I’m writing to see if you’d be interested in helping a minor league hockey team make it to the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships in Saskatoon. Through a recently launched website, http://timbrtube.ca, you and hockey enthusiasts across the country can make that dream a reality. We’re encouraging minor league hockey teams to shoot fun, whacky and outrageous hockey videos showing off their team spirit for the chance to score an all expenses paid trip for their entire team to the big event in December.

It’s easy! All the teams have to do is shoot a video, upload it to timbrtube.ca and rally their friends, families and communities to rock the vote. The top ranked video will win the big prize – a four-day pass for the entire team to check out watch the best of the best show down in Saskatoon!

Of course, the fun isn’t just for the minor league teams. For any hockey fanatic, the videos will be a blast to watch and ultimately it will be your votes that decide who gets to go. Tell your friends and keep checking back for the latest and greatest videos on timbrtube.

While you’re there, make sure you learn the ropes of hockey spectatorship from yours truly. I’d hate to have to call you for lipping, henhousing or hornblowing but that penalty box won’t fill itself!

Now hurry over to http://timbrtube.ca before I call you for slacking…

The Ref

Website: http://timbrtube.ca
Twitter: @timbrref
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/timbrtube

I’m starting a Fantasy League through ESPN.  It’s a Keeper League, Head to Head, 22 weeks with 4 weeks of playoff.  It’s free, and user friendly.  I wanna live draft, but haven’t set a date.  10 teams, 8 slots open.

Any Takers?
Email me if interested!

Thanks!

Cold War.

First off, this isn’t our first dance with a team that wants to take us to the prom to make his girlfriend at home jealous.  We fell for it hook, line, and sinker when Mario Lemieux and the Penguins used similar tactics to get the hometown crowd motivated to build a new arena for their team.  So we went out and bought a sexy $275 Million dress and tarted ourselves up for a team that likely would have never been allowed to move out of Pittsburgh in the first place.  Don’t blame us for being a little more demure and blocking off sections of seats when we hear the exact same words out of another team’s mouth.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.

I’m very happy with the attendance numbers from last night’s game.  It shows that there’s enough hockey-starved fans in Kansas City that we may just be able to support a team after all (something of which I’m still not wholly convinced), but not so excited as to horribly frighten the Town of Hempstead back home that we’re a threat.  Tell me, what happens if 17,000 people show up to that game?  Does Kansas City get any closer to having the Islanders move here?  I don’t think they do.  I believe that a very large turnout would only serve to scare people into getting the Lighthouse Project passed.  The best thing those thousands of other Kansas City hockey fans could have done is to have either stayed home or gone out and enjoyed another wonderful pitching performance by Cy Young candidate Zack Greinke. 

Continue reading "Kansas City Didn’t Fail The Islanders"

Like many of you, I am a DirecTV customer.  I have been for years.  Most of you are probably aware of DirecTV’s recent removal of Versus from their programming lineup due to a contract dispute.

While I hate to do so, it has become apparent to me that I now have to hold off on my auto-renewal of NHL Center Ice and plan on changing services to another provider such as Comcast (which owns Versus, btw).  I’m not happy about it and I’d rather not do it.  So, what I propose here is a good old-fasioned letter-writing campaign.

You can contact DirecTV through their email form here.

After navigating to the page, enter your account information and select Programming/Sports as your topic and Customer Service/Complaints as your category.

I have provided a form letter below that you can use to encourage DirecTV to have a change of heart.  Hopefully if enough of us write, we won’t have to take any further action.

Dear Sir or Madam:

I have been a loyal DirecTV customer for years, and had been planning on being one for many years to come.  However your recent decision to remove the sports network Versus from your service will soon force me to switch to another provider so I may continue to receive their NHL programming.  I strongly encourage you to reconsider your position regarding renewing Versus’ contract and hope that you begin to understand just how many customers you are about to lose by not doing so.  I hope to remain a customer going forward but will cancel my service at the beginning of the NHL season if this situation is not rectified.

Sincerely,
-

A group of Barrie’s best young ball hockey players captured the first ever Youth World Outdoor Ball Hockey Championship.

The Rock Solid Renegades, comprised of players from the Barrie Ball Hockey Club’s Progressive 9-11 and PeeWee divisions, traveled to Brampton during the weekend of August 28th to 30th in their quest to claim the Under-12 division title.  Barrie teams also competed in the Under-15 and Under-18 divisions.

