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CANUCKS HOCKEY BLOG

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Sunday Rink Surfing

Happy rainy Sunday everyone! Here's some curl-up-in-your-computer-chair-reading.

Kevin Bieksa came up with a big game against the San Jose Sharks, but how big is he? James Mirtle investigates.

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How spoiled are we as Canucks fans? Well, we whined about the two of 82 regular season games that aren't televised this season, which incidentally, CBC just added next Saturday's game against the Nashville Predators to their BC schedule.

Having almost all the games on TV is certainly something we take for granted and you have to feel for fans like the American Hockey Fan, a Bruins fan living in Manhattan, who can't watch his beloved team on the tube. So far he's making out okay, but I know I wouldn't be able go a whole year without being able to watch the Canucks.

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No, I still don't like the Leafs, but I'll give credit where credit is due. Mats Sundin scored his 500th goal last night and in dramatic fashion - it was his game-winning, hat-trick goal in overtime while the Leafs were shorthanded. Congratulations to Mats. The Bitter Leaf Fan has all the info.

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How much does Jacques Lemaire emphasize defense? This much:

The best Lemaire story came from Vancouver Canucks defenseman Willie Mitchell, who played for the Wild from 2000-06. After scoring a big goal against the Detroit Red Wings, Mitchell was called into Lemaire's office.

Lemaire eyed him up and down and finally said, as Mitchell recalled for the Vancouver media, "You produced three scoring chances, which is good. But you gave up three chances to Sergei Fedorov, Steve Yzerman and Brett Hull. Who do you think is going to score more goals, Fedorov, Yzerman or Hull or Willie Mitchell?"

"I got his point," Mitchell said.
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It's Not All About The Benjamins. After dropping out of one group of investors interested in buying the Pittsburgh Penguins, Cuban has offered to join forces with new owner Jim Balsillie.

"I sent him an e-mail offering any support I could to help him with the team in Pittsburgh," Cuban wrote Friday in an e-mail to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "He sent me a nice reply. Hopefully, we can do something together."
Does anyone else think that having Cuban on board is actually good for the NHL?

During the bidding process for the Penguins, Cuban was part of a group of investors that included New York businessman Andrew Murstein and Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino.

At the time, Cuban said he joined Murstein's group to try to ensure the Penguins remained in Pittsburgh. The franchise's future is in limbo, pending the resolution of a funding plan for a new arena.

However, Cuban revealed yesterday that he dropped out of the Murstein group before the sale process reached its final stage.

"They were nice and professional, but they were investors first and fans second," Cuban wrote. "The further we got in, the more concerned I got of what would happen if we won the bidding. I told them I didn't want to be part of a group where winning wasn't ahead of IRR (individual rate of return)

"As the season got closer, there was no urgency or excitement about the season. It was about negotiating tactics."
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An Assist For Maddie. Hockey players' work in the community is well-known, but this one, involving Kris Draper and the Detroit Red Wings really underscores that point:
"Maddie, do you want to go to the Red Wings?" Paul asked, holding his cell phone.

It was the middle of September and Maddie was lying on the backseat of his truck, exhausted from chemotherapy.

She perked up instantly.

"Kris Draper wants you to be his guest," Paul said.

Maddie jumped and smiled and pretended she was about to faint. She loves the Red Wings. She loves Kris Draper.

After Draper learned about Maddie from a Free Press story, he offered to have Maddie use his private seats. Maddie is in the last stages of Ewing's sarcoma, a rare bone cancer.

On Sept. 21, Paul and Maddie walked into Joe Louis Arena, through the concourse and into the locker room before an exhibition game.

Draper gave Maddie an official Red Wings sweater with her name on the back. Draper had it signed by Robert Lang, Chris Osgood, Niklas Kronwall, Tomas Holmstrom, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brett Lebda and Coach Mike Babcock.

Maddie had been invited to watch warm-ups from the penalty box.

"The guys will be flicking some pucks at you," Draper said. "Like I said to your dad, anytime you guys want to come down, give us a call."

"What do you say?" Paul asked.

"Thank you," Maddie said.
Thank you to Isabella from Stick In Rink for the link.

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Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.

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posted by J.J. Guerrero, 9:30 AM

4 Comments:

At October 16, 2006 3:20 AM, Blogger Jordi said...

Living without hockey on tv is not too bad. That is if you're willing to become unfit for human contact and sit on the computer a whole lot more than usual.

Gosh that story about the little fan is so sad. I pretty much teared up at the end.

 
At October 16, 2006 4:56 PM, Blogger Sean Zandberg said...

"Who do you think is going to score more goals, Fedorov, Yzerman or Hull or Willie Mitchell?"

What a great quote by Lemaire! HAHA!

 
At October 16, 2006 10:21 PM, Blogger J.J. Guerrero said...

Jordi - Do you get any of the games on TV out there at all?

John - Ditto. It really was like cheering for the less of two evils.

zanstrom - Classic Lemaire, huh? Though the way the Wild has started the season, it looks like Jacques might have loosened up a bit.

 
At October 17, 2006 2:40 AM, Blogger Jordi said...

Pay TV is gracious enough to host a hockey game once a week. Apart from that it's zip and the magic of the interweb.

 

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