Okay... I would like to know what in the world is going on in Pittsburgh? Yet another member of the black and Vegas gold was added to the M*A*S*H unit last night when Brooks Orpik got hit in the hand with a puck during the 2nd period. So, with that, I think that just about every member of the Pens has now been hurt save Disco Dan, Katie O'Malley and Iceburgh. I know that teams sometimes go through rashes of injuries... it's normal in an 82 game season, that also includes a few weeks of preseason games, things are going to happen. You will have bumps and bruises, a torn ACL, and even a concussion or two; but honestly, I have never seen it as bad as it is for this team. Even the situation with the Canucks defense pales in comparison to this bullshit.
With this, I have several thoughts on the situation: What in the hell pissed the hockey gods off so much that they would drop their reign of terror over one team? Were they mad that the Pens looked really good on 24/7 and showed what a shit show the Craps are? Was it Gretzky playing with voodoo dolls because Sid was starting to pull away from the rest of the league and would break some of his records? Did Bettman get a little too into his Ouija board and brought up Fruma Sarah and she is a Flyers fan? In all seriousness, it could be as simple as with Jordan Staal out, others tried to pick up the slack and that was like a rock chip in the windshield. Comrie's hip goes, then Malkin's knee got banged up the first time, which was followed by Bing's head getting pounded not once but twice; and we get a domino effect. All I can say is that I'm glad that they have a GM like Lord Rejean who can wheel and deal and has a plethora of good talent in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Wheeling.
Speaking of Wheeling, I love how GMRS dealt with an unhappy situation. A couple of weeks ago, it seems that one of their prospects, Casey Pierro-Zabotel who used to play for the Vancouver Giants, has a wife and she was unhappy with the way she perceived the Nailers were treating her husband. So she voiced this displeasure all over Twitter, including calling the Pens a "shit organization", until a Pens fan who I follow nailed her on it. Of course, she tried to back track and say it wasn't about Casey or the team; but less than two days later, her account was gone and so was her husband to Cincinnati on a loan. Don't fuck with the bull son... you'll get the horns!
But anyway... the Penguins have made two trades in the past week: one with Dallas for Neal and Niskanen and just this morning Alexei Kovalev was brought back from the Sens. These additions will be helpful to a team that somehow is still in 2nd place in the division and 4th in the conference; but hopefully we can see some of the other boys come back soon or even with these guys, it's going to be a very short playoff run.
Showing posts with label Guins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guins. Show all posts
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Friday, December 4, 2009
As promised.
Kept my eye on a few games last night, most notably the Sabres game and the Pens game.
As I watched buffalo take a nice lead on the Habs I began to wonder if Ryan Miller would get the shut out instead of just a win. The Habs ended up getting two by him but it in no way takes away from a well played overall game. Watching the slugs in the past when they would go up, you just knew a let down would come and their opponent would get back into the game and make games tight. Not great on the nerves. But now they are playing with confidence and one or two goals doesn't seem to change their game. Kudos for finally getting the dreaded system.
The Pens game was a different story. The Avalanche took an early lead and played a pretty good game until a late goal in the first sorta started the wheels coming off. Not to mention they didn't have Craig Anderson in goal (he was dinged by the Panther's Keith Ballard [who decided to take on goalies from other teams] who Adam Foote promptly beat the shit out of).
I think Sidney Crosby is on a personal mission to get his name on more trophies this year - maybe those of individual nature. If it were another player, I'd doubt his ability to keep it up but with Crosby, I don't think anything is impossible right now.
I don't think I like the new Pearl Jam tune. And the games tonight are boring. Good thing I won't be home.
As I watched buffalo take a nice lead on the Habs I began to wonder if Ryan Miller would get the shut out instead of just a win. The Habs ended up getting two by him but it in no way takes away from a well played overall game. Watching the slugs in the past when they would go up, you just knew a let down would come and their opponent would get back into the game and make games tight. Not great on the nerves. But now they are playing with confidence and one or two goals doesn't seem to change their game. Kudos for finally getting the dreaded system.
The Pens game was a different story. The Avalanche took an early lead and played a pretty good game until a late goal in the first sorta started the wheels coming off. Not to mention they didn't have Craig Anderson in goal (he was dinged by the Panther's Keith Ballard [who decided to take on goalies from other teams] who Adam Foote promptly beat the shit out of).
I think Sidney Crosby is on a personal mission to get his name on more trophies this year - maybe those of individual nature. If it were another player, I'd doubt his ability to keep it up but with Crosby, I don't think anything is impossible right now.
I don't think I like the new Pearl Jam tune. And the games tonight are boring. Good thing I won't be home.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Stanley hangover
I've spent the last two days scanning the interweb for information and photos of the Penguins celebrations (Sunday at the ball park, the parade yesterday) with an odd feeling of glee and jealously. It was the Wings last year and time moves on to another team to be on top. I'm honestly ok with that and I think I have a stronger tie to a lot of the Penguin players watching them so much this year (and nice new tattoo Duper!). Over all, I've enjoyed it. But now I'm ready for camp to start anew and to see all 30 teams take the ice on with a fair shot at a parade of their own (I'm looking at you Buffalo).
But first! We have some unfinished business to take care of: NHL awards are Thursday, the Draft is next weekend, July 1st brings free agency, and lest we forget the ongoing saga of the Phoenix Coyotes (which really must suck for their fans). Much to do in the up coming days before we can really enjoy the summer and put our toes in the sand and bid 2008-2009 NHL season a farewell. Keep your eyes peeled for Chuck A Pucks take on all of it.
Tomorrow: Men in tuxes! Uh, I mean the Puckers take on the NHL awards.
Until tomorrow...
But first! We have some unfinished business to take care of: NHL awards are Thursday, the Draft is next weekend, July 1st brings free agency, and lest we forget the ongoing saga of the Phoenix Coyotes (which really must suck for their fans). Much to do in the up coming days before we can really enjoy the summer and put our toes in the sand and bid 2008-2009 NHL season a farewell. Keep your eyes peeled for Chuck A Pucks take on all of it.
Tomorrow: Men in tuxes! Uh, I mean the Puckers take on the NHL awards.
Until tomorrow...
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Buy Sam a drink and get his dog one too!
That's life
That's what all the people say
You're riding high in April
You're shot down in May
I know I'm gonna change that tune
When I'm back on top in June.
Those words that Frank Sinatra sang pretty much summed up the Pittsburgh Penguins and their entire season this year. After having the dream of the Cup stolen away by the Red Wings a very short summer before; Sidney Crosby and the Penguins began their 2008-2009 with a clean slate and a hope to not only return to the playoffs but to fight for a chance to get that shiny bowl. However they knew that it was not going to be easy; and boy howdy was that the truth. In fact at times, there were times where even making the playoffs seemed about as far away as the moon.
Now, I’m not your average Penguins fan; in fact I’ve only been more than a casual observer for about four years. Being on the West Coast and a child of the 80’s, we didn’t get the plethora of coverage of the Penguins like we do nowadays; but my sister liked them some and there was CBC and ESPN, so we were able to see Le Magnifique and Company now and again then more often when it would come around to playoff times. Then the summer after the NHL settled the lockout, one of my all time favorite players, Mark Recchi, signed on for a second tour of duty with Pittsburgh and then they drafted this boy named Crosby who they said was the Next One. Well, I saw a whole lot of games with the Great One, so I decided to find out just what all the fuss was about in the town of the black and Vegas gold. Then the next year, the drama with getting Malkin over here made the news and after that I was hooked.
Then this season began; but before they could even think about going to training camp, Ray Shero was going to have to replace some of the key cogs to the machine that got them to the Finals who decided that Pittsburgh was not going to be their address this year. One of those pieces is Ryan Malone, who wasn’t offered a contract even for a hometown discount; so he tested the free agent market and signed with Tampa Bay taking Adam Hall and Gary Roberts with him. Others tempted by greener pastures, like George Laraque and Jarkko Ruutu, headed north; and the hardest one to swallow was Marian Hossa. He not only decided to reject the offers made to him by Ray Shero; but he signed with the Red Wings only weeks after the end of the Cup Finals, causing the Pens Nation to throw back their heads and howl. Then what seemed to make a bad situation worse, or at least it did at the time, was the signing of Miroslav Satan, Matt Cooke and Rusty Fedetenko. Some Pens fans thought was a last ditch effort to salvage what he could rather than go after what they thought was better talent.
Camp finally started, which lead into the exhibition season and a meeting with the Tampa Bay Lightning, which should have been fairly mundane; but the hockey gods were bored that night. Sergei Gonchar dislocated his shoulder on a late hit and it ended up needing surgery to repair it. With Sarge out for up to six months, the power play that could be sporadic at time lost its quarterback and number one defenseman; so the team and the coach set out to regroup and after a decent preseason, they headed to Sweden to open the year against the same team that lured 3 of their mates down south. It was a good trip for them, splitting the games; and they were able to keep a decent winning pattern through the end of November which was probably one of their best months of the season.
