The Hat Trick

In Hockey it's become a custom to throw your hat on the ice if a player scores 3 goals in one game. Well I've witnessed many NHL hat tricks in my day, both in person and on TV, but I can't recall a hat trick quite like the one Jonathon Toews recorded the other night. Toews is a gifted goal scorer, and will have many during his career, but none like the one on "Chicago Blackhawk Hard Hat Night"!

Lack Of Posts...

Sorry for the lack of posting lately... been battling a fierce cold, and didn't manage to write much in between sneezes & coughing... it's been an entertaining 3 days since my last post... more details to follow.

Gameday: Sharks @ Red Wings

Tonight the Detroit Red Wings host the league leading San Jose Sharks. The Wings currently sit 5 points back of San Jose for the #1 seed going into the playoffs. (SJ has 2 games in hand) At the pre-game press conference, Head Coach Mike Babcock was asked how important is it to be the #1 seed to start the playoffs? In typical Babcock fashion, he replied “We’ve been the No. 1 seed all three years that I’ve been here... It worked for us once and it didn’t work twice. How’s that?”

In addition to the race for first in the West, we also welcome back the most notorious villain in recent Red Wing history. Claude Lemieux. After a crushing hit from behind on Kris Draper in the 1996 playoffs left Kris with a broken jaw, broken nose, broken cheekbone, and a concussion. The current Red Wing roster doesn't include a NHL heavyweight fighter, but I'd be willing to bet that Kronwal & Stuart would love to catch him with his head down at the blue line.

The media has dubbed this as a preview of the Western Conference finals, dropping cliches like "measuring stick" and "do or die". Offering brilliant insight by stating that each team will be "trying to send a message". Bottom line is simple. The two best teams in the West face off tonight in what should be a great hockey game. Will the winner have some sort of mental edge going into the playoffs? no. In 3 meetings this year the Sharks have won 2 of them while Detroit has outscored them 13-10. What does all that mean. It means tonight's game should be close, and full of fast paced hockey. Now we just sit back and enjoy the show.

Tadlock's Glasses

Rumour has it, the Beastie Boys are putting the finishing touches on a new album. Although it's not official yet, the current working title is "Tadlock's Glasses". (Apparently the Boys had a crazy bus driver named Tadlock, who wore a pair of sunglasses he claimed were given to him by Elvis Presley).

Expect this latest offering sometime late 2009.

Getting Kicked While You're Down

Everyone has heard horror stories of mass layoffs due to the struggling economy, but in my opinion, this takes the cake.

Microsoft recently laid off 1,400 employees, and if that wasn't bad enough their HR department admitted to a 'clerical error' as they appear to have overpaid some of the recently dismissed workers and are now asking for that money back within 14 days. Rather than offer a letter of apology to the recently unemployed or a breakdown of what happened, Microsoft opted to send each person the cold & generic letter below;

and don't let the door hit you on the way out...

Storybook Ending

I went to Toronto this weekend, and ended up watching the Leafs/Canucks game in a pub in Downtown T.O. In addition to our drunken table of hooligans, the place was packed with rabid Leaf fans watching the return of Mats Sundin to the city. The game headed to overtime and eventually a shootout. I'm not sure if it was based on skill or sheer entertainment value, but 2 of the 3 Canuck shooters were former Maple Leafs. With the first Vancouver shooter scoring and the first Leaf unsuccessful, the game was on the stick of recent fat farm graduate Kyle Wellwood. If Wellwood had scored it would have made for a much talked about ending to the game, but alas, Toskala was up for the challenge. The Leafs next shooter missed as well, thus giving Mats Sundin a chance to play Leaf-killer during his triumphant return to Toronto. Just as he's done so many times before in the blue and white, Mats opened the blade of his stick and froze the Leaf netminder before going backhand, shelf to seal the 2 points for his new team. The pub in Toronto was silent. Not knowing if they should cheer or boo, watching Mats celebrate for the wrong team was a bitter pill to swallow.

On the other hand... it's one step closer to John Tavares.

Goalie Contraversy in Hockeytown?

Detroit 'starting' goaltender Chris Osgood has been given time off by the organization to 'get his mind right' and attempt to find his game. No timeframe given for Ozzie, but he hasn't been send to the minors. The wings called up Jimmy Howard to back up Ty Conklin tonight in the 5-2 win over the Ducks, and Babcock announced that Howard will get his first NHL start on Saturday night against Minnesota. This will be our first real preview of the Wing's goaltending future. Keep your fingers crossed!

Greased Rush

After watching UFC 94 I blogged about the GSP vs. BJ Penn fight. Complete and total domination by the champ. St. Pierre manhandled Penn so badly, that if the fight wasn't stopped by ringside doctors, GSP would have easily won the decision. After the fight, Penn's camp cried fowl stating that St. Pierre was 'greased up' making him impossible to fight/take down. Allegations around the fight had lingered for a month, but now UFC President Dana White confirmed at the UFC 95 weigh-in that he feels GSP;s corner had rubbed Vaseline on his back.

"Do I think that he got greased? Yeah, I do, Absolutely, 100 per cent, I think that that guy was rubbing grease on him."

"Do I think Georges was trying to cheat? Absolutely not at all. But that corner man was rubbing grease on him. You cannot do that."
- UFC President Dana White

The cut man will often smear Vaseline on the fighters face to reduce the chances of cuts, and while in between rounds GSP's Muay Thai coach, Phil Nurse, rubbed his back in what was explained as an "Energy Technique" to help the fighters breathing. BJ Penn's website posted a six minute video explaining their side of the story.

It's unfortunate that such a solid fight, will be tainted by this controversy.

Home Away From Home

The NHL announced today that the Detroit Red Wings will kick off the 2009-2010 season in Stockholm, Sweden. Detroit is obviously a perfect candidate for this game as they boast a roster full of Swedish stars, and are still a powerhouse in the National Hockey League.

(Left to Right) Swedish Red Wings; Jonathan Ericsson, Andreas Lilja, Tomas Holmstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall, Mikael Samuelsson, & Johan Franzen.

Two "NHL Premier Games" are slated for Oct 2nd & 3rd against St. Louis while the Chicago Blackhawks play the Florida Panthers twice in Helsinki, Finland. Without a doubt, the Red Wings will have the fan support as the majority of Swedish Hockey Fans follow the Wings due to the Swede friendly roster.

2 Weeks 'till Christmas

The NHL trade deadline is fast approaching, causing many General Managers to take a hard look at their rosters as they ask themselves... "Can these guys win the Stanley Cup?" Everyone looking to add that one player who can put an above average team over the top. Now is the time when an invisible line is drawn in the standings to separate the buyers from the sellers. Teams who are mathematically eliminated from the playoff race, will look to ship off a marquee talent in the last year of a contract as a "rental player" to a playoff bound organization as a way to get value from someone who could eventually walk away in the summer leaving his present team without compensation.

A perfect example occurred last seasons when the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Marian Hossa from the Atlanta Thrashers. Hossa went to the Stanley Cup finals with the Pens only to leave them in the off-season to join the Detroit Red Wings. Pittsburgh sent 2 roster players (Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen) plus the rights to top notch prospect Angelo Esposito AND a first round draft pick in 2008 (ended up being Daultan Leveille) in exchange for Hossa's services for a few months. A huge price to pay, but that's the gamble to take to win the Stanley Cup.

I can't wait to see who is moved this year... it's like a second Christmas!

Let The Gaming Commence...

Today I received a notice from Purolator on my door stating that my XBOX360 had arrived from Microsoft. Quite impressive turn around time considering that I shipped my old system off on Feb 9th. (Not counting the time spent waiting for Microsoft to send a box that wasn't sent)

Now before I praise Microsoft too quickly, I will point out that the new unit I received isn't exactly a new unit. In fact, it's what Bill Gates has dubbed a "Certified Microsoft Replacement Console". In laymens terms, it sounds like they received my system with the RROD and dumped it in a repair pile, then picked one of the refurbished units and sent it back the same day. I was also sent a free 1 month XBOX Live membership "as a gesture of appreciation".

I fired up the system, and it seems to work fine, now I have a good 30 minutes of system updates to sit through. (I expect updates for each game that I own as well) One area that was covered for me was the registration/warranty info, as Microsoft provided a letter stating that they would automatically cancel my old registration/warranty, and activate my new console.

All in all I'd say the return time was much quicker than last time, and only time will tell if the fourth time is the charm.

