Many consider Gretzky to be the Babe Ruth of hockey.  Many baseball collectors know him as the one time part owner of the most famous baseball card in the world.  Either way you look at it, hockey fans would love to pull a Gretzky autograph from one of their packs.

Supposedly Gretzky has no problem the proposed purchase of the Phoenix Coyotes by NHL.

I thought he would actually be a backer of the Basillie purchase but maybe gretzky isn’t a fan of RIM, Maybe he’s an Iphone user..LOL

Who knows!

Thought #1 – ESPN is officially starting their “30 for 30″ series tonight with a film on Wayne Gretzky’s exit from the Edmonton. Now granted outside of the month after each Mighty Ducks movie came out, I’ve never really paid attention to hockey. You remember those days, we all bought roller blades and plastic street pucks. You probably even bragged to your friends that you could shoot a knuckle puck, and talked about dekeing (sp?)like you had a clue what the heck it meant. (Lord knows I did.) But the bottom line is that despite never watching a hockey game, we all loved Wayne, he was our token hockey star, and we ever hung up that mini poster we bought at the book fair to prove it. I can’t tell you many stats on the great, but I can tell you his most impressive feat to me, being a Pro Star. When he joined forces with Bo Jackson and Michael Jordan to fight crime, that was magic. Least we forget, he also had rocket powered roller blades. Awesome! He truly was the great one.

Thought #2- Is Bobby Bowden going to retire? I doubt it. I think he’s actually passed that “enjoy a nice retirement” age, where you leave your job, buy a boat, and start taking in the early bird T-Bone for half price. No, he passed that long ago and entered the “going work till you die one day on the job” age bracket. I mean if Bobby retires, what’s he going to do? Fish? Golf? Walk circles around the mall in matching FSU windsuits with his wife? Yeah, no way, not Bobby. Guys like him and Jo Pa, the day they walk away from coaching, they just keep on walking up towards Heaven. So FSU fan, you better just suck it up, cause I don’t think Bobby is ready for heaven just yet and you darn sure ain’t going to fire him.

Thought #3-The SEC has officially apologized for the excessive celebration penalties in the LSU-GA game on Saturday. I’ll be honest, until today I thought I was just missing the highlight of the penalty itself. I mean I kept watching and watching and I saw a guy jump, and I saw a guy hug another guy, and I really thought I was just catching the wrong clips. Am I wrong or didn’t we go through this same mess last year in the Pac 10? Why do we care if people celebrate anyway? So what, a guy scores and gets excited, maybe even pumps his fist or does a little dance, so what? I mean obviously we kind of like it, if it’s a good dance we’ll surly talk about on the ride home and then of course we will try to mimic it at Thanksgiving when we score on our 12 year old cousins.  It’s stupid to change a game over something like this, but thanks for the thought SEC. Thanks for the nice note and stuffed mini bulldog you sent. Season’s kinda screwed, but all better now.

Thoughts about last night:

Brett Farve is still Bret Farve, at least for the first part of the year. Let’s not forget he did this last year too. He had an amazing week 4 last year, 6 touchdowns in fact, but he’s body just couldn’t hang in there for the long run. At least Berrian is healthy again, the deep ball threat should be a help for Brett, although could it get the best of him? Hmm.

Rogers is a very good quarterback but it’s hard to play on your butt. Seriously Green Bay line, I know you’re banged up, but 8 sacks is ridiculous.

And by the way, Jarad Allen got 4.5 of those on his own. That’s one dude Packers. One dude who you knew was going to tear it up going into that game and you let him run wild. Granted, he has a mullet, and those are intimidating, so I can’t blame you but so much.

Update: The Bo Jackson Nike cross trainers have been nominated by James for best shoe. Good call on those, I really miss all that “Bo knows” stuff, and the K-mart knock off “Moe knows” with pictures of Moe from the 3 stooges.

10. Emmitt Smith’s 18,355 career rushing yards- In an age where running backs become useless at age 30, Smith’s record is fairly impressive nowadays. Most running backs have 5-6 great years in them, and with defensive players getting bigger and faster, it is possible that running back won’t last more than 4 years at Pro Bowl status. The highest active player is Edgerrin James at 12,180. The next highest is LT at 11,830. James’ at the end of his career, and LT is right near his. PLAYER WITH BEST CHANCE AT BREAKING IT- Adrian Peterson is 24, and has 3,513 yards. However, past knee problems makes me doubt he will come close. 

9. Back to Back No Hitters by Johnny Vander Meer- In 1938, Vander Meer threw back to back no-nos. In modern day baseball, with specialization and pitch counts, it is unfathomable to think of this feat. What makes it even harder to imagine, is that the pitcher who broke the record would have to throw 3, not 2, to break the record. That will never happen. PLAYER WITH BEST CHANCE AT BREAKING IT-  As an NL pitcher who faces the opposing teams pitcher, Tim Lincecum is the only guys I can peg right now who could do it. 

