Everyone thinks Flyers managment is on crack - I think Oilers Management is on crack. They have one of the worst defences in the league and the take Nugent-Hopkins over Larsson. Good for Lou and the Devils managment to have the sense of Larsson's worth and recognize their need to strengthen their D core. How much you want to bet the Oilers suck again next year with one of the worst GAA's. Not that Nugent-Hopkins isn't a potentially great NHL center, but IMO the Oilers 1st and foremost need to help their goalie.

I would have been just as happy with taking Larsson, but the logic goes that good D-men are much easier to acquire than goal scorers, in this era of low scoring games and incredible goalies.  A team can't really go wrong loading up on offensive pieces.  Also, the Oilers have several highly regarded D prospects in the pipeline already.  Regarding last year, we had multiple injuries on D - Whitney and Smid were both out for significant periods of time, which also had impact on players like Gilbert who is much better with Whitney, for some reason.  I agree Larsson could have stepped in and made an impact immediately, but you can never go wrong taking the best player in the draft.  Considering Larrson went fourth, at least two other teams thought he wasn't the top player this year.

Welcome home, Smytty!

RNH and Ryan Smyth coming home... it's a good day to be an Oilers fan.

Sharks acquire 6-foot-5 defenseman Brent Burns & 2012 2nd Round Pick from Minnesota for Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle & 2011 1st Round Pick.

That's a head scratcher.  That's a huge overpayment for Burns - he's a good dman, but not worth a 2nd line player, a good prospect AND a 1st rounder.  Not even close.  Burns for Setoguchi might have been fair.

HUGE day of trades.

Obviously the one I care about the most - Kings send Wayne Simmonds, Prospect Jesus (Brayden Schenn), and a 2nd round pick to Philadelphia for Mike FUCKING RICHARDS.  I AM SO HAPPY.

In Philly's other trade of the day, they send Jeff Carter to the Blue Jackets for Jakub Voracek, plus first and third round draft picks.  Nash gets a real (near) elite center.  I can't wait to watch that line play.

Philly just signed Bryzgolov to a 9 year deal worth $5.6M annually.

Current rumors surrounding Calgary - They've asked Regehr to waive his no-trade to go to Buffalo.  They are also interested in Ryan Smyth of the Kings.

Edmonton is interested in reacquiring Smyth, which would make sense.  LA may be wanting to dump Smyth's cap hit to make a run and Brad Richards, though I'd consider that a long shot.

In any case, TODAY IS A GOOD DAY.

Awesome for LA, whoever's in charge in Philly is on crack.  I heard the GM seemed less than happy when announcing the trades, maybe this is an owner meddling (an owner who I hear was very very hot for Bryzgolov, too).  Trading Mike Richards for prospects that will hopefully turn into Mike Richards = 

The Flames asked Robyn Regehr to waive his no-movement clause so they can trade him to Buffalo.

Also, the Kings are talking to the Flames as well about Ryan Smyth because the Oilers are dragging their feet.

However, Smyth's $6.25 million cap hit for 2011-2012 is lunacy.

I'd hate to see Smyth in red, and I can see some value in his coming back to the Oilers as a mentor (even not liking his cap hit) but why the Flames would consider going after him is beyond me.  Latest I heard is that Smyth has refused to waive his NT clause to go to Calgary though.     I'd like to see the Oilers pick him up, even if it wouldn't be the best financial move.  Throw the fans a bone, Tambellini, maybe he'll teach the kids about grit.

OK, barely being able to hear what Bettman was saying because the fans booed him so loudly was priceless.  

God  I can't wait until Lucic hoists the cup.

Ya, what the hell was up with that?  That was a whole new level of Bettman hate.  Seemed a little inappropriate.

You obviously don't know the history of the Canucks and Bettman - nothing inappropriate about it at all. And shame on Oilers fans if they wouldn't do the same thing; Winnipeg could already have it's 1st NHL season under it's belt if it wasn't for the monumental ego of that weasel.

Shame on fans for shutting up and letting the man talk while he's trying to present the Con Smythe and the Stanley Cup, instead of booing so loud he can't do his job and get out of the way?  I noticed plenty of beer cups and other debris being thrown at him too - classy.  It was embarrassing to watch, regardless of who it was they were jeering.

OK, barely being able to hear what Bettman was saying because the fans booed him so loudly was priceless.  

God  I can't wait until Lucic hoists the cup.

