I was a bit bored tonight, so I decided I would go through the score sheets from Leafs' games this season to create some stats to show why I think Kaberle is such a great player. Here's what I came up with!
Although much ado has been made so far this season about Bryan McCabe—-and rightly so—-Tomas Kaberle has been left largely underappreciated. Well, by the media and fans, at any rate. McCabe, for one, certainly hasn’t taken Kaberle for granted:
McCabe credited defensive partner Tomas Kaberle with “making my life easy.” [. . .] “. . . but I can tell you Tommy (Kaberle) is one of the best defencemen in the league,” McCabe said. Kaberle has been paired with McCabe for much of the past three seasons, a fact McCabe underlines as part of the reason for his mounting success. “I think we had a year apart when Robert Svehla came in . . . and I suffered, I definitely had an off year,” McCabe said. “Then last year, we got Brian Leetch in and we were split up again. But when you play with Tomas, he’s unbelievable, you just know he’s going to get the puck down the ice’” (Toronto Star, Oct. 19, 2005, E4).
Out of Kaberle’s 25 assists this season, 9 (that’s 36%) have directly resulted in McCabe getting a goal. In fact, when Kaberle gets an assist on a goal, it usually is the first assist. A full 68% (or 17 out of 25) of his assists directly result in goals. And of those 17 assists, 5 have resulted in a first goal for the Leafs, 2 had led to (final) game-tying goals, and another 5 have ended as game-winning goals. When Kaberle passes, he does some pretty important stuff!!
And a fact that may have gone unnoticed by NHL-centric North American fans is that Kaberle had a stellar season playing for Kladno, his home team in the Czech Republic during the lockout last year: in 49 games he had 39 points, and was awarded the Czech League regular season MVP, Best Defenseman, and Top Player (as voted by the fans) honours!
Ah!! It's been so long since I've posted here!! Many apologies!! The past couple of weeks have bene so busy I haven't even really been watching hockey!
Anyway, went to Buffalo last Sat. (Dec. 17) to watch the Pens play the Sabres. There were supposed to be six of us going, but three people bailed, so it was just me, Alan and Liz. Still, it was a lot of fun! It was nice that the game started early too, so we got home in good time.
Heh, and we learned a bit about selling tickets. We ended up selling the tickets to the first scalper we saw. At first we thought we got a pretty good price for them, but when we asked the guys who bought our tickets how much they had paid for the tickets, we found out that the scalper made a 300% profit on each ticket! So yeah, we realized that we should have asked how much it would cost to buy tickets in the same level as ours first, and THEN offered to sell them. =P It also turned out that that particular game was only the third sellout for the Sabres of the season, so the scalper probably felt that he really lucked out when we sold him three 100-level seats. (AMAZING seats, by the way.)
So let's see, so far this season I have watched four games with five different people:
- Wings-Leafs with Andre (pre-season) - Habs-Sabres with Ben - Capitals-Leafs with Anna - Pens-Sabres with Alan and Liz
That's what I really missed with no hockey--hanging out with different people while watching games! Unfortunately this year the HNIC nights at my place haven't really worked out. After the first couple of times when I invited people and got no takers, I guess I kind of gave up asking--that and things got pretty busy with school so I didn't have time to organize.
Anyway, that's it for the season so far. Coming up I've got a bunch of games I'll be watching in B.C. ^_________^ Steph is awesome! She got me tickets for the Predators-Canucks game, and two World Juniors games--USA-Swiss and one relegation game. ^_^ VERY exciting!
Back home I've got a Flyers-Sabres game in Feb., Leafs-Sabres in Mar., and Panthers-Leafs and Leafs-Sabres in Apr. I wanted to try to get tickets to the Colorado-Detroit game, but then I realized that it's on the same day as Kaberle's signing at the Frozen Pond, and I can NOT miss the chance to see Kaberle in person. ^^;;
Don't know how the heck I'm going to keep up with Olympic hockey either, but I'll do my best (and probably be a zombie at school for a while!)
Steph sent me the link to this article, and it was so great, I had to share: "Mullet Wish." (This isn't the actual title of the article, it's Steph's! But I liked her title better, and thought it would intrigue more people into reading the article! =P)
In a shocking, blockbuster trade, the Boston Bruins traded Captain Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks for Marco Sturm, Wayne Primeau, and Brad Stuart.
Although Thornton has had decent numbers--7 goals in 13 games, he has been under fire for not producing and playing at the level expected of the team's leader and highest paid player.
The Sharks have a decent group of young players, but have lacked leadership.
Something you don't see very often in the NHL nowadays, a 2-1 final score, with spectacular goaltending from both teams! Luongo made a whole bunch of crazy saves to keep the Panthers alive (their offense is quite sad), and Belfour made a whole bunch of amazing plays too!
Definitely a great way to get your 447th win to tie Terry Sawchuk for career wins!
Kaberle was great tonight too! And I'm not the only one who thought so: he was Molson's third star pick for the game! ^_^
I've known about this for a while now, but I forgot to mention it earlier: the Seneca Hockey Hall of Fame Presents course is going online for the Winter 2006 term! The course will run from Jan. 13 to Apr. 21, 2006. For more information, you can check out the Seneca website: http://www.senecac.on.ca.
If you will recall, I was in the course about two summers ago, and that's how I met Kevin and Phil and got involved with all of the wonderful people at the Hockey Hall of Fame!! ^_^
Tomas Kaberle is doing a signing at the Frozen Pond on Sunday, February 12th from 12-2pm!! You can bet I'm going to skip Sunday school to be there!!! ^_^ I may have to spend a small fortune on autographing fees, but I am determined to get as many of my jerseys signed as possible (plus I may get my Toronto Star photograph signed as well)!!
And I am DEFINITELY going to brush up on my Czech before I go to the signing! I'm not out to impress him or anything, but I'm at least going to say "hi," "how are you?" and "thanks"! ("Dobry den," "jak se mate," and "dekuji"!) ^_^ SO excited!! I can't wait!!!
Partway during the first period of the game between Nashville and Detroit, defenceman Jiri Fischer suffered a seizure on the bench. CPR had to be administered and a defibrillator was also used as he had stopped breathing and his heart had stopped. He was taken to the hospital and is reported to be in stable condition. Prayers go out to him and his family for his recovery.
The gamw was cancelled and will be rescheduled for a later date.
Woohoo! For once I made the right goaltending decision and played Belfour instead of Aebischer!! =) The decision between playing a goaltender facing Atlanta and one facing Los Angeles seems like a no-brainer, but with my luck, I was half expecting the Leafs to get bitten on their behinds by the Thrashers! Luckily this was not the case and I got the win and the good SV%--although the latter had me a bit worried when the Thrashers had 1 goal on 2 shots at the end of the first!
Beyond that, I was thrilled with Kaberle's play tonight!! His passes resulted in the first two goals of the game!! The play he made to get the puck to McCabe was especially a thing of beauty! ^_^ Very happy!
If only Aebischer would start winning games, my hockey happiness would be complete...
I'm so sorry! I've really been neglecting this and all of my other personal blogs! Things have been pretty crazy with my student teaching (high school English!!) so most of my time is spent doing lesson planning. The games that I do watch are generally Avs games, and that means that I post about them on my MVN blog or Hockey Cagematch if it's a NW division game.
Besides, the Leafs have been too depressing to blog about recently. I mean 8-0 to the Senators was just pathetic. And Heatley's fourth goal (after McCabe fell) I totally don't know what was going with Kaberle for that! He just let up!! Totally indefensible--even by me! After the first period I wasn't even really watching the game! I mean, I had it on, but I was trying to do my lesson planning for Hamlet at the same time, and my attention was definitely more on Hamlet than the game. You know it's pretty bad when I am not even watching!