Survivorman

With my bouts of insomnia, I tend to catch a lot of late night TV. One particular show I've watched many times would be Survivorman. Just as the tag line states, the premise of the show is quite simple.

"No Food, No Shelter, no fresh water, no tools... no camera crew. One man - alone in the wilderness for seven days"

Les Stroud is the Survivorman, but before becoming the man I watch attempt to survive in the most remote places on the planet, Les attended Fanshawe College in the Music Industry Arts program, before moving on to become a garbage man for the City of Toronto. Today he has 3 seasons of Survivorman completed and has 'survived' everywhere from Alaska, the Rockies, Australian Outback, Sierra Nevada, the Amazon Rainforest, to the Cook Islands.

Every episode he is stranded alone with only his harmonica, and a multi tool. In various episodes he'll utilize equipment found pertaining to his scenario (ie. if you are mountain biking and get lost he'll use parts of the bike, etc.) The beginning of the episode is filmed by a camera crew before quickly departing and leaving Stroud to film his adventures for the next 7 days. Essentially the show teaches the viewer how to survive alone with minimal resources, and maximize the possibility of rescue. All in all, it serves me as great late night entertainment, with the hopes I'll retain some of this expert advice next time the boys and I head out on a camping trip.

Rumour has it Les has decided to hang up his harmonica, and won't be making any more Survivorman shows stating his reason was due to the physical and emotional toll of filming/surviving each episode.

I typically catch the 11pm or 2am episodes, but for any normal sleeper who might be interested, you can always catch re-runs on OLN, Mon-Fri at 8pm.

Another RROD Update

less than 24 hrs after the last communication from Microsoft, I have received another e-mail stating that my XBOX360 console is on it's way back to me. I'm curious to see if the unit was repaired or replaced as the turn around time seemed to be rather fast. The exact verbiage from the e-mail states "Your console has been repaired or replaced and has been shipped back to you via Puro Air"

Microsoft seems to be fairly efficient in resolving these RROD issues, but I'm not sure if thats a good or bad thing.

Going Against My Superstition

Much like the typical sports fanatics, I'm superstitious. Something I try to avoid doing, but most times it's just a reflex. I don't like people saying 'shutout' late in a hockey game, or bringing up the fact a pitcher has a no-hitter going during the seventh inning stretch. Somehow I feel that these comments can 'jinx' that particular team or player thus signaling a late goal, or a base hit. Even typing this, I am realistic enough to know that nothing I say or do from the comfort of my couch, can modify the eventual outcome of any given sporting event... but I'm a avid fan. And avid sports fans are a silly bunch.

While watching the evenings hockey games, I came across an interesting statistic for this 2009 NHL season. At the conclusion of the Panthers/Hurricanes game the commentators mentioned this was the first time this year that Carolina has been shutout, and the only remaining team yet to be held scoreless is...........................The Detroit Red Wings.

Now the fan in me shudders at the thought of highlighting this statistic, but I'm going to go against my superstitions this time and highlight another achievement of the 2008-09 Red Wings. I did some digging and it seems the last time Detroit was shutout was a 1-0 loss to the Calgary Flames after Miikka Kiprusoff turned away all 38 Detroit attempts on Feb 22th 2008.

That brings the current streak to 105 games with at least 1 goal. (19 Regular Season '07-08, 22 Playoff, 9 Pre-Season, 55 Regular Season '08-09)

RROD - Update

Microsoft sent me an E-mail today saying they have successfully received my bricked XBOX360.
Now we wait...

Crossing Paths in Random Places...

As mentioned, I don't like Sean Avery... but Marty Brodeur REALLY doesn't like him. The future hall of fame goaltender has missed a large portion of this season due to injury and is within a week of receiving a clean bill of health from team doctors. Typically when a player misses a large quantity of time due to injury, it's common to send that player to the minors for 'conditioning'. Basically just to test that player out in a real game scenario.

Now for the interesting part.

Sean Avery was recently sent the the minors and assigned to the New York Rangers affiliate Hartford Wolfpack. If a conditioning stint in the minors is planned for Marty Brodeur, he would play for the Lowell Devils. As fate would have it, Hartford plays Lowell on Feb 20th... shorty after Brodeur's expected return to the ice. Now I can imagine the New jersey Devils management would be well aware of this, and it would be in every ones best interest to avoid this from happening, but c'mon... wouldn't you love to see these two have a crease battle in the minors?