Ya, what the hell was up with that?  That was a whole new level of Bettman hate.  Seemed a little inappropriate.

I love the way the Canuck crowd belts out the national anthem! I've never seen another crowd do it like that.

I guess you missed the Portland Timbers' home opener this season.

And the Oilers 06 playoff run, where our anthem singer simply stopped trying to compete with the crowd and just held up the mic for the crowd to sing at all the home games about half way through the playoffs.  One of the best moments I've ever been a part of.

Sorry, Zeke, no advice here, although we do have plenty of bus drivers. What we do need is plenty of doctors though. Maybe you can go to med school?

Is this shortage a result of state healthcare system?

I'd say it's more a result of the private healthcare system to the south of us.  All our best doctors would rather open private practices in the US and get paid truckloads for a smaller workload than work in the Canadian healthcare system and get paid the set wage that the healthcare budget allows for.  That's a very simplistic view of it, of course, but basically what it boils down to.

I'd think that over time that would degrade the overall quality of care available.  With the option to go south to make more money that would drain not only the number of doctors but the overall quality of them over a long enough time.

It does over time, yes.  Same issue with nurses and paramedics in many cases, although it's not a consistent curve - some doctors would rather practice where they're needed most instead of just following the money.

To the question about insurance, some provinces charge a monthly premium which is similar to an insurance premium which covers all the services available under the provinces health plan.  So instead of 'free' health care, you pay x dollars per month and then can use any of the services you need.  There are supplemental insurance policies as well for dental, drug, etc. if you don't have employer provided benefits.

Batman, take about a month, trade it in and pickup Skyrim.  Will pick up Battlefield sometime later on the cheap.

Sorry, Zeke, no advice here, although we do have plenty of bus drivers. What we do need is plenty of doctors though. Maybe you can go to med school?

Is this shortage a result of state healthcare system?

I'd say it's more a result of the private healthcare system to the south of us.  All our best doctors would rather open private practices in the US and get paid truckloads for a smaller workload than work in the Canadian healthcare system and get paid the set wage that the healthcare budget allows for.  That's a very simplistic view of it, of course, but basically what it boils down to.

I think Canadian politics would make you crazy.  Most of the country is far more liberal and 'politically correct' than the US.  And yes, while we have some of the best countryside in the world for fishing, hunting and that sort of thing, it comes with 7 months of cold winter, so if you're used to the southern climate you might not like it.

Respectfully, what's wrong with torrenting an episode of a TV show?    I understand not pirating a movie or a game, but TV that you pay for and just happened to miss?  Recording it on the PVR is ok, but downloading someone elses copy that they recorded on a PVR is bad?  That's new to me...

more Kate Upton niceness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FcJScBLIEX4

This was incredible.  Wow.

Morgan?  Really?  I thought the name of the show was Chuck?  Decent ep, if a little rushed... but I miss the good old days of Sarah in her Shnitzel house outfit jumping up on the counter to scare off Lester.  Should be an interesting final season, though.  Chuck as a billionaire should be good for some laughs.

That was an awesome episode, and a real piss off that we don't get to see how it ends for Destiny.  Screw Syfy.   

Just to clarify, the only fees are 5% GST (Canada sales tax), a $55 admin fee (yes, I know this is pure profit, but it's $55) and a delivery charge.  The deal above is the "All In" price - I get the GM supplier price, the $4200 rebate, and the 0% financing.  All told it looks like it's about $8500 off of MSRP.

My wife and I are thinking about buying a 2011 Chevy Traverse.  I've done the trick of emailing a bunch of different dealers and pitting them against each other, and have been fairly happy with the results, at least as far as getting different pieces of the picture from each of them, enabling me to negotiate better with the lowest couple.  (ie. what's invoice price, rebate programs, etc.)

The best deal I've been offered so far is dealer invoice + 2% (GM supplier program), minus $4200 for a current GM program, and 0% financing.  This works out to a price that's decent, although not mind blowing.  I feel like the sales guy is being pretty up front with me, after confirming some of his numbers and stories with other dealers.  But I can't decide if invoice +2% is a good deal or not.  Some reading on the internet about past incentives on Traverse didn't reveal much (so I still don't know if the $4200 rebate is good or merely average) and some people tell stories of offering dealers BELOW invoice cost, in addition to the incentives.  That makes my invoice + 2% seem not so good.

