A few articles to pass the time while avoiding something that you really should be doing :)
Investigators believe the plane crash that killed the KHL team Yaroslav Lokomotiv in September could have been avoided. TSN has the story.
And he's back. Sean Avery and the art of avoidance. "I just want to help this team win," says Avery.
Ovi was benched last night. And it seems like he muttered some of Bruce's famous f-bombs under his breath. The video is all over the interwebs and apparently it's now water under the bridge per a media scrum today. The real questions isn't whether Bruce made a mistake in benching him over players who were playing hot, it's whether this is the new Ovi. Last season and this one (so far) have been sub-standard by his sky high standards. Could the best of Ovi already be on the highlight reel?
Speaking of sky high standards, Trib writer Dejan Kovacevic, talked with Crosby about what that first game back on the ice might be like. Apparently all is right in the the world of Crosby as he as envisioned it 10-15 different ways the first game could go. Good god, he really does dream about hockey.
Finally, only click here if you have some time to read this wacky list. Punch Drunk Love has likened each of the NHL teams to a band. In particular I like the Spice Girls as the Florida Panthers and the Coyotes as Celine Dion.
No Bryz quotes since the muzzle is on. Hopefully soon he'll be free to talk to the world again.
Showing posts with label Ovi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ovi. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Today's Date is Important for Many Reasons
It's Thursday October 13. This is vaguely important to my daily life since I sign papers all day at work and our system messed up majorly deciding to print the date as the 11th and 12th with no rhyme or reason. Talk about confusing. Today is also important because Sidney Crosby was cleared for full contact practice for the first time since his concussion. Want to know how the world found out?
The Pens tweeted a picture of him wearing a black helmet saying all the guys are wearing black helmets. Subtle. Much classier than Jeremy Roenick's rant about Crosby and his concussion coverage. (To be fair, he is right it was getting a bit wacky but the NHL is still not as big as the NFL or MLB and they need a player like Crosby.)
After their morning practice, Disco Dan has a media presser (shocking) and they questioned him about Crosby's return to full contact (even more shocking). Since they have a tough schedule for the next 2 weeks with lots of games and travel, practices are less intense and therefore have less contact. Therefore getting Crosby contact might have to be more forced. The man for the job in Bylsma's eyes: Ben Lovejoy. Ya know the one that reads to school children in his downtime....
"We’ve joked about it. Have you ever seen Ben Lovejoy in the morning skate on the penalty kill? That’ll be enough. Ben never stopped going when Sid was healthy. Sid and him always had battles as long as Ben’s been out there. So we’ll just put him on penalty kill during our morning skate and that should be enough for Ben to play 100 percent and give him some contact. I think Sid’s the type of player that he instigates contact. He’ll do something that will warrant that from a player. He’ll go out and do something, I don’t think anyone has to worry about that. There’ll be some jossling and some hitting going on, and during training camp when he’s been healthy there’s been jossling with a player or the ire’s gotten both guys, and that will happen again just because of the way Sidney competes. He’ll go after someone or go to the net. He’ll do something and there’ll be some contact there during the normal course of events." -Bylsma
So there ya go. Lovejoy is the man or Sid will cause someone to hit him. Totally normal. I've also seen Lovejoy knock a guy high into the glass when in Wilkes-Barre due to the power of his hit. I think Lovejoy is a fine choice.
The Penguins also resigned Chris Kunitz to a 2 year deal that begins next season. Another great signing by Ray Shero. When your over age 30 Shero is a 2 year type of guy and Kunitz knew that going in. He was happy with that wanted to stick around. He also admitted that having key players like Crosby, Geno and Staal like him as a person and a player helps.
Malkin after sitting out a practice is back in the lineup tonight. He and Alex Ovechkin did a ceremonial puck drop for the KHL's Lokomovtiv team that died in the plane crash. The league has been raising money for the families by selling bracelets at games. Game worn jersey's that have special patches in memorium are also going to be auctioned off. If Malkin wasn't in the lineup, he still would have been a part of the puck drop as he and Ovi were two of the key Russian NHLer's to work on this benefit. Very nice gesture by the league and players.
