NHL The New Taliban?

Well one could be forgiven for thinking so considering this headline.....

Ex-NHLers square off with troops in Kandahar

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Not The Nations Team

Not after last nights loss. The Senators put it out there again but the problem is that they are not a 'Team'. There are a lot of 'i's on the ice but there ain't no 'i '
in Team.

It doesn't matter that by being in this years playoffs have been in more playoffs than the Leafs.

Well to the Leaf establishment and its fan base yes it does. They would like nothing better than 'that other Ontario' team to fall flat.

For example here is some so called analysis of the game. Do you detect a Leaf/Toronto bias?

History is against the Ottawa Senators in the Stanley Cup final

June 5, 2007

By: CHRIS JOHNSTON

OTTAWA (CP) - It might be time to turn out the lights on the Ottawa Senators' dream season. Only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs have ever erased a 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup final and these Senators don't have the look of a team about to join them in the history books. Ottawa thoroughly outplayed Anaheim in the first period of Game 4 on Monday night before going completely flat in a 3-2 loss. "It's hard to explain," said forward Mike Fisher. Indeed, none of the Senators seemed to have any explanation for what had just happened.

While ESPN, the Americans, report the same story like this;

The victory gives the Ducks a 3-1 series lead and the opportunity to win their first-ever Stanley Cup at home on Wednesday. Of the 28 teams that have taken a 3-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup final since 1939, only one has failed to win a championship and that was 65 years ago.

There is joy in Hogtown as the Senators appear to be flaming out. Our Nations team. NOT.

Which is unfortunate but exposes the Toronto domination of Canada's Sports media. After all its not called the Toronto Sports Network for nothing.

Toronto fans should embrace the Senators after all their team has not been in the playoffs since Canada's Centennial. Forty years. F O R T Y.

Despite all their wishful thinking, simulated video game victories, and Mike Meyers best efforts.






See:

Hockey

Shane Doan

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BQ and Team Canada

We owe a thanks to the BQ and in particular to the xenophobic nationalist MP Luc Malo who pushed the Official Language committee to look at Shane Doan's leadership of Team Canada. As Rick Nash said on OTR yesterday the team came together in solidarity with Doan when he was attacked by the BQ.

Off The Record - May 16, 2007

Michael Landsberg goes Up Front with Blue Jackets and Team Canada star Rick Nash.

That is what happens when you challenge the leader, the people unite behind him despite their personal views of him, such was the case when the Americans attacked Saddam and Iraq.

In this case of course the team already supported Doan, and this parliamentary attack solidified it. They went on to not only win Gold but to sweep the World Cup 9-0. A historic fact itself.

Thank you Luc Malo for your inspiring the team.

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Sharks=KAOS

So watching tonights game between the Sharks and the Red Wings, as we enter the third period are 2-0 in a series they dominate 3-2.

My assessment is the Sharks will lose. Why? Because the are all over the ice, no organization, sheer KAOS. As in Control vs. KAOS, from the old TV series Get Smart.

The Red Wings are in Control, the Sharks are KAOS.
And for the Sharks it is fitting that the symbol of KAOS is the California turkey buzzard.

See ya next season.


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Radio Canada Blog

Well I made it to the Radio Canada Blog with my Shane Doan story, blogger Philippe Schnobb says;

"Un blogueur Albertain fait de l'ironie en comparant l'affaire Doan à l'affaire Dreyfus qui a divisé la société Française au début du 20ième siècle. "

I am joined by a link to the Save Shane Doan Petition blog produced by Adam Sobkow and a link to the World Cup site.



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J'Accuse

Canada's Dreyfus affair over Hockey. What foolishness. Luc Malo the BQ MP has made it his personal mission to be prosecutor, judge and jury in L'affaire de Sean Doan.

Parliamentary committee summons Hockey Canada

At the House of Commons Official Languages committee today he harangued and harassed Hockey Canada and Sport Canada officials refusing to believe them, when they said Shane Doan had not used an anti-French slur against a referee in the NHL.

"I mean it is not the first time that words like that are used against French players. That was almost a tradition and we should accept that? Never," Gilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Quebecois party, said.

No matter what they said Malo insisted they were wrong. His is a personal mission of scapegoating and political interference in the arms length operations of Hockey Canada. Perhaps his venomous misplaced attack on our national hockey team captain is the result of confusing Shane Doan with Don Cherry or Sean Avery.

Mr. Doan allegedly made derogatory remarks toward a French-Canadian NHL linesman two years ago. Mr. Doan has categorically denied making the comment and the NHL cleared him when it looked into the allegation at the time.

But some MPs still allege that Mr. Doan made a racist insult and wanted Hockey Canada to explain its decision to parliament.

Bloc MP Luc Malo aggressively questioned the hockey officials, saying the whole controversy is their fault and it could have been avoided if they had simply appointed someone else as captain.

He asked why they took the word of the NHL over the word of the linesman, who claims it was Doan that made the insulting remark.

The officials explained that Hockey Canada is a partner of the NHL and it is not about to challenge the NHLs jurisdiction or trustworthiness. They said the NHLs investigation determined an insult was made on the ice, but it could not be proven that it was Mr. Doan that said it, and so they see no reason not to have Mr. Doan on the team.

Could the BQ's real agenda be that they would like to see two teams in Canada, one from Quebec and one from the ROC. That was after all the official party line of the BQ in the last election as expressed by their Marxist Leninist leader Gilles Duceppe. One that Hockey Canada flatly rejected. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and in this case it is ice cold.

Bloc wants Quebec to compete in international hockey

When asked about a Quebec hockey team, the Bloc leader immediately rattled off the goalies who would be available: Martin Brodeur, José Théodore and Roberto Luongo.

