Before I begin, the beach wedding was amazing last weekend. Wish it would happen all the time. My cousin put on quite the amazing party and I got to ride a yellow school bus again. Complete with a bus driver yelling at the Bride to sit down. Doesn't get much better. Tomorrow I am headed down to Virginia to see my mom et al for the next week and to hit up another wedding. So excited to see everyone down there and meet my niece!
Moving on to hockey news now....
Drew Doughty finally signed on the dotted line with the LA Kings. 8 years, $56 million (average about $7million a year) and he doesn't have a no-trade clause. Win-win for all. Drew got his money, the Kings got the length and still have the ability to throw him overboard if they have a change of heart. Not bad, not bad.
The new saying in the NHL world is "you've been Shananbanned" in reference to NHL Safety Czar Brendan Shanahan's penchant for suspending players for hits and illegal plays. Many players are now more aware of the game rules (shouldn't they have been to begin with) and are figuring out the pattern to his suspensions and what will cost you more. In particular, stay away from a players head and don't be a repeat offender, otherwise you will be financing the NHL's player emergency fund with your own bank account. We already need a second hand to count his suspensions and its still only pre-season. Long live Shanahan.
Sidney Crosby is still rocking the white no-contact helmet, but he's traveling with the team and possibly will be headed West with them next week. Always a good sign.
Evgeni Malkin has been on fire this preseason, rocking it like the Geno from the Cup run. Can he hold on for the actual season? Staal has also shown why he's the best 3rd line center in the game. When Crosby is back, the Penguins will be a serious threat if things stay the way they are. No team has the ability to roll out 3 deep centers like the Penguins do.
The Penguins have also cut their opening day training roster from 55 to 32. Just a few more cuts and the team is set. Another issue few teams encounter is having too many good goalies but that's an issue here. Flower is number 1, and Johnson has been a more than solid and capable number 2, but the AHL goalie of the year happens to be a Penguin. Thankfully Theissen signed a one year deal with them. Can he repeat last year's AHL stats and force them to make him Flower's number 2 next year? He's far too good to stay in the AHL forever. I actually had seats right behind the goal in Wilkes last season and he never was rattled, even when everyone on his team fell flat on their face in front of him. (This actually happened too, everyone fell down for the first few minutes like they had never been on skates before).
Brooks Orpik who had to have abdominal surgery over the summer has appeared at practice this week in a different way. He has his own effigy on the ice for his teammates to skate around. Umm ok. Cardboard cutout Brooks also made an appearance at practice with him. Not creepy at all. Have you looked at his eyes? There's a reason why he's called the 'Candy Man' or 'Free Candy'. One set of his eyes is enough, let alone 2. Yikessss.
Season starts so soon, you can almost smell it.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Quick Notes
Mike Modano will officially retire as a Star thanks to a one day contract for $999,999, a nod to his jersey number. He will sign his one day deal on Friday, quickly followed by his filing of his retirement papers. Fastest deal ever.
When Colin Campbell was replaced by Brendan Shanahan as the new NHL Czar of Disicpline (aka the guy who hands outs the fines and suspensions) we knew a few things would change. First on his agenda was giving a video review of what he saw and why he hands out the fine and suspension and if his intro video and first video review are indication, not only will everyone understand his reasonings, we will all become more educated on the rules. Appointing Shanahan as Czar might have been the NHL's best move. EVER. Even if you don't agree with his final ruling, as at least we know why he has come to his conclusion.
Definitely check out these videos to see how Shanny is rocking the hockey world and educating both players and fans alike. After watching them the first question that comes to mind is WHY has this not been done before? (hard to link videos since they are on a rotating cycle but go to nhl.com and look under videos added the past few days. There are a bunch already -one long intro and then it broken into shorter versions. Plus his first 2 suspensions have been handed out already and are on there.) If anything I think he is setting the tone that this is a new regime and player safety is first and foremost, repeat offenders better watch your backs. I'm talking to you Mr. Matt Cooke. Under this system you might be in jail if not careful.
And finally on Monday, the worst kept secret in hockey will be revealed: The Rangers will take on the Flyers in the City of Brotherly love. The 700 Level apparently missed the fine print in the video that says "official teaser" as they noted they aren't sure if it's real. Also it has the feel of every other official video put out by the NHL, like the "History will be Made" playoff campaign. Whats most funny is I'm looking more forward to seeing this season of 24/7 than even the game itself (which won't be on New Years Day due to that being a Sunday, which is also the last Sunday of the NFL's regular season).
That's it till next week. Headed to the beach tomorrow and since today was the first day of fall, it was unseasonably warm out. Hoping for that to continue for at least this weekend!
When Colin Campbell was replaced by Brendan Shanahan as the new NHL Czar of Disicpline (aka the guy who hands outs the fines and suspensions) we knew a few things would change. First on his agenda was giving a video review of what he saw and why he hands out the fine and suspension and if his intro video and first video review are indication, not only will everyone understand his reasonings, we will all become more educated on the rules. Appointing Shanahan as Czar might have been the NHL's best move. EVER. Even if you don't agree with his final ruling, as at least we know why he has come to his conclusion.
Definitely check out these videos to see how Shanny is rocking the hockey world and educating both players and fans alike. After watching them the first question that comes to mind is WHY has this not been done before? (hard to link videos since they are on a rotating cycle but go to nhl.com and look under videos added the past few days. There are a bunch already -one long intro and then it broken into shorter versions. Plus his first 2 suspensions have been handed out already and are on there.) If anything I think he is setting the tone that this is a new regime and player safety is first and foremost, repeat offenders better watch your backs. I'm talking to you Mr. Matt Cooke. Under this system you might be in jail if not careful.
And finally on Monday, the worst kept secret in hockey will be revealed: The Rangers will take on the Flyers in the City of Brotherly love. The 700 Level apparently missed the fine print in the video that says "official teaser" as they noted they aren't sure if it's real. Also it has the feel of every other official video put out by the NHL, like the "History will be Made" playoff campaign. Whats most funny is I'm looking more forward to seeing this season of 24/7 than even the game itself (which won't be on New Years Day due to that being a Sunday, which is also the last Sunday of the NFL's regular season).
That's it till next week. Headed to the beach tomorrow and since today was the first day of fall, it was unseasonably warm out. Hoping for that to continue for at least this weekend!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Not Enough Time in the Day...
This week is going by slowly and flying by all at the same time. In my defense, my brain is wandering around on it's own since I am leaving Friday morning for a family wedding at the beach and work is making my head spin non-stop. But enough with the excuses, the puck has FINALLY dropped on the pre-season and there's plenty of news to go around.
The Staal brothers (count 'em, there's 4) are all big, competive guys and apparently last season oldest brother Eric (Hurricanes) knocked down second oldest Marc (Rangers) during a game. All these months later, Marc is now expereincing concussion symptoms after practices. As if we needed to add someone else to the non-stop concussion list. Hopefully they are occuring simply because he hasn't skated this hard in months because this is the last thing the Rangers need to deal with. It's bad enough they are starting the season on the longest road trip ever due to renovations at MSG. Currently they are regulated to the MSG training facility and will venture to Europe for pre-season games and to actually start the season. Once they return state-side, they won't have a home game until October 27. After a month at home, they will throw HBO into the mix for 24/7. If no one has a mental breakdown in Ranger-ville, I'd consider that a successful season. Gearing up for the playoffs potentially might the least stressful aspect of their season. Good god. I'm tired just thinking about their schedule.
Mike Modano announced he is retiring as the most successful US born player. He might have left out the second part, but it's the truth. Check the stats. Everyone above him is shockingly, Canadian. Who would have thunk it?! He is hoping to get a position in the Star front office, once they have new owners.
Speaking of the Stars, I'm going to skip the fact they have declared bankruptcy since it's the first step to their potential new owners taking over in the next few months. Opppps. Moving on....
The Devils have a new coach, Pete DeBoer. They have no captain yet. “It’s down my list of priorities on things we’re trying to get done right now," DeBoer said. "For now we are at camp." That's because first on his priority list is making sure Lou Lamoriello is on his good side, so he doesn't get fired in case the team has an epic meltdown a la last season. The second would be to make sure that Jacques Lemaire is somewhere fabulous to ensure that he won't return for another stint in case of an epic meltdown.
The Winnipeg Jets have officially picked up where they left off. They sold out their arena for their first pre-season game, fans were dancing into the arena (seriously?) and Byfuglien had a fight with a Blue Jacket within the first 37 seconds. The Jets also scored 6 goals (each team played a split squad with NHLers and minor league talent mixed) so it's safe to say Winnipeg is running on pure adrenaline right about now. Hopefully the crash back to earth doesn't hurt too much.
The NHL has approved (conditionally) the green goal verification line and to use a thinner mesh on the top of the net. These are 2 changes we should see in place this season. A third change that was experimented with at the R&D camp this past summer is a shallower net. That change along with the mesh and verification line were used during the Maple Leafs-Senators game on Monday night and got the best type of feedback possible. Essentially none. The verification line never needed to be used (but its under the ice so it's not in the way, it's an aesthetic change) and the thinner mesh made no difference either. The only thing that semi mattered was the shallower net and one player thought something was different but had no clue they were testing it. He stated he had a "bit more" room behind the net to maneuver. The shallower net seems like a shoe-in for next years changes. The NHL also has acknowledged that by December they will unveil their new alignment plans.
Finally the Penguins held their Black and Gold game. Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin told the world they are healthy and ready to go by scoring 2 goals a piece for their teams. Staal played on the black team, while Malkin was on the gold side. The gold side prevailed and in a bit of friendly rivalry, the loser had to untie the winners skates after practice the following day. Hope Malkin's skates smelt good! Crosby has been skating in circles around practice. Literally. In. Circles. He showed he knows his shapes and followed the red circle on ice. He is not allowed to have contact yet, but seems to be on the verge of being in the way of another player based on the pictures the Penguins are posting. Clearly he is more ready than people knew or were letting on. He also gets to wear a nifty white helmet.
In continuing the grand tradition of acting like he barely knows who the hell Crosby is (this has only happened since he has been injured), Bylsma has said he has no clue if he is trying new helmets nor where he fits in the lineup when ready. A monkey could tell you where he fits. First line. Center. Give him 2 guys on skates with a stick and it will all magically work out. Meanwhile on the other side of the locker room, James Neal said it was exciting to be centered by Crosby during a non-contact practice drill. Neal will play on his head if it means to be on a line with Crosby (as would most of the league).
Pens are currently playing the Red Wings in their first pre-season game right now. In case you didn't know, I live in the Bermuda Triangle of sports, so although the game is being aired on NHL Network, I am blacked out since I'm expected to get Root Sports for Pittsburgh even though I live in Eastern PA. I also live in Philly, NJ, NY and Buffalo territory all depending on what map you are looking at. Maybe Bylsma drew up the map when he lived in the area for a bit just to mess with us......Pens are tied with the Wings 1-1 and I need to stop listening to whatever disgrace to my ears Simon Cowell has come up with on NBC.
Peace out....I'll try to be more on top of news next week :)
The Staal brothers (count 'em, there's 4) are all big, competive guys and apparently last season oldest brother Eric (Hurricanes) knocked down second oldest Marc (Rangers) during a game. All these months later, Marc is now expereincing concussion symptoms after practices. As if we needed to add someone else to the non-stop concussion list. Hopefully they are occuring simply because he hasn't skated this hard in months because this is the last thing the Rangers need to deal with. It's bad enough they are starting the season on the longest road trip ever due to renovations at MSG. Currently they are regulated to the MSG training facility and will venture to Europe for pre-season games and to actually start the season. Once they return state-side, they won't have a home game until October 27. After a month at home, they will throw HBO into the mix for 24/7. If no one has a mental breakdown in Ranger-ville, I'd consider that a successful season. Gearing up for the playoffs potentially might the least stressful aspect of their season. Good god. I'm tired just thinking about their schedule.
Mike Modano announced he is retiring as the most successful US born player. He might have left out the second part, but it's the truth. Check the stats. Everyone above him is shockingly, Canadian. Who would have thunk it?! He is hoping to get a position in the Star front office, once they have new owners.
Speaking of the Stars, I'm going to skip the fact they have declared bankruptcy since it's the first step to their potential new owners taking over in the next few months. Opppps. Moving on....
The Devils have a new coach, Pete DeBoer. They have no captain yet. “It’s down my list of priorities on things we’re trying to get done right now," DeBoer said. "For now we are at camp." That's because first on his priority list is making sure Lou Lamoriello is on his good side, so he doesn't get fired in case the team has an epic meltdown a la last season. The second would be to make sure that Jacques Lemaire is somewhere fabulous to ensure that he won't return for another stint in case of an epic meltdown.
The Winnipeg Jets have officially picked up where they left off. They sold out their arena for their first pre-season game, fans were dancing into the arena (seriously?) and Byfuglien had a fight with a Blue Jacket within the first 37 seconds. The Jets also scored 6 goals (each team played a split squad with NHLers and minor league talent mixed) so it's safe to say Winnipeg is running on pure adrenaline right about now. Hopefully the crash back to earth doesn't hurt too much.
The NHL has approved (conditionally) the green goal verification line and to use a thinner mesh on the top of the net. These are 2 changes we should see in place this season. A third change that was experimented with at the R&D camp this past summer is a shallower net. That change along with the mesh and verification line were used during the Maple Leafs-Senators game on Monday night and got the best type of feedback possible. Essentially none. The verification line never needed to be used (but its under the ice so it's not in the way, it's an aesthetic change) and the thinner mesh made no difference either. The only thing that semi mattered was the shallower net and one player thought something was different but had no clue they were testing it. He stated he had a "bit more" room behind the net to maneuver. The shallower net seems like a shoe-in for next years changes. The NHL also has acknowledged that by December they will unveil their new alignment plans.
Finally the Penguins held their Black and Gold game. Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin told the world they are healthy and ready to go by scoring 2 goals a piece for their teams. Staal played on the black team, while Malkin was on the gold side. The gold side prevailed and in a bit of friendly rivalry, the loser had to untie the winners skates after practice the following day. Hope Malkin's skates smelt good! Crosby has been skating in circles around practice. Literally. In. Circles. He showed he knows his shapes and followed the red circle on ice. He is not allowed to have contact yet, but seems to be on the verge of being in the way of another player based on the pictures the Penguins are posting. Clearly he is more ready than people knew or were letting on. He also gets to wear a nifty white helmet.
In continuing the grand tradition of acting like he barely knows who the hell Crosby is (this has only happened since he has been injured), Bylsma has said he has no clue if he is trying new helmets nor where he fits in the lineup when ready. A monkey could tell you where he fits. First line. Center. Give him 2 guys on skates with a stick and it will all magically work out. Meanwhile on the other side of the locker room, James Neal said it was exciting to be centered by Crosby during a non-contact practice drill. Neal will play on his head if it means to be on a line with Crosby (as would most of the league).
Pens are currently playing the Red Wings in their first pre-season game right now. In case you didn't know, I live in the Bermuda Triangle of sports, so although the game is being aired on NHL Network, I am blacked out since I'm expected to get Root Sports for Pittsburgh even though I live in Eastern PA. I also live in Philly, NJ, NY and Buffalo territory all depending on what map you are looking at. Maybe Bylsma drew up the map when he lived in the area for a bit just to mess with us......Pens are tied with the Wings 1-1 and I need to stop listening to whatever disgrace to my ears Simon Cowell has come up with on NBC.
Peace out....I'll try to be more on top of news next week :)
Friday, September 16, 2011
It's Fall..
So before I dive into anything hockey related, I need put a few random things out there because although this is centered on hockey, it's a mini diary of life, so here we go.
First off, I survived a mandatory flood evacuation in my town last week. As of this time last week, I was already 24 hours in my relocation thanks to high waters. The levees held and I was able to come home Sunday. What a nightmarish experience that was. If the levee hadn't held, I might have been swimming around my apartment. Now that would have been a sight. The water was over 42 ft which broke the record from Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Insane. Apparently the water WAS in my living room in '72 so I thank the levee gods. I'm into swimming in pools and the oceans, not the river in my living room, thankyouverymuch.
There's a bridge under there, I swear.
First off, I survived a mandatory flood evacuation in my town last week. As of this time last week, I was already 24 hours in my relocation thanks to high waters. The levees held and I was able to come home Sunday. What a nightmarish experience that was. If the levee hadn't held, I might have been swimming around my apartment. Now that would have been a sight. The water was over 42 ft which broke the record from Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Insane. Apparently the water WAS in my living room in '72 so I thank the levee gods. I'm into swimming in pools and the oceans, not the river in my living room, thankyouverymuch.
There's a bridge under there, I swear. Secondly, the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 passed this past Sunday. No words to express how hard it was to watch all of the coverage again. It just transports me back to my senior year of high school, watching it unfold from the windows. R.I.P. to everyone who lost their lives that day.
Moving onto happier news, football season has officially begun and my step-sister gave birth to her first child last weekend, so I'm an Aunt! I won't get to meet my niece for a few more weeks, but there's tons of pictures and updates in the meantime.
Finally, lets talk some hockey since the temperature has dropped and fall is clearly taking over. Training camps officially opened today (yay) with most teams dealing with trivial details like headshots, screenshots for the game boards and making sure the guys can skate across the ice without falling over.
We also heard that the Ferrari that is Sidney Crosby has been cleared to take part in non-contact practice. He's a magician since last week I'm not sure many people got the impression that he would be on the ice for any part of camp. Don't pencil him in for the first game just yet, but anything goes in planet Sid and I'm not sure even Einstein could figure out his puzzle.
Drew Doughtry and his contract issues with the Kings have now held him out of the first day of camp. What's really the issue? Contract money, length? Someone just agree to disagree already and sign on the dotted line. This was a fun topic during the summer when it was slow and players were being kicked off dry island for drinking and boating under the influence, but the season kicks off in 20 days.
Speaking of boating under the influence, Dustin Byfuglien has made it across the border, even with his legal woe's hanging over his head. Although he can't really talk much about his boating events, he did address the weight issues and apparently the Jets have on some rosy colored glasses because "he looks great" per the team. He's currently 30 lbs above last years playing weight for the record.
The Devils are still Captainless. The money is on Zach Parise or Ilya Kovalchuk, but the state of NJ is just awkward as a rule, so no Captain with a bunch of A's is a possibility. Remember this is the team that wanted to give Kovalchuk the longest contract in NHL, which might have ended the day before he dropped dead in 70 years. They are also located in a state that doesn't believe in left hand turns so no rules apply in any capacity.
