It's do or die time. The Canucks just need to take it one shift at a time. Their backs are to the wall. They need to leave it all on the ice. These are probably the things that Alain Vigneault is going to be telling his team before they go out on the ice. He always was a great motivator.
The Canucks find themselves in the shocking position of needing to win 4 straight against the 8th seeded LA Kings just to make the 2nd round. It looks like Daniel Sedin is finally going to play although he apparently hasn't practiced much so I don't know how effective he will be. The bigger story, however, is who is going play goal for Vancouver. Luongo has been the go-to guy for 6 years. It looks like that ends tonight as Cory Schneider gets the start. I say it's the bigger story but realistically it may not even matter. The Canucks are not down 3-0 in this series because of their goaltending. The Canuck forwards have simply been unable to get to the front of the net. Most shots are coming from 30 or 40 feet out (or more) and Jonathan Quick is able to see most of the shots. If he can see it he's going to stop it. The Kings were outshot by a pretty good margin in that last game (I'd look up the exact numbers but I'm too lazy) but as far as scoring chances go, the Kings had more. How many scoring chances from the slot did the Canucks have? One. That's just not going to get the job done. If that continues, Schneider is going to have to be perfect to give the Canucks a chance to win. You would have to think that we will score eventually, it just might not be until the 4th overtime. Schneider was almost perfect in game 3, he will need to be better tonight if the Canucks are going to bring this series back to Rogers Arena.
Maybe the Canucks will be inspired by the Penguins tonight. Also facing elimination, the Penguins have scored 9 goals so far tonight and the 2nd period isn't even over yet. This Flyers-Penguins series has been crazy.
For the first time this Spring I put my Canuck flags on my truck as I drove into town. That's gotta bring some good karma. As far as our Canuck drink, we're going with Banana Vodka Paralyzers, which is a regular Vodka Paralyzer with a splash of Banana Liqueur in it. We are also going to be doing Melon Liqueur shots after every Canucks goal. Hopefully we get to do at least a few shots. In an act of total desperation, I'm doing away with my official Canucks snack, Baked Cheezies, and instead I am going with the tried and true Cracker Jacks. With all of that, how can we not lose? Hang in there Canucks fans, this isn't over yet.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Oh, And One More Thing...
I forgot one important thing in my blog yesterday about rule changes that would actually make the NHL much more watchable and more fair. If you look at the way round one of the playoffs has gone so far, every single team with home ice advantage has lost it. (The New Jersey - Florida series is still in the middle of game 2 but Florida is up 2-0 and if they hold on they'll get a split heading home.) Doesn't seem like much of an advantage to finish in the top 4 does it? I don't think it's much of a secret around the league. As the road team heading into the series, your goal is to at least get a split. That happens more often than you would think.
If the NHL made it a little more of an advantage to have home ice advantage in a series then down the stretch teams would be battling harder to win the President's Trophy rather than just make the playoffs and then try to get, or stay, healthy.
So how do they do that? How about having the team with home ice advantage start on the road? So in the Canuck series, for example, they would play the first 2 at Staples Center in LA and then play 3 games in Vancouver, game 6 in LA and game 7 in Vancouver. That way if the so-called favored team shits the bed in the first 2 games (a la the Canucks) they aren't in quite as much trouble. If the favored team gets a split, as so often happens, then they have an opportunity to wrap it up at home by winning all 3 games. Genius isn't it? Well, I hate to brag.
You could even take this one step further. How about giving the favored team the choice of the format the way it is now or this new proposed (and ingenius, okay apparently I don't hate to brag) format?
Gary Bettman seems so concerned about getting that huge tv deal in the US. Instead of fighting to give an NHL team to every city in the Southern US and having half full buildings (only half full if they offer 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 cokes and free parking for $20) how about making changes to the game which would make the teams actually want to put the effort in to finish first overall. Jeez. Did I just make Gary Bettman sound like an idiot? Sorry about that.
If the NHL made it a little more of an advantage to have home ice advantage in a series then down the stretch teams would be battling harder to win the President's Trophy rather than just make the playoffs and then try to get, or stay, healthy.
