Hockey Day In Canada

G'day folks,

I know it's been a while since I touched base with you but for one reason or another I had writer's block. Not that there wasn't enough stories to write about what with the Sens' pathetic season so far, Sean Avery, The Bruins in 1st place, Brodeur's injury, the World Juniors, the All-Star game including the penalties to the no-shows, fighting in hockey, etc...heck I could go on forever. It's just that everytime I sat down to write about something another would happen. If only I could get paid to do this full-time...that would be cool...then I wouldn't have any lag time in-between stories. Alas, that is not the case.

But I digress...I would like to talk about something that has become an annual event. Not the Winter Classic although I should've spoken about that one too...it was awesome!!! No...I would like to talk about HOCKEY DAY IN CANADA!!!

This event was first broadcast by the CBC in mid-Feb. 2000. The idea was quite simple. Set aside one day where all 6 Canadian teams play against each other. The brass at CBC also decided it would be a good PR move if they could connect with the community. Obviously not the same folks who decided it was too costly to keep the "Hockey Night In Canada" song...again, I digress. Anyway, the connection would be that if you could prove you had the biggest hockey heart of any other community in Canada the CBC would give you some cash...as well, the whole day would be broadcast from there....Excellent idea!!!

So here we are entering our 8th Hockey Day in Canada...this is quickly growing into another branch of the Canadian Hockey Family Tree!! You gotta love it!!! Ummm...for those of you that are good in math and can't understand why we are only going into our 8th HDIC it's because 2005 was cancelled due to the player's lockout.

So anyway, this is a full day of showing grass-roots hockey...pond-hockey...street hockey...current members of the hockey hall-of-fame, etc. All in the spirit of Canadian's enjoying hockey! Don Cherry and Ron MacLean have a full schedule as they meet the fans and find out what makes their hockey minds click. This year the winning community is Campellton, New Brunswick and that's where Ron and Don will be on Feb 21st.

This year's line-up will be a must-see as the 6 Canadian teams will face-off against each other. Ottawa will be in Montreal; Vancouver will be in Toronto; and Calgary will visit Edmonton (always a great game!!!!) Of course there are other games involved that day...13 games in all that will begin at 1:00pm with Pittsburgh in Philadelphia (a Pennsylvania must-see) and finishing with the classic Calgary vs Edmonton at 10:00pm. Oh yeah...and my Bruins will be busting into Florida to beat the crap out of the Panthers at 7:00pm.

The Nasty Hockey Show will be doing their part this year. We will be filming another episode at Philthy McNasty's right after the Ott. vs Mtl. game. We will have our special guest Liam Maguire talking trivia so please come on out with the family and enjoy this amazing day of hockey love!!! Can you say koombaya...koombaya...???

Once again folks...if you haven't had the chance to catch any of the past Hockey Day In Canada shows then you have truly missed something special. Of course it's never too late!!! Start the family tradition now...it's all for the love of the greatest sport in the world...HOCKEY!!!!

Hope to see you at Philthy's...there will be prizes all day and tons of hockey to keep you energized!!!

CHEERS!!!
The Rokpig

Got an Opinion?

G'day Folks!!!

The NHL regular season has kicked off for 4 teams in Europe already but the rest of the NHL officially starts this Thursday, Oct. 9th. The new season always brings new hope for die-hard fans who suffer through season after season of terrible results. Most hockey fans have a favourite team and are not ashamed to show it or talk about it no matter where that team ends up by the first week of April.

The problem is this...who listens!?!?!?

Most radio talk shows will only take your call if you have something to say that fits what they want to talk about. Other stations will only take your call if it's about the home team. You can email team websites and hope your opinion gets heard...chances aren't good!!! How about the local newspaper? Thanks to the internet, you can send your opinion to papers around the world now so if you're a Coyotes fan living in Ottawa you should be able to send in your thoughts to the Phoenix News Daily and it should be heard LOUD AND PROUD!!! But not so my fellow hockey fan...not so at all!!!

