Friday, June 26, 2009
Draft day! I like the "who knows what the hell is going to happen" feel of this day, and I will be disappointed if it goes down like the trade deadline did, with nothing particularly momentous happening. Also, if nothing particularly momentous happens next week.
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Top three weird or funny search terms leading to hits here in the last month:
sidney crosby molestache (I first heard the term "molestache" at a Flyers/Islanders game at the end of the 2006-2007 season; an irate fan behind me was complimenting the ref on his.)
men bearhugging men (again!? Please stop.)
tyler kennedy if i get another playoff goal i will make love to my stick and i don't care who watches Thank the hockey gods he didn't score another goal. Who would want to see that freak show?
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It really is a long time until the next season starts, isn't it?
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Top three weird or funny search terms leading to hits here in the last month:
sidney crosby molestache (I first heard the term "molestache" at a Flyers/Islanders game at the end of the 2006-2007 season; an irate fan behind me was complimenting the ref on his.)
men bearhugging men (again!? Please stop.)
tyler kennedy if i get another playoff goal i will make love to my stick and i don't care who watches Thank the hockey gods he didn't score another goal. Who would want to see that freak show?
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It really is a long time until the next season starts, isn't it?
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Chops chopped?
At the beginning of April, I blogged about a couple AHL games I went to while I was visiting home, concluding "They may have a lame-o name in Iowa, but at least they’re still going to have a team to see after this season ends," lamenting the departure of the Phantoms from Philadelphia.
Well ... maybe they won't.
The latest in the saga that is the AHL franchise located (for now?) in Des Moines.
I'm thinking there won't be any AHL hockey this coming season in Iowa. With the Flames moving too, if I go home at Christmas I won't be going to any game in the QC either. Gee. I may not see any AHL hockey live this season.
Well ... maybe they won't.
The latest in the saga that is the AHL franchise located (for now?) in Des Moines.
I'm thinking there won't be any AHL hockey this coming season in Iowa. With the Flames moving too, if I go home at Christmas I won't be going to any game in the QC either. Gee. I may not see any AHL hockey live this season.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
And it's not just sour grapes; no, there is more to it than that.
No team deserved the Stanley Cup less than the "model franchise" that "won" it last night. That is all. The NHL is a joke. The WWE is more believable.
P.S.
Dear Ray Emery,
I have to say that I was dubious and skeptical when I heard that you were going to be signed by the Flyers, but I have started to come around, looking forward to the game next season when you Hextall those pieces of trash for coming too close in your crease. I would pay you $100 for the pleasure of seeing that. Thanks in advance.
Yours truly,
Crusher
P.S.
Dear Ray Emery,
I have to say that I was dubious and skeptical when I heard that you were going to be signed by the Flyers, but I have started to come around, looking forward to the game next season when you Hextall those pieces of trash for coming too close in your crease. I would pay you $100 for the pleasure of seeing that. Thanks in advance.
Yours truly,
Crusher
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Dear Philadelphia Phantoms,
Good bye and thank you for the five seasons I knew you.
Love,
Crusher
Friday, April 24, 2009
I am seriously considering not watching the game live tomorrow afternoon, instead recording it to watch later. I KNOW that whether or not I watch the game live has absolutely no bearing on the outcome of the game, but the fact of the matter is that there have been five games in this playoff series between the Flyers and the Penguins and I have watched three of them live and two of them after the fact (with no knowledge of the result): the former three were losses, the latter two were wins. If I don’t watch the game live, the Flyers win. I just know that if I watch the game tomorrow afternoon while it happens, and the worst happens, I am going to feel at fault. I don’t need that kind of guilt.