Then the wheels began to fall off screw by screw, axle by axle, until finally December came and went as did January with only ten wins combined in those two months. Something had to change, and we fans weren't sure what it was; but it needed to be soon if they were going to make the postseason and break the "Finals curse". Finally, the powers that be in the Penguins front office had had enough, and on February 15th, Michel Therrien was fired. Honestly, I was surprised it took as long as it did. From all the sources around the league that I read it appeared there had been a mutiny brewing and there were times that it was pretty evident in the game play and the scores in those games. I could never figure out what exactly it was about Mike that the boys had issues with; but then I'm just some chick 3000 miles away; I'm not in that locker room every day with them. Maybe it was just a whole bunch of small things that turned into a bigger one, like a rubber band ball that you keep adding too until it's the size of your cat. I think that this ball got really really big and finally one time he gave it one push forward too many and it rolled back on him.
A few days later, the Pens management promoted Dan Bylsma, who had been a player just a few years before and was the coach of the babyPens in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as the interim coach. There were also a few other new faces on the bench with Disco Dan a few weeks later with the promotion of Tom Fitzgerald to Assistant Coach, the gaining of Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz through trades and grabbing Craig Adams off the waiver wire. These moves were questioned at the time, but at usual, GMRS knew what he was doing way before he ever pulled the trigger. The only bad thing about the Kunitz trade was the loss of d-man Ryan Whitney. He was and is a fan favorite, but I think he needed a change of scenery; and seeing his play with the Ducks the last part of the season as well as the Ducks' own amazing run through the playoffs, I think it was a win-win on both sides.
Once Disco Dan got settled into his office at the Mellon, it was almost like we were brought into a parallel world. The boys were smiling and playing better; and the most important thing was that they were winning! In fact they went 18–3–4, including 10–1–2 in March, and lost only one home game. After being at .500 and in 10th place in the conference at one point it looked like the Pens might just have a chance to go for Lord Stanley again. The Pens were in 4th place at the end of the season and had home ice; but in 5th place was their arch rival, the Flyers.
The Conference Finals with them last year was brutal and the regular season games were no picnic; but with the new attitude that Bing and the boys had, we fans were pretty confident that they could handle it. And handle it they did in 5 games, which made all Pens fans smile. Then came the Washington Capitals which was probably the most exciting 7 game series I've ever seen, and included dueling hat-tricks by Ovechkin and Sid in game 2. It was ups and downs and here and there and in the end, the boys were victorious. Then a bit of a break again the Carolina Hurricanes, going only 4 games and the sweep. The Canes were gassed by the time the Pens got to them after two brutal 7 game series of their own against the Bruins and the Devils; and they just got clobbered by the black and gold machine that Danny B had built over the past few months.
Then... just as they were celebrating winning the Prince of Wales trophy, it happened: The Wings repeated as Campbell Conference Champs and a rematch of last year's finals was on. This series started pretty much like last year's, minus Fleur falling on his face at the Joe; but there were some differences. Last year they looked totally outplayed where this time they looked like they had more confidence and were holding their own. Then when it went back to Mellon, of course, they were light's out; and along came game 5 back at JLA. As awful and badly as the game was for our boys in black, I really think it helped them step back and focus... really get their shit together and snap out of whatever funk they had been there when they were on the road. Game 6 was a repeat of 2 and 3; which meant one thing and that was game 7 back in Detroit. It was like Rocky and Apollo Creed in the second Rocky movie where they're both lying on the mat gasping for breath and finally Rocky pulls himself back up and wins.
That was what happened last night at the Joe. The Penguins, who had been to Hell and back, had finally gotten to that place where kids dream about in their driveways. I started to cry when the horn sounded... not all out sobbing, but a few tears in my eyes. They were for not only the boys who had never won it like Sarge and Miro and the young guys who worked so hard during the year, as well as Disco losing game 7 as a player in '03; but because 4 months ago this would have not been even thought possible, yet here it was.
Anyway... I've babbled on far too long. Gonna go catch a nap; but first a few videos...
A montage of the player intros they have on the Ceeb including Disco and TommyFitz...
Fleur and his potty mouth...
and TSN's really awesome closing montage...
That's what all the people say
You're riding high in April
You're shot down in May
I know I'm gonna change that tune
When I'm back on top in June.
Those words that Frank Sinatra sang pretty much summed up the Pittsburgh Penguins and their entire season this year. After having the dream of the Cup stolen away by the Red Wings a very short summer before; Sidney Crosby and the Penguins began their 2008-2009 with a clean slate and a hope to not only return to the playoffs but to fight for a chance to get that shiny bowl. However they knew that it was not going to be easy; and boy howdy was that the truth. In fact at times, there were times where even making the playoffs seemed about as far away as the moon.
Now, I’m not your average Penguins fan; in fact I’ve only been more than a casual observer for about four years. Being on the West Coast and a child of the 80’s, we didn’t get the plethora of coverage of the Penguins like we do nowadays; but my sister liked them some and there was CBC and ESPN, so we were able to see Le Magnifique and Company now and again then more often when it would come around to playoff times. Then the summer after the NHL settled the lockout, one of my all time favorite players, Mark Recchi, signed on for a second tour of duty with Pittsburgh and then they drafted this boy named Crosby who they said was the Next One. Well, I saw a whole lot of games with the Great One, so I decided to find out just what all the fuss was about in the town of the black and Vegas gold. Then the next year, the drama with getting Malkin over here made the news and after that I was hooked.
Then this season began; but before they could even think about going to training camp, Ray Shero was going to have to replace some of the key cogs to the machine that got them to the Finals who decided that Pittsburgh was not going to be their address this year. One of those pieces is Ryan Malone, who wasn’t offered a contract even for a hometown discount; so he tested the free agent market and signed with Tampa Bay taking Adam Hall and Gary Roberts with him. Others tempted by greener pastures, like George Laraque and Jarkko Ruutu, headed north; and the hardest one to swallow was Marian Hossa. He not only decided to reject the offers made to him by Ray Shero; but he signed with the Red Wings only weeks after the end of the Cup Finals, causing the Pens Nation to throw back their heads and howl. Then what seemed to make a bad situation worse, or at least it did at the time, was the signing of Miroslav Satan, Matt Cooke and Rusty Fedetenko. Some Pens fans thought was a last ditch effort to salvage what he could rather than go after what they thought was better talent.
Camp finally started, which lead into the exhibition season and a meeting with the Tampa Bay Lightning, which should have been fairly mundane; but the hockey gods were bored that night. Sergei Gonchar dislocated his shoulder on a late hit and it ended up needing surgery to repair it. With Sarge out for up to six months, the power play that could be sporadic at time lost its quarterback and number one defenseman; so the team and the coach set out to regroup and after a decent preseason, they headed to Sweden to open the year against the same team that lured 3 of their mates down south. It was a good trip for them, splitting the games; and they were able to keep a decent winning pattern through the end of November which was probably one of their best months of the season.
Then the wheels began to fall off screw by screw, axle by axle, until finally December came and went as did January with only ten wins combined in those two months. Something had to change, and we fans weren't sure what it was; but it needed to be soon if they were going to make the postseason and break the "Finals curse". Finally, the powers that be in the Penguins front office had had enough, and on February 15th, Michel Therrien was fired. Honestly, I was surprised it took as long as it did. From all the sources around the league that I read it appeared there had been a mutiny brewing and there were times that it was pretty evident in the game play and the scores in those games. I could never figure out what exactly it was about Mike that the boys had issues with; but then I'm just some chick 3000 miles away; I'm not in that locker room every day with them. Maybe it was just a whole bunch of small things that turned into a bigger one, like a rubber band ball that you keep adding too until it's the size of your cat. I think that this ball got really really big and finally one time he gave it one push forward too many and it rolled back on him.
A few days later, the Pens management promoted Dan Bylsma, who had been a player just a few years before and was the coach of the babyPens in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as the interim coach. There were also a few other new faces on the bench with Disco Dan a few weeks later with the promotion of Tom Fitzgerald to Assistant Coach, the gaining of Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz through trades and grabbing Craig Adams off the waiver wire. These moves were questioned at the time, but at usual, GMRS knew what he was doing way before he ever pulled the trigger. The only bad thing about the Kunitz trade was the loss of d-man Ryan Whitney. He was and is a fan favorite, but I think he needed a change of scenery; and seeing his play with the Ducks the last part of the season as well as the Ducks' own amazing run through the playoffs, I think it was a win-win on both sides.
Once Disco Dan got settled into his office at the Mellon, it was almost like we were brought into a parallel world. The boys were smiling and playing better; and the most important thing was that they were winning! In fact they went 18–3–4, including 10–1–2 in March, and lost only one home game. After being at .500 and in 10th place in the conference at one point it looked like the Pens might just have a chance to go for Lord Stanley again. The Pens were in 4th place at the end of the season and had home ice; but in 5th place was their arch rival, the Flyers.
