Why I Left

Oh yeah, I used to write about hockey, didn't I?

It seems convenient that I write about hockey, when we are in the middle of another NHL lockout, yes? o_O I recall last season, when during the all-star break, I suddenly stopped updating my hockey blog, and didn't give a reason why. There are a few reasons I wish to tell you:

1. Too many suspensions: The subject on everyone's lips last season was the daily controversial hockey hit, and whether such illegal body checks warranted four or six game suspensions depending on the player, and I really did not want my blog to become a jumping off post for rants and ANGRY WORDS SPELT WITH ALL CAPS. In my hometown, there is a daily radio talk show dedicated to hockey, and almost everyday there would be some heated argument over another blown call by a referee, another player injured with a concussion, another suspended player given way less than everyone thought he deserved, another Zapruder-like film study, and another case of psycho-analysis of the aggressor and his "intent". Entering that debate never interested me; yes, I did write about illegal hockey hits and suspensions in prior posts, but I didn't want to regurgitate the same old stuff day after day, so I decided to stop altogether unless something interesting (different) occurred.
2. Conspiracy, conspiracy: I always thought teams played for "not to lose" on an annual basis, so when three-point games became the norm I didn't feel like writing about that conspiracy theory of match fixing all over again: Guarantee your one point, don't break your back trying to score in five minutes of overtime, and throw your goalie under the bus because you didn't get the "bonus point". What bonus point? o_O There are two points to win in every game; how does the second point become the bonus point? It's still two points. If a win in regulation time was worth three points, then...great, I did it again! -_- I put half my audience to sleep AGAIN!
3. Refs under orders? One NHL team that has no owner, no sustainable market for hockey, and no fan base in a town with no money to support its professional sports teams or stadiums is in the playoffs, while another NHL team plays in the second largest media market in the United States, and always benefited from favourable calls and non-calls since The Gretzky Trade (Yes, Kerry Fraser, I am talking about you). Which teams did I allude to in the previous sentence? Which teams met in last year's Western Conference Final? Which team won that playoff series off of a blown call (again)? Which team won the Stanley Cup last year?
4. Stupid, stupid, stupid: Why is Winnipeg still in the Southeast division?!

I have other reasons for not updating this blog, but those are the first four that came to mind. Hockey is a great game, and as a Canadian I will always love it. I might write something about it, now and then, but with other blogs to write, and work I don't have too much time to spend talking about collective bargaining agreements, and referee biases towards struggling NHL teams in the sun-belt. Maybe it is time to move on.

Seriously, it's not that difficult: Winnipeg in the Northwest, Minnesota in the Central, Nashville in the Southeast, HELLO?!

Anger Management: Leafs Goaltending

MEN OF SCIENCE! Even the periodic table regales us with the chemical makeup of both Maple Leafs goaltenders

Do you know why I am ANGRY? My former favourite sports radio station, FAN 590, broadcasted after the Toronto Maple Leafs' victorious 1-0 shutout performance against the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this week that there could be a goaltending controversy between fan-favourite James Reimer, who shutout the Crosby-less Penguins, and Swedish goaltending project Jonas Gustavsson, whose recent form kept the Maple Leafs in the playoff race for this long in the NHL regular season (Leafs currently in seventh o_O).

However, I am ANGRY because, while everyone listens to the FAN 590 when they say there is goaltending controversy brewing in Toronto, I say the EXACT thing more than a week earlier and no one listens to me! NOBODY! X(

When Gustavsson got the starting nod to replace the injured Reimer, won a string of games, and posted a pair of shutouts, I said there was a goaltending controversy WAY before ANYONE else, and NO ONE listens to me! My readers get what I'm talking about; they know I don't lie. This is the same man who said "What is the Bible?" for Final Jeopardy without reading the answer or knowing the topic and got it right way back in 2007, and who said "Major League Baseball will become all-designated hitter in both leagues before the start of the 2013 regular season". I caught and put it online for everyone to see, and aside from my enlightened readers no one bothered to ask for an interview, give me an hour-long syndicated radio program, or tell me "Hey Phil, Taylor Swift is on the other line; she is dying to talk to you about hockey, Mike & Ike candies, and she wants to hear your famous retelling of the Borschevsky Goal".

I'm angry...I'm upset. That's it! I'm not talking about hockey anymore! I'm done! I had it! I'm through! I'm going back to playing video games and getting fat! I had enough! Alright, it's working! I'm playing the same hours of video games I used to play, I'm eating an entire Delissio Pizza, I'm keeping my parents up all night by screaming at the television when I play NHL 97. Alright, let's go back to being in shape and writing about hockey.

An All-Star Sonnet for Ovechkin

(Sing to the tune of "Mandy")


Oh Ovie, you skipped the All-Star Game on purpose
Because you needed the rest, oh Ovie!


Oh Ovie, we missed all your All-Star game antics,
But you're suspended for three, oh Ovie!

Goaltending Controversy? Where?!

What would the National Hockey League be like if there were no controversial season-hinging decisions made about the most critical of all position on the professional hockey rink? No, not if I should get the hot chocolate or the hamburger, but who is the starting goaltender and who sits on the bench?

Like a return to writing about hockey, Jonas Gustavsson's return may plant the seeds to controversy down the road.