Jonathan Toews of the Blackhawks knocked down a little kid at a camp the other day. Not on purpose of course, but I wonder if he forget to work at half speed since they are little kids. Ekk.
The league also took an official stance on social media use this week. They basically said everything everyone already knows from other leagues policies and from common sense. They did put a blackout on using it 2 hours prior to a game that lasts till the last post-game interview is completed. Basically they took what most guys seemed to have seen as logical and said, this is now law. Since the leagues most prolific twitter user Paul Bissonnette doesn't see any issues with it, there should be few issues.
The Flyers have named Chris Pronger as Captain, which was the most obvious move since he was apparently the Captain all along, but Mike Richards was rocking the C. The real question is now that upper management spent the summer blowing up their team, how will they fare?
Ryan Callahan also got a shiny new C attached to his jersey in Ranger's land. Marc Staal and Brad Richrds got the A's. This was possibly the most predicted trio of leaders to be named this season, but is also potentially one of the most solid sets.
HBO came and started scouting out the Rangers for 24/7 and getting some shots for this years Road to the Winter Classic. I've lost track of if any of this has been confirmed by the league since they acted like it was the biggest secret for the longest time. It's happening and that's the important fact. Can't wait to see Mike Rupp rock another tux t-shirt and see Max Talbot sit on Santa's lap. Oh boy......
Moving onto happier news, football season has officially begun and my step-sister gave birth to her first child last weekend, so I'm an Aunt! I won't get to meet my niece for a few more weeks, but there's tons of pictures and updates in the meantime.
Finally, lets talk some hockey since the temperature has dropped and fall is clearly taking over. Training camps officially opened today (yay) with most teams dealing with trivial details like headshots, screenshots for the game boards and making sure the guys can skate across the ice without falling over.
We also heard that the Ferrari that is Sidney Crosby has been cleared to take part in non-contact practice. He's a magician since last week I'm not sure many people got the impression that he would be on the ice for any part of camp. Don't pencil him in for the first game just yet, but anything goes in planet Sid and I'm not sure even Einstein could figure out his puzzle.
Drew Doughtry and his contract issues with the Kings have now held him out of the first day of camp. What's really the issue? Contract money, length? Someone just agree to disagree already and sign on the dotted line. This was a fun topic during the summer when it was slow and players were being kicked off dry island for drinking and boating under the influence, but the season kicks off in 20 days.
Speaking of boating under the influence, Dustin Byfuglien has made it across the border, even with his legal woe's hanging over his head. Although he can't really talk much about his boating events, he did address the weight issues and apparently the Jets have on some rosy colored glasses because "he looks great" per the team. He's currently 30 lbs above last years playing weight for the record.
The Devils are still Captainless. The money is on Zach Parise or Ilya Kovalchuk, but the state of NJ is just awkward as a rule, so no Captain with a bunch of A's is a possibility. Remember this is the team that wanted to give Kovalchuk the longest contract in NHL, which might have ended the day before he dropped dead in 70 years. They are also located in a state that doesn't believe in left hand turns so no rules apply in any capacity.
Jonathan Toews of the Blackhawks knocked down a little kid at a camp the other day. Not on purpose of course, but I wonder if he forget to work at half speed since they are little kids. Ekk.
The league also took an official stance on social media use this week. They basically said everything everyone already knows from other leagues policies and from common sense. They did put a blackout on using it 2 hours prior to a game that lasts till the last post-game interview is completed. Basically they took what most guys seemed to have seen as logical and said, this is now law. Since the leagues most prolific twitter user Paul Bissonnette doesn't see any issues with it, there should be few issues.
The Flyers have named Chris Pronger as Captain, which was the most obvious move since he was apparently the Captain all along, but Mike Richards was rocking the C. The real question is now that upper management spent the summer blowing up their team, how will they fare?
Ryan Callahan also got a shiny new C attached to his jersey in Ranger's land. Marc Staal and Brad Richrds got the A's. This was possibly the most predicted trio of leaders to be named this season, but is also potentially one of the most solid sets.
HBO came and started scouting out the Rangers for 24/7 and getting some shots for this years Road to the Winter Classic. I've lost track of if any of this has been confirmed by the league since they acted like it was the biggest secret for the longest time. It's happening and that's the important fact. Can't wait to see Mike Rupp rock another tux t-shirt and see Max Talbot sit on Santa's lap. Oh boy......
