MeeBay Forum » and they have Ryan OReilly (who shifted to wing last season

PRETORIA, South Africa - Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp argued fiercely in the turbulent weeks before he killed her, and the athletes girlfriend told him she was sometimes scared by his behaviour, which included jealous outbursts in front of other people, according to phone messages revealed at the Olympians murder trial on Monday. "Im scared of u sometimes and how u snap at me and of how u will react to me," Reeva Steenkamp texted Pistorius, in a message read out in court by police Capt. Francois Moller. In another message, Steenkamp wrote to the double-amputee runner: "I cant be attacked by outsiders for dating u AND be attacked by you, the one person I deserve protection from." The messages suggested both lovers were experiencing emotional insecurity, though the exchanges revealed in court reflected prosecutors efforts to portray Pistorius as an aggressor with a short fuse, matching earlier testimony from a former girlfriend who had said he sometimes shouted at her. In one message, the runner indicated Steenkamp had not told him the full story about smoking "weed," or using drugs, while she defended past conduct with the declaration: "I wasnt a stripper or a ho," a slang term for prostitute. The court adjourned with Moller expected to return to the witness box on Tuesday. He has not yet revealed if police recovered any phone messages or communications from the night of the killing on Feb. 14, 2013. Moller said that from Steenkamps phone he obtained more than 1,000 exchanges with Pistorius on WhatsApp and other phone messaging applications. Moller said he received as evidence two BlackBerry phones, two iPhones, two iPads and a Mac computer from Pistorius house the day after the shooting death of Steenkamp. The data on Steenkamps phone would print to more than 35,000 pages, said Moller. Of the fraction of exchanges between the couple, he said that about 90 per cent were what he called normal and "loving" exchanges. In Steenkamps message about being scared of the athlete, she also added: "You make me happy 90% of the time and I think we are amazing together." She goes on to talk about Pistorius snapping at her about chewing gum and talking in an accent, and then writes: "I just want to love and be loved. Be happy and make someone SO happy. Maybe we cant do that for each other. Cos right now I know u arent happy and I am certainly very unhappy and sad." The long message was sent after the two attended a friends engagement party and apparently left early because she said he got upset and jealous. As Moller read the message, Pistorius, who had been looking at a book of the compiled messages, closed his eyes. Tears fell to his lap. He wiped his eyes with a handkerchief and regained the composure he held through most of the day. The runner apologized for his behaviour in replies to Steenkamps message, according to the testimony. Moller also read messages exchanged after a shooting incident at Tashas restaurant in Johannesburg about a month before the fatal shooting. Boxer Kevin Lerena and Darren Fresco, a onetime friend of Pistorius, testified that the Olympian asked Fresco to take the blame for a shot that went off after the loaded gun was passed to Pistorius under the table. In the phone message exchange, the 27-year-old runner explained to 29-year-old Steenkamp: "Angel, please dont say a thing to anyone ... the guys promised not to say a thing," he wrote. She then replied: "I have no idea what youre talking about ;)" Pistorius has pleaded not guilty to a firearms charge related to that episode. Earlier Monday a neighbour testified that she heard gunshots as well as screams from both a man and a woman on the night that Pistorius fatally shot Steenkamp. Anette Stipps testimony matched some evidence given by other witnesses who said they also heard a woman screaming around the time that Pistorius killed Steenkamp before dawn on Valentines Day last year. According to Pistorius, he thought Steenkamp was in bed when he fired his 9 mm pistol. He did not describe any woman screaming. The defence has countered that neighbours actually heard Pistorius screaming in a high-pitched voice after he shot Steenkamp. Pistorius has said he shot his girlfriend by mistake through a locked toilet door, thinking she was an intruder in his home. Stipp said she heard what she thought were gunshots on the night of the shooting, and then heard the "terrified, terrified" screams of a woman. Stipp recalled looking out from a balcony at two houses with lights on in the gated estate where her family and Pistorius lived. "There was definitely a female screaming for quite a period," Anette Stipp said. She said she also heard a mans voice. The St. Louis Blues brought in the premier unrestricted free agent centre, and did it without breaking the bank. Numbers Game looks at the Blues signing of Paul Stastny. The Blues Get: C Paul Stastny. Stastny, 28, has been a strong two-way centre, capable of putting up points and, more recently, taking on tougher assignments while remaining productive. Since arriving in the league in 2006-2007, Stastny has 458 points in 538 games, which ranks 34th. While his possession stats havent been dominant, it needs to be considered that they have been accrued in Colorado, where theyve been strong in relative terms, and hes among a select group of forwards to face quality opposition and start more of his shifts in the defensive zone, yet still have strong relative possession stats. Joining St. Louis is a terrific situation for Stastny too. The Blues had a contending team last season that could have used an offensive boost and Stastny ought to provide that and with last years top line -- Alex Steen, David Backes and T.J. Oshie -- capable of handling a lot of heavy lifting (tough matchups, defensive zone starts), Stastny should be freed up for more of an offensive role than the all-around responsibility he had with Colorado. Also working in Stastnys favour is that by moving to a team with much better puck possession stats, there will be more opportunity for Stastny to play in the offensive zone and if he ends up with rising young wingers Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko (or fellow U.S. Olympian T.J. Oshie), it would be easy enough to forecast that line being very productive. Theres also some shuffling to do among Blues forwards, as they have signed C Jori Lehtera and that could mean Patrik Berglund and David Backes shifting to wings, leaving Vladimir Sobotka and Maxim Lapierre in the third and fourth-line spots.dddddddddddd The team that Stastny is leaving, the Colorado Avalanche, will have their hands full trying to match their 2013-2014 regular season success, but the team does at least have options down the middle, with Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon more than suitable on the top two lines, and they have Ryan OReilly (who shifted to wing last season) available if needed. Losing Stastny means tougher minutes for those guys, but the Avalanche at least have the personnel to withstand a loss at centre. The ideal part of this deal for St. Louis is that they didnt have to get into an outrageous deal in order to acquire the player who was clearly the best free agent centre on the market. Stastny wanted to go to St. Louis and was willing to take a shorter term than he might have made elsewhere. Signed for four years and $28-million, Stastny gets a raise on what he was making in Colorado, joins the team with which his father, Peter, finished his career and its not an unreasonable price for what Paul Stastny provides. If Stastny can thrive in an offensive role, hell give the Blues a legitimate chance to get into the discussion with the best teams in the Western Conference and thats all that can be asked from a contending team when they dip into the free agent pool. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '