hlog {Hockey's Ladies of Greatness}

Sunday Seven

2009-05-10T14:18:00.003-05:00

As you may have noticed, there hasn't been a Friday Five in a while. I've been crazy busy. Sorry about that, school ate my soul. Unfortunately this summer I will not have internet access for the most part of the summer, so if someone wants to take over, have at it! I'll post my final one today.

1.) Who do you want to win the Cup?
2.) What are you most looking forward to this summer?
3.) Do you have any sweet scars? Did you make up an awesome story to go with them?
4,) What is the best kind of breakfast cereal?
5.) Do you like camping?
6.) What NHL player age 25 and under would you like to kidnap?
7.) What is your favorite chick flick?

Do you love hockey?

2009-05-01T23:48:00.001-05:00

Got this from some of my hockey ladies, Wrap and Dani, and since I'm already booooorrrrreeeedddd with the offseason, I figured I'd cut and paste questions and answer them--yay! Answers include AMS and NHL bits.

(x-posted to I Mean, We Got Guys...)

1) What's (Who's?) your favorite team?
AMS and Carolina hurricanes

2) What's your least favorite team?
Chiefs, 'Tips, Detroit Red Wings

3) Who's your favorite player?
Eric Staal, Tomas Kaberle, and this (past?) season, Mitch Fadden

4) Who's your least favorite player?
Mitch Wahl, Dustin Tokarski (sorry Wrap), Boogaards, Brooks Orpik (broke Erik Cole's neck)

5) Favorite American team?
umm, the Americans. Carolina Hurricanes.

6) Favorite Canadian team?
Maple Leafs, umm, Kelowna Rockets except this (past?) years' playoffs...

7) Favorite International team?
CANADA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8) Who's your favorite goalie?
Cam Ward, Tyler Weiman :)

9) Least favorite goalie?
Kent Simpson. Martin Brodeur (if you know me, it's often a compliment when you're my least favorite--it means you've done some damage against my team)

10) Favorite fighter?
uhhh Cam McCaffrey, Brendan Shinniman LOL, Clayton Stoner, Logan Stephenson

11) Least favorite fighter?
Alexander Semin. Did you see him bitch slap Marc Staal? epic.

12) Favorite jersey/uniform/outfit/sweater?

AMS blues, my Butterfield jersey from MDA skills challenge, hopefully Fadden and Reese jerseys...

13) Least favorite jersey/uniform/outfit/sweater?
wow, there's so many fugly ones. Kelowna's stupid cartoon dragon, umm...Nashville's old baby shit brown/yellow 3rds

14) Do you like home, away, or "third" jerseys best?
Depends on the team. I lurve Carolina's new black 3rds. I have GOT to get me one of those.

15) Who do you want to win the Cup?
Carolina!! or Pittsburgh. I'd be ok with Chicago as well

17) Which player would you most like to sit and have coffee with?
Cole Butterfield. Tomas Kaberle.

18) What about a beer?
my AMS (lol, all underage--OOOOPS! good thing this isn't real), the Staal brothers (hear they get silly), Ryan Kinasewich (maybe a bad idea...) CHAD LAROSE!!!

19) How about just watch the game with?
Dion Phanuef. Or anyone else who is pretty but stupid so watching the game wouldn't involve much conversation.

20) Have an in-depth hockey conversation with?
Don Nachbaur. Darrell Hay. Any player who's not just a pretty face, but also not someone who will just feed me tired cliches. Guess that's why the question says "in-depth" eh?

21) Do you collect hockey cards, memorabilia, etc?
Signed jerseys, signed sticks, trying to build up collection of game-worn jerseys...

22) If so, what's your favorite card?
no cards. Favorite stick is the one BFF got the whole team to sign for my b-day in 2004 :)

23) Which is worth the most, and what's it worth?
Probably not a lot of monetary value in the shit I have collected, but a whole lot of sentimental value.

24) Do you live by any hockey players?
umm, creepy questions, I have no idea? None that I'm aware of.

26) Do you play hockey?
Nope

27) What do you wear to hockey games?
Usually jeans, AMS hoodie. or red or blue sweater over white tee. try to either wear team gear or at least a lot of red and/or blue.

28) Do you have any "watching hockey rituals" or anything anyone might consider weird?
Must be to rink in time to see warmups. Red Rope licorice.