Outside of much of the first period, the Flyers played a nearly flawless game. Yeah, there were turnovers and some lazy passes, but they can’t be perfect, and fortunately this time they took care of the results of their mistakes before they got terminal. In the first period there was some struggle for control, but even during that period it didn’t look dire and the Flyers bit by bit grabbed a hold of the wheel and steered it their way – one way or another – keeping the Penguins from scoring on their 15-to-5 shots advantage and the 0-0 score going into the first intermission was in large part thanks to Marty Biron, who seemed to have suddenly regained last playoff’s form. And the moment in the second where Malkin was allowed to get a chance to kick the puck in the net – he still never had a chance to get his stick on it to get a good shot, so was left with kicking it. And I tell you during that review I felt myself grow sick to my stomach, thinking that if they called it a goal I really was going to have to excuse myself. When they (astonishingly) made the right call and disallowed the FIFA World Cup style goal, the relief I felt was so enormous that tears actually came to my eyes. This is what it has come to: I nearly cry when the league gets an easy call right. (Side note: the refereeing was refreshing last night. I find myself with no real complaints at all. Check pigs for wings or something, folks.)
One of the things that I have loved about the Flyers scoring this series is that most of their goals are not garbage. Last night’s three goals were a good example of that. Asham was nowhere near the net, and the bullet he fired past Fleury stunned everyone. One of the Flyers’ announcers commented that he thought Fleury was nonchalant about making that save, only to have it burn past him like – well, a bullet. Asham could not have placed that puck any more perfectly, as it hit the far side of the net. Another inch and there would have been a discouraging clang off the post. It being quite late when I finally got to watch the game, my celebrations were muted on the outside. Giroux’s goal was so beautiful, on a play that I think only Giroux could have been part of – he chucked it home as Fleury couldn’t slide back over to cover the net. There was no hurry or clamor in Giroux’s effort and shot; he is a predator, ready to be where he needs to be, and then pounces, a perfectly premeditated play, even if the premeditation is a fraction of a second. Nothing surprises him. (Not even when suddenly lost his stick and found the puck between his feet; with perfect aplomb, he adroitly protected the puck between his skate blades, waiting for help and taking his time, and when another Flyer arrived, he skillfully tapped it, FIFA World Cup style, behind one skate with the other toward his teammate. Giroux makes my jaw drop at least once a game, and that play had my jaw down and I was laughing. A while later, he was knocked down, what, ten or eleven times as he played the puck at the blue line and still didn’t lose control? Ok, I exaggerate that slightly, but come on. He is a wizard. And along with every other Flyer fan seeing these games, he is suddenly my favorite player to watch.) Knuble’s goal was another rocket, after a rebound; there was no mistaking the intent of that puck to hit the back of the net, and Fleury exposed his human side last night three too many times for the Penguins.
Too much time after each of those goals, and while the Flyers had control of the last two thirds of the game, I could hardly bear it any time the puck went into the Flyers’ zone. Even when they were up 3-0 with three minutes left to play, I couldn’t stand how much time there was left. I hate having so little faith in my team, but there was no margin for error. And while I was reluctant to think it, I really wanted Marty toshut out not allow that team any goals. I hope he doesn’t pull a Fleury (i.e., have a forcefield game and then crash back to earth the next). Stay hot, Marty.
And the Flyers, in strong fashion, lived to play another game.
So, to recap:
Game 1: Horrible, horrible all around. Refereeing was a tragedy and the Flyers couldn’t do a g-d thing. Loss well-deserved.
Game 2: Horrible, horrible OT loss, not deserved at all, the game should have ended in regulation with a 2-1 Flyers win, except Staal held Carter's stick and Carter got called for it, leading to things happening that never should have had a chance to happen.
Game 3: Penguins were severely outplayed. In spite of another disgusting display of officiating, a decisive win on home ice.
Game 4: In spite of the Flyers’ dominating play, Fleury was more or less impenetrable and Crosby’s slide tackling goal was BS. Hard to swallow that loss.
Game 5: Penguins did nothing, looked like the Flyers not caring about winning the last game of the season in spite of home ice being on the line. Heavy win for the orange and black.
If not for game-changing referee decisions in Game 2 and an unfortunate display of outstanding goaltending combined with a badly judged Penguins goal in Game 4, this series indeed very well could have been over last night – 4-1 Flyers.