So where can we go to vent about our hockey team??? Is there a platform that will allow us to speak freely about hockey?? Where can we say what we want and know that people are hearing it and feeling the same pain as we do??? I'm here to tell you that this mecca exists!!!

That's right...if you have an opinion about hockey and your hockey team that needs to be heard then read on. If you feel the need to stand up for your team no matter how bad they are then read on!!! I'm telling you about a place where true hockey questions are answered...true hockey tales are told...and true hockey dreams are squashed!!!! A true forum to express your opinions...in front of a hi-def camcorder...and posted on the internet for the world to view in an honest and carefree surrounding.

I'm talking about the Nasty Hockey Show!!! A place where you can voice your opinions and stand up for your team!! Can you think of any other medium where that freedom exists? I didn't think so...

If this concept appeals to you then please join us at Philthy McNasty's in the Kanata Centrum Mall on October 18th at 5:00pm. The Boston Bruins will be in town that evening and I would love to hear you Ottawa fans tell me how your goaltending situation is better than my beloved Bruins!!!!

Any takers??? I dare ya!!!!

CHEERS!!!
The Rokpig!!!

The Ship Has Been Righted

Hey Everybody,

This is starting to fall into the wrong pattern but I do have a good reason. I haven't been putting out a blog and speaking my mind lately and I'm sure you really miss me!!! OK...maybe not but hey I can dream right? Truth is I love speaking my mind when it comes to sports and anything else I'm passionate about...like my family! This leads me to why I haven't been blogging much lately and it has something to do with the blog title...my family ship has finally been righted. We have moved out of our 1300 sq ft house on one of the busiest streets in Kanata. We have moved into a 2700 sq ft house on a quiet street in Stittsville. Very busy with the whole move thing since the middle of September and there's still a bunch of work to do...but you don't care about that!!

So let's talk about one of the other ships that has been righted! The Sens have been going down a horrible stretch since the All-Star Break. Truth be told it's been going bad for quite some time. Hard to believe these guys were good enough to get to the Stanley Cup Finals last year! I guess Mike Comrie and Tom Preissing were really that good!!! Or is Bryan Murray that good? When he took over the GM job and assigned John Paddock as head coach I thought that wasn't a bad move! Bryan's been a very successful GM before and John had successfully coached the majority of the Sens stars while he was head coach in Binghampton!!! Besides, he's inheriting a phenominal team that any coach would dream of guiding to the finals again. Well....not so fast people!!! According to Liam Maguire, John Paddock is the first coach in the modern-era to coach in the all-star game and be gone before the end of the season. There's a lot of finger-pointing as to why this happened and the Ray Emery distraction seems to be at the centre of it all. He was a distraction from the beginning and John didn't handle it properly. He subsequently lost the players in the room. Enter Bryan Murray! The re-entrance of Bryan Murray should right the ship of this team and make them contenders again...that is, if one of the goalies can get it going!!!

Another ship that has been righted is the FaveQuest Nasty Hockey Show. For those of you who don't know I have been hosting a show with different co-hosts for the past 6 weeks at Philthy McNasty's in Kanata. Some of my guests have included Liam Maguire (http://liamslament.blogspot.com/), The Sensquatch (http://www.mefeedia.com/tags/sensquatch/), Shredder from The Sens Underground (http://sensunderground.com/) and Angela Grant Saunders from Saunders Farm (http://www.saundersfarm.com/). All video footage is posted on favequest.com (http://favequest.com/) and is pretty good entertainment if you have some time to check it out. We tape every Saturday at around 5:00pm for about a half hour but we'll be taking some time off to plan for the playoff run. The Nasty Hockey Show will return on Saturday, April 5th so circle that date on your calendars and try to make it out. Liam Maguire should be on hand to handle any trivia questions and to alert us of any "Gutless Pukes" that may have made it to the playoffs...he loves to speak his mind!!! Now the reason why I say this ship has been righted is quite simple...believe it or not this show is starting to attract an audience! Every week the hits on FaveQuest have steadily increased. For me it's a feeling of accomplishment as I have never done anything like this before in my life...but I love it! What a rush it is to be able to talk to passionate hockey fans over a couple of pints as it is being recorded and sent out on the internet! We are creating content and people are finding it interesting!!! Very cool!!!

