Wednesday's Wonderings

by Jes

Today's random ramblings ...

Smelly hockey equipment is a scourge that ranks up there with American Idol, white guys who think they are black, and Sean Avery. Many advances have been made in the washing hockey equipment, but that always presents just a temporary fix.

Winnwell claims to have come up with a truly odourless set of hockey equipment that can get rid of stinky odour before it becomes a problem.

Natural enzymes in water bond to the material that is used as a liner anywhere equipment touches a player's skin – even the palms of the gloves.

The microbes generate organic-consuming enzymes that remain dormant until activated by perspiration, eliminating the environment that bacteria needs to breed.

"It could work," says Pat Bishop, chair of the Canadian Standards Association committee that certifies hockey equipment. "Bacteria is what causes all that stink. Anything that makes it easier for players to wear and easier on parents is worth trying. Right now, my daughter is going to buy her son new hockey gloves because she can't stand the smell."

Mmm, organisms fighting bacteria. Just what I want in my equipment!

Colour me skeptical, but knowing how much hockey players sweat, and how long equipment sits in stinky bags, I can't see this working as perfectly as described.

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Over at Hollywoodtuna, the gossip guys have posted some probably-NSFW pictures of Willa Ford, aka Ms. Modano.

Honestly, I can't see that she does it for me, especially in pictures that are completely airbrushed.

Do guys really dig the Maxim-style airbrushed pics? I always feel that such photos make a woman look less desirable and simply more fake.

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I had serious doubts about John Davidson's ability to preside over the St. Louis Blues, but I have to admit that the club is in good shape thanks to his PR efforts and ability to not suck as a GM.

Even the New York Times has taken notice of the job he's done in St. Loo.

“This team had disconnected from the city, and we had to get people back in the arena,” he said, without naming Bill and Nancy Laurie, the largely absentee former owners who sustained huge losses, cut costs and traded away the popular Chris Pronger. “The Blues tradition had disappeared, and the fans wanted it back. We had to get them to believe again.”

Aahh, yes, the Lauries ... the asswipes who tried to buy the Vancouver Grizzlies and move them while claiming that they really really really wanted basketball to succeed here. *eyeroll*. Even David Stern didn't like the Lauries, which says something.

Larry Pleau is still around as the behind-the-scenes guy, and I think the set-up works well. Pleau's analysis of hockey players was awful, but he does know the nuts and bolts of NHL law and finance, and can help JD with the more technical side of things. This leaves JD the room to do his thing with the public and also with player acquisition.

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From the LOL! File comes word that the Philadelphia Flyers are going to hold a ceremony to honour Eric Lindros, and the Big Ego won't show up!! Bahahaha!!!

As part of their September 27th preseason game against Carolina at their former home, the Flyers have invited all 15 captains back to take part in commemorative ceremonies, including Lindros who was named captain at the age of 21 in 1994. However, his tenure with the team ended in a bitter dispute with management, which included then general manager Bob Clarke.

While Clarke, Lou Angotti, Mel Bridgman, Dave Poulin, Ed Van Impe, Bill Barber, Ron Sutter and Kevin Primeau have confirmed their attendance, Lindros has declined because of a previous commitment according to senior vice president of business operations Shawn Tilger. Lindros will be attending a memorial service that day for a friend's mother.

Still bitter, Eric? Now that you are retired, perhaps you can set aside your petty differences with the club and do something right for the fans that had your back?

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To any readers in the UK, you'll be happy to hear that pugilistic Czech Marek Ivan is back in your neck of the woods.

Yes, Ivan is one of the few Czechs that actually LOVES to fight, and does a pretty good job of being a toughie in between scoring a few goals.

(thanks to Southern Correspondent Wayne for some of the linkage help)

Wednesday's Wonderings

by Jes

So, Teemu Selanne decided to announce his comeback, after resting up and having enough of speeding along Finnish highways all winter, and his nagging wife.

I know quite a few Canucks fans are a bit panicky that the Ducks are going to be that much better, so to them I say, "What's the big deal?"

Look, we know the Ducks were going to be the team to beat in the Western Conference, and this comeback just cements that point.

(Sorry, Wings fans, but I see too many weaknesses to give you the #1 spot, despite the fancy schmancy W-L record.)

Even if Selanne is just 3/4 as effective as he was last season, that is still .75 points per game on average that the Ducks will be getting. Given how the Ducks are rolling, this is just some very thick icing on the cake.

I expect that Selanne, like Niedermayer, will come into action in fairly good shape, and will give the Ducks a big boost to their offence. Both Selanne and Niedermayer are two of the world's best, so they have a long way to come down to be merely 'average'. Excellent players can miss time and still come back strong, as we've seen with Forsberg, Lemieux, and so on.

What Canucks fans should be worried about is their own team's state of affairs. It ain't pretty ...

Injuries - the Defence is decimated as Mitchell will be out 4-6 weeks with a Fractured Vertebra. Krajicek is day-to-day with a sore shoulder, and Bieksa's recovery time could take longer than originally anticipated.

It doesn't help that Brendan Morrison, the only good source of secondary scoring that Canucks have up front, is also injured.

Scoring - As mentioned, and as everyone knows, the Canucks are essentially a one-line team. Pyatt is the only other forward with a .50 PPG pace. Kesler? He's dried up, as has Burrows (who never really had much to begin with). Far too much filler on the Canucks roster and not enough oomph.

Special Teams - Last season, the Canucks had a supreme penalty killing machine. This season? They are pretty much middle of the road, as is their Power Play. The Canucks need to have better results in these areas if they seriously think they can contend for more than just a first or second round playoff exit.

Honestly, it would take a minor miracle (or more Luongo miracles) to keep the Canucks in the playoffs. There are just too many other contenders who haven't had the bad luck the Canucks have. Whether the Ducks got Selanne or not wasn't going to change the above factors.

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So, the Canucks have now sold out 200 straight home games.

Umm ... yippee *twirls finger*

I'm not sure why Canucks fans would be proud or excited about this mark.

1. This means more money in the pockets of our slumlord owners. Is that something to be happy about?

2. This means it is damn hard to get tickets to see the Canucks.

Really, I'd rather the Canucks not sell out every game. It might teach ownership a lesson (ie. Don't take the fans for granted) and might make it easier to get tickets without frequently donating bodily fluids.