29) What's your favorite hockey memory (as a fan?)
Western Conference playoff series against Spokane 2008, b-day 2004 (see stick story), kissing Stanley Cup, Carolina's cup run 2006

30) What's your favorite hockey commercial?
Verizon--"Best baby in the world!" I also liked the "is this the year?" ads? great use of great photos.

31) Who's the nicest player you've met?
Mitch McColm. Clayton Stoner. Jarrett Toll. Jason Reese.

32) Rudest/meanest/most annoying, etc?
Dylan Stanley.

33) Who's the best looking (AKA 'off ice favourite')
The Staals, Tomas Kaberle, Mitch Fadden (to me), Brooks Macek (it just cannot be denied people), Clayton Stoner, Benoit Pouliot.

34) Other off-handed/off-ice comments?
Goalies like a tight 5-hole.

35) Why do you really like hockey?
It's amazingness. I slip and fall even looking at ice, these guys play a fast-paced exciting sport while flying around on thin metal blades strapped to their feet. It's the speed, the non-stop action. It's the smell of the rink (sweat, ice, diesel, concessions). It's the way the ice reflects the light after being zambonied. It's bodies slamming each other, all for the chance to get 6 ounces of galvanzied rubber past a crazy person who willfully puts himself (or herself) in a position to be attacked by hard rubber pucks coming at crazy speeds.

Pens vs Caps

2009-05-01T15:25:00.004-05:00

Foreshadowing maybe?

Regardless - Let's Go PENS!!!

The Hariest Post Ever

2009-04-21T14:05:00.005-05:00

Ahh, playoff traditions. College teams go blonde, the Bears have their mohawks (hopefully to be unveiled tomorrow night,) the Caps grow their beards (and Mike Green rocks the 'hawk), and hair insanity overtakes the hockey leagues of the world. The playoff beard phenomenon has its own entry on Wikipedia; the Caps are encouraging it with their Beardathon, in short, the playoff beard is overtaking the D.C. area quickly.

But wait, I said. BUT WAIT.

For those of you who haven't yet picked up on this, I'm ridiculously female. Sadly, all I've managed to grow on my chin thus far is a bumper crop of pimples (and don't ask me where those came from, I'm not amused either.) No matter how much time I spend gritting my teeth and trying to pop out that magnificent handlebar mustache I've always wanted, I just don't seem to be getting past the Nicklas Backstrom Blonde Peach Fuzz stage.

The Caps' Club Scarlet has been little to no help in the female beard growing efforts, staying mostly silent on this horrible peach fuzz pandemic sweeping through 50% of Caps Nation..... so what, oh what's a girl to do?

My solution? Freakin' grow it somewhere else.

I had three choices as I saw them, and only two were fit for a mostly family-friendly blog. (although there was some discussion of rockin' the hawk in an uh... southern.... manner.) But anyway, I saw two options.

Sadly, after living with myself for 23 years, I knew that my legs would never get past the patchy-lost-razor stage of Sidney Crosbyitis. With no Italian or Spanish influence in my background, the blondeish-brownish Irish/German leg hair gene was going to leave me in the lurch.

"Allright then, self," I said to myself. "Armpits it is."

So here, in all its glory, I give you the initial photo of Playoff Pits '09. I haven't touched a razor since the Bears home closer, so this is almost a week and a half's worth of growth: 4/12-4/21.

(Also please to be keeping in mind how hard it is to take pictures of your own armpits.)

Ryan Whitney I'm not, but I'm hoping to give Boyd Gordon a run for his money eventually.

Any other ladies out there in on this? We too, can turn into yetis for our team... just... less visibly!

(x-posted to Talk Hockey To Me as well

MN Wild playoff preview

2009-04-16T20:43:00.004-05:00

J/K! There isn't one! The Wild missed the playoffs by 2 points, but maybe that was a good thing, because Doug Risebrough, the former GM of the team, got FIRED! Most Wild fans are pretty stoked about this, myself included. Maybe this will be the shakeup this team needs to get it together and get good. You have to be bad before you can be good, and maybe if we are bad and patient, we'll get some good, young players who actually want to be there.

If you are a Wild fan, you should pick a different team. Elise and I have decided on Chicago, though I'm sure neither of us would die if Oshie picked up a goal or two for the Blues.

In the east I'm all about the Habs. Four Habs Fans will provide excellent insight as usual, and I really, really hope they tell the Bruins to shove it.

If your team didn't make the playoffs, or even if they did and you are mad at them, who are you cheering for?

