Bits and Pieces

I'm still not completely sure I'm going to continue with this blog.  I don't feel as if I have any new or insightful things to say--at least not anything that can't be found elsewhere.  But, until I decide, I should keep this up to date.

So, the Blackhawks won the Cup.  Whoop-de-fricking-do.  Although I knew it would happen some day--as it did with The Boy--Kane is getting his name on the Cup.  Three of the past four years an absolute travesty has been done with Pronger, The Boy, and now Kane having their names inscribed on the Stanley Cup.  I could just cry.  But I am most upset about Kane because he is such an embarrassment--the epitome of a spoiled brat athlete.  I'm STILL not over the fact that he got less than a slap on the wrist for his 'antics' last summer.  I just cannot stand how the privileged get away with shit like that.  But I guess that's the way it is...

I didn't watch much hockey after the Wings were eliminated.  Don't get me wrong, if there was a game on, I usually had the TV tuned in, I just didn't pay much attention or listen.  That doesn't mean I was totally ignorant of what went on, however.  And I have opinions...

I'm so happy we will/should be done with hearing about Hossa and his not being able to win the Cup.  Several people have opined that he will be looking for a new team now that he finally has what he's wanted.  Interesting.  And it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he DOESN'T play out his contract with Chicago.  So far, he hasn't shown any desire to be loyal to a team, so time will tell.

I couldn't decide if I was more annoyed or amused by Kopecky.  He kept coming off like he thought he was some big shot.  Does he really think so much of himself?  I actually didn't think he was THAT good during the playoffs, was he?  It will be interesting to see whether he will follow Hossa when he leaves Chicago--if he's still around the entire time Hossa is.  I think Kopecky will just fade away in the next few years, never to be heard from again.

The player that I was most confused by was Leino.  While he was with the Wings, I was one of his biggest supporters--especially when he would give interviews and come off as a bit of an asshole.  Now I'm wondering if I was wrong about him.  His interviews as the playoffs went on didn't do him any favors, that's for sure.  He really came off as whiny and carrying a grudge against the Red Wing organization.  I hope I'm wrong and he still is being misunderstood--because of English being his second language and Finns aren't always easy to understand, etc--but I'm beginning to wonder if it really is so.  (I have relatives in Finland who I communicate with and THEIR English isn't as good as Leino's, but we still understand each other.)  I'm afraid I gave Leino the benefit of the doubt when maybe I shouldn't have.  It will be interesting to see how he plays next year, but I have a feeling he won't be universally loved in Philly by the end of the season.

I really wonder if there is going to be that big of an OMG thing happening with the Hawks in terms of players they will/won't be signing.  About this time last year, everyone was so sure the Penguins would be decimated because of the salary cap, but that doesn't seem to have been the case.  Sure, they didn't get as far into the playoffs as they had the two years previous, but they weren't at the bottom of the heap, either.  Any Penguin hater was so sure--and I was among them--that they would crash and burn this year, but it didn't happen.  So, I won't be surprised--despite the fact that quite a few players will have to go--if the Hawks make things extremely uncomfortable for the Wings this next season.  I think they will be able to work something out and the Wings and Hawks will spend the entire season fighting over the number one spot in the division, if not the conference.

Next year's Wings won't be much different than last year's.  Lebda and Williams will be gone--thank goodness--but there doesn't seem to be any new faces coming in.  With all the players healthy--from my lips to God's ears--the team should be good.  And I can't wait for the season to start.  Is this summer ever going to end?

Next...

I am already done with this hockey season--actually, I have been done for quite a while.  I accept that the Hawks will probably win the Cup and that Kane's name will be on it.  And I know that I will live.  After all, I lived through Pronger and the Piece of Shit getting their names on it, so I will get through this, too.  I managed to avoid seeing pictures or video of the Piece of Shit raising the Cup last year--well, for the most part--and I will avoid seeing Kane do the same.  All of my efforts and thoughts these days are going towards next season.  And I'm very okay with that.

The Olympics So Far

This won't be a deep analysis of the past week. No one comes here--hello! is anyone out there?--for anything close to deep analysis. All you will ever get is my point of view--maybe. I'm feeling a bit ambiguous today--a little out of sorts.

Coming into these Olympics, I knew I wouldn't watch anything else but curling and hockey. And NBC hasn't disappointed with the curling coverage. I have watched more matches this last week than I have watched the entire rest of my life! Now, I enjoy curling--I don't know why, I just do--but this seems to be getting a little ridiculous. Did the US Curling Association--is there such an animal?--pay a bribe to NBC to try and grow interest in the game? Or is NBC just being the screwed-up network that we have come to know and loathe? Quite puzzling, this is.

I started watching women's hockey--and still catch a game now and then--but lost interest very quickly when Canada and USA showed such dominance against the other teams. If Canada and USA meet in the final, I may watch to see if USA wins, but other than that, I don't care too much.

Before the Olympics began, my choices for men's hockey gold were this: Finland, Sweden, USA. The rest of the teams I couldn't care less about. I would NEVER back a team with Crosby on it--and add Getzlaf and Perry and the team is poison--so Canada was completely dead to me. And I don't care how many from the Red Wing organization are part of Team Canada. I loathe Ovechkin and hate Malkin, so I wouldn't want Russia to do well. (Sorry, Pavel.) Brian Burke is an assclown and I was very disappointed that the USA allowed Kane to be on the team, so that is why they are so far down my list. Sweden winning again could be great--after all, this is probably Lidstrom's last hurrah. But in my heart of heart's, I want Finland to win. In many, many ways, my heart belongs to the 'old country.' And then last night happened.