The Conference Finals with them last year was brutal and the regular season games were no picnic; but with the new attitude that Bing and the boys had, we fans were pretty confident that they could handle it. And handle it they did in 5 games, which made all Pens fans smile. Then came the Washington Capitals which was probably the most exciting 7 game series I've ever seen, and included dueling hat-tricks by Ovechkin and Sid in game 2. It was ups and downs and here and there and in the end, the boys were victorious. Then a bit of a break again the Carolina Hurricanes, going only 4 games and the sweep. The Canes were gassed by the time the Pens got to them after two brutal 7 game series of their own against the Bruins and the Devils; and they just got clobbered by the black and gold machine that Danny B had built over the past few months.
Then... just as they were celebrating winning the Prince of Wales trophy, it happened: The Wings repeated as Campbell Conference Champs and a rematch of last year's finals was on. This series started pretty much like last year's, minus Fleur falling on his face at the Joe; but there were some differences. Last year they looked totally outplayed where this time they looked like they had more confidence and were holding their own. Then when it went back to Mellon, of course, they were light's out; and along came game 5 back at JLA. As awful and badly as the game was for our boys in black, I really think it helped them step back and focus... really get their shit together and snap out of whatever funk they had been there when they were on the road. Game 6 was a repeat of 2 and 3; which meant one thing and that was game 7 back in Detroit. It was like Rocky and Apollo Creed in the second Rocky movie where they're both lying on the mat gasping for breath and finally Rocky pulls himself back up and wins.
That was what happened last night at the Joe. The Penguins, who had been to Hell and back, had finally gotten to that place where kids dream about in their driveways. I started to cry when the horn sounded... not all out sobbing, but a few tears in my eyes. They were for not only the boys who had never won it like Sarge and Miro and the young guys who worked so hard during the year, as well as Disco losing game 7 as a player in '03; but because 4 months ago this would have not been even thought possible, yet here it was.
Anyway... I've babbled on far too long. Gonna go catch a nap; but first a few videos...
A montage of the player intros they have on the Ceeb including Disco and TommyFitz...
Fleur and his potty mouth...
and TSN's really awesome closing montage...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Believe!
That is the phrase that millions of citizens of Penguins Nation are saying today, as am I; however, there are quite a few fans from Moose Country in the AHL that are also quite happy this morning.
Our boys from up in the Peg also faced elimination last night in the form of the Calder Cup Finals last night; but they found it in themselves to get down to some srs bzns and they were able beat the Hershey Bears in Game 5. They'll head back to Manitoba for Game 6 on Friday night and hopefully there will be a game 7 in that series as well.
Friday night will be a busy one on the internet and in my living room watching the Pens try to parlay last night's craziness and passion into a win; as well as keeping up with the Moose on the net. I just wish that the NHL network was showing the games... hell, I wish they showed more games in general from the AHL on there.
After Saturday night I was down and I'll admit I had some serious doubts about how the Pens would come back out after getting the crap kicked out of them. Does that make me a bad fan? No, it makes me realistic; but I was very happy to see that they were so focused and driven last night. I shouldn't have doubted Steve and Co. though; considering the way this team has come back from so many ups and downs this season that they should be renamed the Weebles... Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.
Anywho... that was about from me this morning. Oh, and one more thing that is very LOLZ-worthy for a Pens fan. The Flyers have agreed to terms for a one year deal with ticking time-bomb Ray Emery. It seems that they want him to come back from his self imposed exile in Russia and see if he can do better than Marty Biron did this year. Um... okay; it should be very interesting to see how and even if he meshes with that bunch there in Philly. All I can say is that I can't think of a team that deserves him more.
Have a good one, y'all and GO PENS!
Our boys from up in the Peg also faced elimination last night in the form of the Calder Cup Finals last night; but they found it in themselves to get down to some srs bzns and they were able beat the Hershey Bears in Game 5. They'll head back to Manitoba for Game 6 on Friday night and hopefully there will be a game 7 in that series as well.
Friday night will be a busy one on the internet and in my living room watching the Pens try to parlay last night's craziness and passion into a win; as well as keeping up with the Moose on the net. I just wish that the NHL network was showing the games... hell, I wish they showed more games in general from the AHL on there.
After Saturday night I was down and I'll admit I had some serious doubts about how the Pens would come back out after getting the crap kicked out of them. Does that make me a bad fan? No, it makes me realistic; but I was very happy to see that they were so focused and driven last night. I shouldn't have doubted Steve and Co. though; considering the way this team has come back from so many ups and downs this season that they should be renamed the Weebles... Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.
Anywho... that was about from me this morning. Oh, and one more thing that is very LOLZ-worthy for a Pens fan. The Flyers have agreed to terms for a one year deal with ticking time-bomb Ray Emery. It seems that they want him to come back from his self imposed exile in Russia and see if he can do better than Marty Biron did this year. Um... okay; it should be very interesting to see how and even if he meshes with that bunch there in Philly. All I can say is that I can't think of a team that deserves him more.
Have a good one, y'all and GO PENS!
The French have a saying....
When I saw that Dany Heatley wants out of Ottawa, "Quelle surpise" came to mind. It seems that when he signed his 6 year contract with them, he was on top of the world (and I should point out, that Ottawa did not suck this badly) but now that the Sens are cellar dwellers (which I LOVE, for the record) he wants to go to another team.
Ok, I get it that when you literally get away with murder in a southern American town, things could get tough and I guess that trade request was mildly less distasteful. (Which brings to mind that he might be the first person in the history of American criminal justice to successfully deploy the "I'm sorry defense". I can just see the judge now: "Mr. Heatley, you were driving recklessly through a neighborhood in your fancy car, crashed and it killed your best friend? But you're sorry? Well ok, community service it is.") But now he wants out just because the team stinks and it's not what he signed on for? While we are talking phrases from around the world, Texans have one too: Tough Shit. Heater I have some advice for you. Put your skates, shut up, and play. Oh and get your teeth fixed. You look like an idiot.
Now on to better things: how about that game last night?? Friend of the Chuckers Lisa was there and her favorite boy finally got into game action. I'm very happy for her and ya know, the Pens played a hell of a game. Great saves by Fleury AND Rob "The Piece" Scuderi helped seal the deal. On the other side, Ozzie looked pretty damn impressive for most of the game as well. Bring on game 7 boys...it should be a good one.
In a blatant rip off job, I'm stealing a thing from one of the blogs we read, The Goose's Roost. They are doing a read along and while I'm not joining in, I will start reading one of their suggestions tonight. Searching for Bobby Orr is waiting for pick up by me at the rolling library we call the Bookmobile. I'll let you know how I like it.
I can't help but feel a little robbed when I see footage of him playing. I realize that every generation has its great stars of the game, but I feel like I've missed something not being able to see Bobby skate. Can you imagine seeing a defenseman score 120 points? I know it's a different world now in the game we love but men like Orr, Howe (my favorite number 9; saying that would get me kicked out of Montreal but I'm ok with that), even Hull made the game different than what it was and more like the game we have today. I wish I could have seen it.
Speaking of Gordie, the AP (picked up by The Freep and Yahoo) has a story about how he's having a tough time after Colleen. Not only does it highlight her accomplishments (seriously, could you see Mario Lemieux's wife doing the stuff Colleen did? Or Lisa Yzerman? And that's not a knock on them, honest, Colleen was just special that way.) but it shows a side of Gordie that not everyone might realize.
[Kris]Draper’s 7-year-old son might keep the tradition going after a recent talk with Howe.
“He said to Gordie, ‘Why did you want to be a hockey player?’ Draper recalled. “And Gordie said, ‘I loved it when I was a kid and when I was playing, and I still love it. And my son said, ‘Mr. Howe, I love it, too.’ How awesome is it that a 7-year-old boy can go up to Mr. Hockey and have a chat like that?”
This is Gordie Howe. But I know of a similar story like that (and I'm sure there are thousands more just like it). A friend of mine was up in Traverse City with her son's youth hockey team for a tournament and they stopped into a convenience store to get sodas and snacks and they run into Gordie. He took time to talk to each of the boys and found out what they were up to and spent like 15 minutes with them. Then at the game, my friend saw Gordie in the stands watching the kids. That is a special sort of guy.
I'm sure I had more profound things to say but for the life of me I can't remember them now. So until next time, happy hockey and hopefully an awesome game 7 on Friday. Oh and a side note, what are the odds of this happening? The Pens will be playing hockey in Detroit on Friday and the Tigers will be playing baseball in Pittsburgh. Huh.