I really mean it. I don’t think I’m going to watch the game live tomorrow. J. has already suggested firmly that I do not, as well as my technologist, S. I’m sure more suggestions of that sort will come out once people know my record in this series. I can probably find something else to do after 3 p.m. tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be super-nice, after all.
LET’S GO FLYERS.
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Two nights ago, I checked the Phantoms score in the second period – they were down 2-1. The game ended with a 3-2 loss. That puts the Phantoms in a bad hole. They have to win tonight and tomorrow in order for me to ever see them play again at the Spectrum. Given the 0-3 record this series, it isn’t looking good. I will try not to think about it today, because it’s a major dampener, and I’m just in too good of a mood after last night’s game to want to be down until I have the actual reason to be down. Maybe I will watch the game online – whether or not I see them live seems to have no effect, though I have never watched a game on the computer, so who knows – maybe it would have a positive jinx effect.*
LET’S GO PHANTOMS.
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Oh a couple last thoughts. I was watching the Devils/Hurricanes game the other night and saw the Canes completely drop a 3-0 lead. When Jussi Jokinen scored with 0.2 seconds left to break a 3-3 tie, leading to a 2-2 series tie, my exact reaction was to laugh jubilantly. Brodeur's subsequent meltdown was a treat. I guess the Devils won again last night to take some revenge and the series lead again.
And the other night I also watched Boston handle the Canandiens [sic] with no trouble at all. Montreal scoring first didn't have me wondering if the Bruins were going to stumble. No, they were simply playing with the Canadiens and their fans. Wiping out the Canadiens on their home ice in four games in their treasured 100th season -- I only wish it could have somehow been the Flyers to do that. It seemed that early in the season Montreal thought the league should just hand them the Stanley Cup right then, no need to go through the motions. They didn't even get close. As Nelson Muntz would say: HA HA!
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*I’ve admitted it before. I’m a scientist but I can’t help but be in thrall to sports superstition.
Outside of much of the first period, the Flyers played a nearly flawless game. Yeah, there were turnovers and some lazy passes, but they can’t be perfect, and fortunately this time they took care of the results of their mistakes before they got terminal. In the first period there was some struggle for control, but even during that period it didn’t look dire and the Flyers bit by bit grabbed a hold of the wheel and steered it their way – one way or another – keeping the Penguins from scoring on their 15-to-5 shots advantage and the 0-0 score going into the first intermission was in large part thanks to Marty Biron, who seemed to have suddenly regained last playoff’s form. And the moment in the second where Malkin was allowed to get a chance to kick the puck in the net – he still never had a chance to get his stick on it to get a good shot, so was left with kicking it. And I tell you during that review I felt myself grow sick to my stomach, thinking that if they called it a goal I really was going to have to excuse myself. When they (astonishingly) made the right call and disallowed the FIFA World Cup style goal, the relief I felt was so enormous that tears actually came to my eyes. This is what it has come to: I nearly cry when the league gets an easy call right. (Side note: the refereeing was refreshing last night. I find myself with no real complaints at all. Check pigs for wings or something, folks.)
One of the things that I have loved about the Flyers scoring this series is that most of their goals are not garbage. Last night’s three goals were a good example of that. Asham was nowhere near the net, and the bullet he fired past Fleury stunned everyone. One of the Flyers’ announcers commented that he thought Fleury was nonchalant about making that save, only to have it burn past him like – well, a bullet. Asham could not have placed that puck any more perfectly, as it hit the far side of the net. Another inch and there would have been a discouraging clang off the post. It being quite late when I finally got to watch the game, my celebrations were muted on the outside. Giroux’s goal was so beautiful, on a play that I think only Giroux could have been part of – he chucked it home as Fleury couldn’t slide back over to cover the net. There was no hurry or clamor in Giroux’s effort and shot; he is a predator, ready to be where he needs to be, and then pounces, a perfectly premeditated play, even if the premeditation is a fraction of a second. Nothing surprises him. (Not even when suddenly lost his stick and found the puck between his feet; with perfect aplomb, he adroitly protected the puck between his skate blades, waiting for help and taking his time, and when another Flyer arrived, he skillfully tapped it, FIFA World Cup style, behind one skate with the other toward his teammate. Giroux makes my jaw drop at least once a game, and that play had my jaw down and I was laughing. A while later, he was knocked down, what, ten or eleven times as he played the puck at the blue line and still didn’t lose control? Ok, I exaggerate that slightly, but come on. He is a wizard. And along with every other Flyer fan seeing these games, he is suddenly my favorite player to watch.) Knuble’s goal was another rocket, after a rebound; there was no mistaking the intent of that puck to hit the back of the net, and Fleury exposed his human side last night three too many times for the Penguins.