Tonight wasn't so bad, but it looked like almost the exact same thing happened on Roberts goal! Well, it wasn't quite as bad because it looked like Kaberle was actually making an effort, but still...! *sigh* Anyway, after that they played a lot better.
AND, I finally decided to switch my starting goalie in the Blogging Hockey Chicks pool from Aebischer to Luongo, and he lets in 3/15 shots and gets pulled in the second period. ARGH!!! I am SO staying at the bottom of that pool!
I hate to say...Well, actually, I have absolutely no compunction against saying "I told you so" right now to JF Jr. When he re-signed Berg and Belak, I knew it was a stupid move. And tonight they have totally proved me right!
Maybe I'm remembering/reading this wrong, but I believe, and think that the offical NHL shift chard for the game shows is that Berg and Belak were on ice for all of the even strength goals against, plus one PP goal--meaning 4 out of all 5 Montreal goals! And on one of them--the second goal, by Sundstrom, I think--the goal didn't just happen to occur on their shift, but was most definitely caused by their sucky defensive abilities!!
Now I'm not just blaming JF Jr. for signing them, or even just Berg and Belak for sucking, I'm also blaming Quinn for putting the two together as a defensive pairing!! As soon as I saw them playing together (and Arthur can corroborate this), I was wondering if Quinn had gone out of his ever-loving mind!?! Pairing your two worst--also two of the worst, IMO--defensemen together is just asking for trouble.
ARGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank goodness the Avs won tonight, or I would've been in a real pisser of a mood (again).
Woohoo! It's actually something I've been thinking of for a little while, but I've finally decided to do it--in honour of the Avs' 10th anniversary and the first season of my Avalanche! blog--an Avalalanche fan contest! You can read all the information/rules at avalanche.mostvaluablenetwork.com/?page_id=53. ^_^
I'm very excited! So if people would like to spread the news about it, that'd be awesome! There are prizes!
In other news, I've got Centre Ice!! It's SO amazing!! So much hockey!! The only negatives are that I have so much choice I end up flipping a lot and actually missing a lot of goals/action and that I need to work hard for teacher's college, so I can't just sit in front of the tv all night every night to watch hockey! :)
KABERLE!!! He is going to have an amazing season this year. I can feel it! (Knock on wood!) Ahh!!! HOCKEY IS BACK!!!
And I love that Molson Canadian commercial (even though I saw it at least half a dozen times) with the guys singing! You know, the counterpart to the "Bring Hockey Back" one? ^_^ It's great!!
The game was great! The seats were the best I've ever had (again, Huston rocks!) and the Leafs won!! =D One bad moment, unfortunately, was the goal Datsyuk scored (the lone Detroit goal)--Kaberle was just standing in front of him! ^^;; Thank goodness I didn't manage to get photograph that one. *sigh* Why, Kaberle...?
Oh my goodness! Huston is the most amazing person ever!!!! I was awakened this morning by a call from Huston asking me if I wanted to go to the Leafs game! It was kind of funny actually, because at first I asked "when?" I was confuseed (and remember I was still half asleep) and thought that the Leafs had played Detroit in Toronto YESTERDAY, and that today they would be playing in Detroit. Well, of course it was the other way around, and so I'm going to the Red Wings-Leafs game tonight!!!!
Unfortunately, I don't think I need to say much beyond quoting this article. Poor Kaberle. =(
Kaberle was a one-man wrecking crew, with his wounding of O'Neill, a goal, topping the Leafs with almost 26 minutes of ice, breaking up plays and deflecting the Habs' winner past hometown teammate J.F. Racine.
While the Leafs are glad the pass-happy defenceman finally is shooting more, especially with power plays bound to dominate the early weeks of the new-look NHL, Kaberle was mortified when he nailed O'Neill just under his helmet. A few days ago, he accidentally knocked Carlo Colaiacovo out for a few days with a shot off the latter's foot.
"I talked to Jeff right away between periods," Kaberle said. "Thank God it got his helmet first."
Woohoo! Had the draft for our chick pool tonight--it was SO fast and easy! ^_^ I really like having only 6 people in a pool--lots of choice!
Very pleased with my team this year--although I wish I had drafted a bit better with my wingers...
C: Joe Thornton; Joe Sakic (two #19 captain Joes!) LW: Alex Tanguay RW: Martin Havlat W: Ryan Smyth; Richard Zednik D: Nicklas Lidstrom; Adrian Aucoin Util: Marian Gaborik G: David Aebischer Bench: Pavol Demitra; Brendan Morrow; Sergei Gonchar; Roberto Luongo
Right now I've got Aucoin in the lineup because he's got a better +/- than Gonchar, but Gonchar does score more (and get more PPP), so I might switch them... Also I'm not sure if I want to start with Luongo or Aebischer. Louie'll get the SV%, but Aebischer'll get the wins... Last year Aebby's SV% and GAA wasn't too bad, but this year Foote's gone and things are supposed to be opening up, so...Louie I have no worries--he's used to facing tons of shots! =P Another question mark is Demitra. He's very reliable, but apparently LA's going to be putting him on a "stopper" line. @_@ I didn't read that before drafting, obviously. Something to look out for for the MCBC pool, I guess!
Actually, I realized just before the draft that I goofed on the set up. Since we have so few people I should added more roster positions--at least one more G, and probably another Util as well. Oh well, next year!
(Random info: I actually did the draft at my friend Andre's place since a bunch of us had gone over for dinner. The timing was actually pretty good since it enabled me to miss out on most of the mush in the Princess Diaries 2--which we had started to watch shortly before the draft. =P)
Did I mention that I went to the Boston-Toronto preseason game on Tues. Sep. 20th at the Copps Coliseum? Well, I did! ^_^ It was lots of fun--especially since four of my guy friends also came, and the Leafs actually won (whodda thunk?)!
The Copps Coliseum is actually a pretty good venue! It's pretty small, so even upper bowl seats feel a lot closer than many seats in the ACC!
What else? Oh, it was kind of weird watching the game actually, since I hadn't really done my homework on the Leafs and so we kept looking at all the players' numbers and asking "who's that?!" I actually was better off than most of my friends since I'd at least heard of some of the Leaf farm team players (e.g. Wellwood, Steen), but I was still pretty lost. =P
Of course I was positively thrilled with Kaberle's first assist--it was a beaut! And it really made my night when I heard the guys behind us talking about Kaberle: "Everyone says Kaberle isn't any good, but I think he's great." Or something along those lines, anyway. Alan (or was it Matthias?) said they were probably just being complimentary because they could see that I was wearing a Kaberle jersey, but I choose to believe otherwise.
Anyway, I still haven't really had time to go edit the photos/upload them to the web, but for now I've got videos of two of the shootout shooters: Joe Thornton and Patrice Bergeron (thanks Paul for filming!)
Oh, and just be warned, the sound might be kind of wonky in the streaming!
ALL THIS WEEK WATCH THE LEAFS PREPARE FOR THE SEASON AT RICOH COLISEUM
Fans can come down to Ricoh Coliseum, home of the Toronto Marlies, to take a look at Pat Quinn put his players through their paces.
Practice begins at 8 a.m. each morning with a daily scrimmage at 10:45 a.m. and ending around 1 p.m.
Parking is free each day from Tuesday to Friday underground at the National Trade Centre. Access to parking is at the east end of the NTC just west off of Strachan Ave. and just north of the Princes' Gates.