Realignment is the hot issue and is only going to heat up even more as December approaches (ekkkk). My head is spinning from all the options but if you have the brain capacity to attempt viewing any of them, here ya go. Legendary reporter Bob McKenzie actually gives you a bathroom break in his article, it's that long and intense. This one is a bit shorter and Puck Daddy to the rescue for the cliff notes edition!!
Au revoir for now
The Pens tweeted a picture of him wearing a black helmet saying all the guys are wearing black helmets. Subtle. Much classier than Jeremy Roenick's rant about Crosby and his concussion coverage. (To be fair, he is right it was getting a bit wacky but the NHL is still not as big as the NFL or MLB and they need a player like Crosby.)
After their morning practice, Disco Dan has a media presser (shocking) and they questioned him about Crosby's return to full contact (even more shocking). Since they have a tough schedule for the next 2 weeks with lots of games and travel, practices are less intense and therefore have less contact. Therefore getting Crosby contact might have to be more forced. The man for the job in Bylsma's eyes: Ben Lovejoy. Ya know the one that reads to school children in his downtime....
"We’ve joked about it. Have you ever seen Ben Lovejoy in the morning skate on the penalty kill? That’ll be enough. Ben never stopped going when Sid was healthy. Sid and him always had battles as long as Ben’s been out there. So we’ll just put him on penalty kill during our morning skate and that should be enough for Ben to play 100 percent and give him some contact. I think Sid’s the type of player that he instigates contact. He’ll do something that will warrant that from a player. He’ll go out and do something, I don’t think anyone has to worry about that. There’ll be some jossling and some hitting going on, and during training camp when he’s been healthy there’s been jossling with a player or the ire’s gotten both guys, and that will happen again just because of the way Sidney competes. He’ll go after someone or go to the net. He’ll do something and there’ll be some contact there during the normal course of events." -Bylsma
So there ya go. Lovejoy is the man or Sid will cause someone to hit him. Totally normal. I've also seen Lovejoy knock a guy high into the glass when in Wilkes-Barre due to the power of his hit. I think Lovejoy is a fine choice.
The Penguins also resigned Chris Kunitz to a 2 year deal that begins next season. Another great signing by Ray Shero. When your over age 30 Shero is a 2 year type of guy and Kunitz knew that going in. He was happy with that wanted to stick around. He also admitted that having key players like Crosby, Geno and Staal like him as a person and a player helps.
Malkin after sitting out a practice is back in the lineup tonight. He and Alex Ovechkin did a ceremonial puck drop for the KHL's Lokomovtiv team that died in the plane crash. The league has been raising money for the families by selling bracelets at games. Game worn jersey's that have special patches in memorium are also going to be auctioned off. If Malkin wasn't in the lineup, he still would have been a part of the puck drop as he and Ovi were two of the key Russian NHLer's to work on this benefit. Very nice gesture by the league and players.
Realignment is the hot issue and is only going to heat up even more as December approaches (ekkkk). My head is spinning from all the options but if you have the brain capacity to attempt viewing any of them, here ya go. Legendary reporter Bob McKenzie actually gives you a bathroom break in his article, it's that long and intense. This one is a bit shorter and Puck Daddy to the rescue for the cliff notes edition!!
Au revoir for now
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Game 7 Aftermath
The great thing about this being a blog I choose to do, as opposed to being paid to do, is that I can ignore facts I don't want to address. Such as the fact that the Bruins won the Stanley Cup. Wait, just did acknowledge it and that's about all I will say about them winning it. The Stanley Cup winners in my mind will read as follows: '08-Detroit, '09- Pittsburgh, '10-Chicago, '11-vacant in my brain, '12- TBD. Their '11 cup win is in good company though with the RedSox World Series and the Patriots Superbowls. (I know the Celtics won the big one recently also but I don't pay attention to the NBA as a rule so this doesn't register on my radar). Take it or leave it. I never thought Colin Campbell should have been able to discipline any player since every decision would indirectly affect his son and his team (aka the Bruins). I also wondered where the refs were and why Luongo forgot to stand on his head when one of the twins and Kesler were rumored to be playing with major injuries. Questions that will never be answered.
