I think 3 posts in one day is the most I've ever had. I'm beginning to question whether or not I have a life since I feel like I'm mostly ranting to myself.

While the rest of the hockey world are still in a tizzy over the fact that ZOMG THE OILERS TRADED RYAN SMYTH, there was still a plate full of NHL action to be had, including the third meeting of the Ottawa Senators and the Carolina Hurricanes. If I remember correctly, last trade deadline the boys were in Atlanta. I suppose the sun helps to keep them relaxed for the game. Can't remember if they won that one though.

Anyways, back to the present. Dany Heatley opened up the scoring in the second period but the Senators came back with two in a row to take the lead off of a Powerplay goal from Eric Staal and then even-strength tally from Josef Vasicek. Martin Gerber had allowed two goals on only 17 shots and I was getting my sporks ready to do some hurting considering that Martin Biron went to Philly for such a low price. His counterpart down the ice was one for 20. When you make John Grahaeme look strong, you've got some things to worry about.

But the boys made a game of it after goals by Anton Volchenkov[! His first of the year!], Wade Redden[!] and Jason Spezza who had a monster of a game with a goal and two assists.

All-in-all a good effort from the team. I do have faith in my boys. It's enough for me to put away my weapons for awhile. To the Islanders, Leafs and Habs. You welcome.

Next Stop on the A-Train...
- Volchenkov snapped his scoring drought. The last time he scored a goal was February 2nd, 2006

- I suppose the heart-to-heart Redden had with Bryan Murray helped as he managed to have a very strong game today. According to Bruce Garrioch of Sun Media, Redden visited the coach in his office and they had a nice sit down about his recent struggles:

Redden is having a tough time with his confidence. "I said to Wade before the all-star break he was playing great. Since then, he hasn't been quite as sharp," said Redden. "He came to see me. I didn't pull him in or anything. He understands he's not playing as well as he can play and he has to play. He's going to get back on track. He's not the only one on the blue line. You can ask him about it." Redden knows he's got to get back to playing the way he's capable of playing. "There's not anything I can put a finger on. I'm looking forward to ramping up for the playoffs with 20 games left here," said Redden. "It's a big stretch. We've got to get going and get skating again. I've got to start moving the puck up the ice. I've got to keep everything simple."-- Bruce Garrioch

Poor boy was having tough time with his confidence. It's good to see that he's taking initiative to try to strengthen his play. I'm sorry if I didn't have enough faith.

Labels: anton volchenkov, carolina hurricanes, dany heatley, john grahaeme, martin gerber, road win, wade redden, win

Faithful readers, I have to confess that I lied with my previous post. It was early in the morning and it was before the coffee kicked in.

I wanted Muckler to do something, not because I necessarily wanted Gary Roberts or Bill Guerin. I needed him to do something to prove he didn't accidentally nap through the Trade Deadline like I'm convinced he did last year. I wanted him to do something because I saw Martin Biron go for a lot less than he was worth and it gave me hope that maybe something was within the realm of possibility.

For some wild reason, last year I predicted the final would include San Jose and Ottawa and until it actually happens and I am vindicated, I will continuing championing that cause. Given the events that transpired today, if we lose in the final to the Sharks, I will have one excuse and two words:

Bill Guerin.

If we don't even make it that far and end up getting eliminated in the first round by none other than Pittsburgh, I will have one excuse and two words:

Gary Roberts.

So I suppose we have that to look forward to.

Upon sober reflection, I realized that maybe this was sort of what I wanted. Maybe Muckler is sending the Senators a message: you better roll up your pants and step up because management sure has heck ain't going to help you. Pierre McGuire said that he was disappointed in the Senators and pretty much said he thinks they dropped the ball and don't think they'll make it far. You heard him boys, it's time to prove him wrong.

I can't promise that if I ever happen upon Mr. Muckler I won't want to give him a swift kick in the teeth. Nah, I won't, he's pretty old. I can't promise that I won't imagine it in my head. Which, is just as bad according to the Bible. Whether or not that's a positive or negative is open to interpretation.

All-in-all Trade Deadline '07 was pretty eventful. The big names that were talked about being moved actually got moved as opposed to last season when a whole lot of nothing happened. It was just a cruel twist of fate that I had to write a mid-term in the afternoon and was chomping at the bit to get out of there and hope that the miraculous post-season saving trade for the Senators would happen. The grand finale was Ryan Smyth going to the Islanders, the only explanation I can give being Kevin Lowe decided Marc-Andre Bergeron needed a friend.

I better go make sure my Oil Nation friends haven't committed seppuku. See you after the game!

Labels: john muckler, ryan smyth, semi-rant, sober second thoughts, trade deadline

Humour me a little because I promise this is hockey related. Do any of you guys remember Pogs? Yes, those circular pieces of cardboard that somehow captured the obsession and imagination of every 4-14-year-old back in the early '90s. I'm dating myself a little aren't I?

Whilst cleaning my room the other day, I happened my collection that I had stashed away. Back in the day they made Official NHL Pogs too featuring some of your favourite players. My collection included two Martin Strakas, Kirk McLean, Patrick Roy, Paul Coffey, Travis Green and Keith Tkachuk amongst some other more insignificant players. The front of them had a nice headshot and the back of them had their stats from the '93-'94 season.

I remember the line-ups at Toys 'R' Us of whiny kids scrambling for them. Our parents tried to warn us that we'd grow out of them and that they were just a fad. But us in our infinite 8-year-old wisdom were convinced that we'd never grow sick of them. If only we knew better.

With the trade deadline just hours away, unlike many others, I'm not eagerly waiting with anticipation. I've learned from the anti-climactic events of last season not to get my hopes up that anything blockbuster will happen with my boys, especially with good ol' Mucks coming out and saying that he didn't want to move any of our current roster players.

This should be comforting to me as a fan who openly admits to be ruled by her heart. It's supposed to be reassuring that Mucks and I seem to be on the same wavelength that we've got a good group of guys. I love every single one of them, with a few exceptions I think every single one has something valuable to offer. This is the group I fell in love with and cemented my love for the team.

Obviously I want my team to win, to go to the promised land. It would be even better if it was this group of guys. So while I admit that we have a "good group of guys", the question is then is our "good group" enough to go all the way? You need to be more than "good", you need to be spectacular, amazing, above and beyond expectations.

With news that Gary Roberts has waived his no-trade clause to go to Pittsburgh, a part of me realizes that Pittsburgh has now become scary. Very scary. It wasn't so much that I wanted Roberts, it's that Pittsburgh was the team that was performing above and beyond expectations even without veteran leadership, even without a guy who possesses all of those intangibles everybody says is critical to a Cup win.

The thing is, I'm divided on the issue. I don't want to mortgage our future, Binghamton is already suffering as it is. There are draft picks being thrown in left and right to sweeten the pot. It's like when you're trading hockey cards, you'll throw in one you have a double of or the one of somebody insignificant just so you can get the one that you've always had your eye on. Or when you were playing Pogs, you'd throw in those imitation ones you could get from the convenience store just so your opponent would be more willing to throw that one piece in. I do want this team to go above and beyond and having someone with experience doesn't hurt. But can you rent experience in a temporary rent-a-player? Isn't the definition of experience itself something that has to be internally, well, experienced?

It's easy to sit back and breakdown the team into technicalities, recognize the holes and try to plug them in. But these aren't action figures or Pogs we're talking about. They're human beings with intangible qualities that are hard to quantify. If we won the Roberts or Bill Guerin sweepstakes, would they even fit in?

I suppose it's a question that many people have, do we love the team or do we love that people on the team? I want Mucks to be able to prove that he wants the team to succeed and that he doesn't have blinders on that this team couldn't use some improvement. Then again, in two years time we've got a whole heap of UFAs and RFAs to worry about. Perhaps the fanbase is getting impatient about annual promises of a Cup win and annually coming short. Do we want a band-aid solution so everybody can be appeased temporarily, or do we want some sort of longevity and a promise of things to look forward to?

Let's make a deal, indeed.

Labels: attempts at philosophy, gary roberts, general, john muckler, miscellaneous, rants, waxing poetic

First of all, I have to say that I don't agree with everything Bruce Garrioch says in the video. But come on, to go on a Buffalo broadcast and say that while the Buffalo broadcasters end up clutching their pearls is pretty darn hilarious.

I don't have a problem with Tom Golisano's famous Letter of Grave Concern (PDF) that he wrote to the league. I'm not going to discuss the contents of it since that issue has been debated half to death already. In fact, I think it's great that Golisano is bringing the issue to the League's attention.