I don't want to make a ridiculous offer, but I am unsure if the offer on the table is a good one and I should counter with something just a bit smaller.  Anyone work for GM or want to tell me how this looks like it stacks up?

WRT Rowdy: we went through a phase last summer where my son's room had pee in it seemingly several times a week. He's 6 and potty trained, but prone to accidents every once in a while. However, this pee thing was out of control. We figured it wasn't the dog as she's never had an accident inside and some of the places where we found pee were not medium dog sized places. And we figured it wasn't the cat as it would've smelled way worse.

Apparently it was my son after all, possibly waking in the middle of the night and just peeing somewhere (under bed, corner, in his Lite Brite). We never confirmed it, and it has gone away, but man, it was lame at the time.

Good luck with your cat. I feel your pain, though your pain seems much worse than mine at this time.

Ya, this is definitely cat pee.  One time we found it in the baby's bed in the morning when we went to get the baby - on the other side of the crib.  I wondered for a while if it was a jealousy thing, but the cat gets an awful lot of affection from the kids (and me, when I'm not ready to throttle it on the pee days) so I can't see how.  Regardless, even if it is some psycho cat jealousy thing, it's not acceptable.

[Spoiler]

Bag, rocks, rope, creek. Solves any cat problem.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I like cats. Shut up.

Trust me, if it wasn't for his 9 year old and 7 year old protectors, this cat might live elsewhere by now.  (I wouldn't throw him in the creek, but I do know some people with acreages near by that let cats live in the barns...)

I have a similar situation with a 2 year old cat that seems to love to pee in, get this, our 1 year old's crib, as well as under it, as well as in our 7 year old's bed.  We've put multiple kitty litter boxes around the house, have to keep the childrens rooms doors closed, and each time it happens wash everything as well as treat it with enzyme cleaner to try and keep the smell out, so the cat won't smell it, but no dice.  My wife and I are ready to kill the cat (or find it a nice farm somewhere) but unfortunately it's also a favourite pet of our two older sons.  The cat is also an escape artist - we try our utmost to keep our pets indoors, I hate when other people's cats use my yard for a litter box so I don't want to do it to others, but this cat also likes to hover by doors and bolt outside every chance it gets.

I'm generally an animal person, I have a 16 year old cat and a dog that we love, and even this cat has a nice enough personality, and is great with our kids - but this pissing in the kids beds HAS to stop.  Particularly in the baby's crib.  That just makes me want to kill.  Baby > Cat.

...All of western Canada might implode if that happened.

We will?  Most folks I know in Edmonton are rooting for the Hawks.  I'm kind of indifferent, myself, but not many Canucks fans in Edmonton, or Calgary, I imagine.

That wouldn't test my hues, it would test my patience. And I failed.

Ale

Ditto, I did the first row and then got too bored to continue!  Neat test, too many hues in each row though.

No love for last night's ep?  I loved it!  It reminded me of early Chuck - much funnier than recently (Sarah's 'flash' face), and definitely an opportunity for Yvonne to show some acting chops.  Maybe I only liked it so much because I'm madly in love with Yvonne, though, and it was a Sarah centered ep.   

Rob's actually managed to annoy me now with his arrogance.

I was really hoping that Grant was gonna backstab him last night.......he's gonna have to do it soon.

I agree, I liked Rob's confidence before, and he always tempered his arrogance with likeability; but now his utter control of his team and his chortling about it is getting a little annoying.  I just don't understand why everyone on his team rushes to tell him everything immediately!  (although the buddy system is genius)

['Chuck' star Yvonne Strahovski parodies Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Ke$ha: Watch the video here!]

A little bit different set of performances (funny music video parodies, somewhat NSFW) by Yvonne...

'Chuck' star Yvonne Strahovski parodies Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Ke$ha: Watch the video here!
http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/04/12/yvonne-strahovski-college-humor-gaga-parody/

After watching that, Yvonne Strahovski is now my all time favourite actress ever.  Hot, smart and a sense of humour?  Wow.  Zachary Levi is a lucky dude just for getting to work with her.

Let's sticky this so we can point to it whenever rowdy or brett start accusing folks of not giving the zeke a chance.

You're kinda petty sometimes, hey?

edit - since you mentioned it, I started reading the thread from the top, and here's the first sentence I read that has nothing to do with the topic or anyone discussing their opinions:

"Honestly, I'm too tired right now to enter the Zeke Zone.  Hit me with your Torpedoes of Stupidity later."