The controversy I refer to is not the garden variety store version being played out in Vancouver with Olympic hero Roberto Luongo and fan favourite Cory Schneider, who is in his contract year with the Canucks organization and looking to make a statement with exemplary away performances against the San Jose Sharks (W 3-2) and Cup champion Boston Bruins (W 4-3). No, the unknown controversy bug rears its head in Toronto of all places! o_O

While they languish in ninth place in the playoff hunt and are without the oft-injured James Reimer, the Maple Leafs turn to former Swedish sensation Jonas Gustavsson, in part because there is no one else on the bench to block shots and make glove saves. Well, there is Ben Scrivens of the Marlies, but he is not ready yet o_O Under a steady barrage of 30+ shots per game from top NHL opponents, Jonas Gustavsson surprised many keeping the Maple Leafs in the playoff hunt. Nevertheless, Leafs general manager Brian Burke insists the team can do much better, their goals remain high, and the playoff campaign will be long and not just "one and done". Aside from losing spells, as is common with the post-lockout era Maple Leafs, Jonas Gustavsson had to play to get back on the team. The bus rides and motel stays with the Maple Leafs' AHL farm team, the Toronto Marlies, helped and not hindered Gustavsson's resolve to improve and perform, albeit with a one game over 500 record in twenty four games so far this season.

Leafs coach Ron Wilson wants to play the "hot hand", but do you wait until the hand falls off before making a change? How does one stop being "hot": Do they need to lose one game, three in succession, or make it so the Maple Leafs are once again mathematically out of the running for the playoffs? I'm not the head coach, but I trust Wilson will see the signs of wear and tear early before the spring and the next tee off time.


NHL TONIGHT?

NHL Tonight = NHL on the FLY = Basically the same hockey reports a la TSN style. I expected highlight packages, in-depth interviews, and debate as commonly found on the NFL Network, but I was sadly mistaken :( Perhaps that's why I'm more into football than ever before, and I don't write about the National Football League!

Against The Odds

Similar to the old Calgary Flames of 2004, this blog beat the odds in climbing over the 1000 view plateau ^_^ It was a long climb to the top o_O with lots of blogs written about the good old Canadian game played with American money, in a league with a majority of American teams, in stadiums where the outdoor temperature is seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit on average more or less, but I digress...

Unfortunately, there were casualties along the way. The "Saturday Shoot-around" idea, which wasn't really a thing to begin with, is one of those casualties. The weekly weekend comedy spin on the NHL wasn't as receptive as I believed, and with the increase of workload from other projects I am taking on at the moment to maintain Saturday Shoot-around would take more time than I have.

Hockey, however, is still as popular as it ever was, so for a weekly spin on the ballet on ice, which frequently turns into a boxing match and then spirals out of control into a hockey game, come to "Behind Blue Lines" ^_^ (Spiralling out of control? o_O)

Spontaneous Statutory Holiday & Winter Classic Pregame

As it turns out, I have January 2nd off because New Years' Day fell on a Sunday this year o_O Happy New Year! It's good to return to a regular schedule after all that gift wrapping, gift unwrapping, sickness being, early weight loss program planning for baseball, et cetera.

The Winter Classic between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers begins in a few minutes. I say that sparingly, of course, since the league pushed the time of the January 2nd outdoor game to 3pm. Uncharacteristically, the weather in Philadelphia, or at least at Citizen Bank Park, which is the site of the game, is warmer than usual, so the league moved the start time back from 1pm.

I noticed the Rangers wearing fake retro jerseys for the game (?). I say fake retro because I don't remember the Rangers logo being so...BIG? The first logo common to Rangers fans and haters alike, but someone with Photoshop pulled the bottom of the logo to give the logo a pronounced curve.

I am a little disappointed with the Rangers as they waived the albeit controversial Steve Avery a week before the big game. I wrote about Steve Avery in his return to the New York Rangers' team roster last November, and hoped he could turn his game around and become the big time player the Detroit Red Wings expected him when they drafted Avery in 2001. To my knowledge, no one picked up his contract yet from off the waiver wire. The New York Rangers are the best team in the Eastern Conference right now, and there is enough depth in the lineup for coach John Tortorella and general manager Glen Sather to make this change.

I hope this does not dampen Steve Avery's spirit, and he continues to improve on and off the ice.

As for the Philadelphia Flyers, this game more than breaks the franchise record for attendance for a home game. The expectation is that the Philadelphia Flyers will win, but history is against the home team in the annual New Years' game. The road team won the contest three of the last four Classic games, as the players on the home team have the proverbial "gun to their heads". Expect the conference-leading Rangers to take chances and stay loose, but if the game is close in the later stages look for Van Riemsdyk and the Flyers to pull ahead. Otherwise, the league will push for the teams to take the game to a SHOOTOUT o_O

Blue Lines Revisited

In reviewing my blog entries from the past year, I decided to provide updates on the top stories of 2011 in "Behind Blue Lines". Well, that's too easy...I'll throw in a comedic twist ^_^ LOL

• Saying This Will Get Me Killed: Although Robin from HIMYM did rip up a Douglas fir and chase me with it, I am still very much alive.
• Mississauga, Relevancy, and the Memorial Cup: It's not only a trivia question, but it was also the second-last season for the Majors in Mississauga. The only thing that will prevent another departure of an OHL team from the Greater Toronto Area is a Memorial Cup win.
• Fun With NHL Realignment: My first realignment proposal before Gary Bettman and the Marx Brothers at NHL Marketing threw everyone for a loop, as well as a pie to my face (Yum, lemon meringue?)
• Forgotten Fire: A favourite column of mine, and one of my more recent good works (Surprising, I know! I mean, recent and good!)

To hockey fans around the world, and up my nose, I MEAN, up the street, have a wonderful New Year ^_^ See you in 2012!