Dear Carolina Hurricanes,
I humbly thank you from the bottom of my heart for finally winning a game. Even more thanks since it was the Captials.
Much love, as always,
HG
PS: The television contract for games must be fixed. I refuse to settle for watching half the games. I should always be allowed to view games against our biggest division rival from my own home, thank you very much.
http://hurricanes.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=396166
So it would appear that the Hurricanes have rehired Paul Maurice. While I understand that the ‘Canes weren’t playing as expected, well they’ve really been the prime example of a post-Stanley slump, I do not support the firing of Peter Laviolette. Even if they had to fire Laviolette, what could have motivated the hiring of Maurice? Clearly not his record in Toronto. And from the sheer amount of cringing that occurred at my house when the ‘Canes played the Pens in Maurice’s first game it doesn’t look like anything is changing anytime soon,
Here’s to hoping that the ‘Canes don’t start sucking any more than I’ve settled with.*
*Sounds WAY harsher then I mean it.
I’m apologizing for my extended leave of absence. Been way too busy with the end of the school year approaching. With the Stanley Cup Finals fast approaching, expect some updates soon. I’ll do my best!
Yeah, so a while ago Japers’ Rink used the website howmanyfiveyearoldscouldyoutakeinafight.com to see how many 5 year olds Sidney Crosby could take in a fight. I wish I could have found the post to see what number they came up with, but I was thinking: whatever number Crosby got, Brind’Amour should be able to take twice that. Brind’Amour is a friggin’ monster. So, just as they did, I will calculate how many 5 year olds a hockey player could take in a fight: Rod Brind’Amour style.
It’s a quiz and I am going question by question.
Brind’amour:
#1 What’s your body type?
Everyone knows of Rod’s legendary workouts and so I put Very Muscular/Body Builder.
#2 What is the reach of your arms?
The options were “Good Reach,” “Average Reach,” and “short, stumpy arms.” Um……….Average?
#3 Which best describes your sense of balance
Well, I imagine all hockey players have a good sense of balance, since they spend half their lives skating around.
#4 How high can you kick?
I put 2-3 feet. Rod doesn’t strike me as the insanely flexible kind.
#5 How tall are you?
Carolina Hurricanes website lists him as 6′1″. The average male height is 5′10″, according to a documentary I watched on TLC about really tall people. 3 inches, so I’m going “tall.”
#6 How old are you?
Carolina Hurricanes website says 37.
#7 Do you have any martial arts experience?
I don’t think so……Can you image Brind’amour using some Kung-fu to kick someone’s ass? That would be awesome. He would be indestructible.
#8 In your lifetime, how many fights have you been in?
28 according to www.hockeyfights.com.
#9 Do you have any experience fighting swarms, such as being chased by a bunch of pissed-off bees or playing starcraft against the Zerg?
Japers’ said Sidney was chased around by teenage girls, don’t think that happens for Rod. Again, questionably answering “no.”
#10 Have you ever been trampled? (by a horse, at a rock concert, etc)
Judging from the state of Rod’s nose, I’m going yes.
#11 If desperate in a fight, would you resort to biting and/or eye-gouging? (Do you fight dirty?)
Being the captain of the Hurricanes and from what I have seen of him, seems like an honorable man. I don’t think he would go there.
#12 How would you feel about the fact that you’re fighting a bunch of kids?
I don’t know how old they are, but I know Rod has young kids. My guess is he would be uncomfortable fighting children the same age as his own kids. The answer I put: “This is so wrong – these are children for pete’s sake. I don’t think I could fight them, even in self defense.”
#13 During the fight, would you feel morally comfortable picking up a child and using him/her as a weapon to throw at other children?
Are you all right? I laughed for a good 5 minutes at that one. Oh, Jesus. See above. I put no.
Answer:
19. Rod could take 19 five year olds. Fun.
Please let me know if you see a red box in a 19 in it or a bunch of nonsensical HTML. Having some problems with WordPress. Just leave a comment.
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My AP United States History final is tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Short post today, not much to talk about. My predictions:
Western Conference: Wings in 6
Eastern Conference: Penguins in 7
Stanley Cup Finals: Wings in 6
The only team in the Conference Finals now that I predicted was the Wings. And the Pens, keep underestimating them. I had the Ottawa series going much longer and I had the Rangers beating the Pens in 7. I figured I would give the Pens a shot in my updated predictions. Watch me eat my words.