That would but Avery's anger management training to the test.

Stanley Cup Rings

Every hockey player to ever strap on a pair of skates, has lived the day dream of hoisting the Stanley Cup. In reality, the winning team is presented with rings to commemorate their victorious season. The Detroit Red Wings were presented with their Stanley Cup rings early in this season and held a banner raising ceremony at the same time. Now the obvious priority would be to ensure the players, coaches, training staff and management receive rings, and that is where most organizations draw the line. The Ilitch family are a little bit different. Mr. & Mrs. Ilitch provided Rings to every living Wing Alumni that won a cup in with the Wings prior to the 1997 championship.


... and people wonder why players take a pay cut to play in Hockeytown.

The Red Ring Of Death Saga Continues

So having been through this RROD issue once already, I'll admit, I skimmed the e-mail I had received stating Microsoft acknowledged my request for a repair. Last time this happened, I filled out the online form, and Microsoft sent me a custom box with prepaid postage shortly after. The reason I bring this up today, is because after 2 weeks of waiting for my custom box, it still hadn't arrived. I sent another e-mail to the Microsoft help desk only to have them point out the fact I didn't read the e-mail thoroughly. This time around I had to print off the UPS shipping label, and find my own box to ship the unit back to Microsoft in. After packing the lifeless system up, I visited my local UPS store and upon arriving at the desk the UPS employee behind the counter took one look at my printed label and said "XBOX360, eh?". I was a bit shocked, but nodded and handed him my dead system and paperwork.

Looks like the RROD is more common than I thought.

Wings First Return to Pittsburgh...

The Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings returned to Pittsburgh for the first time since winning the cup last season against these very Penguins. Well... most of these Penguins. 2 major changes include Marian Hossa, and Ty Conklin switching over from the dark side, and joining the Winged Wheel. As expected Hossa received a chorus of boos each and every time he touched the puck, but Ty Conklin seemed to fly under the fans radar. Big Mistake. The lowly back-up goaltender who carried Crosby & Co. last season when Fleury was injured, came back ready to show his former employer how much game he had left. The fans were all over Hossa tonight, but he seemed to thrive on the challenge to show these fans what they lost.

At one point the cameras cut to a fan with a home made sign that read "17,132 = Pittsburgh Sellout then had a poorly drawn Red Wing jersey with Hossa on it equivalent to a Detroit Sellout". Pierre McGuire then asked "how is Hossa a sellout when he took LESS money to play in Detroit??"

But that wasn't even Pierre's best quote of the night. After Marian scored the second goal he made his way back to the bench with an enormous smile on his face that McGuire described by saying "He's smiling bigger than a butcher's dog!"

A few of the great story lines tonight;

• Hossa skates around solo while the fans boo mercilessly, only to fire a sweet backhand past Fleury while 4 Penguins watched in awe and thus sending the Boo-Birds into a frenzy.
  (5 Shots, 1 Goal & +1)
  
• Conklin shuts out his former team in their own barn.
  (25 Saves)
  
• Datsyuk & Zetterberg re-united to shut down Malkin, and made Crosby non-existant.
  (Malkin 21:20 TOI, 4 Shots & -1 and Crosby = 23:21 TOI, 1 Shot & -1)

I LOVE beating Pittsburgh.

Finally a Proper Goalie Mask in Hockeytown

It's been a while since we've had a proper goalie mask in Detroit. Looking at the likes of Chris Osgood, and Dominik Hasek, we've had some odd helmets guarding the crease in Hockeytown. The off season addition of Ty Conklin finally gives Detroit a proper mask for the first time in years.


Sure we've had a few normal masks in the somewhat recent past; Joey MacDonald (2002), Manny Legace (2002), Curtis Joseph (2002), Ken Wregget (1999), Bill Ranford (1999), Mike Vernon (1994),Peter Ing (1994), Bob Essensa (1994), Allan Bester (1991), and Tim Cheveldae (1986)... but I'm talking about almost 6 years since we've had a starting goalie with a normal goalie mask to enjoy.

Wings Thump the Oil 8-3

The Detroit Red Wings faced off against the Western Conference rival Edmonton Oilers. The Wings jumped out to an amazing start putting 5 pucks behind starter Dwayne Roloson. Detroit sniper Johan 'the mule' Franzen left the game in the first period with an upper body injury and did not return.