Ricoh Coliseum is also accessable by TTC, just take the 509 Exhibition streetcar from Union Station. The GOTrain also has a stop at the Exhibiton Grounds.
Personally I think this is a brilliant move (one of the few) on the part of Leafs management to show some goodwill to the fans!
For any GTA people with convenient modes of transportation, here's something you might find interesting:
This is a fantastic opportunity to enter the Sports Marketing workplace by joining the top sports memorabilia organization in the country.
We are currently looking for 2-3 friendly, personable individuals to fill full and part-time roles in our Customer Service Department.
Potential candidates must be outgoing, computer literate, and have an excellent phone manner. Some sales and marketing experience an asset. You must be willing to work flexible hours, including Saturdays and some weeknights. An extensive knowledge of NHL hockey and sports in general is required. We have at least one senior and one entry-level position available immediately.
Please forward resume and cover letter, mentioning any and all hockey knowledge and customer service experience, to:
Frozen Pond Inc. 3232 Steeles Ave. West #12 Concord, Ontario L4K 4C8
905-760-8410
info@frozenpond.com
If I wasn't already committed to other things, I would definitely want to at least apply for the entry-level position (gas prices be darned)!
That's right, after a long, sad (albeit academically good) NHL lockout, the Hockey Blogging Chicks pool is back!! I've sent out an email to everyone from our last time round, so if you'd like be join us again, that'd be great! If you don't receive a message in either your inbox or spam filter, please email me and I'll re-send the information! If there's a fellow blogging hockey chick I've missed whom you'd like to invite, please pass on her contact info to me, and I'll get an invitation sent out!
Here's the basic info for the league (a few changes from last time, denoted by a *):
League Name: BloggingHockeyChicks Draft Type: Live Draft Draft Time: Sat Sep 24 11:00pm EDT Max Teams: 12 Scoring Type: Rotisserie Max Moves: No maximum Max Trades: No maximum Trade Reject Time: 1 Trade End Date: March 9, 2006 Waiver Time: 2 days Can't Cut List Provider: Yahoo! Sports Trade Review: Commissioner Post Draft Players: Free Agents Max Games Played: 82 Weekly Deadline: Daily - Tomorrow Start Scoring on: Wednesday, Oct 5 Roster Positions: C, C, LW, RW, W, W, D, D, Util, G, BN, BN, BN, BN, IR Stat Categories: G, A, +/-*, PIM, PPP, SOG, W, GAA*, SV%
Woohoo!! I'm so excited! Hope all you chickies can join!! (Sorry I didn't get any input for the draft date/time, but I figured that a month's notice would be enough for people. Plus with the Yahoo live draft people can pre-rank and let Yahoo draft for them if necessary.)
The new CBA might as well not exist for all the impact it seems to be making on the decision-making process of Leafs' management. While smaller market teams are stocking up on starpower and other established franchises are making moves to secure their future (like Colorado re-signing many of its young/rising stars), the Leafs continue to throw away money in short term deals on older, historically injured or otherwise suspect players.
Heck, forget the old CBA days, this feels like (as Jello commented) the old Pat Quinn as GM days! At least with Quinn we all knew and expected that he would, given a choice, stick with the tried (if not true), but when JF Jr. came on, he was supposed to take the team in a new and improved direction!
Anyway, let's say we take the word of Lindros' father/agent, Carl (as quoted in The Toronto Sun), and accept that Eric hasn't been constantly sidelined by concussions: "'On average, in the past three years, Eric has missed five games a year with concussions,' he said. 'That's fewer than Peter Forsberg or Jeremy Roenick. The bulk of Eric's concussions came in one year.'"
So what?
The timing of the concussions doesn't mitigate the danger of serious re-injury that comes from having had so many concussions.
Geh. Forget it. I'm sick of talking about the Leafs and their spectacularly UNimpressive deals.
I CAN NOT BELIEVE THE LEAFS SIGNED BERG *AND* BELAK. Apologies to any JF Jr. fans, but I think he's completely out of his bleeding mind!!! What has Berg ever done to deserve 1-year, $1.06 million deal? And why the heck would anyone want to keep Belak for another 2 years?!
Now I know that playing the comparison game across positions and with teams of very different financial and player needs is totally useless, but nonetheless I feel compelled to marvel at the fact that the Leafs are willing to pay Berg--an older and totally sucky d-man, who's only going to get worse, IMO--2.5 times as much as the Hurricanes are willing to pay Radim Vrbata--a decent young R-winger with a reasonable upside, again, IMO. It totally boggles the mind.
This does NOT bode well for the Leafs' 2005-06 season.
Heh, sorry I haven't updated here in a little bit! I've been pretty busy--working lots of OT, plus I got a new student for tutoring--so I forgot to update here!
Anyway, the Leafs recently signed Domi and Allison. Domi was probably a political move--hoping to appease fans angry at the loss of Nieuwendyk and Roberts--but I'm pretty hopeful for Allison. Yes, concussion recovery is a tricky thing, but if the Leafs are lucky, this could end up as an amazing steal. Don't quote me on this, but I have a good feeling about Allison. At the very least I think it was worth the shot.
On the Leafs in general, though, sorry, but I think they're going to suck this year. They've got an aging goaltender who hasn't played for an entire year (a year for recovery, or a year to get rusty?) and no real stand up leaders in the locker room (like Roberts). If the reports are to be believed though, Ferguson Jr. is sacrificing this season to put himself in a better position for next year's batch of quality young free agents (like Thornton, I believe). That doesn't make me any happier about this year, but at least there's hope there's some method to the apparent madness.
About the Avs, well, although I'm not happy about losing Foote or Forsberg, I do feel that the team is going in a good direction. They're making good progress in securing the team's future--locking in Hejduk for 5 years, resigning Tanguay for this year at least, and making offers for Aebischer, Liles, and Svatos--while keeping Blake and Sakic for experience and leadership (although I would've preferred Foote over Blake, frankly). I don't think they're going to win the Cup, but I think they're going to do well enough this season.
Hmmm...Strangely enough, I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the Leafs' acquisition of Jeff O'Neill. I mean, I've liked him as a player since the 2002 Toronto-Carolina Stanley Cup Eastern Conference final, but...
Sure, 29 isn't exactly geriatric (in hockey years), but it's not exactly young, either. I think I read/heard somewhere that players start hitting their prime around 24, and I'm not sure if that means that they start to hit their stride starting from that age, or if that's supposed to be when they peak.
Ah well! I *do* like O'Neill, so I might as well be happy about it for now and hope for the best! =P
In other news, it appears that MLSEL listened to me (and thousands of other fans) and actually *gasp* reduced their ticket prices!! Yes, it's a paltry 5% compared to other teams of similar reputation and revenues (the Avs lowered prices by at least 10%, and in some cases, 20%, remember?) but at least it's something. And that's really all that I asked for. ^_^
The Avalanche just announced that they're reducing ticket prices for the 2005-06 season--20% for season ticket holders that maintained their deposit, 10% for those that took a refund on the deposit, and 10% for single games--so I hope that the Maple Leafs organization is taking note!!
Considering that the Avs have had an average 97% renewal rate for their season tickets over the past few years, and had been consistently selling out games (as far as I know) before the lockout, I think it's safe to say that Kroenke Sports Enterprises didn't do this because they were desparate to lure fans back. Maybe I'm being naive, but I'm taking it as a gesture of goodwill to the fans.
MLSEL, you'd better be paying attention to this! Fans are going to be expecting a price cut! It doesn't have to be a major one, but simply maintaining 2003-04 ticket prices isn't going to cut it.
