Stick tap to Ben Weber over at PondRocketGear.com – he sent me this delightful little piece of hockey history. It’s an actual letter from Toronto Maple Leafs general manager/head coach George “Punch” Imlach to players inviting them to the team’s training camp back in 1962, in between their three Stanley Cups in a row run.
(Pause to allow all the Toronto Maple Leafs fans out there reminisce about the good ol’ days. *Sigh.*)
Take a read thru some of the minimum physical requirements – golfing, 20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups. I mean, geeze, this sounds more like an invitation to a Country Club than a Stanley Cup winning hockey team, lol.
Anyhoo, click on the image to get a blown-up version that’s easier to read.
Wow. Did episode 3 of 24/7: Penguins/Capitals: Road to the Winter Classic deliver on the drama or what? There was plenty of good material in there, and more than enough F-bombs for even the casual F-bomb lover. But hands down, the greatest use of profanity has to go to Sidney Crosby who FINALLY got in on the act and delivered a raunchy rant that had all of Canada blushing.
Here’s “The Next One” arguing a hooking call against Capitals defenseman John Carlson during the electric December 23rd Washington Capitals v. Pittsburgh Penguins game. I left out the curses to this week’s hockey quote of the week so that you can play your own little game of “Fill in the Blank”:
"You gonna [bleepin'] call that? [Bleep] off! [Bleep] you! [Bleepin'] [bleep]. [Bleep]. [Bleepin'] [bleep]. Right in the [bleepin'] face? That's a [bleepin'] joke."
I need to go take a shower now because after posting this, even I feel dirty, lol.
In continuing my hardly planned out, entirely random trip around the league to share with you each team’s goal song, this week I’m going to HP Pavilion at San Jose – AKA “The Shark Tank – home to the San Jose Sharks.
This one’s a bit all over the place, so here’s a breakdown of how Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and the rest of the San Jose Sharks like to get down when they score at home:
Sharks score and two bellowing goal horns sound off before leading into the ubiquitous “Rock and Roll Part 2” played by some awful instrument that sounds like, I’m guessing, a synthesized keyboard. Get thru the crowd chant part of the song (“Hey!” “Hey!” “Hey!”) and finish with, and I’m guessing here, a five-year-old beating on some drums and symbols crashing.
I know that I just posted about Derek Stepan having the goal of the week, but this just happened yesterday and I only just came across the highlight now and just have to post it for your viewing pleasure.
This is a justified posting (uh oh, I’m starting to use puns, I must be getting tired).
If you watched episode 2 of 24/7: Penguins/Capitals: Road to the Winter Classic (damn, that’ s still a bitch to write out), then surely that image of Washington Capitals forward Matt Hendricks staring back at you during an unnecessarily up-close interview has stuck with you this past week.
Ugh.
Luckily for the rest of you who don’t watch the show, I’m here to share with you the unfortunate image in this week’s hockey photo of the week. Let me just say this, though - kudos to Hendricks. His face is the very definition of what it takes to make it into the game.
It also goes to show that if you ever get in a fight with New York Rangers forward Sean Avery and get knocked down, make sure you cover your face from additional blows.
Now, if you have a weak stomach for gory images then please, make sure you get a waste basket before you look below:
Are those stitches holding the eyeball in the socket?
You know, I’m thinking that if you clean up his eye a bit, he looks kind of like a C-list celebrity you might be familiar with . . .
Another week, another quote of the week from 24/7: Penguins/Capitals: Road to the Winter Classic. Although it would be incredibly easy to just go with another Bruce Bouderau quote, I figure to try and get some other people some coverage, too. Plus, I don’t want to get blacklisted for posting too many f-bombs in my posts.
Enter Washington Capitals GM George McPhee. Obviously his team’s been through some rough times of late. He was asked about the struggles on a radio show which went . . . well. He had this to say in defense of his team:
"All the experts, all the pundits come out with their opinions. The truth of the matter is, if they knew anything about the game, they'd be in it."
Short, to the point and with a big finish. I like it. Sure, on print, he comes off as a bit of a pompous prick, but it was in the heat of the moment and you can kind of understand where he’s coming from if you watch the show.