Watching the game between Canada and USA, I found my old patriotic self come through big time. I completely forgot everything but wanting the US to crush Canada. I don't know the last time I have been that excited about a game--the Wings haven't made it easy this year--and can't wait for the next one. It is the one after that where I MAY have my problem. The US and Finland could possibly meet in the semi-finals. And that will be a big dilemma for me. Maybe.

If the Finnish players can't pull their heads out of their asses long enough to play like they did the first two games, then I probably won't have any problems in the semi-finals, cause they won't be there. Last night it looked as if the entire roster had been changed out--they couldn't pass, they couldn't do thing one during the power play, they just played very, very poorly. I certainly hope they can do better in the next game.

And that is about it for my Olympic coverage, except:

I am really enjoying the melt-down happening with some (most?) Canadian fans after last night's loss. There are two reasons, in their mind, for the loss: Brodeur and Babcock. I agree that Brodeur didn't play a great game, but could some credit be given to the USA for playing a good game? Quite a concept. The one who is being blamed the most is Babcock, however. First, for not putting Luongo in net and second, for not playing Crosby enough. Once again, Crosby is looked at as the savior--not surprising. Oh, and the reason Babcock isn't playing Crosby? Babcock is getting back at him for the Wings losing the Cup last year. Some people need to get lives.

Oh, Well...

I only watched about half of that suckfest yesterday--just couldn't make myself watch anymore. Wow. It really hurts to be a Red Wings fan at some times--and that was about the most painful game for me. While I will despise the Penguins eternally, the Blackhawks are coming very close to them in terms of how much I hate them. I want EVERY GAME to be a 20-0 blowout with Kane losing at least three teeth each and every time he faces the Wings. He is as much of a shitass as The Boy is--just isn't promoted as much. Oh, well...

This morning I went to find out how the Rangers did last night and I certainly wish I could have seen THAT game! Anyway, they played the third game in as many days against Alpena. On Friday and Saturday, they won--Saturday's score was 8-1!--but lost yesterday. The loss doesn't matter--I STILL wish I had been at that game. After looking at the box score, it seems as if the goalies got into a bit of fisticuffs in the second period--they both got 5 minute fighting majors and 10 game misconducts and were thrown out of the game. In all, 8 different players got fighting majors/game misconduct penalties in the melee. It must have been fun cleaning up that mess. And I miss all of the fun stuff!

Possible Positives?

Once again, I didn't get to actually WATCH much of yesterday's game. From things I have read, it seems as if the play was inconsistent from the Wings--but what else is new. I guess the positive I take from the game is that they weren't blown out of the water. A one goal game, with the players they have missing, isn't that terrible.

This also made me think about how scared the rest of the teams must be right now. If the Wings can actually stay in games with half of their team injured, just how good will they (possibly) be when everyone returns to health and can play? If it is hard to play them now, they will be impossible to beat later on. This is about the only thing that is keeping me going right now.

I'm actually ill thinking about the game tonight. A very high scoring game, on Chicago's part, isn't out of the question. And the thought of Kane smiling his way to victory just makes me want to kick my cat.

Very Sad--If It's True

The school I graduated from was VERY small. In fact, the entire school had just a few more students than were in The Youngest's graduating class. The stars of the school were the athletes, the basketball players. (Other than track, the school only had basketball.) I don't think a basketball player could have gotten into trouble if he had beheaded someone in front of the district superintendent. That is how much power the athletes had. And I found the same mind-set when I went to the local university--only THERE it was the hockey players than were worshiped as gods. And so it goes at every level of our country: athletes can get away with anything. And so we come to today's story of Patrick Kane's arrest.

By now, I think everyone--at least hockey fans--have heard the story. Kane and his cousin took a cab ride, the cabbie didn't have $.20 in change to give them, the cousin and Kane beat the guy and took their $15 back from him. The kids were arrested and now the waiting begins for 'the rest of the story (?).'

Thinking that ANYONE would beat another person over $.20 is ludicrous. To think that someone making the kind of money that Kane does, is beyond belief. However, it is almost implied in some of the reports that alcohol may have been a factor in this incident. (The area of Buffalo where the two were picked up is the night-club district.) Most people don't beat someone up just because they are drunk, but a lot of people do stupid things while drunk--especially when very, very young. (I still, even at my advanced age, can embarrass the hell out of myself if I have too many drinks.)

If the real reason this happened--if it proves to be true--is because Kane feels entitled as an athlete, then I hope he gets knocked down so low that he would need a ladder just to see the underside of a snake's belly. But, unfortunately, too many athletes--professional and non--believe they are entitled just because they can run, jump, hit, shoot, etc, better than most other people. And too many times, they are proven right.

I don't really expect anything to come of this incident--for Kane, anyway. I think there is a better than even chance that the cousin will take the fall and the cab driver will get hush money. Patrick Kane will have an NHL career for as long as he wants--or as long as he can score goals.