"Relax. Chill out."

It's been almost 5 years since my last blog post. I don't even know who reads this anymore. Frankly, something happened outside of the online world that made me question complaining on the Internet. It seemed so small compared to the life events that can actually punch you in the face.

I still think complaining on the Internet is worthless. So I'm going to try to reason on the Internet (probably worth less than worthless). I want to reason with you about the Michel Therrien - PK Subban issue.

If you're reading this it's because you clicked on a link I shared (maybe you stumbled upon it, but that's doubtful). If you're reading this, you probably already know the back story, but bare with me for a second while I lay it out, just in case it's 2025 and we're looking back trying to figure out what happened.

PK Subban, arguably Montreal's second best player (after Carey Price), is carrying the puck in an effort to generate offence. Grigorenko (bad guy Soviet, I think) knocks the puck off PK's stick. PK loses an edge and falls. Grigorenko skates up the ice in a 3 on 3 breakout. The Avalanche score the winning goal. That's abbreviated. I'll go into much more detail. You can see the play in question here.

Really, it's just tough luck for PK and the Canadiens. If PK doesn't fall, arguably the game goes to overtime and the Canadiens get at least a point in a must win game (to be honest, I don't think the Canadiens were in a must win game. There are no more must win games. It's over. It's been over for a while. Play the kids and let them develop and let's ensure a high draft pick). The play also lead to these quotes by Montreal Canadiens head coach, Michel Therrien:

1. "It’s too bad an individual mistake cost us the game late in the game.” 
2. “We believe that, as a coach, he [Subban] could have made a better decision at the blueline. He put himself in a tough position. We play as a team. When we don’t we could be in trouble and this is what happened.”

Now, a bit more back story. Michel Therrien, it is rumoured, never liked PK Subban. He made some comments prior to being coach of the Montreal Canadiens on a French language program called L'Antichambre many years ago that I can't find on the Google machine right now. 

More backstory, the Canadiens were supposed to be good this year. Really good. But Carey Price (best hockey player in the world) is hurt and the team is crapping the bed. 

Even more back story. Habs fans and Montreal media over-react. This is fact. Much like Leafs fans always think they'll win next year. And now, the Montreal media and fan base are going crazy. "Fire Therrien!" "Trade PK!" "Trade Pacioretty!" "Therrien and Bergevin are running PK out of town!" (my favourite). Which leads to the title. It was a quote by Carey Price a few years ago when the Habs lost a pre-season game. He said "Just relax. Chill out.".

Great advice, even for today. So with that all in mind, what does the 30-something (full disclosure, I'm no longer 30-something) Curmudgeon think of this? Let's break down the play:

1. Canadiens have the puck in the offensive zone with about 2 minutes left in a tied game. PK should have made a smart play. Had he passed the puck rather than tried to generate offense the game probably goes to overtime and the Canadiens win. He made a mistake. It's at least partially his fault.
2. Grigorenko made a great play to get the puck away from PK and create the breakout.
3. The breakout was a 3 on 3 and was poorly defended. As the Avs enter the Canadiens zone, each Av is covered - Duchene (who has the puck on zone entry) by Markov, Grigorenko by Pacioretty, and Iginla (the goal scorer) by De La Rose.
4. Pacioretty loses his man by watching the puck. The puck carrier is being defended. Patches screwed up. 
5. De La Rose sees the puck passed to an uncovered Grigorenko and leaves his man to defend the puck carrier. This leaves Iginla all alone in front of the net. De La Rose screwed up.
6. Scrivens over-commits to the puck carrier and can't get back in time to stop Iginla's shot. Bergevin screwed up thinking Scrivens can be Carey Price. I'm not blaming Scrivens. He did what Scrivens does.
7. Down 1 goal with 2 minutes left, Therrien benches Pacioretty and Subban (maybe De La Rose too?). His two best offensive players. Habs lose. Therrien screws up.
8. Therrien places blame on "individual play". Not naming Subban, but in the context of a question regarding Subban's play. Therrien screws up.

So that's a big list of screw ups. Subban, Patches, De La Rose, Therrien (twice). What does it all mean? It means the goal was PK's fault. If he makes the smart play, the breakout doesn't happen. It's also Pacioretty and De La Rose's fault. They left their men all alone. They forgot how to play defense. It's also Therrien's. You can't win with your best players on the bench.

