1/4 of the Way Done

With the NHL season a quarter finished, I thought I would take a look back at what has happened, what I think will happen, and I give out my first quarter awards. We’re doing this the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly style.

The Good
The NHL finally seems as if it might be returning to the quality hockey of old. Some games are filled with goals, others with great goaltending. Good physical hockey has finally made its way back into the game. Jonathen Toews has wowed us with goals, Alexander Ovechkin is hitting like the best of them, Crosby leaves us in shock and awe with passes, and the fighters are fighting again. I finally feel as if I can turn on any hockey game and see great plays.

The Bad
Early season “expert” projections. The experts all made their predictions for this up coming season and they haven’t held true. The New York Rangers have been anything but beasts from the easts, Sid the Kid is looking like just that, a kid surrounded by men, and the defending champion Ducks don’t look like playoff contenders. While I do like surprises, the experts have been off the mark with their predictions.

The Ugly
Suspensions. So far the reckless play of NHL players has resulted in some of the longest suspensions the NHL has ever dished out. Matthias Ohlund took a hack at Miko Koivu, and then there are the flyers. As much as I love the Flyers, they haven’t been models of self-control. The pre-season Steve Downie hit on Dean McAmmond, Jesse Boulrice’s cross-check to Ryan Kessler’s face, and then Randy Jones and Scott Hartnell, in the only two games against the Bruins, each injured two different Bruins with illegal checks. This makes the players look classless and makes the NHL look like a bunch of goons on ice.

1st quarter awards

MVP: Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightening
Just watch the guy play. Not only is he leading the league in points, and assists, but is a plus 10 and keeping the Lightening alive. True, he is not playing for the best team, but try and convince me someone is more valuable to their team.

Vezina: Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
I am a true sucker for the underdog. The 33 year-old journeyman Thomas never found a home on any team. He was drafted in a round that doesn’t even exist anymore (9th round, 217th overall) and seemed as if he was destined to be a backup. Then the Bruins needed a goalie until their top prospect, Tuukka Rask, could play. They got a blessing in disguise as Thomas has led them to an 8-6-2 record with a .941 save percentage and a 1.99 GAA.

Calder: Jonathen Toews, Chicago Blackhawks
The fact that a 19 year-old kid has finally brought hockey back to Chicago should be enough to win the award, but he has the stats to prove it. he may only have 16 points (8g,8a) but has played tremendously, including a youtube highlight real goal viewed over 126,000 times. I can’t wait to see what this kid can do when he can legally drink after games.

The Extinction of Hockey?

While I was watching ESPN yesterday, anchor Stuart Scott said something that really disturbed me. In the middle of talking about the NBA, he said the “…3 major sports.” Instantly I was confused, since when is the NHL not a major sport? While it is true that hockey seems to be on the decline in America, who decided it wasn’t a major sport? So far, I have narrowed it down to three reasons.

1. When ESPN claims that the current ratings for hockey on TV need to go up for them to air games again, they forgot to look at one fact…who the hell knows the channel Versus?! The only time I ever change to that channel is when I know a game is on. ESPN, on the other hand, I check every time I turn the TV on to see what they are broadcasting. If they would just re-broadcast games again I know for a fact that the ratings would pick up.

2. Two words, Gary Bettman. No one is a worse commissioner than he is. This man should be fired immediately. When the lockout ended, he stated that the NHL would make an effort to bring back the dedicated fan. What a dumbass. The dedicated fan would come back because the dedicated fan is just that, dedicated. What Bettman should have done was made an effort to bring back the casual fan, the one who would turn on the TV, see a hockey game, and leave that channel on. If the team owners could finally get over their infatuation with Bettman because he started the salary cap and fire him, I believe the NHL could make a comeback.

3. The players are at fault. Baseball has the race and steroid issues. Gary Sheffield says MLB hates the black man and now the all time leading home run hitter was indicted on perjury and most likely used steroids. Talk about controversy! The NFL also has its steroid problems but since the season is only 16 games long, every game counts. Not to mention the constant media coverage of the players who break the law. Lance Briggs shouldn’t be allowed to own fast cars, or be allowed to request a multi-million dollar contract when all he has done was have one good season. The Viking party on the boat, TO’s giant mouth, and recently the Michael Vick dog fighting scandal also come to mind. And let’s face it, those two sports are very easy to follow when drunk beyond belief. The NBA has lights and glamour and players who give the media that “I don’t care what you write about me so I’m going to do ridiculous stuff.” Oh, they also have Iverson and PRACTICE! The NHL is not so easy to follow when drunk, has no steroid scandals, and the players aren’t constantly breaking the law, although the badass Staal brothers would have something to say about that.