Ok, I get it that when you literally get away with murder in a southern American town, things could get tough and I guess that trade request was mildly less distasteful. (Which brings to mind that he might be the first person in the history of American criminal justice to successfully deploy the "I'm sorry defense". I can just see the judge now: "Mr. Heatley, you were driving recklessly through a neighborhood in your fancy car, crashed and it killed your best friend? But you're sorry? Well ok, community service it is.") But now he wants out just because the team stinks and it's not what he signed on for? While we are talking phrases from around the world, Texans have one too: Tough Shit. Heater I have some advice for you. Put your skates, shut up, and play. Oh and get your teeth fixed. You look like an idiot.
Now on to better things: how about that game last night?? Friend of the Chuckers Lisa was there and her favorite boy finally got into game action. I'm very happy for her and ya know, the Pens played a hell of a game. Great saves by Fleury AND Rob "The Piece" Scuderi helped seal the deal. On the other side, Ozzie looked pretty damn impressive for most of the game as well. Bring on game 7 boys...it should be a good one.
In a blatant rip off job, I'm stealing a thing from one of the blogs we read, The Goose's Roost. They are doing a read along and while I'm not joining in, I will start reading one of their suggestions tonight. Searching for Bobby Orr is waiting for pick up by me at the rolling library we call the Bookmobile. I'll let you know how I like it.
I can't help but feel a little robbed when I see footage of him playing. I realize that every generation has its great stars of the game, but I feel like I've missed something not being able to see Bobby skate. Can you imagine seeing a defenseman score 120 points? I know it's a different world now in the game we love but men like Orr, Howe (my favorite number 9; saying that would get me kicked out of Montreal but I'm ok with that), even Hull made the game different than what it was and more like the game we have today. I wish I could have seen it.
Speaking of Gordie, the AP (picked up by The Freep and Yahoo) has a story about how he's having a tough time after Colleen. Not only does it highlight her accomplishments (seriously, could you see Mario Lemieux's wife doing the stuff Colleen did? Or Lisa Yzerman? And that's not a knock on them, honest, Colleen was just special that way.) but it shows a side of Gordie that not everyone might realize.
[Kris]Draper’s 7-year-old son might keep the tradition going after a recent talk with Howe.
“He said to Gordie, ‘Why did you want to be a hockey player?’ Draper recalled. “And Gordie said, ‘I loved it when I was a kid and when I was playing, and I still love it. And my son said, ‘Mr. Howe, I love it, too.’ How awesome is it that a 7-year-old boy can go up to Mr. Hockey and have a chat like that?”
This is Gordie Howe. But I know of a similar story like that (and I'm sure there are thousands more just like it). A friend of mine was up in Traverse City with her son's youth hockey team for a tournament and they stopped into a convenience store to get sodas and snacks and they run into Gordie. He took time to talk to each of the boys and found out what they were up to and spent like 15 minutes with them. Then at the game, my friend saw Gordie in the stands watching the kids. That is a special sort of guy.
I'm sure I had more profound things to say but for the life of me I can't remember them now. So until next time, happy hockey and hopefully an awesome game 7 on Friday. Oh and a side note, what are the odds of this happening? The Pens will be playing hockey in Detroit on Friday and the Tigers will be playing baseball in Pittsburgh. Huh.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
If you're happy and you know it....
YUK IT UP!
Looks like the Pens boys had a good practice today and they're feeling quite good about things going into tomorrow's game 4.
I got my own really good feeling watching them last night; especially in the third period. It gave me cause to hope that they would be able to hold on and they did; but it was torture on an already unstable tummy. Like just about every game of the Washington series, every time the Pens got a one goal lead; I would hope that they could get another so there was a cushion since there are snipers everywhere out there.
So, I still believe; and will be there cheering them on tomorrow night, except I won't be watching the first period. Being out here on the West Coast, I very often don't get home until the first intermission; which is what happened the first 3 rounds and they did well. Well, I thought I would tempt fate and watch the first this weekend; and we know what happened there. So, I will be watching via the web on my phone for the rest of the series! Woooooooooooooo!
Anyway, just a little drive-by post to say hi and I'm not dead; and GO PENS!
Brooksie looking pensive....
The Captain, all srs bzns....
A gaggle of giggles with Fleur, Max and Geno....
and the lovely Disco Dan...
Looks like the Pens boys had a good practice today and they're feeling quite good about things going into tomorrow's game 4.
I got my own really good feeling watching them last night; especially in the third period. It gave me cause to hope that they would be able to hold on and they did; but it was torture on an already unstable tummy. Like just about every game of the Washington series, every time the Pens got a one goal lead; I would hope that they could get another so there was a cushion since there are snipers everywhere out there.
So, I still believe; and will be there cheering them on tomorrow night, except I won't be watching the first period. Being out here on the West Coast, I very often don't get home until the first intermission; which is what happened the first 3 rounds and they did well. Well, I thought I would tempt fate and watch the first this weekend; and we know what happened there. So, I will be watching via the web on my phone for the rest of the series! Woooooooooooooo!
Anyway, just a little drive-by post to say hi and I'm not dead; and GO PENS!
Brooksie looking pensive....
The Captain, all srs bzns....
A gaggle of giggles with Fleur, Max and Geno....
and the lovely Disco Dan...
Monday, June 1, 2009
why post when this says it all?
In my daily blog-a-thon, I came across an article on one of my favorite blogs (mainly about Buffalo sports, the Red Sox [which I can forgive them for], and other things on life in general.) and found this gem:
The Goose's Roost: Big Clouds
Ryan always does a great job and I think you should go read it.
Wow. I admit I missed the last say ten minutes of the game last night because Max was being a pill. Malkin was ejected and the league over ruled the suspension. I have many many friends who are Pens fans, but if I ever hear how the Wings get special treatment again, I'm pointing to this very incident. How can that NOT be message sending? Way to go NHL. Proving once again that rules don't apply to your superstars (cross reference: Ovechkin, Alexander and hits, knee on knee).
The Brett Hull GM experiment in Dallas is over. I'd laugh but it's really not all that funny anymore. Joe Nieuwendyk is now in place in yet another attempt to give the South Stars some sort of credibility. Good for Joe as I've always liked him and thought he had a pretty strong hockey mind. I don't think he's the next Bob Gainey but maybe he'll surprise me.
Watching games on NBC this weekend makes me wonder why the NHL even bothers with 'em. Versus isn't pretty but they at least LIKE hockey. There is the potential for only two more games in this hockey season and that makes me sorta sad.
It's gonna be a long summer.
The Goose's Roost: Big Clouds
Ryan always does a great job and I think you should go read it.
Wow. I admit I missed the last say ten minutes of the game last night because Max was being a pill. Malkin was ejected and the league over ruled the suspension. I have many many friends who are Pens fans, but if I ever hear how the Wings get special treatment again, I'm pointing to this very incident. How can that NOT be message sending? Way to go NHL. Proving once again that rules don't apply to your superstars (cross reference: Ovechkin, Alexander and hits, knee on knee).
The Brett Hull GM experiment in Dallas is over. I'd laugh but it's really not all that funny anymore. Joe Nieuwendyk is now in place in yet another attempt to give the South Stars some sort of credibility. Good for Joe as I've always liked him and thought he had a pretty strong hockey mind. I don't think he's the next Bob Gainey but maybe he'll surprise me.
Watching games on NBC this weekend makes me wonder why the NHL even bothers with 'em. Versus isn't pretty but they at least LIKE hockey. There is the potential for only two more games in this hockey season and that makes me sorta sad.
It's gonna be a long summer.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Game one o rama
Well it begins. Pens v Wings. I think I might have mentioned this but for the first time I don't feel all stressed out over the outcome of this series. I'll be happy with either team winning. That's something new for me.
There are compelling stories on both sides: Ozzie being sent home in the season to 'find his game' only to be 4 games from back to back cups. That guy who was on Pittsburgh's team is now on the Wings team (I don't mention his name only because I am sick to DEATH of hearing about it). Babcock and Sykora being in Anaheim together. Sid in an ad saying "I never want to be in this picture again" and playing like he will uphold that statement. Lots of things to root for.
So I will sit back, have dinner and put on the two hours of pregame hype on NHL Network. And breathe easy because I know that which ever captain hoists that cup over his head, I will be happy for him and his team.
There are compelling stories on both sides: Ozzie being sent home in the season to 'find his game' only to be 4 games from back to back cups. That guy who was on Pittsburgh's team is now on the Wings team (I don't mention his name only because I am sick to DEATH of hearing about it). Babcock and Sykora being in Anaheim together. Sid in an ad saying "I never want to be in this picture again" and playing like he will uphold that statement. Lots of things to root for.
So I will sit back, have dinner and put on the two hours of pregame hype on NHL Network. And breathe easy because I know that which ever captain hoists that cup over his head, I will be happy for him and his team.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Well that was interesting....
