The Italian Job

Canada began their defense of a gold medal today with a convincing-but-sloppy 7-2 win over the host Italians, and amazingly, there's been no word yet from CBC commentator Brian Williams about how it's all Wayne Gretzky's fault. It's all uphill for the Canadians from here, but their play will also improve drastically from this point as the tournament progresses. They have perhaps the best schedule of any of the twelve teams, as they play the rest of their pool in the following order: Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, and the Czech Republic. With the possible exception of the German and Swiss games, each match will be more difficult than the last, giving the Canadians ample motivation to improve; starting with three of the five weakest teams at the Olympics will also give them a chance to gel and build up confidence.

Indeed, all the teams with mostly NHLers on their rosters will improve dramatically within the next few days, for three reasons. The first is simply overcoming jetlag; the rest of the teams are based in Europe and have had no such troubles, and that advantage will disappear. Likewise, second advantage belonging to the weaker five clubs - team chemistry - will quickly evaporate as the other countries' players grow accustomed to playing with their teammates. The third reason relates back to the jetlag, in the category of adequate rest - with the wonky NHL schedule this year seeing teams often playing three games in four days, the Olympic schedule will not fatigue them as it may have in the past, with as many as eight games taking place over a 12-day period, or two games to three days.

All teams will need to become accustomed to the refereeing, as the IIHF has instructed the officials to call games as the NHL does. Well, perhaps some of the European refs should have watched an NHL game beforehand, because the differences in the style of play immediately leap out at any observer. During the Canada/Italy game, there were many hits and holds on players pursuing the puck which would have been an easy interference call for any referee in North America's biggest pro league. The clutching and grabbing seems to still prevail here, and it will be interesting to watch the differences between the European referees and those from the NHL. Another area that needs vast improvement is the naming of the various penalties - whether it is the fault of the officials on the ice, or the scorekeepers upstairs (which isn't out of the question, since they seem to have an awful time not only doling out a secondary assist, but figuring out which players wears which number), calls often appear questionable because they are deemed something which they clearly are not. For example, a scrum in front of the net that might result in a Roughing penalty gets a Charging call, and a player who blatantly trips an opponent gets sent to the box for Holding. Two minutes is two minutes, and this is more a frustration than a real issue, but officiating can't be half-assed.

Before the men's hockey began, IIHF president Rene Fasel complained publicly about NHL players who pulled out of the Games with injuries, but continued playing for their club teams. Fasel would rather see all the world's best players in Torino, in order to showcase the sport's best talent and build a wider fan base. He should just consider himself lucky that he's not a part of basketball's governing body, which would surely give him fits - some American ballers have griped about not being paid to play for their country, and would rather see a monetary compensation than a piece of metal hanging from a ribbon. Now that's patriotism.

Finally, U.S. defender Angela Ruggiero lashed out at Canada's women's team for demolishing Italy and Russia by a combined score of 28-0, saying, "I'm upset that Canada has been running up the score, especially against the host nation...there was no need for that." She also accused the Canadians of "trying to pad their stats . . . Canada is running up the score for whatever reasons - personal, short-term." Perhaps no one's filled her in on the tie-breaker for home ice advantage in the elimination round: the team with the best goal differential gets home-ice advantage, meaning choice of jersey colour and the final line change. To leave something that crucial to chance, knowing that the rival Americans are essentially the only team with a chance of beating the Canadian women, would be downright stupid. The trash-talking between Team Canada and Team U.S.A. has been ongoing for some time now, but Ruggiero's two cents just come across as bitterness. To paraphrase one of the Canadian players, there would be less class involved in not taking advantage of scoring opportunities; better to give every team your best effort than to be condescending and play like they aren't worth your time.

Ladies' (hockey) man

The Olympic sporting events in Torino got started today, with Women's Hockey among the first. This is a sport that's often criticized by the casual fan, usually because it's not men's hockey. Because open-ice hits aren't allowed, it's seen as softer, and the skill level is admittedly lower than on the male side of the sport. But it's still fun hockey to watch, especially on the big ice surface, where skilled teams like Canada's entry get a chance to shine. They currently lead the Italians 5-0 after the first period of play, with the versatile Caroline Ouellette, who plays both defence and forward, already notching a hat trick. Team Italy is clearly outmatched, and as the CBC commentators said, rank 17th in the world; if they were not hosting, they would not be in this tournament. They are playing their hearts out, however, and it should be remembered that they are a small and inexperienced team - one of their defensive pairings features two 15-year-olds.

