But I think it’s up to every-
body, all the players, myself, to
lighten that burden a little bit. ”
It’s not a good situation
for the team or McCollum,
from a basketball standpoint.
Still, McCollum, who said his
aunt has been diagnosed with
COVID-19, kept reiterating
that there are more serious
things going on in the world
than his foot.
“This is something,” he said,
“that I can overcome with
some time and some rest.”
UO’s 10 conference games and
play the most minutes, with Jaz
Shelley, Taylor Chavez and Se-
dona Prince not far behind and
Sydney Parrish, Maddie Scherr
and Angela Dugalic also mak-
ing regular contributions.
With turnovers being more
problematic of late, Oregon
could start to lean on its more
experienced players a bit more.
“We can’t turn the ball over
as much,” Graves said. “We
can’t deal with pressure in that
way. We’ve got to be a little
bit more patient offensively; I
think we took some really early
shots (at Arizona).”
Graves was happy with the
way the Ducks played defen-
sively in last week’s loss, but the
offense was erratic.
Washington State (7-3, 5-3)
pushed UO to the brink last
month and its three losses have
been by a combined 10 points,
with two coming in overtime.
The Cougars are easily the
Ducks’ best win of the season to
date and Friday will either be a
season sweep of what so far has
been a more poised WSU team,
or a split that results in a fourth
loss in five games for UO.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
õõõõ Today favors learning more about wellness. Rethink your dietary
and exercise habits. Others set a positive example and offer worthwhile
suggestions. It’s an ideal time to make needed changes and to examine how
hereditary influences might impact health. Tonight: Relax.
Ducks
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
“We’ve certainly put a certain
unit together a little bit more
this week. We’ve basically di-
vided up our lineup most days
in practice pretty much the
whole year. We’ve basically set
on a group that we hope that
will really work for us, then I
think we’ll play it by ear for the
rest of the game. I don’t know
if you’re going to see the same
kind of revolving door but that
remains to be seen. It’s still fluid
in practice. We still have a lot of
õõõõ Creative projects can be revamped. An old friendship is rekindled,
but for good or ill the same patterns repeat in a relationship. Others will be
attracted to you. Cultivate new friendships and follow through with artistic
ventures. Tonight: Favors tender interludes.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
õõõõõ Today brings a surprise regarding your heritage. Happiness is
shared with one you love very much. Make a special effort to communicate
with family members. A house blessing would be very beneficial. Tonight:
Use sandalwood incense to invoke a calming, helpful ambience.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
õõõõõ Today helps you focus and refine details. Others express enthu-
siasm for your suggestions. Have a brainstorming session over cups of hot
mulled cider on the longest of nights. It’s a wonderful time to write that book
you’ve been talking about. Tonight: Ideas and more ideas.
Continued from A7
Next up
Washington St. at
No. 13 Oregon
When: 5 p.m.
Friday
TV: Pac-12
players that are vying for that
time and competing.”
Graves didn’t have to go
through the entire roster to
make it clear where the demar-
cation is; the stats illustrate it.
Te-Hina Paopao, Taylor Mike-
sell, Erin Boley and Nyara Sa-
bally have each started all of