Hey Look, They Listened!

The Wild beat the Avs tonight with a nice 3-2 win. Clearly injuires are taking their toll on the struggling Avs squad with the loss of Sakic, Smyth, and um, someone else important whose name is escaping me. Statsny maybe? Get better soon please, Joe Sakic, because if my arm continues to kill me, I'll be going home for spring break, and I want to see you play.

I was surprised to see that Backstrom was going to be in net, and about 10 minutes before gametime I found out and madly made some fantasy roster changes. He got me a nice W tonight, so a few past transgressions are forgiven. Parrish was still out with his foot troubles, and Boogaard's back appears to be acting up again.

The feed sketched out on me, so I relied on friends and what I could get of the feed to help me figure out what was going on. Goals by Fedoruk (I know, I was shocked too), Rolston, and Demitra for the Wild. Bruno *sigh* and Wolski (woot!) had goals for the Avs. I really, really wish Andrew Brunette had been signed by the Wild, but as much as I hate to say it, I don't know if he would have the same success with us as he has had with the Avs these past few years.

The Oilers won thanks to Jarret Stoll's two goals. That's what you get, Janessa.

I'm not sure I'll be able to watch the All-Star stuff on Saturday, but Sunday I've got the TV reserved. I'm still mad about the line-ups, but what can you do? Niedermayer played MAYBE 15 games and got added to the roster. Dude must have the ear of the Hockey Gods.

There were lots of games tonight, New York got a win for Brian Leetch night, Montreal made Marty Brodeur mad I'm sure, since he's so proud of how well he always does against them, and there is a game in progress that I will madly gloat about, but not now, I don't want to name it or say anything else for fear of cursing it.

More tomorrow...maybe.

Boo, Shames!

That game blew chunks. Massive ones the size of Joe Thornton's butt. The Wild even played decently against the Flames, something they seem to only rarely do (especially in the Saddledome). Usually the Wild are stellar on the second game of back to back games, but noooooo. Iginla was held scoreless, but sadly his teammates were not. Rolston has continued his now two game goal streak to get the media and a few fans off his back. Parrish didn't play because of a Salo shot to the foot (not broken), and Harding was solid. Burns had a goal that got reviewed and called off, and I had a heart attack when the school cut me off for using too much internet. That's pretty much all the game summary that I feel like writing.

Around the Blogosphere: I have been reading some new blogs lately, ones written by fans of teams that I usually hate quite a lot, but these blogs are fun and well written, and they make me feel badly about hating on their teams...until we play said teams. The Untypical Girls (Dallas) have switched to wordpress, the Humming Giraffe (Van) has the greatest picture of wildlife that I will ever see, and two of my HLOG sisters have created a NYR blog, Some Like it Blue. If you are procrastinating for any reason ( I don't judge, until this semester I procrastinated regularly), then you should check these and the many other quality blogs on my blogroll out. As always, if you have a blog you'd like added, email me.

Next game: The Colorado Avalanche on Thursday at 8 CST on KSTC. I'm bumming that Joe Sakic is out, because he is one of the main reasons that I enjoy Wild/Avs games so much. The Avs have suffered a lot of injuries lately, and have been in a bit of a slide because of it. Hopefully the boys will be all ready to go after coming off that tough loss to Calgary. This will be the last Wild game before the All-Star break, then they have a few days off before facing the Ducks. (ew)

espn commercial

Another reason that the NHL should be on ESPN.

Mikko Koivu Gets Revenge

Photo Courtesy of the Canadian Press

Clearly MK was taught the phrase "don't get mad, get even". Or maybe he wasn't. I don't know if they say that in Finland. His revenge against the Canucks game in the form of the GWG, and also a rather obnoxious goal celebration. What would have made the night even better is if he had beaten on the Sedins a little more, but I'll take a win. I think this means that Mikko Koivu can officially become my second favorite Wild player. He likes pancakes, revenge, pranks, loud music, seems to be reasonably intelligent, good hockey player, and he's Scandinavian. I hear those Scandinavian types are pretty effing cool.

In addition to the revenge, we had Pierre-Marc Bouchard rocking the taco. He had two goals and two assists to be a +3 overall on the night. Butch has been on fire lately, and last night he notched his 200th point in a Wild uniform, becoming only the second Wild player to do so. Marian Gaborik was the first. Brian Rolston snapped his scoring drought. He hadn't gotten a goal since December 29th. Overall it was a good night. The game was fun to watch, but I am sad that the Vancouver feed didn't show Koivu's celebration as well as the Minnesota one did.

Random notes:

My fantasy team cleaned up last night putting me up 8-0 for the beginning of the week.

It's weird being on the other end of the time spectrum. When I lived at home, I'd always hate West Coast games because they were so late, now I love them because the game isn't on during the dinner hour or when I'm still trying to do things.

The Wild are now first in the Northwest division. Hopefully a win tonight over Calgary will help us hold onto that title...hint hint, Hockey Gods.

Leafs GM John Ferguson was fired this morning. TSN has lots more on that story, and they will be having a video clip on the press conference later today. We all knew this was coming, it was just a matter of time. According to Cliff Fletcher, the interim GM, Maurice and his assistant coache's jobs are all all safe for the remainder of the season. The search for a new GM is on.

Tonight's matchup: The hated Calgary Flames. Hopefully we can get Burns to steamroll Iginla so he will stop owning the Wild. Game is on at 8 PM CST on FSN looks like.

Sherry's Challenge

I promised Sherry, the brains and beauty behind Scarlett Ice, that I'd make a post about the challenge that she posed to the world. In three words or less, what hockey really needs right now is a...