If there is one facet of the sport worthy of criticism at this early stage in the tournament, it would be the officiating. The referee seems to be trying to help out the Italians, letting a great deal of interference and hooking go on their end, while Canadian forward Danielle Goyette has already been penalized twice on phantom calls. Yes, Italy needs some help in this sport, but was it not just 24 hours ago that one of the Italian judges took an oath on behalf of all officials to be completely fair and impartial? By the way, this referee is an American, and as everyone knows, the U.S. team is really the only other entry in this tournament that can compete at Team Canada's level; the two are bitter rivals. No, that's not a conspiracy theory, just an observation...

And just a quick FYI: Gillian Apps, the granddaughter of former Maple Leaf and Hockey Hall-of-Famer Syl Apps (and daughter of the Leaf's son of the same name), is one of Team Canada's forwards. But one burning question that I know is on everyone's minds as they watch these Olympic Games:

Why didn't her parents name her Sylvia?


Updated (a couple minutes later): As Canada goes up 6-0, CBC's colour commentator is gushing about how smart goaltender Kim St-Pierre was to recognize a delayed penalty call and go to the bench in favour of an extra attacker. Maybe the women's game would be met with more respect if the commentators - and this particular one is a woman - didn't sell them short.

7-0 Canada. Rollin', rollin', rollin'.

Another Rough Day

If you didn't think the Rick Tocchet business was bad enough, a report in a New Jersey newspaper is now saying that police wiretaps intercepted phone calls between Tocchet and Wayne Gretzky, and seem to confirm that Gretzky knew about the gambling ring. This should come as no surprise, really - what were the chances that both his wife and one of his close friends would be involved in something of this magnitude, and he wouldn't have known about it? There is still nothing to suggest that Gretzky placed any bets, and it is downright foolish to think that he would have reported it to the authorities, given that his loved ones are involved. This still will not look good on Gretzky or on the NHL, however, and there's just no way around that.

If the unveiling of Bryan Berard's positive steroid test a few weeks ago surprised you, raise your eyebrows a little higher. According to a recent report, an unnamed Canadian player has now tested positive, but is currently appealing the results, and thus will remain unnamed for a little while longer. The only clue is that he was named to the Canadian Olympic team's 81-man long list, but did not make the final cut. This narrows it down to a possible 53 guys, with nearly twenty of those having represented Canada at a past Olympics or World Cup, and nearly all being past participants of a World Championship team, be it Men's or Junior. Here are the possibilities:

Goaltenders - Ed Belfour, Dan Cloutier, Curtis Joseph, Andrew Raycroft, Jose Theodore, Cam Ward.

Defencemen - Adrian Aucoin, Nick Boynton, Eric Brewer, Eric Desjardins, Scott Hannan, Barret Jackman, Kyle McLaren, Derek Morris, Dion Phaneuf, Chris Phillips, Sheldon Souray, Steve Staios, Brad Stuart.

Forwards - Jason Allison, Jason Arnott, Patrice Bergeron, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Daniel Briere, Jeff Carter, Marc Chouinard, Sidney Crosby, Shawn Horcoff, Paul Kariya, Mario Lemieux, Eric Lindros, Joffrey Lupul, John Madden, Kirk Maltby, Patrick Marleau, Brendan Morrison, Brenden Morrow, Glen Murray, Rob Niedermayer, Joe Nieuwendyk, Jeff O'Neill, Michael Peca, Keith Primeau, Mark Recchi, Michael Richards, Michael Ryder, Marc Savard, Brendan Shanahan, Steve Sullivan, Alex Tanguay, Scott Walker, Wes Walz, Steve Yzerman.

It is fairly safe to say that no matter which one of these players produced the offending test sample, Hockey Canada is feeling some pain right now. It seems like Dick Pound's warnings about steroids in hockey, though obviously exaggerated (a third of all players, he said, were on performance-enhancers), contain a few seeds of truth.

17:49 - The Montreal Canadiens have scheduled a press conference for this evening, presumably to discuss the positive test. Sources have told TSN that the test did not pick up an anabolic steroid, but a masking agent, one that is commonly found in hair-restoration drugs like Rogaine. If, as was previously reported, the player is one from the aforementioned 81-man list, but a non-participant in Torino, then the possibilities are Jose Theodore, Mike Ryder, or Sheldon Souray.

