The NHL is again going through this ugly dance between Billionaire owners and Millionaire players. As a hockey fan I wonder how much concern these people give to their loyalty base. The last time this occurred there was little problems in getting the fans back into the hockey palaces. This time there will be increased hostility as the media has given much of the financial dealings to the public.
Few fans will have sympathy for either side because in times like this with all the economic woes people making millions do not get consideration from people who are just making it at their place of work. This is a confrontation with sides wishing a bigger piece of the pie. Greed we call it and one could solve the problem in minutes if both sides could work with the present agreement until a reasonable solution is found.
During the last few years I have been watching junior hockey and college games. I find a real joy in seeing the younger, energetic and eager players working hard for the love of the game and their team.
Two years ago I took my grand daughter to a Maple Leaf game as her father was unable to do so. I used his tickets and was amazed to see the price was nearly $200. per ticket. A hot dog was $3.50 and a Beer was $6.25. Everything that was sold to the patrons was double the value and to top it all off parking was $20. With these prices I wonder how the teams can pack the rinks and sell out year after year.
The reason is that Canadians love the game of hockey and are being denied their fix on Saturday night so don't suggest that they turn to cricket or soccer. The only antidote is hockey.
Showing posts with label hockey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hockey. Show all posts
Monday, September 17, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Detroit Red Wings
It is time to once again suffer that 48 hour dreaded depression. The Wings had a wonderful year but slipped a little towards the end of the season. The team is older and tired and with such a emphasis on goal tending we could expect a problem. The winning team had full value for their play and will do well in the future. All we wing fans can do is wait for next year and hope that with a few trades we will find our winning ways. My friend Doug has not been in touch since the loss so he is probably sharing in the 48 hour depression as well.
AMEN.
AMEN.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Detroit Red Wings
Some of the greatest players who ever laced up skates came from this organization. Gordie Howe probably is among that elite group who are called Mr. Hockey in their respective organization. Tonight they have a opportunity to do what only a few other teams have done; come back from a three game deficit to win in seven with four straight wins. Regardless of the outcome they have captured the imagination of the hockey fans everywhere and tonight they will end the game with a certain respect given to those who stand a little above the crowd. They are the Red Wings you know.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Perfect Ending
With the final countdown already in motion I get the feeling that we are people in motion and constantly packing and unpacking. It is a routine I am used to and there are advantages as you have many opportunities to discard unwanted items and declutter.
It is snowing today and as the flaked slowly drifts to the ground we are treated to some semblance of a Canadian Winter. Yesterday I was raking leaves forgotten in the fall and checking the buds on the fruit trees. Today if I have time I will spray the sulfur and oil to prevent the bugs from damaging the trees in the spring.
My neighbour from across the street just came to say so long and that he would take care of our place. He is the watchdog for our block and is experiencing medical challenges that would overwhelm most but he plods along. I shall regret not being here for some support to help him along the way.
Our next blog will be from the sunny south and I trust the weather will bring comfort to my bones which suffer from a little arthritis.
Monday, May 10, 2010
24 Hour Depression
Any year that the Detroit Red Wings do not make the finals for the NHL Championship I suffer 24 hour depression. To get out of this problem I do not turn to drugs or alcohol but work. Today I bought one of those one meter by one meter bags of triple mix and over seeded the front lawn. I added 8 bags of sheep and cattle manure and that fixed the depression.I was so tired and sore after the wheel barrows of soil and animal soil that I did not have the strength to think of The Wings. Every three years I try to over seed the lawns but I have a clover problem and since we do not use those terrible chemicals anymore, I live with it. From the curb it is green and looks OK if kept cut short.
Crossing the border with a new rotor tiller was no problem but it cut my spade work in a quarter. Everything is so early that I have to hurry to catch up and this little 10 inch tiller does the job.
Tomorrow I go to play golf with the Old Masters of Oakville and it is supposed to rain. I will attend and meet the group and begin the cycle all over again. Life really is good and the Wings will return with new vitality next year. Who said that winning was everything. Doug and I just want to compete.....believe that and I have some land for sale in the everglades of Florida.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Ice Hockey Girl Style
Any person turning in to the Olympic gold medal game last evening would be hard pressed to tell if it was men or women playing that game. The give way sign would be the frocks of hair protruding from the helmets.Canada and United States were playing for the gold medal and no holds were barred.
These two teams were rivals for years and either at the world championships or the Olympics their desire to win reaches a fevered pitch. Last night these ladies showed the world how hockey should be played girl style. The game was one of the best I ever saw with super skills and coaching apparent. Canada was the better of the two on this night but given a seven game playoff it probably would have come to the last game to decide the winner.
Both teams were winners and no doubt losing caused the US captain to say,"silver sucks" in her interview. Her team was so disappointed that they acted out of the spirit of the Olympics. They were unable to get beyond the loss to partake of the Olympic Spirit and savour the moment. Both were responsible for bringing 19,000 hockey fans at the game and millions on TV and Radio to realize that equality for women in a once male stronghold was over.
When these players were lined up for their medals and you could see their face you realized they were the best of the best and it showed.Their faces told it all. There was happiness, sadness and unbridled joy on these faces mixed with the understanding that the years of training was worth it all. We now have to wait for another four years to be treated to this experience.
For a few hours nearly all Canadians forgot their troubles and had a collective, emphatic feeling of pride and happiness with the Olympic Spirit which is alive and well.
These two teams were rivals for years and either at the world championships or the Olympics their desire to win reaches a fevered pitch. Last night these ladies showed the world how hockey should be played girl style. The game was one of the best I ever saw with super skills and coaching apparent. Canada was the better of the two on this night but given a seven game playoff it probably would have come to the last game to decide the winner.
Both teams were winners and no doubt losing caused the US captain to say,"silver sucks" in her interview. Her team was so disappointed that they acted out of the spirit of the Olympics. They were unable to get beyond the loss to partake of the Olympic Spirit and savour the moment. Both were responsible for bringing 19,000 hockey fans at the game and millions on TV and Radio to realize that equality for women in a once male stronghold was over.
When these players were lined up for their medals and you could see their face you realized they were the best of the best and it showed.Their faces told it all. There was happiness, sadness and unbridled joy on these faces mixed with the understanding that the years of training was worth it all. We now have to wait for another four years to be treated to this experience.
For a few hours nearly all Canadians forgot their troubles and had a collective, emphatic feeling of pride and happiness with the Olympic Spirit which is alive and well.
Friday, November 13, 2009
A Fatherly Surprise
In 1956, I had the good fortune to live in a small town in Quebec named Temiscaming. I was the Principal of a school operated by the International Pulp and Paper Company. It was a rather small school with an enrolment of 580 students from K-13. My responsibility was for the K-8 classes.80 % of the students spoke French and there were only 4 classes of English speaking students. My other job was playing hockey for the town team in the Northern Quebec Hockey League. It was classified as Senior and had a good following among the Northern towns.
When I tried out for the team I was a newcomer to the area and had a very difficult time making an impression on the coach until one day a regular with the team slashed me about the neck and I retaliated and did a good number on him. The coach called me aside and told me I would be assigned to the third line which was a checking line and specialty squad.
We practised often and hard and I was slowly given a chance to play a few shifts per game. With an injury to one of our regulars my chance came to play on the second line on right wing. I loved the game and the intensity of the schedule and my school director told me I could take off Friday afternoon and Monday mornings when we travelled on road trips.
We never travelled during the week as all our players worked at the mill. I seldom scored but played regularly until I was shifted to center and played between two brothers. We became quite good on offence. The coach called a meeting before this particular roadtrip and told us of the need to win both games to make the playoffs.
We travelled to Noranda and played in their new arena. It was beautiful in comparison to ours.The one attraction this team had was they had a priest playing for them. His name was Father Costello and he turned down a professional contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs to do Gods work. I was warned about him and rightly so. He was the dirtiest player I ever encountered. He was known as a stick man and carved up many a player. Small and fast as he was he could match the biggest and roughest players. Father was also a leading scorer for the league.
The first time I played against him everyone warned me about going in the corner with him and to be careful The warning meant little to me at that time but two minutes later I was led over to the bench with a large gash to the face. In those days we never wore helmets or face guards and this type of injury was ordinary. Just before he hit me he yelled ,welcome to Noranda kid. He never even got a penalty. My wing man Laurent made an effort to even the score by driving him into the boards but that was all.
I never had much respect for clergy of any stripe but I learned too late to respect this Father . After the game we met as two teams and had a few drinks. I was too young so I had to do with a Pepsi. I talked to Father that day and he examined my cut and said I was OK.
Years later when I lived in Pembroke and playing old timers hockey I played against Father Costello and after the game we shared stories and a few laughs. I showed him my scar and he blessed it for a joke. He played for and organized the Flying Fathers Hockey Team and they have raised thousands of dollars for charity. He was a different person thirty five years later but I would still watch my back when going into the corner knowing he was lurking near by.
When I tried out for the team I was a newcomer to the area and had a very difficult time making an impression on the coach until one day a regular with the team slashed me about the neck and I retaliated and did a good number on him. The coach called me aside and told me I would be assigned to the third line which was a checking line and specialty squad.
We practised often and hard and I was slowly given a chance to play a few shifts per game. With an injury to one of our regulars my chance came to play on the second line on right wing. I loved the game and the intensity of the schedule and my school director told me I could take off Friday afternoon and Monday mornings when we travelled on road trips.
We never travelled during the week as all our players worked at the mill. I seldom scored but played regularly until I was shifted to center and played between two brothers. We became quite good on offence. The coach called a meeting before this particular roadtrip and told us of the need to win both games to make the playoffs.
We travelled to Noranda and played in their new arena. It was beautiful in comparison to ours.The one attraction this team had was they had a priest playing for them. His name was Father Costello and he turned down a professional contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs to do Gods work. I was warned about him and rightly so. He was the dirtiest player I ever encountered. He was known as a stick man and carved up many a player. Small and fast as he was he could match the biggest and roughest players. Father was also a leading scorer for the league.
The first time I played against him everyone warned me about going in the corner with him and to be careful The warning meant little to me at that time but two minutes later I was led over to the bench with a large gash to the face. In those days we never wore helmets or face guards and this type of injury was ordinary. Just before he hit me he yelled ,welcome to Noranda kid. He never even got a penalty. My wing man Laurent made an effort to even the score by driving him into the boards but that was all.
I never had much respect for clergy of any stripe but I learned too late to respect this Father . After the game we met as two teams and had a few drinks. I was too young so I had to do with a Pepsi. I talked to Father that day and he examined my cut and said I was OK.
Years later when I lived in Pembroke and playing old timers hockey I played against Father Costello and after the game we shared stories and a few laughs. I showed him my scar and he blessed it for a joke. He played for and organized the Flying Fathers Hockey Team and they have raised thousands of dollars for charity. He was a different person thirty five years later but I would still watch my back when going into the corner knowing he was lurking near by.
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Wings
For 62 years I have been a Detroit Red Wing fan. I was ten when a player from the east coast played with Detroit and I was hooked. My friend Doug is also a fan and he cannot even watch the games in the playoffs, and his poor wife has to watch and relay what is happening. We are true fans and stuck with the team in the bad years, and the good.
Today when hockey is a business and players are pawns being traded and disposed of as commodities in a factory, Detroit stands firm and has team loyalty. You can actually know the players from year to year. Tonight they play for the Stanley cup with Pittsburgh. Detroit have 18 players on the ice who were there last year when they won the cup.
Tonight I shall be watching the game and will be proud of our boys - win or lose.This is the team of Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay. I shall watch, have a drink or two, (probably rum and pepsi), rant and roar, and be into the greatest game in the world. When it is over I shall go to bed and sleep soundly because we have carried on the struggle to gain the Stanley Cup. This is the oldest professional cup to be played for in North America. Watch and enjoy. Polar Bear
Today when hockey is a business and players are pawns being traded and disposed of as commodities in a factory, Detroit stands firm and has team loyalty. You can actually know the players from year to year. Tonight they play for the Stanley cup with Pittsburgh. Detroit have 18 players on the ice who were there last year when they won the cup.
Tonight I shall be watching the game and will be proud of our boys - win or lose.This is the team of Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay. I shall watch, have a drink or two, (probably rum and pepsi), rant and roar, and be into the greatest game in the world. When it is over I shall go to bed and sleep soundly because we have carried on the struggle to gain the Stanley Cup. This is the oldest professional cup to be played for in North America. Watch and enjoy. Polar Bear
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The Wings
For 62 years I have been a follower of the Detroit Red Wings. When I was a child every young person around our street received a Toronto Maple Leaf or a Montreal Hockey jersey for Xmas. I always asked for a Detroit Red wing sweater and Santa sent me that red sweater with the wheel and wings as a crest.
Those early wings were not the power house of today but gathered strength when Howe, Delvechio , and Lindsay came along. Gordie Howe was a Flora, Sask. boy who at a tender age played jr. hockey in the west. He entered the NHL at a tender age and his career nearly ended the first season when he was crashed into the boards and received a head injury. He returned and his career is history. In his day he was a giant at over 6 ft. tall and 205 pounds. Today he would be average in size. He was a giant in other ways leading a team to numerous titles and establishing Detroit as hockey town USA.
I watched Gordie play and won one of his sticks after a pre-season hockey game. It was a Northland with a number 6 line. Gordie was right in shooting but his stick had no curve at that time as he could switch and shoot both ways. He worked for Eatons store and as a young adult I went to the store and lined up to receive an autographed picture of my hero. I kept the stick for years but one time I was pressed to give something for the auction for Sick Kids Hospital I gave it away. I wonder where it is now?
His voice and demeanour betrayed his stealth on the ice. His character was one that every parent could say to their hockey son or daughter, be like him. His partners were all successful as they played a system and as a team. One year the line came first, second , and third in scoring.
Last night I watched the first game of the playoffs and we saw a team, not individuals work magic with the puck. A system which has to have all players committed to the plan and they were.On the ice last evening five of the best hockey players in the world today showed their skill. The best player on the ice was also the oldest. Lindstrom was making magic all evening and was a source of power on both offence and defence. Mother luck was with the Wings and tonight we hope the old legs hold up.
At this time of every year we like to remember our dreams as a child. Most of us wished to play in the NHL. I had dreams too but my dreams were modified by my ability. I did manage to make it to Senior hockey with a team in Northern Quebec. The league was the northern Quebec senior league although two teams were from Ontario. I was a young fellow and our coach signed me on and told me I could play a limited time at first but maybe someone would get injured. I worked hard and played on the third line. We were a defensive line but managed to score on occasion. At the end of the year our centre was injured and we called in an ex NHL player named Abbie DeMarco.He was the best stick handler for the New York Rangers all time. Although he was in his late forties he could still move the puck. He made our line perk up and I personally scored a few because of him.
From the days we played road hockey to the NHL we participated in the greatest game in the world and exported it to all corners of the globe. We can be proud when our women's and men's teams go for the gold every year at the world championships and next year in Vancouver.
Those early wings were not the power house of today but gathered strength when Howe, Delvechio , and Lindsay came along. Gordie Howe was a Flora, Sask. boy who at a tender age played jr. hockey in the west. He entered the NHL at a tender age and his career nearly ended the first season when he was crashed into the boards and received a head injury. He returned and his career is history. In his day he was a giant at over 6 ft. tall and 205 pounds. Today he would be average in size. He was a giant in other ways leading a team to numerous titles and establishing Detroit as hockey town USA.
I watched Gordie play and won one of his sticks after a pre-season hockey game. It was a Northland with a number 6 line. Gordie was right in shooting but his stick had no curve at that time as he could switch and shoot both ways. He worked for Eatons store and as a young adult I went to the store and lined up to receive an autographed picture of my hero. I kept the stick for years but one time I was pressed to give something for the auction for Sick Kids Hospital I gave it away. I wonder where it is now?
His voice and demeanour betrayed his stealth on the ice. His character was one that every parent could say to their hockey son or daughter, be like him. His partners were all successful as they played a system and as a team. One year the line came first, second , and third in scoring.
Last night I watched the first game of the playoffs and we saw a team, not individuals work magic with the puck. A system which has to have all players committed to the plan and they were.On the ice last evening five of the best hockey players in the world today showed their skill. The best player on the ice was also the oldest. Lindstrom was making magic all evening and was a source of power on both offence and defence. Mother luck was with the Wings and tonight we hope the old legs hold up.
At this time of every year we like to remember our dreams as a child. Most of us wished to play in the NHL. I had dreams too but my dreams were modified by my ability. I did manage to make it to Senior hockey with a team in Northern Quebec. The league was the northern Quebec senior league although two teams were from Ontario. I was a young fellow and our coach signed me on and told me I could play a limited time at first but maybe someone would get injured. I worked hard and played on the third line. We were a defensive line but managed to score on occasion. At the end of the year our centre was injured and we called in an ex NHL player named Abbie DeMarco.He was the best stick handler for the New York Rangers all time. Although he was in his late forties he could still move the puck. He made our line perk up and I personally scored a few because of him.
From the days we played road hockey to the NHL we participated in the greatest game in the world and exported it to all corners of the globe. We can be proud when our women's and men's teams go for the gold every year at the world championships and next year in Vancouver.
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