So how do they do that? How about having the team with home ice advantage start on the road? So in the Canuck series, for example, they would play the first 2 at Staples Center in LA and then play 3 games in Vancouver, game 6 in LA and game 7 in Vancouver. That way if the so-called favored team shits the bed in the first 2 games (a la the Canucks) they aren't in quite as much trouble. If the favored team gets a split, as so often happens, then they have an opportunity to wrap it up at home by winning all 3 games. Genius isn't it? Well, I hate to brag.
You could even take this one step further. How about giving the favored team the choice of the format the way it is now or this new proposed (and ingenius, okay apparently I don't hate to brag) format?
Gary Bettman seems so concerned about getting that huge tv deal in the US. Instead of fighting to give an NHL team to every city in the Southern US and having half full buildings (only half full if they offer 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 cokes and free parking for $20) how about making changes to the game which would make the teams actually want to put the effort in to finish first overall. Jeez. Did I just make Gary Bettman sound like an idiot? Sorry about that.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
A Change Will Do You Good: Improving the NHL
I'm getting sick and tired of seeing what once was a great sport being ruined by Gary Bettman. Here is a list of changes that need to be made. The sooner the better.
- Fire Gary Bettman (okay, that one is obvious)
- Get rid of the automatic penalty for flipping the puck over the glass in your own end. Leave it to the ref's discretion.
- Get rid of the rule that the top teams in each division are automatically the top 3 teams in the conference. It sucks that it's not possible for Pittsburgh, Philly, Detroit and Nashville (4 legitimate Cup contenders) to make the 2nd round.
- Either change to the no-touch icing rule or have a race to the goal line. Too many needless injuries.
- As I mentioned in my last blog, if you injure someone illegally and it is deemed an attempt to injure, you cannot come back before the injured player. That might make some of these star players who often seem to get a pass think twice about trying to take someone's head off with their elbow.
- I doubt this would happen as long as Gary Bettman is in charge but I would abolish the instigator rule. I think we'd see a lot less cheap shots and thus less injuries.
- As far as suspensions go, I would like to see an independent group determine the length of suspension. I'm not convinced that it is a fair system for all teams the way it is right now.
- I would also like to see them once again make glove hand passes in your own zone illegal. Let's make it more difficult on those d-men and force them to make a skilled play. I never did like that rule change.
- I do like the 4 on 4 OT, but how about 2 points for a win and 0 points for an OT loss? Get rid of the shootout. A tie means each team gets a point.
Finally, not really a rule change but a big change to the game, I would make the ice surface wider. Not like the European ice, but may 4 or 5 feet wider. I think this is an inevitability in this league. The players are bigger and faster than ever and injuries continue to skyrocket. Obviously Bettman and the owners don't want to take seats out of their buildings, but the game would be immensely better if there was more room out there. As I say, this will happen at some time. Hopefully very soon.
There you go. I think these changes would really make watching NHL hockey a lot more enjoyable. Maybe if they ever do fire Bettman I should submit my resume. As long as it doesn't involve me having to get out of my comfy easy chair!
- Fire Gary Bettman (okay, that one is obvious)
- Get rid of the automatic penalty for flipping the puck over the glass in your own end. Leave it to the ref's discretion.
- Get rid of the rule that the top teams in each division are automatically the top 3 teams in the conference. It sucks that it's not possible for Pittsburgh, Philly, Detroit and Nashville (4 legitimate Cup contenders) to make the 2nd round.
- Either change to the no-touch icing rule or have a race to the goal line. Too many needless injuries.
- As I mentioned in my last blog, if you injure someone illegally and it is deemed an attempt to injure, you cannot come back before the injured player. That might make some of these star players who often seem to get a pass think twice about trying to take someone's head off with their elbow.
- I doubt this would happen as long as Gary Bettman is in charge but I would abolish the instigator rule. I think we'd see a lot less cheap shots and thus less injuries.
- As far as suspensions go, I would like to see an independent group determine the length of suspension. I'm not convinced that it is a fair system for all teams the way it is right now.
- I would also like to see them once again make glove hand passes in your own zone illegal. Let's make it more difficult on those d-men and force them to make a skilled play. I never did like that rule change.
- I do like the 4 on 4 OT, but how about 2 points for a win and 0 points for an OT loss? Get rid of the shootout. A tie means each team gets a point.