Nice to see McPhee’s team playing better of late. If both the Caps and Pittsburgh Penguins continue winning like they are, it’s setting up for a pretty awesome Winter Classic New Years Day.
In continuing my hardly planned out, entirely random trip around the league to share with you each team’s goal song, this week I’m going to Scotiabank Place, home to your Ottawa Senators.
FINALLY!!! We have a team that is original with their goal songs (see previous posts on why this is such a big deal). Unfortunately, though, it’s the Ottawa Senators, so the fans don’t get to hear this pretty cool set list all too often for the 3-games under .500 team.
Here’s the playlist off the team’s site. Each song is preceded by a couple of horn blasts before leading into the song itself:
# 4 - Philips - "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" by Big 'N Rich
# 5 - Lee - "Lee" by Tenacious D
# 9 - Michalek - "Vertigo" by U2
# 11 - Alfredsson - "Beautiful Day (Remix)" by U2
# 12 - Fisher - "Fisher Anthem" by Thousand Foot Krutch
# 14 - Campoli - "Desire" by U2
# 15 - Smith - "New Sensation" by INXS
# 17 - Kuba - "Boom" by POD
# 19 - Spezza - "OMG" by Usher Feat. Will.I.Am
# 22 - Kelly - "Numb/Encore" by Linkin Park/Jay Z
# 25 - Neil - "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC
# 26 - Shannon - "Get on Your Boots" by U2
# 27 - Kovalev - "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode
# 36 - Hale - "Hail Hail" by Pearl Jam
# 39 - Carkner - "Paradise City" by Guns 'N Roses
# 55 - Gonchar - "I Can't Drive 55" by Sammy Hagar
# 65 - Karlsson - "Kickstart my Heart" by Motley Crue
# 71 - Foligno - "Jump" by Van Halen
# 73 - Ruutu - "Whiskey in the Jar" by Metallica
U2 with the hat trick + 1 showing on the playlist! Most awesome song – Fisher’s “Fisher Anthem” for all its punny goodness. Most lame – Spezza’s “OMG” by Usher (the chorus is good, but if it’s any other part of the song, the lameness barometer goes off the charts). But hey, that’s just my opinion. Take a listen below of an example when natural goal scorer buries the puck. It’s “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC:
Hockey Photo: Encore: Guardian Project Preview Posters
An update of last night's post about the Guardian Project 30, here’s a preview of what the NHL Guardian Project 30 match-ups will be and the outline of what some of the team superheroes will look like. Click on the images to see them close-up, along with the dates that they’ll be featured.
I think one match-up stands out the most - Flyer v. Blue Jacket. Yeah, that'll be a close one.
All kidding aside, this is some pretty cool stuff. I think Stan Lee and the NHL marketing department have all outdone themselves:
Maybe you’ve heard. Maybe you haven’t. Regardless, though, this is a pretty big campaign coming to the NHL in January. It’s called “The Guardian Project” and it will encompass 30 guardians – one to represent each NHL team. It is essentially a new team of superheroes, straight from the mind of Stan Lee, and organically themed after each NHL team. Their superhero abilities will incorporate various NHL elements, but it isn’t set in the world of hockey.
Once it’s fully up-and-running, the campaign will include an online presence, mobile apps, publishing, gaming, in-arena representations, broadcast, merchandise, promotional and sponsorship activities. In a nutshell, this campaign will be everywhere.
This week’s hockey photos of the week are images from the campaign that some of the reps sent to me. Obviously, they’re not the characters yet. That’s in the near future. Instead, you can feast your eyes on these two official logos for what’s in store:
Cool stuff. But here's what I was able to dig up from the archives of always-in-the-know hockey site, Puck Daddy (click to see close-ups):
An image of ALL the superheros-to-be.
The only thing making sense to me here is the bear on the bottom right corner - assuming that's for the Boston Bruins.
Left to right: Nashville Predators, Edmonton Oilers, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Again, somewhat confusing. The only thing I can make out is for the Calgary Flames.
On the left is the Philadelphia Flyers falling (in the standings?) and the
horse-looking thing is for the New Jersey Devils.