The youth tournament weekend was the first of three event weekends over the next six weeks as part of the “ballhockey.com” 14th Annual World Outdoor Ball Hockey Championships.  Over the past 14 years, the Worlds have expanded to include Men’s A, B, and Over 35 divisions along with Women’s A and B tournaments.  Teams travel to the tournament from all over North America, including far flung locations such as San Diego, Vancouver, Boston, Pittsburgh, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Montreal.  In addition to the new youth divisions, 2009 will mark the first ever Co-ed World Outdoor Championships.  This is the first year as that the “Worlds” have expanded over three themed weekends: Youth – August 28-30 at the Brampton Ball Hockey Club; Women’s & Co-ed – September 25-27 at the Niagara Ball Hockey Club; and Men’s – October 2-4 at the Barrie Ball Hockey Club.  By the time the Men’s tournament wraps up, more than 100 teams from all over North America (which translates into more than 1500 participants) will have competed for more than $30,000 in prizes.

Continue reading "Rock Solid Renegades Win Youth World Championships (Under 12 Division)"

- I believe one of the most under-reported events of this offseason was the retirement of Jeremy Roenik.  It’s really too bad JR never won a cup.  Say what you will, but I think this guy was a dynamo of personality that this league sorely will miss, and certainly needs more of.  Now if only Sean Avery could class up like he did, the league would have a new spokesman.  Maybe if he can’t do it Ray Emery can.

- The other unsung quiet retirement of the year, I can’t freaking believe nobody’s covered this: Darren McCarty.  Sure, it’s not “announced,” but, c’mon, am I the only one who’s really sad about Mac sliding darkly into that quiet night?  We love you, Mac.  The Wings need another Darren McCarty, but they’ll never have one again.

- Speaking of fighters, I was pouring through one of my favorite sites and came upon this thread: Who are the top 10 fighters of all time?  I’m sure you all have your opinions.

- Also speaking of “fighters”: Patrick Kane and his brother deserve some jailtime.  I’m sorry, but if any of us regular readers violently assaulted a person, we’d get it.  I’m freaking tired of celebrities getting special treatment and he’s no exception.  Screw being young, the law shouldn’t descriminate based on age in adulthood.  Besides, he’s about to make a bunch of money off the endeavor based on the new NHL ‘09/Grand Theft Auto bundle pack:




- Ok, the Sabres signed Grier.  If you had to choose between Maltby, Williams, Bertuzzi, or him, which would you choose?  *cough*

- Lidstrom’s in the last year of his contract.  At 39, how many years do you think he’s got left?  I’m guessing quite a few.  At least 4.  He’ll give Cheli a run for his money.

- For Corsi’s Sake, we get it already.  I’ll leave it at that.

- Summer, what summer?  IIHF Style.

- And finally, the top 10 most bizarre hockey incedents of all time.

I’m beginning to think drinking beer is so old-school, from here on out I’m munching the barley and hops directly, and chasing it with the yeast and boiling water and letting it all ferment in my liver.

Mahalo,
- The Hippy

The World Outdoor Ball Hockey Championship, now in its 14th year, is the signature event in the Ball Hockey Ontario calendar. In recent years, the event has expanded from its initial Men’s “A” and “B” divisions to include Over 35, Women’s, and Co-Ed tournaments. Details on all divisions can be found at http://www.ballhockey.com.

Under 18 (U18) this division is open to participants born prior to 1991, and those born after August 30th in 1991. No players will be 18 years of age or older in this event.

Under 15 (U15) this division is open to participants born prior to 1994, and those born after August 30th in 1994. No players will be 15 years of age or older in this event.

Under 12 (U12) this division is open to participants born prior to 1997, and those born after August 30th in 1997. No players will be 12 years of age in this event.

For more details on entering your team, contact Tom Roberts at 905-455-6246 or via email at tomr@ballhockey.com

Members of the mainstream North American hockey media spend countless hours watching games, considering strengths and weaknesses of respective teams, breaking down statistics…and then go on to pick the Rangers to win the Stanley Cup for no other reason than they’re from New York.

It’s this unbiased, diligent consideration of the facts that separates professionals from those who are simply fans. If Linda Cohn thinks the Rangers can beat everyone in the Eastern Conference (plus the Red Wings), rest assured it’s because of their stunning regular and post-season success over the past four years and not because the cover of her autobiography is a picture of her wearing a Mark Messier jersey. This willingness to think outside the box is what differentiates someone like her from an amateur who would take the easy route and make evidence-based predictions.

Her colleague, respected hockey journalist and fellow Communications scholar John Buccigross, is just as assiduous in his sizing up of the season to come. By rigorously uncovering clues and hidden symbols in various song lyrics from whatever adult-contemporary-posing-as-rock-bands happened to be shuffling through his iPod at the time, Bucci very astutely predicts Montreal as your 2008-2009 Stanley Cup champion. Based on sheer blood instinct—and the positive vibes of the Little River Band’s wimp-rock stylings—Bucci likes the Habs because, hey, it’s their 100th anniversary and they are “balanced, well-managed and have a positive energy.”