Finally, not really a rule change but a big change to the game, I would make the ice surface wider. Not like the European ice, but may 4 or 5 feet wider. I think this is an inevitability in this league. The players are bigger and faster than ever and injuries continue to skyrocket. Obviously Bettman and the owners don't want to take seats out of their buildings, but the game would be immensely better if there was more room out there. As I say, this will happen at some time. Hopefully very soon.
There you go. I think these changes would really make watching NHL hockey a lot more enjoyable. Maybe if they ever do fire Bettman I should submit my resume. As long as it doesn't involve me having to get out of my comfy easy chair!
No Time To Panic
After an abysmal effort in a game 1 loss, the Canucks upped their compete level considerably in game 2. While they didn't dominate like I'd hoped that they would, at least they were able to skate with the Kings and had a definite edge in play five-on-five. Sometimes all it takes is a miscue or two. Sometimes the better team doesn't win. I think that happened tonight as LA pulled off a big 4-2 win to take a 2-0 lead back to Staples Center.
The Canucks undoing was their power play. You can look back to them trading Cody Hodgson and not getting a power play guy in return, you can look at their inability to replace Ehrhoff, and of course you can look at the loss of Daniel Sedin, something that obviously is not Mike Gillis' fault. All of these have been a factor. I also think that Newell Brown has made their power play too predictable. It's time to change things up and maybe lose the neutral zone drop pass. Something drastic has to happen. They can't get by LA, let alone win a Stanley Cup without some production from the PP.
Back to Daniel Sedin for a moment. I would like to see a rule change. If it is deemed an attempt to injure which clearly, watching the incident with Duncan Keith, I would say that it was, then the offending player should be out at least as long as the injured player if not longer. The important thing here would be to find a way to determine what exactly is an attempt to injure. Rome on Horton? I would say no. Weber on Zetterberg? Probably yes. The Bitz hit on Clifford? That's where it gets a little tricky. I'm not sure. But I do think that if there was a rule in place there would probably be a good chance that Duncan Keith turns to retrieve the puck, which is instinctually what a defenceman would do in that moment, instead of targeting Daniel's head with his elbow. His season could be on the line. Maybe that would help lessen the concussions and extend some great player's (Sidney Crosby) careers.
I will say this though, if Daniel Sedin does not return to the Canucks and they don't get past LA, or even if they fail to win the Stanley Cup, Duncan Keith is probably not going to feel very welcome coming back to BC, and I'm not above going all Tonya Harding on his ass.
Roberto Luongo has been at or near the top of his game for the first two games of this series. Surprisingly I haven't read any hateful Twitter tweets. (Pretty sure that's redundant.) Having said that, I personally would go with Cory Schneider for game 3, as I mentioned in my last blog. I think Schneider is a little quicker, better positioned, more patient, and has overall had a better season. Perhaps more importantly the team often seems to play better in front of him. More than anything this team needs to change something up.
Once again this year the Canucks were a great road team. There are often a lot of distractions at home, and most certainly a lot of pressure. They were probably looking forward to getting out on the road. Don't jump off the bandwagon yet. If we fight back on Sunday and find a way to win, well we are right back in the series. I really hope that Daniel is able to come back, but I have a bad feeling. The Canucks are really going to have to tighten things up in their own end if Daniel doesn't come back or there may not even be a game 5 back in Vancouver. For me though, that would be less heartbreaking and way less painful than losing game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Well my lucky, smelly autographed Canucks t-shirt, which was so successful last Spring, didn't work. My Long Island Iced Teas were a bust. I'm not sure what else to try. Still have to decide on our next Canuck drink. Definitely thinking about Tequila Shooters but I worry that if the Canucks go on a big winning streak (and of course we will have to continue drinking Tequila shots every game) then I would miss the Stanley Cup Parade because I would be in AA Meetings. Maybe I'll just go with Pear Cider.
The Canucks undoing was their power play. You can look back to them trading Cody Hodgson and not getting a power play guy in return, you can look at their inability to replace Ehrhoff, and of course you can look at the loss of Daniel Sedin, something that obviously is not Mike Gillis' fault. All of these have been a factor. I also think that Newell Brown has made their power play too predictable. It's time to change things up and maybe lose the neutral zone drop pass. Something drastic has to happen. They can't get by LA, let alone win a Stanley Cup without some production from the PP.