The one thing that made it seem whiny to me is that I find it sad that people only take action when it effects them personally. People have said that comparing Chris Drury and Chris Neil with Brian Campbell and R.J. Umberger is incorrect since the scenarios were different, but I think Garrioch's point was that if head shots were such a concern, shouldn't the issue have been brought up then? Umberger's injury was probably more serious than Drury's.

TSN's Ryan Rishaug did a report on head injuries in the NHL. The numbers are quite staggering and given the number of players taken off stretchers this season, is it a cause for concern?

People were worried that the new brand of hockey would be a lot less physical and a lot less exciting. And Lord help me, I actually agree with Colin Campbell when he says that with the stick infractions and the clutching and grabbing taken out of the game, sometimes the only way to knock a player off the puck is with more hitting. The game is so much faster now and the hits have a lot more force behind them. I'm not saying to go back to the old days where a defenseman could just maul a player down and not get called for it. I think the consensus is that the new game is wonderful. The game is so much more open now and the skilled players finally have a chance to show off their skill.

That being said, the new penalties and the bigger, stronger equipment have sort of lulled players into a false sense of security. I maintain Neil's hit was perfectly clean and legal and therefore well within his right to do, but I do agree it was still pretty brutal. The CHL has implemented a rule where all hits to the head is an automatic 10 minute misconduct, regardless of intent. It's an experiment that's been working for them so far but I don't know how effective it would be in the NHL. If a serious injury occurs, 10 minutes is not enough, if nothing happens, it seems a little severe. Especially with a faster game, if people are worried about even accidentally hitting somebody in the head, they might be a little hesitant to be dishing out hits altogether.

People worry about addressing the issue because it then becomes a slippery slope. Incidental contact to the head will always happen given that players of all sizes play the game. Automatically making blows to the head illegal won't address the bigger issue of players sometimes just being too reckless out there. It's not just the physical players dishing out the hits that are being reckless. How many of these injuries could have been a lot less serious if the player's bucket was done up properly? This isn't just about Drury, it's about all of the players who refuse to tighten their helmet. Even if your helmet doesn't come flying off, if you end up getting hit and your helmet isn't done up properly, the impact of your helmet hitting against your head can be enough for a concussion.

Unfortunately I wish I could dismiss all of these injuries as "it's a physical game and injuries will always happen." That's the brutal truth of it all but the amount of unfortunate injuries and careers that are cut short as a result of it is a bit hard to swallow. I'm fine with Neil's hit because if you make all hits that occur 0.49 seconds after the puck is released, then you're taking out practically all hits from the game. What concerns me is that there's an issue of respect and recklessness that needs to be addressed. It goes to both sides of the equation, both the hitters and the ones getting hit. In a game this fast you cannot be caught with your head down because even if you don't get direct impact to your head, the angle can still make it possible for you to seriously hurt your neck.

When Denis Gauthier planted Kyle Wellwood into the boards last season, you can see him actually crouched down beside him as soon as it happened asking if he was all right and apologizing. Hockey is an honourable sport and I believe that with very few exceptions, nobody goes out there with an intent to seriously injure someone. It's the only sport I can think of where people with such passion and emotion and are able to get physical with one another but as soon as the game is over, walk away from it all and realize that it's just a game.

Hockey might need a few tweaks but the game can't be fixed by changing the rules. You can punish people with suspensions for wanting to injure somebody, but it's more effective to teach them respect.

Labels: bruce garrioch, chris drury, chris neil, general, head shots, miscellaneous, rants, rules, tsn

This is totally off-topic but...just a reminder about this...



Click on the picture to make a donation. Really, we're not asking for a lot. Just any spare change you've got lying around that you don't feel like staring at anymore. If you're not sure what the dealios that is, click here and scroll down to 'A Request':
Why Should I Give You My Money?

If you're too lazy to do that, I'll just reiterate what I said:

But why exactly should you donate? Well, our motto is "Redefining Radio" and we are doing just that. Our station isn't one of those big corporate stations inundated with advertising. We don't get money from selling air-time and it is mostly volunteer-run. It's based in the Hamilton community and our goal isn't ratings but to give the community a voice. It's to bring a spotlight to issues that matter to the community that satellite radio can't provide and it provides a platform for local artists to break ground. So if you too feel the importance of community radio, please help us out in any way you can! Tell them Sherry sent you. Or don't.

Labels: off-topic

So, I had a choice tonight:

1) Take in the rematch of the Sabres vs. Senators, which would probably not live up to its publicity
or;
2) Study for my Consumer Behaviour mid-term on Tuesday.

On the one hand if I choose 1, I could probably end up emotionally crushed by a loss and be overwhelmed by irritation when I make the mistake of reading various Sabres' blogs rubbing it in my face. Oh and also possibly fail my mid-term.

On the other, I could be missing a doozy.

I opted to try for both, and as expected, the game started with very little fireworks. There was some chippy play back and forth but nothing to write home about. Apparently, the Sabres did in fact get the message that when Brian McGrattan is in the line-up, you can expect some rought stuff. Their strategy was pre-emptive strike as he was the one with the target on his back for most of the night. In the second period he finally got sick of it and dropped the gloves with Andrew Peters when Peters decided to take some liberties with Wade Redden. Redden did some pushing himself but leave it to Grats to sort things out. This was the tilt that we were expecting and I'm proud to say that I believe McGrattan came out victorious. At first it looked like Peters might have gotten the edge, landing a few good blows, but McGrattan came back with a vengeance. There was also a fight between Chris Neil and Adam Mair in the second. Mair crunched Jason Spezza earlier in the game and Neil swooped in but they didn't end up fighting right then and there. Good to let the juices simmer a little?

Derek Roy and Mike Comrie both got unsportsmanlike conducts after getting into a shoving match after Dany Heatley's goal. Just a shoving match though, could you imagine a fight between those two? It'd be like a rat versus a mouse. Roy's the rat. Not that it would last long, if Comrie managed to land a blow I'm sure Roy would act like he just got hit in the face with a bazooka.

The game itself was really a lot tighter than it should have been considering Buffalo's roster was half AHL players. The Senators managed to came back from a one goal deficit to take a 3-1 lead for awhile before the Sabres and Senators ended up exchanging goals for the rest of the night. It was eerily reminiscent of The Playoff Game That Shall Not Be Named. Sad to say, the Sabres made it close in large part to the fact that Ray Emery was not looking too sharp tonight. Martin Biron started in net for the Sabres but was chased after he let in four goals. The Senators managed to only get two past Ryan Miller one of which was an open cage off of a misplay by Miller behind the net. A commenter over at Battle of Ontario said that tonight's game was a clinic on why goalies shouldn't leave their crease. Really, it was ridiculous.

This win was important for the Senators in a lot of ways. It was a way to get back at the Sabres where it really matters, on the scoreboard. Not that this loss hurts them in any way since they're absolutely running away with the division. Games between these two will always be emotional and scrappy given their history and I think it helps with the Senators' confidence to know that they can still take it to the team that bounced them from the playoffs. It also shows that they can throw whatever antics they want at the Senators and it won't get under their skin. They're here to play and to win. Although given the fact that they almost coughed up yet another lead and kept me nervous all night, I suppose it's a learning experience to teach them not to sit on their laurels when their goalie is having an off-night.

Given the dead-heat race in the Eastern division for a playoff spot, the two points were really important for the team to create some distance away from the teams nipping at their heels.

This wrapped up the season series with the Sabres with the Senators taking it 5-2-1. Which...is more or less the same record they had against them last season. Weird? As expected this game was in front of a capacity crowd of 20,040 at Scotiabank Place.

Related...
- Lindy Ruff is a little lighter in the wallet.

- You might have heard about Adam Mair going to apologize to Dany Heatley after the game on Thursday. That was more in relation to something he said to Heatley in which allegedly the 'M' word was used. Heatley accepted the apology, but the Senators obviously still had a score to settle with them. That being said, Kypreos needs to shut it.

- Joe Corvo was a healthy scratch tonight. Well, officially he had the flu. It wasn't to make room for McGrattan since Grats is a winger. Could a trade be imminent? I sort of hope so.

- Who knew Chris Kelly was so great on break aways? Maybe he should get the call for shootouts next time.

Labels: adam mair, andrew peters, brian mcgrattan, buffalo sabres, chris neil, dany heatley, home win, lindy ruff, ray emery, ryan miler, win

^{Grats says: "How do you like me now!"
Photo credit to imwithstrud}

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, except that one guy who might have passed out prematurely during last night's game, Brian McGrattan will be dressed for the first time in 10 games. As of this morning there were only 50 tickets remaining for tomorrow night's game and I get the feeling that number's changed by now.