(Of course the fact that I'm probably going to be buying tickets to games, regardless of the price takes a lot of bit out of my "warning", but oh well, you get the point anyway.)
This is one of the few suggestions about which I immediately thought "this is idiotic" when I first read it.
To be optimistic, however, I do admit that there's still a chance that the new league emphasis on divisional play in the scheduling will not turn out to be an entirely crappy thing for the Leafs, Avs, Canucks, Sabres, and every other team in the Northwest and Northeast divisions.
I don't feel like getting into it here, though, so if you'd like to read an explanation of why I think the new scheduling is a bad thing, and how I think it might possibly end up okay afterall, please read my post on the subject on my MVN blog: http://avalanche.mostvaluablenetwork.com Yes, this is shameless self-promotion, and I fully admit it! =P
Looks like the Penguins are going to be one amazing young team to watch! Hopefully with Fleury and now Crosby they'll be able to keep up interest in the team. And then maybe Mario will get the reward he deserves for his loyalty and support of the team. ^_^
My beloved Avs, unfortunately, not only lost out on the #1 pick (can you imagine a team with Sakic, Forsberg and Crosby? man oh man!), but they also were unlucky in scoring the 27th pick. Ah well, the team usually drafts well, regardless of their pick position, so I'm not worried about them.
The Leafs were also unfortunate enough to end up in the bottom third, but the way I see it, they generally draft poorly anyway, so it doesn't really make a difference. =P Okay, so some of their more recent picks like Colaiacovo and Stajan have done quite well, but before that there was only really Kaberle, and he was a very late pick
Speaking of Kaberle, remember the story from Phil that I posted a while ago? Well, the HHOF finally got Kaberle's helmet today! What a guy, huh?
Oh, and Phil gave me another great story today! Apparently when Kaberle was drafted and came over at age 18, his parents were a bit worried about some of the crazy things a young guy alone in North America could get into, so they sent his girlfriend along with him, and either his parents or her parents came over every three weeks to visit just to make sure he didn't get into any trouble! Isn't that great? I'm sure it helped a lot to ease the homesickness during the transition period. (Thanks Phil, for sharing that anecdote!)
And Kevin was on the phone with Bobby Orr yesterday (yes, Bobby Orr) and during the call, Orr asked him to hang on while he took another call. Well, the call was from Kaberle (Frantisek Sr. works for Orr, and Frantisek Jr. and Kaberle are clients of his) so when Orr got back on the phone, he told Kevin "Every kid should be like him. Respectful, polite and a pleasure to be around. Great wives, too." Also, apparently Tomas' mother was a volleyball player or something, and Orr said, "Wish they got their Mom's size. Oh well."
Man, I really wish the Leafs would keep Kaberle! I mean, it's not he asked for an exorbitant amount when his contract was renegotiated two years ago, and he's the only regular on the team that was actually drafted by them! Oh well, if his contract is bought out and he ends up going somewhere else, that just means I'll have one more game to buy tickets for, and I'll have to get another jersey as well! =P
I await Saturday, July 29th, 5pm with baited breath!
Well, I've made my very first post to my new Most Valuable Network (MVN) blog! Feel free to check it out at http://avalanche.mostvaluablenetwork.com! For now, due to my stunning lack of creativity, it's called "Avalanche!", so if you have any suggestions for a better name (it won't take much!) please do share!!
Oh, and I've been encouraged to do link exchanges (for the MVN blog) so if anyone's interested, please email me!
I also know that they're still looking for writers for some teams (like the Penguins and Canucks), so if you're interested, email dan_benton@mostvaluablenetwork.com. All that they ask is that you try to update 2-3 times a week--no requirements for specific subjects, as far as I've been told.
I feel obliged to mention here (although I'm sure anyone who would bother reading this already knows anyway) there will be a 2005-2006 NHL season!
The Good:
1)Hockey Blogging Chicks, re-unite!! ^_^ 2)HNIC at my place! I expect to be seeing a lot more of Alex and Keith starting October! 3)Something to look forward to most nights! 4)A second chance at (hopefully still) cheap Buffalo tickets! 5)An excuse to go back to Colorado! 6)Fodder for my new (coming soon!) MVN Colorado Avalanche blog!
The Possibly Not-So Good:
1)Bettman will probably remain Commissioner, if this deal is as skewed in favour of the owners as the press has made it out to be; I was hoping that the NHL would be rid of him and find a new commissioner who's actually a hockey person. 2)Stupid rule/structure changes like 20 teams making the playoffs, or even more divisonal play (Detroit wins easy playoff berth, Northeast and Northwest division teams--generally the most exciting, competitive ones--get rocked). 3)Players get bad reputation and bad deal, and teams still lose money because owners are still idiots. (To paraphrase a quote I once read: the NHL is trying to make an idiot-proof CBA when they should just get be getting rid of the idiots.) 4)Less attention paid to non-professional and international hockey.
So I went to Philadelphia last weekend for a cousin's wedding. We left on Thursday night (June 30th) and left on Monday morning (July 4th). On the way back we stopped at the Waterloo outlet mall between Syracuse and Rochester. There we bought a bunch of polo shirts for my brother, and my mom went crazy at the Dress Barn! Out of the ~3 1/2 hours we spent there, I'd say that 2 1/2 of them were spent in that store! Oh well, I got two white shirts and a snazzy bag from there, so I'm not complaining.
Actually, I really love the bag! It's black and can be customized with 5/x7 photos! So of course yesterday after work (yes, I went to work--and did 2 1/2 hours of OT as well!) I spent my night going through photos and Photoshop-ing them for printing and pick-up today. I love it because, really, how else would I be able to get a hockey bag/purse? Right now I've got an Aebischer picture in it, but I printed out a bunch (special deal! 5x7s for only $0.99 at Futureshop!) so I'll be able to change the picture when the mood strikes me!
Just a quick note before I'm off to Philadelphia for a wedding for the weekend (yes, I'm going in the States on CANADA Day, and no, I'm not going to be at the Live 8 concert there because I'll be at the wedding and I doubt I would've been able to get tickets anyhow): Congrats to the Men's Olympic Invitees:
Goaltenders: Martin Brodeur Roberto Luongo Jose Theodore Marty Turco
Defence: Rob Blake Jay Bouwmeester Dan Boyle Eric Brewer Adam Foote Scott Hannan Ed Jovanovski Scott Niedermayer Chris Phillips Chris Pronger Wade Redden Robyn Regehr
Forwards: Shane Doan Kris Draper Simon Gagne Dany Heatley Jarome Iginla Vincent Lecavalier Mario Lemieux Kirk Maltby Patrick Marleau Brenden Morrow Rick Nash Michael Peca Keith Primeau Brad Richards Joe Sakic Ryan Smyth Martin St. Louis Alex Tanguay Joe Thornton Steve Yzerman
Woohoo for Tanguay! ^_^ I really hope he makes the cut! And of course I'm also cheering for Sakic, Yzermnan, Foote, Blake and Luongo.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Bertuzzi as well... =/
I really liked Maurice when he coached the Canes, and I didn't really think that he deserved to be fired, as poorly as the Canes were doing. (Or at least I think that was my opinion at the time--I might be getting him confused with Bob Hartley.)
So yes, I think this is definitely a good thing for the Marlies!
Oh, and in other belated news, Brian Burke was named the Ducks GM. Good for them! Definitely a good move! Hopefully this will see the team do better (not that I'm a huge Ducks fan or anything, but it is Giguere's team, and I like him, so...)
