Hockey

[smc]

Originally Posted by ila

That would be a great afternoon; hockey, friendship, and refreshments.

Yes, I forgot to mention refreshments. Of the liquid variety, I would introduce those of you unfamiliar with great beers from Canada (i.e., not Molson) to the great brews from Unibroue and Brasserie Dieu de Ciel in Montreal, and Wild Rose in Calgary. I "jump through hoops" to get the guys in Calgary to send me their beer, which isn't sold in the United States.

And, ila, if dauls were there you and I could talk about the game in German, and (unless he knows German) the commentary would be just as useless as the BBC commentary he keeps telling us about in English!

[smc]

Jeez, I hope Team Canada is better matched against Team USA than Don Cherry of the CBC's terrible match of a burgundy velour sport coat and the ugliest maple leaf tie I've ever seen in my life.

[smc]

Help!!!

Jeremy Roenick on NBC just declared this is going to be "the greatest hockey game ever" -- and it hasn't even started. And then I had to watch a segment on Lake Placid, when winning the gold was as much about the Cold War as it was about hockey. This American jingoism is precisely why I wish I could be watching the CBC coverage of the game ... even if it means an occasional peek again at Don Cherry's outfit!

[ila]

^ The game is on CTV so no Don Cherry. Although I wouldn't mind listening to Don Cherry's analysis of the game.

[smc]

Originally Posted by ila

^ The game is on CTV so no Don Cherry. Although I wouldn't mind listening to Don Cherry's analysis of the game.

Listening, yes, but seeing ... oh my god, ila, the sheer horror of his jacket and tie!

[ila]

Originally Posted by smc

Listening, yes, but seeing ... oh my god, ila, the sheer horror of his jacket and tie!

I like to check out Hockey Night in Canada just to see what he is wearing.

[smc]

Originally Posted by ila

I like to check out Hockey Night in Canada just to see what he is wearing.

I'd only heard him but had never seen him. I didn't realize that the jacket/tie combo I saw a short while ago was actually rather tame. A Google search just informed me that he is a consistently frightening dresser and that you, ila, are not alone among people who tune in just to see what he is wearing.

I'm glad I can touch type. I can watch the game without ever looking at the keyboard!

[shadows]

I could have sworn I posted that I thought that Canada would win 3-2(I know that I told a fellow guard it would be that score, while he said that it would be 6-1 US...he said that to jinx them even though he has Ryan Miller in his NHL Hockey Pool).

Or perhaps I said that to one of my friends here via PM.

Either way, great game! Both teams played their hearts out and the game could not have been any more exciting! Congratulations to both teams for giving us fans(and our respective countries) a game that was nerve-wracking right to the end.

I will admit that I only watched the third period and overtime(I woke up late...darned midnights!), but it was still worth watching. I cringed when Kane knocked the puck off Crosby's stick during the breakaway(I think that Crosby would have scored if Kane hadn't done that) as I had a gut feeling that the US would tie it up. Darn gut feeling! You cannot fault Luongo on either of the goals(the first was a deflection, and the second had 3 US players in front of him...where the heck was the defense?). They both played well in this game.

I think that Luongo proved that he can be a big-game goaltender after his performance in the Olympics.

One thing I must talk about. I, among many other Canadian fans, have bashed the play of Chris Pronger for this entire Olympics. I will admit that. I will also admit that I admired Pronger during the playing of the Canadian National Anthem after the medals were handed out. Most players sang the anthem, a couple you could tell were nervous about it(they probably are like me, and do not like singing in public), but Chris Pronger was the loudest of them all! You could tell he was proud to be Canadian, and that put a smile on my face. Good on ya, Chris!

[smc]

I heard it today on the subway, and then again at lunch in a pub, and then from a student at school, and then again on the subway home, and then from a sportscaster on a Boston TV station:

"The Canadians won because they are NHL players."

In almost every case, I pointed out that the entire roster of both teams were NHL players, but for Americans, they have to find an excuse. So out with the logic, and in with the rationalizations. Even completely illogical rationalizations.

One guy said, "Yeah, that's true, but I don't think they should let the NHLers play."

Had Team USA won, I know he would not have had the same opinion.

For the few of you who asked why I (an American) rooted for Canada, this is part of the explanation. Americans! Ugh!