Gonna start out this morning on a bit of a serious note, the NHL alumni lost one of it's own. Peter Zezel lost his long fight with a blood disorder. There is a lot of praise about him today and what sort of good man he was. It's too bad he's gone. "In his typical character of generosity, Peter donated his organs through the Trillium Gift of Life Network." Good to the end.
Now to the game: I had to work last night so I missed a large hunk of the game last night and came home in time to see Billy G score the third goal. With apologies to Friend of Chuckers Jenni...what a game. I know you were there cheering on your boys and I'm sorry that it had to end that way but at least they made it that far, right?
When Sid picked up the trophy I thought for sure he'd lost his ever lovin' mind. I mean really, last year when he skated up to the little table, he looked as if he was seeing Tara Reid covered with cooties (who would have thought those two things were not mutually exclusive?). But this year, he wanted it - took it with two hands and everything. Good on him for trying to change things up.
As Chucker Amy said (and by said I mean sent an IM as she is across the nation from me) to me while we were watching "Sid is kinda short." She pointed out this little tidbit as he was standing next to Geno and Gonch. Very astute! :)
Puck Daddy has a story this morning about a possible Craps/steriods link. I was about to get all "look, look, cheaters never prosper!!" but then thought, why bother? *shrugs*
Wings play tonight and with some luck they will close it out. If they do, game one of the final will be on Saturday. If the Hawks pull out a win, the Final wont start until THE FIFTH OF JUNE. What's up with that? Stupid NBC is up with that. Why do they have hockey if they don't care about it?
So to sum up: Hockey lost a good guy, the Pens are a decent hockey team, the Craps are funny, and NBC sucks.
HERE WE GO RED WINGS, HERE WE GO!! *clap clap*
Now to the game: I had to work last night so I missed a large hunk of the game last night and came home in time to see Billy G score the third goal. With apologies to Friend of Chuckers Jenni...what a game. I know you were there cheering on your boys and I'm sorry that it had to end that way but at least they made it that far, right?
When Sid picked up the trophy I thought for sure he'd lost his ever lovin' mind. I mean really, last year when he skated up to the little table, he looked as if he was seeing Tara Reid covered with cooties (who would have thought those two things were not mutually exclusive?). But this year, he wanted it - took it with two hands and everything. Good on him for trying to change things up.
As Chucker Amy said (and by said I mean sent an IM as she is across the nation from me) to me while we were watching "Sid is kinda short." She pointed out this little tidbit as he was standing next to Geno and Gonch. Very astute! :)
Puck Daddy has a story this morning about a possible Craps/steriods link. I was about to get all "look, look, cheaters never prosper!!" but then thought, why bother? *shrugs*
Wings play tonight and with some luck they will close it out. If they do, game one of the final will be on Saturday. If the Hawks pull out a win, the Final wont start until THE FIFTH OF JUNE. What's up with that? Stupid NBC is up with that. Why do they have hockey if they don't care about it?
So to sum up: Hockey lost a good guy, the Pens are a decent hockey team, the Craps are funny, and NBC sucks.
HERE WE GO RED WINGS, HERE WE GO!! *clap clap*
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Things!
Game three of the Penguins v Canes series is just about to start and unfortunately, I'm stuck with Versus. I don't mind it so much but Joe Benenati and Daryl "Razor" Reaugh are calling the games.
But listen, Razor? You are an idiot. The Pens head coach is not Dan By-Al-sma. It's BILES-mah. Hell, even Benenati gets it right. Take a clue from your play by play guy. Go back to Dallas games where no one cares if you butcher a name.
The Wings/Chicago game last night was interesting. The Hawks had the first; the Wings had the second. Sharp's goal was pretty sweet so I don't feel so bad about the loss.
A prime example of why I say I'm stuck with Versus (in an IM with my CaP cohort):
Amy: shit... it's loud in there [in Carolina's barn]
Me: that's what I hear.
Amy: are they showing it
Me: oh I had an MMA ad. *cries*
I really don't care about ultimate cage fighting or bull riding or that crap sports soup (or their new show the web cam ones? Ugh, people get a blog and get off tv)
But it's what I have and I shouldn't complain as a lot of folks don't even have Versus.
Alright. Game on!
ps- the most annoying ad out there right now has to be that click it or ticket ad where the guy beeps all day. I hate that. No really I do.
But listen, Razor? You are an idiot. The Pens head coach is not Dan By-Al-sma. It's BILES-mah. Hell, even Benenati gets it right. Take a clue from your play by play guy. Go back to Dallas games where no one cares if you butcher a name.
The Wings/Chicago game last night was interesting. The Hawks had the first; the Wings had the second. Sharp's goal was pretty sweet so I don't feel so bad about the loss.
A prime example of why I say I'm stuck with Versus (in an IM with my CaP cohort):
Amy: shit... it's loud in there [in Carolina's barn]
Me: that's what I hear.
Amy: are they showing it
Me: oh I had an MMA ad. *cries*
I really don't care about ultimate cage fighting or bull riding or that crap sports soup (or their new show the web cam ones? Ugh, people get a blog and get off tv)
But it's what I have and I shouldn't complain as a lot of folks don't even have Versus.
Alright. Game on!
ps- the most annoying ad out there right now has to be that click it or ticket ad where the guy beeps all day. I hate that. No really I do.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
two series are over, will there be a third tonight?
The Boston Bruins and Amy's Vancouver Canucks are through to the second round with pretty tidy sweeps (no pun intended) of their first round opponents. I think the Blues just had to push so hard to get in, they were worn to the quick (and I think their injuries throughout the season finally caught up with them). I'm not gonna lie (Amy, cover your ears and eyes), I was rooting for the Blues. Not only because their captain is a favorite of CaP, but darn it all, they are/were a scrappy team fighting when no one game them an ounce of credit.
And as for the Habs...did anyone really think they'd win 4 against Boston?
I wish the things I said about the Blues could apply to the Blue Jackets. Even if they manage to get a win tonight, I think, as they say, you can put a fork in them. I just can't see them winning four straight right now. Not with Nash not scoring (or anyone not scoring for that matter) and Mason looking very much like the rookie he is (which on a side note, he was nominated for Rookie of the Year and if there is any justice he will get it).
That leaves us with some interesting series. Chicago and Calgary. Man, that one is getting down right dirty. I LOVE IT! It's great playoff hockey and I hope it goes 7 games. Not in the way I hope the Craps and the Ranger$ go seven games. I'm actually enjoying the Calgary/Chicago series. I could give a rat's ass about the Craps or Ranger$ and hope for bloody long triple overtime games to wear them out for round two.
But since I opened that door, I might as well walk through it. Henrik has been stellar, no surprise there. He seems to play better in the playoffs. Granted, I have no stats to back that up with... it's just a hunch. Avery took a stupid penalty? I'm shocked! SHOCKED. Ok, not really, but I am sorta surprised that combined, Ovechkin and Green have one goal. I mean come on, OV has 209,732 shots. Well fine, 35 but still, since he's the greatest player EVAR, I'd figure he'd have more to show for all that. In comparison, Malkin has 4 goals on 13 shots.
More open doors: Pittsburgh has looked really strong in most of their games against the Flyers. I think Sunday's game was an exception really and they'll get back on track tonight to hopefully close out the series. Philly could surprise me, but I'm hoping not.
I'll save the California series for Amy to chat up (since I've been bang on with my prediction of "too bad I will miss most of it being in the Eastern time zone"; she at least can stay awake to see the end of the games). And hopefully she'll have some fun new clips to share too (she's so much better at finding that stuff than I am!)
Oh, did you know we (Amy and I) are both on Facebook? She's been there a while and I'm just joining the cool kids and started yesterday. Hit us up!
Until next time, happy hockey!
And as for the Habs...did anyone really think they'd win 4 against Boston?
I wish the things I said about the Blues could apply to the Blue Jackets. Even if they manage to get a win tonight, I think, as they say, you can put a fork in them. I just can't see them winning four straight right now. Not with Nash not scoring (or anyone not scoring for that matter) and Mason looking very much like the rookie he is (which on a side note, he was nominated for Rookie of the Year and if there is any justice he will get it).
That leaves us with some interesting series. Chicago and Calgary. Man, that one is getting down right dirty. I LOVE IT! It's great playoff hockey and I hope it goes 7 games. Not in the way I hope the Craps and the Ranger$ go seven games. I'm actually enjoying the Calgary/Chicago series. I could give a rat's ass about the Craps or Ranger$ and hope for bloody long triple overtime games to wear them out for round two.
But since I opened that door, I might as well walk through it. Henrik has been stellar, no surprise there. He seems to play better in the playoffs. Granted, I have no stats to back that up with... it's just a hunch. Avery took a stupid penalty? I'm shocked! SHOCKED. Ok, not really, but I am sorta surprised that combined, Ovechkin and Green have one goal. I mean come on, OV has 209,732 shots. Well fine, 35 but still, since he's the greatest player EVAR, I'd figure he'd have more to show for all that. In comparison, Malkin has 4 goals on 13 shots.
