A tale of two Patricks

One Patrick Sharp and one Patrick Kane were interviewed at the NHL Awards last night. It was.. interesting:



Kaner is such a creepy-mccreepster! He's all... "Guurrrlllss... huh huh huh"
And here's Sharpie, totally eyeing him like "C'mon, bro, stop acting like such a fratboy, we're STANLEY CUP CHAMPS!"

Sharpie looks slightly uncomfortable around the half-naked women. He's such a gentleman. And oh man I love his eyebrows. I already have an eyebrow fetish and he just feeds the frenzy. ;) I. Love. that. man.

Gretzky's Tears

I am reading a book that I heard about over at The Goose's Roost. The guys there are reading and reviewing as part of a "Read With the Roost" series that they are doing. Since they talked it up, and I happened to have a coupon for 40% off at Borders, I made a purchase. The book is Gretzky's Tears:Hockey, America, and the Day Everything Changed by Stephen Brunt. I already read Searching for Bobby Orr, another great book by Brunt so I was thinking I'd enjoy this one as well.

I'm not quite done (got another 40 or so pages), but so far I really like the book. I will probably review it in more detail in a later post, but for now I want to point something out.

On page 200, it says "In the early part of the 1989-90 season he was closing in on Gordie Howe's career NHL goal-scoring record, a stunning achievement given that it had taken Howe 1,767 games to record his 801 goals, while Gretzky would hit the mark in just 780."

There is something very wrong with this fact. Gretzky did not score his 802nd goal until 1994- March 23, 1994, to be exact-- and I remember because I WATCHED THE GAME. I still have it on tape somewhere. It was during my first, fledgling season as a hockey fan. I came on to hockey during the all-star game and watched some games here and there before becoming fully immersed during the playoffs. We knew Gretz was getting close to the record, so we started recording games and we manged to get this one on tape. It happened to be against the Canucks (my first favorite team) and they stopped the game and made a huge presentation. (it was a big deal, but couldn't they have waited till the game was over?) I think the Canucks actually won the game, and I know that Pavel Bure scored his 50th goal, and the Canucks made an ironic show of being excited for him. Wild stuff.

What I think Mr. Brunt meant to say there was that Wayne was approaching Howe's point-scoring record, which he did break in 1989, against the Oilers. (his 802 goal took around 1, 178ish games to complete, still pretty amazing.) MAJOR difference there.. and I am really surprised that no editor caught that. I noticed it just from reading, then did some quick internet research to be sure that I wasn't imagining things.

I have a really good memory for sports-related things, especially when it comes to Pavel Bure and the Canucks, so I was pretty sure I was right about this one, and it turns out I was. Hmmm..

somebody explain it cuz I can't seem to

What IS is about those Blackhawks? I still get weepy when I see them with the Stanley Cup. It doesn't make sense- they're not even "MY" team! They are one of my teams, and quite an enjoyable bunch of fellas, but they aren't my #1 dudes so WHY do I care so much? Why is it so touching? I never felt this way about the Wings or the Devils and they've won it several times.. I dig them and I got excited when they won, but it didn't make me CRY (multiple times). Maybe I'm just messed up. Who knows.. it's pretty cool though.

this video is Sharp, Toews, Kane and Keith singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". Totally worth a watch.

Also, this and this are really great stuff. I love how the Blackhawks have worked with the Cubs and the WhiteSox (and I think they have done things with the Bears too) to co-market their athletes. The baseball players seem to think it's really neat to meet the hockey players. :)

I'm tellin ya'll- the Blackhawks PR peeps need a serious raise. They are geniuses.

boo hoo

Why is everyone so up in arms about Adam Burish's comments about Chris Pronger? First of all, he was ASKED WHAT HE THOUGHT OF PRONGER. He didn't bring it up on his own, it was ASKED on him by a reporter. What do you expect? You really think he's gonna be like "oh yeah, we're buddies!" Hell no. he said it like it is, Pronger is an idiot. Fair enough. Chris Pronger's job is to be a thorn in the side of his opponents. He's the villain in this saga and he plays it well. (from what I've heard/read about the guy, it's not a far cry for him) Sorry you're a sore loser. Quit stealing pucks, asshole.

Now let's look at Adam Burish. He's not a guy who is going to score a lot of goals. He is most definitely a heart and soul player, and he provides some muscle on the 4th line and a spark- he's certainly not afraid to fight. Even though he's only 6'0 adn 190lbs, not too big for a fighter. (214 PIMS in 81 games 2 seasons ago will speak to that, as well as the 93 PIMS in 66 games last year) He only played 13 games this season, due to rehabbing a knee injury that took up almost the whole year. He played 15 playoff games (out of 22) and while he didn't have any points, he was certainly a factor for the Blackhawks. He's an "intangibles guy", someone you know you want on your team, but hard to pin down exactly why on paper. I'd take him on my side any day. Because, while he can be tough and rough and nasty on the ice, off the ice, he seems like a decent human being, which is more than we can say for Mr. Pronger.

