MOST Excellent

Keith Olbermann on Gordie Howe:



I used to hate, Hate, HATE Olbermann when he was doing politics on MSNBC.  Sports is quite another thing altogether and this video is a fitting... even elegant... tribute to the great Number Nine.  Olbermann  notes that Mr. Howe has taken a turn for the worse; The Freep has details about his condition and it doesn't look good.  Our best thoughts go out to Mr. Howe and the family.

Saturday: They Love Him In Hockeytown

From last night's game at The Joe:



That demonstration brought a tear to my eye.  We love him here in P-Ville, as well.

Oh, yeah... there was a game, too.  The Wings beat the reigning Stanley Cup champions like a step-child, winning 5-2.

LGRW!

Thoughts and Prayers...

... go out to Gordie Howe and his family.  From the Detroit Free Press:

Gordie Howe — the hockey legend and giant among Detroit sports figures — has suffered a severe stroke that has his family rushing to his bedside in Lubbock, Texas.

"I feel like this is his final lap around the rink," Murray Howe, one of Gordie's three sons, told the Free Press tonight. "I'm guessing that he's not going to recover ... but then again, he's about as strong as they get. If anybody can do it he can."

[...]

Gordie Howe, the Detroit Red Wings legend so synonymous with his sport he became known as Mr. Hockey, suffered a stroke Sunday morning, one day after enjoying a pleasant stroll in Lubbock with Azia and Lahna. Gordie has been staying in Lubbock with his daughter, Cathy, and sons Mark, Marty and Murray started hurrying Tuesday to join their sister, and in all likelihood say good-bye to their famous dad.

More details at the link above.  Get well soon, Mr. Howe.

Better, But Still Over the Top

I mentioned yesterday that I would watch last evening's Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony in El-Eh, and so I did.  I'm pleased to report last night's ceremony was better than the Kings' first effort, which was marred by wretched excess.  Still and even, there just HAD to be a "Hollywood" kinda moment and the Kings organization provided it by lowering the Stanley Cup from the Staples Center rafters instead of the waaaay-too mundane "normal" way of having The Cup's minders carry it on to the ice.  Fast forward to the 19:00 minute mark of this vid to see what I mean.



I'd watch this video ASAP if you're at all interested... chances are the vid will be taken down later today for what should be obvious reasons.  I give the Kings a "B" for the ceremony's overall presentation value, with minus points for the "Cup in the rafters" trick.  Other than that?  Not too shabby at all.

Oh, yeah.  There was a game last night, too, and El-Eh lost in yet another case o' just desserts.  The Hockey Gods were NOT amused.

As for tonight?  The Beloved Wings open their season at The Joe, hosting the Boston Bruins.  You know where **I'll** be at 1930 hrs EDT.

LGRW!

Drop the Puck, Already!

The long hot summer is OVER and we are most happy, indeed.  There are two games on my teevee tonight, neither of which hold any great interest for me except, perhaps, for the Kings' Stanley Cup banner raising ceremony.  I always watch the banner raising... it's a very emotional time.  And sometimes it's TOO gotdamned emotional.  Here's what I said (in part) about the Kings' 2013 ceremony:

So we kicked off the 2012-2013 hockey season this afternoon by watching the El-Eh Kings Stanley Cup Championship banner-raising ceremony.  About which, the title to this post: excess.  I've watched a lot of banner-raising ceremonies in my time but NEVER have I ever seen one as wretched as this one.  First there was the usual, customary, and quite reasonable "tribute to the season" video on the jumbotron, and then things went off the rails.   By that I mean the Kings organization proceeded to introduce everyone on staff... including the equipment managers, bag-toters, trainers (every damned one of 'em), and the coaching staff... which would be akin to introducing the key grip and the caterers at the Oscar ceremony for Best Picture.  At least they didn't introduce the Zamboni drivers and the ice girls, for which I'm thankful, indeed.  Then the announcer introduced the team, which is pretty normal.  But in keeping with El-Eh glitter, Our Man introduced the team... by number... and had them skate out and receive their Stanley Cup rings from the owner's wife.  ALL of 'em, individually.  Then we had the ceremonial arrival of The Cup which is normal, once again, but this time El-Eh proceeded to introduce the team a SECOND time as they passed The Cup from player to player while skating it around the periphery of the arena.  I know people in El-Eh have short attention spans but they couldn't POSSIBLY have forgotten the players' names in that short period of time.

[...]

So, the banner was finally raised and the game got under way.  I said a small prayer to The Deity At Hand along the lines of "Please, Dear God... let them LOSE."  And the Deity, she answered my prayers... Chicago 5, El-Eh 2.  Just desserts.

Let's hope the Kings are more restrained this evening.  I don't hold much hope for that, however, coz it IS El-Eh, where too much isn't quite enough.