I am choosing to believe that Nathan Horton tainted the Canucks chances with his pouring of Boston water on the clean Canadian ice. Also were was Marc Savard? Horton and his "severe" concussion were able to travel across the country but Savard who was also labeled severe hasn't been seen in public to my knowledge. Did the Bruins play up Horton's status to get Rome suspended? All I know is Crosby and Savard were hidden in the bat cave for months because of lights, noise and general life bothering them, but Horton traveled on the team plane and remembered to bring the water. I've got nothing.
In the aftermath of this game 7 meltdown, the fans of Vancouver also decided to act as responsible as possible and start rioting. And I thought my filing of this in the black hole was bad. Unreal. This is the place that put on an amazing Olympics and rallied behind the Canucks for this Cup, yet they couldn't just walk out understandably upset and a cue from me and file this under the cup that never happened. Nope. Riot time. Just wow.
In other news.....
The Capitals and Arturs Irbe parted ways not long ago and today announced a tag team of coaches to deal with a 3 man goalie rotation. A tag team of coaches sounds like their second best off season idea, right after not firing F-Bomb Boudreau. 3 goalies and 1 goalie coach didn't work last season, so naturally adding in another coach to the equation will fix this mess. I can't wait to watch the Capitals continue to spiral all of this talent out of control. Wonder if anyone has pointed out to them that this was a playoff season handed to them on golden platter since they didn't have to go through Pittsburgh en route to a Cup. Talk about a wasted opportunity.
GM George McPhee is going to have his hands full with trying to figure out how to make this cap work for him. He has more talented players than most teams and they all have proven their worth, but there's just not enough money to go around. Other teams have figured out how to make the cap work to their advantage but the Capitals seem to be struggling. They need a number crunching genius, not a brooding GM in a trench coat. Ted Leonis is never going to have the Stanley Cup he thinks he deserves without making some major changes. The on ice product isn't matching up to the talent on paper and something needs to change and it needs to happen quickly.
We are a week away from seeing players not named Ovi or Crosby take home some awards from Vegas. This probably saved Sid some dough on renting to the U-Haul he was poised to need as of December to get all his would-be loot home. Don't worry though, he still set an NHL record for most points in the fewest games by a teams top point getter- even while hiding in his bat cave for half the season concussed. He had a whopping 66 points in 41 games, which was 16 better than Kris Letang who played the entire season. To think what could have been.....
We are also just under 2 weeks away from UFA's deadline date before they can flirt with other teams. Since this is a weak off season for blockbuster trades (see Kovalchuk, Ilya cira summer 2010) someone, somewhere is going to be generously over paid. This does seem to be the summer of the goalie though and Philly already made a big splash with acquiring Ilya Bryzgalov from the Coyotes, because like the Capitals they can't figure out which of the young guns is going to be "the man". Hint: none of these guys will ever gain any confidence if they don't get to start more than 2 games in a row and then ride the bench for the next week. Leonis will not be hanging with the Cup next summer of he keeps a cast of goalies. Tim Thomas was a one man show for the Bruins and he deserved the Conn Smythe but there's no way you win the Cup without being able to say who your goalie is.
Even when the Penguins went through the early season MAF drama, they never planted a seed of doubt in him that he wasn't their franchise goalie and number one on the depth chart. Johnson did get more starts than usual in this period, but he supported MAF though it by playing solid, and never once did Blysma say "I don't know who my number 1 is". Sports are just as much mental as they are physical. It's hard to hear your not the starting man but eventually a decision needs to be made before its too late.
Can't wait for #isitoctoberyet to start trending on twitter hardcore. Welcome to summer everyone. Back to baseball for the time being I suppose since there's little else. No wonder baseball lasts forever, it needs to fill the random voids of other sports till the playoffs when I actually care again (for the 3rd time in the season. Beginning, middle and end of course). And WHERE IS FOOTBALL???? I might start to actually go through withdrawal soon.