"Today I'll announce goalies — tomorrow I'll give you the defence," he quipped yesterday.

Hockey world rejects Duceppe's plan

Kevin Lowe, assistant manager of Canada's 2006 men's Olympic team, doesn't think much of Gilles Duceppe's idea of entering a separate Quebec team in international hockey competition — and he has company in the hockey world.

Lowe, who grew up in Montreal and is fluently bilingual, flatly rejected the Bloc Québécois leader's proposal, which was unveiled Wednesday as part of his party's election platform.

"Those politicians should stick to politics," said Lowe. "If they want to come and apply for a job in hockey, then they can have their say."

Prominent lawyer wants a Team Quebec at the 2008 worlds

If lawyer Guy Bertrand has his way, Canada could be represented at the 2008 world hockey championship by Team Quebec.

Bertrand, who is again proclaiming his sovereigntist faith after embracing federalism for several years, said Thursday he wants Quebec's hockey elite to play a pre-tournament best-of-three or best-of-five series against players from the rest of Canada.

Up for grabs would be one spot at the 2008 world championship, which will be held in Quebec City and Halifax.

Bertrand's scenario would see some of the losing players allowed to represent the winning team at the worlds.

"When you look at Czechoslovakia, it split in 1992. Since then, Canada has won four championships, the Czech Republic won five championships and Slovakia one. Not bad for a country that split."
— Duceppe returns to the hockey sovereignty theme he broached earlier in the campaign.

The BQ contests only Quebec ridings. Apart from earning ridicule early in the campaign for his claim that Quebec national teams should be able to play in international tournaments for ice hockey and soccer, leader Gilles Duceppe made few new policy announcements. Election 2006: Canada changes government

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Tough Guys Cry

So I went out for smokes in the wee hours of this morning and what should greet me from the covers of the Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun? Why nothing less than front pages showing Oiler Captain Ryan Smith crying cause he got traded.

Not because he lost his teeth on the ice, or his team sucks, or because he was touched by some cancer kids in the hospital, or because he was outraged after visiting a womens shelter. Nope he is crying because he got traded.

Shades of Oilers past it is being played like the Gretzky trade. Which was the end of the Oilers reign as NHL Champs. They became chumps until last years great play-off season.

One look at the face of the former face of the franchise and you knew.

He's the broken-hearted former heart and soul of the Edmonton Oilers.

A dozen cameramen walking backward led a sobbing Ryan Smyth through the airport yesterday, his contorted face framed by the famed mullet. It said so much before a word was spoken.


Yesterdays papers were filled with Mark the Moose Messier crying because the Oilers hung his number up. Boy these tough guys show they really are sensitive new age guys. Nice to see. But in the cheering and partying over Mess the news coverage in the local papers seem to be a day behind on the Smith trade news.

Of course it was after two days of partying remembering the Oilers Championship which coincided with Alberta's last Oil boom. Talk about flashbacks here we are 25 years later and another boom and the Moose is retiring. There goes the last of the cocaine cowboys that were the Oilers past. At least they won the Stanley Cup, the Oilers are now officially out of it.

Today the crying is over Smyth and his trade, a trade made over a measly $100,000 difference.

Unless Smytty re-signs with the Oilers in the summer (he can join any NHL club), the Oilers are relegated to second-tier status in the NHL, at least in the coming "rebuilding" years.

Impeccable sources suggest the dispute wasn't so much about money, but conditions - such as Ryan's insistence on a no-cut/no-trade clause.

And, in the end, trading Smyth was a "hockey" decision. The money was there, but GM Kevin Lowe and his boss Cal Nichols felt $5.5 to $5.8 million a year could be better used on up-and-coming talent than a five-year commitment to a player who'll get slower and less productive as he ages.

Clearly these two guys quoted above from the Edmonton Sun don't talk to each other. Whats going on here is another brilliant Ken Lowe play. He has upped the value of Ryan Smith by trading him to the Islanders, helping them make the playoffs. He waited till the absolute eleventh hour to trade him. He traded Edmonton's best player, heck their only real player this season, sans Rollie the Goalie, to a team with a chance at the Stanley Cup or at least a play off contender.

He has all but admitted the Oilers are toast this season. So in what capitalism calls value added, he has made Smith more valuable for when he becomes a free agent in less than five months.

And yep the Oilers have the money to buy out Smyth this summer. In fact Smyth has not even packed up his family or home here. He doesn't have to, his trade to the Islanders is temporary. And the Oilers got a good deal, cash and two young players to help build up the team.

Why it's a win win as business likes to call it. And pro-sports is a business after all, and the players are commodities, the league is the market.

Its a smart move for a team that has nothing else good to say about it this season. Except that we won't be seeing the City pay for play off riots fueled by the greed of Whyte Avenue bars.

And all the tears, well these too shall pass. Besides they are only crocodile tears of very big egos either hurt or humbled, but big egos none the less. Hey it's not like these guys are Albert Schweitzer. They are after all just big dumb jocks.


See:

Hockey

Oilers

Pro-Sports


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Tie One On

So the Tie Domi affair has ended in mediation. No more Belinda rumours to feed the press.

Now why did Pronger really quit the Oilers?

TORONTO (CP) — The acrimonious divorce of Tie and Leanne Domi has quietly been settled through mediation.

The estranged wife of the former NHL enforcer says terms of the resolution are "confidential and private."

Tie Domi’s lawyer was not available for comment.

When the two split last September, Leanne Domi alleged the former Toronto Maple Leaf was having an affair with Liberal MP Belinda Stronach.

An agreement was announced Thursday after both sides resumed mediation.

There’s no word on how custody of their three children is being divided.

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