Yet Another Slow Day

This is the best we've seen today...

... and that's not sayin' a whole helluva lot.  There are things we COULD say about this 'toon, but we won't.

Have I mentioned the fact we're only ten days removed from the start o' hockey season?  No?  Well, it's true and we're waitin' with bated breath.  I mean, college football is OK and the Tigers won their division but hockey is where it's at, and I understand yer mileage just MIGHT vary.  But mine doesn't.

Is It October Yet?

Department of Redundancy Department:

Sigh.  Our teevee is getting a LOT of rest this summer.  Which ain't new or different from summers past.

H/T for the image: Rummy.

We Should Prolly Live Somewhere On the Eastern Seaboard...

... according to this:

The interactive version of this graphic is here.

I don't hate the Bruins.  Nor do I hate the Kings, the Ducks, or the Habs.  I have an active dislike... which is about three ticks to the left o' "hate"... for the Blackhawks.  But I really, rilly HATE those Flightless Birds, which means I'd feel right at home in the Carolinas, Virginia, Ohio, and certain parts o' Pennsylvania.  "Pennsylvania!?!  But aren't the Flightless Birds from Pittsburgh?" sez you?  Yup, sez I.  But those Birds don't fly at ALL in Philadelphia (or anywhere else, for that matter), to be specific.  

On another note... this graphic illustrates how far the Avs have fallen in recent years.  If this graphic were drawn 20 years ago the entire state o' Michigan (and other places where Wings fans congregate) would be covered in frickin' snow.

Is it October yet?

Ooops

I missed this in all the brouhaha after the Kings' win last week...



Poor girl.  Literally thousands of people (but not me) saw this on live teevee.

The hat-tip goes to Sean McIndoe at Grantland, who sez:

The face-planter seemed like she walked away without a scratch, by the way. I doubt I would have been so lucky. I don’t know what I want my last moments on this earth to be like, but I’m pretty sure they don’t involve twitching on the ice with Gary Bettman standing over me, yelling, “Whose Cup presentation is awkward now?”

Heh.

Saturday: Congratulations, LA Kings... 2014 Stanley Cup Champions!

Last night's double-OT winner...



Is it October yet?

More Clever Stuff

The rosters for tonight's SCF Game One:

Heh.  An alternative version of both rosters is here.

Let's Go Rangers Roger Wankers!

The Stage Is Set

It all begins tomorrow night... the grand finale to the most grueling championship series in all of sports... East vs. West, the Big Apple against Tinsel Town.



I suppose I should be rooting for the Kings, given as how the Western Conference was "home" to the Wings (until this year's realignment) for as long as I've been a hockey fan.  I just can't do that, though... something in me refuses to cheer for a team from El-Eh.  So let's hear it...

Let's Go Rangers!

The Sunday Re-Run

What?  It's June already?  Why, yes... yes it IS.  And here's what we were on about exactly six years ago today:

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Detroit 2, Pittsburgh 1

Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg splits the defense of Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin and Ryan Malone during 3rd period action between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins in game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals at Mellon Arena, Saturday, May 31, 2008.
(JULIAN H. GONZALEZ/DFP)

One more win—three more chances. And then the 2008 Stanley Cup Final will be history. The Wings can hoist the Cup on home ice tomorrow night, and the chances…statistically… of them doing just that are better than good.

I might have seen a more exciting, harder-fought game than last night’s masterpiece in Pittsburgh, but I don’t think so. The only possible candidate might be the Wings’ Game Four win in the sweep of the Flyers in 1997…but that would be for entirely different reasons, like ending a 42-year Stanley Cup drought. So yeah, that game in Philly was memorable (ed: played in DETROIT. So much for your memory.). But last night? Indescribably Delicious. It began with the Pens scoring their lone goal less than three minutes into the game and ended with the usual desperate, empty-net play of the team…that would be the Penguins… that’s down by a single goal with less than a minute to go. And I was on the edge of my chair for the whole 60 minutes of play… “exciting” is a woefully inadequate term to describe the intensity of this game. And it might have been a little bit too exciting, at times.

For instance: my “Heart In Mouth” Moment… a Pittsburgh 5-on-3 power play that lasted an eternity (1:26 —or 27— depending on who you read), described by Damien Cox in the Toronto Star:

Three days of insistent whining by Michel Therrien about alleged obstruction and a well-timed dive by Sidney Crosby combined to put the Pittsburgh Penguins in a wonderful position to keep their Stanley Cup hopes alive.

But the Detroit Red Wings would have none of it.

Instead, they absorbed an interference call produced by Crosby's clever lunge that gave the Penguins a long, 5-on-3 power play in the third period last night, grimly fended off every second of it without allowing a single shot on goal and rode that tremendous effort to a 2-1 victory in a hard-fought, bruising Game 4 of the 2008 Cup final.