18:03 - Canadiens physician Dr. David Mulder has announced that Jose Theodore was the player who tested positive for the banned substance, which was Propecia, a drug used to grow hair. He has been taking it for eight to nine years, according to Dr. Mulder, and was unaware until recently that it was a banned substance. Read TSN's coverage here.

I've been slacking off again...it's been far too long since my last post. Let's see...what's new...what is new...

Former NHLer and Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet has been accused of running a sports betting operation out of New Jersey; charges against him include money laundering and conspiracy, as the operation had strong ties to the mob in New Jersey and Philadelphia. According to many sources, including Tocchet himself, the betting had nothing to do with hockey, and had only to do with other sports. Wayne Gretzky's wife Janet Jones is also under investigation for placing bets, but Gretzky insists that she did not place any on his behalf, and he is not involved in any way. Several other individuals (the number ranges from three to a dozen, depending on what report you're reading) are apparently being investigated as well, and that number may include current NHL players. As long as the betting was indeed not related to hockey, the NHL will survive; otherwise, it will be another black eye to a league that has had more than its share of troubles over the last few years.

If you're looking for a good game review, and over-politicization has a tendency to make you ill, stay clear of Sun newspapers, if you're not doing so already. In the two weeks since the Conservatives' victory at the polls, it is nearly impossible to read an editorial about the Leafs in the Toronto Sun that doesn't allude to the election ("Toronto has lost more defencemen than the Liberals lost seats to the Tories," etc). Of course, looking to the Sun for an unbiased political opinion is like looking to Exxon executives for advice on whether to buy a hybrid car or a Hummer, but when the politics start leaking into the hockey coverage, I think it's time to stop reading. Fortunately, the work of Al Strachan and Steve Simmons is downright stupid at times, so you won't miss much.

As for the upcoming Olympic hockey: are you excited? You should be. I am. Of course, many big names will be missing due to injury - Kiprusoff, Niedermayer, Jovanovski, Lidstrom, Khabibulin, and Zhitnik, to name a few - and some players just weren't asked to the show, and it doesn't sit well with them. Take Jeremy Roenick. He was furious when the U.S. team didn't select him, and has decided that they are harbouring some kind of grudge against him. But really, what reason would anyone have to dislike Jeremy Roenick? Hmmm...

Back to Scott Niedermayer and Ed Jovanovski, they have pulled out of Turin (or Torino, depending on who you're talking to) due to a knee injury and abdominal surgery, respectively. Bryan McCabe and Jay Bouwmeester will replace them on the squad, while Dan Boyle will take McCabe's place on the taxi squad. Many chesterfield GMs will complain that Dion Phaneuf was not selected as a replacement, and even more are up in arms that Bryan McCabe was picked to go at all. It's not hard to tell who's not a Leafs fan in the latter debate, but the fact is that McCabe has been having a career year, and has improved dramatically at both ends of the ice. Granted, until he hits the ice in Italy his skill set on the bigger ice surface can't be fairly judged, but in case anyone is interested in the opinion of Scotty Bowman, the greatest hockey coach of all time, he simply said, "He's having a breakout season and I think he deserved to be on the team." Case closed.

Finally, a classic quote from Thrashers coach Bob Hartley:
"Ilya's goal was a big goal as well as an important goal."
Either he just said two things that mean the same thing, or the goal was actually physically larger than average. Of course, I've never heard anyone accuse Bob Hartley of being a genius. A headhunter, yes...genius, no.

Boy, it's been a while, and I've let a lot of solid stories fall by the wayside. I'll try to address, in brief, as many of them as I can:

-At the World Juniors, many felt that the fans' booing of Team USA went over the top (myself included), specifically when the crowd began chanting, "U.S. sucks." The booing of Jack Johnson, who tried to feed Canadian forward Steve Downie his elbow after a goal was scored, was totally justified; the rest, however, was over the top. Yes, Johnson became a symbol for his whole team, who had been expected to dominate the tournament, but these fans made it about an entire country, which is akin to booing a national anthem. It's a good thing that Vancouver has already been chosen to host the 2010 Olympics, because if the IOC had seen this before they made their selection, Vancouver would have been out of the running. (Congratulations to Brent Sutter and Team Canada, by the way.)