[Two ironic notes relating to my previous post regarding Rangers goaltender Stephen Valiquette/Patrick Roy: (1) Roloson was pulled after the first as he should have been and (2) The last time Detroit scored 5 goals in a period was Dec 2, 1995 as noted in the post about Patrick Roy]

The Wings kept the pressure on in the second and managed to add one more goal to start the 3rd leading 6-0. It seems like common sense, and something you shouldn't have to remind professional athletes, but the Wings came out flat in the third. They played as if they had a big lead, and just wanted to ride out the final 20 minutes. In the NHL today, you can't count a team out no matter what the deficit may be. As a direct result, the Oilers managed to bang in 2 ugly goals, then added another pretty one to make it 6-3. Red Wing coach Mike Babcock had seen enough and reminded his team that the game isn't over until the final buzzer sounds. Babcock's re-focusing of this club proved positive and Samuelsson picked off an errant pass for a breakaway goal. Late in the final frame, rookie Ville Lieno tipped in his 3rd career goal as the final nail in Edmonton's coffin.

I think Detroit's future with players like Darren Helm, Ville Lieno, Justin Abdelkader, Jonathan Ericsson, and Thomas McCollum should be bright. (just don't mention the ones who got away... Shawn Mathias)

Sean Avery on Waivers

I'm not a Sean Avery supporter, and don't really feel like wasting too much blog space on him, but reports are out that the super pest has completed his anger management therapy, and is cleared to resume his NHL career. The Dallas Stars have made it clear that he will not play for their organization ever again, so the only option is to place him on waivers where any team can claim him for the full cap hit of $4 million dollars. I can't imagine any teams claiming him before the 11am deadline on Monday, and if that is the case, he will be send to the minors for conditioning. If any teams are interested in adding Avery, he can be placed on re-entry waivers and Dallas would be on the hook for half his salary. (approx 15.5 million for 4 years)
Rumour has it the Rangers are interested in reacquiring Avery's services, but in a case of re-entry waivers, any team can put in a claim for him, and the team with the worst record will be deemed the lucky (or unlucky) winner.

Stars 10 - Rangers 2

Every now and again, an NHL team will have an bad night, and allow a double digit total of goals against. Last night, this was the fate of the New York Rangers. Now a 10-2 drubbing at the hands of the resurgent Dallas Stars is one thing, but looking deeper into this story there seems to be a victim. 31 year old Rangers netminder Stephen Valiquette. The 6'6" goalie is the back-up for Vezina candidate Henrik Lundqvist and has a total of 37 NHL starts under his belt (despite being in the league for 7 years with various NHL teams). In the 36 NHL games he has played, excluding last night, he has allowed 67 goals and held a very respectable 1.86 GAA (Goals Against Average).

The beef I have regarding last nights game sits squarely with Rangers head coach Tom Renney because he opted to leave his back-up goaltender in for all 10 goals against. The Broadway Blueshirts are in a tight playoff race in the Eastern Conference as six points separate the 5th place Rangers and the 10th place Hurricanes. It's one thing to give up on the game and ignore the tight standings, but what impact does this have on the confidence of the young 'tender? Why didn't Lundquvist come off the bench and attempt to stop the bleeding?

When I realized what Tom Renny had done, I couldn't help but think back to Dec 2, 1995. On that fateful night, the Detroit Red Wings were in Montreal to face the Canadiens. The Wings handed the Habs their worst home loss in team history with a final score of 12-1. Patrick Roy allowed 5 goals on 17 shots in the first, and coach Mario Tremblay left Roy in for the second period as a form of humiliation. The faithful fans at the Montreal Forum offered mock cheers whenever Patrick would make a save, and after giving up 9 goals on 26 shots in the second period, Roy was finally pulled. Upon reaching the bench, Roy immediately made his way to the Canadiens Team president and said "This is my last game in Montreal."

Four days later, Roy was traded to Colorado in what French Canadians refer to as "Le Trade".

Watch the video

Now I'm not saying Valiquette is in any way comparable to Roy as far as goaltenders are concerned, but I don't see any reason to leave a goaltender in a game for 10 goals against. What was Tom Renney thinking? Why not make the move to Henrik Lundqvist? I've watched Valiquette play, and the guy was just having an off night, all athletes have them, but why amplify it by hanging him out to dry?