8. Wayne Gretzky 2,857 career points- The next highest to the Great One is Mark Messier who has 970 points less than Gretzky. There is a reason Gretzky is the greatest to ever play the game, and nobody will near that mark. BEST CHANCE TO BREAK IT- Sidney Crosby is 2 years young and only 40 points behind Ovechkin, with 400 points. Crosby gets the nod since he is a better passer. 

7. UCLA 7 consecutive NCAA Championships- With the NCAA Tourny being the minefield it is, to imagine a team that could recruit and win that much in a row is staggering. John Wooden led this run starting in 1966, and also included an 88 game winning streak. COLLEGE WITH BEST CHANCE TO MATCH- it is all about having a coach who can recruit talent like Wooden did. Coach K at Duke would prob get the nod over Roy Williams, the two programs who always have the talent. 

6. Wilt Chamberlain 100 point game- Could be higher, but Kobe’s 81 point performance makes it possible that somebody could sniff what Wilt did. 100 points in a game is just ridiculous. The most staggering fact though is his percentages that days. Only 28  points (28-32) came from the line and he was 36-63 from the floor. BEST CHANCE TO BREAK IT- Kobe, he can shoot the 3 and drive better than most. He scored 81, so hes the logical one to get here if it ever happened. 

5. Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak- hitting in 56 straight games is a feat that since it happened, people get excited when somebody even reaches 25 games. Thats still 31 games away, not even half way there. It is a record that has defined baseball. Pete Rose’s 44 game streak is the closest somebody has come to breaking DiMaggio. BEST CHANCE TO BREAK IT- It has to be a player who really doesn’t hit for much power. I think Joe Mauer is the best pure hitter in baseball, he has the best shot. 

4. Wilt Chamberlain’s 55 rebound game- Absolutely ridiculous number. 55 boards is just nuts. Nobody in the recent era has even come close to this number. The most recent person to come remotely in the area is back in 1988, when Charles Oakley had 35 boards. BEST CHANCE TO BREAK IT- Dwight Howard is the best rebounder in the game, good luck Dwight at breaking that. 

3. Bill Russell’s 11 NBA Championships- 11 rings just shows how great Russell and the teams he played on were. No active player has even a remote shot at getting here. Robert Horry has 7, yet his career doesn’t have much left in it. No player will have that kind of dynasty in this era. BEST CHANCE AT BREAKING IT- could say Kobe, but if LeBron or Dwayne Wade sign with a team that has 2 max contracts available in 2010, that is the best shot at anybody making that kind of run. 

2. 2,632 Consecutive Games played by Cal Ripken Jr.- He played every game from May 30, 1982 till Sept 19, 1998. 16 years straight without missing a game. Everything that goes into that cannot be described by words. Last known longest active streak is held by Ryan Howard at 169 games, which puts him on pace to break Ripken’s record by 2023. Odds are he has missed a game since then. BEST CHANCE TO BREAK IT- unless God comes back reincarnated, it will not be broken. For for sake of throwing out a name, how about Jose Reyes? 

1. Cy Young 511 wins- I did the math on this, and for this to be broken, a 18 year old pitcher would have to win 20 games a year for 25 seasons straight. You wanna know how many people won 20 games this season? Zero. That should tell you who has the best chance at breaking the record.

Wayne Gretzky, this week, formally resigned as head coach of the Coyotes and that he will get paid if the NHL wins its a bid for the Coyotes. So, for Wayne Gretzky, the situation in Pheonix is water under the bridge.  Its moving past him.  The situation in Pheonix has not sullied Gretzky’s reputation, however, as LA King’s GM Dean Lombardi stated that, “I’d like to bring (Gretzky) back in some capacity now that he’s done there,” Lombardi told the Fan 590. “I think when you talk about kids learning to win, I think it would be great if we could bring him back to where he almost brought this place to the promised land.”     Lombardi has not specified what position Gretzky would have with the team.

I’ve watched a few preseason games, but frankly I’m bored.  Those games don’t really count except for those who are analyzing every move to be the first with predictions.   Okay, I’m game.  The rookies are out and about on the ice, coaches have come and gone, and the mix mastered versions of the teams display AHL players that will be filling the void soon.  If preseason really matters, then here are my rants, raves and more predictions.

Wayne Gretzky’s gone; who really thinks that will make the Phoenix Coyotes better?  I’m a huge fan of Wayne, but it was dismal to see his team falter. I had hopes this year that the Coyotes would be better with a decent line-up of Lombardi, Doan, Turris, Upshall, and yes, even Prucha.  But to my dismay, my Phoenix friends all say they are sitting out this year and turning elsewhere to root for a hockey team.