As for the NHL-NHLPA situation, as I posted in the Tagboard, I am personally not holding my breath. A lot of people have been saying that a deal's close, but I'm not going to believe/listen to anything until it's a done deal.
Courtesty of Phil! It's fun having big shot friends! =P
After Team Czech won the World Championship, everyone threw their helmets and gloves off and it was all a big mess. So when the Hockey Hall of Fame guys asked (Tomas) Kaberle if they could have his helmet for the Hall, he couldn't find it. But he was going to Toronto in two weeks so he said he'd get it to them then.
He gets back to Toronto, gives the Hall a call and tells them he'll leave it for them at the front desk of the Harbor Westin hotel where he was staying. (He sold his apartment in Etobicoke since he's now a free agent, and who knows where he'll end up. =*( *sigh*)
Well that's fine. So one of the guys goes to the hotel to pick it up, and it's not there. That's a bit weird, but they leave it and wait a couple of weeks for him to get in contact with them again, or to drop it off.
Then they start asking around--apparently he's been practicing/working out at the ACC--and they find out (or he gets in contact with them again, I can't exactly remember which) that the hotel wouldn't let him leave it at the front desk and so he left it with the guy from whom he bought his car (presumably a friend) in...ORANGEVILLE!!!
The HHOF guys eventually pick it up since there's someone who lives far out there anyway, but why Kaberle didn't leave the helmet at the ACC, or walk across the street to the Hall to drop it off was totally beyond them!!
LOL
He's a great defenceman, and I like the way he interviews, and from all accounts he's a really nice guy, but apparently he's not the sharpest skate in the locker room. =P Oh well, guess we can't all be perfect! And that's probably why he's my second favourite player, instead of my first!
On Tuesday I received an email in response to my Sunday post from Michal from the Czech Republic. It pointed out that "in the final game, [. . .] the ref was very nice to Canada, particularly your captain" and had a clip of the whole Fischer/Vokoun-Smyth altercation attached.
Since I am Canadian, naturally my bias leads me to forget/not mention the calls that the ref should have made against Canada but didn't, but being Canadian doesn't mean that I am blind to the faults of my team. I remember watching that little scene and listening in disbelief to the TSN commentators who were upset with Vokoun for getting involved in the "good, clean" (or something along those lines, as they described it) battle between Smyth and Fischer. Smyth was actually hacking away at Fischer's ankles, which is what led to both Fischer, Vokoun, and other Czech players taking exception to Smyth's actions.
Although I didn't mention it in my Sunday post (selective memory, again, caused by my bias in favour of my national team), at the time I saw it, I wasn't particularly pleased with Smyth's undisciplined actions, and if I didn't necessarily want a penalty called against Canada, if it had been called, I would've accepted it as the right call.
Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the bad aspects of the refereeing in the gold medal game went both ways. I thought that, in general, a lot of things were called that didn't need to be called, while many things that should've been penalized were let to slip. If my initial response to the game seemed biased in favour of Canada, that's because I am Canadian, and not because I believe that the refereeing was lopsided. Like I said, the Czechs well and truly deserved that win and the gold in the tournament, and better calls wouldn't have changed that fact, it just would have made the game less frustrating to watch. =P
So thank you, Michal for your comment, and the reminder for me to be a bit clearer, and less obviously biased in my comments. ^_^
Well, I wanted the Czechs to win against Sweden so I could see a Canada-Czech final, and considering the way the Swedes played today (dismal 6-3 loss to Russia), I'm regretting that wish just a little.
*sigh* I guess I should remind myself that Canada played really terribly the entire tournament and that I was amazed that they made it past Slovakia in the quarter-finals, never mind the final!! So yeah, on the bright side, at least they still got silver, which is actually quite significant considering the way they've been playing the entire tournament.
The Czechs, more than any other team would have, in my opinion, actually deserved the goal. They were totally solid defensively, without being deadly dull. Jagr stopped sucking, Vokoun was perfect, and Vyborny was excellent (a little Czech joke, since "excellent" in Czech is "vyborný").
Plus I've got to admit that I'm quite happy that (Tomas) Kaberle has finally won something significant in hockey!!
But still, when you believe, despite all of your complaining and criticisms, that Canada is going to win, it really sucks that they didn't come through.
My only consolation is that, even with all of my waffling and indecision, I decided to go to the baptism and to tape the game. Maybe I had a premonition or something, because the thing that made my decision was when I thought to myself that I'd be really pissed at myself for missing the baptism to watch the game if Canada ended up losing.
But...ARGH!!!!! Not to take anything away from the Czechs--who, as I said, totally deserved the win--I can't believe that Andersson (or however it's spelled) ref!!! He gives Maltby a roughing penalty after ignoring the Czech player holding Doan and dragging him across the blue line for an offside, and then when the Czech player (Fisher?) does some roughing of his own, he totally overlooks it!! And what about the freakin' closing the hand over the puck?!? Don't tell me he couldn't have seen it!! The guy had it in is hand for a good couple of seconds!! He even spun around a bit with the puck in his hand before he threw it!!! At that point the game was pretty well over (I had a bad feeling after the Czech's first goal, even though it was so early in the game), but if the stupid ref had called it, at least Canada might've ended a bit more respectably by getting something on the board!! ARGH!!!!!
Why does the WHC gold medal game have to coincide with the first baptism in our newly renovated church?!? Four of "my kids" from the high school youth group (I'm a counselor) are going to be baptized too!! I can't just skip out, but...it's the gold medal game!! Between Canada and the Czech Republic!!! My two favourite teams! How can I miss it?!?
I can't believe Canada has actually made it to the final. They almost blew a 4-0 lead in the second period to a very young Russian team!! The first half of the second period (when I started watching) they looked very good. Even up to a bit after the first Russian goal (very pretty!), Canada was looking fine, but then they started to look a bit lazy/sloppy. The third goal, of course, was horrible.
It came partially from an error on Jovo's part, I believe. I don't know if it's just my timing or something, but it seems like Jovo's been making errors and contributing to goals again quite a lot this tourney--every time I've watched he's done it, at any rate.
Thanks to Jello for pointing out how negative I was sounding!! After reading that comment, I chilled out a bit and realized that even if they aren't playing as well as usual, Team Canada is still OUR team, and adversity only makes victory sweeter! ^_^
Go for three in a row!! GO CANADA GO!!!! (Although I've got to admit, if Team Canada's going to lose the gold to anyone, I'm glad it'll be the Czechs!! Then Kaberle will finally have won a championship!!)
Stupid Team Canada!!! I didn't get to watch the Canada-Finland game because I was in church, and I missed the TSN encore presentation because I was cleaning all afternoon/night and then we took my mom out for a late dinner at Café Hollywood, but after I found out the score (today), I'm glad I missed it!
How could they tie after losing to Sweden!! Darn it all, we needed that win!!! ARGH!
Stupid NHL. If they'd actually been playing all year, I'm sure we wouldn't be sucking this bad. >_<
At any rate. I'm glad Louie at least got a tie instead of a loss (you know I'm not that fond of Brodeur, even though he's historically been excellent for Canada).
*sigh* Man, the way they're playing, I can't even get excited about watching the games, and this is probably the most significant hockey I've had/will have this year!
The ways things have been going (hockey-wise) since last summer, I'm really really grateful that I was able to go to all those World Cup games. At least they give me something in fairly recent memory to recall fondly.
Argh. Stupid NHL. Stupid Team Canada. (Unlike the Olympics, they don't have Gretzky this time to launch into a diatribe in their defense, and to draw away some of the attention.)
