One Game, Hundreds of Battles
by ColoradoAg on Mar 1, 2010 3:53 PM CST
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Please check out ColoradoAg from Spence Park Soapbox (@SpenceParkSB) who is dishing hilarious and informative Aggie scoop.
He also happens to be a huge puck head and has followed the Olympic Hockey scene the way HenryJames follows elementary school buses. I asked him if we could reprint his post mortem of yesterday's heartbreaking loss and he said go fuck yourself.
But I did it anyway.
Enjoy.
- S.R.
_________________________________________
Listen as you read this post. I'm feeling nostalgic.
Hockey is a game of battles. In the course of a game, there are hundreds of battles that take place in the corners, in front of the net, along the blue lines, and in the minds of the combatants. Most of these battles result in a benign stalemate as the opposing players both do their jobs and play continues. Sometimes a goaltender bails out a defenseman that was pantsed on the blue line. More often than not, a lapse in focus or effort signals a lost battle and the puck winds up in the back of your net as the host country’s syrup suckers toast Molson and blast Brian Adams.
Sunday’s gold medal tilt between the US and Canada was a tremendous culmination of two weeks of elite hockey. It sucks something fierce to lose the way the US did. However, winning just wouldn’t be as fun if you weren’t violently kicked in the stones every now and again would it? Aggie fans live by this credo.
I couldn’t be prouder of Team USA. Coming into Vancouver, they really had no business medaling. The closest thing we have to a Crosby or Ovechkin is Patrick Kane – a helluva player in his own right, but a virtual unknown to most of America. This team of fearless young guns and savvy vets drove their tank into Hockey Mecca and came as close as one could to ripping out the Queen’s heart and turning it into a McRib – socialized medicine be damned.
If you didn’t have a boyish celebration complete with squealing and jumping on furniture when Zach Parise knocked in the tying goal with 24 seconds left, then I deem you a traitor. These boys were down 2-0 against a big, disciplined team that was bent on delivering gold to the guttural Canadians whose pride in the game of hockey is unrivaled by anything we have in the States. The US played with a platinum set of balls. Look no further than veteran Chris Drury. Drury’s role had been reduced to penalty killing and defensive situations. He accepted his role without complaint and decided he was going to block shots like a maniac. As someone who was largely expendable during his playing days, I can tell you that blocking shots blows. It is scary as hell and hurts. Yet, the US were sacrificing their bodies and throwing their faces in front of 100 mph blasts. Battles.
Canada won two distinct battles that led to their first goal and the game winner in OT. On the first goal of the game, Mike Richards of Canada won his battle in the corner with a strong forecheck that resulted in Jonathan Toews putting the puck home. The golden boy of Canada – Sid Crosby – notched what might be the biggest goal in Canadian hockey history with the tally in OT. Crosby will be the one that is forever remembered, but he isn’t the one that made this happen. Jarome Iginla made it happen. Iginla fought like hell along the boards and was able to deliver a beautiful pass to Crosby. Battles.
ColoradoAg’s All-Tournament Team
Note: there are no Euros or Russians on this team. Why? Fuck ‘em. That’s why.
Forward | Sidney Crosby| Canada | Twenty fucking two years old. In the last year, he has been the youngest captain in NHL history to hoist the Cup and he just scored the largest goal in Canadian hockey history. While I think he had a quiet tournament by Crosby standards, he still managed to be one of the best players in Vancouver. His hockey intelligence is scary. It is on a Gretzky level. His humble confidence gleans a maturity level decades beyond his age. He might be the best player in the world and he is just scratching the surface on his ability. I’ll enjoy watching him dominate for the next 15 years.
Forward | Jonathan Toews | Canada | Toews might have been the best player in the tournament not named Ryan Miller. Sure, he only had one goal, but his seven assists drove the Canadian offense. Another superb young talent. The Chicago Blackhawks are blessed to have him and Kane together at the beginning of their careers.
Forward | Zach Parise | USA | Watching him silence an insane arena with 24 seconds to go was a thing of beauty. Parise plays with a non-stop motor and speed that isn’t matched. Make him the US captain in 2014. And, um, NHL marketing department: how’s about you do your job and let the world know who these guys are? Thanks.
Defense | Brian Rafalski | USA | Rafalski was a monster. He is such an asset offensively. He is an excellent distributor of the puck as he quarterbacks the offense. 4 goals/4 assists/+ 7 in 6 games speaks for itself.