Unless Colin Campbell decides that he doesn't like the option his Wheel of Discipline has given him, or that it's been landing on "Please Spin Again" all afternoon, you can except the same cast of characters for the rematch, including Ray Emery once again in net.

As giddy as I was with last night's event, I was a little surprised that as of this afternoon there was no punishment doled out yet. Don't get me wrong, I loved the events that transpired last night but it was hardly the height of sportsmanship. This was brilliant in itself that I'm betting ESPN will actually decide to willingly talk about hockey, even if it's only to demonstrate why it's part of the Axis of Sports Evil.

Pierre McGuire was on Sports Radio saying that this needed to be nipped in the bud and said that he would probably be called a 'treehugger' for suggesting that. He also contended that it wasn't the best game on that night. First of all, I have to say that checking out the other games, no, none of them holds a candle to this one. Second of all, I sort of have to agree that something should be done. It's great when this happens once or twice a season but it's got the dangers of turning into a full out circus and completely distracts from the game itself. Keep in mind though, nobody was actually in danger of getting hurt last night from the brawl itself, but that's not exactly the point.

I don't understand how Lindy Ruff doesn't get a suspension for this. I would be fine with just one game. I said it when Ray Emery slashed Maxim Lapierre in the face and I'll say it here because I mean it: any action that clearly had an intent to injure should have a suspension attached to it. You could not possibly think that when Ruff decides to send out the goon squad that he's not looking to do some hurt.

But the B-flo fans will argue that Bryan Murray was stupid to send out his top line if he knew that retribution was coming. Lest we forget, there was still a hockey game going on and at the point the Senators were down a goal. I maintain that even if Murray waited to send out his top line, Ruff could have still had the match-up he wanted. The guys on Team 1200 said that Murray should have sent out his fourth line because Ruff would have wanted vengeance right away. I disagree, but whether or not that's true is anybody's guess. But really, who would have Murray sent out instead? Chris Kelly and Patrick Eaves?

The Hit Heard Around the World...
Let's talk about the hit that started it all. Buffalo fans all cried foul that Chris Neil's hit on Chris Drury was dirty and that Neil was a scum bag, et cetera, et cetera.

First of all let me just say that I actually like Drury. Mind you, I'm already a full-fledged member of the 'I Hate Sabres' club but I like Drury and know that he's a great player. I hate to see that he got hurt out of this but if you actually dissect the hit, there was nothing dirty about it. I'll refer you to Section 6 of the Official Rulebook if you're looking for something to refer to.

Picking this hit apart, the general consensus by the media types at least is that it was clean. Usually, just because MSM says so doesn't usually mean it's true but they've got the technology and angles to look at it. Neil didn't leave his feet and there was no elbow involved. It might have seemed high because Neil is 6'1 and Drury is 5'10 and Drury had his head down from looking at his pass. It was a hard hit and most of the impact probably came from the fact that shoulder pads are built like concrete these days.

As for the hit being late? If you'll remember, hockey is fast. The Spin actually measured how 'late' the hit was and it happened exactly half a second after Drury got rid of the puck.

The Helmet Debacle...
People will say that Murray talking about Drury's helmet not being done up properly was just a cheap excuse. Heather B. says the timing of it all was what rubbed people the wrong way. That might be true, but being on the other side of the fence, I hardly thinks Murray cared much. The truth is, if Drury's helmet was done up properly it wouldn't have flew off before Drury hit the ice. It's unfortunate he needed 20 stitches and now has a concussion, but the injury wouldn't have been as bad if his helmet was done properly.

On Toughness and Heart...
The criticism I've been hearing is the fact that nobody jumped in to protect Emery from Peters. They're taking it as a sign that the Senators once again lack toughness and heart. One caller asked that if they weren't willing to take a punch for their number one goaltender, would they be willing to take it for the Cup?

I don't really have a problem with it. The rest of the team looked like they were otherwise occupied and sure, maybe they could have shaken themselves free and jumped in. But given the grin on Emery's face, I would have worried more about Emery kicking my butt in the dressing room for stopping him. Also, given who was on the ice, who would you have wanted to step in? Jason Spezza? What Peters did was moronic, why entertain it? Why did the referee and linesmen run away with their tail in between their legs when Peters started throwing the punches?

Despite being angered by how ridiculous some Buffalo fans have been about this whole situation I've got to give credit for the team for sticking up for one another. The execution could have been a bit better, but brava.

Emery was on the radio saying that he had fun and that he always enjoys the fights...but his mom wasn't too pleased and he therefore can't do it for awhile. You tell him, Momma Emery.

Most people will want Peters filled in for next game but the best vengeance will be on the scoreboard. I'd much prefer the Senators take it to them there than on the ice but dressing McGrattan is a good way to send a message that they can't be pushed around.

I'm going to guess that some chirping happens in the beginning and then the game continues as per usual. There, I am officially done talking about it.

To the surprise of nobody, the Senators were working on shootouts at practice:



Apparently McGrattan is actually pretty awesome at shootouts.

In Other News...
- Anson Carter goes from $3 million to 5th Round Draft Pick. - Mr. Carter has a new home in Carolina.

- Hockey Dirt breaks news about a new Senators acquisition.

Labels: brian mcgrattan, buffalo sabres, hilarity, ray emery, sober second thoughts

As a primer, here's the footage of Sean Avery getting up in Martin Brodeur's business from the last Rangers vs. Devils tilt. Apparently during the intermission Avery was calling Brodeur a whiner and that he just had to play through it like he was playing with a debilitating injury or something. We all know Avery knows a ton about whining:

---

There's a reason why that image is called "hilarity". Because this game tonight was many things and hilarious was definitely one of them. I mean it would have been funnier if the Senators actually won but the fact is they mounted a formidable comeback when Martin Gerber was once again channeling his best wounded baby bird impression.

Dear Rogers Sportsnet,
We paid a lot for digital cable. I know I haven't exactly been shy about my dislike for you but when you blackout this game knowing that I WAS THIS CLOSE TO BEING THERE, can you really blame me?



All right, for those of you who might not know, the brou-ha-ha all started at 5:07 in the second. Chris Drury was hit by Chris Neil and ended up springing a leak and needed to be helped off the ice. Neil wasn't penalized for the hit but Lindy Ruff decided to dish out his own retribution by putting out Adam Mair and Andrew Peters against Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley. You don't put those guys out unless you plan on doing some hurt and sure enough Mair started throwing the punches at Spezza right off the face-off. I just want to know how the heck one can think picking a fight with Spezza of all people would be seen as anything less than "cheap".

Emery obviously wanted to keep a low profile after coming off a three-game suspension. Which is why when all of this started I had visions of Martin Biron and Emery staring down each other from the ends of the ice with Western music in the background. Really, there was tumbleweed and everything. Emery likes to throw the punches, why am I not surprised? I'm upset that Emery once again lost it, but at the same time I was like "HELL YEAH!" and so proud of him. The fact that he was wearing that grin of his for the whole time just made it all the better. Credit to Biron for holding his own. After that, Peters decides to demonstrate that he really is a moron by coming in to fight Emery. Isn't that against the code that you're not supposed to fight somebody that just fought?

While all of this was going on the coaches behind the bench decided to have an intelligent and mature shouting match from behind the bench. Rob Ray was working the game for the MSG Network and was in between the benches. Poor guy had the most awkward look on his face and had to cover his microphone from all of the f-bombs being thrown around.

At the end of it all around 118 minutes of penalties were handed out. I mean it's no Ottawa Senators vs. Philadelphia Flyers but it was still pretty hilarious. In any case, thanks to Peters demonstration of intelligence, the Senators managed to get a 5-on-3. Maddeningly enough the boys couldn't convert because at this point they were down 2-3 after securing a nice 2-0 lead in the first.

Of course with Gerber in net he could either once again continue with his hot streak or give the brass more reasons to try to unload him. Unfortunately, he chose the latter. With the score 3-5 in favour of Buffalo the boys managed to mount a convincing comeback.

Really the fact that this game went into a shoot-out was just an afterthought. I'm thrilled we got a point out of this and it only adds more fuel to the fire for Saturday. Perhaps it'll be a Biron vs. Emery rematch?

For Your Information...

- The last time both goalies were tossed from the game for fighting? December 2001: Felix Potvin (LA) and Jani Hurme (OTT). We really like scrappy goaltenders don't we?

- For the record, I think it's unfortunate Drury was injured but the hit to me looked clean. Neil didn't leave his feet and it looked high, but his elbows weren't up at all either. It only might have looked that way because Neil is a bit taller than Drury and you know he is a gritty player and will always finish his checks.

