As planned, it was a whirlwind weekend for John, Rebecca, Alanah, Dave and I and The Crazy Canucks podcast.

On Saturday, we did a panel session at the Northern Voice Conference at UBC and we had probably close to 50 people attend and listen to our *ahem* expertise. The questions they threw at us were wide-ranging and quite interesting - i.e. our relationship with the team (in progress), the kind of access we get (getting better), our journalistic integrity (we're not Eklund or Perez Hilton), the kind of hardware and software we use (you'll have to ask John and Dave about this), and others. Very cool experience for sure.

On Sunday, we went to the Canucks Open Practice and set up shop with the Ultimate Canucks Search folks just outside section 101 at GM Place. While Jamie and Bruce from the UCS pimped out their "So You Think You Can-Nuck" contest, we also had a chance to pimp out The Crazy Canucks podcast. We posed for pictures and recorded an episode on-site. We also chatted with a few fans "on-air" and got their thoughts on the Canucks post-season chances. We even met a couple of other Canucks bloggers and podcasters; Hannah (Canucks Fangirl) stopped by and so did Kent (We Are All Canuckleheads) We have tons of audio from this event so hopefully we can put it all together in the next couple of days or so.

But the biggest highlight of the day was a (free) 30-second spot for the podcast on the GM Place jumbotron. Scott Rintoul (TEAM 1040), who was hosting the event, came by and did an interview that they played on the big screen. Really cool of them.

(Photos Credit: Canucks Fangirl on Flickr)

More pictures from the Open Practice on John's and Rebecca's Flickr sites.

Labels: podcast

These are 4 individuals who all have different levels of technical knowledge, different blogs or podcasts but we all share one thing - our love for hockey and the Canucks. During our session we’ll simply be exploring the basics (how to start a sports blog), some of the philosophies (how do you keep it going, get an audience, deal with heckler Oilers fans or feel about being “outsiders” of the organizations), and lastly some of the more technical aspects (how do we all come together and record a podcast from all corners of the country) followed by Q&A.

Labels: podcast

It’s two Bollwitts and JJ again for tonight’s episode where we discuss the latest loses, last night’s shootout victory and the buzz machine that is Vancouver media. We dive into this Sunday’s All Star game as Atlanta’s turn hosting is already proving to be a challenge from a viewer’s perspective.

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• Don't wake up Iggy.
• Pull a Tonya Harding on Dion.
• Take away Keenan's ice cubes.

• Adversity helps motivation (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
• Team gets a breather before games come fast and furious (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
• Practice does not always make perfect (Grant Kerr, Globe and Mail)
• Phaneuf's leg injury isn't serious (Jean Lefebvre, Calgary Herald)

Labels: Flames, game day preview, podcast

Labels: podcast

This is a lo-fi episode that you die hard Canucks fan will appreciate. As we dive into summer, there is still a lot of action off the ice to talk about. Sadly, there is just John and J.J. in this episode to cover some of those topics, but the rest of the crew will return to offer up their thoughts about some of the things that are covered in this one.

These two guys chat a little about the draft, but a bulk of this episode covers the State of the Franchise event that happened at GM Place on June 26, 2007. They review the event as well as break down the pieces of information that gives some insight to what’s going on with the Canucks as an organization as well as the team.

Labels: podcast

Labels: podcast

Greetings,

As lonely bloggers for a non-playoff team (the Caps), we at The Rink havedecided to try to live vicariously through the rest of the Stanley Cup chasing world. We've started a recurring feature on the blog - "The View From Your Playoff Seat" - and we're hoping to get people to send in pics to capture the game experience. The first post went up this afternoon: http://japersrink.blogspot.com/2007/04/view-from-your-playoff-seat.html

We're hoping that you might be able to ask your readers and Canucks fans to send any pics from the games (whether taken at the games or watching the games from home or at a bar) to us at Japers.Rink.Photos@gmail.com

We'll post pics and then links back to the bloggers from whence they came (or if the pics are just from fans, we'll link back to some of the blogs from the relevant teams). This could be a great way for all of us to gain new readers. (And for us to participate in the playoff experience in a small way.)