Defense | Duncan Keith | Canada | I could be admonished for not going with a big name like Pronger, but Keith was the best defenseman for Canada. He was very strong in his own end and chipped in on the offense. Another great young player for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Goaltender | Ryan Miller | USA | Surprise surprise. His postgame interview was indicative of just how huge this game was. His pain was hard to watch. Miller was the great equalizer for an undermanned team. He might be the best goaltender on earth.
Side note: Did you watch the medal ceremonies for the men’s and women’s ice hockey? What a striking contrast between the men’s and women’s sports. Both ended the same – Canada with the gold, USA with the silver. However, the US women’s team didn’t look too sad with the silver. Hell, some of them looked happy. Meanwhile, the US men looked devastated. They left it all out there. That shit just runs deeper. Sorry, ladies. The US women won silver. The US men lost gold.
Where does hockey go from here?
The NHL has been lobbed a marketing softball from this Olympics, but I’m still not confident they won’t find a way to fuck it up. For the past couple weeks, Americans cared about hockey for the first time in decades. Some unknown US talents are now recognizable. Kane, Parise, Miller, Statsny, Sutter. Market these dudes.
Look, hockey players will never be the sexy marketing figures of the NBA or NFL. They don’t peacock around and beat their chests. They’re not controversial. While most athletes love the spotlight, hockey players get embarrassed. The culture of hockey is not about individualism. The vast majority of hockey players are the types of guys you would want to get drunk with and then let them date your sister. They’re humble. The NHL needs to capitalize on their likeability and grow the game.
Second order of business: there are a couple sport entities that are looking down the barrel of a work stoppage in the next couple years. Namely, the NBA and NFL. If this happens, the NHL needs to find its way back to ESPN immediately. For the sake of viewership, take whatever financial offer you can get. This Versus nonsense needs to stop.
Finally, stop being a buzzkill and threatening to not send NHLers to Russia for the 2014 games. Are you retarded? The past two weeks have best thing to happen to hockey in 30 years.
I’m too invested in the game. I’m curious to your thoughts, especially those of you who don’t watch hockey normally.
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Sometimes a goaltender bails out a defenseman that was pantsed on the blue line.
coloradoag is either a goalie or a forward. Defensemen are like offensive linemen. We can win every single battle in a game, save one, and the only thing we’re remembered for is the one time we got beat. No one remembers you stonewalling the opponent’s best stickhandler 20 times over the course of the game.
End rant.
by BrickHorn on Mar 1, 2010 4:02 PM CST reply actions
Great recap of the game and the situation of Hockey in North America.
One thing I enjoyed tremendously was the flow of the game with very few penalties. While hockey is a physical game (forechecks, hip checks, etc…) there is no need for fights and blows to the head to make it an enjoyable event. If we could only convince the NHL and TV networks…
by Don Gato on Mar 1, 2010 4:11 PM CST reply actions
I’m guessing the ‘Brick’ in your name alludes to your skating abilities?
I love Drury, but no matter what he accomplishes in life, he’s still the fat pitcher from Trumbull Connecticut that gleeks in between pitches. He’s had a very good career.
That game yesterday was awesome. Every player going all out, all the time. I haven’t watched much hockey since the Avs were great, but this has me curious once again. Maybe I’ll give it another go ’round, if I can find the Versus channel.
Europe wanted nothing to do with us North Americans, so yeah, fuck’em.
by magnusbleuveigner on Mar 1, 2010 4:13 PM CST reply actions
To steal an idea from a famous sports blogger, I have no idea why the NHL wouldn’t want to realign their league to Canadian vs. Americans divisions. Stick a team in the top 12 hockey markets for each country and have the Stanley Cup be a Canada vs. USA best of 7 battle every freaking year.
Who wouldn’t watch that?
Also, not sending NHL’ers to the 2014 games would require inventing some kind of new internet term that is worse than “epic fail”. I can’t possibly see them being this stupid.
by RichUT on Mar 1, 2010 4:27 PM CST reply actions
“Also, not sending NHL’ers to the 2014 games would require inventing some kind of new internet term that is worse than "epic fail". I can’t possibly see them being this stupid.”
They’re playing hardball with NBC because NBC refuses to show hockey on its broadcast channel, instead going with reruns of figure skating, etc. All but the gold medal game were on CNBC I think.
by Texas Wahoo on Mar 1, 2010 4:39 PM CST reply actions
Brick -
You’re right. I’m a forward. I was only using the defenseman as an example. There are plenty of bad things a forward can do that lead to goals for the opposition. As for goalies, well, they’re weird as hell.