Sean Avery and his sprained knew creates an entire discussion of the defense for the New York Rangers.  Brashear will have to do some serious bashing to get room for the puck to move.  But not all hope lies in Avery.  Brandon Dubinsky and the team have arrived at a fair settlement so he can play.  On Bluehsirt Banter, the prospect of Heatley for Dubinsky got into a who’s who of who knows hockey.  Just like football, we can’t concern ourselves with whining over scoring stats.  Sure, I don’t care for certain players, but the Rangers don’t have that king of luxury right now.

The Detroit Red Wings are holding back because they know the real season starts October 1^st.  Why would they risk any player being hurt when their main goal for the year is to reclaim the Stanley Cup?

Teams to watch this year with interesting promise but may not have enough punch to pack the house:

Eastern Conference:

Tampa Bay Lighting- When you put Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Swedish rookie, Victor Hedman together in the first line, I’m curious.  How can that not work?

Washington Capitals- Alexander Ovechkin rocks, we all know that, but I’ll be watching to see if the young goalie, Simeon Varlamov can hold it together.  Critics doubt the strength of this goaltender for the full-season impact, but what I saw last year in the unraveling of the New York Rangers was impressive.   And, Don Cherry loves to rip on Ovechkin for his grandstanding.   How ironic.

New Jersey Devils- So I’m more of a fan of those New York teams, but I have to give it up for the Devils.  Despite Brodeur, I like most of the players.  Travis Zajac, Zach Parise and David Clarkson have all caught my attention like no other New Jersey team in the past.  I’ll be watching and drafting from this team.

Western Conference

St. Louis Blues- With veteran Paul Kariya out last year, the group of young guns stepped up and stood out.  T.J. Oshie, Patrick Berglund, and David Backes, to name a few will fire up the crowds this year.

Chicago Blackhawks- Take no prisoners.  Out for blood.  Now that the team has Marian Hossa, the team should be amazing.  Right?  Let’s hope so after all the hoopla surrounding the team of Toews, Kane, Keith and some other good players that don’t get noticed as much: Dave Bolland, Andrew Ladd, and Brent Seabrook. Deep dish pizzazz or digging deeper into a cheesy situation.

San Jose Sharks- Because who won’t be watching?  Now that Dany Heatley is in and ineffectual Jonathan Cheechoo is out, the team may have a chance.  Players like M-C Vlasic, Ryan Clowe, and of course, Joe Thornton will try to regain the fierceness in the Shark Tank.  All hope is on Heatley.  But that may not be enough.  I’m watching from afar.  I’ll be keeping track of Dan Boyle’s stats.

Ok so according to him he wasn’t in their plans as continuing to be the head coach….. Jim B the Blackberry god had enough money and it has been said planned on paying most of his salary…… the concerning part to me is that he is reportedly on record stating he has no interest in coaching in Canada…………. ISN’T HE ORIGINALY CANADIAN??? Rumoured to be asked to either coach or help coach the Canadian Olympic Team but unwilling to help another Canadian Team…… No Offence Wayne but seriously thats not being overly patriotic…. why would we want you to coach our national team if you don’t want to work in Canada?

I Glendale, Phoenix väntar man fortfarande på att domare Redfield T Baum skall fatta beslut om Coyotes framtid.  Med bara en vecka kvar till säsongsstart börjar det bli bråttom. I nuläget finns bara två intressenter; NHL och Glendale med ett bud på 140 miljoner dollar å ena sidan och kanadensiske miljardären Jim Balsillies bolag PSE Sports & Entertainment som bjuder 242,5 miljoner dollar å andra sidan. Samtidigt som beslutet dröjer hamnar Coyotes allt närmare sin grav. Osäkerheten kring lagets framtid gör att ingen köper säsongsbiljetter och till träningsmatchen mot Los Angeles Kings häromveckan kom bara 2000 personer, till och med Djurgården lockar ju fler på Hovet. Att dessutom lagets frontfigur och tränare Wayne Gretzky nu hoppar av bidrar ju inte i positiv riktning.

NHL’s plan är att behålla laget i Phoenix vilket knappast är ekonomiskt hållbart. Det faktum att inget lokalt företag eller konsortium ens lagt ett skambud på laget signalerar ju att men inte tror på en framtid för ett hockeylag i Arizonas öken. Många tror därför att NHL i så fall behåller laget denna säsong och att det sedan flyttas till Las Vegas eller någon annan stad utan hockeykultur.

Balsillie har aldrig mörkat att han vill flytta laget till hemstaden Hamilton i Ontario. Något som samtliga övriga NHL klubbar motsätter sig. Detta mest av solidaritet med Toronto, Buffalo, Detroit, Chicago och Ottawa som skulle få en stark lokal konkurrent. Å andra sidan måste det kittla de flesta klubbar med ett NHL lag i en stad där invånarna brinner för hockey. Balsillie kryddade häromdagen sitt bud med att låta laget spela kvar i Phoenix denna säsong. Han har också lovat Glendale 50 miljoner dollar som kompensation för förlorade hyresintäkter för Coyotes hemmarena jobbing.com arena.

