So, You’re Looking Good, How Have You Been?

Another line we’ve all heard.

You know, that cagey, non-committal statement you make the first time you see your ex, the one who cheated on you, but the one you still haven’t quite gotten over, either.

You’ve dreamed of them regretting their decisions.  Dreamed of them pining over you, scheming how to win you back.  “Oh”, you’ve thought, “how I will make them beg, how I will prove to them they made a huge mistake, oh how I’ll make them pay”.

But then you see them, sitting there with their friends.  You heard the rumours that they wanted you back, but you’d heard that before, too many times before.

Now they’ve seen you, too, and, oh shit, they’re coming to speak to you.

You’re furious with them.

You’ve vowed you’ve gotten over them.

Then why the excitement?

Why the anticipation?

“So, you’re looking good, how have you been?”

WTF?

That’s it?

That was your moment to make them pay, and that was it?

Now what?

Well co-dumped, now what?

Help me figure out how to punish them.  Not kill them, but not let them off without punishment either.

GN

This Is Going To Hurt Me, More Than It Hurts You…

We’ve all heard this line, and in my case, it has always been at the “lucky” end of the spoon.  But let me tell you, it really hurt, so I can’t imagine how much it hurt my mother…until now.

I, like all hockey fans, face a gut wrenching situation, one which leaves me thinking it will hurt me, more than them; them being the NHL and NHLPA, the Depressing Duo.

Like a petulant child, refusing to see reason and behave in a socially acceptable way, the Duo needs to be punished, they need a time out or a good spanking.

I know this, but, as I put the Duo over my knee, and raise the spoon, I waiver, fearing this will hurt me, more than it hurts them.

You see, I want to punish them, not myself.

Why should I be punished too?

I’ve done nothing wrong!

I’M the victim in all of this!

But, am I really innocent in all of this?  Do I really deserve the right to feel the victim burdened with meting out a needed punishment?

And that’s the rub.  I’m a part of the problem, too.

I’m the parent that made idle threats, looked the other way when the child began to get too big for his britches, and laughed at his precociousness.

Then, when the recipe for disaster pie was ready to eat, I somehow feel like I’m the one unfairly forced to take a big bite…unwilling to accept it is of my own making.

This wasn’t the first work-stoppage, nor the second.  This was the third, in less than a generation, with one of them resulting in a complete loss of a season.

The price paid that time?

For the NHL, record profits.

For the NHLPA, record contracts.

For the fans, another slap to the face.

And I’m as guilty as anyone for the shameful state of contempt heaped upon the fans of this game.  I’m the parent that screamed “stop it”, while still laughing at the behaviour.

I’m the problem.

In my desire to not hurt myself, more than the Depressing Duo, I’ve created this situation.

I’ve created the spoiled brat(s).

And now, I’m swinging the spoon, hard.

It’s going to hurt, of that I am sure, but let’s be honest, it can’t hurt more than beginning to hate your own children.

GN

NHL Lock-Out – The Big F.U. 2

That’s what I’m calling it; The Big F.U.2.  It doesn’t take a cryptologist to break that code, so I’ll spare you all the full version, because if you can’t figure it out, you shouldn’t know it.

I’m beyond picking sides, at least between the two obvious combatants, instead, I’m siding with the fans, you know, the only ones among this cluster up that actually matter, even though they are the least considered, respected or appreciated.

This isn’t a blog post to vent my spleen, because, frankly  it’s been well and vented, and I saw no need to do so here on these pages.  No, this is really about making a public statement that the NHL, and its players, have bankrupted my love of the game.

The passion was trampled, then the remaining spark pissed on, and the cold ashes unceremoniously flushed down the toilet.

There’s nothing left but a stained bowl.

Good for you boys, one of you will be the proud winner of nothing.

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

GN

 

Dearly Beloved…

We are gathered here today not to mourn the passing of our beloved Senators, but to, instead, celebrate their season.

When I think of the 11/12 season, the phrase “not yet” comes to mind.

Not yet are the young players ready fulfill their NHL destinies, whatever they may be.

Not yet has this team, as a group, come to understand and embrace what it will take to win the Cup.

And, most importantly, not yet am I, or the franchise, ready to see the retirement of Daniel Alfredsson.

On every front I truly, deeply, believe there is much more to come.

GN

Ignorance is Bliss?

It’s 10:53 p.m., and I don’t even know who has won.

The truth is, I can’t get myself to watch the game.

I know it’s over, one way or the other…I just don’t know if I’m happy or sad.

You see, I came into this season ready for the worst.  Prepared for a long season of losses, frustration and, for the one season at least, futility.

But instead, despite my most desperate attempts to stifle it, I began to grow hopeful.  Hopeful for the short-term at first.  Hopeful that, on any given night, the Sens might just win.  Then I tried, with little result, to fight the urge for hope, hope that this team could actually make the post season.

If you read my blog earlier in the year, you will have noticed my constant refrain that I did not believe this team could make the play-offs.  I was saying this every chance I had, to fight the growing seeds of expectation.

As the season went on, and the wins continued, I started to see a strange correlation between my posting, and the team losing.

I am the last person to be superstitious, but as the season went on, I became more and more so, to the point that, with the post-season within reach, I stopped blogging.

How crazy is that?

Then, when the Sens lost in the post season, after \I blogged, I just could not get myself to post at all.  As if my blogging would decide the fate of the team I love.

Nuts…but no more nuts than allowing a game to actually matter.  A game you don’t have any influence over.