Don -
Thanks. I can appreciate the cleanliness of international play, but fighting has to stay in the NHL. I could elaborate much further on this timeless hockey debate. The Olympics features a higher percentage of skill players than the NHL, so that is the main reason for cleaner games.
Magnus -
Avs vs. Wings tonight on Versus. Direct TV Channel 5%76*99
Rich -
I like the line of thinking. Like a housing bubble burst, the NHL is riddled with a lot of bad properties as a result of gluttonous overgrowth. When Gretzky took over Los Angeles 20 or so years ago, it spawned franchises in Anaheim, Phoenix, Dallas, Miami, Tampa, Carolina, Nashville, etc. If it were simple, I think the NHL would gladly drop about half of these teams. Also, our simple friends in Canada couldn’t handle 12 NHL teams. A team in Kitchener, Ontario would have a brutal time keeping up with counterparts in Vancouver and Toronto – much less New York. The NHL should definitely be skating 24 teams right now instead of 30.
Texas Wahoo -
A hardball matchup between the brass at NBC and the brass of the NHL is a cripple fight that is more sad than funny.
by coloradoag on Mar 1, 2010 5:02 PM CST reply actions
Sweet, I try to keep up with the Swedes so I can converse with my old man (Stockholm, holla). What better way than to watch the Wings? I think half the team is from The Old Country as my dad calls it.
Nice write-up by the way.
by magnusbleuveigner on Mar 1, 2010 5:09 PM CST reply actions
I actually lean toward the non-send in the Sochi war. This is as good as it will ever get. No one will care when the games start at 6 or 9 a.m. ET… or at least, no one has cared.
by Bob in Houston on Mar 1, 2010 5:23 PM CST reply actions
The pain on Miller’s face after the game is something I’ll remember.
by huge on Mar 1, 2010 5:27 PM CST reply actions
Brickhorn
real hockey fans appreciate defensemen
especially when they throw a hip check like Rob Blake.
They also hate forwards who dont back check and cnstanly cherry pick
Make sure you are on the ice with the best forward line and you can always point to your plus/minus
by innocent bystander on Mar 1, 2010 5:32 PM CST reply actions
Add one thing to Crosby’s description: “He’s a whiney little bitch.”
by VirginiaLonghorn on Mar 1, 2010 6:30 PM CST reply actions
Who is Brian Adams? Who is he, and tell me what he means to you.
sorry
by GringoSalado on Mar 1, 2010 7:08 PM CST reply actions
They’re playing hardball with NBC because NBC refuses to show hockey on its broadcast channel, instead going with reruns of figure skating, etc. All but the gold medal game were on CNBC I think.
The hockey brass had to be thrilled the weekend before, when NBC aired the Russia vs. Czhech Republic game on Saturday afternoon and then they put USA vs. Canada I on PMSNBC (non HD, btw) that evening against figure skating. Fuck NBC and fuck the Olympics brass for the programming choices.
by Blueshorn on Mar 1, 2010 8:04 PM CST reply actions
As a Colorado Avalanche fan, I was PISSED when they traded Chris Drury. That’s like wanting to get rid of Colt “winner” McCoy because he’s not Vince Young (Joe Sakic, to complete the analogy).
By the way, Texas just tied it up at 56. They finally look like they’re having fun out there.
by jc25 on Mar 1, 2010 9:30 PM CST reply actions
Thank you for the great and humbling remarks about Canada and the Olympics. We truly are swollen with national pride at everyone that participated!
Your headline was about a burst housing bubble! A Nation in Crisis …. yet the article was about hockey…
Are you considering a career in Journalism? Maybe Newspapers? The headline was incredibkly catchy and effective to garner fresh eyes.
Congratulations to you and continued success!
David Pylyp
Living in Toronto
by David Pylyp on Mar 2, 2010 7:20 AM CST reply actions
I grew up a hockey fan, became passive when I moved to a non-NHL town, and gave it up completely the year they lost an entire season due to a work stoppage. Seriously, how stupid is that? Even now that I’ve moved back to an NHL town, I haven’t been to a game in two years. The last NHL game I saw live was in 1988.
The wife and I watched the first Olympic border battle as I explained the basic rules and strategies of the game – offsides, penalties, powerplays, icing, line shifts, pulling the goaltender (which she thought was a completely stupid idea after the 5th American goal in the first game, an opinion she carried forward to the 60th minute on Sunday). She found it surprisingly enjoyable, especially because one of the American defenders lives in our neighborhood (though probably not for long).