- Maddeningly enough, Gerber made only about two good saves during the game but managed to stop all but one shooter in the shoot-out. Drew Stafford scored the winner. Yeah, I have no idea either.

- I maintain Score Tonight is THE best Sports Highlight/News show based solely on the brilliance of Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro. Their narrative of the game was just brilliant and hilarious. Also Seixeiro on describing a Habs goal in their game against Nashville shouted a bunch of French words including "Bibliotheque!". Micallef asked with brilliant delivery: "Why did you just say library?". Score Tonight also has Cabbie on the Street segments. Today they are talking about the Kiss Cam.

- Um, am I the only one who finds it ridiculous that 7 games had to be decided in OT or in a SO?

Thanks to Battle of Ontario here is the brilliance that was tonight. The first is the initial Drury hit from Neil and the one following is the melee that ensued:






Hockey's awesome!

Labels: andrew peters, buffalo sabres, cabbie on the street, hilarity, jason spezza, martin biron, ray emery, road loss, score tonight, shoot-out loss

I'm a little young to remember this nor have I seen the movie but...

Happy Anniversary!




What excuse did you give your boss to get the day off?

Cross-posted to HLOG

Labels: general, miracle on ice, miscellaneous

^{My money's on Brodeur actually}

Sean Avery ran into Martin Brodeur last night and fisticuffs ensued. Unfortunately I don't have any footage of the incident but I do have this precious footage of Jaromir Jagr giving Avery a nice nudge and Avery proceeding to act like he just got shot:



Apparently Avery was acquired to protect Jagr. Yeah, good luck with that.

In Other News...

The brain trust that is the GM meetings have debated yet another "pressing hockey issue" and has decided to put the ki-bosh on rewarding three-points for wins. My housemate and I were talking about how frustrating it was that certain teams ahead in the standings are only staying that way because they manage to push things into Overtime. Other than that I really have no issue with it. The great thing about these GM meetings though? Great quotes from Brian Burke:

"Because it's a terrible idea. That's why it didn't have any support.

[snip]

I think our game is good, I think our points system is good, our fans are just finally learning to understand it. And now we're going to change it? It's just dumb for me, it's just dumb." --CP Via TSN.

Your fans are finally learning to understand it? How hard can it be? Somebody said it on the radio and I have to agree, I think Burke likes any excuse he can get to swear or be generally grouchy. I get the feeling he thinks these meetings are as unnecessary as Jim Kelley does:

The Buzz: Nick Kyproes of Sportsnet Connected declares the General Managers meetings "uneventful".

The BACKHAND: Hey Nick, what where you expecting, news? The GMs meetings are always uneventful. The only reason we media types put in for a travel voucher is because they are almost always held in warm weather places in the middle of winter.-- The Backhand

.

If you haven't been reading Kelley's columns at Sportsnet, I highly suggest you do so. The fact that he regularly beats down on people, including his own colleagues it seems, is just high hilarity. Maybe he's just getting senile.


^{Boogah-Boogah Boo!: I wonder if Lapierre still wakes up in the middle of the night with visions of Emery's stick dancing in his head}

Ray Emery's three game suspension is officially over and Senators nation can breathe a sigh of relief that Martin Gerber didn't spontaneously combust. However, Bryan Murray he says he will wait until tomorrow to announce his starting goaltender.

Some Intermission Entertainment...
The ladies over at No Pun Intended have found this gem. Apparently Alexander Ovechkin is also a bit of an "artist":

Labels: general managers meeting, jaromir jagr, jim kelley, miscellaneous, ray emery, sean avery

^{The perfect revenge}

Okay boys, let's not EVER do that to me again. Capice?

For some reason I had it in the back of my head that whenever you're chasing a milestone it's always going to be that little bit out of reach and take you by surprise. Coach Bryan Murray was on the verge of being only the 5th coach in NHL history to reach 600 wins and with all of the press coverage surrounding it, the pessimist in me had to retort "Psh. Now it probably won't happen for awhile now."

But the optimist in me told me to just shut up and listen to the game. How often do the Oilers roll into town and my good friend G and her friends may or may not be there so it would have to be a good game. The Senators had a two goal lead in the second before they let the Oilers take it to them a little. The game slipped away from them for awhile when the Oilers came back within one. Daniel Alfredsson restored a two goal lead in the third but give credit to the Oilers for their determination. Craig MacTavish said that they had to throw the desperation game out the window and focus on winning. With Jussi Markkanen pulled, the Oilers managed to tie it. As much as I would like to blame the tying goal on Martin Gerber, he made some great saves tonight. Looking at the goal, it really didn't look like there was much he could do as he did try to get across the crease to stop the goal.

Of course today I was just lamenting the plight of our shoot-out performances to Hockeygirl. Interestingly enough, I also told HG that Antoine Vermette was our best shootout guy and today he was the only one who didn't score in the shoot-out tonight. Dean McAmmond scored for Ottawa and in the perfect act of revenge, so did Mike Comrie. The thing with Ottawa being a government city is the hodge-podge of people and you can usually see a good amount of visiting team's fans. Especially on a Saturday night when the Senators are playing the Leafs, but that's not important right now. The Oilers fans were booing Comrie all night but the Senators fans, in a proud display of solidarity conversely cheered for him whenever he had the puck. Good for him.

Other Observations...
- Not that I want to complain coming off a win, but our PowerPlay is pretty terrible.

- Murray got the game puck as a souvenir for his milestone.

- Usually when Gerber isn't confident about his game he'll be like a baby bird, stuck in the back of his net. During the shootout he seemed to own it as he was extremely far from the blue paint to challenge Petr Sykora who had already beaten him twice.

- Anton Volchenkov is still looking for his first goal of the season but he's been pitching in with assists. His league leading blocked shots more than makes up for it though.

- Comrie and Joffrey Lupul got corresponding slashing minors. I sort of found that hilarious for no apparent reason.

- Watching the post-game reaction...for those of you who care, Alfie shaved his head.

In other exciting news, I did in fact meet up with HG today!. It was a little bit awkward at first but we had a great time after we got some caffeine into our system. Caffeine solves all problems.

Labels: anton volchenkov, edmonton oilers, home win, martin gerber, mike comrie, shoot-out win

As per usual, I've been getting a lot of Google searches for Senators Ice and Dice pictures and "(insert player name here) + girlfriend". I think this link will address both those concerns.

Just as Mr. Mirtle was talking about his Anonymous Comment Hall of Fame, I was privileged enough to receive my first anonymous comment of note the other day. This was from an entry back in September when I attended a preseason game between the Sabres and Penguins in Hamilton:

i happen to live in buffalo and am a huge fan of both the sabres and the pens, but i'm always loyal to my home team when they play my #2 fav. team. I really like the new sabres jerseys, as do pretty much every fan who's not a bandwagoner because the sabres OWN!!! so all u guys out there being gay about it can go screw yourselves. youre all fags. GO SABRES!!!

Really? The fans who much prefer the classic vintage look which is a testament to the heritage of the team are all "bandwagoners"? Silly logic aside, lets look at the other criteria:

- Poor use of grammar?
- Multiple exclamation marks?
- Politically incorrect language?

Looks like it covers all of the basis. I'm making an executive decision to delete it for the language. We're a classy place here.

Labels: general, miscellaneous, off-topic, silliness

These late night posts have got to stop. I meant to update earlier but we ended up spending hours at a restaurant for Chinese New Year and I was too busy wanting to strangle Blogger after finally figuring out how to put a header up for Paige's Sabres Girls blog.

Everytime these two teams meet the storyline is "HOSSA vs. HEATLEY. Two men who will forever be linked!" Really, the CBC even put together an epic montage at the beginning of Hockey Night Afternoon In Canada. Really, the Senators have had a ton of afternoon games lately.

The teams pretty much were exchanging goals for most of the game before Ottawa finally got their first lead late in the third from Dean McAmmond who had been moved onto the wing on the big line with Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley. That's quite a promotion from fourth line centre. For the Senators it was most likely having to shake off the cobwebs as they hadn't played since Wednesday. For Atlanta, it was having to find their game again after a disappointing out West where they went 1-3-0.

It was chippy right from the get-go. I maintain that Atlanta is probably one of the dirtiest teams but that could just be because I don't like Atlanta. Really, I can't stand Ilya Kovalchuk. He got an elbow to the face by Andrej Meszaros which happened by accident because Meszaros was finishing his check and Kovalchuk was going low to try to avoid it and got hit in the face with an elbow. He went down like a ton of bricks and of course was instantly better for his next shift. On his way to the bench after his shift he gave Meszaros an elbow too. I don't care so much about the retaliation so much as him giving off the impression that he's entitled to jack-ass-dom just because he's a superstar.