Friends Don't Let Friends Act Badly

2009-04-16T13:14:00.001-05:00

(Cross posted at Couch Tarts)

What do you do when your team gets eliminated from the playoffs in early March? You make an awesome commercial making fun of other hockey players in bad commercials.

Thank you Atlanta Thrashers for giving me something to distract me from my playoff panic. You have done great work.

From Deadspin from Videogum

Carolina playoff preview

2009-04-14T19:04:00.004-05:00

The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the hottest teams since the trade deadline. March 4th brought fan favorite and Eric Staal's BFF, Erik Cole back to the 'Canes. Cole hadn't fared well in Edmonton and JR didn't hesitate to bring him back to the Triangle. What else do they have going for them heading into the playoffs?

Goaltending--Cam Ward has been simply outstanding. He was given NHL's Star of the Month for March. He started in 27 straight games (pulled in the 27th, a loss...duh). He's been sharp, confident, and consistent. It's the Cam Ward that won the Conn Smythe in 2006. There may be trouble if Leighton is needed in playoffs, it's been a while since he's seen significant ice time.

Defense--Wait, this is Carolina, right? Since when did they get a solid defense? Joni Pitkanen, Anton Babchuk, Nic "Secret Weapon" Wallin, Dennis Seidenberg, Joe Corvo, and Tim Conboy have been simply awesome. Frantisek Kaberle, one of my sentimental favorites, has been a healthy scratch for many games, but played well in games when inserted in the lineup.

Forwards--Staal and Cole reunited. I peed a little when I heard that on deadline day. Rod Brind'Amour is back after a first half slump. Ruutu's been on the Staal-Cole line and they've found awesome chemistry. "The Wizard" Ray Whitney led the team in scoring (till Staal took off with the return of Cole). Matty Cullen, Jussi Jokinen, and the streaky Sergei Samsanov have also done well. Samsanov only recently had his production drop, but not anything to be scared about, he's been successful in Carolina and tends to be streaky. Scott Walker has been in and out with injuries but if he's back for playoffs it's a plus because he's a big body, not afraid to hit. Chad LaRose. What can you say about this kid? Unsung hero, in my opinion. And a hilarious dollface to boot.

'Canes have one of the best penalty kills in the league, from Ward on out. Power play has been meh, though they have the tools for it to come together and be killer.
If you're into predictions, don't look to me, but here's some link-a-roos where you can find picks (note they're choosing Carolina!)
Barry Melrose Rocks
Puck Daddy
Canes Country
Sweet Tea, Barbecue, and Bodychecks

Pairings: Who are your leaders?

2009-04-04T08:34:00.004-05:00

Dear fellow HLOGers and readers,

So, last night, I'm at the Flyers/Leafs game with co-workers Justin and Brandon. We're killing time, having a beer, deciding what ridonkulously over-priced concessions food we want to eat, and talking hockey fan memories, opinions of players, and - eventually - coaches and management.

Justin does not like the Flyers, despite being a fan of every other major sports team here. Brandon and yours truly do like the Flyers.

Nope, Justin's a Leafs fan. And in the midst of our fan talk prior to the game, he posed an interesting question that I'm posting here for any one to answer in the comments: Which team has the best coach and GM pairing in the NHL right now?

Friday Five

2009-04-03T02:01:00.003-05:00

It's that time of the week again. I'm wishing for summer and no school, so there will be a theme.
1.) What is your favorite kind of popsicle/freeze pop?
2.) Do you enjoy grilling out? To clarify: it means to cook outdoors on a grill...in Minnesotan apparently.
3.) Bermuda shorts...good or bad?
4.) What song reminds you of summer?
5.) Do you have a countdown to anything right now?

Holy Hairpulling Batman!!

2009-03-30T02:12:00.001-05:00

(Cross posted at Couch Tarts)

Things are getting rough in the middle of the pack in the Western Conference playoff race. Chicago and Vancouver, 1st round foes if the playoffs began today, played their final regular season match-up today and the results were pretty outstanding. (Why is it I've never thought of Vancouver as a rough team and yet they seem to get into huge scuffles with other teams?) Most of the 98 penalty minutes came in a close to full line fight that took place early in the 3rd period.