So what else does it all mean? Nothing. The Canadiens are not going to make the playoffs. Even if they get those 2 points. They have a hill to climb. Here's all you really need to take away from this:

1. PK made a mistake. He'll make more. He'll score lots too. 
2. Therrien probably shouldn't have said what he said. But he's in the throes of a very tough season. His comments were correct. PK's play led to the goal. Other things happened too. Maybe he should have also pointed out the mistakes by Patches and De La Rose. Maybe. He didn't. I've said stupid things. A lot of stupid things. I'm sure you have too. You say things you don't mean. You say things you mean but shouldn't say. It happens. Especially in times of intense pressure and stress. 
3. Patches lost his assignment. Doesn't mean he's playing to be traded or hates PK.
4. De La Rose lost his assignment. He'll learn.

You want a new coach? You might get one. But not until the season's over. 

I'm no Michel Therrien apologist. I don't like him or his style. I think he stifles growth. I think he's stubborn. I think he relies on veterans too much. I think he doesn't let talent play the way they can. But I don't think he should be fired mid-season. You make those decisions after thinking clearly for a while. You wait to see who's available at year end.

And who is available? Who do you want? You know an anglophone coach probably won't work, unless it's Scotty Bowman. Guy Boucher? Guy Carbonneau? Someone from the Q?

In a perfect world, the best coach is available right now and accepted by the fans and media. The world is not perfect. So wait it out. See what happens. Make a decision with all available information when it's not an emotional decision.

PK's not going anywhere. Not unless there's an offer that can't be refused. But at $9M per season, not many teams can take him on.

Same as Patches. He'd be easier to trade for sure. But why? He's great, he's signed to a sweet deal. We'd be crazy to trade him.

So, everyone just relax. Chill out. Ride out the season. It sucks, but it'll be over soon and the bad taste will go away. I'm paraphrasing a character from The Walking Dead now "When you get a shit sandwich the best thing to do is bite, chew, swallow, repeat, until it's all over." We've got a shit sandwich for a season. Eat it. It'll be gone soon enough.

Post Script

I've ranted. I'm not sure the above is coherent. Let me know what you think. And yes, I like lists. 

The NHL Missed the Net

I've been trying to write about this in a logical yet passionate way since Tuesday evening but I can't. There is no logic and I can't remove my emotions. Yes, I'm talking about the hit that Zdeno Chara laid on Max Pacioretty in Tuesday night's Boston v. Montreal NHL game. I just can't find the words to say what I want. It's rare that I'm at such a loss for words.

In the meantime I've been digesting it all and chatting back and forth with the original curmudgeon (the OGC). The OGC suggested a post that sums it up quite nicely. I've been hoping for this for a while and now, here's the OGC:

NHL leadership stinks and the league is becoming a joke. Every time they have a chance to make a statement, they take a pass. This is the same league that hands out suspensions for vulgar gestures and flipping someone the bird. But when a guy is brutally injured, they turn a blind eye like it's nothing.

A caller to The Team 990 said it perfectly. How can players be held responsible for their sticks when they're falling on their butts and the stick flails, but not be held accountable for their elbows, shoulders and fists when in full control of their body? Only one word sums this up: bullshit.

Well put OGC. But he wasn't done. In response to this article on the Boston Herald website, in particular this line:

The true villain, though, is the architectural genius who placed that small, exposed stretch of boards, stanchions and glass right in the area between the benches and created a tremendously dangerous hazard.

The OGC had this reply:

Is that a little like blaming a rape victim because of the low cut dress she was wearing? In your world, Mr. Harris, I guess the aggressor is never at fault.

The Last Post - 2 Wilco Shows in 3 Nights

I'm horrible at blogging lately. I just can't find the time or something that ticks me off enough to make a curmudgeonly post. So I'm giving this blog up. That's not to say I'll never blog again, in fact I want to, but I think it'll be without a curmudgeonly twist. Rather, I'll just blog about my life in general, maybe some concert reviews, things like that.

So I'm ending this baby the way I started it; with a concert review. But this time you get a two for one deal. I saw two Wilco shows in 3 nights last week. Don't know who Wilco is? For shame. Go to YouTube and check some shit out. Jesus etc. may be the best song of the 2000s.

We showed up late for the first show that was at the Olympia in Montreal. It's such a beautiful venue, with red and gold trim on the inside. It reminds me of an old theater, most likely because it is (built in 1925). As we walk in I can hear "Bull Black Nova", a song off the new album "Wilco". They apparently started with "Wilco (the Song)", which isn't one of my favourites anyway and followed that with "I am Trying to Break Your Heart", a song I'm upset I missed but I'll live.