Back to Daniel Sedin for a moment. I would like to see a rule change. If it is deemed an attempt to injure which clearly, watching the incident with Duncan Keith, I would say that it was, then the offending player should be out at least as long as the injured player if not longer. The important thing here would be to find a way to determine what exactly is an attempt to injure. Rome on Horton? I would say no. Weber on Zetterberg? Probably yes. The Bitz hit on Clifford? That's where it gets a little tricky. I'm not sure. But I do think that if there was a rule in place there would probably be a good chance that Duncan Keith turns to retrieve the puck, which is instinctually what a defenceman would do in that moment, instead of targeting Daniel's head with his elbow. His season could be on the line. Maybe that would help lessen the concussions and extend some great player's (Sidney Crosby) careers.
I will say this though, if Daniel Sedin does not return to the Canucks and they don't get past LA, or even if they fail to win the Stanley Cup, Duncan Keith is probably not going to feel very welcome coming back to BC, and I'm not above going all Tonya Harding on his ass.
Roberto Luongo has been at or near the top of his game for the first two games of this series. Surprisingly I haven't read any hateful Twitter tweets. (Pretty sure that's redundant.) Having said that, I personally would go with Cory Schneider for game 3, as I mentioned in my last blog. I think Schneider is a little quicker, better positioned, more patient, and has overall had a better season. Perhaps more importantly the team often seems to play better in front of him. More than anything this team needs to change something up.
Once again this year the Canucks were a great road team. There are often a lot of distractions at home, and most certainly a lot of pressure. They were probably looking forward to getting out on the road. Don't jump off the bandwagon yet. If we fight back on Sunday and find a way to win, well we are right back in the series. I really hope that Daniel is able to come back, but I have a bad feeling. The Canucks are really going to have to tighten things up in their own end if Daniel doesn't come back or there may not even be a game 5 back in Vancouver. For me though, that would be less heartbreaking and way less painful than losing game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Well my lucky, smelly autographed Canucks t-shirt, which was so successful last Spring, didn't work. My Long Island Iced Teas were a bust. I'm not sure what else to try. Still have to decide on our next Canuck drink. Definitely thinking about Tequila Shooters but I worry that if the Canucks go on a big winning streak (and of course we will have to continue drinking Tequila shots every game) then I would miss the Stanley Cup Parade because I would be in AA Meetings. Maybe I'll just go with Pear Cider.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Time To Flip The Switch
Well that was rather unimpressive. The Canucks played game 1 of their first round series against The LA Kings like they were the team that just squeaked into the playoffs not the other way around. They played like they were afraid to lose, rather than playing to win. They also looked like they were afraid to move their feet. Dare I bash the coach for the umpteenth time since he's been here? Why bother. Won't do much good.
One thing many Canucks fans fail to do is credit the opposition when they play well, and LA played a great game. The Canucks simply couldn't, or wouldn't, raise their compete level and try to skate with this team. It's infuriating to me when we only go on the offensive when we are down a goal and if we tie it up we tighten up once again and let them take it to us. That's just bad coaching. And here I said I wasn't going to bash the coach. Oops.
One of the few good things on the night was the play of Roberto Luongo. Actually I'm not sure if that's good or bad. It might be a little more comforting if we could just blame the goaltending and pretend everything else is great. I think a lot of Canuck fans have been doing that most of the season.
As lop-sided as this game was it was still a winnable game for the Canucks well into the 3rd period. A lucky bounce here or there and they might've even gotten a victory. I hate to bitch about the refs but as Tony Gallagher said in his column in The Province, they basically scored the first Kings goal. How they call Kesler for spraying the goalie I will never know. That led to 2 consecutive clearing the puck over the glass penalties which were a direct result of being short-handed and the game took a turn for the worse at that point. I am often quite vocal about the reffing, but I can also be objective. I get mad when the refs make a bad call on the opposition as well. I want the Canucks to win fair and square and I would love to barely notice the officials in a game, especially when the game doesn't get out of hand with fights and dirty hits. I want to see some even strength play, is that too much to ask? Probably.
I think I'm most disappointed that my Vodka Paralyzers didn't do the trick. Now we have to change drinks. It breaks my Heart. That's okay. I love our game 2 drink as well, Long Island Iced Tea. If we don't win this one then we may resort to Tequila shots for game 3, but let's not go there right now.
My lucky Baked Cheezies didn't help either, but I don't have to change that up. It's ridiculous to think that eating Baked Cheezies could influence a hockey game. Nope. It's all about the booze.