Labels: Believe In Blue, podcast

Dave is a healthy scratch on this episode, but the rest of the crew gathers to tackle the recent games, look ahead to who is coming up, and hash out some topics that the big media folks are drudging up. J.J. makes a call in from the game he went to against St. Louis (W), and we look at the other two games against Detroit (W) and Edmonton (W) in true TCC fashion.

Record as of this episode: 44-23-6
Northwest Division: 1st
Western Conference: 3rd

We also bring you some breaking news at the top of this episode regarding the Canucks and the world of podcasting, Alanah details her live blogging on the day of the Red Wings game, and J.J. presents some interesting insight to the slight against Naslund’s play even though the team record has been overly positive.

Labels: CDC, podcast

Everyone is able to bring this episode together, and no SeaBus will stop us from having Dave chime in on his commute home. The rest of us gather together in traditional form, discussing the games against Phoenix (W), Minnesota (W), and Tampa Bay (W). The race for the playoffs is still tight, but now we’re fighting for the top of the division, maybe even a long shot to win the conference. It’s really getting to be an amazing season, considering where we started out from.

Record as of this episode: 39-22-5
Northwest Division: 1st
Western Conference: 3rd

There’s a variety of topics covered in this one, but this one was done just after the five goals in three games that Jeff Cowan inspired a fan to toss a bra on to the ice in jubilee. If it was theirs or not, and if it was a he or she, we’ll probably never know. Regardless, it was too inspiring to not talk about.

Labels: podcast

Dave was a healthy scratch for this episode, but the rest of us gather to take on the past three games against L.A.(W), Dallas(OTL), and St. Louis(L). Also, we dive into the excitement of the NHL trade deadline, look at what the Canucks got, and examine how other teams in the division made out.

Record as of this episode: 36-22-5
Northwest Division: 1st
Western Conference: 3rd

Ryan Smyth going to the Islanders took a bulk of that attention in terms of the trade deadline, but that doesn’t make us Oilers fans by any means. Also, Bertuzzi going to Detroit means that we still might see him back in Vancouver before the season is over. We also look into some listener feedback, especially about the topic of the Canucks playing a game next season in the U.K. (Note: NHL confirmed that the Kings and Ducks would be doing this next season as of today, not the Canucks as our European friends might have hoped.) Additionally, we were given a scoop to a rumor on the new uniforms for next season, fueling the fire for a potential change to the logo.

Labels: podcast

Rebecca takes a healthy scratch on this episode while the rest of us, even Dave, gather together to take a look at the last four games against Minnesota, Chicago, Colorado, and Anaheim. Things have been looking really good lately, and we all feel incredibly excited at the fact that the playoffs seem more and more in sight.

Record as of this episode: 35-21-4
Northwest Division: 1st
Western Conference: 3rd

With 22 games left in the season and the trade deadline looming, there’s a lot to talk about, but none of us are really too sure as to what we can expect. Something is bound to happen, and we all have our own theories as to who might go or stay. A listener from London checks in with a question about a possible Canucks game next season in the U.K.

A lot of things are going well, but as fans, we know that we have to be careful to not get too far ahead of ourselves. However, listen to our episodes from early this season and the mood was incredibly different. Oh how things can change…

Labels: podcast

Dave is another healthy scratch for this episode, but that doesn’t mean we like him any less. However, we did find another blogger who loves the Canucks as well, but you’ll also hear about the “other team” he follows. Sean, aka Zanstorm, from Waiting For Stanley joins us from Smithers, B.C. to discuss the last two games against the Blackhawks and Thrashers.

Record as of this episode: 31-21-4
Northwest Division: 2nd
Western Conference: 7th

The hunt for the playoffs is on, so we cover some of that ground after getting to know a little more about Sean. John and J.J. also report back on what they can remember about the Thrashers game at GM Place. Rebecca checks in with the ever intriguing players blogs, and we can’t help ourselves from addressing the trade talks.

Labels: podcast

A momentous episode for the history of our podcast, we have the first guest join us, and there is an outnumbering of females to male ratio. Loxy from an Edmonton Oiler fan blog, Hot Oil, joins in on the discussion, especially her take on the two wins over the team so near to her heart. We also hash out the loss to Calgary in between the four points we got last Thursday and tonight. Unfortunately, Dave was unable to join us for this episode.