And really- it's hockey, and Burish just won the STANLEY CUP. He's not going to hold anything back, nor should he. If Pronger gets his feelings hurt over some measly words, then too bad for him. His follow-up comments that he won't be seeing Adam Burish cuz Bur will be in the minors are as ignorant as they are reactionary. Don't think he guy who has played 3 full (aside from injuries) seasons with the Blackhawks will be headed back to the AHL anytime soon. So shut your ugly mug already.

Freshly-shorn Sharpie. I loved the playoff beard but he does have one of the best jawlines of anyone in the world. Man he is beautiful.

It's quite an enjoyable interview as well. "I hope they spell my name wrong. No sorry, I hope they spell it right." Poor guy. You know he's barely slept in the past 5 days. <3

special post

I haven't done one of these in ages, but here ya go. I have only done 2 so far- here and here if you wish to re-visit them. The idea was one (of many) inspired by my almost-mentor (though she didn't know it at the time) in the hockey-blogness, Mrs. Diana Laurence You should really visit her blog if you have not done so for that post alone- it may explain some of my madness.. haha

Anyway she used to have a random feature called "hockey freaks of nature" and I stole the idea (and submitted some to her on the old Hockey Snacks site) and use it from time to time, when I find something particularly brilliant. Well I have something particularly brilliant to share with you good folks tonight.

I present to you the "Chicago Blackhawks 2010 Stanley Cup Champions Train Collection: Championship Express" (and yes, that is the full name.) Observe:



It's actually kind of awesome! It comes with a track, and a mini-Stanley Cup. Word. (Hey, nobody said HFON had to be lame, just weird.)
*it fully lights up!
*it has aluminum alloy wheels!
*it comes with a speed controller!
*it is certified authentic!

Sign me up. Only 3 payments of $23.33 plus $9.99 S&H

If you need more info, here is the linkie.

Brilliant!

I'm a mess

So it continues.

My #1 team will never win. Sorry, Sabres. However, my other teams have no problems winning. (See Devils, New Jersey; Red Wings, Detroit) So it only follows that the Blackhawks, Chicago, are right there with them and tonight's game. The 'Hawks have quietly snuck (sneaked?) their way in to my fandom in the last few years.

I'm very excited for them, for the city of Chicago and several of my dear friends who are diehard Blackhawks fans. :) My boy Sharpie will have his name on the Cup now. YAY!

The Flyers, as gross as they are, made it a great series. It was a fun way to end the season. Well done, guys.

The Stanley Cup makes me cry. I don't know if I have cried watching the Cup presentation before. I *wanted* to cry that first season, back in 1994, when the evil nasty Rangers tore my heart out but I couldn't cry. I was just.. empty. (the void is still there, by the way. Pavel Bure never won a Cup) In the years since, I have seen teams that I love win the Cup several times, but never my one true love and never my #1 team.

All that being said, I'm happy for the Blackhawks and I cried for them. I cried for the guys that made it and all those that didn't. **speaking of, did y'all see Jeremy Roenick crying on the post-game? Poor guy. I always liked JR, he was a great and entertaining player. He had a wonderful career but never won a Stanley Cup so I know he was hurting tonight.

I don't know why I'm so weepy. Lord Stanley IS beautiful though. I like what Mike Emrick said- "They work so hard for a ring that will be so gaudy they won't wear it everyday, and for their names on a trophy they can't keep. But they will not forget this night or these feelings."

Damn straight, Doc. Thanks, and we'll see you again next season.

*****ANd now, a few notes:
-Danny Briere looks HOT with a playoff beard and a black eye. Yeah, I said it.
-If I never have to see Scott Hartnell's ugly mug again, it will be too soon.
-Congrats to Jonathon Toews on the Conn Smythe trophy. There is some talk that it maybe shoulda been Kaner, but it's all good. At least it was someone from the WINNING team!
-I love how we only got about 2 seconds of Gary Bettman. *phew. He's so lame. And he looked like a hobbit next to Toews when he was presenting the Cup.
-Sharpie got #3 star of the night on the Daily Line show after the game. yay! He had 11 goals and 11 assists during the playoffs. Brilliant. I love that man.

....and I say that's about it. I'm off to bed. G'night.

don't make me hurl

For real?

This stupid article claims that more women are watching hockey because of starlets like Hilary Duff and Carrie Underwood. W.T.F.?

Get real. There are plenty of reasons to love hockey-and the cuteness of players is enjoyable- but a driving factor? Most people don't even realize that hockey players are cute, cuz you can barely see what they look like when they're on the ice. Oh, that.

Sickening. And now all my dreams of Derek Roy randomly falling in love with me and giving me a sparkly ring... are all in the toilet. LOL Cuz you know that was the whole reason I was watching hockey in the first place..