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Your hock-ey team is not play-ing for a med-al........ :P
'Course, Team USA is sitting down as well. I knew they wouldn't be doing anything the minute they couldn't put away Latvia. But the Canadians certainly had the talent & expectations of winning this thing again.
DISCLAIMER: This message is intended only to insult and provoke DeeBye. Any other party insulted or provoked by this message should not take it personally, but I will find sadistic glee in having done so.
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SpazBear,Feb 23 2006, 07:07 PM Wrote:
DISCLAIMER: This message is intended only to insult and provoke DeeBye. Any other party insulted or provoked by this message should not take it personally, but I will find sadistic glee in having done so.
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:angry:
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DeeBye,Feb 23 2006, 06:35 PM Wrote::angry:
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Apologies. :unsure:
Maybe 'insult' & 'provoke' were too strong a choice in words. 'Agitate' & 'annoy', perhaps.
Let's take this in a different direction: What positive things do you see coming from the debacle of North American hockey teams at the Turin Olympics? The end of NHL players participating, at least?
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SpazBear,Feb 23 2006, 09:01 PM Wrote:The end of NHL players participating, at least?
Is that a joke? The NHL players are going to continue to play hockey in the Olympics for both Team Canada and Team USA. Mike Modano and Wayne Gretzsky both said the same thing about their respective teams in reply to the performance in the Olympics: They chose verteran players to make up a skilled team, and as a result both teams got outskated by the younger players. The vet's just don't have the same leg's as the young ones. Not to mention for team USA the three men between the pipes aren't all-star goalies in the same way Marty Brodeur, Nabokov, Khabibulin, or Dom Hasek are.
Could the old legs really make that much of a difference? After watching both teams play, I think its fair to say so. Team USA and Team Canada are both comprised of NHL players. And although many NHL players play for their countries, other countries also have non-NHL players. What's the rub? The bigger rink plays a larger role than it seems since the non-NHL players play on Olympic sized rinks on a regular basis.
Talking to a good friend's father - who played hockey in College, pro in Germany for three years, and briefly for the Toronto Maple Leafs - he has many stories about playing the military teams in college. Since they often played in European leagues, the military plays on an olympic sized arena. And even though Colgate always had much more talented players than the military teams, they were often beat. They would just skate the other team into the ground.
The long and short of it is that the NHL players will continue to play for team Canada as well as Team USA. But you may see the next time around younger talents like Sydney Crosby won't be snubbed and left out.
Cheers,
Munk
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Munkay,Feb 23 2006, 10:10 PM Wrote:Is that a joke?
No joke. The consensus is the NHL is going to allow one more mid-season-Olympics-disruption per a contractual agreement, and then call it quits. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to negotiate out of it sooner. These owners have businesses to run. Besides, we've got the World Cup, why repeat it in the Olympics?
Team USA definitely needs to get younger, and in 2010 it likely will be. It was a big mistake to keep this old corp of aging vets together for another run. A more basic problem is this:
"It was just one of those tournaments," Mike Knuble said after the loss.
"We played good hockey," said center Doug Weight. "I felt like we could have won every game."
These guys are professionals, who quickly learn that defeat is part of the game, deal with it and move on. As in, 'move on to the rest of the NHL season, which is what really matters to us.'
Another problem is Modano's post-game rant about changes needing to take place at the top levels of USA Hockey, not due to hockey issues, but because he felt he didn't get enough assistance in booking flights, hotel rooms, and getting tickets. Modano's a professional, used to be treated in a certain manner.
It's time to get the professionals out of Team USA.
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SpazBear,Feb 23 2006, 10:01 PM Wrote:Apologies. :unsure:
Maybe 'insult' & 'provoke' were too strong a choice in words. 'Agitate' & 'annoy', perhaps.
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I would very much like to contribute to this thread, but I'll have to hold off on it for awhile. It's bedtime and I might have a lot to say :)
I fully intend to post my opinions if this thread continues.
(I have never been insulted by you SpazBear. Hockey rivalries, win or lose, are good clean fun)
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DeeBye,Feb 23 2006, 10:54 PM Wrote:I would very much like to contribute to this thread, but I'll have to hold off on it for awhile. It's bedtime and I might have a lot to say :)
I fully intend to post my opinions if this thread continues.
(I have never been insulted by you SpazBear. Hockey rivalries, win or lose, are good clean fun)
[right][snapback]102820[/snapback][/right] Hockey died the day the Great One retired, and it went to hell when the players and the league successfully shot themselves in the skates last year over how to split the loot fleeced from the fans.
Jesus Saves, but Gretzky scores on the rebound. There is no one around to fill in on that bumper sticker. It used to be Esposito, the Great One filled in behind, and now . . . there is an ominous gap. A void. An emptiness.
Occhi
Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the Men 'O War!
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete
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That is absolutely true. If by that you mean the men's hockey team.
