Do You Want to Read the Worst Interview Ever?

I just got my copy of The Hockey News' Yearbook. Holy s#!+ is Sidney Crosby boring. For three pages of fluff and pictures, Crosby puts us to sleep, answering the most hack questions a hockey person could ask. If it will help steer you from wasting your time by reading it, I will now give you the highlights. Crosby wouldn't say that, doesn't know about this, thinks the town he lives in is "neat," thinks Jay Leno is a nice guy, and some other stuff that I would report back to you, but I fell asleep. What have we done to athletes? They get jumped so fast for showing any personality, they won't show any at all. I'm not talking about Sean Avery or Jeremy Roenick. Those two deserve what they get, because they are such asses when they open their mouths. But the normal athlete is too scared to say anything, thanks to a sensationalist media. It drives me nuts. You might as well get rid of the player interview all together these days. There is no need. The hack questions asked over and over to the same dull, emotionless answer. I'd like to put the standard don't-get-me-wrong paragraph, maybe a little butt covering. But that isn't going to happen. This is exactly how I feel. I am bored to tears with these players. I bet they could be interesting people, have interesting things to say, maybe even be conversational. That's one of the impressive things about players who are no longer in the game. They don't have to censor themselves so much, and didn't have to in their day. They tell great stories, talk shit about other players, and generally speak their minds. Why can't we have more of that? This is just one more reason Alex O is winning me over. He is colorful, honest, talented, funny, has fun, and still has a good head on his shoulders. He will tell you what he is thinking, and doesn't have to apologize for it. He has a personality, which I have yet to see from Crosby. Need proof? Watch this... Also, check out the guy (is it a player?) at 2:40 into the clip, with the picture stuck to his back, and then finding it. I can't imagine what Crosby goes through in his life. It isn't something I would want for myself. There has to be so much pressure on him to be an ambassador for the NHL. But, come on. Show me something here. We could all use it. Also... Hey, Rick Nash. Did someone slip you a mickey for your snippet in the last issue of THN? Try to sound more excited about a rivalry. At least sound like it matters, not like you are writing a report about it. If you feel the rivalry with the Preds is strong, great. Now do something about it. Jeez, why did you even bother to answer? Technorati : Crosby, Ovechkin, THN, Interview

The Brain is Too Soft Today

For the past few days, work has been unforgiving, mostly in the time department. A few long days, with little sleep, and blogging went by the way side. I have a few things in the pipe, and a few things I want to post about, but today, I have no brain for any of it. Nothing is bubbling to the surface. Instead, I give you the greatest game ever played. Ever. Link to Youtube.com video I'm not going to embed that video here, just go and watch it. It's about seven and a half minutes, and worth it. Real posts coming soon.

PS: why doesn't blogger's spellcheck recognize the word blog?

Jersey: Game Worn Hinote

For the final birthday jersey, may I present Dan Hinote, formerly of the Colorado Avalanche:

You can click the picture to make it bigger, and really, you should.Why? Besides the fact that it's Dan (Frickin') Hinote? If you haven't noticed, I have a few game-worn jerseys, from many different leagues. AHL, ECHL, Russian Super League, Slovak Extraliga, and even a CHL (Central Hockey League) which I lost (yes, it still hurts). But I have never had an NHL game-worn jersey. This beauty comes from the 2002-2003 season, later third, plus some playoff action (Not much that year). Hinote scored a goal and two assists in those playoffs, plus one minor penalty. Was it in this jersey? I don't know. I don't have those stats. I do have this jersey, and that's good enough.

"But, wait," I hear you say, "Danny left the Avs for the Blues. Why would you want his jersey?" First, don't call me a Butt-weight (yeah, it never gets the kind of laugh I want). Danny was a UFA, and the Avs weren't going to give him the money the Blues did. Danny never had big numbers. That wasn't his game. Danny is tough, hard, works every shift, and has a mouth on him, which is great for his team. ESPN produces a show called "The Season." In the year they followed the Avs, they caught Hinote yelling at Bertuzzi something to the effect of not giving a f%$# who he thought he was. The first half of the 2 parter was shown halfway through the season. That was before the Bertuzzi-Moore incident. ESPN edited that verbal barb out. I think I still have it on video somewhere. That was great stuff.

Danny was always more surprised and more excited than anybody when he scored. In this past seasons playoffs, he broke the shutout of Ilya.....Ilya.......Bryzgalov. He saluted his teammates, and spurred them on. The Avs lost the game, and were swept in the series, but Hinote was at his best. His sharp angle goal against Chicago on April 3rd was just amazing. They don't get any sharper than that. It was the game winner with only 12 seconds to go. Dan was a star of the game. When was the last time that happened? Freakin amazing.

This is from ESPN.com:

"I only get the lucky ones," Hinote said. "I knew there was about 15 seconds left so I just wanted to throw it to the net and maybe get a faceoff down there. I wasn't trying to score from there."

"He's right," Khabibulin said of Hinote's goal. "That puck shouldn't go in. I'll take the blame for that one."

Sure, Khabby, do what you want, but that was Hinote's goal. That night was really Blake's night, scoring his 199th and 200th goals. Blake tied it up at 19:03 of the 3rd. But for my money, that was Hinote's night. Who else could you be happier for? Clutch scoring, not really Hinote's game, but it sure was then.

I sure hope the fans in St. Louis know what they are getting. One hell of a hockey player.

Special thanks to the Significant Lighting Person (IE girlfriend) for getting this for me. She was trying for another at first (huge sale at Meigray), but it had flown to someone else. They would be jealous now, mark my words. A three jersey birthday, with this being the creme'-de-la-creme'. What more could a person ask for?

Technorati : Avalanche, Blues, Colorado, Hinote, Jersey

Avalanche Lines part 1

This is something I've been avoiding, partly because things are still a little up in the air, and partly because I will not be right. But if I wasn't willing to stick my neck out, I should have just written a diary. Since this is my first time doing this, don't expect too much out of me.

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Andrew Brunette	Joe Sakic	Milan Hejduk
Wojtek Wolski	Paul Stastny	Marek Svatos
Steve Konowalchuk	Tyler Arnason	Ian Laperriere
Antti Laaksonen	Pierre Turgeon	Cody McCormick
	Brett McLean
Defence	Defence
Jordan Leopold	John-Michael Liles
Karlis Skrastins	Ossi Vaananen
Patrice Brisebois	Brett Clark
Ken Klee	Kurt Sauer
Goal
Jose Theodore
Peter Budaj

Now, before you start laughing, hear me out. That second line is a severe if. Huge if. And why would I do something like that? Simple, I want to see a youth line. I want to see what some young guys can do on a team that has been relying on the older core to get the job done for too long. I want to see something beyond just plugging in a stat and seeing what happens (remember 2003-04, the coming of Kariya and Selanne? Remember how well that worked?). We don't know if Stastny or Wolski will crack the lineup (Stastny, probably not, Wolski, most likely) , but the door is open. We also don't know of Svatos is going to re-sign, but Terry Frei seems to think so. So there will be some serious modification to the forward lines, but it's what I would like to see happen. Don't freak out on me too much. Brett McLean will probably be in there, rather than Stastny (I haven't completely lost my mind), but next year, Arnason gets the boot, and if Stastny does well in Lowell Albany, expect a full time call up. I don't expect (hope) to see too much of May. Arnason is getting buried on the third line until we see if he can be motivated. With as cap strapped as the Avs are, if you signed on the dotted line, and you don't do your job, expect to be on wavers quickly. McCormick could shift around, depending on performance. Swap Konowalchuk with Wolski any time you want. But Konowalchuk may be the anchor Arnason needs, or we need for Arnason (not the same thing) Leopold will be out for the first several games this year, including training camp. That's going to put him well behind when he does join the team. Kurt Sauer will probably be his replacement, but it could be Klee. Klee. Why did the Avs sign him? Hell, his signing was buried deep in the announcement that Budaj got re-signed. Why bother? Unless he's going to play punch-in-the-face, he is a boat anchor. Someone tell me why. Really, your comments on this are welcome. The biggest question mark is in goal. That is not a sentence that should be used when you are spending $5.5 million on one goalie. If he makes a comeback, it would save the Avs from themselves. My belief is that he could, if he starts working on the weaknesses that have climbed into his game. If he doesn't, we have Budaj to back him up, and then nothing. And Budaj may be better then Sauve, but he is not a solid number 1. Intangibles From last season, too many Avs took the lockout off. We saw what a difference that made, especially when you look at all the young players league wide who came into the spotlight last year (do you think a solid year in Lowell helped Eric Staal?) Sakic, Blake, Tanguay (6 games played), Brunette, Laaksonen, Laperriere, Turgeon, and Brisebois (10 games played). That's a lot of time missed, from a lot of players who were expected to perform. I'm not interested in making Ken Hitchcock excuses here. What I am saying is we get to see what happens to those players who are back in step with the rest of the league. Also, don't forget that this is a new look Avs. This is not the same high flying team as before, and should not be treated as such. How they will be coached is going to be interesting. The Q is used to the old Avs and the Old St. Louis Blues. Is he going to try to make this team like his Blues were? How will The Mountain (GM Giguere/Pres Lacroix) react to all this? Heck, how will the fans react? So that's it in a nut shell. That is me sticking my neck out there to get chopped off. I'd love to hear what you think. Or, if you really feel the need, point and laugh. Leave a comment or two. You'd be hard pressed to embarrass yourself any more than I have. Special thanks to Earl (my nae is) Sleek at the Battle of California for the html work on the table. Go to the Battle site by one person.