Carolina on Ice found that Enloe High School student Matt Gellatly recently got drafted into the OHL by the Saginaw Spirit. Kudos to Matt on being drafted. Needless to say, Carolina doesn’t get much hockey attention outside of the Canes, so for this area, it’s pretty cool.
Update: Video
WordPress won’t embed the video for some reason, but you can watch it here. Interview on Canes website of Gellatly, junior Hurricane’s coach, and Ron Francis.
Raleigh News and Observer article
In the comments section of the above article I was enlightened with the information that Patrick O’Sullivan of the Kings from Winston-Salem, NC is playing in the NHL and plays for team USA. Upon doing some research I discovered that his stats are not so bad and that he is the first NC native to play in the NHL. Kudos to him too.
Patrick O’Sullivan official NHL.com player page
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It’s funny, Gellatly is the same age I am (we’re in the same grade), going to a school about 25 minutes away. Funny to think about. Furthermore, when I went to the Saginaw Spirit website (where Matt was drafted) I found their first round draft pick is a year younger than me. Do I start feeling old now?
So, that whole “following the Sharks because I am supposed to be a Sharks fan…”, well, I did my part. The Sharks? Not so much. Dallas took the Sharks in 6 games, finishing the series last night. However, the Sharks didn’t go with out a fight: 4 overtimes before the Stars took it 2-1 on a PP goal to a Brian Campbell penalty. I’ll be honest, I did not see after the 6 minute mark of the third period. I was watching the game on my computer and the channel I was watching crapped out on me. Frankly, I would not have stayed up to watch the whole game. I had a French test the next day (today), 1st period and could not afford to be up until the wee hours of the morning. I’ll try to remember to pay attention to San Jose next year. My both San Jose and the ‘Canes have better fortunes next season. Some brief thoughts as I watched the game:
As for real commentary, that’s all. Had to study for that French test, so not that many notes. Random things:
Philly beat out the Habs last night. Philly won in 5 games.
Pittsburgh beat the Rangers today. Pittsburgh won in 5 games.
You may recall in a previous post I briefly discussed a Flyers/Pittsburgh Eastern Conference Final. Well, guess what’s happening? This should be some of the best hockey in the playoffs. Not only is it the playoffs, with the stakes that much higher, it is between two of the biggest rivals in the league. Philly is a rough team and all of their hockey is fun to watch, but this will just magnify it ten fold.
Of the 8 games played between the two teams the Pens have won 3 and the Flyers have won 5. I don’t recall off the top of my head, but that is the first time the Flyers have taken the season in a while, no? Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have met 3 times in the playoffs, with Philly taking all 3. In 1989 the Flyers won in the 2nd round, in 1997 it was in the 1st round, and the latest one was in 2000 in the 2nd round. Now, they have never met in the Eastern Finals, but is this a precedent? History says that Philadelphia should take the series, Pittsburgh has nothing going for them. But, those were different times and different teams. Pittsburgh didn’t have Crosby or Malkin then, but Biron is on fire.
More history, of the 4 times Pittsburgh has been to the Eastern conference final they have won 2. Of the 2 times Pittsburgh has been to the Cup finals, they have won 100% of the time, in ‘91 and ‘92. Again that is only 2, but just saying. Philadelphia on the other hand has been to 7 Stanley Cup finals and won 2. So what precedence does this set? In my opinion: none. As said above, these are different teams, different players, different. Also, I don’t know if anyone cares or if it will affect anything, but all of these wins were before the “New NHL.”
Philadelphia has become kind of the Cinderella story of these playoffs. They beat the heavily favored Capitals and Canadiens. Their goaltender is doing awesome. Pittsburgh has lived up to the hype taking their respective series in 4 and 5 games. So I say, let them have at it. It should be great hockey.
Also, as I promised, I will be following the Sharks more closely. I will be watching the game tonight, hopefully I will be able to see all of it. It probably won’t be over until after midnight, seeing as I am on the east coast, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make. Who needs sleep? Maybe I’ll post some comments after the game? We’ll see.