I am choosing to believe that Nathan Horton tainted the Canucks chances with his pouring of Boston water on the clean Canadian ice. Also were was Marc Savard? Horton and his "severe" concussion were able to travel across the country but Savard who was also labeled severe hasn't been seen in public to my knowledge. Did the Bruins play up Horton's status to get Rome suspended? All I know is Crosby and Savard were hidden in the bat cave for months because of lights, noise and general life bothering them, but Horton traveled on the team plane and remembered to bring the water. I've got nothing.
In the aftermath of this game 7 meltdown, the fans of Vancouver also decided to act as responsible as possible and start rioting. And I thought my filing of this in the black hole was bad. Unreal. This is the place that put on an amazing Olympics and rallied behind the Canucks for this Cup, yet they couldn't just walk out understandably upset and a cue from me and file this under the cup that never happened. Nope. Riot time. Just wow.
In other news.....
The Capitals and Arturs Irbe parted ways not long ago and today announced a tag team of coaches to deal with a 3 man goalie rotation. A tag team of coaches sounds like their second best off season idea, right after not firing F-Bomb Boudreau. 3 goalies and 1 goalie coach didn't work last season, so naturally adding in another coach to the equation will fix this mess. I can't wait to watch the Capitals continue to spiral all of this talent out of control. Wonder if anyone has pointed out to them that this was a playoff season handed to them on golden platter since they didn't have to go through Pittsburgh en route to a Cup. Talk about a wasted opportunity.
GM George McPhee is going to have his hands full with trying to figure out how to make this cap work for him. He has more talented players than most teams and they all have proven their worth, but there's just not enough money to go around. Other teams have figured out how to make the cap work to their advantage but the Capitals seem to be struggling. They need a number crunching genius, not a brooding GM in a trench coat. Ted Leonis is never going to have the Stanley Cup he thinks he deserves without making some major changes. The on ice product isn't matching up to the talent on paper and something needs to change and it needs to happen quickly.
We are a week away from seeing players not named Ovi or Crosby take home some awards from Vegas. This probably saved Sid some dough on renting to the U-Haul he was poised to need as of December to get all his would-be loot home. Don't worry though, he still set an NHL record for most points in the fewest games by a teams top point getter- even while hiding in his bat cave for half the season concussed. He had a whopping 66 points in 41 games, which was 16 better than Kris Letang who played the entire season. To think what could have been.....
We are also just under 2 weeks away from UFA's deadline date before they can flirt with other teams. Since this is a weak off season for blockbuster trades (see Kovalchuk, Ilya cira summer 2010) someone, somewhere is going to be generously over paid. This does seem to be the summer of the goalie though and Philly already made a big splash with acquiring Ilya Bryzgalov from the Coyotes, because like the Capitals they can't figure out which of the young guns is going to be "the man". Hint: none of these guys will ever gain any confidence if they don't get to start more than 2 games in a row and then ride the bench for the next week. Leonis will not be hanging with the Cup next summer of he keeps a cast of goalies. Tim Thomas was a one man show for the Bruins and he deserved the Conn Smythe but there's no way you win the Cup without being able to say who your goalie is.
Even when the Penguins went through the early season MAF drama, they never planted a seed of doubt in him that he wasn't their franchise goalie and number one on the depth chart. Johnson did get more starts than usual in this period, but he supported MAF though it by playing solid, and never once did Blysma say "I don't know who my number 1 is". Sports are just as much mental as they are physical. It's hard to hear your not the starting man but eventually a decision needs to be made before its too late.
Can't wait for #isitoctoberyet to start trending on twitter hardcore. Welcome to summer everyone. Back to baseball for the time being I suppose since there's little else. No wonder baseball lasts forever, it needs to fill the random voids of other sports till the playoffs when I actually care again (for the 3rd time in the season. Beginning, middle and end of course). And WHERE IS FOOTBALL???? I might start to actually go through withdrawal soon.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Catch up time
A few happenings have occurred in the past week so a recap is in order.