Gosh, I'm really moody today aren't I?

Martin Gerber was strong near the beginning but as the goals went in, he seemed more and more nervous, thus causing the viewing audience to be more and more nervous. When Gerber isn't on his game he tends to over-commit to his positioning and give up horrendous rebounds and as the game went on these tendencies crept up again. Lucky for him the Senators tightened up in front of him and managed to complete the comeback story for Gerber. When Gerber is feeling shaky at the back end, it's important to lay on the offense. His confidence is in a delicate state right now after all and his may be his only chance to prove his worth.

Once again the CBC takes initiative to suggest a goalie switch. Early in the first an Atlanta player crashed into Gerber and he was on the ice for quite awhile. The cameras instantly panned to Kelly Guard on the bench. Wearing the same hat as I have by the way.

As for the Hossa vs. Heatley battle? I think this one goes to Hossa who registered two assists while Heatley only one second assist.

Other Tidbits...
- Greg Millen needs to make up his mind on whether or not Atlanta is a fast team or a slow team. One minute he's talking about how Atlanta's lack of speed is hurting them, after Atlanta scores he says to watch out for their speed. And when they give up an odd-man rush he talks about how it's because of their slow-ness. Come on.

- He also called Kovalchuk "Kovalev" one time. So that's the real reason why he's out with injury!

- Chris Kelly continues to prove that he's a PK specialist with a short-handed tally today.

By the Way...
For those who celebrate it, Happy Chinese New Year!

^{Credit to the brilliant Toothpaste For Dinner}

Labels: atlanta thrashers, chris kelly, dany heatley, greg millen, home win, marian hossa, martin gerber, win

To make up for my lack of posting yesterday...here's a super long entry about something that will probably put you to sleep. Hourray!


^{From the always brilliant Instigator}

I'm refusing to talk about the whole Foppa trade because everybody else has already talked about it and it doesn't effect me either way. But I guess I'll throw my hat in the ring [or somewhere near the ring] anyways because I'm like that. My position stays the same: a healthy Foppa is a happy Foppa and happy fans but I'm not entirely convinced the man isn't being kept together by paper clips and prayers right now.

I will however, talk about something that also happened a couple of days ago. Hamilton resident and award-winning writer Stephen Brunt came into our Economics of Professional Sports class to talk to us about the state of the NHL. Apparently he was supposed to come in when we talked about boxing but the NHL was a more pressing need.

To summarize what he said, essentially the problem with the NHL has been the same as it was 50 years ago. How do you market an interest that is restricted by climate, geography and region and sell it to others?

For awhile, the NHL was ahead of the NBA in terms of its appeal. It was the 'cool' thing to do. In 1993, hockey was continuing to expand and with Gretzky being sold to Los Angeles the idea was large that hockey could be sold to these rich markets with high disposable income.

Enter: Gary Bettman. He was a lawyer and second in command of the NBA at the time and while he had no hockey experience, the NBA had been great at selling their stars at the time. Brunt explains that Bettman was brought in for three things:
1) Marketing the NHL and its stars
2) Help garner more T.V. exposure for hockey
3) Control Player Costs.


In terms of marketing the NHL and its stars, the best thing that happened was the New York Rangers winning the cup for the first time in 40 years in 1994 and Gretzky was absolutely at the pique of his career. However, the next year the players were locked out and the NHL once again staggered after that.

Bettman signed three T.V. contracts over his tenure so far:
The first was for $15 million over 5 years on Fox and $85 million over 5 years with ESPN
The Second: $600 million over 6 years jointly with ABC and ESPN
Current: $135 million with Versus and profit-sharing with NBC, the last season which made zero profit.

Brunt believes that the NHL should have gone back to ESPN for free. I see how that makes sense in that more people are more likely to flip to ESPN then even know Versus exists and that in itself will help boost ratings. Even if the initial contract out of the lockout was for no money, ESPN would have had a vested interest to see the ratings for NHL hockey succeed instead of treating it like the ugly step-child of professional sports. It opens the doors for a new profitable contract in the future at least. With the ratings on Versus and NBC in the toilet, the NHL essentially has lost any leverage to negotiate with ESPN in the future for a profitable deal.

When discussing the lockout, Brunt dispels any notion that the lockout was necessary for protecting small market teams and to encourage competitive balance.

After the lockout, the small market teams that were supposed to be protected ended up spending more on player salaries than before. Because player salaries, even in Canadian markets are paid in American currency, the exchange rate was significant. The Canadian Assistance Program was scrapped and the only thing that's made it acceptable was that the Canadian dollar had been rising over the past couple of years. The revenues for large market teams such as New York and the Leafs went up because of being forced to cap their salary. The Leafs contributed $9 million to revenue-sharing but ended up spending $30 million less than before the lockout. Essentially, the rich got richer and the poor ended up having to spend more.


^{The Playoff Spot kind of looks skanky to me}

In terms of competitive balance, Brunt says that the highest spending teams weren't always the best performing teams. The Rangers was one of the highest spending teams in the past 7 years before the lockout and they missed the playoffs all 7 years. The biggest difference was that the free agency age was 31 at the time and the UFA ages can now be 26 depending on years in the league. Brunt explains that the badly run teams spent a lot of money on free agents who were already up there in age and hitting the twilight of their careers while the new system puts players on the market during the prime of their careers, inevitably forcing overpricing and huge bids. Now players can essentially make more money over their careers than they ever could before the lockout. To give an example, Tampa and Calgary made the Cup finals in the year before the lockout and they were 15th and 16th in payroll spending. Brunt believes that parity wasn't an issue at all as that half of the league in the last 4 years have made at least the semi-finals.

I haven't really thought about whether or not I agree with everything Brunt said. I was furiously writing down notes because I know my professor would likely test on the most obscure date and stat he said. The lockout was essentially necessary for Bettman to find a way to reduce costs or to bust the union. Hockey fans love the new game that is being played but of course it is not without its flaws. I think a salary cap is necessary not for competitive balance so much as controlling costs for a league where increasing revenues just aren't guaranteed. I'm under the impression that overbidding occurs because nobody has actually gotten the concept of a salary cap yet and that you can't go and blow your brains out and have your money tied up in only a few players.

Other Interesting Tidbits
- To follow up with Brunt's recent post about Nashville, last year Nashville received $10 million in revenue-sharing but still didn't make a profit. Nashville also has an agreement with the local government that if attendance doesn't reach 14,000 then the government will buy the rest of the tickets. Florida made $9 million in revenue-sharing.

- He believes that the Penguins will most likely stay in Pittsburgh. He also doesn't think the number of playoff teams should increase.

Labels: general, hockey business, stephen brunt, the instigator

I was on pins and needles for this one because despite Martin Gerber winning 5 of his last 6 starts before today, it had been awhile since he had started a game. Reviews out of practice were positive but the general consensus was that Gerber needed to step up with Ray Emery out with suspension or else heads were going to roll. Namely at the blade of yours truly.

I know, I can be so melodramatic.

Luckily, the three games Emery would have to sit out were games against teams that have been struggling. It was a perfect platform for Gerber to regain some of that confidence that was taken away from him after being forced to start in the playoffs last year despite throwing up in between periods. He blanked the Panthers tonight with 28 saves, earning his first shutout in a Senators uniform. His shutout bid was almost broken when Stephen Weiss took a shot that beat Gerber but couldn't beat the post.

The other storyline of the night was the Senators facing the current team of Gary Roberts, which was the name that was being bandied about that has drawn the interest of the Senators. His performance tonight didn't inspire much confidence as apparently he was turning the puck over left and right.

The Senators benefited from secondary scoring tonight as all four goals came from the second and third lines. The Pizza line only got on the scoresheet by way of assists. However Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Mike Comrie are sure fun to watch.

Random Timbits:
- The Senators are now 3-0-0 on Valentine's Day. It's the perfect gift if you ask me!

- Mike Fisher and Chris Gratton got into a spirited fight midway in the first. Both were given five-minute majors. I really don't want Fisher fighting, he's fragile enough as it is! Can't say I wasn't cheering though. He was an assist away from a Gordie Howe Hat Trick.

- Chris Phillips has 7 goals already this season. I never thought I'd say it but that qualifies as him being on fire.

- Ed Belfour is 10-12-2 in 27 games against Ottawa.

- Wade Redden was wearing a visor for the first time tonight! He'll probably need more time to adjust to it because he wasn't really a factor tonight. I wonder what's brought it on?

- There's some silly chick-flick on TV called "Little Black Book" where the male love interest works for the New Jersey Devils. Had me interested enough to watch for five minutes.