Balsillies chanser hade nog varit betydligt större om han velat flytta laget tillbaka till Winnipeg. Nu är det så mycket politik inblandad att ingen har en aning om vart det lutar annat än att Coyotes inte lär bli kvar i Phoenix mer än denna säsong.

During an interview with Luc Robitalle on Inside Kings Hockey, former teammate of Lemieux’s and Gretzky’s, states that his favorite Kings jersey was the silver and black. And, to this day, lucky Luke thinks it was the color of the jersey that brought Wayne to LA. As a the new owner of Luc’s junior hockey team, Hull, Wayne changed the Colors from Blue and White to Silver and Black. Bruce McNull, originally thought of using NAvy and Silver;however, once he heard Luc Suggestion, to make it black, McNull faded it to black. 

I guess that is something that is left out of the story books about Wayne’s journey south. I’m sure the trade prospects, the Money pocklington needed, and the fact that Gretzky’s new wife at the time, was a burgeoning Hollywood actress.  At first glance, it appears that Luc is trying to be funny and is ignoring all of those facts when thinking of the Wayner coming to LA.

But then again, if anyone remembers Darren Pang talking about the Text message from Wayne Gretsky, he recieved during the winter classic, gushing over the Pens’ baby blue, maybe all Wayne needed was a jersey to be the tipping point.  He was gone from LA a year after they adopted these burger king rag; He was in St. Louis for a year and they had ugly jersey, then an even uglier 3rd jeresy, before deciding to play out his career with the Rangers. Ugly team, but great uniform.  Finally, when he joined the Pheonix ownership and got into Coaching, the Yotes’ got new uniforms.  

Wow, it has to be true. When your the best player in the world of the 1980’s and ownerships are throwing all kinds of offers at you, I guess a jersey would be the deciding factor.  Wayne wasn’t chasing dough, but rather, new threads when he went to play in LA.

Since the kings went to the Cup one time with the Silver and Black, they should go with that jersey full time, again.

-Inside Kings Hockey

Time to honor another MakeitSeven.ca ranter. Jay Martin, this means you. Tirelessly Jay has contributed to the Make it Seven rant page, and is the glue holding it together when others had given up hope. Jay has gotten a little mad, for obvious reason, as it is plain that he is a devout hockey fan that really does not like to see what has happened to the great game of hockey. Keep up the good work Jay! Get a third wind, as we are going to overtime. Thanks Jay from all of us fellow ranters at Make it Seven!

For the bullet summary, please go here.

You want the team NHL? Prepare to get out the chequebook, and write the big one!

The NHL is now on record as stating the Coyotes arena lease needs to be reworked:

“I think we’ve got to get the lease situation resolved, or not, by the end of this calendar year,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said yesterday

What happened to Gary Bettman’s statement that the team was never in jeopardy, and the thought of it was, well, just ’silly’? Where is that thinking now?

According to the NHL and Gary Bettman, with proper management the Phoenix Coyotes could have been, and would have remained a ‘viable franchise’.

Would that be in it’s current form, Mr. Bettman?

Because, if the Coyotes are indeed viable, why would this season be a ‘lame duck season’ if you as the successful bidder in the auction would need a reworking of the lease?

Now, is the lease really that bad? What is it about the lease that has everybody spooked?

I would argue it isn’t about the lease payments, it’s the lease penalty.

Fill it with some Jonas Brothers, Miley Cirus, and other attractions and get over it!

But, the penalty is only an issue if you want to leave Glendale.

If the Coyotes are truly as viable a franchise as claimed by Gary Bettman, then why is the lease such an albatross and a hinderance at this point?

We really need to go back in time and again to the Ron McLean and Bettman interview of June 2009.

Why does the NHL flip flop on the issues it claims are important, the facts of the Coyotes case, whenever it becomes convenient for them?

Gary Bettman’s argument is that when you have bankers building arenas, then you have an obligation to continue in a given place, or it turns the league on it’s head, as in this excerpt from the interview:

MacLean: So you say it’s a problem with your investment bankers, that threat of the relocation to Hamilton?

Bettman: Not bankers who lend money to franchises, but bankers who lend money to build arenas and stadiums.

MacLean: Which is huge. One of the reasons for stability in the past.

Bettman: Of course, you have to have stability.

Rumour has it that the NHL wants to take over the franchise to ‘buy time’ to put further pressure on the City of Glendale to grant the necessary reworking of the arena lease, and possible concessions.