Somethings Gotta Give
Brad Richards won't be a Star or a Ranger. The Stars won't sign him and he won't sign with them without a secure owner. The Rangers won't overpay (good call by them, they can get some younger, cheaper guys that can learn their system) and I'm guessing the Coyotes are off the list because of ownership issues. Of course, the Blue Jackets aren't looking to secure anymore so they are probably a no go. Richards also was being rather picky with where he would be playing city wise so this has major potential to become the saga of this off-season. What city will make his highness happy while still paying him the $7million he feels he deserves. Can't wait to meet this team! I'm also thinking the Devils are out since last season's drama was enough for them. Plus they need to get Parise signed yesterday.
Treading the Gray Area
Brendan Shanahan has officially taken the reigns from Colin Campbell as discipline czar. I love this, FYI. I think Shanahan has the brains to be in charge of such decisions and since he's closely removed from playing, he gets the game and the changes it's taken over the past decade. I do worry this will ruin his image, life and happiness. Interrupting Rule 48 is like being a color blind person in a color coded store- it's a complete and utter free for all. Draw a straw and that's the call currently under Campbell. Even though he does remove himself from games his son plays in, something has always just seemed wrong about the whole thing. A call he makes against another team can eventually affect his sons team and it always just seemed strange if you ask me. I think Shanahan will bring a new approach and be a breathe of fresh air for the suspensions, et al. When Crosby went down with a concussion, he was one of the first players to reach out to check on him and offer some advice/support. It just goes to show his level of respect for current players. I will pray for him every night that he doesn't wake up thinking "I wish I never took this position" and maybe mail him a bottle of scotch or whiskey or whatever will keep him from jumping off the bridge.
Building for the Future
Pittsburgh announced today that they have officially signed all their coaches from the NHL through the AHL rankings to mulit-year deals. I think Ray Shero is one insanely smart business man and makes some amazing decisions to ensure that the Penguins will continue to be considered an elite team in the league. Signing all their coaches ensures that the system they have in place will be continued. Each of the guys learns one system that is used both in the AHL and NHL and this makes their call-ups so routine it's like they are an extension of each other. Now having all the coaches (that were all already on the same page having each been hired or referred by one another) together for the long term just makes their foundation that much more solid. If you ever needed a reason to want your NHL club to own it's AHL team just look up in the sporting dictionary: Penguins, Pittsburgh.
Concussion Gate: Part 1943483 (of the 2010-11 season)
Google it or find it on Puck Daddy here but here's the latest reason why we need Brendan Shanahan to swoop in and save the day. Lots of opinions on whether or not Aaron Rome should have been suspended. Based on this video, yes. If you want to compare his hit to a hit he received against the Sharks and that outcome (no suspension for the guy who leveled him) who knows what to do. This one seems much worse in general so I do believe he should be suspended. His suspenstion is for a whopping 4 games. That means if this goes 4 more games, the rest of the season. At worst, 2 more games in the beginning of next season. Matt Cooke received 10 plus first round of the playoffs for his elbow that didn't injure anyone, so up to 17 games. Nathan Horton laid on the ice like he was never going to move again and Rome got 4. I need help understanding the justice here. Just because he's not Cooke who plays on the invisible line of being a "dirty player" he seems to have had the past affect his ruling, but we are comparing apples and oranges in every way possible. It's hard to say that if a player is concussed then the player who did the concussing should be out for x number of games, but Cooke's careless late elbow cost him more than Rome's late hit that might affect Horton's career sooner than later. Mike Murphy handed out this suspension since Campbell is relieved of his duties forever and Shanahan doesn't begin his reign till next season (did he breathe a sigh of relief or what??). I hope Shanahan is given free reign to clean house start from the bottom next season and can figure out a way to make some sense of these senseless suspensions.
