The 2007-08 NHL Hockey thread

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DaveC said:


Does the NFL play a secret game in Northridge on Friday nights or something? :scratch:
He maens on TV...when your home team is playing at home, the other network can't show a game against it, so for example in Philly, the 8 weeks the Iggles are home there's only 2 Sunfay afternoon games on local TV, say the Iggles at 1PM, and an AFC west game at 4...but when on the road, they'll get 3 games. In LA with no home team they get 3 games each Sunday morning/afternoon.
 
Hewson said:
He maens on TV...when your home team is playing at home, the other network can't show a game against it, so for example in Philly, the 8 weeks the Iggles are home there's only 2 Sunfay afternoon games on local TV, say the Iggles at 1PM, and an AFC west game at 4...but when on the road, they'll get 3 games. In LA with no home team they get 3 games each Sunday morning/afternoon.
:up:
 
Hewson said:
He maens on TV...when your home team is playing at home, the other network can't show a game against it, so for example in Philly, the 8 weeks the Iggles are home there's only 2 Sunfay afternoon games on local TV, say the Iggles at 1PM, and an AFC west game at 4...but when on the road, they'll get 3 games. In LA with no home team they get 3 games each Sunday morning/afternoon.

So you get a choice between the Raiders, the 49ers, and the Cardinals?

:yuck:
 
For any of you (three :wink: ) interested, former Islanders (among others) backup goaltender Jamie McLennan has started a blog about his experiences playing for the Nippon Paper Cranes of the ALIH (Asia League Ice Hockey).

Having lived in Asia myself, I always enjoy listening or reading other people's take on the Far East.

http://web.mac.com/gritster29/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

Jamie McLennan's Blog: Playing in Japan
Former NHL goaltender takes a humorous look at playing in Japan along with Tyson Nash.


by Jamie McLennan


Hello everyone, my name is Jamie McLennan and I have taken my show on the road to the land of the rising sun - Japan.

Many of you may remember me from the long and illustrious career I had in the NHL (joking), but realistically I may be remembered for being a backup who tried to be a good teammate, worked hard and definitely liked to have lots of fun.

I was going to retire this summer and pursue other interests in hockey when I received offers in Europe and Russia. I took an offer in Russia and was there for six weeks when I decided that it wasn't for me and we parted ways (another long story but not for this article).

Taking some time off was what I was doing when I was approached by my best buddy from growing up, Joel Dyck, who has been playing in Japan for 14 years and he told me I should come and play with him on his team to have a little fun and finish our careers together.

So I enlisted my good friend Tyson Nash and together we signed contracts to play for the Nippon Paper Cranes.

I will be documenting our weekly adventures and trying to keep some pictures along the way. Please keep in mind that although Tyson has made this transition very easy, he has also given me an easy target for some friendly ribbing along the way.

As you will see, I reference his nose, shortness, leather skin and horse teeth in some of my documentation. It is all in fun and for the people who know him, he is a very funny person with a great sense of humor, so you can only imagine what he says about me.

The first week here was good. We landed in Tokyo together and we did encounter a minor setback early. On my way through customs I was stopped and made to explain why I was importing an exotic bird with an enormous beak, leather skin, short legs and uncharacteristically long feathers.

I made them aware that, although loud, chirpy and surprisingly loaded with grayish wooden teeth, the animal was friendly and that people in Canada referred to the little guy as Tyson Nash.

Upon checking his I.D., we were allowed to enter the country unmolested.

We are excited to be here, but the time change has messed us up so we are trying to sleep lots to get on the time zone.

We have also been experiencing some neat things here. The first night here the team threw a party for us at a local restaurant. The whole organization, including coaches, managers as well as company executives, were present and they proceeded to welcome us with speeches and some of the local traditional drinks (Sake).

It was quite exciting until they asked us to stand up and make a speech. The quickest thing I could come up with was having the translator explain how Nasher would need a windshield off an old car for a visor.

The boys seemed to enjoy that as we proceeded to the next stop, a karaoke bar, where we dominated the microphone for hours.

Nothing can explain the feeling of doing a duet with a rookie Japanese player who has had a few drinks and only speaks about seven words in the English language, none of which were in the song we sang.

Needless to say I carried him in the song and later he returned the favor by carrying me home as I quickly learned what my tolerance for Sake was...WOW!

Born in Edmonton, Jamie McLennan is a former NHL goaltender currently playing for the Nippon Paper Cranes of the ALIH (Asia League Ice Hockey). Nicknamed 'Noodles,' McLennan was drafted by the Islanders in 1991. He played 238 NHL games with the Flames, Rangers, Panthers, Wild, Blues and Isles, compiling a 75-104-33 record.

Keep up with McLennan's regular blog at: http://web.mac.com/gritster29/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html
 
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Ha! Well, one day (when I'm not tired or busy) I'll be inclined to answer them. :)

I do remember, though, waking up at 5 or 6 in the morning to listen to the Habs games online and then heading off to work. My older students, even though many were not aware of what hockey was, knew the results of the games based on my mood. :wink:

Oh, and I was charged with assigning English names to my first graders, so the first day of school I observed their personalities. I named the short, chatty boy, Bono; the studious boy Dave; the quiet, serious, contemplative one Larry; and the happy-go-lucky kid Adam. It always amused me to say: "Bono, please be quiet!!" :)
 
Wellllllll, I compromised on that one. :wink: I just had to use it once!

Many, if not all, of these children get extremely attached to their English names, often adopting them in lieu of their actual Chinese names later on in life. Somewhere out there there's a 12-year old boy about to start high-school who calls himself Bono. :)
 
That's a lot cooler than calling himself "Paul".

Well, prepare to be asked many questions down the road. Feel free to ignore my queries, of course. Get in line, in fact. :)
 
That was a pretty exciting win!
I only caught the third period on a crappy streaming video but it was sweet none the less.
 
UberBeaver said:


So if Sundin gets traded, would that make you angrier?

I can't decide...

He seriously is the most talented Leaf right now and 99% of the time you can see the effort that he puts in while the rest just skate around in circles...

On the other hand we need to clean house and it would be better to trade him now before he becomes a free agent or there is the off chance of an injury...

It would be nice to see him actually win a cup as well, if not with the Leafs then someone else.
 
I've always liked Mats Sundin and respected his game. He doesn't really dazzle you watching him, but he generally makes the smart play, the heads-up pass, and he does it all without drawing a ton of attention. He's sort of the Swedish Steve Yzerman in a way.

Nice win by the suddenly rolling Flyers last night...surprising hat trick for Scott Hartnell and an encouraging return from concussion by Gagne. Nittymaki seems to have his confidence back and is playing very stingy goal too :)
 
Yeah the Leafs should move Sundin. Better for all parties involved. But I'm not sure JF Jr. has the ability to do it.
 
As per Bob McKenzie's Blog on TSN:

http://www.tsn.ca/blogs/mckenzie/?id=227069

Blog: Ferguson on borrowed time

1/11/2008

Amid all the obvious and raging speculation on the future of John Ferguson Jr. with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the truth is it looks as though he has been working on borrowed time for quite some time.

Even before the Leafs plunged back into the abyss – losing 10 of their last 12 and failing to win a game in regulation time since Dec. 14th – the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment board of directors have been engaged in activities that can only be construed as laying the groundwork for life after JFJ.

Back in late November, around the time when the Leafs were skidding out of control – punctuated by a horrific 5-1 loss to the Coyotes in Phoenix on Nov. 24 – sources say the folks at MLSE commissioned a detailed evaluation of not only Ferguson's work as GM, but the work of all 30 GMs in the league.

Ironically, the Leafs went on to win six games in a seven-game stretch shortly after that, but sources say the same executive search firm that the Leafs engaged in the off-season to hire a “mentor” or senior advisor to work with Ferguson was asked to do a league-wide evaluation of each team's top hockey executive.

Sources say MLSE wanted to gauge where Ferguson fit in amongst his peers in terms of performance, on everything from drafting to trading to free agency. But it can also be construed as an exercise in determining which NHL GMs are the most proficient and which, if any, of them could be enticed to come to the Maple Leafs in the same fashion that MLSE wooed Toronto Raptor GM Bryan Colangelo away from the Phoenix Suns.

Also, while the Leafs were in the midst of their surge of six wins in seven games, and while the league-wide study of the GMs was being conducted, sources tell TSN that member(s) of the MLSE board were directly contacting some hockey people to find out if: a) they might be interested in the Leafs' general manager job; and/or b) to get input on who would be a good choice.

Now that the Leafs are on a free fall, the speculation on the future of Ferguson has naturally hit a crescendo. The Globe and Mail reported on its website today that, for all intents and purposes, Ferguson is finished as GM of the Leafs and obliquely suggested he could be relieved of his duties as early as next week, when the MLSE board will convene in what appears to be a response to the plight of the team.

A cynic would suggest Ferguson has been toast since the loss to Phoenix in late November and that the MLSE board is either incapable of putting together a plan to replace him in the short term or is waiting on the executive search firm's league-wide evaluation of the GMs.

In any case, it's a mess.

The team is in a death spiral on the ice. They are led by a lame-duck GM whose focus and philosophy has been on building a team that can compete for a playoff spot and were it to get one, make some noise in the post-season. This effort has been done at the expense of the future, trading away significant chunks of the team's future. Now, as it becomes apparent the playoffs are but a pipe dream, the recognition is settling in that the Leafs have no choice but to start a massive rebuilding program that would include trading any veteran assets that might be moved, from captain Mats Sundin on down.

But if that's to be done, it must be done in the next six weeks, before the Feb . 26th trade deadline, which would mean that unless there is a dismissal, the same GM who supervised the building program that has ultimately failed will be charged with overseeing the re-building program.

Either that, or the Leafs will continue to muddle on with the status quo.

What was obvious in late November is even more obvious now – the MLSE board is paralyzed to act because it doesn't know where to turn, how to turn or whom to turn to.

Logic would suggest that is likely to change soon enough, but that is not to be confused with having a well thought out succession plan.
 
I hate to see a team with tradition in this position. Besides the Leafs you've got the 49ers and Dolphins, the Knicks, the Orioles, Notre Dame football...it's good to see the Celtics and Tigers out of that group.

Of course if the NY Yankees were to go in the toilet for 25 years I wouldn't exactly be heartbroken :wink:
 
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