Too much time after each of those goals, and while the Flyers had control of the last two thirds of the game, I could hardly bear it any time the puck went into the Flyers’ zone. Even when they were up 3-0 with three minutes left to play, I couldn’t stand how much time there was left. I hate having so little faith in my team, but there was no margin for error. And while I was reluctant to think it, I really wanted Marty to
And the Flyers, in strong fashion, lived to play another game.
So, to recap:
Game 1: Horrible, horrible all around. Refereeing was a tragedy and the Flyers couldn’t do a g-d thing. Loss well-deserved.
Game 2: Horrible, horrible OT loss, not deserved at all, the game should have ended in regulation with a 2-1 Flyers win, except Staal held Carter's stick and Carter got called for it, leading to things happening that never should have had a chance to happen.
Game 3: Penguins were severely outplayed. In spite of another disgusting display of officiating, a decisive win on home ice.
Game 4: In spite of the Flyers’ dominating play, Fleury was more or less impenetrable and Crosby’s slide tackling goal was BS. Hard to swallow that loss.
Game 5: Penguins did nothing, looked like the Flyers not caring about winning the last game of the season in spite of home ice being on the line. Heavy win for the orange and black.
If not for game-changing referee decisions in Game 2 and an unfortunate display of outstanding goaltending combined with a badly judged Penguins goal in Game 4, this series indeed very well could have been over last night – 4-1 Flyers.
I really mean it. I don’t think I’m going to watch the game live tomorrow. J. has already suggested firmly that I do not, as well as my technologist, S. I’m sure more suggestions of that sort will come out once people know my record in this series. I can probably find something else to do after 3 p.m. tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be super-nice, after all.
LET’S GO FLYERS.
--------------------------------
Two nights ago, I checked the Phantoms score in the second period – they were down 2-1. The game ended with a 3-2 loss. That puts the Phantoms in a bad hole. They have to win tonight and tomorrow in order for me to ever see them play again at the Spectrum. Given the 0-3 record this series, it isn’t looking good. I will try not to think about it today, because it’s a major dampener, and I’m just in too good of a mood after last night’s game to want to be down until I have the actual reason to be down. Maybe I will watch the game online – whether or not I see them live seems to have no effect, though I have never watched a game on the computer, so who knows – maybe it would have a positive jinx effect.*
LET’S GO PHANTOMS.
-----------
Oh a couple last thoughts. I was watching the Devils/Hurricanes game the other night and saw the Canes completely drop a 3-0 lead. When Jussi Jokinen scored with 0.2 seconds left to break a 3-3 tie, leading to a 2-2 series tie, my exact reaction was to laugh jubilantly. Brodeur's subsequent meltdown was a treat. I guess the Devils won again last night to take some revenge and the series lead again.
And the other night I also watched Boston handle the Canandiens [sic] with no trouble at all. Montreal scoring first didn't have me wondering if the Bruins were going to stumble. No, they were simply playing with the Canadiens and their fans. Wiping out the Canadiens on their home ice in four games in their treasured 100th season -- I only wish it could have somehow been the Flyers to do that. It seemed that early in the season Montreal thought the league should just hand them the Stanley Cup right then, no need to go through the motions. They didn't even get close. As Nelson Muntz would say: HA HA!