So, I wasn't pleased about showing up late, but we didn't really miss much. We walk into the theater and have to settle for a spot at the back. No problems there, I generally like the back, though it's not tough to get to the front at a Wilco show, people are pretty mellow. But the crowd was buzzing. There was an excitement in the air, although it could have been just me being in MTL or the 4 shots of Jagermeister.

The show progressed as follows:

You Are My Face
One Wing
A Shot In The Arm
Muzzle Of Bees
Pot Kettle Black
Deeper Down

At this point, I'm thinking they don't have it tonight. The band wasn't tight and I wasn't feeling it, even after hearing my favourite song "A Shot in the Arm". Then they played "Impossible Germany". Now this song has one of the greatest solos in the world and Nels Cline nailed it. I almost bought a Jazzmaster because of him. I still think it wouldn't have been a bad idea, but I'm more than happy with my Tele.

Needless to say I was won over instantly. His guitar solo changed the whole complexion of the show like a fight can change momentum in a hockey game. And it was all gravy from there. The rest of the show went like this:

Impossible Germany
She's A Jar
California Stars
Summer Teeth
Jesus, Etc.
Handshake Drugs
You Never Know
Hate It Here
Walken
I'm The Man Who Loves You

Encore:
Broken Arrow (Neil Young cover)
Via Chicago
The Late Greats (dedicated "tonight, and always, to Anvil")
Heavy Metal Drummer
Red-Eyed And Blue
I Got You (At The End Of The Century)
Casino Queen
Hoodoo Voodoo
I'm A Wheel

Tweedy, a well known curmudgeon, was even in a good mood. Congratulating us on all of our gold medals and inviting us to sing "Jesus etc." He then said that it was the best he's ever heard (it wasn't, the crowd sang the first chorus twice). I also got a kick out of him dedicating "The Late Greats" to Anvil. Good stuff.

All in all, a good show. It started slowly, but hit high gear after "Impossible Germany".

I had a well deserved day of rest on Sunday, though I stayed up long enough to see that hockey game that a whole lot of people watched. The next day I was well rested, but fighting a cold. No matter, it wasn't going to keep me from the National Arts Centre to see Wilco.

We arrived very early, right before the opening act started. So we grabbed a beer and checked out the merchandise. Nice stuff, but nothing I really needed to add to my collection.

The opening act (Bahamas) starts and we head down to our seats. The NAC is a theater where you get all sorts of stuff; opera, theater, rock shows. I was concerned because it's seated. Seated places tend to have seated people. You don't sit at a Wilco show.

So we walk down to our seats and notice that we'd walk in front of half the row to get there. We weren't prepared to do that and the opener, while good, wasn't really something we wanted to check out. "Want to go back to the bar?" "Do I?!"

In all fairness, the opener was talented, it was just too quiet for my liking.

So, immediately after the opening act is done we make our way to our seats. There's no way we're missing any of this. We get to our seats, chat up some folks we know and then the lights go down. Here we go. The crowd stands right away as Wilco starts with "Wilco (the song)". So far the band seems much tighter than on Saturday night. Good sign.

They follow it up with "Bull Black Nova" and the crowd starts to sit. I say to Dino "Do not sit down; this is a rock show not an opera." Yet we sit anyway. The crowd rises again when "Company in my Back" starts next and I say "I don't care what happens, I'm not sitting again. This isn't church; you don't rise and sit and rise and sit." And we didn't.

The rest of the show progressed like this:

I am Trying to Break Your Heart
One Wing
Shot In The Arm
Side With The Seeds
Deeper Down
California Stars
Impossible Germany
Blue Eyed Soul
Handshake Drugs
You Never Know
Jesus, Etc
Poor Places
Reservations
Spiders
Hummingbird

Encore:
Broken Arrow
Via Chicago
Passenger Side
Hate It Here
Walken
I'm The Man Who Loves You

Another great show and the band was better on this night than Saturday. However, they still picked it up a notch during "Impossible Germany". Tweedy was genial again, though there were a couple of instances that I thought we'd be in for trouble. He noted how happy we all were and asked if we had won some major sporting event. Someone in the crowd yelled "entertain us" which made me cringe. I suspect he heard, though he said "I can't hear you, but it doesn't matter" and broke into whatever song was next. Things could have turned then and I suspect he's mellowed out (ahem).