Glendale is in no position to grant concessions, so the lease payments aren’t the big issue. The big issue then, is the transfer of ownership to a ‘long term’ buyer.

 Who in their right mind would take over a lease penalty to the tune of $720 million (to as high as $796 million as

As Dr. Evil would say, "Do ya want it? It's going to cost you a bajillion dollars!"

recently claimed). Soon it will be like Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movies, “a bajillion dollars”.

The Phoenix Coyotes are not a viable franchise in their current form. Without concessions and a ‘way out’ there will not be a bidder willing to follow through with an offer.

Even Ice Edge says it has only days to come up with a solid plan with Glendale. Well Ice Edge, the fact that you want to move five games to Saskatoon or anywhere else is requesting a break on the arena lease, that the City of Glendale is not at liberty to give you.

And Ice Edge, where is that parking facility you want the action from? Another concession where concessions are under the microscope. It isn’t going to happen.

Perhaps as suggested, the Ice Edge bid will get the boys from Research Edge a little closer to favour in the eyes of the powerful and wealthy, and how about that close to free advertising? So impressive is the Ice Edge chances that here we are witnessing the proof of a snowballs chance, the NHL placing their own bid.

In a previous article, we looked at why everybody gets a new lease on Coyotes life but Jerry Moyes.

We have come back to an important clip from this article before, and it relates to the breaking of a lease in bankruptcy proceedings. Here is the clip:

To quote a clip from Thompson Hine, in October 2007,

“section 502(b)(6) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on claims arising from a debtors lease termination does not limit a landlords claim for tort-related damages. Section 502(b)(6) sets limits on the damages that result from the termination of a lease of real property to the greater of one year, or 15 percent, not to exceed three years of the remaining term of such lease. The provision is designed to provide landlords with compensation for losses due to lease terminations, while preventing excessively large claims from long-term leases that would limit the recovery of other unsecured creditors.”

We must emphasize the argument the NHL had initially.

When you have a team and bankers building arenas, you cannot simply bail on them (NHL position). The City of Glendale is on the hook for the lease, and we still don’t know what kind of obligation it is. Who holds the Jobing.com arena bond is still a question on the table, and it was reporteldy the $64.5 million question.

We must remember the NHL supported the City of Glendale when it convenienced the NHL.

The reason the $148 million offer had any merits at all was because of the lease penalty of $720 million. We could then say, with the taking on of the penalty, the offer was really $868 million. Was this what Gary Bettman would say was the offer that would make Jim Balsillie’s ‘pale in comparison’?

The City of Glendale was a preferred creditor and had much more validity as creditor than Jerry Moyes, according to the NHL, because Moyes was an owner not a lender. The City of Glendale with first dibs.

Now the NHL as a secured creditor to an auction that sees themselves getting paid (is this possible?), is going to argue against the City of Glendale’s right to withhold the lease penalty. Now it’s not a bid deal?

But, more importantly, the rules of bankruptcy law are now being supported by the NHL in the thinking that the true lease obligation despite reported penalty is closer to one years worth of lease payments. Ahhh, the truth at last, justified by the NHL itself.

Judge Baum can now look at the position of two major bidders, the NHL and PSE, and see that they agree on point of law regarding the true lease penalty, and the true obligation in bankruptcy. So much for the $148 million really being much higher, and the PSE bid of $212.5 million, really being ‘much lower’, as previously argued by Bettman.

The NHL entering the bankruptcy circus also puts them on a level, bidding playing field with PSE.

They  (NHL) cannot be judge, jury, and bankruptcy competition at the same time. That is a conflict of interest.

They must choose some authority and pull related to the validity of Jim Balsillie as a suitable owner, or they choose bidder, not both. Obviously they are not at liberty to pick who can be a competitor in the bankruptcy. That would not be fair, and would violate law.

It is becoming quickly obvious to all concerned that the shiny new arena in the works in Kansas City  (or Vegas) has a new owner’s name all over it. Should we call it the White Knight arena? Nah, let’s hold that thought.

The NHL wants to take ownership, finish an arena deal, hand the reigns over to the White Knight, say bye bye to Jerry Moyes, and slap him on the face on the way out.

One problem.

The NHL bid is now on a level playing field with PSE, and is $72.5 million short.

And, if the NHL thinks it is going to ‘contract’ the league if PSE wins, then they better be prepared to pull out the chequebook. This one’s going to hurt!

The cheque will hurt, and the bigger ‘hurt’ will be the further blackening of the NHL’s reputation.

Jerry Moyes was claimed to have been a poor hockey manager. He claimed himself to not know the business very well, and when he looked for help, there was none to be found. It wasn’t because he didn’t ask. He was simply ignored.

And for that ignorance in civil court, I hope there are certain others, including the NHL, ready to pull out the chequebooks too.

That cheque is really going to hurt!