I guess only Tom Renney knows the answers to those questions.

Homer to miss 3-5 weeks

Red Wing crease crasher Thomas Holmstrom is slated to have hernia surgery and expected to miss three to five weeks. Red Wing doctors reported a small tear in his groin. Holmstrom expects to return to the Red Wing line-up with approx. 10 games remaining in the season. This loss will impact the teams first line power play, but placing Homer on Long Term Injured reserve will free up some cap room to call up one of the many talented players Detroit has in the minors. I'd assume they'll move Franzen up to cause havoc in front of opposing goaltenders for the first PP, and promote Thomas Kopecky as the second Power Play screener.

We'll see how the team responds to this loss.


- UPDATE -

Speaking of Franzen, I'm seeing reports that a contract extension might be nearing completion. Numbers have not been released or discussed, but with Hank signing for 6 Million per season, it does leave a glimmer of hope Kenny Holland can sign all 3 of the Wings big free agents before the off season.

Blues @ Wings

In a rare treat, the Red Wings are on Versus tonight. Sounds like a good time for a live play-by-play blog.

Ville Leino still playing in place of the injured Henrik Zetterberg. Scored a nice goal in his debut, we'll see what he can do in his first NHL home game at Joe Louis Arena.

Funny note from the pregame skate: All the Red Wings came out in their home whites and rookie Leino was wearing his away red helmet. In typical sports hazing, none of the other Red Wings pointed out the new guys error and even Keith Tkachuk had a good laugh at Ville's expense.

Shots on goal after 1: STL 3 DET 2
*Set NHL record for lowest shots in a period.

Maltby scores to make it 1:0 with Draper adding an assist in his 1,000th game.

St. Louis responds with a fluke goal as it hits Lidstrom and gets caught in his equipment, when the puck finally falls out, T.J. Oshie bunted a knuckler past a shocked Osgood.

The Hockey Gods gave us our weak goal back as Hossa gains the blue line and fires a rising wrist shot at Legace, who gets a piece of it, but lets it drop behind him and barely over the goal line. I am pretty sure if Manny let that puck go, it would have cleared the net with ease. Oh well...2-1 Wings.

Super Rookie Patrik Berglund takes advantage of a bad penalty by the Wings, and scores a nice Power Play goal on a cross crease one-timer that Ozzie tipped with his glove, but couldn't handle it. 2-2

Hossa with a sweet toe drag as if he is planning to go inside on the Blues defender and sticks to the outside only to fire a rocket snapshot past Legace. If I were coaching the Blues, I'd consider pulling Manny. Ville Leino earns an assist...3-2 Detroit.

Sounds like Andy Murray can read my mind... Legacy is out, and Mason is in. Still 7:30 remaining in the second. So much for a boring first period. 5 goals in the first 13 mins of play to start the second. Shots are 9-8 Detroit. Not exactly a defensive battle.

3-2 after 2 periods. Shots are 10-10. I'm not going to use the current rash of injuries as an excuse, but this does not look like the dominant Wings team I'm familiar with.

Sloppy line change leads to a too many men on the ice call and Detroit takes to the penalty kill. With Hudler in the box serving the bench minor, Lilja rubs out David Backes with a solid check, but receives a 5 min major for boarding and a game misconduct. The Wings are staring down the barrel of a 5 on 3, and a full 5 minute disadvantage to kill.

Surviving the 5 on 3, and killing off four and a half minutes of the major to Lilja St. Louis scores on the Power Play. 3-3.

Finally killed off the major but as a result of playing the majority of the period short handed, the shots on goal are 24-11 for the visiting Blues. Mason has been virtually untested since taking over in the second.

Detroit with a flurry of shots late in the game but Mason is equal to the task. Looks like we're going to overtime. Shots are 28-19 St. Louis.

Osgood made some stellar saves in the extra frame to keep the Wings in this one late. Shots 33-21 Blues. Lets go to the shootout.

Detroit is 5-1 in the shootout this season. You'd think with an abundance of skill upfront, the Wings should like their chances.


First Shooter
DET - Datsyuk - save.
STL - Oshie - save.