He also asked us to sing Jesus etc. and noted that the crowd in MTL had done it better than anyone. He challenged us to top it. I suspect he knows nothing of Ottawa crowds. Anyway, we did fine, though he pointed out that we messed up the second verse (we did).

The guy beside me thought it'd be fun to guess every song before it was played. He'd been following them around for a bit and was in MTL too. So before every song he yells "Heavy Metal Drummer" or "Via Chicago" and then proceeds to sing whatever song they are playing. I don't like this. I came to hear Wilco, not drunk dude next to me. But I wasn't about to let that spoil my night. I let it go and it was all good from there. In fact, he was a good guy and he was just having his fun.

I was lucky enough to see two great shows in three nights. I also read online that my friend had two tickets to the show in Halifax and I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about flying down. I hope you ladies had as much fun as I had.

Well, the curmudgeon is signing off. Follow me on Twitter for microblogs and I'll post something new someday without the curmudgeon twist. Hope you had as much fun as I did.

Toronto Sports Network - UPDATED

Updated at bottom.

I've complained about TSN being very Toronto-centric in my NHL draft diary but today's headlines really annoyed me. Here's a list of all the links to stories on TSN's main page this morning:

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Canucks' Burrows slams referee after loss to Predators
Serena Williams dominates in Sydney to win 2010 debut
Veteran sumo wrestler Kaio notches record 808th win
Weber's game-winner leads Predators to road win over Canucks
Anderson makes 44 saves as Avs drop Flames in shootout
Pacers rally from 23 points down to stun Raptors
Maynard beats Diaz in Ultimate Fight Night main event

Monday, January 11, 2010

Serena Williams dominates in Sydney to win 2010 debut
Huge night by Nash helps Suns hold off Bucks
Pound: Figure skating a 'nightmare sport'
Wilson may shake up Leafs' lines to help Kessel out of slump
Walling: Saint Mary's to welcome Danton
Fast Break: Rautins says Bosh is the best Raptor ever
McGwire admits to steroid use during 1998 home run race
Report: Blue Jays scouting Delgado in winter league
McGwire's original testimony before Congress in 2005
Fleury apologizes for ripping Flames on his blog
Coveted LHP Chapman signs 6-year deal with Reds
Coyotes' Jovanovski suspended 2 games for elbowing
Bucks lose Redd for remainder of the season
Rangers, Guerrero agree on one-year deal
Double Play: McGwire deserves to be forgiven like Rodriguez
Blackhawks extend president McDonough through 2016
Stronger, Higher, Homer? Simpsons go curling
Canada names its Olympic long track team
Seahawks make it official with Pete Carroll
Flames host Avs, Canucks battle Preds in Monday action
Danton cleared to attend St. Mary's; expected to play hockey
Lindsey Vonn dimisses the hype
Eagles say McNabb will return for 12th season with team
Langenbrunner picked as USA's captain for Vancouver
Mark McGwire's full statement
Streaking Canucks gain ground in TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings
Canadian foursome set to tee off on PGA Tour in 2010
Heavy rain closes Olympic host mountain
Razor's Edge: Red Wings a model for resiliency
Watkins, Bowman, Chiu top Als' list of potential free agents
Texas Longhorns top men's hoops poll for the first time
Flashback: Beckie Scott waited to receive gold
Bosh, Raptors start brief road swing in Indy on TSN
More Wizards meet authorities about Arenas investigation
Six-goal week earns Canucks' Burrows first star honours
Chisholm: Of Bosh, Turkoglu, and the NBA trade deadline
Hall tops Seguin in Central Scouting mid-season rankings
Doughty piling up points since Team Canada announcement
Armstrong: Five improvements for Raptors to take next step
Jones versus Vera set for main event of UFC Fight Night 21
Tiger-Cats ink Peter Dyakowski to contract extension
Pens go for consecutive wins in clash with Wild on TSN2
Jayson Williams pleads guilty to '02 shooting; to serve time
Mavericks acquire Najera from New Jersey
Man U aims to reduce massive debts with bond sale
Bus attack highlights security concerns ahead of WCup
Sutter furious at laser pointer wielding Canucks fan
Cullen: First Fantasy Puck Mail of 2010
Schumacher's return to F1 begins with drive of GP2 car
Tom Hicks' son resigns as director of Liverpool
FIA to appeal court's decision to overturn Briatore's ban
Report: Canadians Stout, Goulet added to UFC 113 in Montreal
Henin pulls out with injury; upsets rule Monday in Sydney
Monfils withdraws from Sydney tournament
Lightning beat Devils in completion of suspended game
Henderson unifies lightweight title at WEC 46
Dansby's fumble return in OT helps Arizona to record victory