BOOOOOOO!!!! I can't believe stupid Canada lost to Sweden!! They weren't particularly impressive in the loss either--well, from what I saw of it.
*sigh* It's pretty sad when the only hockey I'm getting is WHC and I'm not even really watching (I was reading manga with the tv on in the background).
Ah well. Good for Sweden. They've been pretty shaky on the international (world) level for a while (World Cup was pretty darn sad) so it's nice to see them doing well!! 4-0 is their tournament record, in fact. I just wish it wasn't them doing well against Canada.
Like I said, I wasn't totally paying attention to the game, so I don't know, but I wonder if maybe it's time for a goaltender change? Brodeur's let in, what, 10 goals so far this tournament? I think that's like twice as much as he allowed for the whole of the World Cup!! Of course, Luongo was played against Slovenia so the comparison isn't really fair, but nonetheless...
Of course, Team Canada as a whole (and not just Brodeur) really needs to shape up! Even just from what I saw, they were looking rather rusty/shaky. C'mon Canada! Don't make us have another panicky "future of hockey" summit like after Nagano! LOL
Man! I absolutely cannot believe that Canada allowed Latvia to score 4 goals against them!! @_@ Sure they got 6 goals of their own, but...
Geez. Guess you can really see the effects of the NHL lockout in our guys, huh? Jovo made a really big gaffe that led to the...third or fourth goal. It was quite ugly to watch.
*sigh* At least I got to see Irbe again! ^_^ Heh, and one of the TSN commentators even mentioned how he missed seeing Irbe play, and how he was really great...when he was at the top of his game, anyway. =P
Anyway, hopefully that game got the rust off of the Canadians' game so they'll be able to play much better than they did today!
Congrats to Ryan Smyth, Mr. Captain Canada!!! This is what, the seventh year he's captained the Canadian team at the World Hockey Championship? I think he also has the all-time record for Canadian men's games played at the WHC, with 50. Pretty darn impressive. ^_^
Speaking of the WHC, is anyone interested in being part of a league for the FSN World Championship challenge? I'll gladly set one up, but only if people are actually interested! I mean, with the lack of NHL hockey this year, it feels like a lot of people have just given up on hockey altogether. So yeah, if you're interested, let me know sometime soon!
Hah! I was watching some of the World Under 18 tournament game between Canada and Russia, and apparently one of the Canadians got a game misconduct because he was speaking in French to one of his teammates on the bench and the ref thought he was talking to the linesman!!
ROFL
That's like a penalty for being Canadian! It's so amusingly ridiculous! =D
Defencemen: - Dan Boyle - Scott Hannan - Ed Jovanovski - Chris Phillips - Wade Redden - Robyn Regehr - Sheldon Souray
Forwards: - Shane Doan - Kris Draper - Mike Fisher - Simon Gagne - Dany Heatley - Kirk Maltby - Patrick Marleau - Brendan Morrison - Brendan Morrow - Rick Nash - Ryan Smyth - Joe Thornton
The players that I am saddest to see absent, of course, are Joe Sakic, Adam Foote, and Rob Blake. *sigh* I'm glad to know that the torch is being passed earlier rather than too late (what I suspect to be the case for Team USA), but I will miss my favourite players. In terms of defence, especially I think it'll be a difficult thing, missing players with so much experience and poise.
And of course the goalies are a huge question mark. I mean, Brodeur and Luongo are excellent, but they haven't been playing professionally this season, and their European opponents have. They're really going to have to make use of training camp and the round robin games, I would think.
Of course, I'm still confidant that Canada can come away with the gold, but I think they're going to be challenged by the Czechs (who were Team Canada's best opponents in the World Cup, for sure).
Man...It's been WAY too long without hockey!! I mean, I'm excited about the World Championship, but not that excited, if you know what I mean. *sigh* At least the timing couldn't be better--it starts shortly after my Czech exam, which is really the only difficult exam I'm going to have!
OHmygoodness!!! The cover of this week's Hockey News had the most horrible sight I've ever seen: Joe Sakic in a New York Rangers' jersey!!!
The horror!!!
In other news, our women are slaughtering the competition!! At the World Women's Championship so far, they've got a 3-0 record, and have outscored opponents 35-0. @_@ They're monsters!!! (And I mean that in the positive, Pierre McGuire way!)
Ah...How I miss hockey! I'm going to try to catch the women's final on Saturday, and I'll probably watch as much of the men's as I can, but even international hockey isn't the same as the NHL.
Darn you Bettman and Goodenow (and the owners and players for choosing them)!
Well, it's April and there aren't any playoffs going on. *sigh* Even though there hasn't been any hockey all year, the fact that there aren't any playoffs is still depressing.
But, as Steph said, I can look on the bright side: at least the Avs and Leafs won't get eliminated on my Birthday this year. =P
Speaking of birthdays, Happy 19th Lisa!! You're now able to drink anywhere in Canada (and not just Quebec)! Cheers!! ^_^
Heh, my friend (and former suitemate) Sam asked for a photo for her birthday, so I took this picture for her this weekend (although the thought bubble is something I added today). ^_^
Anyway, in case you're curious, I'll identify the various jerseys pictured (starting from the green Western Conference one, going clockwise):
- 2004 NHL All-Star Game Western Conference (youth XL) - Buffalo Sabres dark (men S) - Vancouver Canucks "Mogilny 89" white skate (men S) - Toronto Maple Leafs "Kaberle 15" dark (youth XL) - Quebec Nordiques dark (youth XL) - Quebec Nordiques white (youth XL) - Colorado Avalanche white (men S) - Colorado Avalanche "Sakic 15" dark (youth XL) - Colorado Avalanche "Foote 52" third (youth XL) - 2002 NHL All-Star Game World (youth XL) - HC Rabat Kladno "Kaberle T. 15" dark (men XS) - HC Rabat Kladno "Kaberle T. 15" white (men XS) - Team Czech "Kaberle 15" dark (youth M) - Team Sweden "Forsberg 21" yellow (men S) - MoDo "Forsberg 21" dark (men S)
For those who aren't aware, I've got a bit of a "history" with Salo. It started with my first experience in a hockey pool. We were drafting online, and I didn't really know the players that well, so I was asking my friend Sam's opinion as to whether I should go with Salo or Belfour (this was his first year with the Leafs). He recommended Salo, so I went with Salo. And cried. It was through the hockey pool that I discovered that Salo is/was a very...unstable goalie. He'd have a short good streak which would get me all excited and renew my faith in him, then he'd totally suck until I decided to bench him (and of course by the time I decided I should play him again, he was back at playing poorly).
Then there was the playoffs. I was cheering for Edmonton because they were a young, exciting team, plus I absolutely despised Dallas (mostly because of Turco), and of course, Salo couldn't keep it together at key moments. Not that it was entirely his fault, but still...
Oh, and again in Vancouver, when I went during the Christmas break and saw the Oilers play the Canucks. I was really looking forward to being able to heckle Salo "Saaaaaalooooo, Saaaaaaalooooo" (and so on), but of course, he played well and the Oilers ended up losing.
I guess I've had this one-sided ove-hate relationship going on with Salo (I always seem to get his hockey cards, too) since early on in my hockey days. So yeah, how do I feel now that he's retired?
Well, I find it extremely sad that he's retiring because of "aching hips and dwindling motivation" (TSN.ca) I realize that a lot of players retire for similar reasons, but it just sounds so very sad coming from him phrased that way, and set in the context of the lock-out and his dimishing/diminished reputation of the last few years. As much as I've said it in a frustrated, mock-angry tone in the past, I do sincerely wish that he could've retired while he was still in his prime and highly regarded, rather than kind of fading the way he did.