More open doors: Pittsburgh has looked really strong in most of their games against the Flyers. I think Sunday's game was an exception really and they'll get back on track tonight to hopefully close out the series. Philly could surprise me, but I'm hoping not.
I'll save the California series for Amy to chat up (since I've been bang on with my prediction of "too bad I will miss most of it being in the Eastern time zone"; she at least can stay awake to see the end of the games). And hopefully she'll have some fun new clips to share too (she's so much better at finding that stuff than I am!)
Oh, did you know we (Amy and I) are both on Facebook? She's been there a while and I'm just joining the cool kids and started yesterday. Hit us up!
Until next time, happy hockey!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Meaningful games in April
In past years, April has been a time to fine tune their lineups for the playoffs: a tweak here, resting the key guys there, coasting until the second season starts. Boy that's been shot to hell this year. None of the standings are set and in both conferences there is wiggle room from top to bottom. Some divisions are secured, but other than that, nothing else is etched in stone just yet.
Buffalo: man, they lost a HUGE point last night to the Trashers (side note, I was watching a game on CBC or TSN and there was someone in the booth by his accent it was clear he was a Quebeccer and he kept pronouncing the Thrashers as the Trashers. I of course, loved it). They are not mathematically eliminated but the hill just got a few degrees steeper. Note to the Habs - stop frakin' winning.
Penguins: Very quietly they have tied for fourth place (as friend of Chuckers, Lisa, pointed out that Marty B was pulled for the Flyers last night - not a good night for goalies named Marty, eh?) with a shellacking of the Devils. Worlds Greatest Goaltender EVAR! ( /sarcasm) looked very human afterall. The devils owe their season to their third stringer goaltender AHL goalie, not Marty.
Again I can't remember where I heard this but it was said about the Wing: and their reward for finishing second is to play the Ducks. Yeah, no thank you. Once given up for dead, Les Canards are doing their best Phoenix (bird, not city) impression and making some noise. If things end up this way, I don't know if the Wings want that hot mess in round one. Come to think of it, no matter who the Wings get in the first round, they are going to face a scrapy team who are out to prove that they belong in the playoffs (the Blues, the Preds, heck, even the Oilers and Minny have a shot). This reminds me far too much of the year Edmonton went to the Final. Who did they beat? An over talented Wings team. Oh Jason Smith, how I miss you.
The Jackets decided to show up again. After having their collective asses handed to them by a charging St. Lou team, they bucked up and put down a Nashville team that's looking to do some damage. Turns out, the Preds are the ones who came out hurting. They lost yet another pretty key guy to their team. I don't think Stevie Sullivan can do it all boys. But this is the first time the BJs have had some purpose to play well in April (other than that usual response of "pride")
But you know, I've got one more thing. Watching the Guins game last night...it was 6-1 and Sid blocked a shot. He skated off in pain but didn't miss a shift. I gotta think had that been a lot of other 'super stars' that wouldn't be in that position but instead they would be trying to pad their stats.
That about sums up what's in my brain this morning. Until next time!
Buffalo: man, they lost a HUGE point last night to the Trashers (side note, I was watching a game on CBC or TSN and there was someone in the booth by his accent it was clear he was a Quebeccer and he kept pronouncing the Thrashers as the Trashers. I of course, loved it). They are not mathematically eliminated but the hill just got a few degrees steeper. Note to the Habs - stop frakin' winning.
Penguins: Very quietly they have tied for fourth place (as friend of Chuckers, Lisa, pointed out that Marty B was pulled for the Flyers last night - not a good night for goalies named Marty, eh?) with a shellacking of the Devils. Worlds Greatest Goaltender EVAR! ( /sarcasm) looked very human afterall. The devils owe their season to their third stringer goaltender AHL goalie, not Marty.
Again I can't remember where I heard this but it was said about the Wing: and their reward for finishing second is to play the Ducks. Yeah, no thank you. Once given up for dead, Les Canards are doing their best Phoenix (bird, not city) impression and making some noise. If things end up this way, I don't know if the Wings want that hot mess in round one. Come to think of it, no matter who the Wings get in the first round, they are going to face a scrapy team who are out to prove that they belong in the playoffs (the Blues, the Preds, heck, even the Oilers and Minny have a shot). This reminds me far too much of the year Edmonton went to the Final. Who did they beat? An over talented Wings team. Oh Jason Smith, how I miss you.
The Jackets decided to show up again. After having their collective asses handed to them by a charging St. Lou team, they bucked up and put down a Nashville team that's looking to do some damage. Turns out, the Preds are the ones who came out hurting. They lost yet another pretty key guy to their team. I don't think Stevie Sullivan can do it all boys. But this is the first time the BJs have had some purpose to play well in April (other than that usual response of "pride")
But you know, I've got one more thing. Watching the Guins game last night...it was 6-1 and Sid blocked a shot. He skated off in pain but didn't miss a shift. I gotta think had that been a lot of other 'super stars' that wouldn't be in that position but instead they would be trying to pad their stats.
That about sums up what's in my brain this morning. Until next time!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Despite the rumors....
I am not: dead (clearly); stuck under something heavy (Ryan's skinny after all); giving up the blog for good (again, clearly). Life around these parts has been very busy and honestly, I don't see it changing a whole lot in the next few days. Arg!
But some puck news to talk about:
Bluejackets - ok, dare I say it but this a legit playoff team. They dismantled the Flames last night and I'm not just saying that because the score was 5-0. From the probable rookie of the year on out, everyone had a strong game. They won face-offs, they took the body, they intercepted passes while making crisp passes themselves.... I think the score could have been 1-0; they were just that good.
Sabres - the beloved Crunchy Miller is back in net tonight after a month long absence. He's saying the right things like "I'm not the savior here". Ryan, I just hope you are back in time so your boys in blue aren't sitting out the playoffs again this year (yeah, see that, I did it. He is the savior; even if he doesn't get the support he needs).
Penguins - the flightless birds are in an odd spot. One point up they are in 5th, two points down, they are in 8th. They just need to keep winning.
Lord help me, but I'm rooting for the Blues to make it back into the playoffs. They have been a hard working team all year and they've had some wretched injuries.
I just checked my basketball bracket. I was in last place (out of ten) as recently as yesterday morning; now I'm tied for 2nd. Go fig.
The Frozen Four starts tonight. Read an interesting tidbit over at Puck Daddy that this is the first time since 1968 that neither Boston College, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota or Colorado College are in the tournament. That's a lot of big names out.
I can't decide who to pull for: Denver is a sentimental favorite that has nothing to do with the school and the rest of my family would appreciate some love to Michigan (then again, you gotta feel for Steve Kampfer - this kid has been in some shit situations that are not of his doing this year). Maybe I'll just root on Bemidji ..oh wait,they are playing Notre Dame; forget it. I'll think of someone!
That's all I have time for today - but stay tuned. You never know when I might show up next!
But some puck news to talk about:
Bluejackets - ok, dare I say it but this a legit playoff team. They dismantled the Flames last night and I'm not just saying that because the score was 5-0. From the probable rookie of the year on out, everyone had a strong game. They won face-offs, they took the body, they intercepted passes while making crisp passes themselves.... I think the score could have been 1-0; they were just that good.
Sabres - the beloved Crunchy Miller is back in net tonight after a month long absence. He's saying the right things like "I'm not the savior here". Ryan, I just hope you are back in time so your boys in blue aren't sitting out the playoffs again this year (yeah, see that, I did it. He is the savior; even if he doesn't get the support he needs).
Penguins - the flightless birds are in an odd spot. One point up they are in 5th, two points down, they are in 8th. They just need to keep winning.
Lord help me, but I'm rooting for the Blues to make it back into the playoffs. They have been a hard working team all year and they've had some wretched injuries.
I just checked my basketball bracket. I was in last place (out of ten) as recently as yesterday morning; now I'm tied for 2nd. Go fig.
The Frozen Four starts tonight. Read an interesting tidbit over at Puck Daddy that this is the first time since 1968 that neither Boston College, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota or Colorado College are in the tournament. That's a lot of big names out.
I can't decide who to pull for: Denver is a sentimental favorite that has nothing to do with the school and the rest of my family would appreciate some love to Michigan (then again, you gotta feel for Steve Kampfer - this kid has been in some shit situations that are not of his doing this year). Maybe I'll just root on Bemidji ..oh wait,they are playing Notre Dame; forget it. I'll think of someone!
That's all I have time for today - but stay tuned. You never know when I might show up next!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Shake your groove, shake your groove thing, yeah yeah!