Noticeably absent is a story about a 4 point (FOUR!) game by Mr. Guillaume Latendresse of the Minnesota Wild. Gui! had a hand in every goal scored by the Wild last night. You'd think that in a country obsessed with hockey this would be headline news. Especially considering the network aired the game and Gui! is a Canadian boy. But it's not and I'll tell you why. It's the Toronto Sports Network and he's French (yep, I went there)!

First, the Toronto bias.

TSN needs room on its site for stories about who Phil Kessel's linemates are going to be, why Chris Bosh is the greatest Raptor of all time, who the Blue Jays are scouting and something about Homer Simpson. As if a story about who will be playing on a line with a guy on one of the worst teams in the NHL is bigger news than a guy who notches 4 points in a game and is a part of every scoring play. A 4 point night is nothing to scoff at and should be an entry on your site the day after it happens. You even showed the game, you must have had reporters on hand.

I'm tired of TSN calling itself Canada's National sports leader. It is Toronto's sporst leader. At least Sportsnet has 4 different channels based on region. TSN has 2 stations, but focused on Toronto. While RDS is obviously biased towards Montreal it is a French speaking station; it should be biased towards Canada's only French based team.

Now, the French Bias. This was covered by Bob Sirois in his book Le Québec mis en échec: la discrimination envers les Québécois dans le LNH (Quebec bodychecked: discrimination against Quebeckers in the NHL). Mr. Sirois contends that prejudice is alive and well in the NHL and he points this out with the lack of esteem held for French players when compared to anglophone peers.

You think Sirois' crazy? Again, the Latendresse story was not included in TSN's links. Also, have a look at all of the hockey related news above and see if you can find a French name. You can't. I understand that Fleury is a French based name, Theo is not French.

If it weren't for its grapple on sports in Canada, I'd be done with TSN. As it is now I watch RDS almost exclusively for games and news updates and will no longer visit TSN on the web. Frapper la rue TSN.

Update

Alex Burrows is from Quebec. His story is the first on the list above. However, his story is a story of a vendetta between him and a referree. The ref, Stephane Auger, was also involved during the Shane Doan racial slur. It all smells a tad funny, and while I'm not entirely sure what to think of it, since both Burrows and Auger are from Quebec, I still think it's incredible there was (and still) no mention of Gui!'s 4 point night against the Stanley Cup champion Pens.

You Were Expecting Gretzky?

I've heard it said that the definition of crazy is repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting different results. So does that make Bryan Murray stark raving mad? Didn't he know what he was getting when he signed Alex "the artist" "AK-27" Kovalev?

I've watched Kovy for the past 5 years in a Habs uniform only to be frustrated, then dazzled, then further frustrated, then happy he was gone. Sure, he can be a game changer but more of than not he's lazy and uninterested.

Kovalev has four goals and four assists in 16 games, which puts him on pace for 41 points this season. That will change, he'll score a bunch for a week, then cool off again and likely end up somewhere near 50 points. You'd be crazy if you expected anything more.

Three Jerks on the Radio

I voiced my distaste for the Team 1200's morning show personalities in a recent post. My overall gripe is that on a morning sports radio show the hosts rarely talk about sports. Secondary to this is that they biased to the point that they don't even discuss other games. In fact, they rarely, if ever, talk about baseball, football or any sport without an Ottawa connection. Finally, they aren't funny at all. If they were funny I could probably live with the lack of sports content.

On Wednesday October 7th I conducted a bit of an experiment. I decided to track the content of the show to see if it was just me getting my hate on or if the jerks really ignore the sports content in their morning sports show.

Before I get into the details I should briefly touch on the general format during my listening time (7 am to 7:45 and 8:30 am to 8:50 am). The show has a 1 to 3 minute sports update every 20 minutes by someone other than the jerks. Pretty standard sports radio fare. So 3 to 9 minutes of every hour has guaranteed sports content. There are traffic and weather updates as well. Finally, there is a contest every day called the Dirty Dozen at around 7:30. Callers are asked 12 questions and if they get at least 6 right they win. If they don't they have to recite some stupid "I am not a man" speech.

