Reason #247 Why The NHL is The Dumbest Organization In Pro Sports

For those people like me, who are two cheap to pay the $150 for the Center Ice package, we have to rely on OLN or local team broadcasts to watch hockey. (AND if you remember earlier, I can only watch away games of the Hawks. But I digress......)

Anyway. Last nights OLN national broadcast was Philly vs. Tampa Bay. Fine for any other night I guess. BUT, Pittsburgh was playing Washington. The Caps suck I know, and the Penguins are just starting to put it together. But C'mon. Crosby vs. Ovechkin. I'm not gonna beat the drum and weigh in on how good/bad/overrated they are. I'm not even gonna say anything about how overhyped I feel this game actually is.

What I will say is this. You're trying to get new fans to watch. Hell, you're trying to get old fans to watch. The two players anoited as the saviors and future of your sport are playing each other and you can't do anything to showcase it on a national level? Don't even mention Mario.

Stupid NHL.

Trade, damn you! TRADE!

Why won't you guys trade?

Sent Paul a Zubov for Brad Richards. No word. Cancelled and made it Guerin for Richards figuring it would be more equitable. No word. It takesa cell phone call to figure out that he may not want to give up Richards for anything. That's fine but for fuck's sake, cancel the trade.

Mike got a Guerin, Zubov, Lalime for Alfredsson and Nabakov. Ok, Ok, I know that's a sucky trade for Alfie but I thought it might work. At least Mike shot mine down quickly. I was considering countering with Guerin, Zubov and Esche for the same deal but then that's where I start getting stingy.

Esche's GAA hasn't been that great (neither has most of anyone in the NHL this season) but at least I'm confident he'll get Ws because of the team in front of him. So I'm afraid I'll screw myself if I do it. But I doubt Mike will give up Alfie for anyone I've got. Eh. Whaddaya gonna do?

Bill's sitting on my Roenick for Stoll trade too. It's been there for a few days now. I know I'm not the most patient guy but do it or bag it.

Seems like no one really wants to move players so I'm stuck. I'll have to wait for my guys to start producing and just hope they don't all have off years.

Bertuzzi's Next Defense

Geez. What next?

http://www.suntimes.com/output/hockey/cst-nws-hock04.html

Memories From My Youth

When I was a kid, well maybe not a kid but much younger than I am now, I was a Quebec Nordiques fan.
As if admitting to being a Hawks fan is bad enough, should I be ashamed to admit this too?

The Nordiques were like the NHL team that everybody forgets existed. This includes the time they were an active team. Maybe that's why I like them. Who can understand the mind of a kid? Certainly not an adult, of which I am now.

They joined the NHL during the merger with the WHA in the early 80's. As a young kid just getting interested in hockey, I think I felt like I could jump on at the beginning so to speak. AND, the damned Canadians (who are like the Yankees of the NHL) complained that the Nords would be infringing up their territory. Wah! Wah! Wah!
They had a cool name. Nordiques. Named because the franchise was the northernmost team at the time.
They had a pretty stupid logo though. It was like a lower case 'n' that almost looked like an igloo holding a hockey stick. It was pretty bad. They did have a kick ass looking thing on their sleeves though. I know it now to be a fleur de lis.




I guess it's supposed to representative of a flower, I prefer to think of it as a really badass spear or pike tip.




They had some good players too.
Peter Stastny, only the 2nd most prolific scorer behind #99 in the 80's.
Peter's brothers Anton and Marian also played with him, and they weren't half bad either.
Michel Goulet, another great scorer.
Dale Hunter - solid 80's star.
Guy LaFleur - if only for a short time on the tail end of his career. Mainly he signed with the Nords as a slap in the face to the Canadians who felt him too old to contribute.
Joe (ball) Sakic started with the Nordiques, as did Peter Forsberg.
Mats Sundin, Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci.

Sadly, the Nordiques are no more. They were turned into the Colorado Avalanche. The sad thing about this, besides the fact that Canada loses yet another hockey team to it's big brother down south, was that people are only gonna remember the Nordiques for the negative things.
They never won anything in the NHL.
Eric Lindros refuses to play for them and sits out a year after being drafted and forcing a trade with Philly or the Rangers. It was so confusing an arbitrator had to rule on it and the Flyers won.
The almost bankruptcy of the team that forced it owners to actually borrow money to make payroll.
Goalie Clint Malarchuk getting his neck run over by a skate and pressurized projective bleeding all over the ice. (thank God he lived, the skate punctured his jugular.)

And my friends, the biggest indignity of them all.
The first year they were in Colorado, they won the damn cup.

Sid Crosby is not God.

Can we all get off his dick, please?

Fer chrissakes, ther Isles, as usual, stunk it up. Sid did nothing fantasic or orgasmic tonight. Does he play well for an 18 year old? Absolutely. Does he play superb for a player in general? No.

He's on a line with Lemieux, ain't he? You'd have to be in a goddam wheelchair to not do well with Lemieux on your line!!

And Joe Micheletti and Howie Rose keep stroking the kid like he's the Next Coming. Aren't you fuckwads supposed to be calling the Islanders game? Can we drop all the crap about Sid and why he picked #87 and how Lemieux loves him and how mature he is and how he's so fuckin' bananas?

And can Lemieux stop trying to protect him? Crosby takes a few bumps and Lemieux and the rest of the Penns are out there like gang busters acting as if Cros is their superstar sniper. On a team with Lemieux, Recchi and Palffy to name a few, I highly doubt it. Especially since Cros only has 4 goals on the season (2 scored tonight, of course).

He's in the NHL now. Everyone thinks he's such a swinging cock, let him take his shots like a man.

Oh. We lost by the way, in case you couldn't tell.

SENS-ational!!

OK, I know it sounds like a NY Post headline but dudes, the Sens totally sodomized Buffa-LOW last night!

The best part was Marty Havlat, coming off a 5-game suspension, gets 4 goals. Yuppers. 4 goals. And to think I was gonna trade him. Whew! Alfredsson with quattro as well but hey, don't you expect that from Alfie? I think you do.

I only saw part of the 'Hawks-Blues but I did see Young with a laser nab a goal for the ol' Booze Hounds. Yeah, beeyatch.

Memo to the Blackhawks

To: Wirtz Family, Bob Pulford, Dale Tallon
From: The Future Grump and Blackhawk Fans et al
Re: Salary Cap Issues

Hey Fuckbrains, you should have spent the remaining $5 million you have left on someone who can either score for our team or interfere with the other teams propensity to do so against us.

Oh yeah, thanks for getting rid of another of the legendary Sutter Brothers and hiring Trent Yawney to coach. Emphasis on the YAWN.

Go Bates! And... uhoh.

Well I'll be. Shawn Bates is good for somehting after all.

His Penalty Shot goal agianst CuJo seemed eons ago and He-Of-The-Left-Eye seemed useless for anything but the PK. But then there's last night where, fighting his way free, Bates pops in and beats Toivenen for the OT win.

Good job dude! (But don't expect us to go dashing out for #17 sweaters).

In other news, Legace is reported hurt in last night's win. Great. And Robitaille is out 2-4 weeks. Fun. This does not bode well for the Booze Hounds though I suppose Luc being out will help with my Games Played in the long run.

If Legace really IS hurt, I hope it doesn't mean I'm gonna be forced to play Lalime.