It should be clear right about now that I’m NO GOOD at drawing people so that they are actually recognizable as themselves. Tough cookies, Wayne.

As my astute roommate pointed out, G is also for Goon. Maybe I’ll have to come back with a G 2.0 later on?

The Pensblog nailed the situation in Long Island on the head. Like in Phoenix, the Islanders maybe forced to move.  However, unlike Phoenx, the team is getting support from all over, like Governer Patterson as well as, naturally, the fans.  Unlike Phoenix as well, the tragedy of the Isles leaving isn’t a what could’ve been, however, is what has come before. How can a 4 time Stanley Cup winner with numerous HOFers, leave a state with great hockey tradition and a city that is the Nations largest media market?

As a Pens fan, I feel for teams that are moving and the Islanders moving is 5 gajillion times more the blow that is the Yotes threat of leaving Phoenix.  Also, as a Pens fan, I’d like to get a few back from the Isles, the way the Pens have taken things back from the Flyers.

1993:

1982:

Its also cool, things change, we’ve got a two-headed beast

:

 that Ray Sherro got Bill Guerin for next to nothing.

thelighthouseproject.com

Now that the NHL and AHL hockey seasons are officially over, drafts are done, the free-agent frenzy is complete and the spring/summer AAA travel hockey season has ended, the question is: “So what now?”.

My hockey obsessed boys (2 children, 1 husband) are craving a hockey fix. Though the replays of the just completed season’s playoffs on NHL network are a bit of a help, watching the Capitals lose time and again tends to only exacerbate the issue - something akin to ripping off the band-aid too soon.

So, in typical hockey mom fashion, I have resurrected the plethora of hockey-centric DVDs from the depths of the media trunk.  Our mornings are now filled with the sounds of SHOOSHING hockey stops and clattering sticks on ice as the boys play and replay and then play-out their favorites including Miracle On Ice (both the ESPN version and the Disney doozy), Mighty Ducks, In the Crease, and an ESPN feature on Gretzky, among others. Brendan has taken on the role of coach – frequently putting his little brother through off-ice drills and warm-ups and pelting him in goal with the best shots he can muster on carpet with a foam ball.

Having first fallen in love with hockey thanks to Miracle on Ice, Brendan especially loves to play the role of the curmudgeonly old Herb Brooks and force Mitch to do “Brooksies” until he feigns defeat.

A new favorite is emerging in these hot, humid days of summer however – and one that is both entertaining and a bit concerning for a mom: The boys have developed a fixation on the music video-esque DVD of Ovechkin that the Capitals issued to season ticket holders after his rookie campaign. The driving music and daring displays of hockey prowess have them rolling across the floor on their stomach’s practicing Ovi’s spectacular and unlikely goal. Is it good that a 5 year old is listening to this stuff? I guess, so far, it hasn’t been bad – and it does keep them from endlessly sitting in front of video games or whining “We’re BORED?!”

Salvation isn’t too far away, however…and I don’t mean school which starts again in just a few weeks. No…for my boys (and me!) salvation will come when the Capitals start developmental camp tomorrow and they have a new slate of players to watch and emulate. Go Caps!

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I didn’t grow up being a Hockey fan. Chris Rowles was the only kid in the neighborhood who followed the NHL that I knew. He was of course a fan of the “Broad Street Bullies”. Back in the 70’s, the champion Philadelphia Flyers had the most physical and most penalized team ever. Chris’ favorite player was Dave “the Hammer” Schultz, who was the record holder for penalty minutes. At school, Chris would come up from behind and slam you into the wall while uttering things like “Schultz checks him into the boards” like he was announcing play by play.

When I finally started going to Hockey games, it was because we received free tickets at the dealership that I managed. I had no Idea! Hockey is the greatest live sport that there is. When televised, most sports just follow the ball. In hockey the action is everywhere. The physical play, line changes, movement without the puck and fights are amazing to see up close. I was fortunate to get regular use of season tickets from Bob at the radio station. Really great seats too, third row from the glass. Hockey, up close and personal.

In 1988 “The Great One”, Wayne Gretzky arrived in Los Angeles. Gretzky was amazing to watch. In 1993 the Los Angeles Kings made it to the Stanley Cup Championship. We had been to quite a few games that year and were really feeling it. We had tickets to one playoff game and loved it. I really wanted to see a championship game with the Great One leading the way. Stanley Cup tickets were just too expensive to buy.

Suzanne, our comptroller at work, heard me talking about missing the game. She called me into her office and told me that her cousin worked at the Forum. She said that I could take a friend, and that he would get us into one game of the series. I immediately told my pal Larry Krystal. Larry was a great salesman, a great hockey fan and fun to be around.

We arraigned the time and the place to meet Suzanne’s cousin. The plan was simple; just walk right in with the cousin. He said that all of the Forum employees and the players come in through one gate. He made that great statement, “they never check Id’s”. So we went for it. Larry and I just walked up to the gate. Right behind Gretzky.