Want to Know What Makes me Happy?

David Frost arrested for sexual assault

This should surprise no one. It's about time. Via the CBC:

Frost, 39, was charged with 12 counts of sexual exploitation and one count of assault of seven victims - four males and three females between the ages of 14 and 16.

I hope this guy gets the book thrown at him. I can't stand him. If he did this, I hope he rots.

This is one of those things that is too important to go away quietly. Just ask Sheldon Kennedy.

(Sure, innocent until proven guilty. I understand that. I hope he's convicted.)

If you don't know anything about Sheldon Kennedy, click here. You really should.

Marek Svatos: The Conundrum

I was reading through the Avalanche media guide at the bar the other day, and I came across this little bit about Marek Svatos:

2002-2003: Sustained his third separated shoulder injury in a three-week span on Jan. 23... Forced to undergo season-ending surgery in late January, ending his AHL rookie season.

Three separated shoulders in three weeks? If you don't know what a shoulder separation is, check out what WebMD has to say:

A shoulder separation is the partial or complete separation of two parts of the shoulder: the collarbone (clavicle) and the end of the shoulder blade (acromion).

The collarbone and the shoulder blade (scapula) are connected by the acromioclavicular (AC)joint, which is held together primarily by the acromioclavicular (AC) and the coracoclavicular (CC). In a shoulder separation (also called an acromioclavicular joint injury), these ligaments are partially or completely torn.

There's a grading of injury severity, basically from bad to worst., and they list treatment options. And you don't have surgery unless it's really bad. What they don't tell you is how much you recover from it. Or if, like a concussion, you are more injury prone in that area. That would be nice to know.

Note: Last years injury was a broken shoulder, not a separation, but it did require surgery. He also missed the opener with a groin problem.

Reading that bit from the media guide was a bit of a shocker. I didn't know much about him, just that he was a valuable member of the team, a high scoring rookie, and then when we needed him most, he was gone. So here we are, waiting for the Avs to sign him, wondering what the difficulty is, and suddenly, things make a little more sense.

Let's say you are the Avalanche. You have this really gifted forward on your hands, but he hasn't played an entire season. His agent is asking for money and time (I don't know what his agent is asking for, but what else do agents ask for?), and you have a few hard salary cap questions to answer. Now, the money may not be a problem for you. You can afford a million or so, but maybe you don't want to do that for three years. For the scoring ability, you would pay it, but what happens if he goes down? Do you want that kind of commitment to someone who might not make it to the playoffs, much less the next season? If I were the Avs, I would want to do a one year deal with options over the next three. That would be a good lockup, showing enough commitment, but being realistic about Svatos' situation.

If I were Svatos, I would want the longer term lockup, and if injuries happen, you still have your team to go back to. If you are the agent, you want cash on the barrel-head, not options. You want your player to get the best deal out there, and with a scoring touch like this kid has, you can wait out the team. But we have seen how well that works from the past. Pierre Lacroix is not one to be jerked around. He holds on to that sort of thing.

So what happens is the Avs walk away? Enter Wojtek Wolski. Wols plays faster than his 6'-3", 200lb frame. He can score, won the OHL Most Outstanding Player award, and is young and coming up fast. Do we want him to make the jump from the OHL to the NHL? No, a year in Lowell Albany would do him some good. And Marek Svatos can buy us that time. I would love to see Svatos healthy and an Av, but what we need is a player who can stick it out. What we don't need is another Peter Forsberg. I like Forsberg, when he's healthy, but that hasn't been the case lately. Philadelphia go bitten by it, as I had figured was going to happen. So do we just wait for Svatos to do the same thing next season as this one? Or his previous NHL season? Or his 2002-2003 season in Hershey?

So there are two things that make it easier to walk away from Svatos. One is that Wolski is as good as he seams (I think he is), and becomes the new Svatos. The other is for Paul Stastny to be the next Wolski. Stastny shows promise, and has gotten better every year he's played. He may go down to the minors right away, but that might not be a bad thing. A little development before running him over with the freight train wouldn't hurt.

Can we walk away from Svatos? Yes. Could it bite us in the ass? Yes, absolutely, but those are chances you have to take. There is no way to look into that crystal ball and tell. When everyone is looking at the Avs, and touting scoring stats, there are some serious 'intangibles' worth talking about. All you can do is make an informed decision, based on what you know. And the more I look at it, the more I think the Avs are making a decision, (or at least can live with the decision) rather than letting something slip away.

Technorati : Avalanche, Colorado, Hockey, Svatos, rookie

Jerseys Around the Web

There has been a lot of activity on the hockey jersey front lately, and I would be remiss in not bringing it to you. From the Bloggers you know and love:

Reality Check at Eyes on the Prize tells the tale of how a certain prized jersey came into his possession. Jerseys aren't just clothes, they are stories too.

Post-Pessimist has a collection of game-worn jerseys from all over the world. He also gets best title: I Buy Clothing Worn By Other Men. He now also is a regular on Hockey Rants.

Roy at Wild Puck Banter has his list of top five jerseys. Oddly enough, his own Minnesota Wild are not on the list. But check out number 2. Wow.

Wicked Bruins Fan has a bit of news about the Bruins jerseys. A few changes for next season.

Ingmar at Ingmar Berman Shoots... And Scores!!! is a photoshop genius. Go and scroll around, click some links to jerseys on the right, and diffidently check out this one. And this one. How can I convince him to make a JAHL jersey? As ever, I encourage you to click around these blogs, and read a few archived items. You don't know what you might have missed.

Finally, Paul at Kukla's Korner had a pointer to this article, in which a columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle tells us why we shouldn't be wearing sports jerseys. Hockey jerseys are left alone, due to, I'm quite certain, the fact that they would have to endure my wrath. I wasn't even asked for a rebuttal. But here it is:

"You, sir, are wrong. So there. And, you suck."

So now we take the JAHL Hockey Jersey Quiz. This is how many hours a day you should be wearing a hockey jersey:

We start with a base of 0 hours and work our way up.

Is it the hockey season? Add 2 hours. Is it game day? Add 3.5 hours. Are you going to the game? add 2 hours. Are you going to a home game? add drive time. Are you going to an away game? Add 2 hours if you like to piss off the opposing fans, zero hours if you haven't got the guts. Are you going to the bar afterwords? Add all time at the bar, plus all time you don't remember. Are you allowed to wear a hockey jersey at work? Add all time worked, minus lunch break (No mustard stains on the jersey please) Is it summer? Subtract all time spent outside (we aren't slave drives here), unless you live above 7,000 feet, then subtract half the time spent outside. Do you skate? Add all time on the ice. Are you a woman? Add one quarter more hours to the total. Hockey jerseys look great on women. Does the jersey have a name on the back? Add 1 hour Is it an obscure player whose stats you can rattle off on demand? Add 1 hour, or 2 if you have lots of hubris. Did the player on the back just move to another city? Add .5 hours Did he move within your division? Never mind. That sucks. Did he move to a hated rival? Cross out his name with red paint, and spray "sucks" over his number. There's no use in wasting a perfectly good jersey. Do you read books at home? Add all reading time. Why curl up in a blanket when you have a jersey? Are you unhappy with the management of your team? Add 1 hour of out and about time. Tell anyone who brings up the team. Are you Canadian? Subtract 2 hours. Why do you need to wear a jersey all day? You are hockey.

If you took this test, and have too many hours than are in a day, you should get another jersey. They go great with everything.

Huge Update: It turns out I didn't have to convince Ingmar to make a JAHL jersey, he just went off and made one. With his permission, I'm going to add it to my blog, but until then, check it out here. This thing kicks serious ass.

