All Star postmortem

Way back when, I didn't realize there was this game called hockey. WKBD used to show all the red wing games but they for the most part, were meaningless to me. No my game was baseball. Every summer, Dad and I would head down to Detroit to the ol' ball park (aka Tiger Stadium) and watch the Tiggers play a couple times in person. And if those games were before a certain date in the summer, it meant only one thing - all star voting. I'd grab a stack of punch ballots and in between scoring the game (something I still know how to do, thank you very much), I'd plunk for Alan Trammel and Looooooooou Whitaker because, even if they weren't having all star seasons, it was who I wanted to see at the all star game. You'd see people with nails being driven through three inch stacks of ballots.

Then my eyes were opened to hockey and baseball was pretty much replaced as my sporting boyfriend. I'd still plunk for my Red Wings because, again, it's who I wanted to see at the all star game. And I'm a firm believer that if you don't vote, you don't get to bitch about who makes it in. If The Russian Five weren't all stars, well at least I tried.

The ballot nail changed when when fan voting moved to the internet. Ok, things got a wee bit suspect about the players voted in but looking back on it, it was still the beauty of FAN voting. If fans wanted Rory wearing an all star sweater, so be it.

The 2011 NHL all star game took that all away. Sure fans could vote for 6 players (though even that seemed to go for naught because it was meaningless in the big picture). Sure Sidney Crosby got the most votes, but the voting was down significantly. I think it was due, in large part, to fan apathy after Brendan "the NHL savior" Shanahan decided it was time to tweak the format. OOOOH let's have a DRAFT! (and full disclosure, I didn't see any of the draft festivities)

Now by all accounts, the players liked the draft format (except, I'm not above pointing fingers and laughing at Paul Stastny. Sure he's an all star but he's lower than Mr. Irrevelant; at least Mr. Irrevelant got a car out of the deal). Sure they are all all stars so what does it matter when they were picked?

But to me it does matter. All but 6 were not picked by the fans. It's always been a popularity contest, I'm not even going to sit here and say that it was. However, it goes back to a league that has proven more than once that the fans really are not all that vital to the game in any aspect. The fans have lost their voice in something so unimportant as a an all star game - which was the last bastion of fan participation. And I think if you ask a fan of the game, they can point out (with stats to back up their beliefs) that there player left off due to their lack of league popularity. *cough John Liles cough*

Will it be this way next year? Probably considering everyone was talking about how great the format was and how exciting it was (though I gotta think people who sold sweaters had to hate it not having pre-games sales). And I for one am sad about that.

Here we go again, the brain, the all stars, and Dmen in the box scores

It's not that I dislike the guy but when is Marc Savard going to call it quits. Yes, the Bruins have experience with a guy coming back after a lengthy absence with concussions then getting another one and not being out nearly as long (Hi there Mr. Bergeron). But really, this is getting sad. I watched two Bruin games (not by choice, they were playing teams I wanted to see) and saw Savard go down in both of them, awkwardly against the boards. Now, even the AWAY announcers audibly winced. When you hear a guy like Sidney Crosby who is experiencing his first concussion having trouble watching tv... multiple concussions can't be a good thing. Lets face it, we don't know a lot about the brain. Why is Marc Savard pushing it?

Crosby has pulled out of the all star weekend. Good on him I say. Sure in Montreal, he showed up injured but it was a knee injury. You can't tell me that the all star weekend festivities are anywhere to recover from a concussion. It won't be quiet, it won't be soft, it won't be calm. I'm glad he (or someone who handles him) is taking the smart road here.... I generously offer my place for him to rest the weekend away. When the dog isn't barking, it's damn near bucolic. And if the dog does bark, he's afraid of the squirt bottle.

I will not be watching the all star game this weekend. No, not just because I don't have tv but I'm highly disappointed in it. Look, I get that the league is trying to show the world there are other players in the league but to not have a single player who the FANS voted in be in the captain/alternate capacity is, to me, a slap in the face. I understand Lidstrom and E. Staal but to name a guy like "Twenty Cent" Kane over Towes doesn't make any sense. Not only is Toews statistically a better player on the Hawks, the fans voted him as a 'starter'. God I can't believe I'm defending a blackhawk. I blame Megan. Totally blame her.

I've decided I need to watch the Avs v Blues game last night. Three of my favorite D men got in on the scoring. And you know how I love it when the D score.

Also, Kevin? Thanks for the words of encouragement yesterday. It really meant a lot.

News and Notes

The all star captains have been named: Lidstrom and E. Staal. While I'm ok with the nod to Lidstrom based on oh I don't know his whole career, but Staal? Had this event been anywhere else, Staal isn't even in the running.

Which sort of leads nicely into this next bit of news. There is a story going around that Sid Crosby will sit out of the all star game in protest of the head shots. Look, I love Sid but he's vanilla. He's not going to sit out. Period. He'll go and if he can't play, he'll make nice just like he did in Montreal. He's the NHL corporate boy. He knows his role (plus he was voted in. He's bright enough to know that fans want to see him there; he will not disappoint). However I wonder if that rumor had anything to do with Crosby not being named one of the captains.

Or is the league *gasp* trying to expose other players? Say it's not so! What will all the haters do when Sid and Ovie are not "shoved down their throats"?

The Panthers coasted to a 2-0 lead over Atlanta only to watch the Thrash score two goals in the last two minutes of the game to push it to a shootout. Atlanta won. Florida is finding new and creative ways to lose games. If there is a case study in contraction, may I give you exhibit A.

Finally there are game on TV tonight that I actually care about. Granted I won't be able to see two of them (the wings play the pens so that will be blacked out and the Buffalo v Montreal game is on Versus) so that leaves me Colorado and Vancouver. Starting at 9 my time. Stupid time zones. My dog Max is a patient sort of guy but he won't wait that long for an end of the game potty break.