We stop in a moment of awe. It’s really him. Right behind him, of course is Marty McSorley. The team’s enforcer and Wayne’s on-ice bodyguard. I walk right up to Marty and say hello. I am a little taller than McSorley, but he is thicker. We start talking about the physicall play so far in the series. We are talking as we walk past the gate. The next thing I know, I am in the Kings locker room. This is amazing. I am taking it all in when I realize that Larry is not around.

After a moment of hesitation I backtrack my steps. After I get all the way back to where I can see the gate, I view Larry. Security has Him. I am at the Stanley Cup finals, in the locker room before the game, hanging with the guys and there’s Larry. When I walked in,  by the guy at the gate, I thought that he mistook me for a player. One security guy has a hold of Larry’s arm the other is calling on his radio. Time to act.

I walked right up to the them and pulled Larry’s arm away. “He’s with me” was all that I said. Larry and I walked quickley away. The two security men look at each other dumbfounded. As we are walking away I hear one say “wasn’t that….?”

Larry scolds me, “you didn’t have to do that, I would have been fine”. Larry continues. “but you were in”. “The Stanley Cup” he emphasises. “I came here to see a game with my friend and that’s what we’re going to do”, I told him. We went back to the car and drove to the nearest sports bar. Larry and I watched the game, had a few too many beers and some bad bar food. We cheered. We yelled. No one at the bar, believed that we were in the locker room when Larry told them. We just smiled.

After that there were more games. Larry and I worked together for a few more years, until he died of cancer. He had a loving wife and a cute daughter, that was a cheerleader. Larry was a valued friend to many people and a great car salesman. We both told stories, of the time at the Stanley Cup. We both knew,  that it is the friends that you are with, that make the times that you have, so special.

EP

I am working on a doctorate in philosophy of education and one aspect of my research is to expand the language of knowing and perception in public schooling… I have had children bring my attention to the very things that we ignore and work hard to silence out of fear of the diversity and complexity that is outside our control… we have highly attuned language specifically designed to dismiss and suppress different ways of seeing and coming to know…  

Little girl, you have such an active imagination… Oh, aren’t you so cute… there’s no such thing as dying and coming back again, you must have learned that from video games… fairies are pretty but you can’t really see them, aren’t you talking about a cartoon… he only talks when he wants something… he couldn’t sit still if his life depended on it… a little boy couldn’t know all those things… if you talk louder and more slowly he might get it… he must be on the autism-spectrum… let’s give him a visual-schedule to get him ready for the real world… he won’t look me in the eye… something’s not connecting…

I’ve discovered that what children are telling me they see and know… these extra-perceptions and experiences that include moments where, “Time slows down for me and I can see things before they happen” are gaining profile in professional sports… it seems that you can’t really be a Great One unless you grow these capacities… and it appears that the coaching world, the fraction that I know about it, is hungry for investigation into how to develop and support supra-abilities… we all have the potential for them… some of us just haven’t been as disconnected from our human wiring… the wiring we’ll need to survive in surprising times…

Consciousness is always evolving, it isn’t static, and inquiry into human wiring and re-wiring is necessary in the public school arena or we are going to continue to lose more and more players… when these phenomena are revealed in school, when you see them in your students and your students are telling you all about them, people look at you with gripping fear, eyes all crossed and spinning, and say,

“Don’t talk about those things…  just stick to the ABC’s…”

I love the ABC’s, the spell of language is one of my best games, but “those things” are often what separates the milk from the cream… or the wheat from the chaff… or the Gretzkys, the Luongos, and the Sedins from all the others… there is strength, there is speed, there is grit, there are skills, and then there are those things that are typically beyond what we have words for, and are open to in conventional environments…

How are “those things”  or meta-skills, or capacities, or abilities, or sensitivities, or potentialities, or exceptionalities recognized and cultivated in sports??? And what can we learn from the sporting world to enhance school experience… not for the sake of performance and million dollar contracts, but for the sake of growing a happy, healthy fully potentialized complex human being… just the kind of person the world needs…

The language of sport commentating shows no hesitation in playing around with “other” states of awareness and perception… other ways of coming to know…

“Luongo’s going to have to take things to another level for the Canuck’s to achieve success in the next round…”

“Bernier did the right thing… he let the puck lead him to a goal…”

“Peter Vint, a researcher for the US Olympic Committee makes a habit of deconstructing psychic plays…” [http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/15-06/ff_mindgames]

Why is there no fear of legitimization in these departments?

We blindly allow mainstream media and corporate sponsorship to manhandle our cultural ethics and morals on a daily basis… selling out for Viagra promises and Pro-Caulk multi-purpose tools that deliver in 4-6 weeks when you order by phone… 

Isn’t it only moral and ethical to make the space for all that we are and all that we can be in our public schools so that we have the sanity to follow our hearts toward something that is free and alive… and fully empowered by “those things” that are real???

