Finally A Right For Bettman

Gary Bettman finally got something right. He vouched for women's hockey to stay in the Olympics the other day, which was somewhat surprising considering it doesn't do him any personal favors. I think he probably has a bet on those canadian women to win it all next Olympics. Get it, he bets, Gary Bettman? Eh? I just came up with that now.

On another note, the Habs finally gave Brian Gionta the 'C', which was a fantastic descision on their part. I just hope he doesn't crumble under the expectations of being the first captain of the Canadiens since Saku Koivu's reign. That's a pretty powerful and courageous shadow to fall under. Hopefully Brian won't feel the need to battle through cancer in order to gain the fans' respect.



I'm sorry, that wasn't funny.


Overall, a day of mildly good descisons has just come to a close. The Senators have held on to Zack Smith, which is awesome because he looks freakin' amazing.

Ooh, boy.

GTFO Gary

So apparently after the Vancouver 2010 Olympics Games, the NHL is debating whether or not to continue allowing professional hockey players to participate in the games. In other words, they don't want to let their precious NHL stars play for their country in the Olympics.

Those on the pro side of it are the majority of NHL players, Hockey Canada, the International Ice Hockey Federation and just about every fan in the game.

The cons include, most obviously, Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner, along with many NHL club owners and GMs who don't quite see the value of suspending a season and risking injury and fatigue to their key players without making a little money off of it. Their mantra, and I quote:
"What's in it for us?"

I, for one, have mixed emotions about this whole ordeal. I agree that its aggravating that we have to pause the NHL season for two weeks, but I also think the Olympics should comprise of the best athletes in the world, and when it comes to hockey players, the majority tend to be found in the NHL. The downside of this is that the players on the Olympic hockey teams don't get any time to train together, as the teams are finalised right before the games actually begin. This results in uncoordination and slopiness, and basically some pretty crappy hockey.

I figure, since my vote is to have the best hockey possible on Olympic ice, that the teams would actually be better if they weren't comprised of NHL players because the amateurs would be practicing together for months before the games and will actually have formed a decent "team". With the NHL involved, all we see is basically a bunch of superstars skating around on the ice together.

It's a tough call to make, especially after these past Olympics in Vancouver, with almost a dramatic Hollywood storyline. I personally would like to live to see another Miracle on Ice, but with NHL players, this seems improbable. And especially with the next Winter Olympic games coming up in Russia, the players would have a huge time-zone to travel, not to mention that the host country is more or less at war with the NHL.

This whole issue is going to be under debate at the hockey summit coming up, so hold your breath. This might've been Crosby's last Olympic Games, who knows.

Sometimes There Just Isn't Need For Sharing

Jesus, Crosby. I know you're amazing and respectful and thoughful and generous as shit. But did you really have to share the Rocket? Christ. Steven Stamkos will have years of opportunity to win that thing. But this was your year! You win a Stanley Cup, you score the goal that won you the Olympics, you finally realize your homosexuality but decide to wait to come out of the closet in respect to the media and all those women out there who would choke on their own spit the moment they hears. This was your time. And you tied. You tied a sophmore! For the love of God, Sid.

As If

As if Jonathan Toews scored the first goal.

As if Corey Perry got a face-full of Ryan Malone stick.

As if he came back and scored minutes later.

As if USA scored and kept it to a 1 goal lead.

As if Canada held that lead for the rest of the game.

As if it wasn't actually the whole rest of the game.

As if Parise scored with 24 seconds left.

As if they completely pulled a Jordan Eberle crunch moment.

As if they stole that from us.

As if the intermission between the third and over-time was 15 minutes long.

As if the over-time period was a full twenty minutes.

As if they had to play four-on-four for a full period.

As if they kept us holding our breath for so long.

As if we scored.
As if we scored.
As if we scored.

As if SIDNEY CROSBY was the one who put it in.

As if it wasn't even a nice goal.

As if his mouth can open that wide.

As if he threw off his helmet.

As if we tackled each other to the ground.

As if we didn't even give a shit about being sportsman-like.

As if we didn't even give a shit about the USA crying in the corner.

As if we didn't even give a shit about anyone else at that moment.

As if 22 million people were watching that moment.

As if Sidney Crosby will forever be remembered for that moment.

As if Jonathan Toews was a part of that moment.

As if Eric Staal was a part of that moment.

As if the best goalie in the history of hockey was sitting on the bench for that moment.

As if that moment actually happened.

As if this all actually happened.

As if we made history.

As if it were in Canada.

As if we won.

Parties On Ice

I was actually in the middle of my own hockey game (kicking ass by the way) when I heard about the women winning the gold medal against USA. Our coach got the e-mail on his blackberry and called a time-out just so he could tell us the news. I'm pretty sure the other team had no idea why the hell we were wooping and cheering and high-fiving. But those women kicked ass. They went undefeated the entire tournament. They now have three Olympic gold medals in a row.



What scares me though is that Haley Wickenheiser won't be on the team next Olympics. She's been on that team ever since it was made. And I'm not even exagerating here; the Olympics didn't let women into hockey too long ago, and Wickenheiser was there right from the beginning. She's our captain, our heart and our soul. Canada's got a lot of depth, I'm not denying that, but it's sure gonna be a change to play an Olympics without her.