Okay, so this really isn't particularly hockey related, except that I decided to wear my 2004 All-Star Game Western Conference jersey (it's green, if you forgot) to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! ^_^ I still need to get it customized (Joe Sakic--MVP! ^_^) but that's probably going to be a little while from now...
Oh, and Salo's supposed to announce his retirement today, I think. When he does, I'll probably write something here about that sometime afterwards. =P
Kaberle, p?eju vám všechno nejlepši k narozeneninám!
Woohoo! I felt like I needed to redeem myself with some Czech here after I bombed my Czech test today (I mixed and mixed up personal and possessive pronouns, forgot my numbers, and couldn't do the translations!)
I went with Steph to watch the Manitoba Moose play the Hamilton Bulldogs (in Hamilton, obviously). It wasn't a bad experience, but like Steph said, we've been spoiled by NHL (and international) hockey! ^^;;
The first three periods were actually rather sad. Auld let in a goal in the first 43 seconds, then another one with 1 second left in the period--giving Hamilton a 2-0 lead. Needless to say, he did not return in the second period. ^^;; At least Steph and I were in the right section--there were a bunch of Moose fans behind us, so they were also diasppointed by the Moose's showing.
Speaking of seating, I can't believe how cheap it is for good seats at the AHL level!! Including all the service charges, etc., I think I paid ~$46 for both tickets, and we were right in the center, THIRD row!! If only the action had been a little bit better, it would've been totally amazing! As it was, the hits really sounded quite impressive. =P
Some other fun stuff was that they actually gave out those inflatable stick things you bang together to make noise ("Bam Bams"). And Shoot for a Cure happened to be doing a charity auction, so in the second intermission, Steph and I went out to take a look. Steph almost won a Brad Richards autographed jersey, but there was a guy who bid after us, and he looked like he could afford a lot more, so she gave up. I bought two autographed photos for $7! Drury cost $2, and Foote, $5. Sure, the signatures were smudged, but the price was worth it even for just the photos! ^_^
But back to the game. The Moose, á là Canucks played really well in the third in their comeback bid. They had a really great chance with the extra attacker, but no luck. So then the Bulldogs got the empty netter and that was it. But at least they made it into a game at the end!
I took a bunch of pictures (plus I still have to post pics of my Kladno jerseys--I haven't forgotten!) but I've lent my friend my card reader, so they'll have to wait until I feel like "borrowing" my brother's. =P
I got an email yesterday announcing that some of the Baby Leafs would be at the Eaton Centre to meet fans and to sign autographs (see, sometimes it's good to sign up for newsletters, etc.) from 5-6pm! Luckily that fit perfectly with my schedule!
Shortly after "teaching" at Woodlands, I caught a Go bus down to Union station, and ended up at the Eaton Centre around 4:30pm. The line-up was actually pretty short at that point. ^_^ They started pretty promptly, which was nice. Anyway, onto the photos!
The guys, from right to left, are: Kyle Wellwood, Mikael Tellqvist, Harold Druken, Matt Hubbauer, and Nathan Perrot.
This is me basically moving down the line, getting autographs. (Actually I took the photos without me in them after I got my stuff signed, but it looks better arranged this way! =P)
The great thing is that they actually had these pads of photos which they signed and then tore off to give you--so even if you didn't bring anything to get signed, you could still walk away with something. ^_^ Very nice!!
I also brought my (Stajan-signed) Leafs jersey to get signed. Yes, I realize that Hubbauer hasn't actually played for the big team yet, but I'm confident that he will--I even told him so! See, when I went up to him, Druken was like: "Have you played for the big team yet, Hubby?" and of course, Hubbauer said no. Then I handed him (Hubbauer) my jersey and said: "I'm confidant you'll be playing for them." I also said something about how I watched every episode (of "Making the Cut"), and he smiled . Now, normally I don't pay attention to these things, but my goodness, Hubbauer is pretty good looking in person!! =P
Another thing I realized, after hearing Druken's comment, is that Hubbauer's nickname is pretty amusing too: "Hubby." I don't know if people are as familiar with the word nowadays, but it's a kind of short form/term of endearment for "husband." LOL. Just think of all his teammates and coaches and stuff, all calling him "hubby." ^_~
Anyway, all in all, it was a very good experience. The only thing I regret is that I was silly and forgot all about my Team Sweden Nike cap!! I could've brought it for Tellqvist to sign!! See, the silly part is that I had the cap hanging above the jersey, so when I took down the jersey to pack, I should've seen the hat and thought about bringing it! Ah well. The jersey is more than enough!!
Actually, I lied, another thing I regret is that I didn't get to see Jello there as well! =(
I understand that I cannot possibly understand the feelings of Steve Moore and his family--the suffering they have and will continue to have to endure--but nonetheless I am extremely disappointed with the lawsuit against Todd Bertuzzi.
It's not so much that I disagree with the lawsuit in priniple, but rather with the specifics of the lawsuit. I think the conspiracy charge, for one thing, is retarded. His use of some of Bertuzzi and May's statements to the press, in my opinion, represents a willful misinterpretation of the meaning and intent of their words. As for the allegations that Crawford and Burke openly encouraged the players to assault Moore, I think they're completely ludicrous.
Another thing the bugs me is the fact that the suit was filed in the US instead of Canada, considering that the parties involved are Canadian, and the incident occurred in Canada. I admit this isn't something I wouldn't have thought about if not for the TSN article, but it's still a very valid point, in my mind:
Some observers may wonder why Moore brought the suit in Denver and not in Canada, since he and all the defendants except Burke are Canadian.
There is a better chance of a bigger financial award in the U.S.
''In the U.S. one is not constrained as much as plaintiffs who are injured in Canada are by caps on damages paid for pain and suffering,'' said Holmes.
Does he deserve restitution for his physical, mental, and emotional suffering, and that of his family? Certainly. But I think these two things together (the charge of conspiracy and the filing of the suit in the US) indicate that Moore is going beyond seeking fair restitution and mvoing towards immoderate vengeance. He seems to be caught up in the American litigation culture--sue for and over everything.
Now I absolutely accept and believe that Moore was the victim in the "Bertuzzi Incident," but I don't think that gives him the right to ask for more than restitution ("a making good of or giving an equivalent for some injury" - Merriam-Webster Online) from the law. And to me, that's what he's doing by trying to make a conspiracy out of Bertuzzi's wrongdoing.
As for filing in the States versus Canada, to me--right or wrong--that just smacks of plain greed. I know I shouldn't judge his desire to get as much money from the suit as possible--after all, I can't imagine the degree of his suffering--but nonetheless, something in me recoils from the hint or idea of simply going for all you can get, rather than what is fair and equal to the wrong. But again, maybe the Canadian maximum really wouldn't have been fair compensation for his pains. Or maybe he didn't think he'd get such a fair hearing in Canada, considering that Bertuzzi plays for a Canadian team.
The difficult thing in evaluating the lawsuit, I suppose, is that there's the Heatley situation against which to compare it. I mean, the situation is totally different--the lack of the rivalry/enmity/competition aspect here is key--but I can't help but think about the forgiveness and grace and mercy that the Snyders showed to Dany Heatley in comparison to Moore's refusal to even acknowledge Bertuzzi's apology (supposedly a calculated act to prevent weakening his position for the lawsuit).
I don't know. All I can say is that, right or wrong, Moore's lawsuit leaves a bad taste in my mouth and definitely severely undermines my respect for him. It's an awful thing to acknowledge, but I have to work really hard to think of Moore as the victim of a devastating hit that could potentially have ended his career rather than as the villain of the lawsuit against Bertuzzi.