I’ve never had a twin fantasy but there is something about the Sedins that keeps me up at night wondering about freaky knowledge… throw the third twin, Burrows, into the mix and I’m meeting up with them in my REM sleep… and the conversations we’re having are out of this world…

Just like Gretzky… I’ll face off in defiance… the minute someone blows the whistle with a warning that says, “Stop… don’t… you can’t… or you better not”  guess where my attention goes… gently… and firmly… with no letting up… I’m willing to drive it through traffic, with the strength of a power forward, right into the yawning cage, where no one is looking… or feeling… or knowing… wrapping around the net and into the dirty areas like a big Swede… only I slap my shots in the quantum field where the puck is just a thought…

It is no coincidence that the Sedins look like giant gnomes and that they can always tell where the other one is… the physics of magic is everywhere even if you’re not a twin… and now that professional atheletes and the guys who go on about them are bringing martial artistry into the mainstream a slippery slope is at the edge of the horizon… with a storm coming this way…

a quiet, riot…

but if you’re too busy to listen you won’t hear it…

It’s what we’ve been waiting for, or at least what Garry Bettman has been dreaming of since 2005, and thanks to some 3rdperiod heroics by the Carolina Hurricanes and a total collapse by the New York Rangers , we finally have a showdown between Sid the Kid and Alex the Great. Obviously this is a marketing dream for the NHL, having the two most recognizable faces of the NHL since Gretzky and Lemieux, (who never saw each other in the post season) squaring off in a Stanley Cup Playoff series. This has been a rivalry in the making since their respective rookie seasons. And with all great rivalries comes the age old question: Who is the best?

The Loge has had its fair share of debates over which player is better. While they both play very different styles of hockey, on paper they look almost identical. Since their rookie seasons of 2005-2006 Ovechkin has put 420 points on the board with 219 goals and 201 assists, while Crosby has 132 goals, 265 assists for 397 points.  A mere 23 points separates the two, while the differences in goals and assists between them can be attributed to their styles of play. Ovechkin, the flashier of the two, will shoot from anywhere , while Crosby is more of a playmaker. In head to head match-ups  they have faced each other 15 times, Crosby has the edge with a record of 11-4-0 to Ovechkin’s 4-8-3.

While this debate has been going on since their first games in the NHL and will surely continue on long after the Stanley Cup is hoisted this year, there is more to this series than these two individuals.

On the one hand you have the Washington Capitals who are riding high after fighting off elimination 3 times to beat the Rangers in an exciting game 7. On the other hand you have the Pittsburgh Penguins who rallied after a coaching change in late February to finish the season with an impressive 18-3-4 record  and took a gritty series in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal over in-state rival the Philadelphia Flyers.

Both teams also happen to be loaded with talent. Four of the NHL’s top 10 point scorers in 2008-09  and 5 of the top 11 overall playoff point leaders play for these respective teams.

Then there is goaltending. The Washington Capitals made a controversial change after game 1 by benching veteran Jose Theodore and starting rookie Simeon Varlamov.  The change proved to successful as Varlomov put up an impressive 1.17 GAA with two shutouts in 6 games in the Eastern Conference Quarter Finals. For Pittsburg, Marc-Andre Fleury is coming off an impressive series as well. He has a .922 save percentage and has and has carried Pittsburg on his back in a few games. In game 4, Fleury stepped up with a 45-save effort and in game 6 he kept the Penguins in the game and gave them a chance for a big comeback once the team fell into a 3-0 hole. 

 Yes, all eyes will be focused on the Ovechkin Crosby match-up on Saturday afternoon, as they should be, but that won’t be the only show in town come Saturday. As Washington Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau said, “Welcome to the circus.”

Alexander Ovechkin celebrated after a goal (video above), and it probably did more for hockey this year than anything, because people were actually talking about the NHL!  But why is everyone around the league, analysts and hockey fans, all hating on him?!?  The fact that I have to ask that question is why the NHL is on Versus and on NBC whenever there isn’t Golf, Extreme Sports, Gymnastics, or Figure Skating on.  Who ever markets hockey should put a muzzle on Don Cherry when he decides to talk about celebrations, give Ovechkin a hug and a oversized thank you card, slap Sidney Crosby in the face and tell him to act like he enjoys the game, and tell Evgeni Malkin to keep smiling and speaking broken english!  There are one name players in the NHL again, reminding me of the days growing up with Messier, Lemieux, Hull, Lindros, Gretzky, etc.  So Don’t Hate… It’s Just Celebration Hockey Fans… Appreciate It!  Your Game Needs Some Excitement For The Casual Fan!