A lot of people are calling game 2 a must win game for The Canucks. I don't quite see it that way. Keep in mind that those hated Boston Bruins (sorry, I threw up in my mouth a little just saying their name) lost the first 2 games at home to Montreal in round 1 last year and they went on to win The Sta...sorry, I can't even say it. While I think the Canucks need to approach this game as a must win, their road record was great again this year so I wouldn't totally count them out if they lose tonight. In my opinion though, if we do lose tonight, no matter how well Luongo plays I would probably go with Schneider for game 3, just to change things up a bit. The team for some reason often plays better in front of Schneider.
Now is not the time to jump off the bandwagon. Now is the time to wave those flags and chant 'Go Canucks Go!' and of course drink those Long Island Iced Teas like there is no tomorrow!
One thing many Canucks fans fail to do is credit the opposition when they play well, and LA played a great game. The Canucks simply couldn't, or wouldn't, raise their compete level and try to skate with this team. It's infuriating to me when we only go on the offensive when we are down a goal and if we tie it up we tighten up once again and let them take it to us. That's just bad coaching. And here I said I wasn't going to bash the coach. Oops.
One of the few good things on the night was the play of Roberto Luongo. Actually I'm not sure if that's good or bad. It might be a little more comforting if we could just blame the goaltending and pretend everything else is great. I think a lot of Canuck fans have been doing that most of the season.
As lop-sided as this game was it was still a winnable game for the Canucks well into the 3rd period. A lucky bounce here or there and they might've even gotten a victory. I hate to bitch about the refs but as Tony Gallagher said in his column in The Province, they basically scored the first Kings goal. How they call Kesler for spraying the goalie I will never know. That led to 2 consecutive clearing the puck over the glass penalties which were a direct result of being short-handed and the game took a turn for the worse at that point. I am often quite vocal about the reffing, but I can also be objective. I get mad when the refs make a bad call on the opposition as well. I want the Canucks to win fair and square and I would love to barely notice the officials in a game, especially when the game doesn't get out of hand with fights and dirty hits. I want to see some even strength play, is that too much to ask? Probably.
I think I'm most disappointed that my Vodka Paralyzers didn't do the trick. Now we have to change drinks. It breaks my Heart. That's okay. I love our game 2 drink as well, Long Island Iced Tea. If we don't win this one then we may resort to Tequila shots for game 3, but let's not go there right now.
My lucky Baked Cheezies didn't help either, but I don't have to change that up. It's ridiculous to think that eating Baked Cheezies could influence a hockey game. Nope. It's all about the booze.
A lot of people are calling game 2 a must win game for The Canucks. I don't quite see it that way. Keep in mind that those hated Boston Bruins (sorry, I threw up in my mouth a little just saying their name) lost the first 2 games at home to Montreal in round 1 last year and they went on to win The Sta...sorry, I can't even say it. While I think the Canucks need to approach this game as a must win, their road record was great again this year so I wouldn't totally count them out if they lose tonight. In my opinion though, if we do lose tonight, no matter how well Luongo plays I would probably go with Schneider for game 3, just to change things up a bit. The team for some reason often plays better in front of Schneider.
Now is not the time to jump off the bandwagon. Now is the time to wave those flags and chant 'Go Canucks Go!' and of course drink those Long Island Iced Teas like there is no tomorrow!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
The (Hopefully) Long Journey To The Stanley Cup Begins
It's been 10 months since I last wrote about the Canucks. I wrote a blog after every game they played in last years playoffs. Except the last one. It was excruciatingly painful the way the Canucks crumbled to the Bruins, an inferior team in my opinion. I didn't even watch Chara hoist the Cup. I couldn't. I'm not even going to talk about what happened last Spring. It's too exhausting and depressing to think about. Right now it's time to focus on a new opportunity for Henrik to carry the Cup around the ice and enable me to finally open the champagne that is in the back of my fridge somewhere. Hopefully it doesn't have an expiry date.
It's been a long season for all of us Canucks' fans. Even longer for the players I'm sure. Hard to believe, as up and down as their season has been and as lackluster as they've played at times, that they've been able to win their 2nd straight President's Trophy. A pretty incredible feat that admittedly doesn't really mean much at the end of the day.