Dustin Byfuglien: 2 Minutes for Goaltender Interference Roberto Luongo
Ben Eager: 5 Minutes for Fighting Kevin Bieksa
Kevin Bieksa: 5 Minutes for Fighting Ben Eager
Shane O'Brien: 10 Minutes for Misconduct Brent Seabrook
Ben Eager: 10 Minutes for Misconduct Kevin Bieksa
Cam Barker: 10 Minutes for Misconduct Willie Mitchell
Henrik Sedin: 2 Minutes for Holding Duncan Keith
Duncan Keith: 10 Minutes for Misconduct Alexandre Burrows
Adam Burish: 2 Minutes for Roughing Daniel Sedin (Served by Martin Havlat)
Adam Burish: 10 Minutes for Misconduct Daniel Sedin
Adam Burish: 2 Minutes for Roughing Daniel Sedin (Served by Martin Havlat)
Kevin Bieksa: 10 Minutes for Misconduct Ben Eager
Adam Burish: 2 Minutes for Roughing Daniel Sedin (Served by Martin Havlat)

Puck Daddy does a much better job summing up the fights than I can:

The first two players to dance were Chicago's Ben Eager and the Canucks' Kevin Bieksa, in a fight that featured more undressing than a burlesque show and one very stiff pop to the face by Eager that sent Bieksa to the ice. The linesmen would break it up, but not befire Bieksa left some blood on the Chicago ice after the fight.

Then, Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith and Vancouver's Alex Burrows had a skirmish which saw Keith apply a headlock and Burrows grab a lock of Keith's hair -- refusing to let go even as the two tumbled to the ice. So not only is Burrows one of the NHL's greatest pests, but he evidently learned how to fight by watching "Mean Girls."

Trust me when I say, I've seen hair-pulling girl fights and they are often worse than the boy fights because the girls never let go. I think most Sharks fans will agree that neither of those are teams that we want to face in the first round. If they end up facing each other, it looks to be a hell of a match-up.

Friday Five!

2009-03-27T03:00:00.001-05:00

This is actually being posted on time...because I'm on my way from Sacramento to Tacoma. Yay crew!
1.) Where is your favorite, sunny place?
2.) Do you enjoy water sports?
3.) Would you rather take a road trip or fly?
4.) Do you support keeping Lake Tahoe blue?
5.) Can you get a good night's sleep in a hotel?

Shaving Cream Pie

2009-03-23T15:07:00.003-05:00

The Sharks celebrated their 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche by smacking defenseman, and number one star of the game, Alexei Semenov in the face with a towel full of shaving cream. Jeremy Roenick is the main culprit, but you can also see Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Ryane Clowe and Sharks PR guy Tom Holy in the background.

Unnecessary Hit; Penguins 4, Kings 1

2009-03-21T16:17:00.002-05:00

With just a few seconds left in a game that you're winning, is it really necessary to take a shot to someone's head? Well, Evgeni Malkin thought it was. He gave the cold shoulder to Wayne Simmonds and the whistle blew to end the game. I'm not even upset about the loss. Who cares if it's the league superstar hitting a rookie's head? In this case, every single Kings fan whereas every Pittsburgh fan probably cheered the hit. But let's talk about questionable acts of unsportsmanlike conduct from the past few days (of which I'm only discussing two because I'm feeling a bit lazy).

Please go to A Queen Among Kings to see all the linkage.

(1) Alexander Ovechkin's celebration after he scored his 50th goal of the season. I've read many reactions both for and against. I'm on the fence since he is who he is. He loves to celebrate his teammates' goals as well as his own, but this definitely involved a bit of showboating. He received a talking to by Bruce Boudreau and everyone moves on. Don Cherry's going to have a field day with this one.

(2) Penguins' Malkin laying a hit on Kings' Simmonds with just a few seconds left in a game that the Penguins were going to win. As with Ovechkin, there have been many comments going around about this hit both for and against. Comments like "Get your head up, rookie!" But wait a second, did this person not see that all Simmonds was trying to do was poke the puck away from Malkin? He wasn't going to him to with the intention of hitting him.

Earlier in the game he and Jack Johnson toughed it out in front of the Kings net for a good chunk of time where both players received 2-minutes for roughing. This altercation is a part of the game, but anyone who says that hitting someone else in the head is "a part of hockey" has never had someone on their own team taken a hit to the head. It's not about being an objective observer of every team when you have your specific team that you love; it's about the passion that every single fan brings to the NHL, which is why there will always be cheers and jeers in every situation.

In the end, there are going to be comments all over the place with a questionable play such as this one from fans from every region across the US and Canada. But the plain facts are that (1) Simmonds' head was down in going for the poke check while (2) Malkin was defending himself by bracing for some kind of hit that was never going to come. In the end his shoulder goes straight into Simmonds' head. I think the argument of whether he was hit with the shoulder or elbow (legal or illegal) is not the point. The point is that the brunt of the hit was into Simmonds' head.

