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 :)
Showing posts with label Savard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Savard. Show all posts
Friday, September 2, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Chitter Chatter
A few random notes about some players and a random thought about the Bruins. A positive, intriguing thought that was half answered in an article I read earlier, but I'm going to save that for later. First line up....
Arbitration
The Devils have officially taken Zach Parise to arbitration. Nothing shocking here, since everyone not living under a rock knew this was going to happen. They had months to work something out with him and now they need even more time. I believe their up against the cap salary issue is why they are doing this, but I really hope they get this done. If they don't make him happy, the Devils have potentially lost their next decade captain after this season. Not a good idea at all.
Shea Weber of the Predators has also been taken to arbitration, but this team has the opposite problem of the Devils. They have money to spend so I'm guessing terms and money weren't matching up between the two. Rumor is he also just got a new agent. Guessing some guys don't get that sometimes you'll get further faster with the old standby who knew you better and had worked with your team previously. Why not change agents after you've signed your massive contract? I'll never understand because it's just so backwards to me.
Side Note: A Tim Tebow commercial just came on and it bothered me to no end. His Jockey ad in ESPN the Mag also makes me crazy. In fact, anything related to him makes me nuts. Rant over.
Second Line....
Lace 'em up or hang 'em up
6 time Norris Trophy Winner Niklas Lidstrom has informed the Red Wings that he will inform them in Vegas on his playing decision. At least he is doing this before we need to hold an ESPN hour long show called "The Decision" at a Boys and Girls Club in Detroit. Wait, that only happens in basketball and look how that turned out. Seriously though he has had an amazing career and I hope he only retires if that's what he truly feels is best for his family and himself. He is nominated for his 7th Norris Trophy and is up against Shea Weber and newly minted Stanley Cup Champ Zdeno Chara.
Mark Recchi who just won Cup number 3 already has announced his retirement. In fact his announcement came so quickly after (as most expected) that I was starting to wonder if he said it the moment he did a victory lap with it. Have to admit, it's nice to see a guy who played for so many years because of their love for the game go out on top.
3rd Line...
Country/Hop-Hip Party Anyone?
Vegas is the place to be this week with the NHL awards back in town for the 3rd go around. While there the boys will enjoy some gambling, drinking, fine dining and being serenaded by Dierks Bentley and Far East Movement. Can not think of two more opposite acts to choose. Obviously each player has their taste but this is Country and Electro Hip Hop with no in between. Of course some guys will probably still be drunk from the night before and probably just cruise through Vegas in a never ending drunken stupor so they might not notice this odd pairing of musicians. Wonder what Disco Dan will think of this? He'll be in town waiting to see if he won the Jack Adams. If losing your starting lineup and still making the playoffs was the only criteria he'd be a shoe-in. Still think he has a great chance at winning it. Remember this was only his 2nd full season with the Pens.
Cup Galore!
Now that you've sat through all the mumble jumble (or scrolled down if you were smart) here is a thought about the Bruins and the Cup after some more jibber jabber. Since a whopping 4 days have passed since the Bruin's took their first drink from the Cup, we've had some time to reflect on all things hockey, Bruins and Vancouver riotville.
The way the Canuck fans acted is intolerable and was childish. They acted like they were bombed and the pictures of the streets with people all over and fires gave me flashbacks to 9/11 and that is just uncalled for. Obviously this was not the team acting, only their over zealous fans but that was just unreal. There was no need to riot, set cars ablaze or any of the other antics they displayed. I'd be embarrassed if I was from Vancouver and our city was shown like that. Thankfully the guys on ice have been able to fly under the radar and grovel in the protection of their own homes.
Concussions have been playing a headline role in the NHL and NFL the past season or so and it's like a bad car crash I can't stop wondering about. I have a minor obsession with knowing the status of Marc Savard and since I knew that he didn't fly to Vancouver, I had begun to wonder if he got his chance to have a few minutes with the Cup back in Boston which brought me to this wild thought and fact: Marc Savard as of this moment in time is NOT a Stanley Cup champ. His name as of today will not be joining his teammates and past winners all because of his concussion (which is my obsession).
The NHL states that the rules for your name joining immorality on the Cup is that you play 41 regular season games or at least 1 final game. There is no loop-hole or injury clause for inclusion on the Cup, which got me wondering if the Bruins' in their alcohol induced stupors had realized this detail. They had I discovered via an article I read this morning and they said they will figure out the petition process to get Savard and injured teammate Steve Kampfer's names included on the Cup. Oddly enough the NHL does acknowledge in its Cup inclusion process that the backup goalie has no criteria since most backups play 20-30 games at most. Nice to see they didn't forget the back up, but there needs to be a clause for an injured player and his chance to be acknowledged as a Champion.