- Up Front with Jason Spezza. Nothing too interesting but he's always fun to watch because of his...happiness.

- Pictures from Senators Dice & Ice Fundraiser. It's always fun to see the boys not in hockey gear and the event raised over $200,000 for charity.

- We had 3 feet of snow today so school was canceled. It was perfect to make an ice rink but we didn't exactly have the room in our house. Have to say I loved sleeping in and being able to avoid the school looking like something Cupid threw up because it was Valentine's Day. Actually, I baked some chocolate cupcakes for the day and there's still some left and I'm willing to share. The housemates and I had a snow battle. Here's some of us buried in snow and me doing my best anonymous blogger impression:

Labels: ed belfour, florida panthers, home win, martin gerber, mike fisher

At least Jim Kelley's "Backhand" Columns don't. This is from his latest offering regarding trade rumours:

The Buzz: Rumoured reports (seemingly the only kind left in the world of hockey these days) have it that Flyers semi-interim General Manager Paul Holmgren has a Forsberg offer in his back pocket from Nashville that includes two first-round draft picks and emerging star forward Alexander Radulov.

The BACKHAND: Yeah, and if you believe that you probably believe that internet bloggers who refuse to put their name to their work are legitimate journalists.

With all of the talk of a certain 'blogger' joining a certain 'station' I felt it was apt. I don't read hockey trade rumours, but is 'pwned' the right term?



If you celebrate Valentine's Day, Happy Valentine's Day! I'll be spending the day baking cupcakes and perhaps going out to have a snowball fight with my housemates seeing as school is canceled. Will have embarrassing pictures up sooner or later.

Labels: jim kelley, pwnage, rumours, sportsnet

As much as I bag on my school, at least the Economics of Professional Sports course is getting something right. On Thursday, Globe and Mail Columnist and award-winning, best selling authour Stephen Brunt will be in class to discuss the state of the NHL. He will touch on such topics as TV ratings and why Bettman needs to go. Not that he needed to explain that last point to us. So, if you guys have any pressing questions you need answered, feel free to fire them my way and I'll try to find my spine to raise my hand in class.

List of Books by Brunt

A Request
Some of you may or may not know that I'm a volunteer for our campus radio station, CFMU 93.3. Currently we are in the middle of our fundraising campaign and if you guys could spare some change and give to the cause that would be beyond fabulous.

But why exactly should you donate? Well, our motto is "Redefining Radio" and we are doing just that. Our station isn't one of those big corporate stations inundated with advertising. We don't get money from selling air-time and it is mostly volunteer-run. It's based in the Hamilton community and our goal isn't ratings but to give the community a voice. It's to bring a spotlight to issues that matter to the community that satellite radio can't provide and it provides a platform for local artists to break ground. So if you too feel the importance of community radio, please help us out in any way you can! Tell them Sherry sent you. Or don't.

Boy am I glad the NHL has found their sense of humour. Thanks Hockeygirl for finding that gem.

Boys will be boys, I guess.

Labels: general, miscellaneous, off-topic, silliness, stephen brunt

The League has suspended Ray Emery for 3 games for a slash on Maxim Lapierre from their tilt this past Saturday.

I'm surprised and I'm not. The Canadiens sent a tape over to the league involving the incident after Saturday because Emery only got a minor penalty for the slash on Saturday and anything involving intent to injure should be penalized more seriously. I'm surprised because the league has let a lot worse infractions slide and a part of me can't help but feel like part of the punishment is because of who the offender is.

On the other hand, I'm surprised Emery hasn't gone homicidal on anybody's sorry @$$ since his personal space has been invaded so many times and he's been known to have a temper. At least with the suspension, Emery has time to heal that wrist of his which hasn't been 100% either. On second glance, it looks like Lapierre tried to hack at his wrist when he crashed the net too.

All I have to say is, Martin Gerber better not crap out on us because he really doesn't have the threat of a young stud taking over his job for the next three games. Or I'm going homicidal on his sorry @$$. Okay, maybe just put the sporks to good use.


^{I'll be back!}

Hat tip to Battle of Ontario for finding a clip of the slash. Cheap shot? Maybe, but it was completely reactionary. If Lapierre hurt Emery's wrist I would have booked the next flight to Montreal so I can give him a stern talking to. And a right sporking.



Fun Image of the Day:
Courtesy of ESPN:


I think Shaq's happy that he found someone else to share the woes of being fed radioactive material as a child.

Labels: league silliness, martin gerber, ray emery, suspension

After my proclamation of love to hockey just hours before, the boys answered the call and came out with a strong effort against the Habs, sweeping their home-at-home series.

The Senators came out of the first with a two goal lead yet allowed the Habs to come back to tie it up in the second. It looked like that the Great Sens Collapse was going to happen again, but I'd like to think that by this point the Senators have learned their lesson.

Mike Comrie lead the charge with a goal and an assist. I know that Oiler nation and people in Phoenix warn us about the fact that he's a hot and cold streaky player with a bratty attitude and will only contribute if he gets enough ice time. The way I see it is that you have to earn your ice time. If Comrie can keep up his production then I don't see why Bryan Murray would be adverse to making sure he gets his minutes.

People have criticized Murray for his lack of ability to keep lines together and it looks like he split the top line again for this game. I don't blame him for wanting to spread out the scoring and reuniting the Pizza line is always a good last resort for any last ditch efforts the boys might need. Daniel Alfredsson was on the second line with Peter Schaefer and Mike Fisher while Dean McAmmond saw time on the wing of the first line. McAmmond has actually been contributing really well to the team and I've liked what he's added. There was also a "Centre-Only" line as the third line consisted of Comrie, Antoine Vermette and Chris Kelly.

There was no shortage of chippy play as Ray Emery was assessed a minor for slashing Maxim Lapierre. After seeing some of Lapierre's behaviour, I can't say I blame him. Moments after they were both assessed unsportsmanlike conduct minors, Mike Komisarek and Chris Neil were assessed fighting majors. Good on you, boys, I hadn't seen a fight in awhile.

Actually, I didn't see this one either. We had the Toronto vs. Pittsburgh game on and there was certainly no shortage of scrappy play there. It was honestly one of the most intense games I've ever witnessed but a scary moment when Kris Newbury went down. Newbury was taken off on a stretcher but was conscience after taking some blows to the head from Ronald Petrovicky. No official word on his condition but was conscious and alert when he left the ice.

Trade News - The Calgary Flames won the Brad Stuart sweepstakes as he was sent to Calgary along with Wayne Primeau and a draft pick for Chuck Kobasew and Andrew Ference. HG, I'm terribly sorry.

Denis Hamel, who looked like he was finally going to get his chance with the Senators but failed to make enough of an impact in 43 games [4 goals, 3 assists] was put on waivers yesterday and claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers this afternoon. The Thrashers play the Senators next Saturday in a matinee game.

Don't know if this'll cheer anyone up, but it's good for a couple of giggles. Swedish twins are anything but a myth:



What I want to know is who gave them the twoonie.

More Unfortunate Moments in Crosby Photography
Is it just me or does Sportsnet have something against the little Penguin?

Labels: bryan murray, maxim lapierre, mike comrie, montreal canadiens, ray emery, road win

Cross posted to HLOG as my response to this week's topic but I figured it would be applicable here too.


In my 20 years of existence I have never officially experienced what it was like to be in love but I can imagine my relationship with hockey is something similar to that sensation. You know, the dizzying highs and the emo-tastic lows. Yes, for anybody who’s read my blog they know that I at times take losses by my boys a little too personally and have needed the aide of the panic meter to pace myself. Heck just the fact that I refer to the Ottawa Senators as “my boys” is indication of how personal I take it. Which is completely ridiculous because the reality is they’re just a team, I don’t own them and have no personal relation to them.

I know very well that it’s just a desperate attempt to make our relationship more meaningful than it really is. The reason I love hockey is that I couldn’t imagine my life without it. Even before when I wasn’t as into it as I am now, it was always there in the background, tapping me occasionally with its stick just to remind me of its existence. It was always waiting on the outskirts of my conscience knowing full well it’d be a permanent part of my life again.

Perhaps the fact that sports pages and hockey blogs dominate my browser and sports channels are the first places I go whenever the T.V. is on are signs that I might be overcompensating for the fact that I felt like I didn’t know how to be a fan or felt like I never loved it enough. I was born in a country with sub-tropic climate and no natural ice, I was never an adept athlete and never good enough to play. I’m not really into pools or number crunching, I find the statistics behind the game indicative of nothing.