For purposes of this experiment I've restricted my notes on the content to the discussion by the jerks. I'm ignoring the 20/20 update and the traffic and weather. The jerks get a point for every segment that involves sports and lose a point for every segment that doesn't. You'd expect the score to be above zero. Anything below zero is a fail.

Today the first words I heard from the jerks were a discussion of David Letterman's apology to his wife followed by the attractiveness, or lack thereof, of said wife. Score - 1 for the jerks.

Next up was some praise for their Swedish God's goal against a guy in his first ever NHL game (a goal he should score). Score back to even.

This was followed by an interview with Cyril Leeder, president of the Sens that began with a chat about Homer Simpson. They played the Simpsons "na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na leader" (think Batman) clip as the intro which brought Homer about. I'll be generous and give the jerks another point since Mr. Leeder has a sports connection.

The interview with Cyril Leeder continued with a request to bring back the ice girls that shovel the snow during breaks in the game. I already gave you a point for the interview, but I'm taking one away now because the request lead directly to a conversation about whether or not a girl wearing a hockey helmet was sexy. They then try to make a joke about needing to wear a helmet while ploughing (their word, not mine) your wife. Not funny at all. Score back to zero.

The Dirty Dozen was up next with the categories being New York Islanders dynasty, sports siblings and the Rideau Canal. 2 points for the jerks and 1 against since there was no sports connection to the canal questions. The jerks are above water.

At this point I went to the office to grab some supplies and came directly home to jump in the car and drive about 25 minutes west of my home. A perfect opportunity to continue the experiment. This particular portion of their show included chats about:

• Boston Candy (-1);
• teen drinking (-1);
• smashing cars (-1);
• hat trick trivia (+1);
• travelling to Jamaica (-1);
• starvation insurance (-1);
  
• fighting in hockey (+1);
• leafs suck (+1);
• Brittania drive-in (-1); and
• Letterman's wife again (-1).

You should double check my math, but the total score I have is -3. I can live with some non-sports banter from time to time, but this is an average day with more non-sports chat than sports chat, not to mention no discussion of:

• the huge playoff game between the Tigers and Twins to decide who gets to make the ALDS (the Twins won in extra innings);
• out of town hockey games, like the exhilarating Flyers v Caps game; or
• any other actual game that happened the night before or upcoming Wednesday night other than the Sens beating the Leafs.

You'd think in a city of 1,000,000 people you could find 3 interesting people, with good voices, that have sports knowledge and a bit of charm.

If you want to hear real sports radio, check out the Team 990. Sure, they talk about the Habs a lot but they also understand that there are other teams in the NHL and other sports that people are interested in hearing about.

My Love/Hate Relationship

In case you hadn't already figured it out, I'm a Habs fan. It's kinda weird, because I love the team, but I hate Habs fans. They're obnoxious, rude,they love to hate their team, they'll turn on their own in an instant and turn on you as a non-fan even quicker. And now, some douche has sunk to a new low. Check out this post. The guy is blaming players for shit that hasn't even happened yet. He's expecting a bad season and pinning the blame before the pre-season even starts.

I'd almost rather be a fan of the Leafs who think anyone with a leaf on their jersey is the greatest player in the world and they always have a chance to win the cup. Ignorance is bliss they say.

Don't You Know Who I Am?

A few months ago a colleague of mine told me two disparate stories of encounters with athletes. The first story involved a couple on vacation at a resort and a wonderful encounter with a super bowl winner. The second involved a couple at a bar in Chicago and an encounter with a dickhead hockey player.

The couple at the resort met a large, long haired man who was nothing but kind. They shared a table, dinner and drinks. The large man and his wife left before the couple. When the couple went to pay for their dinner they found that the large man had paid for them. They asked the server who the man was and the response was Troy Polamalu. They had no idea who he was but had nothing but nice things to say about him.

The next story is of a couple at a bar in Chicago. A young kid is at the bar and asks the couple if they want their picture taken with him. They had no idea who he was and said no. He says "don't you know who I am?" to them. They still say no. He pulls out his blackberry and googles "Patrick Kane". He proceeds to show them a picture of himself and asks "Do you want your picture taken with me now?". No remained the response.