If you can't handle talking to him without losing your cool, why do you reply?

Coming into a thread only to take a shot at someone is the problem, it happens a lot and derails threads quite a bit.  

Seconded.  Zeke was on topic and discussing the OP when Hep and Tilt decided to go after him.  Tilt in particular claimed that all Zeke's threads go to 'compost' or something, but he's the one that took it off topic.  I think a lot of people here just don't like the fact that Zeke has a different opinion than they do.  

Okay, I was going to remain silent since I was "outvoted" in this thread, but this post is just wrong! What people don't like about Zekester in this particular part of the forums is that he makes outrageous claims based on either no facts at all, misinterpreted facts from reliable sources, or facts from unreliable sources. When people ask him for more detail, clarification or simply call him out for being wrong, he either doesn't respond or replies with thinly veiled insults that add nothing further to the conversation. Part of participating in a forum means discussing the topic at hand. Zekester doesn't discuss. He throws random statements out there and insults anyone who dares question him.

My problems with Zekester have nothing to do with his opinion. They have to do with how he presents it and the negative effect this has on the R&P forum. If you're going to shoehorn everyone who disagrees with Zekester into a "disagrees with his opinion" box, then:

1) You clearly haven't read the threads that have spiraled out of control because of him.
2) Keep me the fuck out of it!

And that's the last I have to say about this matter. I thought my opinion about this was pretty obvious by now, but I guess I needed to clarify my position further. I'm done with Zekester and I'm done with the R&P section in this forum as responses in this thread have shown that nobody really cares about intelligent discourse here anyway, and those that do are just shoved away or ignored. How Zekester can blatantly break forum rules (like his constant series of personal insults) and still be an active member is beyond me, but I guess it marks a precedent which I am taking the utmost advantage of with this post.

Over and out!

It's just a web forum.  People are allowed to post any uninformed, uneducated or wrong facts or opinions they like.  Not everyone has to follow formal debate etiquette when they post, they're not obligated to footnote their sources for their outlandish claims, and if you don't like something he posts, or disagree with it, feel free to ignore it.  As long as he's not breaking any forum rules (which is up to the mods to enforce) how you react is entirely up to you.  His post that you don't like between two posts that you do like doesn't prevent you from having 'intelligent discourse' with anyone.

Coming into a thread only to take a shot at someone is the problem, it happens a lot and derails threads quite a bit.   

Seconded.  Zeke was on topic and discussing the OP when Hep and Tilt decided to go after him.  Tilt in particular claimed that all Zeke's threads go to 'compost' or something, but he's the one that took it off topic.  I think a lot of people here just don't like the fact that Zeke has a different opinion than they do. 

damn, got notice NewEgg had it, went over, put in my cart and between the time I logged in and got back to my cart it was out of stock.  either they didn't get many or they made a mistake in listing it.

You have this kind of hardware in your gaming rig, so presumably you must play a lot of games, and you spend 12 hours a day posting on GT... when do you eat or sleep and what do you do for a living?

3 year old Weber Genesis, sits on my deck in it's Weber cover for 7 months of Edmonton winter every year (-30) and works great every summer.  The electric starter only lasted 2 months, but that's how it usually goes.

oh good lord, numerous web sites are now reporting that CBS wants Sheen back on TaaHM. 

Moral of this story:  If you can make someone money, they will let you kill important members of their family at your leisure and still let you have health benefits.

Wow, if that's true then they're basically surrendering - Charlie Sheen's ego is going to explode (probably with the force of a thousand suns or some such)

I thought it was hilarious.  I'm actually really liking season 4... it's light, not melodramatic like season 3, and everyone looks like they're having fun.  I'm ok with Chuck basically having super powers, sure, it's not the same as season 1 but it's still funny.  And the nerd jokes are still there.  "Case-logic!"  Jeff and Lester were always just comedy relief, and they're still awesome.

I would really love to go to a Jimmy Kimmel party.  How does he get all of them to appear in a skit like this?!

I absolutely love it from the LA side. 

Teubert was LA's... 6th rated defensive prospect behind Forbort, Hickey, Loktionov, Muzzin, and Deslauriers.  He's quite a few years away from the NHL given that the Kings just found him AHL ready this year.  Also given that there's basically 1 NHL roster spot available on the Kings for the next few years (Doughty, Johnson, Mitchell, Scuderi, Greene, Open (Martinez this year), this helps clear the logjam a bit.  The only positive Teubert has over the other Kings prospect d-men is that the's very mean, which would've been nice.