On a much brighter note, check this out. Trust me, you'll be happy you did. If anyone didn't hear about the way the Canadian women celebrated their gold medal after the game...well, Perez, the light shines on you. Thanks Micaela :) for supplying the link.

http://perezhilton.com/2010-02-26-canadas-womens-hockey-team-parties-on-ice

Great Things

What a day yesterday was, eh? A gold, two silvers and a bronze. We almost had a sweep in Women's Two-Man Bobsleigh (they should really consider changing that name), getting a gold and a silver. If only we had had a third Canadian group, then we might've knocked USA off the podium.

But we did get a bronze in Women's 5000 meter Speed Skating, with Clara Hughes in her final race of her life getting on the podium and setting an oval record in the process. Of course, her record was broken in the next two runs, but who cares? Everyone remembers the first guy who ran the 4 minute mile, not the other six guys who did it later that same week. We were the ones who opened the floodgates. And boy, what a flood.

And then we got another silver in short track speed skating Team Pursuit, in which we originally got third place but Korea, being the incredible cheaters that they are, got disqualified, bumping China up to first and us up to second. USA, who had come last in that race, got the bronze medal, which I think is extremely unfair, considering how far they were behind the pack the entire race.

All in all, yesterday=great day. And speaking of great things, how much of a great year is Eric Staal having? He lost to his brother in his push for the Stanley Cup last year, but that didn't seem to postpone the amazing time he was going to have next. First, he has a son. Yeah, big deal, I guess. And then he gets invited to the Olympic training camp, along with Jordan and Marc. And then he makes the Olympic team. And then the captain of the Carolina Hurricanes leaves, and he gets named captain. ...Right, so what have we got so far? Baby, Olympic, "C". Okay, and then, as if that weren't enough, he get's put on the top line at the Olympics between two of the best players who have ever lived, Jarome Iginla and Sidney Crosby. And then he produces. And now he's going into the semis. And then probably the finals. And if everything keeps going like it's been going for him, he'll have an Olympic Gold Medal to his name, right next to Lord Stanley which he won a few years ago.

Yeah, I'd say Eric Staal's having a pretty good year.

Bobby-Lou, Thank You. Thank You.

Canada did it. We did it. We defeated Russia. Bam.

Not that it was a close game at all, but I think it's safe to say I was on the edge of my seat the entire game, just waiting for Ovechkin to score three goals and tie it up. It could have happened. It's happened before. That man can put pucks in the net like the goal's a blond slut and the puck's his...yeah. But he didn't. Not then. He was hardly even there. But it doesn't matter. We don't care about him. We care about us. And how we completely humiliated the most skilled team in the world. I lost my voice that game, I was screaming so much. I was just sitting there, wearing my red believe shirt underneath my Letang Penguins jersey, bellowing my lungs out. Every goal we scored, the house shook, to say the least.

I cannot even begin to believe that that was the quarter-finals. It could have easily been the finals. It's not often that your quarter is more intense than your semi. We can't go and start under-estimating Slovakia, though. They beat Sweden. They beat Alfie. And the Sedins. That still blows my mind. But it doesn't matter. We'll take care those pesky Slovaks, and then we'll move on to humiliate the Americans and make them wish they'd never even come to Canada.

We are hockey. It's in our blood.


**Just a little side note in case some of you were wondering in the Canada-Russia game why, every time Robert Luongo touched the puck, they crowd errupted in a fit of boo's. And especially in his team's town, too. You'd think he'd be a hero. No, it was not the Russian fans. It was us. And we were not booing. We were cheering him on. He will win us Gold. And we were congratulating the fucking hell out of him for it.

"LOUUUUUU!!!!!"

Tonight

Tonight is the night.
The night greatness is achieved.
The night revenge is taken.
The night the most sought-after rivalry of all time is renewed.
Tonight is the night that Canada proves themselves. Proves that they are, were, and will always be the best hockey team in the world. Proves that their 7th place finish in Turin four years ago was but a flaw, a simple dash in a seemless record. Proves that they have what it takes to win it all.

Tonight is the night Canada and USA face off against one another for the first time since 2006.
Sacrifices will be made.
Hope will be crushed.
There can only be one winner.
Do you believe in miracles?



No.

WE GOT GOLD!

CANADA WON IT'S FIRST GOLD MEDAL ON HOME SOIL! WHOOWHOOWHOOOOO!

Alexandre Bilodeau was the one who did it, notching first place in the moguls. We all thought Cindy Klaussen was going to be the first in speed skating earlier that day, but she couldn't deliver. We got a bronze in that event, and the day before in women's moguls we got a silver. All in all, so far Canada has one of each, making us tied for third place in the medal standings. USA is unfourtunately in first place, but not for long. We have opened the floodgates to a shitload of gold medals that have yet to come!


On a more...melancholy note, Jonathan Cheechoo has been put on waivers for the Ottawa Senators. I guess we all knew it was going to happen eventually, but it stills hurts a little bit. It isn't a great feeling to have one of your supposed "top scorers" put away that you originally got to replace a top scoring douchebag you had before. We all thought he was going to do great things for the Senators. Guess not.


But screw this unhappiness. WE HAVE A FUCKING GOLD, CANADA!

Olympics, Baby!

The Washington Capitals are coming to Ottawa for the last game in the Scotiabank Place before March 3rd. I know, it seems like the longest wait in the world right now, but there's gonna be a shitload of hockey ten times better in between. Just imagine: the best hockey players in the world battling it out on the ice. And it's in Canada. Bonus.


The Olympics are coming, baby.