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.