I came up with three main ideas: fewer teams/teams in markets that actually give a crap about hockey, Commissioner Wayne Gretzky, and especially an ESPN contract.

First off, the NHL is complaining that these teams in markets like Atlanta and Florida really aren't making any money. Hmmm, I wonder why that might be? It's really effing hot in both of those places. The only time people would ever see ice is in an arena. Playing street hockey just isn't the same as ice hockey. Give the teams to places that want them. I hear that they are begging people to take Panthers tickets. Part of the reason Quebec lost their team was timing. The area was going through a recession. Now with the Canadian dollar getting stronger and all, perhaps expansion into Canada is once again feasible. The only concern is what might happed in the financial world by the time the league gets its act together. Things could change completely. The other solution in my eyes would be be to have fewer teams in the league. Keep hockey in places that it does well, and stop losing money for the league by having to baby along the struggling southern franchises. Bringing a team to Portland, Oregon isn't the solution either. I can tell you first hand that almost no one here really knows what hockey is, much less follows it. I will be writing an essay about where I'd like to see NHL franchises for Teebz's essay contest, so I'll be posting those essays once I write them.

Most everyone in the hockey world still listens attentively and with respect when Wayne Gretzky speaks. Thus far he seems reluctant to talk about the state of the game, and I can't decide if that's because he owns/coaches a team (in a struggling market no less), or if he just doesn't want to piss anyone off and lose his godly status. I think he's in greater danger of losing his status if he contines to keep his mouth shut. As fore Bettman, no one listens to him, except to find new reasons to mock him/gather new material for their rude signs that they hold up at games. Fire Bettman! Gretzky for Commissioner! He'll have plenty of lawyers surrounding him and the like to take care of whatever Bettman uses that law degree for. You can't tell me that Bettman has more hockey sense than the Great One. Well, you can try, but I probably won't be listening.

Most Americans couldn't tell you what TSN, Rogers Sports Net, or possibly even CBC are. Fox Sports is sort of making up for the fact that the US does not have a united/good TV contract. In Minnesota they broadcast a ton of Wild games, but what the NHL really needs is ESPN. That network is synonymous with sports in the United States. There is talk that the NHL might be on ESPN2 as early as next season, and that would be a huge leap forward. VS is pretty much ignored by most people that I know, and you have to pay extra to get it. ESPN comes with a basic cable package. More than 85% of Americans have cable or Satalite TV, and that number is expected to rise. This would be tremendous exposure for the "new NHL", and ESPN does some pretty awesome commercials. Exposure on ESPN could lead to the more lengthly articles in Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine (and whatever the other major sports magazines are..those are the two I read besides the Hockey News) that the NHL once enjoyed.

Thoughts?

I Guess Scott Niedermayer Really is THAT Good

Photo Courtesy of Hockey Canada

We had beaten the Ducks twice on their pond, so I was optimistic. Granted this was before the return of the better Niedermayer, and since then everyone has been saying Scott Niedermayer this, Scott Niedermayer that. Earl Sleek did a big write up on the team before and after the return of the former captain. Not only did he do that, he had nice things to say about the Wild. At least I have the ookies over at IBP to cheer me up. They aren't exactly SN's biggest fans ever, and my favorite quote ever about Nieds comes from them. "Nieder totally looks on the ice as if he’s humming like a llama. Just this contented, slightly absent, animal-esque hum." -one of the ookies, I forget which. Thanks, ladies.

At the end of the first period, the Wild had three shots on goal. After their two goals, they then had five shots on goal. We did end up with 27 shots on goal according to TSN, but TSN and FSN are having shot total disagreements. Gaborik took that stupid penalty, and after that, I exploded a little bit. There was another bad one at the end of the game. The too many men on the ice penalty. This game just really didn't sit well with me. I was happy that Schultz got his first of the season, and that Koivu got a goal (assisted by Parrish! Both of them looked really excited), but as for the rest...notsomuch. I think what really rubbed the horribleness in my face was who got the goals for the Ducks. Todd "Hey Wild fans, don't bother buying tickets for game 6" Bertuzzi and FCP. Oh yeah, and Corry Perry, but whatever.

The Wild need to start winning these games. Teams can gain or lose places in the standings within hours in the league these days. We need all the points we can get. We play all division rivals on the road until the All-Star game, and then the Ducks again. They had better get it together.

Let it be known before baseball season begins, that I am officially in support of the Colorado Rockies as my western US team. I was given a sticker to signify my new fanship of the team. I figure they don't really clash with the Twins at all, and Bert likes their field.

Sidney Crosby is out four weeks with a badly sprained ankle, according to TSN, various announcers, and several of my now gleeful friends. Sucks to be him, but not the rest of the league. Lecavalier is probably practicing his Hart trophy pose right as I type this.

Tomorrow I will answer Sherry's challenge that she posed on her blog and correct all the errors I made typing this at almost 11 PM.

Justin Morneau re-signs with the Twins!

He's the one on the right, in case you didn't know.
Photo swiped from BatGirl's blog. Thanks, BG!

Our 2006 AL MVP winning first baseman is back for at least one more season, according to the Canadian Press and TSN. He's going to be making $7.4 million US for the year to hopefully bring us some more MVP numbers. What I really hope is that he doesn't play in the All-Star game again. Morneau had 28 homeruns before the break last season and three (I think) after it. I am superstitious enough that I will never vote for him again. I would love to see him signed to a long-term deal, preferably before 2010, when we have the potential to get really screwed.

Guerrier, Rincon (who I could have sworn they traded), and Cuddyer are still eligible for arbitration.