Technorati : Hockey, Jerseys

Start Them Early

Yesterday was my niece's 2nd birthday, which was a great chance to get her on the path of good and true Avs fan. If you don't start early, they may turn bad, like becoming a Canucks fan.

Tell me that isn't cute:

Unusual things to do with the lace in front:

Pick out the 2 year old (Hint: try the one with the most hair)

Happy Birthday, Zoe!

Jersey: USA! USA! USA!

There's only one picture of this jersey, so click it to make it bigger:

This is my USA Hockey jersey. And before you go off about USA Hockey, and USA vs. Canada, know two things: 1) I have 2 Canada hockey jerseys, and 2) I am a USA Hockey member. So there. This was pretty much known as the women's style of jersey. The men never (to my knowledge) wore this jersey. I think the NTDP U-17 wear it, but I'd have to look at some of my photos from Hockey Day in Michigan last year. If you didn't know, I have a penchant for jerseys with laces in front. I want the Avs to do a regular jersey with laces in front. The P-Bruins did, and it kicked ass.

The patches were all added to the jersey afterward. From left shoulder, across the chest, to the right shoulder: 1) Lake Placid winter Olympics 25th anniversary patch, 2) World Cup of Hockey 2004, 3) Authentic 1980 Lake Placid patch, and 4) US Olympic Training Center, Lake Placid. The training center in Colorado Springs does not have patches, and to me, that is a travesty. This jersey was purchased in Lake Placid, NY, which is just an amazing place. I want to do a travel guide to Lake Placid for hockey post. You can skate on the Olympic Oval (outdoor speed skating), or rent the Herb Brooks Arena for an hour. It's just an amazing place.

This jersey doesn't get worn enough. There's something about wearing a jersey with USA on it that reminds me of those people who wear stars and stripes button up short sleeve shirts. But I did wear it in Lake Placid when I saw the USA Women play a men's league team from Vermont. The men were clearly out played, and probably a little surprised at how fast the smaller womens team was. I have never seen a womens team play with such intensity, and there are a lot of NHL teams that could take the lesson.

In short, you can sneer at USA Hockey all you want. You can say crap like "Damn Americans." (Not here though, this is Hockey Love) You can tell me how the Americans will never catch up to the Canadians in any number of formulas, graphs, or stats. And it won't matter. After that, you need to go see a USA Hockey kids game (or a Hockey Canada kids game), then tell me USA Hockey sucks. And you will feel a little part of your heart shrink.

Quick note: A story that, to me, didn't get enough attention was the hiring of Mark Johnson, he of the Miracle on Ice team, will be the new head coach of the USA Women's Olympic team. If you don't know him, he has been head coach of the University of Wisconsin's women's hockey team since 2002, and won the NCAA championship this year. In the book, The Boys of Winter, Johnson talks about what it's like to be head coach of a womens team. There were, at first, mixed emotions, on both sides of the whistle. Then he grew to love it, and found a better hockey environment with the women's teams. The USA position was made a part time job, which is probably a good thing for Johnson, so he can stay with the Badgers. Johnson, to me, is the perfect choice for the job.

Denial: Not Just a Yes/No Question

Zanstorm is in denial. Poor guy. Take a look at these bobbleheads I whipped up for him. I'm not saying he is a drunk, or even touches the stuff (lush), but I am sure he knows who drives the bus around his blog. Just go to the very bottom of the page, and check out the credits. Oh, Captain, His Captain.

My blog, on the other hand, is powered by whimsy, madness, and hockey love. To that end, I give you the JAHL Bobbleheads:

Home and Away

But, everybody knows, nothing says hockey better than a 3rd jersey:

Third

Please, Bobble responsibly.

Side note: It may seam like this is just bloggers posting back and forth for our own jollies. I'm really OK with that. This is what is going to keep me going through the offseason, until they announce that they cannot sign Svatos. I had tried to do blogs before, but have never been able to stick with it. In fact, this is the most I've ever done. You can consider this my offseason training. I consider it fun, and a little funny. If you don't like it, come back closer to the season. If you do, stick around. More jerseys, hockey talk, humor, and me just being stupid coming your way. Glad to have you along. I'm having a good time, hope you are too.

NHL Jobs, Part 2

Well, my resume is in to the Phoenix Coyotes, but, unfortunately, the position has been filled. (Find the previous NHL Jobs post here) They were nice on the phone, which seem like the image the Coyotes project. Nice on the phone.

I guess we should take a look around the leagues, and see what else are out there.

Mascot Handler - Manchester Monarchs (Manchester, NH)

Wow, mascot handler. What more could a person ask for in life? Sure, this is a necessary position, but who wants to stand next to the mascot, thinking, "Hey, I should be in that suit." All you get to do is kick kids away from the mascot. At least that's what I assume from this Yes/No question:

1. YES/NO I enjoy working with children.

Ummm..... No? I'm no good at these. If you are considering a new career with the Monarchs, just remember, this position has a pay rate of $30 per game. For 40 games. Wow.

The Monarchs are looking to fill many positions, so scroll around. Some of the Yes/No questions they will ask you: 1. YES/NO I perform well under pressure. (Game Assistant) 1. YES/NO I am outgoing and friendly (Game Night Promotions Team) If you think that guy at intermission throws t-shirts like a girl, show him whose boss. 1. YES/NO I am able to work 30-40 games (Merchandise Asst.)

Director of Business Operations - San Antonio Rampage (San Antonio, TX)

This looks like the catch all, does everything job. Everything business wise. I think the mascot job is still open.

Vice President, Business Operations - Detroit Red Wings (Detroit, MI)

No. Hell, no. I would have to wear an Avalanche jersey to work every day. I would leave the Joe, stare across the water at Windsor, and wish I could escape. There are no Yes/No questions, but there is this:

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

There's a whole lot of other things underneath, but I stopped reading. I must be overqualified, because I have more than a minimum of knowledge, skills and abilities. Sorry, guys, not for me. Listed directly below that is a listing for Part-time Receptionist - Dallas Stars (Dallas, TX). I just find that strange.

Senior Vice President of Arena Business and Operations - Boston Bruins/TD Banknorth Garden (Boston, MA) This is more like it. Running the (TD Banknorth) Garden sound kick ass. How many times have Bruins fans have ranted that they could run that building better. How often has the conversation of how the (TD Banknorth) Gardens could be better been brought up in the bars of Boston. I think I am their man. Run the Garden, sure. Why not? It would be like everyday was my Christmas. But that stupid Yes/No question pops up:

1. Yes/No: I have at least ten (10) years management experience in all facets of arena operations and service.

I'd have to do a little fudging here. But the short answer, no. But how much could that matter?

Other Jobs:

Titans Ice Girls - Trenton Titans (Trenton, NJ) - There aren't any Yes/No questions, but I can think of one that is pretty important

Athletic Trainer - Texas Wildcatters (Beaumont, TX)

Equipment Manager - Fresno Falcons (Fresno, CA)

This isn't a hockey job, but bares mention.:

VERIZON SPORTS COMPLEX BOBSLED BRAKEMAN This is for the Olympic Regional Development Authority in Lake Placid, NY. Sure, it's not hockey, but what could be cooler at the bar? "What do I do? I'm a Bobsled Brakeman. Get me another beer." What could be cooler? Well, mascot. That would be pretty cool.

Saturday reading

Today, I'm up early going off to work, a few things over the next few days. Today, I have nothing, so I'll point you a little around the web.

If you want some good hockey stories, go to Eyes on the Prize. Gretzky, Desjardins, and 5 great (and not so great) hockey moments. Get over there, and scroll down a bit.

Remember the jerseys I mocked up? Well, it's taken a turn for the silly, over at Waiting for Stanley. They also have a caption contest, and competition is heating up early. Scroll around, they update a lot.

What happened to Hasek last season? Find out at Kukla's Korner. George gives you the details. It's interesting reading.

If you are wondering what happened to Henrik Zetterburg's wrist, find out at Kukla's and Behind the Jersey.

Me? I got nothing. Well, that's not true.

Tag Board

Scroll down just a little and find the latest addition to JAHL. Put in your name, and a message. You don't have to put in an email or URL. It doesn't auto refresh, it has a limited amount of messages, and does not save messages. Comments are for comments, this is just for a short chat. This is just a test, to see what I think. If I like it, I can do an upgrade which has more features (including auto refresh, for a more chat-like experience). Give it a shot. See what you think. It could be pretty cool, like for opening night.