Malkin is subject to a disciplinary phone call where the resulting decision is to be announced tomorrow. Am I excepting a suspension? Hell no, who has the guts to suspend Malkin? Every situation is unique but I'm not expecting a fair trial here. Everyone has a hard-on for Malkin and the Penguins, so why should anyone care about Simmonds? I'm not saying I don't think the guy deserves punishment; I definitely think he deserves some sort of supplemental discipline. I just don't think the NHL is going to do anything about it considering who both players are.

Oh yeah, the game. Just some quick notes on an unimpressive outing:

* It was Justin Williams' first game in a Kings sweater so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt for this game since the entire team wasn't looking too hot. He had 13:36 minutes on the ice and one shot on net. He also had one recorded giveaway, but it definitely seemed to have happened more than just once.
* Alexander Frolov was allowed out of the doghouse, but is still chained to it. He had 17 minutes with one shot and one hit.
* They're definitely not ready for post-season play. The fact that it took a 5-on-3 to get a goal through all the traffic wasn't impressive. Impressive was the Penguins' penalty kill units. Aggressive and quick. They took 11 total penalties (with one as a 10-minute misconduct and others resulting in 4-on-4 play) but they were successful killing virtually all of them.
* The Kings finally got themselves over 50% in the faceoff circle. They won 60% while the Penguins went just 40%.
* Dustin Brown made a good showing with 7 hits and 6 shots on net.

(x-posted to A Queen Among Kings)

Friday Five

2009-03-20T06:48:00.003-05:00

I'm so close to spring break I can feel it!
1.) Best spring break trip ever?
2.) Do you tell people exactly where you are from, or give them a distance to a larger city?
3.) Have you made a March Madness bracket?
4.) How many road maps do you have in your car?
5.) What is your favorite local band?

Ersberg in Directv Commercial

2009-03-11T01:00:00.001-05:00

Not sure if this commercial is national or only shown locally but Erik Ersberg is in a DIRECTV commercial.

I don't know how long it's been on the air but I first heard about it today from my fiance and I saw it today when I was watching an episode of 'Friday Night Lights' that I recorded from last Friday. First Aubin, now Ersberg. How many other Kings goaltenders are in the pipeline to be in a commercial?

And speaking of 'Friday Night Lights', Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton have got to be the absolute best married TV couple. They are amazing together on-screen. And how many of you got teary-eyed when Tim Riggins realized he lost his best friend to the NYC? It's so heart breaking watching Tim Riggins get emotional.

x-posted to Purple Crushed Velvet

Carolina Hurricanes--post Trade Deadline

2009-03-08T14:35:00.001-05:00

As usual, I’m a day (or more) late and a dollar (or more) short. I was supposed to write a pre-trade deadline post about what the Hurricanes could possibly do on Trade Deadline day. Part of the reason I didn’t write it is because who the heck ever knows what Jim Rutherford is going to do. There was talk of players being shopped, such as defenseman Frantisek Kaberle, but that’s about it. In reality, what this team needed to be shopping for was consistency. They may have found it.

The entire season the ‘Canes have struggled with consistency on the ice. Goaltending led by Cam Ward has been better than previous season (is Wardo finally maturing as a goaltender?) but Cam still had some bad games in there, games where he should have been better. Backup Michael Leighton did ok when called upon. The defense, once again, had times where it had more holes that swiss cheese, which didn’t help the goalies at all. On offense, Eric Staal, the face of the organization, struggled to be the offensive superpower he is supposed to be. Justin Williams injured over and over and over. Rod Brind’Amour coming back from injury at one point had league worst -29 rating. Rutherford’s answer at the time (early December) was to fire head coach Peter Laviolette and bring in former coach Paul Maurice. For the most part, nothing changed, still an inconsistent team.

As a Hurricanes fan, I resigned myself to the likelihood Carolina wouldn’t make the playoffs and just sat back watched their mediocrity. I was busy on trade deadline day, work and all, but did happen to catch (YAY Google Reader) that JR had traded Justin Williams to LA for hometown kid Patrick O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan then traded to Edmonton for former ‘Cane and fan favorite, Erik Cole. I almost did a happy dance, but I was at work.