If you mean olympic hockey in general, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/olym...hockey.gold.ap/
And the demise of hockey is a bit exagerrated, though personally I didn't shed a tear during the last NHL debacle. Actually I pretty much stopped caring by that point. But I'm in the camp that believes the death of the NHL might actually be good for hockey in the long run.
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DeeBye,Feb 23 2006, 11:35 PM Wrote::angry:
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What's a Canadian farmboy to do?
If they treated the professionals like they were professional and they had the best mix of players it would probably be the USs best chance. Same for Canada.
These guys are probaby rather stressed by the scheduling trivialities of the Games and need a manager to take care of it all. But yes if the team isnt going to be taking care of the details then we are appearently just as well off with a group of amatures who have trained long as a team.
Occhidiangela,Feb 24 2006, 01:59 AM Wrote:Hockey died the day the Great One retired, and it went to hell when the players and the league successfully shot themselves in the skates last year over how to split the loot fleeced from the fans.
Jesus Saves, but Gretzky scores on the rebound. There is no one around to fill in on that bumper sticker. It used to be Esposito, the Great One filled in behind, and now . . . there is an ominous gap. A void. An emptiness.
Occhi
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Lemieux was awesome before he got old and sick.
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Other teams do not have many (any?) college kids either. They are pros also, just at a lower level.
The problem is that both Canada and US do not have teams at all. They just have a bunch of talented guys who do not feel each other and move almost by themselves, nothing more. Team Canada and USA are like the NBA is these days. Talent and nothing else. No *team*. The fact that they are old does not help on the larger rinks either.
This is why teams from the lesser hockey nations have been able to be competitive with the top teams. They have teams where players know each other, and the Olympics are the pinnacle for them. The Chechs, Finns, Swedes and Russians also have NHL'ers, but they are still in the mindset that the Olympics are *it*, and really it is only the Russians that have many NHL'ers on the team anyway.
The entrenched NHL'ers simply do not care that much. Oh they do when they are there already, but that is not enough. You actually need to devote yourself to training for the Olympics, and I do not mean skating for 2 days.
The same happened to the NBA Olympic team in the last Olympics.
-A
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One thing I haven't yet seen discussed was the last showing of Team Canada in the '02 Salt Lake games. It was composed of an even older team, and managed and coached by the exact same group. They won the gold medal in a pretty good game versus USA. What's changed since then?
I never got the feeling that Canada was really pushing themselves to win. In '02, they had something to prove. They failed to medal in Nagano in '98 (the first time NHL playesr were allowed to compete), and there was all kinds of talk in Canada about how we weren't the real hockey power in the world anymore. The Russians, Czechs, Swedes, and pretty much everyone else was producing a lot of talent and was out-playing Canada in international games. Canada had to step up and win in Salt Lake, and did so. National pride was at stake.
There really wasn't any of that emotion this time. Canada had won every international tournament that mattered, and it was very clear that Canada was once again the most skilled hockey country. They had nothing to prove going into it this time, and played lazily.
Although I'm disappointed in this Olympic outcome, I and every other Canadian is going to be that much more pumped for the next one. Our team will be playing in Vancouver in 2010. I can only imagine how much hype there will be four years from now.
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Ghostiger,Feb 24 2006, 10:26 AM Wrote:Lemieux was awesome before he got old and sick.
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Lemieux was awesome even after he got old and sick. In 1992-1993, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and took two months off in the middle of the season to ungergo radiation treatments. When he came back he won the scoring title.
When he came out of retirement in the 2000-2001 season, he scored 76 points in only 43 games.
I have nothing but love for Mario.
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Occhidiangela,Feb 24 2006, 02:59 AM Wrote:Hockey died the day the Great One retired, and it went to hell when the players and the league successfully shot themselves in the skates last year over how to split the loot fleeced from the fans.
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Just curious, but have you watched NHL hockey this season? The cancellation of last season, while a slap in the face to fans, might just have been the best thing that could have happened to the game itself. NHL hockey is incredibly exciting to watch now with all of the rules and systems changes. Under the old system, it was pretty clear that hockey was dying a slow and painful death. It really needed a fundamental format and reinstall to fix it.
I was kinda iffy about the new rules when I first heard of them, but now I'm convinced. NHL hockey is the best I've seen since the Oilers' dynasty in the 80's.
(please Leafs make the playoffs oh god ill shoot myself if you dont make the playoffs i cant stand that Ottawa is doing so well what the hell is wrong with Belfour we should fire Quinn and get another defenseman but oh god the salary cap why do we have so many old players why isnt Domi fighting everything that moves hey that Steen kid is pretty good)
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DeeBye,Feb 24 2006, 09:43 PM Wrote:(please Leafs make the playoffs oh god ill shoot myself if you dont make the playoffs i cant stand that Ottawa is doing so well what the hell is wrong with Belfour we should fire Quinn and get another defenseman but oh god the salary cap why do we have so many old players why isnt Domi fighting everything that moves hey that Steen kid is pretty good)
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I am so only responding to that (quite entertaining) long-winded rant.
