Friday, April 04, 2008
The Canucks Are Out, Life Goes On
by Jes
It was a good thing that the Canucks/Flames game was on Pay-Per-View, since I didn't have to witness the Canucks choking away another must-win game by failing to score more than a single goal against a weaker team.
It's also good that I've long been at peace with the fact that the Canucks weren't going anywhere this spring (other than golfing), so I didn't have much of an emotional investment in our city's professional hockey country club.
So, last night's loss booted the Canucks out of the playoff picture, and I barely flinched. Meh, nobody is really surprised, except Dave "No Action" Nonis.
Given my heavy workload with my CMA and actual day job, I haven't had time to worry so much about what the Canucks should do this off-season. There will be time for that, later.
In the meantime, we are lucky enough to have the Giants to cheer for, and I can always leap onto the Penguins/Crosby bandwagon. Wouldn't it be sweet if the Pens and Caps met up in Round 1?
Since I don't feel inspired to write much more on this day of mourning, I figure I'd let my girlfriend, Aurian, have a crack at the blogmike and air out her thoughts on this wasted season
---
Well, looks like it’s about time for the Canucks to put down their hockey sticks and pick up some golf clubs.
Can`t say I am surprised. Last year’s Canucks seemed to specialize in winning game after game at the last minute. This year’s Canucks’ speciality is blowing games and falling apart. Last year, they were buzzed at having a top-tier goaltender in the pipes and played their hearts out. This year, the Luongo buzz is over now and the team obviously expected the goalie to do the work for them.
Sorry, but even Louie can’t score goals.
The defence was decimated by injuries all season long, and did pretty well considering some games we only had 3 regular d-men in the line up.
The forwards? Well, you didn`t really expect Pettinger and Ibister to fix last year’s scoring issues did you? I don`t know why Nonis expected that. Sure, he rolled the dice and got lucky with Pyatt, but c’mon, you can`t expect to get lucky every time. The Sedins? Yeah, you try scoring when the other team knows all they have to do is dog pile two guys and you effectively take away the Canucks’ offense. Its sad when one of your team’s top six scoring leaders is Burrows (no knock on the guy, he`s an awesome find).
I have no idea why Vigneault kept leaving Linden out, given that the team seems to play better when he is in the line up. With all those overtime games lost, if we had Linden, our most reliable clutch guy in the line up on those nights, we might have squeaked into the playoffs.
You know something though? I`m glad they`re out of the playoffs. You heard me right. This team just couldn`t put together any string of wins lately, played stupid and listlessly, couldn`t seem to get any urgency going and I`m glad that they and the fans have been put out of their misery.
This team had some nice building blocks at the beginning of the season, but all Nonis did was sit on his thumbs and hope for the best, despite the clear lack of scoring. I am glad he did not trade away big assets during the trade deadline because by that point I honestly did not think the team had that something that made it appropriate to gamble for a Stanley Cup run. We could have lost Edler, Kesler and other important pieces for a future team in order to rent Brad Richards (bet the Stars love that fat contract now *snark*). The time to get the pieces should have been before the season started. Ibister? Richie? C`mon, it was clear we needed some scoring, dammit!
So the ‘Nucks are out. If Nonis does not do anything to fix the ongoing problem in the offseason, the fans will probably break out the pitchforks and boiling oil. Or being Vancouver, the pointy umbrellas and boiling Starbucks coffee.
It was a good thing that the Canucks/Flames game was on Pay-Per-View, since I didn't have to witness the Canucks choking away another must-win game by failing to score more than a single goal against a weaker team.
It's also good that I've long been at peace with the fact that the Canucks weren't going anywhere this spring (other than golfing), so I didn't have much of an emotional investment in our city's professional hockey country club.
So, last night's loss booted the Canucks out of the playoff picture, and I barely flinched. Meh, nobody is really surprised, except Dave "No Action" Nonis.
Given my heavy workload with my CMA and actual day job, I haven't had time to worry so much about what the Canucks should do this off-season. There will be time for that, later.
In the meantime, we are lucky enough to have the Giants to cheer for, and I can always leap onto the Penguins/Crosby bandwagon. Wouldn't it be sweet if the Pens and Caps met up in Round 1?
Since I don't feel inspired to write much more on this day of mourning, I figure I'd let my girlfriend, Aurian, have a crack at the blogmike and air out her thoughts on this wasted season
---
Well, looks like it’s about time for the Canucks to put down their hockey sticks and pick up some golf clubs.
Can`t say I am surprised. Last year’s Canucks seemed to specialize in winning game after game at the last minute. This year’s Canucks’ speciality is blowing games and falling apart. Last year, they were buzzed at having a top-tier goaltender in the pipes and played their hearts out. This year, the Luongo buzz is over now and the team obviously expected the goalie to do the work for them.