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Christmas and Ferrari's
Before I explain Christmas and Ferrari's, I need to sadly once again point to the highlight of the day that never should have been. The plane carrying Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, a KHL team headed to Minsk for a game, crashed just after takeoff. It's reported the plane crashed into a radio tower when it never got enough altitude and went into the river. Sadly this crash has claimed almost every passenger's life, including former NHLers, NHL prospects and Canadian Coach Brad McCrimmon who left the Red Wings this season to coach the Russian squad. It is reported one crew member and one player are alive, but are burned badly. Since we are dealing with Russian translations I've read everything from they did die in the hospital to having fallen into a coma to they don't have a chance. Hopefully we get a definite answer soon, but as of now 43 people have died. R.I.P.
On top of losing their entire team, they had brought with them 4 prospects to show them the ropes of the season which opened today. I'm not entirely sure what the KHL does now when an entire squad plus personnel have been lost. Apparently the NHL has some sort of emergency plan that if we were to encounter a tragedy that left the team with less than 14 players and 1 goalie, there would be a draft of sorts where teams can protect up to 10 players they refuse to lose, then the team in need can draft 1 of the unprotected players from each team to begin the rebuild process. I know it's probably the last thing most people would ever think of, but hockey is a business and the teams are intertwined due to schedules etc and there has to be contingency plans. My heart goes out to the families of the players.
Hopefully you have all viewed the newest team on the block's jerseys, the Jets, but if you haven't, here you go. (This link might get weird so just look for the Winnipeg Jet's jersey unveiling, it's like straight out of a military exercise or Top Gun or you can just google them) I really like them. They are staying true to their new logo and colors and I believe they need to. This is the only way people are going to (hopefully) remember these are the new Jets, not the Jet of yesteryear.
Now lets talk about Christmas in September and Ferrari's. I was LMAO on my lunch break reading my twitter feed about the Crosby presser that the Penguins held today. The quotes coming through were so unreal I actually couldn't believe that top medical professionals were saying this stuff so of course I came home and watched it for myself. First off, it really happened (still can't believe it) and secondly I felt like I was in a college science lecture hall again and I caught my mind wandering off as usual (now we all know why I'm not in science).
So the 4 most bored people who all looked like they wanted to be anywhere but at a press conference held one at Consol. Ray Shero whom looked like he was a prop, Sid who was drinking water like a camel and 2 concussion specialists, Dr. Michael Collins, who is in the Pitt area and has been treating him since the get go, and Dr. Ted Carrick from the Atlanta area, who has recently been brought on just for shits and giggles? Actually he apparently has a specialization in the type of concussion Crosby sustained. Commence boredem.
Dr. Collins explained to the crowd what a concussion is. Yawn. Then comes the Ferrari. He managed to compare one of the best hockey players on earth to a car. Albeit a very nice, expensive, fast car most dream of so I can see the angle he's playing for so this gets a pass, but still Crosby is a human, not metal pieces (though many question this at times).
Collins then let Dr. Carrick talk for a bit and he said everything that was expected. Then the Q & A begins and "it's Christmas for Sid", responds Dr. Carrick. Really? Is Sid so freaking special he can just move holidays to whenever he pleases? Thankfully an inquiring reporter who probably also barely passed college science pipes up with "explain the Christmas thing". Thank god someone was paying attention. Apparently Sid's Christmas in September involves no gifts (though if he recovers, maybe his likeness in car form, say a Ferrari) but the fact that he's recovering so well. Gotcha.....
As the doctors kept talking (about how to rebuild a robot? I spaced out a bit), Sid continues to drink his water (is this the Mary Poppins bottle of water, he's taken a million sips and its not that big), Shero is seemingly the most bored and annoyed with this whole presser. Sid continues to answer questions while looking like he could get up and kill the next person who asks a question that can't be answered (how does his concussion compare to others, will he retire, whats the timeable). When the CBC reporter asked if he ever thought retirement was possible Crosby responds with "I wouldn't bet on that" with a sly smile and daggers coming out of his eyes. I swear it happened. If I was that reporter, I'd run for my life.He could probably be banned from future Crosby related pressers for doubting the Ferrari's powers and abilities.
They must have been promised treats, not reporters.
Short
story, he had a bad concussion. He hated driving, watching tv and
listening to music, so pretty much he hated life. He acknowledged he attended a film
session with the team and was exhausted trying to just follow the tape.
He is around 90% which Dr. Collins said could be 100% for another person
(remember he's a Ferrari, not a Ford). He can handle all the things he
despised (like music) and can skate and handle light work outs. They will take it as
it comes on when he will be cleared for contact. Gee everything everyone
with a brain has been saying since the beginning.
Shero
finally stopped being a table decoration and stated the obvious. Sid
will not be rushed, he must be 100% ready and everyone is on the same
page. One genius reporter questioned how he would be a captain since
he's not playing. Where did they pull these reporters from, recess at
the local elementary school. Shero fixed that man with a defiant answer.