Second Shooter
DET - Hudler - back hand shelf. SCORES.
DET - Boyes - backhand forehand SCORES.

Third Shooter
DET - Hossa - Wicked snapshot glove side. SCORES.
STL - Perron - Brutal attempt, lost control. save.

Final 4-3 Detroit.

It's not pretty, but I'll take it.

How can you top those Superbowl Commercials?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Wild Weekend of Sports

So a typical weekend in the life of Sabatoge is often filled with various sporting events (ether actual sports I enjoy playing, events I attend as a spectator, or games I watch on TV) This weekend consisted of the latter. I tend to watch a lot of sports, and when events conflict, I'm forced to PVR an event and then avoid all media coverage and fellow sports fans who might reveal the outcome before I have a chance to watch it for myself. But somehow, this weekend worked so smoothly that I was able to watch all the games I wanted, without having to record anything.

Saturday was filled with Matinee NHL games, so I watched my Red Wings allow Alex Ovechkin teach them first hand why he'd the best goal scorer in the league. It was nice to catch a Detroit game on a Sat afternoon. The only highlight was watching Ville Leino score his first NHL goal, is a slow motion spin-o-rama. I think this kid will have a bright future in Hockeytown.

Later that night I went to a friends place for a few BEvERages and the Leafs game. I'd love to see Toronto tank during the second half of the season to allow a shot at John Tavares, but in classic Leaf fashion, they can't even lose properly. They beat Sid The Kid and his flock 5-4.

To be honest, the Leaf game was a bit of a 'time killer' as we were aiming to head to a nearby sports bar to watch UFC 94. Needless to say, this event lived up to the hype as the majority of bouts were more than entertaining. Jon Jones threw Stephan Bonnar around like a rag doll, and the 21 year old seems to have made quite the name for himself with an 8-0 start. In the Co-Main event Brazilian Light Heavyweights Thiago Silva and Lyoto Machida put their matching 13-0 records on the line. Silva came out strong playing the role of the aggressor, but Machida landed a few heavy shots dropping Silva twice, before dropping a punishing KO from above while Sliva was laying on the mat. With 1 second left in the round, Machida earned the win leaving Silva unconscious for over 2 minutes. With the main event on the way, the cameras panned the crowed in Las Vegas revealing a sea of Canadian flags, fans with red maple leafs painted on their faces, and even the odd Montreal Canadien jersey with St. Pierre stitched on the back. The sight instantly had the drunken masses in the sports bar chanting "G-S-P... G-S-P". With the previous Penn-St. Pierre fight going to decision, Georges promised he'd be better prepared for Penn-St. Pierre 2 and didn't disappoint. St. Pierre dominated this fight from start to finish. Penn looked slow, weak, and baffled by the combinations GSP was putting together. In the end, it was Penn's ringside doctors who threw in the towel stopping the fight before his patient took more punishment at the hands of the Canadian champ. End result, GSP wins by TKO. A dominant, decisive victory.

Due to my participation in a head-to-head hockey pool, Sunday hockey games can make or break your week as far as stats were concerned. Due to some important football game later in the evening, the NHL schedule offered 3 afternoon games so I found myself tracking these scores during the afternoon. The obvious main event was the 43rd Superbowl on Sunday night, as the Pittsburgh Steelers battled the Arizona Cardinals for the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy. To be honest, I figured the Steelers would be well on their way to their 6th Superbowl championship, but I must give the Cardinals credit for not only making it a close game, but taking the lead with less than 5 minutes remaining. Roethlisberger made an incredible pass to Santonio Holmes in the dying seconds, as Holmes managed to keep both toes planted with control of the football before getting pushed out of bounds. This game had big plays, lead changes and last minute heroics. All in all, I'd consider this one of the better Superbowl games I've watched in recent memory. I can understand how Holmes was named Superbowl MVP because he did, in fact, win the game for his team. I do think James Harrison should have received some serious consideration as his record setting interception/run back for 100 yards changed the game dramatically before the half. With the score 10-7 at the time, if Arizona scored on that play, the underdog Cardinals would have gone into the locker room at half time with a 14-10 lead, AND start the second half with possession. Could have been a different ball game.

It was nice to see the Vince Lombardi trophy back in Tampa Bay (memories of 2002) even if it was being presented to another team.

Congrats to the Superbowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.