So what has happened to the ‘Canes since the return of Cole? In the two games he’s been back, they’ve outscored opponents (Calgary and Tampa) 15-4. Cole was the heart and soul of this team and getting him back is huge. He served as mentor to a then-teenaged Eric Staal and those two have been BFFs since. Staal’s lackluster performance so far this season I personally blame on Cole being gone. With Cole back, and he and Staal on the same line, Eric Staal has 8 points (4-4-8). He is rejuvinated having Cole on the ice. Cole creates time and space that allows Staal to be the superstar he is. Cole himself has 5 points in 2 games back (1-4-5). Cole never quite found his niche in Edmonton and didn’t have chemistry with anyone there like he has with Staal.

Will ‘Canes make the playoffs now? Hard to say, as of this writing, they are sitting in 7th place in the East. Hard to say if the excitement of the last couple games will continue, will Cole’s presence continue to lift this team up? Will goaltending stay strong? I wish I knew, in the meantime, I’ll just be excited the Eric/k’s are reunited.

Friday Five

2009-03-06T18:25:00.002-05:00

Epic fail on my part. Sorry, guys!
1.) Do you do any kind of spring cleaning?
2.) Name a random fact you learned this week?
3.) Have you made any plans for summer yet?
4.) How OCD are you about chipping nail polish?
5.) Who is the best dressed NHL player?

Trade Activity to the Minute

2009-03-04T10:56:00.003-05:00

Here's a link to the trade transaction summary as it happens:

http://www.sportscity.com/NHL-Trade-Deadline-Tracker

Just refresh the page every so often.

So everyone's up to date. Enjoy.

Season Over.

2009-03-04T02:10:00.002-05:00

After losing to Chicago on Sunday and then losing again tonight to Columbus, the Kings season is over. Done. Fini. When I can't get excited about watching any more games, I just know it's over.

The Kings have 21 games remaining this season but I don't think it's possible for them to win enough games to secure the eighth playoff spot in the West. Especially considering the way they've been playing as of late and how well some of the teams they're chasing have been playing. When the Kings play solid defense, they can't score. Yet when they find the back of the net they don't play well on defense. They won't finish last in the league or 29th, but I am worried that if they don't shape up soon they may find themselves sitting in last place in the Western Conference.

And to make matters worse, Jason LaBarbera is "Mr. March" in the Kings calendar; I'm going to have to replace him with someone else...probably Frolov.

The trade deadline is tomorrow. I didn't expect the Kings to be very active before tonight's game occurred and now that they lost the game, I definitely don't expect anything big. The team is in a selling position but the players most teams would want will not be traded unless it's an unbelievable deal that would have several highly touted prospects and/or high draft picks coming to LA. I could definitely see Kyle Calder being traded because he's a very gritty, in-your-face player that isn't afraid to go in the corners and do the dirty work. He hasn't taken as many dumb penalties lately and has proven that he can play well and even notch some points.

The only player I could see being dealt that would probably shock fans is Patrick O'Sullivan. He had an incredibly long contract dispute with the team over the off-season and he hasn't thrived offensively this year compared to last season (sounds a little too much like the Cammalleri situation). He's been shuffled around the lineup playing anywhere from the top line with Kopi and Brown to the fourth line. He's currently on the checking line with Handzus and Simmonds. He's a solid player but hasn't regained the scoring touch he had last year. However, the Kings have him for one more year on the cheaps, which is a pretty big reason to keep him.

Overall, I don't expect much to happen in LA tomorrow, probably just one minor trade. But, of course, I'll be glued to the interwebs all day, checking to see which teams go all in hoping to make the one crucial trade that will help them win the Cup.

(x-posted to Purple Crushed Velvet)

The League Needs Your Help

2009-03-02T09:50:00.001-05:00

Attention all general managers:

It has come to our attention that the NHL has been infiltrated by Cylons**. It has been well documented that goal tender Tim Thomas is a Cylon, but we believe there are others. We need them found and identified before they compromise the league.

All Cylons must be identified by June. This will allow for an even redistribution of them throughout the League over the summer. No team should have more than two Clyons at any given time to prevent them from having an unfair advantage. Coaches may also be Cylon. Do not tell them of your investigation or it will be compromised.

We have a few possible suspects already in mind, but we need YOUR HELP to find the rest. Once you have complied your lists, all subjects will submit to testing.

His test worked.

Please act with all haste and post your potential Cylon players in the comments below, as soon as possible. Findings will be relayed back to you as soon as we have confirmed the presence of all the Cylons in the League.