When I first heard these stories I wasn't sure if I should believe them. I believe that Troy Polamalu is an unassuming man and kind (all the interviews I've seen and read support this view). I also believe that certain sports celebrities can be dickheads, so I didn't totally dismiss the Patrick Kane story. But to go as far as taking out your blackberry and googling yourself seemed a bit of a stretch. Then I read this story and I believed every word of the story I heard from my colleague. He even said "Don't you know who I am" to the cabbie!

I've always had a love/hate relationship with sports. I love sports but I generally hate athletes. I hate athletes because I'm not good at sports. But I also hate that they are placed on a pedestal and looked up to from the day they start winning games in high school. They are coddled and given special treatment all of their lives. That's why you get people like Patrick Kane, Donte Stalworth, Kobe Bryant, OJ, Heatley, and others acting the way they do and generally getting away with it. They think they are special because we treat them special. They think they can get away with things because we let them get away with things.

Unfortunately what this does is paint athletes like Troy Polamalu with the same brush as athletes who take what they have for granted. I knew some nice jocks in High School and university. But they were the exception rather than the rule. Most of them were (and likely still are) dickheads like Patrick Kane.

Bye bye Joe

This post is a bit of a reversal. I will be praising someone, specifically Joe Sakic. Joe Sakic is one of the greatest hockey players of my lifetime. He doesn't hold the record for most goals, assists, or points (though he is 14th, 8th and 11th respectively), but he was a consummate professional, never once involved in any type of scandal or me first scenario and he played his entire career with the same franchise, the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche.

It is a rarity in sports today where you have an athlete spend their entire career with the same team. To me, this says a lot about Joe. Joe chose to be loyal to his team, even through the recent bad years. But if you look at it another way, his team chose to be loyal to him. Why did Joe stay when Forsberg left, Foote left, Tanguay left, etc. To me, this says even more about Joe. Even as his skills were declining (sorry but it's true) the Avs wanted Joe to stay and you never once heard his name in any trade rumours and always sort of knew he'd retire with his team.

So cheers to Joe. We'll miss you, especially this February in Vancouver.

2009 NHL Entry Draft Diary

One of my favourite columnists is Bill Simmons. Occasionally, Bill will post a running diary for an event, whether it’s the SuperBowl, the NBA draft or the season finale of Real World. In fact, he did one last night for the NBA draft. I thought I’d pay homage (I think people say homage when they really mean I stole this idea from so and so) to Bill with my running diary of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, or as they say in Montreal "2009 Repechage". Also, I’ve got nothing better to do tonight and I’ll be watching the draft, so why not?

5:14 – I’m home from work, the draft is 1:46 away and I’m watching Around the Horn. I’m guessing they won’t mention the draft. I am also curious about Garth Snow. Have you seen him on TV this week? The guy is huge. He has broad shoulders which makes me wonder if all that talk about him wearing oversized pads was founded (it probably was). So I’m going to Google Garth Snow.

He’s 6ft 3, 200 lbs, or was during his playing career. So maybe these pads were his size:


Wow, also found this photo:



I’m guessing that’s not Garth’s family. See, it’s not just the young Habs that like to have some fun.

5:17 – I’m starting to re-taste that shawarma. I should have gone to the rib festival instead. The GM ad is on. Does that GM restart, rebuild, we’re all better now annoy anyone else? You know how I feel about the GM thing.

5:20 – Fox Harbour, NS is spectacular, if you can afford the $325/night room plus $225 green fee. You have to be a guest at the resort to golf. It’s not as bad as I thought. Plus, you gotta prop up that economy.

5:28 – The new Cowboys stadium kinda looks like a bike helmet:


5:29 – No NHL draft mention on Around the Horn, let’s see what the PTI guys have to say.

5:50 – An ad for the NHL draft summarizing Vinny Lecavalier’s career just came on. Why are you teasing me? We all know he won’t be a Hab.

5:59 – No NHL draft mention on PTI, a sports talk show, but a 2 minute segment on Michael Jackson. REALLY? And Wilbon chooses to remember him pre 1984. Come on Wilbon. His history is his history. You can’t just separate the good from the bad.

I’m surprised about the lack of NHL content. They chatted about the NHL every night during the playoffs. I thought the league turned a corner with the PTI guys. Oh, they just said, more coming up including the NHL draft, but only the Americans get to see it. Blast! No more updates until the draft starts, unless there’s something important on SportsCentre.

