2007-01-18

Oooo, a post with labels!

From the official Oilers team site's preview of tonight's match:

"Daniel Tjarnqvist (inflamed public bone) is doubtful."

OK... There must be a story here. Was he showing this 'inflamed public bone' to little kids in the park and is the team having trouble posting bail?

Seems to be an epidemic in the seedy world of pro hockey.

~~~

Souray going to the all-star game... This is really a no-win situation for Sheldon. He earned his invitation to the glorified shinny game by racking up points on the power play with his killer slapshot. Unfortunately for him,

1) There are no PPs in the all-star game*
2) Booming slapshots are frowned upon in the all-star game.
3) Highly skilled forwards will be itching to go 1-on-1 with the lumbering defenseman and deke him out of his skin-tight jersey.

* Well, the way refs have been calling games this year, we might see only five or ten minors. Heck, if someone tried the 'ol tape on the skate blade gag I wouldn't be surprised to see the perpetrator get nailed for hooking and the victim (coughbrierecough) go off for diving.

~~~

The Habs aren't on a losing streak. They're gunning for a good seed for the playoffs. If it's a given that winning the division is out of the realm of possibility (which is true), then #4/5 seed is not looking too good.

Whoever is in 4/5 will be facing Ottawa or Buffalo. Ottawa is better than their record. They were just slumming for the first half of the season. And Buffalo, while they bear an uncanny resemblance to a top ringette squad, still has to be considered the team to beat in the East. The 6/7 seeds are the real plums in the East.

~~~

Hot topic: the new sweaters.

Opinions vary. By reading the articles, you can quickly see which guys (call them the "new jersey" devils) are suckers for consumer gimmickry like air pockets in running shoes or razors with 47 teflon-coated blades or toothbrushes with revolutionary patented design features that do nothing but add $$$ to the price.

I strongly doubt the benefits of adding "Bead Away" technology or Ventilated "Play Dry" fabric. If there were real beneficial changes to be discovered, they would have been driven by those with a real interest: hockey players and hockey teams. This third-party "research" baloney is nothing but crass marketing of another product for us to consume. That Brian Jennings, the NHL's executive vice president of consumer products marketing, is doing the talking really says it all.

~~~

Further Reading (you'll need it, with my post frequency lately)

http://www.habsinsideout.com/
Yes, I already mentioned these guys, but I don't think I pimped them enough. As far as mainstream media blogging efforts go, they're the cream of the crop. They play to their strengths, updating constantly and often providing information that your average fan blogger just doesn't have access to.

http://theoryofice.blogspot.com/
I can't believe I've been ignorant of this blog for so long. It's candid, offers a fresh perspective, and is chock full of astute observations. The writing is superb. I'll read anyone who can tie Foucault in with hockey.

http://the-art-of-ice-hockey.blogspot.com/
A philosophical view on hockey with lots of interesting ideas.

I'm off to read some archives...

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1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Glad to see you back in business again. And I like the theory about the losing streak. Of course, that was tongue-in-cheek, but I'll play along.

Habs don't want to play Buffalo sure, but I'd take Ottawa over New Jersey. The Habs have problems with defensive minded teams that take away what little offense they have. If they could just finesse their record to get a first round crack at Atlanta...

1/18/2007 2:36 p.m.  

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