Headaches: Concussions vs Sinus
Sidney Crosby has reappeared on our radar again and this time he's to say he had a sinus infection, not a concussion related setback. This is nice to hear. Sinus infection headaches can be pretty brutal and even if he really did experience a setback, this is a reasoning that will probably make some fans feel better about the state of the Kid. It does seem like a probable reason, especially since he was spotted enjoying a vacation to Cannes Film Festival. I'm thinking you can't fly to Europe with a non-stop headache. That's over 6 hours and even first class can't make that feel any better. If he didn't have a sinus infection then the Penguins must have the best vault of story lines in town. (Malkin actually missed a number of games before his season ending injury because of a sinus infection). Regardless of what we chose to believe, he's alive and breathing in the Canadian air while trying to figure out how top his half-season assault on league records. A topic trending among hockey players on twitter is often #isitseptemberyet. Most people can't wait to see what he will be up to. Ovi, the puck is in your zone. What do you plan on doing after your teams epic meltdown against the Lightening?
Random Ramblings...(on anything I feel like)
NBC will hold onto Olympic broadcasting rights. I like this and enjoy Bob Costas' story time etc. I would like this even more if they somehow had written in there more games would be aired on NBC all season since I don't get versus and have to rely on Tweets and NHL Game Center for anything aired on Versus. Hopefully they won't manage to air the Olympics on Versus and will keep it on NBC.
With the NFL lockout still holding strong, I am beginning to wonder if we will have football and if we do, how will the quality be?At this point the rookies usually have play books, have begun some mini camps and have actually had a full conversation with their coach. Coaches don't even know the players middle name or nickname yet. What about Mr. Sensitive and Mr. Asshole for personality disorders? Can we foresee some serious conflicts if this season does happen? Don't envy the coaches this season one bit.
Could care less about the NBA but if they lockout and the NFL stays locked out, will NBC and the NHL capitalize on this MAJOR once in a lifetime chance to showcase hockey to it's fullest?? Doubt it, but one can hope. On facebook there's a group of people prepared to boycott week 1 if there is one to make a small statement. Even though most people won't notice, I can understand why some people would do this as they are annoyed with billionaires locking out millionaires. It just don't register on the average Joe's radar. We are football fans, but watching a game on Sunday is a luxury and enjoyable way to spend the day, but we don't get money for doing it and can somehow survive since we somehow do it the other 8 months of the year.
Till next time...
#isitseptemberyet
Somethings Gotta Give
Brad Richards won't be a Star or a Ranger. The Stars won't sign him and he won't sign with them without a secure owner. The Rangers won't overpay (good call by them, they can get some younger, cheaper guys that can learn their system) and I'm guessing the Coyotes are off the list because of ownership issues. Of course, the Blue Jackets aren't looking to secure anymore so they are probably a no go. Richards also was being rather picky with where he would be playing city wise so this has major potential to become the saga of this off-season. What city will make his highness happy while still paying him the $7million he feels he deserves. Can't wait to meet this team! I'm also thinking the Devils are out since last season's drama was enough for them. Plus they need to get Parise signed yesterday.
Treading the Gray Area
Brendan Shanahan has officially taken the reigns from Colin Campbell as discipline czar. I love this, FYI. I think Shanahan has the brains to be in charge of such decisions and since he's closely removed from playing, he gets the game and the changes it's taken over the past decade. I do worry this will ruin his image, life and happiness. Interrupting Rule 48 is like being a color blind person in a color coded store- it's a complete and utter free for all. Draw a straw and that's the call currently under Campbell. Even though he does remove himself from games his son plays in, something has always just seemed wrong about the whole thing. A call he makes against another team can eventually affect his sons team and it always just seemed strange if you ask me. I think Shanahan will bring a new approach and be a breathe of fresh air for the suspensions, et al. When Crosby went down with a concussion, he was one of the first players to reach out to check on him and offer some advice/support. It just goes to show his level of respect for current players. I will pray for him every night that he doesn't wake up thinking "I wish I never took this position" and maybe mail him a bottle of scotch or whiskey or whatever will keep him from jumping off the bridge.
Building for the Future
Pittsburgh announced today that they have officially signed all their coaches from the NHL through the AHL rankings to mulit-year deals. I think Ray Shero is one insanely smart business man and makes some amazing decisions to ensure that the Penguins will continue to be considered an elite team in the league. Signing all their coaches ensures that the system they have in place will be continued. Each of the guys learns one system that is used both in the AHL and NHL and this makes their call-ups so routine it's like they are an extension of each other. Now having all the coaches (that were all already on the same page having each been hired or referred by one another) together for the long term just makes their foundation that much more solid. If you ever needed a reason to want your NHL club to own it's AHL team just look up in the sporting dictionary: Penguins, Pittsburgh.