With that in mind I hope you get a chance to check out the websites I've included. It should give you some insight into the fun you may have been missing...then you can right your own ship and check it out live on April 5th!!

CHEERS!!!
The Rokpig

Hockey in Florida!?!?!?

Good day folks!!! Sorry I haven't posted in a while...I was on a much-needed vacation with my family for about 10 days in the great state of Florida. We enjoyed Disneyworld, Seaworld, and the Islands of Adventure to no end...you can't put a price on the enthusiasm of a child in any of those theme parks. It was fabulous!!!!

Of course, for the kids and my wife it was great...I also had a great time however for some reason I couldn't get my sports fix!!! To be more specific I couldn't get my hockey fix!!! Now, the last time I checked, there were 2 NHL teams located in Florida...the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers. The Panthers are basically out of the playoff picture but the Tampa Bay Lightning are still fighting for 7th or 8th position which will get them into the playoffs. This should be BIG news. It is also worth noting that the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004...right before the lockout. Now with 2 NHL teams located in one state how come I can't get any NHL news? The only sports news I received was NCAA March Madness basketball!!! To those of you who aren't familiar with this we're talking about college/university basketball championships...not a professional sport but bigger than any Canadian sporting event to be sure. That being said I should still be able to receive updates and hi-lights from professional sports...at least from the leagues that are local!!! In Florida they have teams in every professional sport...Major League Baseball (Florida Marlins, Tampa Bay Devil Rays), National Football League (Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars), the National Basketball Association (Miami Heat, Orlando Magic) and the National Hockey League (Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning). Yet I can only receive news from the NCAA (not professional), the NCWAA (the women's college/university basketball program...again non-professional) the NBA and some grapefruit league action...which is MLB's pre-season.

I'm sure I'm not the only individual who encounters this dilemma. I understand that Florida is not a huge hockey market however they are somehow able to support 2 hockey franchises in this state...someone down there must want to follow one or both teams. Florida is also known for it's abundance of Snowbirds...these are also known as retired Canadians who reside in Florida for the winter months. Hmmmm....let's see....Canadians in Florida during hockey season. That should equate to some people requesting hockey info especially as the playoff race tightens. For some reason that info is not supplied!!! I'm beginning to wonder if any of the news stations ever bothered to check what their viewing audience may want at different times of the year!?!?!? I doubt it!!!

Living in Ontario we have 2 NHL teams as well. The fan base is huge and when you watch Sportscentre or Sportsnet, hockey is front and centre in the news. However, I believe we have a higher sports IQ!!! We not only show the NHL we also show hi-lights of NCAA, MLB, NFL, NBA, Soccer, Cricket, Diving, Skiing, etc.

I'm not ashamed to say that, as Canadians, we have more sports knowledge and more sports savvy than the U.S. We're just too damn nice to pick up the phone and tell the station what we want to see...we're also too damn polite to tell the bartender to change the channel and find some NHL action!!!! Who knows...if more hockey news was broadcasted in the southern U.S. they might actually attract some fans!!! Remember when I said that Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup in 2004??? They couldn't fill the arena...even during the playoffs...and they were giving tickets away!!!! Sad isn't it!?!?!?

If they spend as much time on the NHL as they do on the grapefruit league or NCAA I would bet the attendance would climb and the buzz would spread!!! After all, it's the best game in the world...if you know about it!!!!

Keep your stick on the ice...

All cheap shots and comments are welcome!!!

CHEERS!!!!
The Rokpig

True Post-Game For The True Fans!!!!