You can tell he's ready to flip this table like an NJ Housewife and end
this party. And he did end the party (no table flipping) and the moment he did so, 4 grown up jumped up faster than ever, proving my theory on them them being bribed, because it's Christmas with a Ferrari.
Note: This press conference proved 3 things to me. I still hate any sort of science with a passion and just can't focus when doctors and such start talking Greek. Sidney Crosby is breathing which is uber important to his recovery and that Ray Shero hates pressers more than Crosby, who has a distinct disdain for them.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Hello September!!
So quietly the page has turned on the calendar once again and we find ourselves in September. September I tell you! It's just nuts. In a whopping 17 days my little corner of NEPA will be THE place for Penguins fans. September 19 the big boys from Pitt come to the Baby Pens home turf and they play a game. But it's not AHL versus NHL, its random drawing for the Black and Gold game so essentially Jordan Staal can be denied a goal by Marc-Andre Fleury. Pretty cool if you ask me. They have been alternating the past few years who hosts this kick-off to the preseason which is awesome for our area since it's a huge draw. Of course getting tickets is open first for season ticket holders and from there on out who knows how it really works. I honestly didn't really attempt to do much research on it. Shocking I know, but c'est la vie.
This last week we seem to have picked up the pace in hockey news, but it's still the off season so some ridiculousness must be reported. Enter Dustin Byfuglien and BWI. It's like a DWI but instead of driving, it's boating. Yup he was drunk and boating on Lake Minnetonka. I wish I could make this up. Of course he refused urine and blood tests and was released a few hours later. He also has apparently gained approximately 40 pounds since the Thrashers became the Jets this off season, which is only the size of a kindergartener. No biggie though.
I, being the special person I am, am fixated on 2 details that have sprung endless questions from my little brain, which are the boat and the weight gain. How exactly do you pull a boat over on a Lake? What happens to the boat, since I'm guessing they don't have a boat impound (or do they). It's not like you can just call a relative to go dock the boat, you have to have a boating license for this task. Also this 40 pounds of weight gain in a few months time. How is that possible? As a professional athlete you are paid to work out. I can see 10-15 pounds since they drop the intensity for a period of time to recover, but what was he eating, all of the McDonalds he rolled upon. Was he eating his feelings about having to move to Winnipeg from Atlanta? I'm just baffled. I understand Buff is built more like a typical NFL linebacker than hockey guy but still. I hope he has an amazing trainer to whip him into shape because time is ticking and he's a good player.
Back to serious news, Wade Belak, a former enforcer who had only just retired, is reported to have committed suicide. Today his mother came forward and said that her son struggled with depression and she thought he was getting help. Belak had signed on to work with the Predators, his most recent NHL team, as a broadcaster for this upcoming season and was slated to compete on CBC's Battle of the Blades. Sadly this is the 3rd death of a player who was known better for his stats on hockeyfights.com than goals and points this off season. Many people are trying to tie them all together somehow, but I am hoping that it's all just a bad coincidence.
Derek Boogaard died from a toxic overdose of pills and alcohol, but could he have been somewhat depressed after an injury ended his season early? As an enforcer your role on the team is limited and rather specific. You don't make the lineup each night because you can score a goal or 3 each night, you are in to patrol the ice and ensure your teammates aren't messed up. Rick Rypien, another enforcer, did suffer from depression and had taken time off from a number of seasons to seek help. Sadly those demons got to him this summer just when many thought he was finally in control. The NHL and NHLPA released this joint announcement on the tragedies and their hope to revisit all avenues in place to ensure players have any help needed.
While I'm sure what they have in place is decent, I wonder if many players just don't use it because they think they are just having a bad week and it will pass. These guys are some of the toughest athletes out there and have dedicated their entire lives to play the game, and maybe they feel admitting something is wrong is a sign of failure. The average person off the street has a a hard enough time admitting problems, so multiply that by a hundred and put the pressure they face to be the best and you have a recipe for disaster. Many of these players don't know a life without playing hockey and that could be an issue. Interestingly enough, blogger/writer/former player Justin Bourne wrote this column for Yahoo's Puck Daddy this week and it's rather fitting and worth a read. I wonder if they mandate psych evaluations as they do with physicals because maybe they should. Someone to talk to isn't the worst idea the NHL could enforce.
One more piece of sobering news to pour out of the NHL this week: Marc Savard has been ruled out for this season and training camp hasn't even opened. Those concussions seem to be saying career over to Savard at 34. Another player who was forced out at 34, Eric Lindros, the original concussion poster child. As sad as this is, lets hope the newest poster boy (Crosby) doesn't lose his season as he is a full decade younger than his concussed friends. I wish Savard the best if he decides to call it a career and hope that the rumor his name will be included on the Cup is true. Savard can decide to not retire and collect his salary by having the Bruins' exam him each year through the end of his contract (through 2016-17) and declare him unfit to play. Personally I think he should just retire instead of doing that dance each season but it's all up to him.