Sorry, but even Louie can’t score goals.
The defence was decimated by injuries all season long, and did pretty well considering some games we only had 3 regular d-men in the line up.
The forwards? Well, you didn`t really expect Pettinger and Ibister to fix last year’s scoring issues did you? I don`t know why Nonis expected that. Sure, he rolled the dice and got lucky with Pyatt, but c’mon, you can`t expect to get lucky every time. The Sedins? Yeah, you try scoring when the other team knows all they have to do is dog pile two guys and you effectively take away the Canucks’ offense. Its sad when one of your team’s top six scoring leaders is Burrows (no knock on the guy, he`s an awesome find).
I have no idea why Vigneault kept leaving Linden out, given that the team seems to play better when he is in the line up. With all those overtime games lost, if we had Linden, our most reliable clutch guy in the line up on those nights, we might have squeaked into the playoffs.
You know something though? I`m glad they`re out of the playoffs. You heard me right. This team just couldn`t put together any string of wins lately, played stupid and listlessly, couldn`t seem to get any urgency going and I`m glad that they and the fans have been put out of their misery.
This team had some nice building blocks at the beginning of the season, but all Nonis did was sit on his thumbs and hope for the best, despite the clear lack of scoring. I am glad he did not trade away big assets during the trade deadline because by that point I honestly did not think the team had that something that made it appropriate to gamble for a Stanley Cup run. We could have lost Edler, Kesler and other important pieces for a future team in order to rent Brad Richards (bet the Stars love that fat contract now *snark*). The time to get the pieces should have been before the season started. Ibister? Richie? C`mon, it was clear we needed some scoring, dammit!
So the ‘Nucks are out. If Nonis does not do anything to fix the ongoing problem in the offseason, the fans will probably break out the pitchforks and boiling oil. Or being Vancouver, the pointy umbrellas and boiling Starbucks coffee.
Labels: Aurian, Canucks, rants
Friday, May 04, 2007
Roberto Luongo(d) Deserves Your Love
by Jes
One of the few Canucks players that doesn't need to hang their head in shame after last night's debacle is Roberto Luongo.
If it wasn't for his total Edge & Christian-like awesomeness, the Canucks wouldn't have made the playoffs, let alone beat Dallas in the first round.
His play inspired my girlfriend, Aurian, to write a poem/song, something she wouldn't even do for Jiri Slegr *sigh*
Louie, Louie,
Go Goalie go.
Louie, Louie,
Go Goalie go.
A fine goalie, deserves MVP;
Stood on his head, for the C,
Sitting on the bench all alone,
The rest of the Canucks have gone home.
1.77 goals against,
.941 save percent.
On the team you were the best;
And a better goalie than all the rest!
The fans shout out their love and cheers;
We'll get some scorers for the next year.
We know you'll play like you could win alone,
And next year we'll bring that Cup home!
There's a bit more on Roberto Luongo over at The NHL Fanhouse.
I also have a little story on former Ducks enforcer Garret Burnett, and some trouble he had at a local nightclub.
One of the few Canucks players that doesn't need to hang their head in shame after last night's debacle is Roberto Luongo.
If it wasn't for his total Edge & Christian-like awesomeness, the Canucks wouldn't have made the playoffs, let alone beat Dallas in the first round.
His play inspired my girlfriend, Aurian, to write a poem/song, something she wouldn't even do for Jiri Slegr *sigh*
Louie, Louie,
Go Goalie go.
Louie, Louie,
Go Goalie go.
A fine goalie, deserves MVP;
Stood on his head, for the C,
Sitting on the bench all alone,
The rest of the Canucks have gone home.
1.77 goals against,
.941 save percent.
On the team you were the best;
And a better goalie than all the rest!
The fans shout out their love and cheers;
We'll get some scorers for the next year.
We know you'll play like you could win alone,
And next year we'll bring that Cup home!
There's a bit more on Roberto Luongo over at The NHL Fanhouse.
I also have a little story on former Ducks enforcer Garret Burnett, and some trouble he had at a local nightclub.
Labels: Aurian, Canucks, luongo
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Good News for Zamboni Drivers
by Jes
You know that the guys who drive the Zamboni machines (yes, we know the NHL uses Olympia-branded machines, but so what?) look like they chug back a few before the game and during the action.
Fortunately, the law has their backs...
Judge rules ice rink groomer can't be charged with DUI at wheel of Zamboni
Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J — It's not drunken driving in New Jersey if it involves a Zamboni.
A judge ruled the four-ton ice rink-grooming machines aren't motor vehicles because they aren't useable on highways and can't carry passengers.