I watched 81 games this year, but really was more focussed on Tweeting than the actual games. With the exception of a few games (Boston, Detroit, Chicago) I haven't been paying attention nearly as much as most years. I think our expectations are so high that anything short of a 6-0 victory every game is a disappointment and somebody needs to be traded, or fired. Now we can all settle down. There will be no more trades and Vigneault will hold onto his job at least for the next couple of months.
I don't think there is any question that the Canucks have not put in a full effort for most of this season. Their focus has clearly been to be as ready as possible and as healthy as possible by April 11, which coincidentally enough is today. A lot of games I think I put more effort into my Twitter comments than most of the Canucks do playing. The real question is, will they be able to raise their game enough to beat a very solid team in the LA Kings? Soon enough we will know the answer. But for now, if you would like a little expert analysis or insight into this series, well, you probably will want to read someone else's blog. I'll just say that as long as we get good goaltending I think we'll find a way to score enough to win. If Luongo can't get the job done then I think Cory Schneider will. I don't care which one of them wins us a cup (or both, just not at the same time - unfortunately that's against the rules), just as long as we win. The best players put the team before themselves. In any sport. As good as Steve Yzerman was he didn't become a great player until he became a 2 way player and was dominant at both ends of the ice. I would take a young Steve Yzerman over an overly flashy all-about-me Alex Ovechkin any day. I really get the feeling that the Canucks as a whole put the team before themselves. That's how you win. Or to be more accurate, that's how you give yourselves a chance to win.
This team seems to be the most hated in the NHL and I'm not really sure why. On the ice I can see why people watching get frustrated. Kesler and Burrows do dive a lot. Lappiere yaps a lot. But off the ice they are a very classy bunch and there is no one more classy than the Sedins. All in all it doesn't matter anyways. Great teams are always hated. I'm not sure if there is a team in baseball more loved and more hated at the same time than the Yankees. (For the record, I hate them.) I think we should all take it as a compliment. I don't like the way CBC talks about the Canucks though. Our taxes help fund that shitty network. I don't need to hear that weasle Ron McLean bash our team. In fact not only did I not watch any Hockey Night In Canada games that didn't involve the Canucks this year, but I also changed the channel between periods when I did watch. Thanks to Youtube I could still hear the hilariously stupid things coming out of Don Cherry and Mike Milbury's mouths.
As we approach game time for the Canucks - Kings game my sources have told me that Daniel Sedin will not play. (Okay, I don't really have sources, just trying to make this sound better.) I wouldn't panic about that. The Canucks have been great without Daniel down the stretch and I would think that 2 goals may be enough to beat these Kings. We should be able to score twice without Daniel, if not someone needs to run Quick into next week. (Kidding.)
It's time for me to look out my Canucks towels, Jerseys, flags, mugs, posters, programs, autographed t-shirts etc and poor myself a Vodka Paralyzer. That's our drink to start the playoffs. We will be drinking Vodka Paralyzers every game until the Canucks lose and then we will switch to something else. I hope we sweep. I love my Vodka Paralyzers.
Enjoy the game and will all of you Canucks' fans please do me a favor and rally around Luongo. If you want this team to win, and I know you do, it would take a lot of pressure off of his back if everyone just gave him a break. NOBODY wants to win more than he does and nobody works harder on and off the ice. Let's just give him a break. He's trying his best and that's pretty much all we can really ask.
It's been a long season for all of us Canucks' fans. Even longer for the players I'm sure. Hard to believe, as up and down as their season has been and as lackluster as they've played at times, that they've been able to win their 2nd straight President's Trophy. A pretty incredible feat that admittedly doesn't really mean much at the end of the day.
I watched 81 games this year, but really was more focussed on Tweeting than the actual games. With the exception of a few games (Boston, Detroit, Chicago) I haven't been paying attention nearly as much as most years. I think our expectations are so high that anything short of a 6-0 victory every game is a disappointment and somebody needs to be traded, or fired. Now we can all settle down. There will be no more trades and Vigneault will hold onto his job at least for the next couple of months.