Update: The tagboard seems to be having problems in Firefox (FF pushes the board to the left, making the sidebar do strange things). I'm trying to solve the problem, as I like the board so far. If you are having problems, could you try opening my blog in IE, and tell me what happens? It would go a long way to solving the issue. Thanks

Jersey: Moscow Dynamo Game Worn

One of the most kick a$$ jerseys I have:

Moscow Dynamo. Jersey made by ??????? This was a steal on ebay. Can you imagine paying under $100 dollars for a jersey of this beauty? The most comfortable jersey I have, this was an ebay find from after the lost season. Once the hockey in Europe and Russia wrapped up, a lot of jerseys found their way to North America. There's probably a fascinating story of espionage, intrigue, contacts, drinking and violence behind getting these jerseys out of their maiden countries, but I will never hear it. No matter, one man's workload is another man's ebay find. And what an amazing find she it.

I have always loved the look of the European jerseys, with their patches and ads all over them, while at the same time, not wanting such a thing to find it's way to our rinks. It probably stems back to elementary school, when cool patches on jean jackets made you cool. No matter that these crests came from a box of cereal, or with a Hot Wheels car, or sent away for with boxtops. What is so cool about collecting boxtops? Nothing, that's what, even though everybody knew what you had to do to get that patch. You rotted out your teeth, and that was cool. Get it sewn on your jean jacket and strut around, showing off that X-wing fighter, or that you rode a Huffy. That was bad a$$. Who cared if it had a banana seat, it got you around, and you looked cool doing it. Don't laugh, if they could, they would use them in the Tour de France. Of course, that jean jacket could only fit for so long (one year? More?), and got retired to the closet. But hockey jerseys, they are meant to fit big, and I don't plan on getting that big (unless I have too many burritos). Hockey jerseys are forever.

Worn normally the BMW markings get folded over, but probably look pretty cool with pads underneath.

Some of the logos on this jersey are patches, and some are sublimated. Such as, the name, Stimorol, Dynamo logo, Mentos logos, Zepter logo(sleeve), and winged logos are all patches. The numbers (all), BMW logo, Samsung logo, and the Russian writing I can't translate is sublimated. Why? I know that this jersey went through at least one change in design, to satisfy the needs of the sponsors. What those needs were, I don't know, but was most likely to do with who got more prominent display with relation to the dollar figure spent. Since the jersey number is sublimated, I would guess that there are some unused jerseys somewhere with some odd numbers.

So, Who's jersey is this?

Um...his. In my travels, I can't find the paperwork from this jersey. I can't remember the guys name. I know, I suck, but I don't plan on selling these things, I wear them. How can you not. This thing is so comfortable, it's like wearing the softest blanket you own. So, as I seem to do, if anyone has any info (ie, can read Russian), your help would be greatly appreciated.

Although, I am pretty sure that says 'Fresh Maker.'

UPDATE: Doogie2K gave me some info in the comments about the jersey. Here it is:

The name is "Vyshedkevich."

Another sponsor is "BARKLI" (Barkley?).Also, the text under the #34 is "Olympic System". Dunno if that's a company, or a league promotion, or what.

Thanks for the help, D2K. If anyone wants to chime in on the jerseys, let me know in the comments.

NHL Jobs

Right now, I'm looking for a job. I have a job, of sorts, but it's much more on call than I like, and I'm used to a different sort of responsibility and stability level. So this seems like a good time to look around the Hockey job boards and see what's out there. I may not be qualified, but a man can dream.

Ice Technician - Columbus Blue Jackets/Nationwide Arena (Columbus, OH)

Have you ever wanted to drive the Zamboni? Or be the guy who walks the bowels of the rink, making sure the compressors are working? This is for you. Nationwide (if you haven't been) is really nice. Really nice. State of the art facilities here. Remember though, it's two rinks, so you may have a bigger workload than you expect. From the NHL Job Board:

Note: When you apply for this job online, you will be required to answer the following questions:

1. Yes/No: Do you have at least one year of full time experience at an ice facility in a position related to ice maintenance?

2. Yes/No: Do you have experience installing ice?

3. Yes/No: Do you have experience resurfacing ice?

Yes or No? I suck at those. OK. Next:

Manager, Public Relations - Madison Square Garden Networks (New York, NY)

MSG has a PR department? Who knew?

Director of Business Operations - San Antonio Rampage (San Antonio, TX)

Just like the beginning of Swingers, you can be the guy behind the guy behind the guy. But they have those pesky yes or now questions:

1. Yes/No: I have 2 years previous experience as director of hockey

2. Yes/No: I have a bachelors degree in marketing or sports management

Crap. What's a guy gotta do? Next!!!!

Mascot - San Antonio Rampage (San Antonio, TX)

This one gets the entire listing posted here:

Performs as the Hockey Mascot "T-Bone" for 45+ home Hockey games as well as back-up for Coyote and Silver Fox Mascot community appearances. Develop and implement skits and videos to provide high quality family entertainment. Must have good skating abilities and creative public entertainment background

Note: When you apply for this job online, you will be required to answer the following questions:

1. Do you have 2 years mascot performance experience?

2. Are you a proficient ice skater?

3. Do you have a flexible work schedule to include nights & weekends?

If only I had 2 years previous mascot experience, this blog would take on a whole new feel.

Here is the only one I am remotely qualified for (and it's pretty remote):

Coordinator of Broadcasting/New Media - Phoenix Coyotes (Phoenix, AZ)

The only thing I'm not up on is the video editing, but I am pretty qualified in all the audio related parts, and most of the video knowledge. How cool would that be? That would also mean being around Panger. I may actually have to submit a resume for that one. At least it would make for another good post.

A few other jobs out there in hockey:

The CHL is looking for On Ice Officials The Kalamazoo Wings are looking for an equipment manager So are the Rockford IceHogs

If you are looking for a job, and have always wanted to work in hockey, check out these links to the various job boards: NHL AHL ECHL CHL UHL USHL

Sorry, Canadians, I couldn't find any job boards for the Canadian Hockey League (For those who don't know, that's the Junior system in Canada) New jersey posting for Friday next

UPDATE: The job with the Coyotes is filled. But I am still sending a resume.

NHL: Yeah, You Heard Me

I would be really bad at marketing the NHL. I mean, I think about hockey a lot (too much to be healthy, but don't tell anyone), but I don't think I could come up with much that would bring hockey to the public. For instance:

NHL: Three letters from baseball.

Your momma loves the NHL so much, she's got Jeremy Roenick on speed dial.

NHL: wanna make something of it?

NHL: Bring me the head of Ron Tugnutt (a personal favorite)

NHL: lockout tested, mother approved.

See, nothing there. I do think I would be good in the one job in marketing they could have used last year. They guy who tells the NHL, "No." Aside from the asinine "My NHL" campaign, we got the "My Stanley Cup," featuring players from both final teams. Really, Chris, is it your Stanley Cup? Dumb, dumb, dumb. How about Roenick doing a "My Skate Sharpening," or Legace doing, "My Therapist Session?" Jesus, people. Didn't they have a whole lockout to think of something, even if they didn't have time to use the players by the time they got a deal?

For some reason, my RSS feed reader picked up this article, about the NHL hiring the marketing firm for the 2004-2005 season. Here's an excerpt:

"The relaunch of the league is in some ways similar to the launch of a movie, so we think our effort to come back with Conductor in a big, powerful and cinematic way is very appropriate," he said.

Kind of makes the "My NHL" ads and the "movie" (all the ads strung together to make one stupid storyline) a more understandable move. They hired a dumb ass company to do a dumb ass job. And that company fulfilled their dumb ass vision. I don't know if the NHL are continuing to use them this year, but I hope not. What will we be enticed with next? NHL 2: Attack of the Sedin Clones?

Actually, I do think I have a good one. Samuel L. Jackson, standing on the ice, just looks into the camera, and says, "We got mother f#$@ing hockey players on a mother f$#@ing plane." That will put some butts in some seats.

OLN and NBC releases it's schedule

With the Avalanche appearing seven times. For those in Colorado, you will most likely give a collective shrug. But for those of us who may not be in state, it is an excellent setup. Also, there are no Vancouver (Damn Dirty) Canucks games, which makes me do a dance of happiness (Canadians don't need OLN, as they have the CBC). Here are the Avs dates.

Oct 4th Dallas at Colorado (Opening Night!!!) Nov 20th Colorado at Dallas Jan 9th Detroit at Colorado Jan 15th Colorado at San Jose Jan 30th Nashville at Colorado Feb 13th Anaheim at Colorado Mar 6th Colorado at Boston

What will OLN bring to next season. With as much as they improved this past season, I'm hoping for big things. That is, if the announcers can stay on topic.