Zamboni operator John Peragallo had been charged with drunken driving in 2005 after a fellow employee at the Mennen Sports Arena in Morristown told police the machine was speeding and nearly crashed into the boards.
Police said Peragallo's blood alcohol level was 0.12 percent. A level of 0.08 is considered legally drunk in New Jersey.
Peragallo appealed, and Superior Court Judge Joseph Falcone on Monday overturned his license revocation and penalties.
"It's a vindication for my client," Peragallo attorney James Porfido said after the hearing. "It's the right decision."
Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph D'Onofrio said no decision had been made on whether to appeal.
Peragallo, 64, testified at his trial that he did drink beer and vodka, but not until after he had groomed the ice. However, he told police he had a shot of Sambuca with his breakfast coffee and two Valium-pills before work.
Sambuca with coffee? I'll have to try that some time!
(Thanks to Aurian for the story hook-up)
You know that the guys who drive the Zamboni machines (yes, we know the NHL uses Olympia-branded machines, but so what?) look like they chug back a few before the game and during the action.
Fortunately, the law has their backs...
Judge rules ice rink groomer can't be charged with DUI at wheel of Zamboni
Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J — It's not drunken driving in New Jersey if it involves a Zamboni.
A judge ruled the four-ton ice rink-grooming machines aren't motor vehicles because they aren't useable on highways and can't carry passengers.
Zamboni operator John Peragallo had been charged with drunken driving in 2005 after a fellow employee at the Mennen Sports Arena in Morristown told police the machine was speeding and nearly crashed into the boards.
Police said Peragallo's blood alcohol level was 0.12 percent. A level of 0.08 is considered legally drunk in New Jersey.
Peragallo appealed, and Superior Court Judge Joseph Falcone on Monday overturned his license revocation and penalties.
"It's a vindication for my client," Peragallo attorney James Porfido said after the hearing. "It's the right decision."
Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph D'Onofrio said no decision had been made on whether to appeal.
Peragallo, 64, testified at his trial that he did drink beer and vodka, but not until after he had groomed the ice. However, he told police he had a shot of Sambuca with his breakfast coffee and two Valium-pills before work.
Sambuca with coffee? I'll have to try that some time!
(Thanks to Aurian for the story hook-up)
Labels: Aurian, New Jersey, off-ice silliness, zambonis
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Opening Up on Closed Captioning
By Gőlbez and special guest 'Aurian'
Closed Captioning (CC) is not something most hockey fans need or think about. I'm sure most of us have seen it, or played with the CC button on the remote a few times, but the captioning is always a few seconds behind the real action, and it's not something we need to have to enjoy the game.
I'm in that majority, but my many hours at the gym, on the cross-trainers, have been spent in front of TV screens, where the CC option is often turned on while I'm watching a sports game or highlight show.
I'm always amazed at just how 'butchered' some of the names can get. Pavol Demitra becomes 'Pablo', Pavel Kubina becomes 'Havlid Subpoena', Messier becomes 'Mess Yay', Bure becomes 'beret' or 'Bear A', and so on. It often seems like the typists who do the CCing have never watched a hockey game before in their lives.
Now, I know the players well and CC is not something essential for me. The errors seem more amusing than anything else. But, what about someone who needs CC?
Hockey Rants reader Aurian is someone who needs to use Closed Captioning to enjoy the full viewing experience, and contributes her thoughts on the issue
Why Captions are Important for me:
Even though people always tell me that the announcers are as annoying as hell and there isn't much point to captions anyways, I do find I miss the captions when they are not running. Watching a game, I don't always know who's wearing what number jersey for the opposing team, and the lettering on the jersey is often too small to make out. I like to have the captions running so I can go "oh, so that's how so-and-so plays!" I don't always catch why the play is stopped, what the ref is calling, who assisted on that goal, etc. The "public" channels (CBC, Rogers Sportsnet, TSN) all have captions, whereas PPV does not. I actually sometimes feel like I am not getting much value for my money because I am getting less from PPV :p
(Jes: PPV is never worth the money! *COUGH*)
How Captions work:
I had a captionist in one of my university classes that involved a lot of discussion in a big lecture hall. She captioned the discussion for me, so I watched her at work. She would program her computer to auto-type words if she typed in a few letters, especially for the longer ones. Before a class, she would find out the subject and program a list of new words into her computer. This is important for live stuff, because people can speak faster than someone can type properly (taped programs have FAR fewer caption errors and do not have the lag you see in live shows and games). Even so, she would still make mistakes. Usually caption errors come from typing phonetically or breaking down a name into similar words. However, sometimes I get the feeling that the captionist has never watched a hockey game or heard some of the names before :p
Caption follies:
The sports news shows usually are not too bad, because the speakers generally plan out what they will say. The games are the best source of bloopers. CBC is the best source for funny captions - they are the ones doing the "Brenda Morrison" on a regular basis.