It’s the intangibles of the game that I find so mesmerizing. It isn’t the technicalities but the heart and the spirit. It’s a bit of a contradiction in that I’m well aware it’s just a game, but at the same time it’s become a part of who I am that I couldn’t imagine my life without it. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m religious or just overly sensitive, but I like to think that once something becomes a part of your life, you must experience it. At least that’s my explanation for it when I have no other explanation as to why I get excited whenever hockey is mentioned in any form in any medium or why when my heater was broken I felt the warmest when I was wearing my jersey. Maybe that’s why I want to work in the industry or find a way to be completely immersed in it. I feel like the relationship is missing something, that it’s not yet complete.

Hockey doesn't have theatrics or drama in itself, at least one that's not created by the fans, yet every single game has some sort of backstory to tell. It doesn't have the sideshows and personalities that draws attention to the game for the wrong reasons. But that's just part of why I love it. It's an honest expression that lays everything out on the line and lets the sport speak for itself. It's a team sport where everybody is dependent on one another to make each other better. It's one of the only sports I see where teammates are unequivocally excited when another scores a goal. It's the only sport that prides itself on honour and sportsmanship by having teams shake one another hands after a playoff series.

But just like when you love someone or something you can’t help but notice their faults and point them out. You can’t help but let it affect you and be disappointed because you know that they’re capable of so much better. But you don’t love them any less because of it. I’m steadfast in my belief that even if the Senators never win anything meaningful I will continue to support them despite it being a danger to my health. As long as they continue to work hard and show their love for the game, than I will do the same.

Labels: general, hockey love, miscellaneous, sappiness

Taking a mini study break for my mid-term tomorrow morning.

Things are really on the downhill for Joffrey Lupul lately, for even his equipment is turning on him.

Labels: blooper, general, humour, joffrey lupul, miscellaneous, off-topic

The panic...she may have been premature.
I love how in that picture Schubie is sort of all "Wait. Yay!"

Game recap courtesy of TSN. Back to studying and drawing confusing network diagrams.

Labels: christoph schubert, home win, montreal canadiens, win

Dear Alexander Ovechkin,
Those sporks I promised to carve your eyes out with will have to wait as I have used them on myself after tonight. Consider yourself lucky.

Dear Ottawa Senators Minus Mike Fisher and Jason Spezza
Look guys, I don't know who told you that just because Fisher and Spezza were back in the line-up you guys can all of a sudden break off the chains. You guys are supposed to be better with them in the line-up, remember? Against the Sabres? The team that bounced you from the playoffs? The team's who's fans were jeering your number one tender? You knew I was having the week of death, YOU KNEW!

Patrick Eaves, you were injured so you're exempted.

Dear Wade Redden,
Your penalty lead to the game-winning goal. I acknowledge that you played hard for the rest of the game but right now, the wounds are too fresh.



If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take out my anger on the new Leafs cushion my housemate just bought.

Labels: buffalo sabres, patrick eaves, road loss, wade redden

You know how I've said previously that sometimes hockey pictures capture some extremely unfortunate facial expressions on the players? The article is about Boyd Devereaux wanting to get back into the Leafs' line-up. File this one under "Why Sportsnet Clearly Loves Toronto"


^{Tagline: Not sure Sid the Kid wants Boyd Devereaux to come back.}

The one thing I actually like about Sportsnet is Ian Mendes' blogs. Everybody, even Senators fans give him a hard time and I think it's uncalled for. The guy's hilarious. He's actually entertaining...and acknowledges the fact that Sportsnet is bursting with Toronto love. I especially like his latest entry, where he is sentenced to take a road trip with the Leafs:

That's right, I'm trading in Spezza's boyish giggles for Tomas Kaberle's boyish face. Goodbye Spartacat and hello Bates Battaglia.

There is one small upside to this road trip. For the next several days, my stories will be the lead on Sportsnet Connected. I'm hoping not to get drunk with the power of covering the team at the centre of the universe, but this is really exciting.

Usually, my Senators stories are pushed behind Raptors shootaround highlights, the announcement that Toronto FC has sold 12 more season tickets and Bill and Nick's two-minute analysis of Kris Newbury versus Ben Ondrus.

[snip]

As a person who regularly covers the Ottawa Senators, I really don't know the difference between Alexei Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov. Hey Leafs fans help me out here - which one is the oversized, over-skilled, yet underacheiving forward?


And I had better get out of Senators mode in a hurry. My biggest fear is that at some point this week I will refer to Mats Sundin as 'Alfie'.

Can you imagine the fallout from that? -- Sportsnet

I thought you weren't supposed to be talking to Alfie anyways, Mendes!

Your quote of the day goes to Christoph Schubert:

Asked what he was going to do to celebrate his 25th birthday, which is today, D Christoph Schubert told the Team 1200's Gord Wilson: "Everybody has to watch the Super Bowl, so I'm going to go over to Wade Redden's house, watch the game and drink all his beer." - Bruce Garrioch, Sun Media.

That is the mark of a good friend. Speaking of the Superbowl, for those of you who care, YAY Colts! My housemate's reasoning for cheering for Indy? "I'm cheering for the colts because colts are ponies." Couldn't have said it better myself.

If this is the year for defeating playoff ghosts, this can only mean it's Alfie's turn right? Right?

Frankly, I'm not feeling too optimistic about the week ahead of the boys:
Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - Ottawa @ Buffalo, 7:00 PM on TSN
Thursday, February 08, 2007 - Montreal @ Ottawa, 7:30 PM on A-Channel
Saturday, February 10, 2007 - Ottawa @ Montreal, 7: 00 PM on CBC-Regional

I won't be posting as much this week as I have a bunch of deadlines coming up. Think I can hold off paying attention to the score until the end of the week?

Edit at 5:44 PM - According to TSN:

The Los Angeles Kings have traded centre Sean Avery to the New York Rangers. Details to follow.

You know it's serious when they forget to close their 'bold' tag on the main page.

Labels: christoph schubert, general, ian mendes, miscellaneous, photography

The Senators had their Super-Skills competition today where the boys got to prove that despite losing in a shoot-out, they've still got skills. The event also raised $120,000 for the Easter Seals Society and Rogers House, the results are as follows:

Team Red - Martin Gerber, Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Comrie, Denis Hamel, Dany Heatley, Chris Kelly, Dean McAmmond, Andrej Meszaros, Chris Neil, Chris Phillips, Tom Preissing; Coach: John Paddock; Assistant coach: Randy Lee
Minor hockey players: Dominic Brassard, Aaron Dover, Tristen Elie, Graham Spero, Jacob Thompson

Team White - Ray Emery, Joe Corvo, Patrick Eaves, Mike Fisher, Brian McGrattan, Wade Redden, Peter Schaefer, Christoph Schubert, Jason Spezza, Antoine Vermette, Anton Volchenkov; Coach: Greg Carvel; Assistant coach: Tim Pattyson
Minor hockey players: Pierre Yves Boucher, Mathieu Branchaud, Reid Gardner, Bailey Hoelke, Philip Rimmer

Team 1200 Radio Puck Control Relay - Race 1 (Team): Red
Team 1200 Radio Puck Control Relay - Race 2 (Individual): Christoph Schubert (White)
Esso On the Run Fastest Skater (Individual): Dean McAmmond – 14.05 sec. (Red)
Esso On the Run Fastest Skater (Team average): 14.66 sec. (Red)
Holiday Inn Select Hardest Shot (Individual): Mike Fisher – 102,0 MPH (White)
Holiday Inn Select Hardest Shot (Team average): 98.55 MPH (Red)
Danone Accuracy Shooting (Individual): Antoine Vermette 4 for 4 (White)
Danone Accuracy Shooting (Team average): 10 for 17 – 58.82 per cent (White)
Juniper Networks PowerPlay Challenge: 4-3 (Red)
Scotiabank Breakaway Relay: 9-4 (Red)

I was sort of hoping Schubert would be given a chance to break his record for hardest shot last season but it looks like he's got some other skills too. I was surprised with Vermette winning the accuracy challenge and who knew McAmmond was such a little speedster.

In the meantime...
Posting may be limited this week as it is my Week 'o Death. So unless you guys want to write my two essays and two tests I have coming up this week, posting will be sparse. In the meantime, Jordi can keep you up to date on what's going on with her latest creative genius, The Tale of Sherbear. I had no association with this whatsoever.

Labels: general, miscellaneous, silliness, silly admin business, skills competition

Okay, who's brilliant idea was it to make this game all about the nickname? Thanks alot!

Anyways, today the Leafs were taking on the Senators in a battle to see which goaltender got to keep the nickname 'Razor'. The CBC was getting in on the action too as Ron McLean mentioned the whole Razor thing a good fifteen hundred times. It looked like the battle may not have taken place as Ray Emery took a shot to the glove and was favouring his other arm during the warm-up.