Arbitration
The Devils have officially taken Zach Parise to arbitration. Nothing shocking here, since everyone not living under a rock knew this was going to happen. They had months to work something out with him and now they need even more time. I believe their up against the cap salary issue is why they are doing this, but I really hope they get this done. If they don't make him happy, the Devils have potentially lost their next decade captain after this season. Not a good idea at all.
Shea Weber of the Predators has also been taken to arbitration, but this team has the opposite problem of the Devils. They have money to spend so I'm guessing terms and money weren't matching up between the two. Rumor is he also just got a new agent. Guessing some guys don't get that sometimes you'll get further faster with the old standby who knew you better and had worked with your team previously. Why not change agents after you've signed your massive contract? I'll never understand because it's just so backwards to me.
Side Note: A Tim Tebow commercial just came on and it bothered me to no end. His Jockey ad in ESPN the Mag also makes me crazy. In fact, anything related to him makes me nuts. Rant over.
Second Line....
Lace 'em up or hang 'em up
6 time Norris Trophy Winner Niklas Lidstrom has informed the Red Wings that he will inform them in Vegas on his playing decision. At least he is doing this before we need to hold an ESPN hour long show called "The Decision" at a Boys and Girls Club in Detroit. Wait, that only happens in basketball and look how that turned out. Seriously though he has had an amazing career and I hope he only retires if that's what he truly feels is best for his family and himself. He is nominated for his 7th Norris Trophy and is up against Shea Weber and newly minted Stanley Cup Champ Zdeno Chara.
Mark Recchi who just won Cup number 3 already has announced his retirement. In fact his announcement came so quickly after (as most expected) that I was starting to wonder if he said it the moment he did a victory lap with it. Have to admit, it's nice to see a guy who played for so many years because of their love for the game go out on top.
3rd Line...
Country/Hop-Hip Party Anyone?
Vegas is the place to be this week with the NHL awards back in town for the 3rd go around. While there the boys will enjoy some gambling, drinking, fine dining and being serenaded by Dierks Bentley and Far East Movement. Can not think of two more opposite acts to choose. Obviously each player has their taste but this is Country and Electro Hip Hop with no in between. Of course some guys will probably still be drunk from the night before and probably just cruise through Vegas in a never ending drunken stupor so they might not notice this odd pairing of musicians. Wonder what Disco Dan will think of this? He'll be in town waiting to see if he won the Jack Adams. If losing your starting lineup and still making the playoffs was the only criteria he'd be a shoe-in. Still think he has a great chance at winning it. Remember this was only his 2nd full season with the Pens.
Cup Galore!
Now that you've sat through all the mumble jumble (or scrolled down if you were smart) here is a thought about the Bruins and the Cup after some more jibber jabber. Since a whopping 4 days have passed since the Bruin's took their first drink from the Cup, we've had some time to reflect on all things hockey, Bruins and Vancouver riotville.
The way the Canuck fans acted is intolerable and was childish. They acted like they were bombed and the pictures of the streets with people all over and fires gave me flashbacks to 9/11 and that is just uncalled for. Obviously this was not the team acting, only their over zealous fans but that was just unreal. There was no need to riot, set cars ablaze or any of the other antics they displayed. I'd be embarrassed if I was from Vancouver and our city was shown like that. Thankfully the guys on ice have been able to fly under the radar and grovel in the protection of their own homes.
Concussions have been playing a headline role in the NHL and NFL the past season or so and it's like a bad car crash I can't stop wondering about. I have a minor obsession with knowing the status of Marc Savard and since I knew that he didn't fly to Vancouver, I had begun to wonder if he got his chance to have a few minutes with the Cup back in Boston which brought me to this wild thought and fact: Marc Savard as of this moment in time is NOT a Stanley Cup champ. His name as of today will not be joining his teammates and past winners all because of his concussion (which is my obsession).
The NHL states that the rules for your name joining immorality on the Cup is that you play 41 regular season games or at least 1 final game. There is no loop-hole or injury clause for inclusion on the Cup, which got me wondering if the Bruins' in their alcohol induced stupors had realized this detail. They had I discovered via an article I read this morning and they said they will figure out the petition process to get Savard and injured teammate Steve Kampfer's names included on the Cup. Oddly enough the NHL does acknowledge in its Cup inclusion process that the backup goalie has no criteria since most backups play 20-30 games at most. Nice to see they didn't forget the back up, but there needs to be a clause for an injured player and his chance to be acknowledged as a Champion.
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