The end of summer is upon us as it's Labor Day weekend, which is the unofficially the final weekend of summer. Instead of attending one last cookout this weekend, it seems I will be trying to find my voice and breathe through my nose once again. It hasn't even been 24 hours of my illness and I'm already annoyed by it. Thank god for Netflix. I received Soul Surfer in the mail and am excited to finally see it! Hope everyone has a better and more fun weekend than me :)
This last week we seem to have picked up the pace in hockey news, but it's still the off season so some ridiculousness must be reported. Enter Dustin Byfuglien and BWI. It's like a DWI but instead of driving, it's boating. Yup he was drunk and boating on Lake Minnetonka. I wish I could make this up. Of course he refused urine and blood tests and was released a few hours later. He also has apparently gained approximately 40 pounds since the Thrashers became the Jets this off season, which is only the size of a kindergartener. No biggie though.
I, being the special person I am, am fixated on 2 details that have sprung endless questions from my little brain, which are the boat and the weight gain. How exactly do you pull a boat over on a Lake? What happens to the boat, since I'm guessing they don't have a boat impound (or do they). It's not like you can just call a relative to go dock the boat, you have to have a boating license for this task. Also this 40 pounds of weight gain in a few months time. How is that possible? As a professional athlete you are paid to work out. I can see 10-15 pounds since they drop the intensity for a period of time to recover, but what was he eating, all of the McDonalds he rolled upon. Was he eating his feelings about having to move to Winnipeg from Atlanta? I'm just baffled. I understand Buff is built more like a typical NFL linebacker than hockey guy but still. I hope he has an amazing trainer to whip him into shape because time is ticking and he's a good player.
Back to serious news, Wade Belak, a former enforcer who had only just retired, is reported to have committed suicide. Today his mother came forward and said that her son struggled with depression and she thought he was getting help. Belak had signed on to work with the Predators, his most recent NHL team, as a broadcaster for this upcoming season and was slated to compete on CBC's Battle of the Blades. Sadly this is the 3rd death of a player who was known better for his stats on hockeyfights.com than goals and points this off season. Many people are trying to tie them all together somehow, but I am hoping that it's all just a bad coincidence.
Derek Boogaard died from a toxic overdose of pills and alcohol, but could he have been somewhat depressed after an injury ended his season early? As an enforcer your role on the team is limited and rather specific. You don't make the lineup each night because you can score a goal or 3 each night, you are in to patrol the ice and ensure your teammates aren't messed up. Rick Rypien, another enforcer, did suffer from depression and had taken time off from a number of seasons to seek help. Sadly those demons got to him this summer just when many thought he was finally in control. The NHL and NHLPA released this joint announcement on the tragedies and their hope to revisit all avenues in place to ensure players have any help needed.
While I'm sure what they have in place is decent, I wonder if many players just don't use it because they think they are just having a bad week and it will pass. These guys are some of the toughest athletes out there and have dedicated their entire lives to play the game, and maybe they feel admitting something is wrong is a sign of failure. The average person off the street has a a hard enough time admitting problems, so multiply that by a hundred and put the pressure they face to be the best and you have a recipe for disaster. Many of these players don't know a life without playing hockey and that could be an issue. Interestingly enough, blogger/writer/former player Justin Bourne wrote this column for Yahoo's Puck Daddy this week and it's rather fitting and worth a read. I wonder if they mandate psych evaluations as they do with physicals because maybe they should. Someone to talk to isn't the worst idea the NHL could enforce.
One more piece of sobering news to pour out of the NHL this week: Marc Savard has been ruled out for this season and training camp hasn't even opened. Those concussions seem to be saying career over to Savard at 34. Another player who was forced out at 34, Eric Lindros, the original concussion poster child. As sad as this is, lets hope the newest poster boy (Crosby) doesn't lose his season as he is a full decade younger than his concussed friends. I wish Savard the best if he decides to call it a career and hope that the rumor his name will be included on the Cup is true. Savard can decide to not retire and collect his salary by having the Bruins' exam him each year through the end of his contract (through 2016-17) and declare him unfit to play. Personally I think he should just retire instead of doing that dance each season but it's all up to him.
The end of summer is upon us as it's Labor Day weekend, which is the unofficially the final weekend of summer. Instead of attending one last cookout this weekend, it seems I will be trying to find my voice and breathe through my nose once again. It hasn't even been 24 hours of my illness and I'm already annoyed by it. Thank god for Netflix. I received Soul Surfer in the mail and am excited to finally see it! Hope everyone has a better and more fun weekend than me :)
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