Thank You,

-Gray, Commissioner in Charge of Confirming Cylon Presence

**Cylons are robots that look and feel like normal humans. They are generally indistinguishable from the general population, though many may exhibit signs of unnatural stamina or strength. Please keep these qualities in mind when submitting your list of names.

Adventures in Marketing (or Why Club Scarlet and Hockey and Heels Aren't As Bad As We Make Them Out to Be)

2009-02-26T10:21:00.007-05:00

Talk Hockey to Me, Wrap Around Curl and Puck Huffers, among other blogs, spent yesterday discussing the new Club Scarlet website, an marketing effort by the Washington Capitals to reach out to female fans by objectifying members of the Capitals as hot guys, and explaining the basics of the game. I'm on the fence about this and an effort in the same vein by the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins - Hockey and Heels - an event to teach women about hockey while they are at a day spa. While I understand the initial knee-jerk reaction to these efforts by female sports fans, they're not intended to offend.

I'll be blunt. There have been a lot of things I have done in my twenty-seven years that were solely motivated by the attractiveness of guys. Joining indoor track in eighth grade. Becoming a fan of the Steve Young led San Francisco 49ers even though I lived in Buffalo Bills country. Joining Hall Government at Binghamton even though I had sworn off being involved after transferring (haha.) Call me shallow, but I would rather call it primitive. Since the beginning of time, heterosexual females like males, and will find ways to be near or see attractive ones.

So to say that efforts like Club Scarlet and their marketing of the Capitals as a team of attractive men that look like they belong in the now-defunct Playgirl is horribly misguided is horribly wrong. There is a reason why in college many advertising majors have psych minors - because they want to make a convincing and successful appeal to those they are advertising towards, and what better way to do so by using psychological elements of human nature. Therefore, you want to draw more female fans, you appeal to their natural desire to seek out attractive members of the opposite sex.

As for the arguement that efforts like Club Scarlet and "Hockey and Heels" dumb down the sport of hockey to a female population, I say good for the teams for taking what can be a confusing game that is not popularly played in the majority of the United States and making an effort to explain it. This level of basic explanation needs to happen not just towards females, however, but accessible and marketed towards a variety of populations as well. For example, last Friday night at the Boston University - Northeastern game, the stranger borrowing my season ticket neighbors seats for the evening had never seen a hockey game in his life. He was from California, and understood soccer well, so when he asked me to explain the game to him, I used that sport as a basis to explain hockey. If teams took the opportunity to educate fans more - maybe during a game break by having an amusing quick Jumbotron video, or through features on their websites - that would only build their fan bases.

And last but not least, the arguments about Club Scarlet brought up the neverending discussion of the pink teamwear that is prevalent in the NHL Shop. Yes, I think many pink options look somewhat tacky. But believe it or not, it sells. I was interviewing a new sportswear company founder for my blog a few months back, and I asked him about why, among his great looking female shirts for the Patriots, Bruins, Red Sox and Celtics, he had included a pink Celtics shirt. "Despite the outcry about 'pink hats', we and other companies have done extensive market research regarding designs and products, and the pink stuff actually sells." he said. "I'm not going to not carry a style of shirt that sells, especially as a new brand."

In these economic times, which despite what any governmental official says are far from over, sports leagues need to make a drastic effort to reach out to every potential fan base possible. Efforts such as Club Scarlet and "Hockey and Heels" are means of doing so, means of keeping sports leagues that are all at the edge of becoming obsolete in a society whose entertainment budgets are becoming non-existent.

Thoughts?

2009-02-24T22:50:00.004-05:00

To my HLOG sisters, as well as our estblished and newer Gentle Readers:

What are your thoughts on ScarlettCaps, the Caps' site for female fans?

Just curious!

Nadine

Saturday Six

2009-02-21T16:56:00.003-05:00

Second week in a row. I fail, but if you email me suggestions, I might remember to post it on time...
1.) Do you enjoy being on the water? (any kind, pool, lake, river, ocean)
2.) How awesome are sunglasses?
3.) When is it spring where you live?
4.) Do you like sprinkles?
5.) Does slang irritate you?
6.) How many songs do you have on your iPod/music player?

The Mono Award

2009-02-16T21:11:00.003-05:00

After my fantasy hockey draft this fall, which I stupidly let go to auto-draft, I ended up with a surplus of goalies and no right wings. Definitely a problem.

The commish messaged me the next day. "I'll take one of those goalies off your hands if you want. Name your price."