This is going to be short and sweet; but I just wanted to give a big shout out to my baby boys, especially Mr. Tyler Maxwell and Thomas Heemskerk, for their great game last night. Tyler got all 3 goals and Heemer was a maniac in goal to give the boys a 3-2 win over Tri-Cities. Yay!!! I admit that I have been a bad bad fan sometimes lately and I wasn't sure they were going to be able to win a game let alone be so close in both over in Richland. That said, I'm sporting my black and white Tips hoodie today and will be sending good luck thoughts for the next 4 days until I see the boys on Wednesday. Whoooooo!
Hopefully Kellen Tochkin and Mike Alexander will be back for game 3, as they were both out last night with the dreaded 'upper body injury'; which could be anything from a hangnail to a level 12 concussion. Meh... just as long as the puppies get better is all I ask.
Anyway, I gotta boogie... hopefully something more exciting will happen today. The Penguins looked a little slow and not too good against the Puppy-Drowning Brigade. I say burn those fucking blue sweaters... they're nothing but bad ju-ju!
Hopefully Kellen Tochkin and Mike Alexander will be back for game 3, as they were both out last night with the dreaded 'upper body injury'; which could be anything from a hangnail to a level 12 concussion. Meh... just as long as the puppies get better is all I ask.
Anyway, I gotta boogie... hopefully something more exciting will happen today. The Penguins looked a little slow and not too good against the Puppy-Drowning Brigade. I say burn those fucking blue sweaters... they're nothing but bad ju-ju!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Theories blown to hell
I used to have this theory that teams played better in front of their back up goalie. Well either my theory doesn't count for the backup's backup or it's just flat out wrong. Thanks to the Sabres for proving me wrong in any event. What the frack was THAT last night? But you know what I won't do? I won't bail on them. That really irritates me. The "Oh woe is me my team sucks" stuff is for the birds (and Thrashers fans). I may not like them right now but I do love them. (but those two points they could have had last night might come back to bite them in a few weeks).
Pittsburgh did another happy dance last night - wow, that number 71 can play some pucks no? I only caught the middle to the end of the game (I have it dvr'd so I can watch this weekend) but his two goals were something else. There was an article about 'why people hate Sid' over at Kuklas Korner and one of the comments said something about Geno not playing defense and just looking for points. Ya know? Call me a fool, but I think I'm ok with that.
*points to Philly and laughs* Sorry, had to get that off my chest. The Wings won again and I'm pleased.
I'm not going to mention the goalie happenings from last night. I'm sure that will be covered to DEATH. But it's a very nice accomplishment. I wonder who will be next?
Florida, Colorado, and the Sharks....all losers last night. Not even the extra gimmie we made it to OT point. And because most every team played last night, it's a light schedule tonight. Which is good, because once again, I'm gonna be gone. And my dvr is filling up.
Ok, that's enough stalling on the day. Until next time!
Pittsburgh did another happy dance last night - wow, that number 71 can play some pucks no? I only caught the middle to the end of the game (I have it dvr'd so I can watch this weekend) but his two goals were something else. There was an article about 'why people hate Sid' over at Kuklas Korner and one of the comments said something about Geno not playing defense and just looking for points. Ya know? Call me a fool, but I think I'm ok with that.
*points to Philly and laughs* Sorry, had to get that off my chest. The Wings won again and I'm pleased.
I'm not going to mention the goalie happenings from last night. I'm sure that will be covered to DEATH. But it's a very nice accomplishment. I wonder who will be next?
Florida, Colorado, and the Sharks....all losers last night. Not even the extra gimmie we made it to OT point. And because most every team played last night, it's a light schedule tonight. Which is good, because once again, I'm gonna be gone. And my dvr is filling up.
Ok, that's enough stalling on the day. Until next time!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The weekend comes and I fall off the planet
With Amy out of town, the blogging ball was in my court and man, did I whiff or what?
Turns out that Vancouver pushed the hardest to get JayBo away from the kitties. From the Sun Sentenital:
Vancouver General Manager Mike Gillis was willing to give up winger Mason Raymond and a first-round pick, the Vancouver Province reported, but when Panthers GM Jacques Martin made it clear he wanted either defensemen Kevin Bieksa or Alex Elder, a potential deal was dead.
I gotta say I don't blame Gillis for not trading for him at that price. Again, I ask will Martin have his job if JayBo is in another sweater come fall?
I wonder if the Flames deadline sploosh will make a difference in the long run or not? The west is still a brutal division and it will be tough to get out it without a lot of banged up players. Their trades might make things closer out their way.
Considering I started this post three days ago, I can now toss in some hockey. Pittsburgh got a big two points last night. I watched the third period and it was some damn good hockey. I got the Cats feed and groan are they awful. I'm sure someone likes 'em but I'm not a fan. Granted Steggy and Bob can be a bit much but geeze. When you are scrambling as the Panthers were in the third, you're going to take some penalties. We they all heinous penalties? No. We they callable penalties? Yes.
I'm not gonna talk about the Philly game. I might start to cry. CRUNCHY COME BACK!
The Wings had to go to overtime against the desert dogs. A game I did not see one second of live and caught the highlights on NHL on the Fly this morning over breakfast.
Who is this team from Ohio and what have you done with the real Blue Jackets? Tenth shut out? Seriously? When you are 20th in the league in scoring, I suppose it's a good idea to have someone back in net who can stop the pucks (for the record, they are 8th in goals against). The 6th place Columbus Blue Jackets (that's still cool to say this late in the season) have a real shot at making some playoff noise and I'm just tickled about it. If I'm Rick Nash (I'd be tall, rich and good at hockey), I'm looking forward to the post season and hopeful the Jackets play Detroit - meaning they'd have to fall to 7th or 8th, but still, a first round playoff series is a real possibility for this team. Big win for them against Boston last night. Huge win (as both the Sharks and Wings got two points).
Who else played last night: Colorado? They were on the schedule but apparently forgot to show up. Shut out by Atlanta? Groan. Devils continued to roll and beat the Flames (guess those trades are not helping so much just yet), and in a game of "Who cares" versus "First pick overall or bust", Who cares....er, Toronto beat the Islanders.
That's all for now folks, you've read plenty!
Turns out that Vancouver pushed the hardest to get JayBo away from the kitties. From the Sun Sentenital:
Vancouver General Manager Mike Gillis was willing to give up winger Mason Raymond and a first-round pick, the Vancouver Province reported, but when Panthers GM Jacques Martin made it clear he wanted either defensemen Kevin Bieksa or Alex Elder, a potential deal was dead.
I gotta say I don't blame Gillis for not trading for him at that price. Again, I ask will Martin have his job if JayBo is in another sweater come fall?
I wonder if the Flames deadline sploosh will make a difference in the long run or not? The west is still a brutal division and it will be tough to get out it without a lot of banged up players. Their trades might make things closer out their way.
Considering I started this post three days ago, I can now toss in some hockey. Pittsburgh got a big two points last night. I watched the third period and it was some damn good hockey. I got the Cats feed and groan are they awful. I'm sure someone likes 'em but I'm not a fan. Granted Steggy and Bob can be a bit much but geeze. When you are scrambling as the Panthers were in the third, you're going to take some penalties. We they all heinous penalties? No. We they callable penalties? Yes.
I'm not gonna talk about the Philly game. I might start to cry. CRUNCHY COME BACK!
The Wings had to go to overtime against the desert dogs. A game I did not see one second of live and caught the highlights on NHL on the Fly this morning over breakfast.
Who is this team from Ohio and what have you done with the real Blue Jackets? Tenth shut out? Seriously? When you are 20th in the league in scoring, I suppose it's a good idea to have someone back in net who can stop the pucks (for the record, they are 8th in goals against). The 6th place Columbus Blue Jackets (that's still cool to say this late in the season) have a real shot at making some playoff noise and I'm just tickled about it. If I'm Rick Nash (I'd be tall, rich and good at hockey), I'm looking forward to the post season and hopeful the Jackets play Detroit - meaning they'd have to fall to 7th or 8th, but still, a first round playoff series is a real possibility for this team. Big win for them against Boston last night. Huge win (as both the Sharks and Wings got two points).
Who else played last night: Colorado? They were on the schedule but apparently forgot to show up. Shut out by Atlanta? Groan. Devils continued to roll and beat the Flames (guess those trades are not helping so much just yet), and in a game of "Who cares" versus "First pick overall or bust", Who cares....er, Toronto beat the Islanders.
That's all for now folks, you've read plenty!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
There is a rumor Spring is coming....
Spring means the trade deadline - just a day or so away. I'm not a big fan of the deadline and all the hubbaloo about it. Honestly, I'm worried about some players I like moving and that sorta upsets me. Screw families relocating and friendships, certain players shouldn't move because I said so! Ok, ending my Vercua moment. And for your random thought of the day - verruca is "is part of the hpv viruses with some types causing cervical dysplasia." Thanks Wiki!
Will JayBo go? (hope so) Will the Wings stand pat? (hope not) Will Vinny go to the Habs? (not sure I care one way or the other) I'm sure we'll have more details as the next few days go on. But please for the love of GOD, will someone trade for Billy Guerin? I'm sick to death of hearing the Billy watch. Suicide watch would be more entertaining right now. Ok maybe I'm just sick.
