Happy Birthday Tim...

wherever you are.

The Ballad of Tim Horton

R.I.P.

Down Goes Boogaard, Down Goes Boogaard!

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Godard scrambled the Boogieman's head so bad he ended up heading to the wrong penalty box and out of the game completely.

Beautiful.

Here's the setup and the blow by blow recap

The fight was so eagerly anticipated the scorekeeper forgot to turn off the clock.

He didn't want to miss a second of the scrap.

From the time word got out Darryl Sutter had summoned Eric Godard from Omaha Monday, it was obvious he was brought in to fight Derek Boogaard.

You could have sold programs.

It was so premeditated that early in the second the two initially lined up on opposite wings at centre ice until Boogaard decided to switch with his linemate so he could stand beside Godard.

Weighing in at 6-ft. 4-in., 220-lbs., the Flames tough guy spotted Boogaard three ins. and 50-lbs. when they shed the mitts and got 'er goin'.

In a week in which Jarome Iginla's injury and first fight of the year sparked debate over whether the Flames needed some muscle in the lineup, there was no debating what would happen next: The summer's fiercest free agent signing would make good on his regular-season debut with the big club.

Kicking off a spirited tilt with a few missed haymakers from both brutes, Godard eventually gained control, stunning the little-used Wild forward with a few overhand rights that buckled Boogaard's knees. After climbing to his feet, the visitor was finished off with two more rights that sent him to the ice for good.

The Boogie Man then left the game for good, in search of some ice and repairs.

"I was just glad I didn't get beat up," laughed Godard, a veteran of 35 NHL fights over three years on Long Island.

"It's exciting when the crowd gets into it like that."

Turns out the impetus for Godard's promotion had little to do with his shocking four-point night in Omaha last week. In fact, the Flames were none too impressed with Boogaard in their last meeting when the big lug ran around hitting everything who moved in the latter stages of a 5-2 Flames win Dec. 12.

Enter Godard.

...and exit Boogaard.

The rumors of their death have been greatly exaggerated

Fighters far from obselete in NHL

WINNIPEG - New York Rangers right-winger Colton Orr is a remnant of the old NHL. But as the league's tall foreheads have noticed in recent weeks, he and those who play just like him, haven't gone anywhere.

A big, strong, tough-as-shoe-leather North End Winnipeg kid with a heart much larger than his physical skills, Orr (absolutely no relation to Bobby) is one of the more recent incarnations of Jimmy Mann or Tie Domi or Dave Semenko or Shawn Cronin.

When Domi retired before the start of this season, many hockey observers thought (or hoped) the fighter would quickly become a thing of the past, a dinosaur made useless by what many declared were the NHL's "visionary changes."

Orr, however, is living proof that nothing could be further from the truth. He was suspended for five games after he cross-checked Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin last Saturday. The suspension cost Orr more than US$13,000 in salary. Washington's Donald Brashear received a one-game suspension after sucker-punching Rangers defenceman Aaron Ward in the same game.

While only the most blood-thirsty would argue that Orr's suspension should have been shorter than five games, people who watched Brashear's actions were dumbfounded. How does a cross-check result in a five game penalty when a punch to the head is only worth one? Maybe the NHL appreciates fighting more than they let on.



Orr wasn't going to question or comment on the NHL's decision, but he had no problem talking about the fact that players like himself and Brashear are still collecting paycheques in the NHL, "and will for some time."

"You still have to have players like me," Orr said. "Sure, there are a lot of people who think we're gone, or maybe hope we're gone, but the game hasn't changed that much. Guys like me are still here to protect our teammates and make sure things don't get out of hand."

To actually think that the fighter in hockey is now obsolete, is to think that the cop on the beat or the professional bodyguard is obsolete. The NHL is still full of Colton Orrs. Try Buffalo's 6-foot-4, 247-pound Andrew Peters. Or Minnesota's Derek Boogard, 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds. Or Ottawa's Brian McGrattan, 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds. The list of players who still welcome the occasional punch-up is endless [...]

"The ones who think the fighter is gone ... I've read some of that stuff. It's just not true. Every team in this league has at least one player like me. I don't think we're going anywhere."

No, I don't think they're going anywhere either and I'm just fine with that.

The Georges Laraque Story

Using Jackie Robinson as his inspiration Georges Laraque battled racism to make it in the NHL.



I've never been a big fan of his (I'm a Av's fan) but I love it when anyone beats racist stereotypes to succeed and I hope he inspires others to overcome the same ignorant nonsense that still permeates so much of our society.

I pity the fool hockey player who tries to bait Georges with BS racial insults. He'd quickly end up between Laraque and a hard place and that's no place to be.

Here's some of Georges Greatest Hits

Eklund Exposed

... well sort of.

The anonymous hockey blogger who many love... to hate.



Love him or hate him the guy sure knows how to get attention.

Speaking of getting attention, Hazel Mae sure got mine.

Schwiiiiiing!

Hockey Gone Wild

Japanese style....



Seeeesh, at least there wasn't any flying karate kicks with skates on administered.

A Goldie Oldie

...for all my Flames friends.



Boy, they don't make music like that anymore.


Thank God.

Puckin Eh?

What in the holy name of Gordie Howe is this world coming to????

Well let's find out...



Imagine that, a straight hockey player breaking down sexual barriers for his sport... the "Jackie Robinson of Gay Hockey." A hero if there ever was one. Oh man, that's just too freakin funny.

Ok, I give up, now I've seen just about everything.

Stick Work

When it comes to their sticks most NHL players have their own personal voodoo they apply in hopes of working some puck magic.

The first thing Detroit's Brett Lebda does when he gets a new shipment of hockey sticks is grab a marker and write an inscription on the back.

''I have a little superstition,'' says Lebda, who has religiously adhered to the practice since he was kid playing on the frozen ponds of Illinois. ``Just something that means something to me.''

Keith Tkachuk of the St. Louis Blues, meanwhile, makes sure he takes his three kids with him every time he steps on the ice, writing their names -- Matthew, Braeden and Taryn -- in neat script on the nob of his stick.

And on the Florida Panthers' bench, there are players who won't touch a stick if there's anything written on it.

''We have some guys who won't [even] let me put a number on their stick,'' equipment manager Rob McLean says. ``Whether it's bad luck or what, I don't know.''

Welcome to the modern NHL, where players will call on everything from old myths to new mechanics if they think it will give them an edge.

Read more >>> here.

Season's Beatings....

to one and all from the Philly Phantoms.

Peace on Earth and goodwill towards....

Oh, never mind.



I'll be gone for awhile so you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy and safe New Year.

Or else.