Do Bloggers Dream of Richard Zednik?

by Jes

At last, I've uncovered the super secret formula that the NHL uses for handing out suspensions.

(Previous Suspension + Media Outcry - Player's "Star"* Power + Number of Bowel Movements Colin Campbell Has Had in Previous 48 Hours) X Random Number Picked Out of a Hat by a Monkey.

* As determined by Supreme Overlord, His Excellency, Commissioner Gary Bettman.

How else can we explain the fact that the NHL gave Chris Pronger a head-scratching EIGHT game suspension for his stomping of Ryan Kesler when Chris Simon got THIRTY games for the exact same thing.

Is Chris Pronger a repeat offender? Yes.
Has Chris Pronger proven himself to be a danger and threat to other players? Yes.

So, then, why the double standard? Was it because the media didn't cry for blood nearly as much? Is it because Pronger is a player that the NHL desparately wants to be in the NHL? Is it because Gary Bettman fears Brian Burke?

The sad thing is that there would have been NO suspension if the folks at TSN didn't call out the NHL out. We'll give a round of applause to the MSM for this one, as they utilized their assets and investigative wherewithall to show the public just what the NHL 'missed'.

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I rarely have dreams that I can remember, but I certainly had a strange one last night.

It involved Richard Zednik and I as roommates in some apartment. (Somehow, his wife wasn't anywhere to be found). I was taking care of Zednik after another awful injury, and trying to comfort him from his depression.

Zednik had also recovered from cancer, and was wondering when all the pain would end. He had a hard time getting to sleep because of the pain, so I gave him some 'illegal?' drugs to calm him down. For some reason, I didn't want to give him the pills, but he convinced me. Who can resist a sad Zednik face?

Then, after he went to sleep, I went into the living room and starting playing video games from a MASSIVE collection.

Yeah, WTF, eh?

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It has been years since I've done an Easter egg hunt, but I'm going to try my hand at one set up by Joe Pelletier over his his Legends of Hockey blog.

Today GreatestHockeyLegends.com has a photo of the largest easter egg in the world? Why? Because I'm announcing the first annual
GreatestHockeyLegends.com Easter Egg Hunt!

Amongst the approximate 700 legends profiled across my Legends of
Hockey Network I have planted pictures of easter eggs on 5 biographies.

If you can find all five, you will be entered into a draw to win a
$100 gift certificate to Amazon.

Perhaps I'll start by going to Steve Smith's profile (if he has one), since he certainly knew how to lay an egg ;)

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How would you like it if 12,000 people showed up at your birthday?

Well, the Giants/Bruins game last night had Gordie Howe celebrate his 80th birthday with the team he has a minority stake in. Yes, the guy is uber-popular and still draws a crowd.

OK, so his real birthday is not until March 31st, but it was a good excuse for a nice ceremony. With the Canucks sucking as much as they have, the Giants are giving us Vancouver hockey fans something better to watch :)

As for Howe, I saw him at the game on Friday (vs. the Cougars) and he's still looking good. About 1-2 years ago, he seemed to have aged ten years at once and looked rather fragile and weak. On Friday, he seemed to look good and still looked like he could bodycheck a few players through the boards.

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Today's Photo of the Day involves Ryan Getzlaf combining his other hobby, Tae Kwon Doe, with hockey into ... ummm ... 'Doekey'?

HIYAAAHHH!!!

Jes Gölbez, Hockey Escort

by Jes Gölbez

How often does a Canadian get to take a total n00b to a hockey game? I'm talking about somebody who has never seen a hockey game and knows little about the sport other than it is played on ice.

Now, there are quite a few Canadians who don't like/watch hockey (be a patriot and report them to your local RCMP dispatch), but these people at least have a basic knowledge of the sport. Even my Gramma, who thinks hockey is a violent bloodbath *sigh* knows who Wayne Gretzky and Markus Naslund are.

Thus, it was quite a new experience for me to escort my girlfriend and some of her relatives from England to last night's tilt between the Vancouver Giants and Prince George Cougars. These people know and love 'footy' (obviously), and didn't even know hockey teams existed in the UK, nor did they remember the Theoren Fleury hurricane that tore through the British Isles.

Thankfully, they Brits quite enjoyed the experience, and were really looking forward to the game in the first place. It makes me wonder how other Brits would take to the game if they had some live exposure to it. Hell, they love Rugby, so why not hockey?

The Giants totally outclassed the Cougars (4-2 score, over 50 shots on goal for the Giants), and the game was fast-paced. The only black mark was the lack of an actual fight (which they hoped to see). Garet Hunt, who is smaller than pre-baby Christina Aguilera, challenged Magnusson, a HUGE Swede. The Chicken Swede promptly clucked away and Hunt got a misconduct. It was great to booooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Magnusson the whole 3rd period.

Now, hosting foreigners to a hockey game requires some patience, and it helps to compare hockey to whatever sport (soccer is easy) they know and love. There will be quite a few questions that seem odd, or just seem hard to answer because you never needed/thought about the answer to them. We know what Icing is, but explaining it can be much harder than you think

Some of the more interesting questions I remember
1. How long is a player allowed to be on the ice?
2. Do the players get teamed into set units? (think line combinations) Do they always stick together?
3. How do the players know who is supposed to go onto the ice? (It's hard to see the coaches barking instructions)
4. Why the hell are there blimps inside the arena? (Btw, the woman in front of me caught a prize from them. It was ... $2 off of a haircut. Ummm, is that it?)
5. When can players change on/off the ice? (Imagine soccer with on-the-fly changes? Heh)

All in all, they were more content to sit back and just enjoy the experience, so I ended up fielding far fewer questions than I thought I would be answering ... At least they didn't ask me to explain ICING.

That reminds me, I also caught a t-shirt for the first time in my life. Of course, it was for some stupid tool company, and it was bright white. Two strikes and your out! What a gyp.

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Poor Zed :(

Michal Repik Gets Rocked :(

by Jes

I've heard about all sorts of new injuries thanks to my many years following hockey. ACL tears, MCL tears, ruptured spleens, third grade concussions, etc...

A broken eardrum, however, is not one you'd ever expect to see in the game of hockey.

Unfortunately for Giants fans, Michal Repik appears to have suffered a broken eardrum (ouch!) thanks to a hit by the Everett Silvertips' Dane Crowley.

Repik was on the receiving end of a dangerous hit late in the Vancouver Giants 7-0 whitewashing of the Everett Silvertips on Saturday. The Giants winger and leading scorer was circling behind the Silvertips net and had just dished off a backhand pass when Crowley caught Repik admiring his nifty setup. Repik's helmet went flying and the back of his head hit and the Czech import remained motionless on the ice for a short while before being carried off the ice on a stretcher. He was taken directly to hospital, where he remained until today.

Now, I haven't seen a replay of the hit, so I can't comment on whether the hit was dirty or not.

It's just too bad that the Giants, and the Czech Republic, will be without the services of this fine winger. With the World Junior Championships in Czechia this year, you can be sure that Repik was fired up to lead the Czechs in that tourney.

I also wonder if this injury will have long-term repercussions on Repik's game. He's been a man on a mission since the beginning of last year's postseason. Already, Repik has 39 points in 30 games this season, and has been utilizing his speed on a nightly basis. Unlike past seasons, Repik seems to want to take charge and play hard just about every single night. It's not a stretch to compare him to the likes of Milan Hejduk or Marek Svatos.