A new application on the NHL Facebook page will enable fans to determine the order in which each team’s Guardian will be unveiled. Winners will be revealed daily, beginning with a face-off between the “Penguin” vs. the “Capital” to celebrate the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic match-up on Saturday, Jan.1, 2011.
Preview poster of what the set-up will look like for the Penguin vs. the Capital match-up. Who do you think will win?
The last winner will be unveiled on Sunday, Jan. 30, when all thirty Guardians will come to life during a special presentation within the 2011 NHL® All-Star Game in Raleigh, N.C.
You will be able to vote for their favorite teams and learn about the Guardians at www.guardianproject30.com and by going to the Guardian Project Vote Now tab of www.facebook.com/NHL.
Check out this awesome hockey goal by Kyle Turris of the Phoenix Coyotes. It came in a shootout against the New York Islanders. I feel bad for the Islanders goaltender Nathan Lawson – it was his first NHL game and he made 32 saves in the loss. Regardless, though, some pretty creative moves by the 21-year-old and he finishes with a straight-sniper shot.
Innocent looking, right? The face of a grandpa,
but the mouth of a trucker just released from prison.
I pulled a little switcheroo this week, substituting my normal Monday Quote of the Week with the Goal of the Week, knowing that the “24/7 Penguins-Capitals: Road to the Winter Classic” show was going to be on yesterday and figuring that today, Thursday, I’d have a piping hot quote to share with all y’all.
If you don’t follow this blog regularly and didn’t notice the switch well, as Washington Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau would say, you best go and get your asses out of your head.
Ah Baby Boudreau. Quite the mouth you have on you, eh? He provided more than enough F-bomb material for a month’s worth of hockey quotes. But there’s one that really sticks out in my mind. It came during a timeout in the game against the New York Rangers that ended with the Rangers winning by a touchdown, 7-0. Here’s what he said, expletives and all:
“Show some fucking courage and play the game properly! You'll score three fucking goals if you do!”
“I'm fucking sick and tired of losing. Let's fucking get our asses out of our heads!"
Surprisingly, after that little go-getter, the Rangers scored again. But you could tell by the looks on the player's faces that this is a team searching for some sort of clarity, any direction really, right now and profanity-laced tirades like this one from Boudreau just ain’t cutting it anymore. Will he still have his job by the time the Classic comes around? Only time -- and HBO -- will tell.
The show itself is definitely worth catching, even for the casual sports fan. Here are some pretty cool stats I picked up off NHL.com about the production side of the show:
No. of "24/7" crew members embedded with each team in during the series -- 8
No. of cameras assigned to shoot for the series -- 6 cameras (three cameras full-time with each team)
No. of total hours expected to shoot -- 500 hours
No. of consecutive days the "24/7" crews in the field will work on the series -- 25
No. of production personnel in New York assigned to assembling the show – 20
If you’re interested in catching it, the other three shows will be on HBO on the following dates:
I love you man! No, I love you man! No, no, I love you man!
In continuing my hardly planned out, entirely random trip around the league to share with you each team’s goal song, this week I’m heading over to Denver, Colorado and the Pepsi Center, home to the Colorado Avalanche.
To be honest with you, the Av’s goal song ain’t nothing special. It’s your typical dragged out goal horn that then leads into the overly played, beat heavy “Rock and Roll Part 2” that’s complimented with the occasional “Hey!” shoutout by the crowd. It’s . . . good, but like I said, it’s nothing special.
The afternoon began with Quigley officiating a ceremonial puck-drop with Representative Chris Van Hollen (MD – 8th District) to commemorate the 2011 NHL Winter Classic between the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA. If you’re wondering why Hollen from Maryland and not some rep from Pittsburgh was present then you’re just as confused as me.
Regardless, the Cup FINALLY got its day. And it’s something worth sharing. Take a look below and enjoy:
Quigley drops the puck between Van Hollen (right) and Sean Joyce (left):
Quigley with the puck in front of the Lincoln Memorial:
The Cup “resting” after a long day of photo-ops at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda:
Check out this absolutely filthy shootout goal from Travis Walsh of the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks (whose name is more intimidating then their team logo). It’s this week’s hockey goal of the week:
Nevermind the move between the legs at the beginning, nor the crazy deke at the end, but this kid Walsh is a defenseman. That’s right, a blue liner making moves like that. Jeeze!