Record as of this episode: 30-20-4
Northwest Division: 2nd
Western Conference: 7th

The division continues to be a tough battle, and it was really great to have Loxy on the podcast to get an outside view of how other teams view the competition that the Canucks bring. Even though you might love to hate the Oilers, she gives you a little insight to what it’s like for an Edmonton lover living in Vancouver, plus we pick her brain on how her fellow fans view Luongo and the Sedins. And since the schedule debate continues to be a hot topic, we pose the question to Loxy as well.

Labels: podcast

We’re without Alanah on this episode, but the Internet gods were not on our side. Blame them. On the other hand, the rest of the crew were on hand after a long dry spell without Dave. Three games to talk about this time around; a loss to the Kings, an amazing win over the Sharks, and the Blue Jackets stole a shootout from us last night.

Record as of this episode: 28-19-4
Northwest Division: 2nd
Western Conference: 7th

Also, we address some trade rumors, talk about how Crow is doing in L.A., do a bit of an injury analysis on Kesler and Mitchell, get to some listener feedback/requests, and look at the road ahead towards the playoffs. And believe it or not, Fin is blogging.

It’s hard to imagine that we could be thinking about the playoffs with such hope compared to where we were at the beginning of the season, but we are.

Labels: podcast

As promised, Rebecca and John were able to check out the Canucks game against the Leafs on the new scoreboard at GM Place this past weekend. The UBC Thunderbirds played a game against the Regina Cougars following the broadcast. Overall, a great way to spend a Hockey Day in Canada.

The audio quality is not the best, but hopefully the die hard fans out there will enjoy the sounds of what it’s like to attend an event like this in Vancouver.

Labels: podcast

There was a lot to chat about even though there hasn’t been much action since the last episode. We take a look at some of the younger guys on the team, review some of the ways that we celebrated Hockey Day in each of our own special ways, why it should be a national holiday, wander down the scheduling trail again, and dissect the NHL All-Star Game selections a little bit. J.J also drops some bombs at the end of the episode with some injury reports, and we all agree that nothing else matters since we spanked the Leafs, 6-1, on national TV, no less.

Labels: podcast

Four games to talk about, three teams played since the last episode: Boston, Columbus, and Calgary. The first two games were painful for Canucks fans, but the home and home series against the Flames was nothing short of pure delight. J.J gives us the inside scoop of his involvement with the CBC story on the whole Vote for Rory campaign, and Alanah seems to be getting a tattoo after losing a bet on Luongo’s save stats in the first half of the season.

Labels: podcast

This episode caught some of us off guard, but anytime you throw a bunch of Canucks fans together, it’s not hard to talk hockey for a half hour. The whole gang was here, but our connection to Dave cut out towards the end. That didn’t stop the podcast, you can count on that.

Record as of this episode: 17-16-1 (5th in the Northwest Division)

We cover the last three games, but we only played two teams during that stretch; Calgary and Minnesota. Luongo takes center stage for some discussion, we pick out the rag of the week(only because it seems that whoever we pick on tends to start doing better), and wonder what the heck is going on with the officiating during some of the games. Dave also gives a first hand report on venturing out for a Vancouver Giants (WHL) game, J.J. gives us a Vote for Rory update (listen to an interview with Rory on the website under “Rory Speaks!”), and Alanah is live with her new blog, canucksandbeyond.com.

Labels: podcast

Dave joins John and Rebecca in “the studio” while we have Alanah and J.J. on the line for this slightly longer edition of the podcast. We tackle the latest news regarding the end of Alanah’s blog, Vancouver Canucks Op Ed, and look ahead to what we can expect from her new role with Kukla’s Korner. You can read her first feature article on her new home, “Bringing Hockey to the People“. So yes, the hockey blogging will continue.

That also sparks a brief debate over blogger and podcaster fans of the NHL in general, and their role in covering their favorite hockey teams in this age of new media. Whoa… deep.

Record as of this recording: 15-15-1 (5th in the Northwest Division)

Canucks! Oh yes, we talk Canucks as well. Carolina, Calgary, and Phoenix are the latest foes to face, so we do our best to cover our likes and dislikes over the games. The way things have been going, we have all been surprised with who we’ve been liking on the ice. We also get a little bit of a Vote for Rory update, tackle goalie mask designs, and toss around various thoughts about who’s hot and who we’d like to see contribute some more.

Labels: podcast