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*I’ve admitted it before. I’m a scientist but I can’t help but be in thrall to sports superstition.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Saturday night, after the Phantoms' 6-2 loss to Hershey, it occurred to me that that game might actually have been the last game in the Spectrum. It didn't occur to me while going to the game (and I would have had plenty of time for the thought to cross my mind, seeing as I was in the car 1.5 hours from Wilmington to the arena -- accidents abounded), it didn't occur to me while I was at the game; only a few hours later, near midnight, did it strike me that I had not paid special attention to being at the Spectrum, to sitting in my lovely seats, to the whole situation.
I vacillated between being glad that I didn't let the specter of never coming back hang over me the whole evening and being upset that I hadn't made the point to savor it more. I suppose I did my savoring on the 10th, but getting to go back after that maybe diluted it a little bit. And now, I may not get to go back, and all I have in my memory is the same-old, same-old feeling that I would have leaving a Phantoms game in which they had lost, and not some special fuzziness having wrapped myself all up in the experience. I didn't take a single picture, not even with my camera phone, as I usually do.
The 6-2 loss sounds a lot more dire than it was. I was late to the game, missing the start, because of the traffic on I-495 / I-95 and the parking situation, so I missed the first goal. The guy at the door told me it was already 1-0; the Phantoms had scored 53 seconds in. They scored again not long after I had taken my seat, but then, in spite of being completely in the game, they could not score again. Hershey tied the game and then a third to go ahead. A Phantoms goal was not allowed (at least, it certainly looked like a goal to me, sitting at the red line, the puck appeared to have crossed the line) that prevented the Phantoms from tying the game at three, and a bad goal in the third put the Bears up by two; the fifth was an empty netter and the sixth happened in chaotic power play seconds afterward. The Bears played a pretty dirty game (e.g., Kukkonen was knocked down and while he was down on the ice, the Bear who had hit him cracked him in the face with the blade of his stick. Kukkonen has been wearing a shield around his jaw. If that's not as cheap a hit as you have ever heard of, I am interested in what's cheaper. Kukkonen lunged up and went after the guy, and ended up sitting in the penalty box for two minutes. At least the Bears had already gotten an extra two minutes, so Kukkonen's retaliation didn't negate a power play.). So the Phantoms are down 2-0 in the series going to Hershey, and unless they win two of the away games this week, they won't be coming back to Philadelphia for a game on Sunday. Good luck, guys. Even after the traffic nightmare last weekend, I'd like to be driving up to see you again.
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Flyers again tonight. A guy at lunch asked me what I predict for the evening. I said that I am not going to do that anymore. Any time I open my mouth about a game lately, something bad happens. For example, at the Phantoms game, Alexandre Giroux fanned badly on a shot and it hobbled wide of the net. I cackled, "How do you score sixty goals shooting like that?!" and not even ten seconds later, he scored. (K. was so mad at me. He actually dropped the f-bomb on me. Ok, I deserved it.) If I go around saying, "Oh, Flyers 4-2 tonight!" then the hockey gods will probably reward me the same way that they do when I open my mouth at Phantoms games. If I say, "Oh, Penguins probably, 3-2" then, well, there you go. (If only I could control my jinxing powers for good and not evil...) So I'm just going to watch the game on the edge of my couch and hope the same Flyers that played Sunday night are the ones that show up tonight. For some reason I have already bitten off my nails today, so I won't be able to do that during the game. Maybe I will find some squeezy stress toy to have on hand, just in case.
[Hockey gods: these examples above are not to be considered predictions, overt or thinly veiled.]
I vacillated between being glad that I didn't let the specter of never coming back hang over me the whole evening and being upset that I hadn't made the point to savor it more. I suppose I did my savoring on the 10th, but getting to go back after that maybe diluted it a little bit. And now, I may not get to go back, and all I have in my memory is the same-old, same-old feeling that I would have leaving a Phantoms game in which they had lost, and not some special fuzziness having wrapped myself all up in the experience. I didn't take a single picture, not even with my camera phone, as I usually do.