I was never a fan of Teubert and always thought him to be a reach/reaction pick from Lombardi, so to turn that, a late first round pick, and a 3rd round pick into a winger for Kopitar is awesome work.

   Fracking stupid Tambellini.  Grr.  With Smyth, Greene, Stoll and now Penner there, LA is turning into ex-Oilers paradise.  Guess I'm cheering for LA in the playoffs.

edit: Just watched a press conference with Penner where he says he was somewhat surprised, disappointed, enjoys the new atmosphere on the Oilers very much and would have been very willing to talk about extending his contract, if they had approached him about it.  That just pisses me off more.

Yeah I don't understand why you trade a player who actually likes it in Edmonton, as there are seemingly so few of them .

This may make you feel better though:

Question: You had invested a lot in Teubert. What was it like to give him up?

LOMBARDI: “That’s not easy. When I was down in Manchester, he has come a long way. I would say that he started off a little slowly, coming out of his draft year, but he arguably was one of our most improved players down there. I think, probably, the one reason I was able to do this is because we have Matt Greene. What I saw in Manchester was very much, in a lot of ways, a young Matt Greene. So I think Edmonton has got a good player here. He certainly has an m.o. that’s attractive. I think he’s still got some development to do, but there was no question that, with what I saw in Manchester, that he’s on the right track. Like I said, if I didn’t have Matt Greene on this team — and hopefully Greener is going to be here a while — this is something that I would have looked a little more hesitantly at.”

So Penner for Matt Greene and a late round draft pick?  Ugh.  I wouldn't do that trade, and we're not even getting Greene, we're getting a potential Matt Greene.  No... doesn't really make me feel better.  Greene here was just a penalty magnet, although I suppose that's what you get when you look for a 'mean' defenceman.  For a 25 goal scorer on a team that lacks size and goal scoring (at the moment), I'm looking for a potential Drew Doughty or Jack Johnson, not a 3 years away number 4 d-man.  I don't really get it.

I absolutely love it from the LA side.  

Teubert was LA's... 6th rated defensive prospect behind Forbort, Hickey, Loktionov, Muzzin, and Deslauriers.  He's quite a few years away from the NHL given that the Kings just found him AHL ready this year.  Also given that there's basically 1 NHL roster spot available on the Kings for the next few years (Doughty, Johnson, Mitchell, Scuderi, Greene, Open (Martinez this year), this helps clear the logjam a bit.  The only positive Teubert has over the other Kings prospect d-men is that the's very mean, which would've been nice.

I was never a fan of Teubert and always thought him to be a reach/reaction pick from Lombardi, so to turn that, a late first round pick, and a 3rd round pick into a winger for Kopitar is awesome work.

   Fracking stupid Tambellini.  Grr.  With Smyth, Greene, Stoll and now Penner there, LA is turning into ex-Oilers paradise.  Guess I'm cheering for LA in the playoffs.

edit: Just watched a press conference with Penner where he says he was somewhat surprised, disappointed, enjoys the new atmosphere on the Oilers very much and would have been very willing to talk about extending his contract, if they had approached him about it.  That just pisses me off more.

The more I think about it, the less I like the deal.

Penner is a consistent 25 goal scorer, and on a better team (future Oilers or Kings today) is likely a 30 - 35 goal scorer.  He's also a big body who controls the puck very well.  The Oilers don't have a replacement for either of those two things.

In return we get a prospect D who's apparently still a couple years out, and optimistically might be a number 3 or 4.  He's not going to be a star, he might be a steady D man.  We also get a 20ish pick, and some other pick that's likely destined to end up playing in the AHL.  Is there any scenario where those picks turn into the missing 25 goals in the next 2 - 3 years?  Extremely unlikely. 

In the best case scenario, it seems like this simply breaks even for the Oilers.  In the more likely case, the Oilers lose in the short term and in the long term.  Bad deal, Tambellini.  Wonder how many more years of 'rebuilding' this adds, and what impact it has on the development of the kids, when you take away a mentor and one of the only successful goal scorers in the room.  Feels to me like the Oilers caved into the pressure of making a change, just like when they signed Khabibulin a few years ago unnecessarily.