I don't think there is any question that the Canucks have not put in a full effort for most of this season. Their focus has clearly been to be as ready as possible and as healthy as possible by April 11, which coincidentally enough is today. A lot of games I think I put more effort into my Twitter comments than most of the Canucks do playing. The real question is, will they be able to raise their game enough to beat a very solid team in the LA Kings? Soon enough we will know the answer. But for now, if you would like a little expert analysis or insight into this series, well, you probably will want to read someone else's blog. I'll just say that as long as we get good goaltending I think we'll find a way to score enough to win. If Luongo can't get the job done then I think Cory Schneider will. I don't care which one of them wins us a cup (or both, just not at the same time - unfortunately that's against the rules), just as long as we win. The best players put the team before themselves. In any sport. As good as Steve Yzerman was he didn't become a great player until he became a 2 way player and was dominant at both ends of the ice. I would take a young Steve Yzerman over an overly flashy all-about-me Alex Ovechkin any day. I really get the feeling that the Canucks as a whole put the team before themselves. That's how you win. Or to be more accurate, that's how you give yourselves a chance to win.
This team seems to be the most hated in the NHL and I'm not really sure why. On the ice I can see why people watching get frustrated. Kesler and Burrows do dive a lot. Lappiere yaps a lot. But off the ice they are a very classy bunch and there is no one more classy than the Sedins. All in all it doesn't matter anyways. Great teams are always hated. I'm not sure if there is a team in baseball more loved and more hated at the same time than the Yankees. (For the record, I hate them.) I think we should all take it as a compliment. I don't like the way CBC talks about the Canucks though. Our taxes help fund that shitty network. I don't need to hear that weasle Ron McLean bash our team. In fact not only did I not watch any Hockey Night In Canada games that didn't involve the Canucks this year, but I also changed the channel between periods when I did watch. Thanks to Youtube I could still hear the hilariously stupid things coming out of Don Cherry and Mike Milbury's mouths.
As we approach game time for the Canucks - Kings game my sources have told me that Daniel Sedin will not play. (Okay, I don't really have sources, just trying to make this sound better.) I wouldn't panic about that. The Canucks have been great without Daniel down the stretch and I would think that 2 goals may be enough to beat these Kings. We should be able to score twice without Daniel, if not someone needs to run Quick into next week. (Kidding.)
It's time for me to look out my Canucks towels, Jerseys, flags, mugs, posters, programs, autographed t-shirts etc and poor myself a Vodka Paralyzer. That's our drink to start the playoffs. We will be drinking Vodka Paralyzers every game until the Canucks lose and then we will switch to something else. I hope we sweep. I love my Vodka Paralyzers.
Enjoy the game and will all of you Canucks' fans please do me a favor and rally around Luongo. If you want this team to win, and I know you do, it would take a lot of pressure off of his back if everyone just gave him a break. NOBODY wants to win more than he does and nobody works harder on and off the ice. Let's just give him a break. He's trying his best and that's pretty much all we can really ask.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Las Vegas: Did I Mention The Buffets?
It's been one week since I've returned from Vegas. Seven days. It's taken me that long to gather up enough energy to be able to write one final Las Vegas blog. That's what Vegas does to you. It drains the life from you. I thought I was ready, but clearly I was wrong. Next time maybe I should sleep for a full twenty-four hours before hopping on that plane.
I've heard people who don't like Vegas say that it's overwhelming, it's tacky, too busy, too expensive, over the top and ridiculous. I've heard people that love it say that it's fun, it's a party, great food, great shows. The truth is that Vegas is all of these things. Do I REALLY feel like I've been to Paris or New York? No. The hotels are simply artistic interpretations of these places, and for me they were pure, ridiculously over the top fun.
It's unfortunate that we were almost two hours late arriving in Vegas and yet our flight home landed early. Why does that always happen? In the end I probably averaged about four hours sleep a night for the four nights we were there. (For those of you keeping score at home, that's a total of sixteen hours of sleep.) I've never been a good sleeper, but just knowing that there were restaurants and ice cream shops open all night made sleep all but impossible. I actually fell asleep every night, err morning, in the bathtub. (Is that a modern day waterbed perhaps?) Luckily I remembered to wear little floaties on my arms to keep from drowning. My feet also floated on top of the water, due to a series of giant blisters. I should have really gotten a picture of that. Come to think of it, I'm glad I didn't. Ryan needs more sleep than I do so while he slept I would write my blog and on a few occasions I went back down to the casino to see how much more money I could lose on those mind-numbing machines.