I just watched a period of the Bruins-Rangers game and got the following:
Crueller took at shot at the goal (Cullen). The announcers discussed the trade of "Con Ray". Someone by the name of Peter Pwei ska is playing too (Peter Prucha). Also, at one point, the Vlaisers were up by three goals (NY Rangers).
I remember some great ones from various Canucks games. The captionists have just as much trouble with Bieksa as those Toronto announcers did. I've watched "Bert Fuzzy" and "Henry Sedin" play. I've also seen Cloo Tear and Longo in goal (insert bad pun there :p). There have been some minor gaffs like Sammy Salo, Kessler, and Burros.
If the networks are going to take the time to provide CC for the games, why don't they hire somebody who actually follows the sport? I can understand if some AHL call-up gets their name slaughtered, but how can you screw up a star like Bertuzzi? Give the captionists a roster list or find a hockey fan out of the bunch. There must be one.
Closed Captioning might not be important to everyone, but to those that need it, they do deserve to be able to watch a game without a whole whack o' errors.
Closed Captioning (CC) is not something most hockey fans need or think about. I'm sure most of us have seen it, or played with the CC button on the remote a few times, but the captioning is always a few seconds behind the real action, and it's not something we need to have to enjoy the game.
I'm in that majority, but my many hours at the gym, on the cross-trainers, have been spent in front of TV screens, where the CC option is often turned on while I'm watching a sports game or highlight show.
I'm always amazed at just how 'butchered' some of the names can get. Pavol Demitra becomes 'Pablo', Pavel Kubina becomes 'Havlid Subpoena', Messier becomes 'Mess Yay', Bure becomes 'beret' or 'Bear A', and so on. It often seems like the typists who do the CCing have never watched a hockey game before in their lives.
Now, I know the players well and CC is not something essential for me. The errors seem more amusing than anything else. But, what about someone who needs CC?
Hockey Rants reader Aurian is someone who needs to use Closed Captioning to enjoy the full viewing experience, and contributes her thoughts on the issue
Why Captions are Important for me:
Even though people always tell me that the announcers are as annoying as hell and there isn't much point to captions anyways, I do find I miss the captions when they are not running. Watching a game, I don't always know who's wearing what number jersey for the opposing team, and the lettering on the jersey is often too small to make out. I like to have the captions running so I can go "oh, so that's how so-and-so plays!" I don't always catch why the play is stopped, what the ref is calling, who assisted on that goal, etc. The "public" channels (CBC, Rogers Sportsnet, TSN) all have captions, whereas PPV does not. I actually sometimes feel like I am not getting much value for my money because I am getting less from PPV :p
(Jes: PPV is never worth the money! *COUGH*)
How Captions work:
I had a captionist in one of my university classes that involved a lot of discussion in a big lecture hall. She captioned the discussion for me, so I watched her at work. She would program her computer to auto-type words if she typed in a few letters, especially for the longer ones. Before a class, she would find out the subject and program a list of new words into her computer. This is important for live stuff, because people can speak faster than someone can type properly (taped programs have FAR fewer caption errors and do not have the lag you see in live shows and games). Even so, she would still make mistakes. Usually caption errors come from typing phonetically or breaking down a name into similar words. However, sometimes I get the feeling that the captionist has never watched a hockey game or heard some of the names before :p
Caption follies:
The sports news shows usually are not too bad, because the speakers generally plan out what they will say. The games are the best source of bloopers. CBC is the best source for funny captions - they are the ones doing the "Brenda Morrison" on a regular basis.
I just watched a period of the Bruins-Rangers game and got the following:
Crueller took at shot at the goal (Cullen). The announcers discussed the trade of "Con Ray". Someone by the name of Peter Pwei ska is playing too (Peter Prucha). Also, at one point, the Vlaisers were up by three goals (NY Rangers).
I remember some great ones from various Canucks games. The captionists have just as much trouble with Bieksa as those Toronto announcers did. I've watched "Bert Fuzzy" and "Henry Sedin" play. I've also seen Cloo Tear and Longo in goal (insert bad pun there :p). There have been some minor gaffs like Sammy Salo, Kessler, and Burros.
If the networks are going to take the time to provide CC for the games, why don't they hire somebody who actually follows the sport? I can understand if some AHL call-up gets their name slaughtered, but how can you screw up a star like Bertuzzi? Give the captionists a roster list or find a hockey fan out of the bunch. There must be one.
Closed Captioning might not be important to everyone, but to those that need it, they do deserve to be able to watch a game without a whole whack o' errors.
Labels: Aurian, Bertuzzi, closed captioning, Demitra, hockey, Pavol Demitra