The 6-2 loss sounds a lot more dire than it was. I was late to the game, missing the start, because of the traffic on I-495 / I-95 and the parking situation, so I missed the first goal. The guy at the door told me it was already 1-0; the Phantoms had scored 53 seconds in. They scored again not long after I had taken my seat, but then, in spite of being completely in the game, they could not score again. Hershey tied the game and then a third to go ahead. A Phantoms goal was not allowed (at least, it certainly looked like a goal to me, sitting at the red line, the puck appeared to have crossed the line) that prevented the Phantoms from tying the game at three, and a bad goal in the third put the Bears up by two; the fifth was an empty netter and the sixth happened in chaotic power play seconds afterward. The Bears played a pretty dirty game (e.g., Kukkonen was knocked down and while he was down on the ice, the Bear who had hit him cracked him in the face with the blade of his stick. Kukkonen has been wearing a shield around his jaw. If that's not as cheap a hit as you have ever heard of, I am interested in what's cheaper. Kukkonen lunged up and went after the guy, and ended up sitting in the penalty box for two minutes. At least the Bears had already gotten an extra two minutes, so Kukkonen's retaliation didn't negate a power play.). So the Phantoms are down 2-0 in the series going to Hershey, and unless they win two of the away games this week, they won't be coming back to Philadelphia for a game on Sunday. Good luck, guys. Even after the traffic nightmare last weekend, I'd like to be driving up to see you again.
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Flyers again tonight. A guy at lunch asked me what I predict for the evening. I said that I am not going to do that anymore. Any time I open my mouth about a game lately, something bad happens. For example, at the Phantoms game, Alexandre Giroux fanned badly on a shot and it hobbled wide of the net. I cackled, "How do you score sixty goals shooting like that?!" and not even ten seconds later, he scored. (K. was so mad at me. He actually dropped the f-bomb on me. Ok, I deserved it.) If I go around saying, "Oh, Flyers 4-2 tonight!" then the hockey gods will probably reward me the same way that they do when I open my mouth at Phantoms games. If I say, "Oh, Penguins probably, 3-2" then, well, there you go. (If only I could control my jinxing powers for good and not evil...) So I'm just going to watch the game on the edge of my couch and hope the same Flyers that played Sunday night are the ones that show up tonight. For some reason I have already bitten off my nails today, so I won't be able to do that during the game. Maybe I will find some squeezy stress toy to have on hand, just in case.
[Hockey gods: these examples above are not to be considered predictions, overt or thinly veiled.]
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Ok, today's game is what you get when the Flyers are not constantly in the penalty box. Refereeing was pathetic but somehow it was pathetic for both sides. Kind of like a "normal" game. And the Flyers are able to win "normal" games.
I heart Claude Giroux. Very quickly coming to challenge Mike Richards as my favorite Flyer. I love the way he does not shy from a hit -- is happy to make one -- I love his puck handling, I love his vision, I love his passes, I love his goal scoring, I love that he fought hideous Tyler Kennedy! What a great game he had!
But the most special mention goes to Jared Ross (my favorite Phantom) and congratulations on his first NHL / NHL playoff goal. We have missed him against Hershey, so I am glad he made some noise playing for the Flyers today when his goal put some good space between the Pens and the Flyers in the third. Go Rossco!
Flyers: please do this again.
I heart Claude Giroux. Very quickly coming to challenge Mike Richards as my favorite Flyer. I love the way he does not shy from a hit -- is happy to make one -- I love his puck handling, I love his vision, I love his passes, I love his goal scoring, I love that he fought hideous Tyler Kennedy! What a great game he had!
But the most special mention goes to Jared Ross (my favorite Phantom) and congratulations on his first NHL / NHL playoff goal. We have missed him against Hershey, so I am glad he made some noise playing for the Flyers today when his goal put some good space between the Pens and the Flyers in the third. Go Rossco!
Flyers: please do this again.