Are you sick of hearing the same old post-game questions with the same old post-game answers? Reporters asking the safe questions and the athletes supplying the politically correct responses!!! It's getting boring and predictable!!! Fans want to know how the athletes feel after a win or a loss!!! I think people want to know what's going on in their heads!!! People I've spoken to have expressed the same feeling and are frustrated with the way reporters and athletes converse. There have been a few gems that are highlights in the mundane world of post-game conferences...I think Bobby Knight owns most of the spectacular post-game footage...most of the time the questions and answers are typical politically correct nonsense.

I've decided to put together my own version of a post-game news conference. Any similarities to real people or real situations are purely coincidental...and purely for entertainment purposes!!!

Enjoy!!!

Good evening everybody this is Lance P. Mannion with the post-game scoop. I normally cover figure-skating but we were short-staffed so I will attempt to get to the heart of this game. Now, The Philadelphia Flyers just upset one of the big teams in the NHL and I have the coach here to answer a few questions.

REPORTER: How did you feel about getting the win?
COACH: To be honest, I am kind a pissed off. I was hoping to get back home so I could watch "American Idol." Now I have to use my excellent coaching skills to build from this game.

REPORTER: Your team was very animated after the win. Can you talk about that?
COACH: They were just happy as hell that they didn't have to watch "American Idol" with me.

REPORTER: What was the key to the win?
COACH: We scored more points.

REPORTER: Did you do anything different to them for the win?
COACH: Well, I opted for the buffet rather than the continental breakfast.

REPORTER: Your next opponent will present a lot of problems for you. Do you think you have a chance?
COACH: Hell, you're right we've got no shot so we'll probably just skip the game and plan a night out at the local strip joint.

REPORTER: How big is this win for your team?
COACH: Well, it was nice, but not as big as the anticipation of Peter’s Swedish Bean Dip for the next team showing of “American Idol.”

REPORTER: Is this the biggest win of your career?
COACH: Well, in the fourth grade the kids on my street beat the guys from the next block over.

REPORTER: Talk about the shot that went in off the skate of their defenceman.
COACH: That's part of our special teams training. Our guy was open in front of the net, but we wanted a high-percentage shot.

REPORTER: You keep referring to your 'four out - one in' special team. Can you elaborate? COACH: Yeah, we take four guys out of the game and just put one in. It's a good ploy.

REPORTER: You and Coach Doe are great friends. Do you feel bad for him?
COACH: Yeah, I do. As a matter of fact I feel so bad that I am going to tell him that he can play the next game instead of us.

REPORTER: What are you going to do to get ready for the next game?
COACH: We're going to hang out, have a few drinks, maybe get a few movies from Blockbuster or just order pay per view porn. Stuff like that.

REPORTER: What are the negatives about the win?
COACH: Well, my assistant coach is pissed because some woman winked at him during the game, but blew him off afterwards.

REPORTER: Your next opponent is an overwhelming favorite. How can you beat them? COACH: Well, we are going to breakdown film later so why don't you come on over and give us some of your tremendous insight.


Now, the Red Wings have just taken the worst loss of the season and the coach has taken a seat in the press room to answer questions from the media.

REPORTER: How do you feel about the loss?
COACH: I feel just freaking great about it. Now I can get back in time to see the finale of "American Idol."

REPORTER: With about three-minutes remaining you called the refs over. Was there a problem with the clock or were you confused about something else?
COACH: Actually my staff and I had no idea what to do with our final few minutes so I asked the ref if he could get a few members of the distinguished media to coach our team. You people seem to be just overflowing with hockey knowledge.

REPORTER: Their defense seemed to bother you. You couldn’t get any shots from in-close. Can you explain that?
COACH: Great observation, but we weren’t actually trying to hit the net. I told the lads to pick a spot somewhere on the glass and aim for it.

REPORTER: Are you disappointed in your team's effort?
COACH: They are a great group of guys and they worked so hard for me so I am glad that they got their asses kicked today.

REPORTER: What was the key to the loss?
COACH: The other team scored more points.