I'm not a gambler. I've never claimed to be. I just recently found out that Roulette isn't a female hockey sport where they have no hooks on their sticks. I understand the basics of poker and blackjack, but I don't know anything about chips and gambling etiquette and I don't want to appear stupid. (I also saw Rainman where Dustin Hoffman got into trouble for counting cards. I'm not nearly intelligent enough to be able to count cards but I often have that stunned look on my face that Rainman often had and I tend to repeat things ad naseum. There's probably a pretty good chance I would've been thrown out of the city.) So there I was at the slot machines putting in twenty after twenty. You kind of go into a trance after a while. Kind of like women when they are shopping. At Treasure Island I was up fifty bucks when I cashed out. That was a big moment for me, because every other time, without exception, I lost. With my bad luck there's not much chance I would ever become addicted to this.
They've made a very clear and conscious effort in the last decade to make Vegas less child-friendly. The newer hotels such as City Center and the Wynn hotels are not appealing at all to kids. I think this is a good thing. Vegas is not really a good place for kids. Take them to Disneyland instead. I found it very strange walking into the smoke pit that is Circus Circus and seeing a mezzanine above the casino filled with games and cotton candy and everything little kids would love, set around a circus. Smoking and kids? I just don't understand how they can get away with this. This is something that will have to change. It's really my only gripe about Vegas. (Besides our first cab driver that took us through the tunnel and turned a ten dollar fare into a thirty dollar fare, but I only gave him a 10 cent tip so IN YOUR FACE BITCH!!) Even the brand new Cosmopolitan (some amazing restaurants in this hotel set around a tacky three-story chandelier) reeks of smoke. My teeth are a little more yellow and my lungs a little blacker just from having lunch in the buffet. (Which was soo amazing that, Hell, what's a year or two off of my life?)
We did a lot in our four days in Vegas. My brother told me that we did more there than he's ever done and he's been there countless times. I dragged poor Ryan around that place at break-neck speed. But he didn't complain. I think that he was just as entranced as I was. Even still there are a lot of things that we didn't get to do. (Such as lose a tooth, meet Mike Tyson, find a baby, steal a tiger, marry a whore. Hey, that could be a movie!) We still want to see Celine Dion (if the bitch ever gets her voice back), Penn & Teller and O among others. (And no, not Donny & Marie, I'm not THAT gay.) Places that I liked enough to stay at: Paris, Planet Hollywood (again), New York New York, Treasure Island, The Mirage, Caesar's Palace and Mandalay Bay. Places I would stay if I won the lottery (or somebody just gave me a whole stash of money to pay for my kidney transplant): The Venetian, The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, Wynn and Wynn Encore. Places I would only stay at if I had an oxygen mask and a hat and sunglasses because I would be embarrassed to be recognized there: Excalibur, Circus Circus, The Flamingo, Bill's Gamblin' Hall.
For the one or two of you that actually read my other Vegas blogs, I feel that I should clarify something. I wrote a lot about the food, particularly the buffets. I probably painted a picture of heaping mounds of mashed potatoes, piles of lasagna, and plate after plate of pizza. This is simply not accurate. In reality, while I did have two plates of food at every buffet, and then another for desserts (yes desserts, plural. In my World desserts has always had three S's) I only had a tablespoon or two of a few things just to try them. The only time I took more than that was when they were in individual dishes (like the amazing French toast at the Spice Market Buffet at Planet Hollywood.) I was worried about feeling sick and sluggish when we had miles and miles still to walk. Actually, worrying about gaining weight never even crossed my mind.
I took over four hundred pictures in four days. (That's a hundred pictures a day, come on, did you really need a calculator for that?) I posted a half dozen or so to my Twitter account (@coreyoke1) and over two hundred on Facebook. Ryan made about eighty-five videos which I will quite possibly post if I can ever figure out how to do that. I think it's safe to say that Vegas became an obsession for us. I already miss it. Okay, I miss the buffets.
There is talk of a group of friends going to Vegas in May. Now that would be fun. The swimming pools would be open. One word of caution: I'd probably wear my lime green Borat speedo. Uh oh. Now I probably won't be invited. Vegas was fun with just the two of us, but with a large group it would be a blast. (Dining-and-dashing with two people is kind of boring). We will see. I'll certainly have to try to save up some money first. While I may have left my heart in San Francisco, I definitely left my wallet in Las Vegas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)