Sadly enough for our eccentric boxing fan, Andrew Raycroft walked away with the shoot-out victory. You can keep the name, we'll keep our playoff spot, thanks.
Okay, so I just might be SLIGHTLY bitter about this nickname thing. Hockeygirl and Jordi both know how obsessive I was about it during the game. But that's not the point.

The Leafs dominated most of the game, jumping out to a two goal lead in the first period. The Senators had been off since Tuesday and it showed as they looked sluggish for the first half of the game. They managed to tie the game up though with goals from Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Comrie. There was no shortage of scrappy play although penalties were low. Chris Phillips was busy pushing around everyone and anybody, he was like a one-man wrecking ball.

The boys battled back hard so maybe a night on the couch isn't yet warranted. Being that I'm a woman of my word I will concede to never calling Emery 'Razor' again, but I will never be calling Raycroft that either.

Well at least the Senators are still now in 4th place in the East, a point ahead of Montreal now. February is going to be the lightest month for the boys so I hope they'll be able to play hard and with intensity. In the meantime, I have a religious studies essay to write.

Off-Topic Girliness
- We attempted to get the heater fixed and it's at a record 18 degrees now. Nonetheless, I straightened my hair during the game in an effort to keep myself warm. The heat from the straightening iron was very comforting. It's nice!

Labels: andrew raycroft, daniel alfredsson, home loss, ray emery, toronto maple leafs

Jes from Hockey Rants directed us over to the FHM NHL Locker Room project where a couple of hockey players have set up blogs. See? It's not just us miserable fans that have gotten in on the action. Participants include Marian Hossa, Jeremy Roenick, Brian McGrattan, Marty Turco, Derek Boogard, Patrik Elias, Ryan Getzlaf, Mike Cammalleri, Martin Havlat and former player turned hockey analyst Keith Jones.

Most of it does seem pretty boring although Roenick and McGrattan are pretty entertaining and alot of them aren't updated on a regular basis. Cammalleri has only updated twice but he's actually got a sense of humour.

One thing I know for sure—we’re in a killer division. Anaheim, Dallas and San Jose were all predicted to be good and they’ve started off really well. We’re off to a tough start. When you’re winning, everything in your life seems to fall into place on a personal level and you’re always happy. When you lose, everything sucks. So despite the warm weather, my nice house and our great fans, I’m pretty miserable right now.

Aww, it's okay. You can go cry in your nice house.

By 4 p.m., I’m on the road, commuting like everyone else. I’ll pick up two of my teammates and hit the carpool lane, trying to battle L.A. traffic. If that doesn’t get to them, my tone-deaf karaoke in the car does. They may not think so, but I sound exactly like whoever is singing on the radio. If you don’t believe me, the next time you’re in Los Angeles, roll down your window on the 110 before a home game. You’ll probably be stuck in traffic right next to me.

My favourite news correspondent Raj Binder was at the NHL All-Star Game this year and talked to some of your favourite all-stars about the game including an awkward conversation about Crosby and his first time at the All-Star Game. Also, he asks Zdeno Chara how many kids is the right number of kids to eat as a pre-game meal. You may be surprised at the answer. All I have to say is, look at Sedin Twins!



File this one under 'They're Really Reaching'...
Jordi directed me to this story. Apparently Sportsnet will be joined by one Mr. Eklund for their Trade Deadline show. No word yet on whether or not this is as accurate as his other stories. That's Sportsnet's answer to losing Darren Dreger?

Labels: all-star game, blogs, comedy, general, humour, miscellaneous, raj binder, silliness

My favourite Internet show Cute with Chris recently featured a cat named McTavish. I can sort of see the resemblance.

I've added some new blogs to the Blog-o-Net list over there. I'm going to take out the defunct ones sooner or later but laziness and supreme cold has prevailed.

By the way, our heater is broken and it's been 8 degrees in the house since two nights ago. Actually this morning we hit a new low by dipping down to 7 degrees. I asked Jordi and Hockeygirl to send me a heater, but they opted to send me this Heater instead. Thanks ladies? He might not have helped with the temperature, but he was named first star of the month!

Talks start on Chris Phillips' Contract - Phillips is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. While he struggled a bit early on and still takes the odd dumb penalty, he's played a great physical and defensive role. A lot more was expected of him since losing his usual defense partner Zdeno Chara but he's been a great shut down guy with Anton Volchenkov.

Last night the Pens and Habs got into a scrappy affair where the Pens managed to secure a lead but the Habs came back. The Pens still won in a shootout but I think everybody is still talking about Colby Armstrong's hit on Saku Koivu and how Sheldon Souray chased him down and amassed 27 minutes in penalties including a game misconduct. Here is Armstrong's hit on Koivu. It looked clean to me but as Jim Hughson said, you don't tug on Superman's cape.

Labels: colby armstrong, craig mactavish, general, miscellaneous, saku koivu, sheldon souray

It seems like the report card is due out on Gary Bettman and the marks have been, surprise, surprise poor. Eric Duhatschek over at the Globe has a nice look at Bettman's tenure. It's hard to believe the guy's been commissioner for well over a decade now.

While perusing my first year Marketing textbook I came across a case study done on the National Hockey League under the chapter talking about managing services. The case study itself had an overall optimistic outlook on the state of affairs of the NH. Mind you, this was published in 2003:

Historically the NHL and many of the team owners had a negative mindset toward marketing. Marketing was actually considered unseemly. The general approach was to simply open the doors of the arena and wait for customers to come. But with rising costs to operate the league, particularly player salaries, the NHL needed a bigger audience both at the games and on television. The league now fully embraces marketing -- and it starts at the top. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, the former vice president of the NBA, leads the NHL's marketing effort.

It's true, I don't think marketing was ever really a priority for the league until the '90s and especially after the lockout because Bettman was essentially handed something that was already successful. Even without a noticeable marketing effort, the league had Superstars such as Gretzky and Lemieux that could transcend sport preferences. They were used the right way to help promote hockey without the need for multi-million dollar advertising campaigns.

It goes on to say that the NHL has broken into the European television market:

"The NHL has also penetrated the European television market, with ESPN broadcasting NHL games on prime-time Swedish TV. Europe is also a good market for the NHL's product merchandising and licensing programs."

The rest of the case study is talking about their television deals and how the U.S. market offers the "best opportunity to ensure the long-term prosperity of the league" and how the NHL believes "strong franchises in major U.S. cities will help sell the game to a larger and new generation of fans outside of Canada". While this is true, it really doesn't help that Bettman essentially never really got the hang of promoting hockey in the 'States. You can't fault the guy for coming from a basketball background, but you simply can't sell the two sports the same way.

I'm pleased with the fact that Versus seems to be genuinely putting in an effort to create a solid hockey broadcast. You know on ESPN they would treat it like the unloved red-headed step-child. However you have to look at the fact that with the league's deal with Versus extended to 2011, it has basically stagnated any potential growth in ratings that's possible with a more accessible network such as ESPN. Not only that, but if the league wanted to potentially negotiate a deal with ESPN after this one with Versus expires, they've essentially lost any leverage they could have had because of the fact it's public knowledge that the ratings on both Versus and NBC have been in the toilet.

The case study concludes on an absolutely happy, optimistic and not-at-all ominous note:

"The NHL realizes it must aggressively market professional hockey. It believes it must put great players on the ice with great teams, and it must offer wholesome and fun entertainment. If it does not, customers will not continue to support and patronize professional hockey. And without fan support there will be no more Hockey Night in Canada- or anywhere else, for that matter"

One of the aspects of marketing entails finding out who your target market is and how to market to them in the most effective way. The second part involves finding out potential consumers and how the best way to reach them is. With a service such as sports entertainment, it's difficult because a lot of it hinges on personal tastes and preferences that were most likely developed socially. However, one of the best tools to help you with successful marketing is essentially having a great product. The league has this amazing new product that has the possibility for wide appeal. That being said, each product is different and requires different resources and methods to market effectively. Unfortunately for Bettman, he has yet to prove he's done his homework and make the necessary adjustment.



If you're curious on doing the case study here are the questions. There will be a test next week!

1) What is the "real product" that the NHL is marketing to prospective fans?
2) Who is the NHL competing with in terms of fan attendance?
3) How does marketing professional hockey differ from marketing a consumer product like breakfast cereal?

Source: Marketing: Fifth Canadian Edition. Berkowitz, Crane et al. McGraw-Hill Companies, 2003. Toronto.

Labels: business, gary bettman, general, marketing, miscellaneous