And maybe that’s the root of it all.  Winning matters, and we fans are powerless to make it happen, so we develop these absurd ways of trying to exert some sort of influence.

I know, even if the Sens have lost, I’m not disappointed.

But I will be sad to see this season end.

If they’ve won…well, don’t expect another post any time soon.

GN

 

On The Suspensions

Talking about NHL discipline is like commenting on which way the wind blows, while standing in the middle of a tornado.

But here’ goes;

Carkner – He received a 2 game ban, not one, as some seem to be saying.  His ejection was a one game, plus the other handed down by Shanny.  I have no issue with this as his actions were obviously premeditated, intentional, and resulting from a previous incident, not from the heat of the moment.  But, that being said, Boyle did have the opportunity to defend himself, knew he was going to have to do so, and chose not to.

Sure it could be argued that you do not HAVE to fight…but, if you go around hitting others after the whistle, it hardly seems the moral high-ground to later claim the right to not be hit by others.  Boyle made his bed, and, in my eyes, took a bigger beating to his character than to his face.

But the biggest gain in all of this is the fact that, after Boyle attacked Karlsson, and received no penalty (it was a wash with Karlsson also being penalized), resulting in this whole situation, the officials arenow  less likely to allow Boyle, or any other Ranger, a free shot in physically abusing Karlsson, outside of the rules of the game.

Once again, the NHL created the situation, by refusing to do the job at the outset, then, from the power vacuum this created,  left the player holding the bag.

Hagelin – Rangers fans have every right to be disgusted by this suspension, not because it wasn’t warranted – it was – but because it seems inconsistent with the Weber non suspension.  Webers act, IMO, is at least as bad, and because it came outside the play, even worse.

That being said, those Ranger fans claiming Alfie embellished…get real, there’s no way he misses half of the game, and OT, just in the hopes of getting Hagelin suspended, that is just plain idiocy.

Yes Shanahan has a difficult job, but he’s done nothing (and maybe can’t) to make it any easier, and the on ice officials continue to foster the environment of chaos and in-consistency, leading to Shanny’s intervention, and eventual criticism.

GN

Winning may gain you fame, but only character can earn you respect.

We’ll here they are, your Ottawa Senators, in all of their glory.

And yes, I use the term glory, with all of its attached and implied meanings, because, in all honesty, they have been glorious this season.

We all know they will not win the Cup, but we all hope they do.

We all know they aren’t likely to even get out of this round, but we all hope they do.

We all know, the mere fact they are returning home, in the post season, with a win under their belt, is expectedly un-expected.

This team is the little team that could…and, with a little luck (because, like it or not, luck matters), they may even be the little team that does.

My level of pride in this team is un-matched…they may not be the most skilled team we have ever had, but, in terms of fortitude, dedication, and value for money, they’re tops.

Go get ’em boys, and know, win or lose, you have earned the respect of thousands.

GN

What is left when honor is lost? – Publilius Syrus

We all watch things in the game that leave us shaking our collective heads.

Cheap shots.

Ridiculous officiating.

Diving.

But then, right when we think the game has sunk to its lowest ethical depths, something new happens, something so…wrong, it makes us shutter at the impact its doing has on the deepest foundations of the games integrity as a sport.

An act that makes us wonder if the sport we love has truly become little more than a game for spoiled millionaires.

Something that, when one see’s it occur, leaves one wondering “What is left when honor is lost?”

It hurts my soul to admit, the sport I love, hockey, is on a clear, determined and unfettered spiral downward, where anything goes, and the ends will always, always, justify the means.

Yes, it was a small thing…I guess, but, it so entirely lacked in honour, its impact is paradigmal in scope.

Judge for yourself;

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/globe-on-hockey/what-should-the-nhl-do-about-ryan-clowe/article2394037/

GN

Kyle Tu-Tu, Tu, Tu, Turris!

For those who have followed this team since inception, you’ll get this reference, and understand why, in having reached the post season when many (myself included) thought they would not, is not just reason to celebrate, but reason to remember other great moments in this teams history.

The win over the Islanders was, and will forever be, a great moment in this franchises lore, and Turris, like Steve Duchesne before him, deserves recognition for his great contribution.

The performance of Kyle Turris was nothing short of inspiring.  Here’s a kid who has languished since his draft, been dragged through the mud, traded and faced the challenge of stepping into the NHL weighed down by all of that baggage, on a team, presumably, going nowhere any time soon.

He stepped into a challenging, and demanding number two role, and although not rock-solid in his points total, has provided this team with what it needed, reliable two-way play.  It is no coincidence that Alfie has had such a great year, while paired with Turris.  The evidence of that was impossible to miss once Kyle was forced to put this team on his back…and did, at an incredibly difficult time.

To the victor go the spoils, and Kyle, you deserve a great deal of “spoils” for that performance, including your name in the annuls of Senator lore.

GN

Welcome To Game One

For the Senators, game one of the 2011/12 post-season hits the ice tonight.

With seven games remaining in the regular season, and a scant 2 point advantage over their nearest rivals for play-off status, the Sens have no option but to consider the run to the end of the season an ersatz best of seven series.

Win four, go in the door, lose four, go out the door.

I have no idea what is going on with this team, is it fatigue (Alfie looks a step behind, the kids look anaemic), nerves (it’s one thing to win with no pressure, but now there is expectation), or just a plain old down-cycle?

And, at the end of the game, it doesn’t matter…you’ve either won or lost.

So Sens fans, you wanted the post season atmosphere…enjoy.

GN