Concussion Gate: Part 1943483 (of the 2010-11 season)
Google it or find it on Puck Daddy here but here's the latest reason why we need Brendan Shanahan to swoop in and save the day. Lots of opinions on whether or not Aaron Rome should have been suspended. Based on this video, yes. If you want to compare his hit to a hit he received against the Sharks and that outcome (no suspension for the guy who leveled him) who knows what to do. This one seems much worse in general so I do believe he should be suspended. His suspenstion is for a whopping 4 games. That means if this goes 4 more games, the rest of the season. At worst, 2 more games in the beginning of next season. Matt Cooke received 10 plus first round of the playoffs for his elbow that didn't injure anyone, so up to 17 games. Nathan Horton laid on the ice like he was never going to move again and Rome got 4. I need help understanding the justice here. Just because he's not Cooke who plays on the invisible line of being a "dirty player" he seems to have had the past affect his ruling, but we are comparing apples and oranges in every way possible. It's hard to say that if a player is concussed then the player who did the concussing should be out for x number of games, but Cooke's careless late elbow cost him more than Rome's late hit that might affect Horton's career sooner than later. Mike Murphy handed out this suspension since Campbell is relieved of his duties forever and Shanahan doesn't begin his reign till next season (did he breathe a sigh of relief or what??). I hope Shanahan is given free reign to clean house start from the bottom next season and can figure out a way to make some sense of these senseless suspensions.
Headaches: Concussions vs Sinus
Sidney Crosby has reappeared on our radar again and this time he's to say he had a sinus infection, not a concussion related setback. This is nice to hear. Sinus infection headaches can be pretty brutal and even if he really did experience a setback, this is a reasoning that will probably make some fans feel better about the state of the Kid. It does seem like a probable reason, especially since he was spotted enjoying a vacation to Cannes Film Festival. I'm thinking you can't fly to Europe with a non-stop headache. That's over 6 hours and even first class can't make that feel any better. If he didn't have a sinus infection then the Penguins must have the best vault of story lines in town. (Malkin actually missed a number of games before his season ending injury because of a sinus infection). Regardless of what we chose to believe, he's alive and breathing in the Canadian air while trying to figure out how top his half-season assault on league records. A topic trending among hockey players on twitter is often #isitseptemberyet. Most people can't wait to see what he will be up to. Ovi, the puck is in your zone. What do you plan on doing after your teams epic meltdown against the Lightening?
Random Ramblings...(on anything I feel like)
NBC will hold onto Olympic broadcasting rights. I like this and enjoy Bob Costas' story time etc. I would like this even more if they somehow had written in there more games would be aired on NBC all season since I don't get versus and have to rely on Tweets and NHL Game Center for anything aired on Versus. Hopefully they won't manage to air the Olympics on Versus and will keep it on NBC.
With the NFL lockout still holding strong, I am beginning to wonder if we will have football and if we do, how will the quality be?At this point the rookies usually have play books, have begun some mini camps and have actually had a full conversation with their coach. Coaches don't even know the players middle name or nickname yet. What about Mr. Sensitive and Mr. Asshole for personality disorders? Can we foresee some serious conflicts if this season does happen? Don't envy the coaches this season one bit.
Could care less about the NBA but if they lockout and the NFL stays locked out, will NBC and the NHL capitalize on this MAJOR once in a lifetime chance to showcase hockey to it's fullest?? Doubt it, but one can hope. On facebook there's a group of people prepared to boycott week 1 if there is one to make a small statement. Even though most people won't notice, I can understand why some people would do this as they are annoyed with billionaires locking out millionaires. It just don't register on the average Joe's radar. We are football fans, but watching a game on Sunday is a luxury and enjoyable way to spend the day, but we don't get money for doing it and can somehow survive since we somehow do it the other 8 months of the year.
Till next time...
#isitseptemberyet
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