Penner for Teubert and a first round pick, along with a second round pick...  Not sure what I think.  Seems fairly even.  Penners going to be a 30 goal scorer beside a Kopitar and probably will be a little more motivated on a contender.  Is Teubert projected as a 2 or 3 D-man?  I'm hearing Penner was interested in staying an Oiler, but certainly we need help on the blue line more than we need a winger.  Not sure what losing 25 goals a year is going to do to this team next season, though.

Hemsky is certainly very skilled, but he's also played a complete season just once in his career and is on a downward trend on the injury side.  He takes a pounding, but so do most first line wingers and lots of them make it through many consecutive seasons without missing significant time.  It's not a major knock on the guy, but you certainly can't count on him to play 82 games when he hasn't done so but once in the past.

I think you've pretty much already stated the reasons why the Oil would consider moving Hemsky: Hall, Eberle, MSP, and even Omark.  They have lots of first line wingers.  They, as you've stated, don't have a first line C.

As far as Schenn - he projects as at least a 2nd line Center (that's where the Kings would slot him, given that Kopitar has the #1C spot locked up) but could certainly be a #1C.  Nothing is a lock, though Schenn has obviously really upped the ante on his value over the lasts 6 months or so.

Ultimately I don't actually think the Oil and the Kings are good trading partners.  LA wants a first line LW (probably not named Penner) and Edmonton wants Schenn.  Edmonton does not have a first line LW with the value to trade for Schenn.  There may be some smaller trade for Penner, but it'd involve some of LA's defensive prospects and picks, I'd figure.

The thing about Hemsky isn't just that he takes a pounding from the other team, it's that he plays tough.  He hits.  He fights hard in the corners - far harder than a comparable playmaking winger on most teams would.  It's true that he usually goes down for 10 or so games a season, but I'd attribute that more to the fact that he rarely has a supporting cast to protect him from thugs (Regher has made a career of dirty hits on Hemsky, because until recently there was nothing the Oilers would do about it) more than any fragility.  However, I suppose if you're concerned with losing 10 or so games a season it's a valid point.

Omark is the only guy in the rookie group that to me plays the same role as Hemsky, and there are questions on him right now... his defense is much worse than Hemsky, and his attitude may not be where they want it.  He's got the creativity and skill, probably, but I'm in the camp that says you never trade a known positive quantity for an unknown - and Omark is still very much a question mark.  He might be Hemsky; but he might be Robert Nilsson, too.

Everything I'm hearing says the same as you, though - Edm wants Schenn, and LA refuses to give him up.  That's fine with me - Schenn looks like he might be good, but we have more prospects than we know what to do with in the system, and precious few known superstars.  Hemsky has never had a Hall or Eberle to play with - he's always had to make due with grinders like Horcoff.  If he can make Horcoff look like an all star I'd love to see him play with a mature Hall in a couple years.

Hemsky's the one guy (plus the rookies, of course) on the team I'd consider untouchable.  If they trade him I think it's another Ryan Smith / Curtis Glencross level mistake by the organization.  The only way they should be trying to trade him this year is if they've already approached him with a contract extension of his choice and he's declined.  If he wants out, then I respectfully understand and by all means, lets get some value for him.  But if he wants to be an Oiler in the next few years, they should tie him up for a long time.

Personally, after the suck that was the G.I. Joe trailer I was expecting an unfaithful rendition of cartoon I grew up with that now focused on power-armoured soldiers. After seeing the film, I was pleasantly surprised at how little the power-armour factored into the story and enjoyed the homage to my childhood. For me, G.I. Joe was very similar to the J.J. Abrams edition of Star Trek - a fun romp through familiar territory to establish a new cannon. Both were obviously designed as set-up for future exploration of their universes and I honestly look forward to seeing where they take both from here.

Granted, Star Trek was a much more solid film overall and has the same creative team behind its sequel...

Actually, that's an interesting comparison that I hadn't considered before.  Relatively speaking, I thought GI Joe was a more faithful and better take on the original material than Star Trek, which, while being an entertaining, well made film, in my opinion makes a mockery of Star Trek in the past.  I enjoyed GI Joe and thought it was a pretty effective way to put those characters on the screen and stay true to the material.  Chris Pine and Skylar and co. certainly nailed their parts, the effects were outstanding, but the script for Star Trek infuriated me and felt like a slap in the face to any fan of Trek from the last 30 years.