Saturday, April 05, 2008
One More Time With Feeling
Tonight, I hope the fans give Trevor Linden one, good, final hurrah (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun). And if it happens to be the last time we see Markus Naslund, Brendan Morrison and Tommy Larscheid, one for each of them too.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
One More Kick At The Can
Every season is an important season for any player, but for a few members of the Canucks organization, this could be a more important one. Tommy (Larscheid) and Trev and Matty (Cooke) and Markus and Mo could be playing their final games as Vancouver Canucks (Grant Kerr, Globe and Mail).
These are some of the longest-serving guys in the organization. (Matty Ohlund too but he's got one year left on his contract.) Except for a few years in the early 80's, Tommy has been broadcasting Canucks games since 1977 (wiki). Trev is entering his 16th season in a Canucks uni; Markus his 11th; Cookie his 9th; and Mo his 7th. None of them are signed past this season.
It will be the end of another era when these guys leave the organization. They formed a large part of the team's core and identity when Ronning, Courtnall, Gelinas and McLean left in the late 90's. After this season, surely another group of players will do the same, and in fact, we are already seeing guys like Willie Mitchell, Kevin Bieksa and Ryan Kesler take on more visible roles.
More importantly, if this is indeed these guys' final season, then it will also be their last opportunity to be the ones to bring the Stanley Cup to Vancouver. Part of the reason we remember the Ronnings and McLeans of the team's history so fondly is because of '94 Stanley Cup run. As good and as lovable as these guys have been, they haven't had nearly the same amount of success. Linden was of course part of the '94 run, but unfortunately for Naslund and the others, their tenure with the team may be defined by the fact that the Canucks have only won two playoff series since they came on board.
This could be their one, final chance to change that.
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Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.
Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks
Labels: Cooke, Larscheid, Linden, Morrison, Naslund, training camp 2007
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Tommy Thinking About Calling It A Career
Ed Willes has a nice piece in today's Vancouver Province about Tommy Larscheid and the possibility that he might hang them up after this season.
If he decides to hang them up, it'll be the end of another era in Canucks history. Much like a previous generation of Canucks fans associated with Jim Robson, there are a lot of us that associate with Larscheid. If you are in the group who only watch the games on TV, you are truly missing out.
He does this by saying exactly how he feels at certain points in the game. When he yells out "bullshit" on air, chances are every other Canuck fan watching the game thought the exact same thing. Same thing when he praises Roberto Luongo and bashes Jan Bulis. He's about as real as it gets and we love him for it.
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Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.
Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, Tom+Larscheid
It's been on his mind for a while now. Tom Larscheid is about to turn 67 and there are days he feels it. There was a time when he had friends in every town in the league. Now, those friends are disappearing and that makes the road a lonely place.I suppose this was inevitable. At the end of last season, after Shorty and Tom's last radio broadcast on CKNW, Tommy made a rather emotional farewell on the air. I didn't realize until then just how long Tommy's been in the business.
Sure, the juices still flow and he's never lacked for enthusiasm once the puck drops. But after three decades, he's starting to think it's time to let some kid take over the chair next to John Shorthouse.
If he decides to hang them up, it'll be the end of another era in Canucks history. Much like a previous generation of Canucks fans associated with Jim Robson, there are a lot of us that associate with Larscheid. If you are in the group who only watch the games on TV, you are truly missing out.
In his 30 years on the job, Larscheid has come to be associated with the Canucks as much as any of the team's stars.And that's exactly why I like Tommy. He's a fan first and a color man second; he connects with the team's fans like very few do in the business.
He is an original, a true Vancouver treasure who, like any great broadcaster, has created a style of his own. That style might not sell in another market. In Vancouver, it's gold.
I mean, who else could sell a line like, 'Bingle, bangle, bongo, that's Roberto Luongo!!!!' Who else could call a game as if he'd bet a large sum of money on the Canucks? Who else could come up with half the things Larscheid comes up with and get away with it because he makes it sound so genuine?
He does this by saying exactly how he feels at certain points in the game. When he yells out "bullshit" on air, chances are every other Canuck fan watching the game thought the exact same thing. Same thing when he praises Roberto Luongo and bashes Jan Bulis. He's about as real as it gets and we love him for it.
He really is that excitable. He really is that effusive. There is something intensely likeable about Larscheid -- he's the only man on the planet who could get Todd Bertuzzi to smile consistently -- and that fairly jumps out of the radio. The broadcast booth might hide some things but it will expose a phony in a heartbeat and his audience has always recognized there is nothing contrived about Larscheid.And when he decides to hang them up, we'll miss him just as much.
This is who he is. He isn't afraid to feel things. He celebrates and suffers along with the fans. That is why they connect so deeply.
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Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.
Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, Tom+Larscheid