The hockey gods are not smiling much on a few of my teams currently. Sure, the Guins are rocking the win column without The Kid, but the Slugs are not doing so hot. They will get Tommy Vanek back on Wednesday and they might have the services of Max AfinsomethingRussianov if he's not been traded. I'm not saying he should go, but please, a bag of pucks would be worth more than Max right now.
Is there any team sadder than the Colorado Avalanche right now? It is actually painful to watch them (and not just because they were on Versus either). A major shake up is needed but only a few people really know if that's gonna happen. As much as I've enjoyed seeing Raycroft this year, he's not the answer. Their hot mess of a defense hasn't found an identity (are they a shut down D or are they mobile puck carriers - most nights, they can't figure it out.) and their forwards are no where near consistent. Come Thursday morning, that could be a very different team. Hopefully for the better.
Hard to say what Pittsburgh will do. I do like the pick up of Kunitz but think they need just a tweek more. Do I think Armstrong is the answer? Probably not, but if it kicks number 87 into gear, I'm all for it. USSGill is probably gone. Too bad, I like him a lot (but maybe not since Whitney was moved). This is why I'm not a GM; I'd go with my heart more than my head.
Tonight on Versus (barf) the Guins play the Ning. To be honest, I'm sorta glad it's on Versus (barf) because as much as I complain, I really don't like the Tampa announcers and I could use a break from the Pens guys (I wanna put a cork in Bob most nights).
Interesting little bit over at Puck Daddy about the Don Cherry/Ovechkin celebration comments. I'm not a fan of Ovechkin's (nor of Cherry's either) and I think a valid point is being made. Keeping in mind I'm of the old school thought of 'act like you've been there before' Barry Sanders (remember him?) scoring motion, there is nothing wrong with celebrating your goals, but really a little goes a long way. Hug the boys and get to the bench or center ice.
Also on that point, if Steve Ott, Chris Neil, Sean Avery or any other of the leagues douchebags were to take runs at player like Ovechkin does, they would be out games.
Moving on to better things. It appears that Ethan Moreau will not require surgery to repair his damaged eye. While I did not see the game where he was injured, I saw replays of it and part of me gets angry. Even the trainer admits that a visor would have probably prevented this injury. When are the players going to look past the 'only pansies wear visors' theory and start protecting themselves? They wore face protection in juniors or college and they are required to wear certain protective equipment now, so why not visors? I don't understand it (and spare me the argument that they players can't see with them on - many of the top goal scorers in the league wear 'em so that doesn't float).
Just checked - no trades yet. Stay tuned.
Will JayBo go? (hope so) Will the Wings stand pat? (hope not) Will Vinny go to the Habs? (not sure I care one way or the other) I'm sure we'll have more details as the next few days go on. But please for the love of GOD, will someone trade for Billy Guerin? I'm sick to death of hearing the Billy watch. Suicide watch would be more entertaining right now. Ok maybe I'm just sick.
The hockey gods are not smiling much on a few of my teams currently. Sure, the Guins are rocking the win column without The Kid, but the Slugs are not doing so hot. They will get Tommy Vanek back on Wednesday and they might have the services of Max AfinsomethingRussianov if he's not been traded. I'm not saying he should go, but please, a bag of pucks would be worth more than Max right now.
Is there any team sadder than the Colorado Avalanche right now? It is actually painful to watch them (and not just because they were on Versus either). A major shake up is needed but only a few people really know if that's gonna happen. As much as I've enjoyed seeing Raycroft this year, he's not the answer. Their hot mess of a defense hasn't found an identity (are they a shut down D or are they mobile puck carriers - most nights, they can't figure it out.) and their forwards are no where near consistent. Come Thursday morning, that could be a very different team. Hopefully for the better.
Hard to say what Pittsburgh will do. I do like the pick up of Kunitz but think they need just a tweek more. Do I think Armstrong is the answer? Probably not, but if it kicks number 87 into gear, I'm all for it. USSGill is probably gone. Too bad, I like him a lot (but maybe not since Whitney was moved). This is why I'm not a GM; I'd go with my heart more than my head.
Tonight on Versus (barf) the Guins play the Ning. To be honest, I'm sorta glad it's on Versus (barf) because as much as I complain, I really don't like the Tampa announcers and I could use a break from the Pens guys (I wanna put a cork in Bob most nights).
Interesting little bit over at Puck Daddy about the Don Cherry/Ovechkin celebration comments. I'm not a fan of Ovechkin's (nor of Cherry's either) and I think a valid point is being made. Keeping in mind I'm of the old school thought of 'act like you've been there before' Barry Sanders (remember him?) scoring motion, there is nothing wrong with celebrating your goals, but really a little goes a long way. Hug the boys and get to the bench or center ice.
Also on that point, if Steve Ott, Chris Neil, Sean Avery or any other of the leagues douchebags were to take runs at player like Ovechkin does, they would be out games.
Moving on to better things. It appears that Ethan Moreau will not require surgery to repair his damaged eye. While I did not see the game where he was injured, I saw replays of it and part of me gets angry. Even the trainer admits that a visor would have probably prevented this injury. When are the players going to look past the 'only pansies wear visors' theory and start protecting themselves? They wore face protection in juniors or college and they are required to wear certain protective equipment now, so why not visors? I don't understand it (and spare me the argument that they players can't see with them on - many of the top goal scorers in the league wear 'em so that doesn't float).
Just checked - no trades yet. Stay tuned.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Go West Young Man!
So... the Penguins and the Ducks made a trade yesterday. Ryan Whitney was sent to Anaheim in exchange for Chris Kunitz and baby Duck and OHL forward Eric Tangradi.
As a fan of both teams and someone who has seen lots of Duck games, I think this is a good deal for both teams. Neither one was a salary dump, neither one is a sign that their GM is giving up and no one had to give up a draft pick.
Kunitz is a player that should have no problems playing on Bing's wing, giving him a body guard, and he can help clear space for others or go to the net himself. He's also not afraid to go toe to toe with someone as well as doing his own hitting and dirty work in the corners which they sorely need.
Reading the Pens site, Chris is happy about the trade and wants to help the team with working their way back into the top 8 so they can make the playoffs.
Our friend Whit should fit in well with Les Canards especially with two of the very best on D with Scottie and Pronger. We've seen that Ryan has the talent, I think he just needs someone to help support him in getting back in the program. I mean, as much as I love Brooksie, not having Sarge in the lineup for most of the season hurt them both without a lot of veteran presence on the blueline.
Ryan too sees this as a positive thing, or that is what he's telling the press; but I think it really is good for him. Scott Niedermayer is one of the very best at what he does and if he pays attention, Whit should come back to his old form.
And up here in the NW division, I just got an update from the Canucks that they have claimed Ossi Vaananen off waivers from the Flyers. Hopefully he didn't pick up too many puppy drowning tricks.But it will be good to have a little more backup on the D, except that there are a couple of really good ones down in Manitoba that should be given a chance like our good pal Shaun Heshka. I think if Hesh got called up, I would be so happy; but maybe they wanted to give Sami Salo a Finn teammate since there's so many Swedes. lol
Anyway, that's about it here in the upper left corner of the country. Have a great weekend!
As a fan of both teams and someone who has seen lots of Duck games, I think this is a good deal for both teams. Neither one was a salary dump, neither one is a sign that their GM is giving up and no one had to give up a draft pick.
Kunitz is a player that should have no problems playing on Bing's wing, giving him a body guard, and he can help clear space for others or go to the net himself. He's also not afraid to go toe to toe with someone as well as doing his own hitting and dirty work in the corners which they sorely need.
Reading the Pens site, Chris is happy about the trade and wants to help the team with working their way back into the top 8 so they can make the playoffs.
Our friend Whit should fit in well with Les Canards especially with two of the very best on D with Scottie and Pronger. We've seen that Ryan has the talent, I think he just needs someone to help support him in getting back in the program. I mean, as much as I love Brooksie, not having Sarge in the lineup for most of the season hurt them both without a lot of veteran presence on the blueline.
Ryan too sees this as a positive thing, or that is what he's telling the press; but I think it really is good for him. Scott Niedermayer is one of the very best at what he does and if he pays attention, Whit should come back to his old form.
And up here in the NW division, I just got an update from the Canucks that they have claimed Ossi Vaananen off waivers from the Flyers. Hopefully he didn't pick up too many puppy drowning tricks.But it will be good to have a little more backup on the D, except that there are a couple of really good ones down in Manitoba that should be given a chance like our good pal Shaun Heshka. I think if Hesh got called up, I would be so happy; but maybe they wanted to give Sami Salo a Finn teammate since there's so many Swedes. lol
Anyway, that's about it here in the upper left corner of the country. Have a great weekend!
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