NBC also has it's schedule out , and it has three Avs games, and no Van-who?-ver. Here they are:

Jan 28th Colorado at Detroit Feb 11th Colorado at Dallas Mar 4th Colorado at Detroit

Three nationally televised games between Detroit and Colorado. See, somebody tell Bettman that rivalries are not something you can coax. Just because we play Minnesota eight times doesn't mean we can work up the same bile for them as for the Wings. Of course, some of that has been muted of late, but don't tell OLN or NBC that, or they might show more Panthers vs. Chicago games. Slow news day indeed.

The CBC and TSN have both released their schedules today. The Canadian viewing public gets the sheer pleasure of watching the Avs 5 times on TSN, and 7 times on the CBC. How lucky are they?

Also, today is the 18 year anniversary of the Gretzky trade from Edmonton to L.A. For some reading about it, go to Eyes On The Prize, with individual links to part 1, part 2, and part 3. Read it, it's worth it. At minimum, read part one. Part 3 gets pretty deep.

Things the Avs have to do to make the playoffs

Too early for this sort of thing? Sure! But, you know, the news isn't coming in hard and fast, so you got to do something. Also, with the Pepsi Center surrounded by fencing and barricades for the Denver Grand Prix, focus has shifted quite a bit around here.

So here are things the Avs need to do next season. No particular order, some may expire:

1) Svatos signs and plays 70 games minimum Let's be honest. We don't need another Forsberg right now, we need another Sakic. Missing the last 21 games of the season and all of the playoffs didn't help his cause, nor the Avs'. He's good, but he has his downside. Right now, he has to show a little longevity. (Or how about missing 78 games in 2003-04 with a shoulder injury?)

2) Hejduk needs to step up. Bad season last year, get back to normal this year. Nuff said.

3) Build on what you have. Don't look to who you need next trade deadline. The money is spent, the room isn't there. Work with what you have opening night, make that a contender.

4) Who's your third goalie? Vitaly Kolesnik came in to stop the bleeding at the right time. But he's gone (quietly signing in Russia for next year), so who's it going to be?

5) Get ready to take your farm system seriously. The Avs share an AHL affiliation with the Carolina Hurricanes. Why? Who knows. It doesn't really speak to the teams depth. They dropped the Hershey Bears before last season (who Washington picked up. Oh, yeah, and won the Calder Cup), and signed on with the Canes in Lowell. That arangement moves to Albany next season, and it's still a bad deal. Why? There's only so many games to go around. How do you squeeze enough game time in for your goalies, much less anybody else? Colorado needs to figure out that the farm system is important in the post cap era. We can't just buy a player when we need them anymore. And renting one at the trade deadline isn't going to be easy, either.

6) Turgeon and Brisebois, just retire or something. Look, guys, it's been fun, and hey, nobody expected you to be Forsberg or Foote last year, but we didn't expect you to be that... whatever that was last season. Just face it. We need you to step up, or step out. Nobody, and I mean nobody, cares which. You are very replaceable. Don't do us any favors.

7) Jose Hilton....Jeez, where to start? I swear, if he's out partying in LoDo, I will call The Mountain daily, and ask where the commitment is. He's got some serious work to do. He better do it. Strengthen that glove hand, and not just 12 OZ. at a time.

8) Lower ticket prices. This won't help the Avs get to the playoffs, but it will help me get there. I'm frickin broke right now, I can't afford you guys. I don't want to turn this into a Rocky Mountain Rage (CHL) blog. Looks like the TV will be my friend this year. I'd rather get center ice, and be able to see a replay once in a while. This would also help the "sellout streak." (why could I always get a single seat ticket the day of the game?)

This list is incomplete. Help me fill it in. Comments section is open.

Supporting the Avs

If you've been reading this lately, you know that Alanah at VCOE hates burritos. Sad, isn't it? Why she hates them, I have no idea. Something must have happened to traumatize her. Poor Alanah (If she gets to accuse me of being a Canucks fan, this is a small slight).

Since I was hungry last night, I went for more Avs support food. And I took the camera. Find the pictures here.

(or click on the small pics to go to the Hockey Photos page)

Do I feel silly defending burritos and blimps? Yes. Absolutely. But it's got to be done. Is this stupid as hell? You bet. But I've done stupider things (see item #2 here). This is not about flying burritos, it's about the Avs. And, to me, it's damn funny.

I promise some Avs and hockey talk soon. There just isn't much going on, so I'm amusing myself, and hopefully some others. Really, hockey talk. Soon.

Jersey: Orszagh game worn lockout jersey

Ah, jerseys from the lockout. So much stuff, so little money. There was a thread on The Ice Block a while back about whether or not lockout jerseys are cool or not. To that, I say, yeah, they're cool:

HKM Zvolen is a Slovakian team (for those who don't know). During the lockout, they took on a few NHLers, including Michal Handzus and Richard Zednik. Another they took, was Vladimir Orszagh.

Orszagh had a strange trip last year. Due to transfer agreement issues, he was "stuck" in Europe, playing for Lulea HF (Ingmar, any help here?). Finally something was ironed out, and he got back to the NHL. According to TSN, he was picked up as a UFA by Phoenix, signed a 2 year contract, then picked up on waivers by St. Louis the next day. ????????? Help me here. That seems really stupid. What was that about?

It would be foolish of me to say I know a lot about HKM Zvolen. What I do remember is how incredible the Slovak fans were at the World Cup of Hockey. They danced, cheered, sang, shouted, whistled, and the US fans? They waited to be told to make some noise. It was incredible.

There are no patches on this game-worn jersey, everything is sublimated. As an owner of a rink in Rhode Island told me, "It's amazing what they can do with sublimation." Dude was a former Whaler, so I am not going to disagree. Last time I was in RI, the rink had caught fire, and was still under repairs.

This is a standout jersey to me. It's just beautiful. Just the team logo on the front makes people stop and look. You can see them at games, as you pass in the halls. They look at you as you pass, wondering what it is you're wearing. I like to think it's with a little jealousy.

About Hockey Love

So far, with 6 jerseys posted (if you include the birthday jerseys), that part of my blog's title has been established. But what about the Hockey Love part? Simple.

I Love Hockey.

Yes, that seems simple enough, but that's not all there is to it. A lot of fans I have met love their team first, and not much else second. Not even the game. They just love their team. I found that attitude in plenty of places, but the most telling was in Philadelphia, PA, where a bartender told me, "We don't care about hockey, unless it's the Flyers." I don't know how he got his statistics, so don't go yelling at me about it. You can go tell him yourselves. If you want to know what bar he works at, you can ask. He did put the SCF on the TV for us, though.

As for me, I love hockey first, my teams second. I can go to a game, and be thoroughly entertained, and that means by just about any game. I don't really need a stake in the outcome, just two teams going at it. If I don't care who wins, I'll pull for the home team. Chances are, I'll see something at a game I have never seen before. I put a list of places I saw games last season here, at what I hope to be a side blog for my hockey travels, and only a few were boring. And those were REALLY boring, if I was bored.

In fact, there are only three teams I don't like, but if you have to ask, keep reading. They will pop up as I go along. And, if I have a chance, I'll go see these teams play, but you can bet I'll wear the opposing teams jersey if I have it..

Also, if you didn't know (which I didn't until after I have come up with the title), Mitch Hedberg, the excellent and late comedian from Minnesota, did some spots for the Atlanta Thrashers, called Hockey Love. I think Mitch was one of the funniest comedians out there, and love his work. Even so, I didn't care for the ads too much. They didn't seem like hockey to me. Still, how cool is it that the Thrashers got him to do these? Now, these are owned and copywriten by the Thrashers, and I don't know if I could put them up here, but they aren't too hard to find, like if you searched on google for hockey love Mitch Hedberg, you might find them at some fan site.

Hockey kicks my a$$ all the time. The more I find out, the more fascinated I am with it. The good, the bad, the stupid. The business, the sport, the skill, all of it. The more I watch, the more I see. and the more I enjoy.

That's hockey love. If you have some hockey love, spread it. It's the summer of hockey love.

ESPN and Hockey

Christy from Behind the Jersey left a message on VancouverCanucksOpEd (did you follow that) which got me ranting a bit. Before I posted my comment there, I decided to use my own soapbox, rather than clog up VCOE's comment section. Full credit to both of them for the inspiration on this one. (Read how it all started here)

Christy wrote:

It's because ESPN is changing how people view sports. I just don't get how poker, spelling bees, etc do better on ESPN than hockey - it's just sad. And it pisses me off when people say poker is a sport or billiards.

Here's the deal (a lot of what follows is pure speculation, and has no real hard numbers to back it up. I do not have that kind of access. Work with me here):

Spelling bees, poker, darts, eating (did you know they have their own federation?), billiards, the key component to all of these is that they come cheap. They cost little or nothing to get the rights to, and are very cheap to produce. A few cameras, a minimal crew, many broadcasts don't go out live, so you can edit later, all of that adds up to huge savings. Compare that to the high price of broadcasting hockey, and the limited ability to place commercials. Hockey has too many commercial breaks for all of us, but not for the broadcaster. Look at MLB, and all the commercial breaks they have, and nobody minds watching, because that's the pace of baseball.