-Don Cherry has begun to support Sidney Crosby in the face of Ilya Kovalchuk's taunting the other day, with the Coach's Corner host claiming that he admires Crosby's no-quit attitude: "I'm starting to like Crosby more and more because he doesn't back down." It didn't get any better on Saturday night for Sid, however, as he took many more penalties, including a diving call and an Unsportsmanlike for gesturing to the referee from the penalty box. What Sidney Crosby needs to keep in mind is that though there are many people out there who want to see him fail - Kovalchuk apparently included - there are scores more who want him to succeed, and to be the player they have been in awe of for months now. His reported maturity is a big part of that; he conducts himself well in interviews and in the dressing room, but his on-ice antics of the last few days have laid a severe beating on that reputation (he also needs to learn that it's very easy to read someone's lips when they're saying "F*** You"). Sidney needs to relax out there on the ice and stay focused, both to help his team and to give the fans - the ones who support him - what they came to see.

-Speaking of Crosby, does anyone else find it ridiculous that Crosby-bashing has become the coolest thing since pre-faded jeans? As I write this, he's tied for 12th in league scoring, and is tops in rookie scoring, with 48 points to Ovechkin's 47, yet some people manage to convince themselves that he is an average hockey player at best. The kid scores, makes insane plays look easy, hits, stands up for himself, and wears an "A" on his sweater, and he's only 18 years old. If this was the average NHLer, there would be 20 more teams in the league, tickets would sell themselves, hockey would become more popular than soccer, and people in California and Florida would move to Canada just to soak in the pure hockey atmosphere.

-The Ottawa Senators are playing .500 hockey since the beginning of December, going 9-9-0. Many fans are quick to blame this on injuries, as Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and Martin Havlat are all currently hurt. Havlat will be out for the remainder of the season, but Alfredsson and Spezza will return shortly; more importantly, they haven't all been injured since December 1. Perhaps GM John Muckler should be looking at the Leafs team his fans all despise so much for inspiration - missing many key components at different points during the season (think Sundin's injury in game one, and the recent injuries to Allison, Lindros, Steen, Colaiacovo and Antropov, which saw the lineup occupied by players like Belak, Wilm, Czerkawski, and Pohl), they have still put together a record that is good enough for sixth place in the East, and have seven wins in their last eight games.

-Elisha Cuthbert, former star of 24, The Girl Next Door and Popular Mechanics for Kids (don't act like you didn't watch it), would seem to be dating that brainless mouthpiece Sean Avery. Apparently she has no respect - no respect, I tell ya - for her legions of fans who prefer not to spend their time making others wish they were mute, unlike her new boyfriend. Elisha? We're through. And stop sending me chocolate; I mean it this time.

Ever heard someone deny that there's a stigma in the NHL about visors being the signature of sissies? If so, did you swallow that line, or recognize it for the bunk that is?

Anaheim enforcer Todd Fedoruk has joined Sean "The NHL Is Out To Get Me" Avery on the front lines of the anti-visor battalion of morons. After Coyote Denis Gauthier doled out two high hits to Ducks Joffrey Lupul and Todd Marchant in a game Tuesday night, Fedoruk landed a cheap one of his own on Petr Nedved. Fedoruk even told the media afterwards that it was retaliatory (see his new comprehensive guide, "How To Get Suspended," soon to appear in bookstores everywhere), and followed up by stating that Gauthier is "out there with a visor on running around like he's King Kong. He's not going to back it up."

It's questionable whether guys like Fedoruk and Avery are against visors because they prefer the "good old days" of less protection, because they're insecure in their masculinity and have to point out that, as manly men, they don't need to protect themselves, or because they're actually just morons. It should certainly be noted however, by players and fans alike, that the guys making these comments are not quality players by any stretch of the imagination - essentially, they're big mouths with fists attached.

Meanwhile, more and more players around the league have experimented with visors; some like the change, some don't, but they've stopped listening to the NHL's Foundation for Finding Work For Ocular Surgeons and tried their luck. Tie Domi, in particular, attempted playing with a visor for a couple games in the 2003-04 season at the behest of his children - he even fought in one game, removing his helmet beforehand - and although he found the adjustment too difficult, the point that Avery and Fedoruk's posse should notice is that he tried it, and his testicles didn't fall off.

Let's try to list, though, just a few of the players who are incapable of "backing things up":

-Jarome Iginla
-Dany Heatley
-Dion Phaneuf
-Mike Richards
-Rick Nash
-Owen Nolan

Get the idea?