Check out this hilarious slip-up by Darren Pang from last night talking about P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens. It's hilarious because Panger's not a racist shmuck - it was just an accident. (*Pause*) A hilarious accident at that.
Stick tap to Mike H. of FanvsFan.com for the heads up on this video.
While most of the goals that the Washington Capitals score are impressive, their goal song leaves little to be desired. It starts out with a long-ass goal horn , which gives way to a siren blare that continues as the super-duper popular goal song “kernKraft 400” by Zombie Nation. It’s a whole lot of noise and nothing too spectacular.
For such a social media-aware team, you’d think that they’d come up with some online competition for the fans to come up with a better, more original song. C’mon Caps PR department, get on that:
After 18 seasons, Bill Guerin’s hanging up his skates. He made the announcement yesterday and was honored before the Pittsburgh Penguins game against the New Jersey Devils. This was his first NHL club (Devils) and his last (Penguins). These were also the two teams that he won the Stanley Cup with – in 1995 as a member of the Devils and in 2009 with the Penguins.
In total, Guerin played with eight different teams during his nearly two-decade career, suiting up with the Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks and the New York Islanders. He had pretty good numbers for such a well-traveled player – including 429 goals and 427 assists for 856 points in 1,263 games. He certainly didn’t back down from the physical part of the game either, accruing 1,660 penalty minutes during that time, too.
Born in Massachusetts, Guerin also played for the U.S. Olympic team in 1998, 2002 and 2006.
Upon reflecting about his retirement he had this to say, this week’s hockey quote of the week:
"I was OK with it being over," he said. "My heart was here (in Pittsburgh). There was no reason for me to keep hanging on."
"I'm trying to figure out what I want to do," he went on. "I do want to stay in the game."
"I ended with a good year," Guerin said. "That's how I wanted it. I feel like I'm going out on my terms."
Not to rain on his parade, but we all know that that last line’s not true. He wasn’t ready to go out – it was just that no one was willing to pony up the dough he was seeking for a one- or two-year deal. The Penguins didn’t offer him a contract after last season and the Philadelphia Flyers didn’t offer him a contract either after a pre-season tryout.
Personally, I think he could still be effective as a third or fourth liner. I mean, he had 21 goals and 24 assists for 45 points in 78 games last season. Not bad for a 39-year-old. But it's not good enough for the money he was seeking.
Sidenotes aside, during the ceremony the other night Guerin was given a framed portrait and a trip to Hawaii. He is expected to take a scouting or administrative position with the Penguins. So, though he doesn't get to actually play, at least he'll still be involved in the game (and well tanned, too).
Vancouver CancuksKeith Ballard goes airborne after a nasty hip check by Carlo Colaiacovo (who has entirely too many vowels in his last name) of the St. Louis Blues. Ballard’s got the full extension going and despite the superman pose, looks like he still has his eye on the puck, lol.
Check out this awesome goal by Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars. It’s shorthanded against the St. Louis Bluesbrick wallJaroslav Halak. With a dangle like that, I don’t think any goalie would’ve been able to stop it.
In continuing my hardly planned out, entirely random trip around the league to share with you each team’s goal song, this week I’m traveling to the Air Canada Centre, the official home to your Toronto Maple Leafs.
Can one of the most underperforming teams in the NHL possibly have one of the best goal celebration songs in the league? In the case of the Maple Leafs, most definitely!
At -14, the Leafs have the fifth worst goal differential in the league. They simply don’t score enough goals, and their record shows for it. This is especially the case at home, which is unfortunate for the fans because “Wherever I May Roam” by Metallica – one of the best goal songs in the NHL – simply doesn’t get played enough. It’s a pretty bad-ass song for a pretty bad-ass team (on paper at least).
Hopefully the Leafs turn things around. I mean, Clark MacArthur is leading the team in scoring right now. Clark FRIGGEN MacArthur! Get it going Phil Kessel! Let’s go Captain Phaneuf. C’mon.
*Ahem* Okay. That said, have a listen below and enjoy this week’s song of the week:
