How's 2008 so far?

Perfect Patriots and Champion Celtics to go with your Resplendent Red Sox, hmm? ;)
I'd like that too!
Add a Best-of-the-Best Bruins squad to that, and I'll be on cloud nine!

- Luminous Luciano to a fellow Boston fan, January 29th, 2008

Well, the fact is that, even if it all did happen like that - it wouldn't change the sorry state the whole blamed world's in right now, one iota - not even in the city of Boston itself!

Sure there'd be a short-lived moment of sheer euphoria sweeping throughout all of New England, verily...

But then WHAT?

Like Manny Ramirez said, regarding the prospect of the Red Sox NOT achieving expectations and falling in the ALCS before the lowly, overachieving (for a while anyway - basically games 2 through 4 of the aforementioned 2007 ALCS!) Cleveland Indians... "It's not the end of the world!"
Indeed.

Some reporters of old used to say, jokingly, that the end of the world would be when both the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs would reach the World Series. It would be tied 3-3 and then something would surely happen during game 7 so that both teams keep their dubious record of "never winning the big one" in modern times INTACT.
Alas for these (mostly Boston-native) ace reporters, that cannot be any longer. The Red Sox have won it - twice now in four years. Mirroring the Patriots' success of winning their own "big one" 3 times in 5 years - and going for 4 in 7 momentarily...! Heck, even the notorious Black Sox/White Sox of Chicago won the big one for the first time in several decades! The Cubs are alone, almost, now in this futile quest (not "as a futility case" no - FUTILE QUEST, yes!)

The end of the world should be announced by something as trivial as a sports event, anyhow...

But I am digressing...!

Aye - that "being on cloud nine" bit is only a figure of speech, at best!
Sure, if all four Boston teams win it all consecutively (and it can happen - ANYTHING can happen in the wondrous and often unjust world of sports!) I'd be happy... I would have a drink in honor of each championship, sure... But that is pretty much it!

It's not like it would change the world - or just *my* world either!
It wouldn't mean squat for 3/4 of the globe that suffers on a daily basis and for whom life is a struggle and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are four very real afflictions...
No, it wouldn't be the end of the world.
Nor would it be an improvement of it.
(Well, maybe a little - for it would be championships going to the good guys instead of nasty glory-hounds that play for either New York, Los Angeles or (ugh) Montreal! But that is another story...)

Another L.P. that I am not associated with (thank God) - the NHL's L.P.

Well, the NHL's version of the All-Star week-end is over and people are finally coming to relaize that what they THOUGHT was hockey all year long... the last few decades... heck, all their lives... was nothing but sheer senseless brutality on ice!

The All-Star skills competitions, 3-on-3 rookie play and the actual All-Star game - now THAT was hockey! The object of the game is to match SKILL and APTITUDE in order to insert a rubber puck into the opposing net - THAT is the object of the game!

The spectacle of the game is to see as many goals as can be inserted get to be shot past the defense and goaltending of the other team - in a heated and close competition devoid of cheap hits, mindless violence and any dirty tricks usually employed by lesser talented competitors anyhow!

Alas, game "purists" -such as TSN's Pierre McGuire- believe that NOT to be real hockey at all. Purists such as he want a "real hockey game" with tons of bodychecks and much less goal-scoring involved - and that is definitely against the basic definition of the damn game! Maybe these purists, who know the game better than anybody else, truly don't know squat after all? Hey - if it works for Bible exegets, why not also for something as trivial as a "hockey (hokey?) expert" - eh?

Another type of purist and expert is the one who holds the old NHL status quo almost sacrosanct and cries "blasphemy" at some of the new rules in place...
One such purist is The Hockey Network's own Edward Fraser. Can I call him Eddie?

Eddie Fraser is no Eddie Shore, that is for sure!
Why in blue blazes is he such a traditionalist then - eh?

You don't find him lamenting the fact that the newest sheer torture in the modern (and P.C.) NHL is to have played well enough (and have been lucky enough also) to keep it close and then wind up with nothing at all still - if you lose by one goal in REGULATION. INSTEAD... he decries the very existence of what he calls "the loser point" in the standings. A point obtained each time you make it to O.T. even if you wind up losing once there - of course.

Fortunately, the NHL powers-that-be made it so that, if you can keep the pace into overtime, you will be rewarded at least for the effort (and show of good fortune) with AT LEAST one point in the standings. The rules make it so that, now, in the "new NHL" as it is, playing for the "extra point" is then what it is truly ALL about. I find it to actually be a WONDERFUL concept - and much better than that expression some neanderthal on a high came up with when his brain was overloaded with euphoria and he exclaimed "winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." HA. If you're a coach and your job is on the line, maybe! In any other instances, the athletic performance is what matters. PARTICIPATION is the essential thing, as the venerable Pierre de Coubertin used to say (I paraphrase) and overemphasizing upon winning is not only unhealthy - it is obtuse!

The NHL hasn't done ENOUGH actually! They should reward teams with points for having kept it close for three periods! Why should only overtime losers get a point in the standings? Regulation time losers deserve (and NEED) points too! If the score is 3-2 after 60 minutes of play, give the loser a point for keeping it so close, will you?!? Heck - there should be points awarded PER PERIOD! That way, most coaches' jobs would be half-done already; their team would KNOW they have to focus on each play, each shift, each minute, each period and NOT LOOK TOO FAR AHEAD -and certainly not past any opponent!

Evidently, I am diametrically opposed to Eddie Fraser's point of view too - and vote NAY to any return to the "good ol' days" - ever! As for Pierre McGuire's dream of a "real hockey game" that caters to the mercenary side of hockey players (with incentives such as cold hard cash for the players on the winning team - or home ice advantage "throughout the playoffs" as he put it on January 28th, the day after the All-Star game, on TSN. Excuse me, Pierre, but maybe you had a Molson Ex too many at the All-Star post-game party yesterday... You must have meant home ice advantage IN THE STANLEY CUP FINALS - right?)
Well, Pierre, when the All-Star game is played in Montreal next year - I hope none of your dream has come true! ;)

My point of contention today is the "loser point" though - so, in closing...

It's enough that worthy teams will be left with NOTHING AT ALL at the end of double or triple overtime losses in the PLAYOFFS.
No need to taste that sour bitterness in the regular season as well.

On top of that, Eddie made a booboo!
In his standings, he has these numbers:
7 Islanders 24 19 6 54
8 Boston 24 19 5 53

The CORRECT numbers have Boston sitting in seventh place instead - with 25 wins, 55 points. The 25th came against the Islanders, ironically - the team he has in front of the B's! And the final score in that one was 4-1. No loser points allowed there.


This editorial appears also on ArmChairGM.com - thank you!

Text Message Love Into Their Hearts...?!?

Those 55-4-55 commercials are starting to rub me the wrong way!
What, with the message they're sending by having silly contests calling for guys (and gals, one assumes) to send in their best "love tips"...
And then they dare imply that the following totally inane line:
"How much does a polar bear have to weigh? Just enough to break the ice!"
is better than the classic "if I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put 'U' and 'I' together!"... what the?!? No way!

Considering the extreme poor taste of the polar bear line, due to the climatic changes which are causing outright tragic circumstances for the arctic gentle ivory giants, who are in turn weighing less and less and STILL seeing the ice unable to support them as it is melting all over the place and the poor bears are not with enough strength these days in order to swim as long as it will be necessary before they find suitable ice floes...

I'd encourage bachelors and bachelorettes without a clue, both, to go with the "U and I" alphabetically-challenged line instead.


Thank you.


+++

Arm Chair Rasslin, Anyone?

Our companion site, henceforth, shall be this site right here rather than... well... the lugubrious blog (eww!) - and I am sure that everyone will be ELATED over this too!


We have noticed a recrudescence in the number of visitors to this very site - probably a backlash effect from the lugubrious side of things, eh? Unless it is merely a series of chance stumbling-upons...?
Whatever it is, thanks for dropping by, everyone!


MapLoco data tells the tale:
(with Location followed by the Time of the visit!)
Fort Worth, TX, United States Fri, 04 Jan 2008 17:47:04 -0600
Montréal, QC, Canada Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:48:03 -0600
Amman, Jordan Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:37:48 -0600
Wahlern, Switzerland Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:34:29 -0600
Khopoli, India Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:08:54 -0600
Beverly, MA, United States Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:45:11 -0600
, , United States Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:10:35 -0600
Canton, OH, United States Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:04:55 -0600
Frosinone, Italy Fri, 04 Jan 2008 12:58:07 -0600
Salt Lake City, UT, United States Fri, 04 Jan 2008 12:31:19 -0600
Akron, OH, United States Fri, 04 Jan 2008 11:58:38 -0600
Oklahoma City, OK, United States Fri, 04 Jan 2008 11:53:24 -0600
, , United States Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:44:36 -0600
Herndon, VA, United States Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:20:56 -0600
Fargo, ND, United States Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:55:23 -0600
Ager, Spain Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:24:03 -0600
Darlington, United Kingdom Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:35:32 -0600
, , United States Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:30:20 -0600
Blacklick, OH, United States Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:06:21 -0600
Hyderabad, India Fri, 04 Jan 2008 05:13:56 -0600
Cairo, Egypt Fri, 04 Jan 2008 02:51:33 -0600
Cartierville, QC, Canada Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:25:25 -0600
Dallas, TX, United States Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:56:48 -0600
Bowie, MD, United States Thu, 03 Jan 2008 22:07:33 -0600
, , United States Thu, 03 Jan 2008 21:53:42 -0600


Some parts are better left unknown, I suppose...?
Just like they do in wrestling, eh? ;)

Anyhow...

Let me assure you all that:
I shall remain lukewarm about sports events
I shall strive to keep the same tongue-firmly-in-cheek tone
(whether it is here or on that ArmchairGM thing!)
And I shall always be controversial for all the RIGHT reasons too!

I do not champion causes that should NOT have someone championing them.
Especially not someone who aspires to reflect the Light!

:)

All Right - THAT DOES IT!!!

Enough of this already indeed!

I have had just about all that I can take of Boston Bruins trades that don't make any kind of sense!

THREE talented forwards with promise whose potential was showing flashes -when allowed to do so- of greatness about to fully blossom - and they were all traded away... in a short lapse of time too.

First it was Brad Boyes; then Petr Kalus; and now Brandon Bochenski (one guy that I list as a fave on my Facebook! I'm not logging on to Facebook just to take out his name now - NO WAY!)

And what did the B's get in return? A defenseman, a goalie that, it turns out, was NOT NEEDED... Oh, and another defenseman! Plus - a draft pick! A sixth-rounder... but still! Sort of makes up for the one they LOST when they gave it away, along with Kalus, for that goalie that is not needed!
Great day at the trading block, Pete!
:!

I am one of the few of those fine hub of hockey dwellers who actually liked the OTHER apparently lopsided trades... I actually like the fact that choker extraordinaire Joe Thornton is GONE... And that it was a 3 for 1 deal - one that, in effect, bolstered the Bruins' line-up with the presence of Chuck Kobasew Marco Sturm and (another) defenseman Andrew Ference (Ference and Kobasew came to Boston in exchange of Stuart and Primeau, two loose change guys obtained along with Sturm for Thornton! So, THERE, at least, the B's turned lead into gold!)

More alchemy was achieved, IMHO, with the Ben Walters for Petteri Nokelainen trade! Noke is a gem in the rough while Ben is merely the son of a former Canadien! Ben could not be a true Bruin - not with those blood ties...

Still... Speaking of the enemy...

The Bruins' mismanagement of their personnel often results in opportunities for said enemy to get their man - said man once having been "one of us" (there I go again making the same damn mistake it irks me so much to see in others! Fooling myself, deluding myself enough to think that I actually belong to the team! HA! It won't happen again, folks, I promise!)

And so comes forth
a TRAITOR BRUIN!
Most probably the basis
for the idea displayed below:
(courtesy of Habs Crap R Us)

WHAT AN ABOMINATION!
What an eyesore!
A BRUIN - dressed up in THAT?!?
BLASPHEMY!
But that is as far as I'll go
with the complaints and laments here...

Because, in light of all that the B's do, I am definitely lukewarm about them! I am neither hot about their chances, not entirely detached nor outright cold and unaffected but I am definitely FED UP with giving up on talent and then see the BRUINS G.M. come out and say "we're still in need of some offensive reinforcements" DUH - YOU KEEP TRADING THEM ALL AWAY, YOU... @#!$

And some, either traded away or simply let go by the organization, have wound up or resurfaced WITH THE ENEMY! Be it the Canadiens or Sabres or whomever - Andy Moog, Sergei Samsonov, Bryan Smolinski - all became HABS (UGH) and the likes of Bob Sweeney became Buffalo Sabres with the expressed desire to BEAT THE BRUINS for they felt dumped and unappreciated by their former team!

Kalus, Boyes & Bochenski - man alive, they could have formed a TERRIFIC LINE RIGHT THERE! There's your extra offensive punch, Peter Chiarelli (that's "Pete" right there; the B's G.M.) but you must really be a double agent working for Ottawa still, making sure that the B's do NOT improve in reality...!

OK - I merely jest there...

DEFENSE does win championships...

But all the defensemen in the world and goalies too won't score Cup clinchers (even though Bobby Orr did - he's the exception that reaffirmed the rule!)

And I am not sure that the defensemen Chiarelli has been collecting (Wideman, Hnidy, Ference even... Oh - and Chara too!) are synonymous with "stingiest defense in the league" and "Stanley Cup contenders/defenders" for that matter...

I guess I am legitimized in my lukewarm attitude towards "my team" here - because "my team" sure acts like they are lukewarm about their players, their fans and that thing called "commitment to win" - EH?

:!