7:00 – TSN’s 2009 NHL Entry Draft coverage begins with everyone asking “who will Garth Snow select first overall?” My money’s on John Tavares. TSN, the Toronto Sports Network has been building this guy up for years (he’s from the greater Bippity area © GValentino). My guess is he’ll be a Jason Spezza type; lots of offensive talent, but mistake prone and a defensive liability.

7:02 – Victor Hedman baby pictures?!?!.

7:04 – First trade of the night? Pronger to the Flyers? He’s just what the Flyers need to get dirtier. TSN is saying it happened, but nothing confirmed yet.

7:13 – Bettman’s on stage with Henri Richard and Cournoyer in an obvious attempt to not get booed. The crowd doesn’t boo, until Bettman speaks, in broken French. Even Helen Keller could speak French better than the Weasel.

7:18 – The New York Islanders select Tavares. Biggest non-surprise of the year. I like that Snow tried to build suspense, but everyone knew they’d pick Tavares (even though Hedman is the better choice). They need a poster boy to get a new arena build and with 10,000 plus fans in Nassau waiting, and wanting Tavares, there was no way he wasn’t going to be their first selection.

Blob Mackenzie is going over Tavares’ OHL stats. I may eat my words about his talent; he broke Gretzky’s record as a 16 year old and is the OHL all time leading goal scorer (though he played 4 years).

7:25 – It’s confirmed, the Flyers send Sbisa, Lupul and 2 first round picks to Anaheim for Pronger. I hate the Flyers. I hate Pronger. I hate them both more now.

7:26 – Brian Lawton (first overall pick in 1983 – I thought it was Yzerman, have to look that up – Stevie Y was 4th) selects Victor Hedman. Another non-surprise…Duchene will go next to the Avs.

Hedman sounds like he’ll be a good D man. 6 foot 6. He was a great player at the World Junior Championships this year and has been playing against men in Sweden for a year already. 7:35 - No more pick-by-pick updates.

I’ll update for trades, Habs picks/news and any other interesting items (like how many times the Toronto Sports Network cuts to Brian Burke (4 and counting).

7:40 – Duchene is from the same city – Haliburton – as Bernie Nicholls. Bernie won’t make the Hall of Fame, but he was a great player. AND Duchene was a hug Avs fan growing up, with signed Sakic and Roy (the greatest goalie ever) jerseys. Good for him. He fist pumped when Hedman went to Tampa, knowing he’d end up an Av.

7:51 – Evander Kane has 7% body fat. I think I ate 7% body fat in the pig’s cheeks we had at Play on Sunday night.

8:02 – Columbus trades its 2 picks for 4 Islander picks. The Isles move up their next two picks up (next being 16th) and the Jackets get 2 extra picks. Smart move by Columbus. According to Brian “great hair” Lawton, picks 5 to 50 are pretty much a coin toss. Must be one of those crazy Dungeon and Dragons coins that have 45 sides.

8:09 – Leafs GM Burke gets booed. Excellent. They select Nazem Kadri, another GTA local, and Pierre McGuire thinks that Bryan Murray, Sens GM, is incensed. Pierre thinks the Sens wanted Kadri.

Holy shit. Burke is wired for TSN. Of course. I shouldn’t be surprised anymore but it’s so blatant that I’m watching the Toronto Sports Network. I wonder if this is on RDS. Yes it is, but not in HD (I hate Rogers cable). But hey, it’s Jacques Demers. My friend dated his daughter, in grade 3.

Kadri’s favourite team used to be the Montreal Canadiens. Now it’s the Leafs (according to Kadri). A true Habs fan would not have put on that Leafs jersey. A true Habs fan would have pulled an Eric Lindros. I think I hate Kadri.

(That last line was obviously a joke, but I have to write a post one day about cheering for a jersey. That’s pretty much what we do. And being friends with me because we cheer for the same jersey. Throw in some Chomsky and drunken talk at Scotiabank Place. BAM! There’s your post.)

8:27 – Speaking of Scotiabank Place, the Sens pick Jared Cowen. The 6 foot 5, 216 pound Jared Cowen. That should fill a part of the void left by Chara’s departure. Some, Chara is 6 foot 9. Murray tells Duthie he can’t see a Heatley trade happening tonight. And I’m telling you, I don’t see a Lecavalier to Montreal trade happening ever.

8:38 – Alright, it’s Friday night. I’m outta here. Check out TSN for more picks. And let me know if Lecavalier ends up in MTL.