What about the ratings? Sure, poker, eating, all that. They get some numbers, but that's for now. I truly believe those numbers will plummet, especially when people understand the formula of these shows. For instance, if someone in poker goes "all in" with five minutes left in the hour, they lose. It's really predictable, which hockey isn't. It can't be molded by ESPN. It just happens, and then ends. Most of this ESPN programming is circus. And after a while, it gets boring.

I want to pour my support behind OLN (I refuse to call them Versus, and would have hoped they'd come to their senses by now). They vastly improved the quality of the broadcast, hired some decent people (Eddie O. is a favorite, now they should hire Cammi Granato), the camera operators got better, and provided programming beyond the game, which ESPN does not have the time, space, or caring to do. OLN also started to be less of a pain about broadcasting into markets like New York on certain providers (DISH?). They seemed to get their s#!+ together, and look to only improve. If hockey has a lot of "small market" teams (something I'll get into one day), OLN is the right size for that. They also have the room to expand on hockey. Classic games (if they can get the rights), original programs, Slapshot late at night once a month. OLN does seem to care.

ESPN is no longer the place for the NHL. ESPN continued to squeeze hockey around the NBA as they got more popular, and things would be even worse with MNF. The NHL needed somebody to bring hockey back to the fans, before bringing it back to the masses. ESPN can't do that. They may have College hockey (do they have it again next year) on ESPNU, but that is a little different, for a different market.

All ESPN has to offer is distribution. As the 2003-04 season proved, that did not equate to a large audience. But is it that America didn't care about hockey? Or ESPN not caring about hockey? I don't tolerate the America doesn't care argument, and will rant at another time about that, too. For instance, the WJC held in North Dakota a few years ago, mid lockout, and there was virtually no promotion on ESPN about it. The only hockey going all season, and it got neglected. That wasn't "America," that was ESPN.

ESPN has bought the rights for MLS soccer (26 games on Thursday nights, 3 playoff games). This is the first time ESPN will pay for MLS. This is all about capitalizing on the World Cup.

Oh, by the way, don't be too surprised if the Monday Night Football was in the plans long before the lockout, or the Bettman greed.

If you want any insight into what happened to ESPN, and how they operate under the Disney Corp., check out "Disney War," by James B. Stewart. It's thick, but a page turned. What happened to ESPN management is just amazing.

Like I said, most of that is just a rant. I don't have numbers, nor a ton of insight (maybe a little). You are more than welcome to disagree. Maybe you know something I don't (and, yes, I know there are probably some hard feelings both ways). But next time you see poker, or one of these type of shows, take a look at how easy it is to do. And how cheap. And think of how easy it was to let hockey take a walk.

Wow, that was a rant. I feel a little better, now. Back to the jocularity tomorrow.

Thin Air: Some sunday reading

There hasn't been much hockey news of interest for the moment. I've been sitting around the apartment waiting for something to happen, just trading barbs around the web. If you are stuck for some entertainment, give these a shot:

Ingmar Bergman Shoots... And Scores! talks about why Swedes are Evil. Funny as hell. Then click around for some good hockey-related photoshopping.

American Hockey Fan is the funniest hockey blog out there, bar none. Go there and read some great stuff. Click around the archives, read some more. You won't be disappointed.

Kukla's Korner has all the hockey news you need, and has added some outside bloggers to the site. There's a really good post about the new CBA, and the ramifications for teams trying to keep a roster around.

Reality Check has a list of hockey quotes. Take a look.

Zanstorm has some drunken ramblings about the Florida Panthers and the playoffs. You can skip the first ten, but tune in for the second. This is what Capt. Morgan's does to a man.

There's lots of other good stuff out there. Some of it is even hockey related, like Bergman's salary analysis, or Sidearm Delivery talking about Russian hockey players. But for the most part, things are seeming a little snarky, and I enjoy snarky.

As ever, click around, get some flavor. When the season starts, there's going to be a barrage of posts. Get in early, so you can say you knew them back in the day. Which Dane Cook says was a Wednesday. Go figure.

Open Training Camp

At the start of the 2003-04 season, I was working in St. Louis for 9 weeks, with a theater schedule that gave me most weekdays off. The Blues were holding training camp at the Savvis Center, with practice and scrimmages open to the public. They provided schedules, "rosters," and free bubble hockey. Life was good.

Training camp gave me more insight to the team, and certainly into who was waiting in the wings. You can read the names, look at the stats, but seeing the players skate gives you a much better understanding of the makeup of things. We were picking out some of out favorites (Sejna, Beckford-Tseu), figuring out who would make it, and picking abstract colors to win the scrimmages (if I picked the yellow jerseys, the girlfriend would pick white). It was fun, it was free, and it gave me a better appreciation of the Blues. When I saw the Worcester IceCats that year, and Colin Hemingway signed my puck, I knew who he was, and was more excited about it than if he were just some name in a book.

The point is: Which teams are doing this? Who has open training camps? I always seem to find out about these things when it's too late. If you know of any, put it down in the comments, would you?

Pictures from said training camp are here. Enjoy.

I Have Returned, Well Fed, From the Burrito Emporium

Mmmmmm....Burrito.....

Today,VancouverCanucksOpEd pokes fun of the Avalanche's Chipotle blimp flying around the rink. Before reading on, I really suggest you go over there right now, and take a quick read of the post. Just like you'd expect from Canuck's fans, it has big pictures, and mostly small words. I'll wait while you read.

Back so soon?

Of course, upon seeing this, I had to go right out and support my Avalanche by eating a burrito. A very tasty one, with chicken and salsa, garnished with a little Smoked Tabasco sauce. Very satisfying. I could almost taste the consecutive sellout streak, or even a Joe Sakic wrist shot. Made me proud to be an Avs fan.

What disturbs me is the apparent promotion of whale consumption by the Canucks. The Avs put a finely wrapped burrito in the air, and I get hungry for burritos. Simple, easy, connect the dots stuff, right? The Canucks put a whale in the air, and what happens? Fans get hungry for whale. But look at that whale. There is no indication of where to go to get said whale. Is Robert Luongo bringing a chain of whale fast food joints to Vancouver? Probably not. So, to help support the team, what is your average fan to do? Get on a boat and hunt the whale down themselves? Not very practical. You don't want your fans leaving the arena in the middle of the game, because some blimp flew by and now they hunger for whale. Is that really the time to find a boat that will take you whale hunting? And then what are they going to do? Eat a whole whale? I can eat a whole burrito (in fact, I just did). Are there whale sandwiches being sold in the arena? We don't have whale burritos here.

What happens when Fin, the Canucks mascot walks by, after that whale ha been flying by all intermission. I'll tell you, he's gonna lose a leg (since when do whales have legs?). It's going to be like Dawn of the Dead for whale mascots. And who pays the price? The fans. Always the fans. Suddenly, Fin needs a security detail, maybe a Plexiglas encased car like the Pope has. Now, it's suddenly become a very dangerous job. And the insurance, don't get me started on the insurance. Why do you want to eat the mascot, Canucks fans? Wouldn't a nice, tasty burrito be so much better?

To VCOE, I extend the olive branch. I know you don't understand our desire to eat burritos (in my time in Canada, it was near impossible to find a burrito, maybe because burritos = Avs). That's OK. If you ever come to Colorado, I'll take you out for one. But it would probably help if you free Willy.

PS: What about the floating octopus in Detroit. Ick.

Jersey: Cincinnati Mighty Ducks GW

Tale of One City, or Tale of Two Jerseys, Part Two:

So this is the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (you think so, Tapeleg? It only says right there), the cross town competition to the Cincinnati Cyclones. That's right, Cincinnati supported two different minor league hockey teams. Cleveland couldn't even support one. Ha! Take that, Cleveland! But, of course, support dwindled, the Clones folded, and then, the next year, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks took their toys to Portland, Maine, to go play with the Pirates and Comedian Bob Marley. Sure, Anaheim...Portland... Sure, that makes sense. The jersey you see here was from that final season.

Look at that duck. Look at him. I know you want to look away, as he strikes hockey fear into your fragile heart, but you have to look. That is one tough duck. Did you know ducks could get black eyes? No, because you have never punched a duck. Not in the face, at least. But this duck, he has seen it all. He's seen into the souls of the hockey players around him, and he knows what makes men tough. This is one rough and tumble duck, sometimes using two sticks to get his point across. He will look at you, the deep hard look. Then he will look some more He will ask you, "Do you want to go?" But you don't speak duck, so yo don't know what he said. But, in your heart, you know. You know he is ready to go, any time, any place. That is one tough duck.