REPORTER: Your team didn't seem to be as focused tonight. I didn't see that same intensity. They looked like they didn't have their game faces on.
COACH: You're absolutely right. We had them, but we left them back at the hotel. My centreman had a skeleton face, my wingers were both sporting Zorro masks, my defencemen had Abbott & Costello faces and my goalie had a nice Batman mask. Hell, he even had an outstanding cape.

REPORTER: Can you talk about the great contribution from your goalie today?
COACH: He always plays better after a liquid lunch.

REPORTER: Why did you switch from the trap to fire wagon hockey?
COACH: Well, we played fire wagon for the entire game. Glad to see you were watching though.

REPORTER: When your number one centre left the game due to the major penalty, did that hurt your team?
COACH: No, it was great. He sat next to me on the bench and we talked about where we were going to eat after the game. Then he asked my assistant coach about the girl who winked at him. I think he is going to hook up with her.

REPORTER: I thought I heard your assistant coach yelling '4-1 offence' or something like that. Was that the offensive format you wanted?
COACH: No, he was trying to tell that woman that he was in room 41 at the hotel.

REPORTER: Your team didn't seem to have that same sense of urgency that they had in the last game.
COACH: Hell, you're right. I forgot to tell them that if we lose I get fired and they will be coached by you for the rest of the season.

REPORTER: When you were down one with two-seconds left in the game were you looking for an offensive miracle?
COACH: Actually I was looking for the hotdog guy and my assistant coach was looking for that woman.

REPORTER: During the final timeout before the last five minutes you looked angry. Could you talk about that sequence?
COACH: Well, we had turned the puck over on four straight possessions, which all resulted in goals for them so would you have preferred that I was ecstatic? Then you could have asked me why I was smiling. Great question.

REPORTER: What problems did they present for you?
COACH: Probably the fact that they scored more goals.

REPORTER: What were the positives that came out of the loss?
COACH: My assistant coach did hook up with that woman.

REPORTER: What did you say to the team after the game?
COACH: I told them that I was sorry, but that they had to go out and answer stupid questions from the media.

Got em...Got em...Need em...Need em...

Got em...got em...need em...what have you got??? What do you need???

Sounds like the good old days when trading hockey cards was a great way to get the card of your favourite player. You had to be pretty wise, a little sly, and extremely lucky to get the card you wanted without losing a lot in the process. Well guess what...some of those kids never stopped playing that game!!! They grew up and became General Managers of hockey teams and they do the same thing but with real players. Since the introduction of the salary cap blockbuster trades are a little tougher to come by but the potential is still there. I think there will be considerable movement before the trade deadline...Sean Avery has already been moved to the Rangers.

Now, with trading and salary caps the NHL players still hold the upper hand. This is somewhat of a thorn in my side!!!! The going rate for players is starting to creep back up to what it was before the lockout and the owners don't seem to care!!! Can you smell another lockout??? As far as I'm concerned the NFL does it right. If a player signs on to a team that contract is not really worth much. If that player tanks then the team can dump him and his contract. The team is only on the hook for the remainder of the season. If that same mentality applies to the NHL then the Ottawa Senators could dump Martin Gerber and keep Emery...opening up room to get a decent backup. The Montreal Canadiens could dump Sergei Samsonov and free up over $3 Million for next year. Colorado could dump Jose Theodore...the Islanders could dump Alexei Yashin...and the list goes on!!!! If you want true parity in the new NHL then a team shouldn't be forced to keep a high priced boat anchor on their team...they should be able to dump him if he's not performing!!! Then let another team take a chance on him or he just doesn't play!!!! Sounds fair right??? For the amount of money a fan pays to go to a game we should see the best possible product on the ice every game...that means every player should be giving 100% of their work every game in order for him to feel his job is safe. That would make for some very exciting hockey games in every NHL city...hey, US attendance might even go up!!!!

That's it for now...remember the trade deadline is February 27th...there just may be a blockbuster move by then so keep your eyes and ears open!!!

CHEERS!!!!
Bobby Orr's # 1 Fan...
The Rokpig