Then Sunday happened. I gave up when we fell behind 2-nil, and was justly chastised when the lead was cut in half. By the third period of her second career hockey game, my wife was yelling at the players through the TV for failing to clear the puck out of the zone or failing to hold it in. “Why are they shooting from way out there? That’s an easy save…why waste the shot?” I tried to recall the famous Gretzky line about never scoring on a shot not taken, but I might as well have not been in the room.
When the horn signaled that the equalizer had found the back of the net, we were both jumping on the furniture. Our young children were horrified by our behavior, too stunned to call us out for parental hypocrisy. It was quite the scene.
Just as I was explaining out loud, but again to myself (so THIS is how the wife feels during a Longhorn football game), that the four-on-four game in overtime gave the higher skilled Canadians a distinct advantage, Crosby found the slightest of openings between Miller’s pads, and it was over. Sudden death. We felt violated, exhausted, and proud.
Two days later, I’m planning a family outing to an NHL game. I doubt the fever will last, but I agree with the OP that this is an opportunity the NHL needs to exploit.
by horninexile on Mar 2, 2010 12:55 PM CST reply actions
coloradoag,
As for goalies, well, they’re weird as hell.
No shit. But there’s a strange bond between a defenseman and his goalie. I can’t count the number of penalties I’ve taken because my goalie had his feelings hurt and I was asked to send a message. Dude. You’re covered in pads 4" thick. One innocent whack at your shins isn’t going to kill you. But, no, I’m supposed to go level the guy. Fucking prima donna goalies.
After a while, it becomes reflexive. I’ve given up more than my fair share of penalty kicks because, in the brief moment between noticing a striker blazing full speed at my goalie and hip-checking him into the ground, I forgot I was playing soccer.
by BrickHorn on Mar 2, 2010 2:43 PM CST reply actions
I know what you mean, but I’m on the other side of that. My old man, the brutish Swede, didn’t really understand the rules of basketball. I’d try to drive past him, and there goes lil ‘veigner into the bushes. “Dad what the hell?” {stereotypical Swedish accent ON!} "Aaaw, I’m sorry, in hockey, you play the man, not the puck." “This is a ball, a ball!” It was damn fun playing basketball with him though.
Alas, my mom wouldn’t let me play. It pissed me off at the time, but judging by my dad’s face, namely his nose, I’m alright with missing out on the experience.
by magnusbleuveigner on Mar 2, 2010 4:59 PM CST reply actions
The NHL season is too long. That is the problem with the NHL. Whose gonna play balls out when you know you have 80 games to play every year, not to mention the playoffs.
Shorten the season by 20 or 30 games and you will get better hockey.
by Chris McMinn on Mar 2, 2010 6:50 PM CST reply actions
Lets shorten baseball. If we keep doing it in small increments maybe we can get rid of it altogether
by innocent bystander on Mar 2, 2010 7:11 PM CST reply actions
Great stuff colorado.
That’s a funny story magnus. Unfortunately I didn’t get to catch any of Sweden’s games these Olympics.
by bigdukesix on Mar 2, 2010 9:37 PM CST reply actions
I’ve long been a proponent of contraction. I was a diehard hockey fan (it was my favorite sport) up until the lockout. The lockout almost completely killed my interest.
When the stoppage was looming I argued that instead of putting struggling markets on welfare, the NHL should just cut them. I even had a letter printed in The Hockey News saying as much. Sadly, the influence of my letter was negligible.
Cutting six teams would have a noticeable impact on the quality of play. Each remaining team would pick up several players from the contracted group, which would mean that the fringe NHLers of today would end up in the AHL. Shortening the season would help as well.
by bigdukesix on Mar 2, 2010 9:49 PM CST reply actions
I’ve long been a proponent of contraction. I was a diehard hockey fan (it was my favorite sport) up until the lockout. The lockout almost completely killed my interest.
Same here, although mainly because the lockout killed my Blues. They were a perennial contender for the President’s Cup in the years leading up to the strike. Since the stoppage, they’ve been one of the NHL’s worst teams.
by BrickHorn on Mar 3, 2010 1:59 PM CST reply actions
Canadians have a different mindset altogether. They usually don’t mind being no.2-except when it comes to hockey. For most, it is their passion. I’m wierd, I just can’t get “into it”. I grew up not far from where the sport was created. So, when you tell your fellow Canadians you don’t care for the sport, its as if your a traitor. I only tell people this when on American soil, btw.
by Ordinary first name, not so common 2'nd name on Mar 4, 2010 5:54 PM CST reply actions
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