Holmqvist? Doesn't he play for Chicago? Yes, he does, traded to the Hawks last season. Mikael Holmqvist was the Ducks first round pick in 1997. He played in Europe for a long time before playing in the US. His first year in the states, he made it to the NHL. Not bad. But I don't know much about the story here, and some of the details lead me to believe there is a story. Like why did he play in Europe for 7 years before playing for the Ducks? Why was a number one pick traded after two years (one being the lockout) with the organization?

I don't know. Maybe Earl Sleek at Battle of California can help a little. All I know is, I have his jersey. I get one question overall about this game-worn jersey. "Aren't the Mighty Ducks in California?" Yes. Yes, they are.

Update: I'm an idiot. That's not really an update, but a continuation. Apparently, my small brain can not handle two Cincinnati jerseys on the same blog, so I screwed up with the title of this post. I corrected it, so if you get two posts, of something strange with links, I am very sorry. I call myself on the carpet, and will be kicking my @$$ later.

The Only Avs Jersey with #60 I'll Buy

But which style?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! HAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAH!!!!

You can make your own, too. Just to NHL dot com, go to the shop, pick a jersey, punch in what you want,and you can see a preview.
So if you are from Sweden, you might get this:

Or if you want a New Jersey Devils jersey, you might enjoy this:

Alas, you can not get a Red Wings jersey that says "SUCK." Not because it isn't true, but because it's language deemed inappropriate.
I decided to head people off at the pass with that one.

A real jersey goes up tomorrow. Am I posting too much? I don't care, I have a lot to post right now.

McLean signs, eats up Svatos money

Finally, some hockey news from the Avs. Just not the news I wanted. From the Colorado Avalanche website:

DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced that it signed center Brett McLean to a one-year deal late Thursday night avoiding an arbitration hearing that was scheduled for Friday.

Of course this tickles my worry meter. Money for McLean means less money for Svatos. I expect him to sign elsewhere soon, unless there is some sort of incentive magic to be worked out (ala HAsek and the Wings). I haven't seen the numbers for McLean yet, but after throwing dumb money at Arnason, Rycroft, Klee, and others, what is left for the Avs to do? Someone find me some cap space. Trade Brisebois or Turgeon, have a bake sale, do something. McLean is not worth Svatos, Sauer is not worth Svatos... If Svatos can hack out an entire season. I talked about it here. Wait for the Wings fans to start laughing at us shortly, but don't take it personally. They've had a rough off season too.

5 Weird Things

I have been tagged in the early rounds by Christy at Behind The Jersey (started by Mike Chen here), and as stupid as this may sound, I'm honored. BtJ is a really good blog, and even though it's about the Red Wings, you should be reading it. I've been tagged early, even though I'm new to all this, and I'm an "evil Avalanche fan." Hey, we're all evil, we love hockey. My five things: 1) I am a USA Hockey referee. That's right. Go ahead, catch your breath. OK? I got my certification last year, but still haven't worked my first game. There are lots of reasons I haven't, including the fact that I still haven't bought a ref's jersey, but there you go. If you find a slight bias about the refs on this site, you can blame that. Some say if you can't play, you ref, and I probably fit that. I just started playing a few years ago, and I suck, so I'm OK with that description. I like the idea of being involved with the game at ice level, and this is an appealing way. Now stop laughing. (I still think Mick MaGoo has no place in the NHL) 2) I broke both my arms in a scooter accident last year. That probably wasn't what you were expecting. Well, what can I say. It happened, and was a pretty significant event. I have two plates in my left arm, and one in my right. If it wasn't for my helmet, I wouldn't be here today. I crashed into the back of a smaller car, went through my windshield, his rear window, then delivered the quote of the year: "What do you suppose just happened?" For what it's worth, I'm fine, but I have no slapshot, and am weary of trying. If you are lucky, I'll post pictures of the scars, but for now, this is what the scooter looked like afterwards. 3) I used to have lots of hair. See that picture in the top right corner of the blog? I'm the one on the right. The one without the hair. My hair used to be big, messy, and unkempt. If I had my way, I would have all the evidence destroyed. 4) I work in musical theatre. For the last several years, I've been touring the country, working as crew for Broadway musicals. I've been through most of the US, as well as Toronto (6 months in 1998) and Montreal (2 weeks in 1999). At work, I usually wear a hockey jersey. 5) I didn't see my first live hockey game until 2003 That was Buffalo @ Atlanta, which went to overtime, and triggered some repressed memories of watching Gretzky win a cup on TV when I was younger. I haven't been the same since. This is fun. I get to tag American Hockey Fan (both of them), Wild Puck Banter (first person to post a comment on my blog), Army of Ohio, and Zanstorm @ Waiting for Stanley I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm here for the conversation. And I think it takes two things to have that conversation, hockey and personality. This is all about personality. So, in the next few days, I'll put a list of "5 weird things" posts up here. Get to know about the people you read. And quit staring at me like that. It's just 5 things. You don't know the rest.

"Bring Me the Head of Ron Tugnutt"

Who should be attributed with that quote? ME!!!!

During the 2003-04 playoffs, Avs vs. Stars, Marty Turco faltered a little, and waiting in the wings was Ron Tugnutt. I didn't think too much of Tugs, and as the game went on, and the Avs kept dumping the puck behind the net, which Marty could handle easily, I would shout out, "Tugnutt! Bring me the head of Ron Tugnutt!!!"

Flash forward to a few days ago, when my girlfriend was visiting. She had purchased from ebay a massive stack of Avalanche and Nordiques hockey cards. There were some cool items in there, like a few rookie cards, and some real nostalgia. The best, for me, were these:

Oh, yes, Tugnutt. I own you.

I know he is regarded as a god in Columbus, and made a long career as an NHL goalie, and that he used to play for the Nordiques (duh). But it's Ron Tugnutt, least feared goalie. I'd feel bad for him, but I don't.

God bless you, Tugnutt, wherever you are.

Jerseys: Cincinnati Cyclones

This is a Tale of One City, or a Tale of Two Jerseys, Part One:

Making a comeback this year are the Cincinnati Cyclones. The Clones went away a few years ago, after being taken over by the owners of the arena. Part of the problem was the competition by the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, who played in the older rink across town.. After dwindling attendance, the Clones took a hiatus, which looked to be permanent. But after the CinDucks went away (Anaheim changed affiliates), and the potential revival of the AHL failed (Cincinnati RailRaiders? Yeah, right. "Lets go RailRaiders" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue), the Clones decided the time is now. Next season, they make their return to the ECHL, stranding Cincinnati with only one hockeyless year.

Stork. What a great name. Dean Stork. Stork is pretty much a mainstay of the ECHL. He took a mid season eye injury last season, but came back. For a d-man, his numbers are OK, but had a minus 15 last year. Why Stork? Because I could get it. This one came from Meigray, and I really like this jersey. Notice the lace in front has been replaced with a skate lace. The original lace was lost in the wash, so the entire jersey is not game-worn. But I like the look of the skate lace, I did it to another jersey (UHL 2005 AllStar).

The shoulder patches have a small story. On most of the Cyclones jerseys I've seen, there is one design or the other on the shoulders, not both. The one on the right is an update of the old Cyclones jersey design, which had the Jason Friday the 13th hockey mask on a similar pose. That was back in the IHL days for the Cyclones. Somewhere, I have the worst of beater jerseys with that old logo as an iron-on in front. This jersey, on the other hand, is a favorite.

News Flash: Dean Stork was just named Assistant Coach for the Cyclones. I can't wait to go back and see them now.

Avs Lines at this Point

I know, as an "Avalanche Blogger," I'm supposed to be looking at the make up of lines. It's my duty, it's what I'm supposed to do. I chose to accept this mission, and the tape has self-destructed.

I can't do it.

Not yet at least. Last time I did, things started falling into place, making a little sense. I could see who went where. Then I found out about Stastny and Klee getting signed, realized I'd missed the signing of Rycroft, and realized that arbitration with McLean would have a lot of impact on things. Then I read The Hockey News' depth charts, and my head exploded. I'm not sure what's going where at this point, and won't act like I do.

Also, I'm now under the assumption the Avs will dump the high scoring antics of yester-year. So many scorers are going or gone, and the defensive focus is becoming obvious. The question is, what does The Q see in his team? How will the previous members of the team adjust? And then, how will the fans adjust?

Go get a copy of The Hockey News, your brain will explode. Mmmm... Brain-explodey.