[…]

Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall combined to kill the critical two-man disadvantage, preventing Penguin snipers Marian Hossa, Evgeni Malkin and Crosby from getting a truly top-notch chance.

Zetterberg made the play of the game during the penalty kill, saving a sure goal for Crosby into an open net by quickly reading the play and tying up the Pittsburgh captain's stick.

A frustrated Crosby was grudging in his praise of Zetterberg's critical effort.

"He just got my stick," said Crosby. "I don't think he did anything out of the ordinary that somebody else wouldn't do on a 5-on-3."

In Zetterberg's defensive play, of course, lies the brilliance of the Wings, and why they can capture their fourth Cup in 11 years tomorrow night in Motown.

The Detroit Red Wings Henrik Zetterberg kicks away a puck delivered up by Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby during a 5 on 3 penalty play in the third period that goalie Chris Osgood helped kill helping to defeat Pittsburgh 2-1 in game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals Saturday, May 31, 2008 at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, PA.
(MANDI WRIGHT/DFP)

 

Yes. Zetterberg definitely saved the game with that play on Crosby. But there’s something else Mr. Cox doesn’t mention… Here’s Ron Cook, writing in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

A goal by Detroit center Jiri Hudler at 2:26 of the third period went down as the winner. But that's not what beat the Penguins.

The Penguins' power play beat the Penguins.

Everybody is talking today about the 5-on-3 advantage the Penguins had for 1:26 midway through the third period, an advantage they thoroughly wasted. Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg -- of all players -- had the best scoring chance. The Penguins didn't even come close to getting a goal.

If Detroit does go on to win the Cup, that 86-second span will be remembered as the time when the series ended.

Think about that for a moment. Pittsburgh is on a 5-on-3 power play and Zetterberg has the best scoring chance? That should tell you a few things: (a) the Pens’ stars either didn’t or couldn’t execute, (b) Detroit’s penalty-killers —including Ozzie— were god-like, and (c) Zetterberg should be wearing a big red “Z” enclosed in a diamond on his chest instead of The Winged Wheel. A cape wouldn’t be out of place, either, because Zetterberg can almost literally fly. And I think I know how the citizens of Metropolis felt when that guy with the big red “S” on his chest swooped in to save the day. Yep…it was just like that. Only it was on ice. Every single article and column in today’s hockey pages, no matter where they’re written, talks about what NHL.com calls “A Penalty Kill for the Ages.” And that’s not hyperbole, Gentle Reader.

Don Cherry predicts this series will be history tomorrow night. And I gotta agree. It’s in the cards. And this is what I hope we’ll see:

“The Red Wings' Tomas Holmstrom hoists the Stanley Cup…”
AP Photo from 1998.

Suh-weet.

Well... June 1st, 2008, was among the last of Former Happy (Hockey) Days and all was well that ended well, even if those Flightless Birds managed to win one more game before losing to the Beloved Wings before a disappointed home crowd in Game Six.  And speaking of losing at home... today... tonight, actually... we'll just have to content ourselves with watching the Hated 'Hawks lose Game Seven of the Western Conference Final at home.  Which will be almost as pleasing and fulfilling.  Yup, "Schadenfreude Я Us," and we just love watching the enemy shed bitter tears o' frustration and woe.

A Brief Hockey Update

The Rangers won the Eastern Conference series last night, winning game six and beating the Habs 4-2.  Game six of the Western Conference final is tonight and with any luck we'll have a NY - El Eh final (El Eh leads Chicago in the series, 3-2), which begins this coming Wednesday.  A Left Coast - Right Coast Final would be VERY good for the game.

A Day Without Posting Is Like...

... a mini-vacation!

But wait, there's this:



Three Game Sevens, all on the same night.  The remote is gonna get one helluva workout this evening and we'll be in hockey overload by the end of the night.  There's nothing quite like a Game Seven in the playoffs, even in Round One.  While it's true I no longer have a dog in this fight I'll still root for the Rangers, Avs, and Sharks tonight.  Or mebbe I'll root for the Flyers, coz a Battle of Pennsylvania would make for an interesting Round Two.  Rooting for the Flyers is REALLY hard for me to do as I hate have an active dislike for that team.

And now it's back into vacation mode.  Beer me!

So Very F*cking WRONG

By way of Puck Daddy, yet another FBFU*...

And there's this about that:

All that said, this map may not be that accurate. Lots of fans may like their NHL team without "Liking" their NHL team. Which would mean Facebook's information is woefully incomplete. It could be that there's just one NHL fan in New Mexico, and he bleeds burgundy and steel blue, for instance.