Continue reading "A Guide to Playoff Prognostication: A Look at How the Experts Make Their Picks"

A few more cars pulled into the small in the adjacent alley as we got out our small grill and opened up a few pre-packed beverages.  Not surprisingly, the cars parking nearby were filled with Blackhawks fans.  One of them wandered over towards us and initiated some fairly friendly small talk.  We exchanged forced compliments of each other’s teams and discussed the current weather and our long drive from Michigan in the early hours of the morning.

It was at this time that the gentleman’s friend came over with his small child.  The little boy was wearing nothing hockey-related…just a blue winter coat and a non-denominational wool hat.  “What team do you root for?” I asked in a friendly tone…the boy said nothing.  With a stone-cold look on his face, the boy’s father replied with “The Blackhawks…we don’t come from a trailer park.” There was no jest in his voice; this was not meant to be taken lightly.

Continue reading "Red Wings fans need to Return the Hate"

While these traditionalists can be infuriating, you never get the sense that they are indicting a specific group of people, but rather the natural (or, in their eyes, unnatural) progression of the sport. In other words, Joe Morgan doesn’t think baseball has become tarnished due to, say, the influx of Latin and Asian players; he’s just an egotistical jerk who thinks his generation was the greatest and will not accept otherwise. Joe Buck’s issue with the Randy Moss touchdown dance wasn’t that Moss represents the black, urban “gansterization” of football; he’s just an easily offended prude who probably gets uncomfortable around nude sculptures in art museums.

But much of the traditionalism, if you can call it that, emanating from the Canadian hockey media lately carries with it a not-so-subtle implication—that Europeans are not only what’s wrong with the sport, but they are, by nature of their place of birth, inferior to Canadians.

What’s truly shocking is not so much that this undercurrent of xenophobia exists in the Canadian media—because it has for a long time now—but that so many people seem to think it’s a legitimate, defensible position or, at the very least, chalk it up to simply being a lovable quirk of Canadian culture or a byproduct of their passion for the game.

I suppose it would be even more troubling if it wasn’t so pathetically transparent. One need only look at the top five scoring leaders or the three Hart finalists this year to understand the root of this growing anti-European sentiment. Since gaining a foothold in the league, there’s a reason the treatment of European players in Canada has gone from leery non-acceptance to near outright hostility. And it doesn’t have anything to do with “heart” or “toughness” or whatever easily leveled, stereotypical charge you can throw at them. Anyone who understands the psychology of fear can see those charges for the red herrings they are.

The real reason behind this growing hostility, of course, is that Canadians can see their death grip on worldwide hockey dominance slipping away. In truth, it might be already gone. If you look at the probable rosters for Vancouver in 2010…well…let’s just say Canada likely won’t be the favorite on paper.

Continue reading "Anti-European Sentiment in the Canadian Hockey Media Is Getting Out of Hand"

Sure we have the “Hold Me” song for holding, “Get over it” when we’re trying to get over a bad goal, but I’m talking player-specific tunes.

I’m calling out the Kuklas Korner readership, soliciting clever ideas for future theme songs our trusty Wings DJ (Paul: Got his name?) should play for whenever a certain active player on our roster is worth noting for a goal, fight, over otherwise.

I’ll open the bidding:

Why aren’t they playing the Hossa Hossa Hossa Hossa! song?

Another,
Chris Chelios: “Old Man” by Neal Young : http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/neilyoung/oldman.html

The problem? he’s been hurting his team in the present, a LOT.

Over the course of his short career, Lisin has played a season’s worth of games and has an atrocious +/- stat.

I know +/- can be a flawed stat for many reasons, but when it’s a rather large number in any direction, it generally says something about the player. In this case, it is obvious that Lisin is on the ice for many goals scored against, and it isn’t a one-season fluke.

One has to wonder just how much better off the Coyotes would have been if they had not played Lisin at all. He doesn’t put up a lot of points, and has obviously cost the Coyotes quite a few goals against with his inattention to his own end. It’s not like Lisin is going up against top lines like Samuel Pahlsson.

Checking out Behind the Net’s advanced stats, Lisin is right down near the bottom, with only Rod “The Bod” Brind’Amour and his awful season below him.

I’d have to say, without digging too deep, that Lisin is the worst defensive forward in the league, and would be better off in the AHL until he isn’t such a negative nelly.