Friday, February 08, 2002

The Caps-Wild game: Sorry to be late. Jennifer and I sat ten rows off the ice behind the home goal at the MCI Center on Wednesday night. What should have been a dull dreary night was made quite exciting based on our proximity to the game. Im used to seeing everything at a distance, which makes strategy a bigger issue for me. But so close to ice level, I got taken in by every move on my side of the ice! We were ducking as pucks cracked off the glass (and climbing all over each other when the pucks shot into the stands). I was very appreciative that I got to see this seemingly pointless game between Minnesota and Washington.

Being close up, we got a good look at the Wild logo. "Aha," said Jennifer, "it is a bear in the woods. And we all know what bears do in the woods..."

The season ticket holders (lucky bastards) all around us spent a majority of the game ragging on referee Kurt Fraser and his helmet of hair.

I am glad to see that Caps fans finally understand the beating Jagr takes everytime he is on the ice.

The game was a minor-league showcase. Half the Caps are visiting from the minors. All but a couple of the Wild belong in the minors. But to give the Wild credit, while they cannot score goals, they are a heck of a lot faster than the Capitals...

On a final note, Richard "Tricky Dick" Park is back in the NHL! Last seen not getting any playing time with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Park seems to have finally gotten his shot with the Wild. He scored their only goal, and was their second-best player this evening (wunderkid Marian Gaborik was the best). He may be a skinny little midget, but he can skate and, once in a while, even score! He was originally a Pittsburgh Penguin, but the Pens gave up on him before he ever really got a chance to prove himself.

Thankfully, Park never developed a Napoleonic complex like fellow short-spud Theo Fleury.

Thursday, February 07, 2002

Moving to full face masks?: The Mayo Clinic claims their new study proves the benefits of facial protection in hockey.
Note to Theo: Shut Up!: NY Rangers pint-sized winger whining about some on-ice insult from Chris Chelios. Theo, please grow up sometime soon, eh?

Wednesday, February 06, 2002

Off to see the Wild: I'm being taken to the Caps game this evening. I would have declined, but my friend Jennifer has a pair of 100-level seats. I've not sat that close to a game since the 1996 conference finals game 5 in pittsburgh against the florida panthers. Ah, the good old days, when I mistakenly believed that David Roche would be another Rick Tochett....

I guess I wasn't the only one who missed the All-Star game: The Canadian Press reports
Ratings for Saturday's All-Star Game produced a 2.0 rating on ABC - 27 per cent lower than last year.

Two NBA games and the third round of a P-G-A Tour golf tourney outdrew the NHL stars.

NBC's broadcast of the Sixers' 86-81 win over Milwaukee drew a 3.3 rating.

The C-B-S coverage of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am pulled in a 3.0 rating, while Utah's 97-96 victory over Portland on NBC notched a 2.5 rating.
Improving the game? Tony Gallagher explores a return to hideously curved sticks.

Who's on first? With Eddie the Eagle Belfour relegated to No. 3, will it be Cujo or Brodeur starting for Team Canada?

Trade winds: Could Andrew Cassels be coming from Vancouver to Ottawa?
Others rant about the No-Star game: Tony Bryson complains that his "level of disgust has never been higher."

Forsake the Olympics? Joeri Loonen wrongly thinks that the NHL's half-hearted embrace of the Olympics only hurts the NHL. Actually, both sides come out looking stupid...
Divided loyalties: Mark Byron, as a Detroit Red Wings fan, is suffering from divided loyalties for the Salt Lake games. I understand the problem - I almost rooted for the Czechs in Nagano in 1998, since most of the Penguins played on that team. However, I never deserted Canada, even when it deserted me...

By the way, if anyone is interested I ran a primitive web log in the run-up to the Nagano games.

Tuesday, February 05, 2002

Watching Salt Lake: Finally I was able to find an NBC TV schedule for olympic ice hockey:

Saturday, February 9 / Day 2

6 - 8:45 PM ET / 3 - 5:45 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Slovakia vs. Germany

8:45 - 11:25 PM ET / 5:45 - 8:25 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Austria vs. Latvia

11:25 PM - 12 AM ET / 8:25 - 9 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Belarus vs. Ukraine

Sunday, February 10 / Day 3

6 - 9 PM ET / 3 - 6 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Austria vs. Germany

9 PM - 12 AM ET / 6 - 9 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Latvia vs. Slovakia

Monday, February 11 / Day 4

2:45 - 3:15 PM ET / 11:45 AM - 12:15 PM PT
MSNBC Ice Hockey: Women’s game, Canada vs. Kazakhstan

6 - 9 PM ET / 3 - 6 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Ukraine vs. Switzerland

9 - 11:15 PM ET / 6 - 8:15 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Belarus vs. France

Tuesday, February 12 / Day 5

1 - 3:30 PM ET / 10 AM - 12:30 PM PT
MSNBC Ice Hockey: Women’s game, United States vs. Germany

6 - 9 PM ET / 3 - 6 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Slovakia vs. Austria

9 - 11:15 PM ET / 6 - 8:15 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Germany vs. Latvia

Wednesday, February 13 / Day 6

1 - 3:15 PM ET / 10 AM - 12:15 PM PT
MSNBC Ice Hockey: Women’s game, Canada vs. Russia

6 - 8:45 PM ET / 3 - 5:45 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Switzerland vs. Belarus

8:45 - 11:15 PM ET / 5:45 - 8:15 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, France vs. Ukraine