So let’s face it hockey fans, because the commissioner is retarded, and the players follow the law, don’t cross-dress…thank you Dennis Rodman…it seems as if North America now has only 3 major sports…

…Although I hear NASCAR might be considered a major sport soon, I better start practicing my beer chugging and left turns.

Broad Street Bullies 2.0

You know what they say, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. And for the past 41 years, the Philadelphia Flyers have been a prime example of that old saying. The Flyers have always been known as the scrappy team that will never back down from a fight. From the 1970’s when Dave “The Hammer” Shultz and Bob “Hound dog” Kelly would take on any challenger to Ben Eager and Mike Richards, the Flyers have always been the hit anything that moves kind of team. Gary Bettman’s new NHL has tried to take that away, emphasizing speed and puck movement. But in year 3 A.L. (After Lockout) the Flyers are once again a model for physical play.

Now I know there are people out there who claim the Flyers are nothing but a bunch of cheap shot artists. Yes Jesse Boulerice hit a defenseless Ryan Kessler and I will in no way condone that hit, the 25-game suspension was the right move. But try to convince me that hit was worse than Chris Simon’s impression of Barry Bonds. Now THAT was worth way more than 25 games. What about Steve Downie’s check on Dean McCamond? Yes he did leave his feet, but McCamond was carrying the puck and it was his own fault his head was done. Unfortunately Dean was injured on the play, but had he not been would it still be a 20-game suspension? The answer is obviously no. Patrice Bergeron was only in a bad situation where he was facing the boards and unfortunately got hurt. Randy Jones should have backed off the hit but he is not a dirty player. So everyone out there who is hating on the Flyers, claiming that they are playing dirty, take a look at a video from the 1970’s and tell me that these Flyers don’t resemble the ones who brought exciting, physical play to the world of ice hockey. Welcome to the Broad Street Bullies version 2.0

Hockey In England?

Like most NHL fans, I thought that starting the season in London, England was a very strange move. Why open the season there? I felt it would have been smarter to open it in the cities hometown! Or at least in a country where hockey is already popular but lack superstars such as Finland, Russia, Sweden or even Austria. Then I read the reviews about the game and my jaw dropped. Both games sold out with the O2 arena hold 17,500 fans. That’s more people than those Columbus Blue Jackets can get. Fans were wearing jerseys of almost every team, including a few USA and Canadian national jerseys. The best part was to know that not only is hockey thriving, but popping up in countries no one would have thought ice hockey was even in. As far as I am concerned, out of the 4 major American sports, ice hockey is the second most popular behind baseball…but from what I’ve heard, China is starting a hockey program…think they will start a Little League Stanley Cup?


Here are my pre-season awards, conference finals and Stanley Cup finals picks…

Western Conference:
San Jose def. Colorado

Eastern Conference:
NY Rangers def. Pittsburgh Penguins

Stanley Cup:
San Jose def. NY Rangers

MVP: Sidney Crosby
Vezina: Martin Brodour
Calder: Jonathan Toews

“Underground” Hockey

In the United States, the sport of ice hockey seems to be disappearing as fast as the ice melts in July. However, you wouldn’t know it if you were attending a college ice hockey game. At Boston University, student season tickets always sell out, and the demand for single game tickets was in such high demand they instituted “standing room only” tickets. At the University of Minnesota, they had to create a lottery for single game tickets because students were skipping class and getting sick waiting in line outside the ticket office. Sometimes camping out in sub-freezing temperatures. Even the University of Nebraska-Omaha, a new comer to the world of college hockey, sells out every game. During the game, the student sections are filled with drunk students and everyone is standing except for in-between the periods. Even if a student is from Alabama, and doesn’t know why there are so many lines on the ice, or what a “zamboni” is, they are cheering for their team, most of the time losing their voices. The heated rivalry between Boston University and Boston College creates a Michigan-Ohio State type feel at the games. The BU students scream “F*** ‘Em Up, F*** ‘Em Up, BC sucks!” which is followed by “Safety School! Safety School!” out of the mouths of BC students. In the world of college sports, ice hockey is the best-kept secret.