Nope.  Not even.  I know for a freakin' FACT that there are a lot o' New Mexicans who bleed red.  "Burgundy and steel blue?"  Not around HERE, Gentle Reader, not around here. We see more than a few Wings jerseys in our travels around THPoNM, most especially out at Cannon Airplane Patch.  Do we see Avs jerseys?  Well, mebbe... it's possible, I suppose... but we ignore the unpleasant things in life most of the time.

So.  The playoffs begin tonight with three games on tap.  I'll likely watch the Flightless Birds play Columbus (and root for the BJs) followed by the Anaheim - Dallas game.  The REAL action begins tomorrow and there's this about that:

Not every team that succeeds in the playoffs is the favorite, right? These three teams stand the best chance of being this year's dark horse.
...

Detroit Red Wings

When was the last time you heard "Detroit Red Wings" and "dark horse" in the same breath? Still, that's what they are, as they will face the NHL's top regular-season team, the Boston Bruins, in the first round. This has been a difficult season for the Red Wings, who have gone long stretches without top players Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen and Jimmy Howard. But a new generation of Red Wings has emerged, led by scoring sensation Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Tomas Jurco and Riley Sheahan, which has more than picked up the slack. With Datsyuk back in the lineup and Howard back to form after a rocky season, the Wings don't look like a wild-card team. And they're not. The culture of winning is strong, and coach Mike Babcock is as good a tactician as there is in the game when it comes to making adjustments on the fly and planning for the rigors of a playoff series. Throw in the experience of guys such as Daniel Alfredsson (who's still searching for his first championship) and the under-appreciated Niklas Kronwall and would it surprise anyone to see the Red Wings make a run? The almost universal answer across the hockey world is a resounding "No."

That would be Scott Burnside, writing at ESPN.  Most of the "experts" are predicting a short series with Boston quickly eliminating the Beloved Wings.  Those experts said the same sorts of things about the Wings last year, who eliminated Anaheim (the West's Number Two seed) in the first round and took the (ultimate) Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks to OT in a game seven before falling.  I'm not predicting the same sort of thing this year, mind you.  But it WOULD be nice.

*FBFU: Facebook F*ck Up.

Happy Birthday, Number Nine

Gordie Howe turns 86 today.  That's the good news.  The bad news is he's battling dementia and we all know that's a losing fight.  Helene St. James, hockey writer for the Detroit Free Press, has a great article celebrating Mr. Hockey on his birthday.  An excerpt:

Gordie Howe never was one to sit around, and that hasn’t changed even as dementia roils his health. He turns 86 today, an event that will appropriately be celebrated in Detroit, because no city ever has celebrated Howe more. He reigned here as a local hockey folk hero for three decades, defining what it meant to be talented and tough.

Howe doesn’t come to Detroit a whole lot any more, because he cannot be on his own. He has spent the past four months in Lubbock, Texas — staying with his daughter, Cathy, and her husband, Bob — escaping the harsh winter that would have impeded his physical activity. The man who six decades ago dominated opponents in hockey remains a man who doesn’t like to be still.

I never got to see Gordie play... except on The Tube o' You... but I have a special kind of love for the man, like Wings fans, hockey fans, and most all Detroiters do.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Howe.

Ever the Pedant

I grind my teeth every time I see one of these frickin' ads...



FOMOH?  No.  If you're gonna capitalize the "O" in "Fear OF Missing Out On Hockey," you should also capitalize the freakin' "O" in "On."  So it should be FOMOOH... pronounced Pho-Moo... instead.  Get a freakin' clue, NHL and/or Verizon.  You're killin' me.

In other news... it's the second intermission in the Wings-Wild game and the Beloved Wings are up, 2-1.  Continue as you've begun, Boys.

High Five

High in The Joe Louis Arena rafters, that is.  Here's the full Lidstrom Number Retirement ceremony from last evening, courtesy of YouTube user xXxCrosby87Xx:





Hockeytown really knows how to celebrate its heroes, no?  You should note I'm posting the whole ceremony... and that's mainly for ME, Gentle Reader, because this is something I'll watch more than once and EIP is a convenient place to stash it.

There's this from NHL:

RED WINGS RETIRE LIDSTROM’S JERSEY

The Red Wings retired Nicklas Lidstrom’s No. 5 jersey prior to their game against the Avalanche. Lidstrom spent his entire 20-season NHL career in the Motor City, capturing the Stanley Cup four times, winning the Norris Trophy as the League’s best defenseman seven times and earning 10 selections as an NHL First Team All-Star. He never missed the playoffs during his career and in 2002 became the first European-born captain to win the Stanley Cup and first European-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP.

Watching the ceremony made me a lil bit misty last night, watching it again this morning only made me smile.  That said, I got even mistier last evening when the Wings lost to the Hated Avalanche in OT.   Oh, well.  That's life... and hockey.

Heh

Wait.  Aren't all medals a DIY proposition?