BTW: I just made my first real post at my Hockey Travel Blog, with photos linked at the bottom. I want to put more up there (such as my UHL road trip), but my focus is this blog right now. Go over there and take a look. It's fun for me. Maybe it will be for you, to. Or you will hate it, and want to destroy. Then you can wear this jersey. It's a pretty cool jersey.

Jersey: World Cup of Hockey

It's time for a new jersey post: 2004 World Cup of Hockey As you can see, the sleeves feature the logos of all the countries participating. Notice the glare on the main chest logo? That's because it's not a patch, but more like an iron-on. It's a high quality iron-on, but I don't know how durable it's going to be. After I bought it, the arena (Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn) sold out. I got one of the last ones there. Of course, you could buy them from most places like River City Sports, but I still got pretty lucky. What's that scribbling on the sleeve: That's from Buzz Schneider, member of the Miracle on Ice 1980 Olympic team. Stupid of me not to have him sign it around the USA logo. I didn't know enough about him at the time, because I am an idiot. Really nice guy. This is from a less nice guy: Yep, that's from Brett Hull. I got that outside the hotel, just passing by, and there he was. We had stayed at the same hotel as the players for the first few games, then moved somewhere cheaper for the rest. Leaving town, after USA had be eliminated, after Hull had been benched, after he said he didn't give a f**k about the fans, I nailed him. I went up to him, started to ask for the sig, and he took the jersey, signed it, and gave it back, not even acknowledging my presence. I told him it was too bad the way things worked out, and left. You can see what washings have done to his signature, but Buzz's is left untouched. That is not just a perfect analogy, but a reminder: Bring a Rub-A-Dub Sharpie to the game. The World Cup of Hockey was one of the most fun trips I ever took. My girlfriend and I bought our first hockey cards, ate sushi with Gary Thorne (nicest guy in the world), drank around Robert Esche, and had a great vacation. Next came the lockout, so it was the last hockey played at that level for a while. I'm lucky to have gone. To me, it's sad they are discontinuing the World Cup of Hockey (or Canada Cup, if you prefer). It's the perfect world stage, the NHL gets some needed money, it's off season, so the teams get to practice together, and recover from injury, and doesn't scrunch up the regular season. How cool was it to have games in Europe and North America? All your favorite players, with a chance to play as a team, with time to become a team, what more could you want? Bring back the World Cup. We need it. For photos from my WCH trip, click here. Fun stuff.

Leopold: Damaged Goods...

So, again, the Avs have gotten a player who isn't ready to suit up. Jordan Leopold had hernia surgery Tuesday, and needs 10 to 12 weeks to recover. What? Did anyone know about this? Was this something I missed (not uncommon lately, as I missed the signing of Rycroft buried in the news)? Leopold will not be ready for training camp, and maybe not for the opener (most likely). This is going to put him a step behind the rest of the team from the start. The lockout showed us all how important playing games are versus just skating and drilling. Dude is going to miss ice time with his new team, the new systems, and getting used to his new defensive partners. I expect The Q will be shuffling him around quite a bit, wondering where the magic is. See that worry meter over there? It is supposed to gauge my feelings towards this team, and should be moving around a lot. I haven't had a reason to move it up, and won't move down into the black until news of Svatos comes in. But this makes me wish there was some color between rust orange and black. For the sake of reportage, here is the Rocky Mountain News article about it. It's much more interesting than the Avs release. And, depending on how he does here, I have a nickname cooked up for Leopold. Skate, man, Skate.

Fraserated

Kerry Fraser was on XM when I came home tonight. I do not care what you think of him. I really don't. I have tremendous respect for him. He works his a$$ off, harder than most, and when he works a game, I know what to expect, fairness as far as he sees. He has missed calls, and admits it, so what more can you do? Everybody hates the refs, at least some, but at least Fraser admits he misses stuff. Imagine Mick McGough saying that. I want to like the refs, and this is one who I do.

HAsek: Wings and a Prayer

HAsek makes his return to the Red Wings. Seriously. No, really. Stop that laughing. I don't have the brain power to analyze the move right now. For some really takes, go to Abel2Yzerman, and Behind The Jersey. These are two Wings blogs, which know their s#!+. They have thought, pondered, consumed, digested, and made some semblance of sense of this thing. The JAHL take: I only have opinion. HAsek was a stud for the Wings in the past, but not in the recent past. In 03-04, he left mid season due to injury, and the did the same thing for Ottawa. I hope it doesn't happen again, because if it does, cap friendly is not going to be enough of a reason to bring him back again. The Wings passed on Belfour, as we can see now, not because of age or injury, but because of money. One aging hipster for another. There has to be some serious concern in the dressing room. I don't think he was faking injury last season, like some people have thought.. The whole "being cute and ambiguous" thing probably plays better in more laid back continents (yes, like Europe) than here, where money, expectations, and reality are all at the game show level. I hear th Wings are going to try to trade Jimmy Howard to the Coyotes for Cujo. Because hey, wasn't the 2003-04 season so much fun?

(BTW, two posts today, enjoy them both)

Blogs, Blogging, and Bloggerish...

There's a lot going on today, and this past week in the world of hockey blogs. More than just bloggers talking about other bloggers, but some great stuff. I had a visit from the Significant Lighting Person (girlfriend), so I didn't have much time for posting. I'll just point you to the good stuff: Blogging and Journalism: Abel2Yzerman had some good stuff to say about bloggers vs. the mainstream media. Here's what I really liked:

Sports blogging seems to carry with it a sense of courtesy that doesn't exist in the mainstream media. If a story, or thought, originates somewhere; that writer is referenced. It's natural and it happens every day at every blog. Mainstreamers? Not so much.

A2Y is a Red Wings blog. There's no disputing that. But it's a really good blog(who had a nice thing to say about this blog). And this is, among other things, an Avs blog. Our teams will battle it out, the rivalry will continue, and I will read what A2Y has to say, all the time. The cool thing is, there may be jibes, there may be cracks, but in the end, I'm not trying to sell myself over other blogs, like newspapers do. Here's a little more from A2Y:

It's courtesy, and-bottom line-it"s good journalism because it gives your readers more choices, more options to formulate their own opinion.

Journalism? I couldn't think of myself as a journalist. I would rather have a "take" on something than reporting, which is a form of journalism, I guess, but not really what I'm going for. I want to join in the conversation, and make some laughter, too. I want to take the aggravating, soulless, faceless Avs, and inject a little humanity into it. I want to say how I feel without being all "Rah-Rah-Rah." Look at the Acid Queen, or Sidearm Delivery, or a lot of great blogs, and you find that. You find a voice, not just reportage. You get a take, and you get an opinion. Perhaps, my favorite part of the blogs I read is that they have no censor. It's opinions, it's thoughts, and it's done to the beat of it's own drum. Mainstreamers have to worry about upsetting the fan base, employerloyeer, the censors, and mostly, they teams they report on. I can kick dirt, call names, bash players, and be more grounded in reality, because I have no credentials to pull (and sometimes, no credibility). That's freedom, baby. Kukla has a brand new gig: Paul Kukla of Kukla's Korner (where I get all my NHL news first, and so should you) just got the dream job. No, not backup goalie for the Islanders. He is the new blogger for the NHL. This is his first blog entry. Good for him. I hope the NHL lets him have the voice he has, ala what I just wrote above. This is like Steven Wright getting his gig on Carson, and maybe getting some fame and recognition for other bloggers. I hope things don't end up the same way as the Boston comedy scene. Go watch When Standup Stood Out, and you will see what I mean. I just watched it, and it sticks in my mind, maybe because I've seen the same thing before. VCOE and the charity run: Do you remember vancouvercanucksoped was doing the Blogothon, 24 hours of blogging for charity? Did you read it? You should. For as long as Alanah was up, she kept it together posting some great stuff. Funny, interesting, and wildly entertaining. Go read, post a comment or send some feedback, and let her know. Appreciate some good work for a good cause. You will be rewarded with talking monkeys. Site Meter: So, I decided to put a site meter on the blog. I guess that means I'm ready to be readprobablyobobly means I'll look at it too much for now, but it's fade. I figure it's only other bloggers looking at JAHL, linked from one sidebar or another. That's fine, I figure sooner or later, some other people who want some Avs and jersey fun will start looking around. I'm a little nervous, putting what I have to say out there, but it's pretty boring to just think things. I'm here to have the conversation. So conversate. Verbage: JAHL has the right to verbize nouns, renoun verbs, adverb nouns, and generally mess witEnglishnglish language as seen fit to emote, explain, or entertain. You can thank Warren Ellis for that. He does it the best. But he is rather insane, so click with caution.