So yes, the cancellation of the NHL season is finally official. Whoop-de-doo-da (sarcastic) I just got three emails--one from each of the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Vancouver Canucks--about it in my inbox, and you know what, I really don't care.
Sure the league/teams are all sending out mass emails telling all the fans "how sorry we are," (Gary Bettman) and how "with deep disappointment...I am writing to you" (Dave Nonis) but that's really a load of bull. If they really cared about the fans, they would've started seriously negotiating a heck of a lot earlier--long before the All-Star weekend, before the start of the season, or even before the old CBA expired. Waiting until the absolute last minute and then giving some half-baked attempt to come up with a deal for a 20-game season is so pathetic, they might as well have not bothered.
I'm not blaming just the NHL here. The players didn't exactly make an effort to get things done in a timely manner either, and in the face of that, even their astonishing 24% pay rollback and salary cap doesn't seem like much more than a ploy in a hopeless publicity battle. I say hopeless because any intelligent fan recognizes that both the NHL and NHLPA are to blame for the lack of a 2004-2005 hockey season.
And you know what I've learned from this whole fiasco? Hockey is NOT the NHL. Sure I don't watch nearly as much hockey as I used to without the NHL, but Sportsnet and the NHL Network (ironically) do broadcast games from other leagues, like the Swedish Elite League, the AHL, ECHL, and etc. Plus there's all that international hockey (World Championship, World Cup--well, maybe not this one anymore--and the World Juniors) and that serves just as well.
So congratulations to the NHL and NHLPA, you've just succeeded in showing your fans that not only do you not give a hoot about them, but that they don't really need you either.
Woohoo!! My Kaberle HC Rabat Kladno jerseys FINALLY arrived on Wednesday!! (I can't believe I forgot to post about it until now!) It's very exciting!! They're so lovely!!
I'll try to put up some pictures soon (feeling lazy right now). *sigh* I do so love my international jerseys! ^_^ Now all I'll need to do is get my All-Star jersey (World jersey from the one in L.A.) customized--with Kaberle, of course--and I'll have all of my Kaberle jerseys! ^_^ So great!!
Although my homepage is set to www.hokej.cz, I don't really pay too much attention to what's on the site. I mean, my Czech isn't that good yet, so it's too much work to even attempt to read any of the articles.
Anyway, today for some reason I looked at what was on the page and I noticed a litle picture advertising "Cepel: komix na téma?" hokejové dresy..." which translates roughly (I think) to: "Blades: Comics on themes? Hockey jerseys..." And lo and behold, there was a comic showing a conversation between Kaberle and Domi!If you're interested, take a look at it here. Below is my (very rough) translation!
Top: We find Toronto teammates Tomas Kaberle (presently with Kladno) and Tie Domi (momentarily nowhere) trying to resolve the problem of ads on jerseys.
Panel 1: Hahahaha... What do you have on your jersey? You look like a clown...
Panel 2: Well, for the most part not clowning around [over displays] (not sure about that part!) but the difference from you is I'm playing in a proper league.
Bottom: In the NHL they don't wear ads on jerseys. Indeed they have beautiful jerseys, but for those playing this year there isn't, in fact, even hockey.
Like I said, it's a pretty rough (i.e. BAD) translation, but you get the gist of it, I hope!
[Edit: I sent the comic to my Czech teacher to ask her help for a more accurate translation, and this is her reply:
Tie is making fun of Tomas because he has advertisments on his hockey jersey
(reklam) and telling him he looks like a clown or a fool (sasek). Tomas
replys that at least he is playing hokey and not playing the fool at exhibits
(refering to their public appearnace and exhibiton games) and actually playing
real hockey in a real hockey league.
The underneath part expains that the NHL does not have ads on their jerseys,
and that although they have beautiful ones, that what the players are playing
this year is not hockey!
So I guess I didn't do too bad on my translation, huh (even though panel 2 was pretty sketchy)? ^_^]
Words are few, I have spoken
I could waste a thousand years
Wrapped in sorrow, words are token
Come inside and catch my tears
Do you really want to hurt me?
Do you really want to make me cry?
Do you really want to hurt me...
Hockey, please come back
*sigh* I watched the Farjestad @ Linkoping game on Sportsnet tonight, and you know it's a very sad state of affairs when you're falling asleep while watching the first professional hockey you've seen in months. =(
Tonight's game really made me wonder how the heck Farjestad can be fourth in the Swedish Elite League. I mean, they haven't scored a single goal in two whole games, and, tonight at least, they didn't even have particularly good defense to make up for their lack of offense!! I feel so bad for Gerber! He just needed one period and a bit to set the Swedish League shutout record, but his team totally wasn't helping him out!!
That was something at least, I guess: the game today showed me that Martin Gerber's a pretty amazing goalie. His performance tonight was Luongo like, in that he didn't get much help from his team, faced a whole bunch of shots, but nonetheless managed to keep his team from being totally creamed. Go Gerber!!
Anyway, I hope the next few Swedish hockey games I watch are more exciting! I don't mind low scores, but I like to see teams play well!!
Oh, and the good news is that the company that distributes the Kladno jerseys got my money order last week! The bad news is that they're not going to send the jerseys until after they've cashed it, and who knows how long that'll take. =/
Whew!! It's been a busy couple of days, so I haven't had a chance to blog! Anyway, I finally got to watch my first full World Juniors games this weekend! I watched (and taped--I'm such a nerd!) the Finland-Czech quarter-final and Czech-Canada semi-final games!
I was very happy that the Czechs won against Finland!! =P Not that I have anything against Finland, I just like the Czechs better. But man oh man, what was up with that Swedish ref? I'd heard that he was supposed to be pretty well thought of in international circles, but a lot of his calls were pretty sketchy. Like there was the call Pierre McGuire called "a penalty for being strong" (or something like that) and then the non-call when the Czech player got taken out and was down on the ice bleeding. Of course, he did make quite a few good calls, but unfortunately it's only really the bad ones that I remember.
Anyway, luckily Canada got a different ref for their game, or Phaneuf probably would've spent all night in the box for "roughing". =P The Canada-Czech game was great!! Definitely a lot more exciting than the quarter-final! It may be poor comfort, but the Czechs have got to be pretty pleased with themselves for holding off the Canadians to only 3 goals. I mean, before that game the Canadians were averaging eight goals a game!! Good for goalie Marek Schwarz!! Vancouver's got to be glad that they've got him! Florida should be happy with Olesz too--he's a great player, and fun to watch too! (Actually, I'm pretty excited to see how Florida develops in the next couple of years! They've got a lot of good, young players!) Anyway, this Team Canada squad looks amazing!! Thank goodness the final is on a Tuesday when I'll actually be home to watch it!!! Definitely going to tape this game!!
On a totally different note, I checked out CBC's "The Tournament" tonight, and even though it looks like it might be an okay show, I don't think I could watch another episode--it's too painful! It's bad enough hearing about bad hockey parents, but watching a show full of them? I've always said that if I had kids I'd definitely have no problem driving them to hockey--heck! I even said I'd drive my friends' future kids to hockey if they wanted--but after watching the first episode of The Tournament, I don't know anymore. I'm not afraid of turning into a scary hockey mom, but I'd be afraid to put kids in a position to have to deal with other crazed hockey parents, or even coaches. Hockey should be fun, but more and more I'm getting the sense that organized hockey is more about the competition than all the good things like teamwork and good character development. I mean, I know The Tournament is fictional and all, but dang! it's still scary!