Thursday, February 14 / Day 7

6 PM - 12 AM ET / 3 - 9 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Women’s game, United States vs. China

Friday, February 15 / Day 8

1 - 6 PM ET / 10 AM - 3 PM PT
MSNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Russia vs. qualifying-round winner

6 PM - 1 AM ET / 3 - 10 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Canada vs. Sweden
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Czech Republic vs. qualifying-round winner
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, United States vs. Finland

8 - 11:30 PM ET / 7:30 - 11 PM PT
NBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, United States vs. Finland

12:05 - 1:35 AM ET / 11:35 PM - 1:05 AM PT
NBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, United States vs. Finland (conclusion)

Saturday, February 16 / Day 9

1 - 6 PM ET / 10 AM - 3 PM PT
NBC Ice Hockey: Women’s game, United States vs. Finland

6:30 PM - 12 AM ET / 3:30 - 9 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Finland vs. qualifying-round winner
CNBC Ice Hockey: Women’s game, Canada vs. Sweden

11:30 PM - 1:30 AM ET / 11:30 PM - 1:30 AM PT
NBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, United States vs. Russia

Sunday, February 17 / Day 10

6 PM - 12 AM ET / 3 - 9 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Sweden vs. Czech Republic
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Canada vs. qualifying-round winner

Monday, February 18 / Day 11

1 - 6 PM ET / 10 AM - 3 PM PT
NBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, United States vs. qualifying-round winner
NBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Russia vs. Finland

6 PM - 12 AM ET / 3 - 9 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Czech Republic vs. Canada
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, Sweden vs. qualifying-round winner

Tuesday, February 19 / Day 12

1 - 6 PM ET / 10 AM - 3 PM PT

MSNBC Ice Hockey: Women’s semifinal

6 - 9 PM ET / 3 - 6 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Women’s semifinal

Wednesday, February 20 / Day 13

1 - 6 PM ET / 10 AM - 3 PM PT
MSNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s quarterfinal
MSNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s quarterfinal

6 PM - 12:30 AM ET / 3 - 9:30 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, United States quarterfinal
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s quarterfinal

8 - 11:30 PM ET / 7:30 - 11 PM PT
NBC Ice Hockey: Men’s game, United States quarterfinal (conclusion)

Thursday, February 21 / Day 14
1 - 7 PM ET / 10 - 4 PM PT
MSNBC Ice Hockey: Women’s bronze medal game

7 - 10 PM ET / 4 - 7 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Women’s gold medal game

8 PM - 12 AM ET / 7:30 - 11:30 PM PT
NBC Ice Hockey: Women’s gold medal game

Friday, February 22 / Day 15
1 - 7 PM ET / 10 AM - 4 PM PT
MSNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s semifinal

6 - 9 PM ET / 3 - 6 PM PT
CNBC Ice Hockey: Men’s semifinal

Saturday, February 23 / Day 16
1:30 - 5:30 PM ET / 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM PT
NBC Ice Hockey: Men’s bronze medal game

Sunday, February 24 / Day 17
2:30 - 6 PM ET / 11:30 AM - 3 PM PT
NBC Ice Hockey: Men’s gold medal game
New Sherrif in Calgary: Calgary Flames head coach Greg Gilbert announces the replacement of Dave Lowry as team captain. Lowry was replaced by co-captains Bob Boughner and Craig Conroy.
Heart dangers in hockey?: The Canadian Medical Association Journal has a study on possibly detrimental effects of recreational hockey. Sounds like a load of garbage, but I will check it out soon.

Cardiovascular effects of strenuous exercise in adult recreational hockey: the Hockey Heart Study [CMAJ - February 5, 2002]

The double-edged blade of recreational hockey [Commentary]
The return of the Beezer: Vanbiesbrouck has un-retired, rejoining the New Jersey Devils once more to backup Martin Brodeur. It is a pity for J.F. Damphousse, but at 1-5 on the season, he has not dazzled management much. Time to hand the reigns to the tried and true...

Monday, February 04, 2002

World wins, ordinary people just don't care: Alright, so I am ticked that I missed the game. I was painting my new house and the VCR recorded the wrong channel. However, the YoungStars game on Friday night was fantastic. And allow me to be the latest person to sing the praises of Danny Heatly and Ilya Kovalchuk. These two are going to terrorize NHL goalies for many years.

Khabibulin snubbings no uncommon thing: Khabibulin is no stranger to snubbings. He missed out on the All-Star game MVP. As related by ESPN.com, it has happened before:
The last time it happened was after the 1992 Olympics. The Unified Team, which was comprised of the recently liberated states of the former Soviet Union, won the gold medal at Albertville. Because only players in Olympic competition receive medals, the Unified Team coach, Victor Tikhonov, perhaps sensing the political upheaval in his country would undermine the future success of the hockey program, took Khabibulin's gold medal for himself.

Khabibulin, who was third string behind Mikhail Shtalenkov and Andrei Trefilov in the '92 Games, doesn't discuss the matter publicly. His experience, as well as the related corruption of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation at the time, is believed to be one of the reasons why he refused to play for Team Russia in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, the first Games contested by NHL players.

For the 2002 Games, former defenseman Slava Fetisov, winner of two Stanley Cups and two Olympic gold medals, was approached to run the team.

One of Fetisov's conditions was that he be in complete control. Among his first goals after taking over the program was to get Khabibulin's medal back. Fetisov told the Daily News that Khabibulin will receive it in Salt Lake City.