I offered him Phoenix goalie Ilya Bryzgalov for Phil Kessel, my favorite current NHL player. Odd choice for a favorite player at the time, sure, but I had my reasons. See, the first goal I had ever seen in college hockey game (which as most of you all know is my first love) included an assist by him, and because of that, I've stuck by him since. (And for those of you wondering, that game was January 8, 2005 - USA Under-18 Team versus Boston University.)

The commish was a little shocked. "Okay. You sure you want Kessel?"

"Of course." I messaged back.

Of course, at the time, I figured that Kessel would be on my fantasy hockey roster for no real hockey value, just because he's my favorite player. I do this with every fantasy sports team I have - I always pick up Gabe Kapler for my fantasy baseball team, and I picked up my Tampa Bay Bucs practice squad member cousin on my fantasy football team one season. Usually these moves make no sense, and I usually drop them when I need to add another player. But this time, my throwaway silly pick ended up being a great deal.

My move for Kessel and my later pickup of Blue Jackets goalie and Calder Award shoo-in Steve Mason off the waiver wire put me near the top of my fantasy league for most of the season. I looked like a genius for trading for Kessel prior to the start of the season, if I do say so myself.

Then came word that Kessel had mono. Not only did I feel bad for him, but I felt bad for my fantasy team. I was getting tons of points from him. And in my giant league, available scoring forwards were few and far between, and no one was willing to trade, so I lost his production and lost a big fantasy matchup. I placed Kessel on the DL, and watched the blogs for any indication of his return.

But then, the inplausable happened. I went to set my fantasy lineup before making dinner one evening, and saw the little red note next to Mason's name. Expecting it to be another, "Mason shut out fill-in-the-blank team again tonight. If you have him on your roster, you look like a freakin' genius," note from the ESPN.com fantasy gurus, I clicked on it.

And instead of another boost to my fantasy self-esteem, the note told me Mason too had mono.

If I was a swearing woman, I would have sworn at that point. I would have sworn many times. There would have been more curse words than The Boondock Saints.

I had lost one of my leading scorers and my leading goalie to the same annoying disease. What were the odds?

I've weathered the storm - both are back, although Kessel's production hasn't been the same. But due to having had two players suffer from the same disease in such a short period of time has earned me a new award from my league's commish: The Mono Award.

Therrien Out - But Will It Help?

2009-02-16T09:29:00.005-05:00

The text message last night looked something like this:

"PENS ALERT: WB/S coach Dan Blysma named interim Head Coach replacing Michel Therrien."

And as quick as that, we say goodbye to a coach that has been with the Penguins for three seasons.

Was the firing deserved? It's an interesting question. On one hand, there are plenty of Pens fans that have been calling for Therrien to get the ax ever since the Pens troubles started in December. But listening to the radio this morning, there are plenty of people defending him, stating that firing him will in no way help the Pens current troubles.

I really admired Therrien his first two years in with the Pens. I thought he brought a lot of vision to a young team who needed some guidance. But this year something seemed to get lost in the shuffle. He got away from many of his characteristic traits as a coach. And in a weird twist of fate he had gone "soft".

The person the Pens need right now is the Therrien the Pens had when he first came on board. The hard ass who called out guys publicly. The guy that came in and push a struggling team towards wins. Not the proud papa who had watched his boys grow up and felt there was no need to be tough with them any longer. After all, they had been in a Stanley Cup final hadn't they?

A few of Therrien's wrong doings this year:

Way too much line shuffling - Know for his constant line shuffles, Therrien usually had his lines figured out by mid November. But right now it's mid February and I can't name our top line. It changes daily. Not that the injuries help, but can't we at least find some consistency?
What Power Play? - Pens should have realized something this year - good teams capitalize on their power plays. They don't attempt a consistent two minutes of dump and chase. While many here are blaming assistant coach Mike Yeo for the lack of scoring on the power play, I'm pointing my finger at Therrien. I don't care if Gonchar is out - find some combo that works until he gets back. Embrace the power play as your way to stay in a game that you're down a goal. And capitalize on the ability of players such as Sid who draw plenties at critical juntures.
Assistant Captains - With Gonchar out at the start of the season, Therrien rotated the roles of assistant captains every month. While this might be acceptable for a young, winning team the concept sorely hurt the Pens. The role should have been given to Malkin and Orpik, the former for his inspired leadership last year when Sid was injured and the latter for his emerging veteran role. Give the guys someone to look up to besides Sid.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!?!?!?!!!!!!

Someone help us, we're dying here!!

Dan Bylsma anyone?