The Leaf's don't need another defencemen. Those kids Harrison, Kronvall and Woz played awesome! Unfortunately, Quinn will almost certainly send them back down and play Klee, Khavanov and Berg, no matter how poorly they play, until the end of time. Fooh.
Oh, and don't worry about Ottawa. They've done great in the regular season before - we all know it's the playoffs that count. And while the Leafs haven't exactly been great in the playoffs either, it's all ok as long as Ottawa gets knocked out first :P . And now that Hasek's hurt... has anyone been paying attention to Emery? The guy bleaches his hair, gets told that it's not a good idea, pretty much forced to dye it back. Then he decides to paint Mike Tyson on his mask. Gee, what a great idea. What a super role model for all the kiddies watching you play.
gekko
"Life is sacred and you are not its steward. You have stewardship over it but you don't own it. You're making a choice to go through this, it's not just happening to you. You're inviting it, and in some ways delighting in it. It's not accidental or coincidental. You're choosing it. You have to realize you've made choices."
-Michael Ventura, "Letters@3AM"
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DeeBye,Feb 24 2006, 09:43 PM Wrote:(please Leafs make the playoffs oh god ill shoot myself if you dont make the playoffs i cant stand that Ottawa is doing so well what the hell is wrong with Belfour we should fire Quinn and get another defenseman but oh god the salary cap why do we have so many old players why isnt Domi fighting everything that moves hey that Steen kid is pretty good)
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My prediction from back in October.....
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[wcip]Angel,Feb 24 2006, Wrote:What's a Canadian farmboy to do?
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Canada has farms? What do they grow, igloos?
:whistling:
Great truths are worth repeating:
"It is better to live in the corner of a roof
Than in a house shared with a contentious woman." -Proverbs 21:9
"It is better to live in the corner of a roof
Than in a house shared with a contentious woman." -Proverbs 25:24
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GenericKen,Feb 25 2006, 10:02 AM Wrote:Canada has farms? What do they grow, igloos?
:whistling:
[right][snapback]102935[/snapback][/right] No, we raise huskies to pull our dog sleds...
:P
-G
Even the mountains
Last not forever:
Someday they, too, shall
Crumble to dust.
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02-25-2006, 08:26 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-25-2006, 08:29 PM by Occhidiangela.)
DeeBye,Feb 24 2006, 08:43 PM Wrote:Just curious, but have you watched NHL hockey this season? The cancellation of last season, while a slap in the face to fans, might just have been the best thing that could have happened to the game itself. NHL hockey is incredibly exciting to watch now with all of the rules and systems changes. Under the old system, it was pretty clear that hockey was dying a slow and painful death. It really needed a fundamental format and reinstall to fix it.
I was kinda iffy about the new rules when I first heard of them, but now I'm convinced. NHL hockey is the best I've seen since the Oilers' dynasty in the 80's.
(please Leafs make the playoffs oh god ill shoot myself if you dont make the playoffs i cant stand that Ottawa is doing so well what the hell is wrong with Belfour we should fire Quinn and get another defenseman but oh god the salary cap why do we have so many old players why isnt Domi fighting everything that moves hey that Steen kid is pretty good)
[right][snapback]102913[/snapback][/right] Deebye
The NHL and its players organization lost me forever last year, after ten years of reading their own newspaper clippings. MLB lost me in 1994, the year I swore I would never, ever, pay for a ticket to a major league baseball game again. I grew up playing baseball, and those sunzabitches have soiled a sport I love dearly. It has only gotten worse since 1994.
I had many chances to see a game in Yankee Stadium in the three years I lived in CT, but I stayed true to my vow. The only concession I will make is for a local team, the Hooks.
MLB has a AA franchise in Corpus Christi. If my daughter gets picked as a finalist to sing the Star Spangled Banner for this season, she auditioned in December, then I'll go see some AA ball by the Hooks. Here, and here only.
I watch the occasional Corpus Christi Ice Rayz games, a AA - minor leage hockey team, due to my loyalty to my next door neighbor. He is a bit of a wheel in the local hockey community.
Some times, a decision is made. Looking back is not an option. NHL doesn't even get my interest on TV, which MLB still does in the playoffs now and again.
Mac and Sammy's HR race, with me coaching my son's little league team in 1998, almost brought me back. Almost. Nothing will bring me back to the NHL. (Might watch some Olympic hockey, might not.) I fell in love with professional hockey during the late 80's, Tom Meese on ESPN: the Oilers and the Flames. Ray Borck and the Bruins. Sorry, the love is gone.
MLB is also in my rear view mirror. In the past two years, I have turned down four different offers for free Astros Tickets. I intend to continue my personal boycott, even if a chance to see Roger pitch again is made available.
The wound is too deep, the scar is too ugly, and my money would be better spent betting on cockfighting.
Occhi
Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the Men 'O War!
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete
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