Toss in some more of the less-physical, but squeaky-clean elite players in the NHL who wear visors - Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, and Steve Yzerman come to mind - and it becomes even more clear that those anti-visor airheads are very wrong to paint everyone with the same brush.

Maybe the issue of making visors mandatory isn't just about protection anymore; it would certainly solve this problem quickly...or else they'd just have to find a new way to decide who's a wimp or not.

"Hey! His jersey's tucked in on the right side! What a sissy!"

Canadian Blog Awards

As it appears that The Good Old Hockey Game has been nominated for the Canadian Blog Awards, it's time for some shameless self-promotion. If you like what you see, then by all means, cast me a vote! If you're new here, then check out a few posts, and I'll just cross my fingers and hope that you pick the good ones.

Also don't be shy in voting for Justin's Flash Point Canada, in the Best Political-Left Blog category. Read a few of his posts, and you'll see that it's quite deserving of the title.

Enjoy.

Who is that guy who sits in the front row behind the glass at hockey games and stands up, facing the camera, when the puck gets near enough? And how does he get tickets to every single game?

Granted, he wears clever disguises...always has a different jersey on, sometimes with a sign, sometimes with a cellphone ("Dude! Is your TV on? See the jackass waving at the camera? That's me!!!"), sometimes dressed as a group of drunken frat boys. But regardless of what he looks like, I don't think I've ever seen this moron and actually chuckled at his antics. Never even cracked a smile. I just feel genuine sympathy for the people in the second row, who don't know whether to yell "down in front" or dump their drinks on his head.

So buddy, if you're reading this right now: stop it. Nobody's impressed.


...And stop slapping the glass to get the players' attention, while you're at it. We get pissed when you do that at the aquarium, too.

Martin Havlat has been suspended by the NHL for kicking Boston defenceman Hal Gill in the groin during a game last Saturday night. Anyone with a good head on their shoulders can understand why he's been punished, and why five games was necessary. In the 2003-04 season, he also kicked Eric Cairns (then of the Islanders) in the crotch - with the blade of his skate, no less - and he delivered a vicious cross-check to the face of Mark Recchi in a game against the Flyers. Simply put, Havlat is quite the cheap-shot artist, and NHL disciplinarian and director of hockey operations Colin Campbell has recognized this and acted accordingly.

Now, the qualifier for comprehending the suspension - namely, having a good head on one's shoulders - would appear to include many in the Senators' organization, namely captain Daniel Alfredsson and GM John Muckler, both of whom indicated that they agreed with the league's decision to suspend Havlat, and that five games was an appropriate length. Head coach Bryan Murray, however, seems to be having trouble with it: "I thought he might get maybe as much as three games. Hal Gill, to me, got off scot-free; I have no problem with a suspension of some sort, but to me, you couldn't have taken it more than (Havlat) did, and that's a really extreme penalty."

The "it" that Havlat apparently couldn't have taken more of was presumably the hit from Gill that landed him on the back of the net in the first place, which spurred the kick. Gill, understandably upset, then roughed Havlat up with two hard shoves before Chris Neil came in to fight him; it was certainly nothing grievous, and nothing that Havlat didn't immediately deserve. For the NHL to have shortened the suspension due to the fact that Gill retaliated - albeit in a much more acceptable manner - would be ridiculous; it does not change the fact that Havlat has a habit of kicking players in the groin when he has blades attached to his feet. For his own sake, Havlat had better learn his lesson from this suspension; he is quickly elongating a résumé of cowardly cheap shots that is going to make him a target in the NHL if he isn't careful.

"Hi, I'm Sean Avery, and I still haven't shut my trap."

Edmonton Oilers forward Georges Laraque has alleged that Kings forward Sean Avery (remember him? 05-09-27; 05-02-12) called him a "monkey" during a scrum in an Edmonton-Los Angeles game last week. Laraque, who is black, said afterwards, "I knew the league wouldn't be able to do anything because there were no witnesses, but you want to tell them in case it ever happens in the future. I'm not deaf. I heard it or I wouldn't have (reported it). This is pretty serious stuff, something you don't play around with." Avery has denied that he said anything, and other Kings players claim that they heard no such comment; the NHL, with a lack of evidence, will take no action.

I'm not going to suggest that Avery should be reprimanded when there is absolutely nothing incriminating against him save Laraque's word - and Laraque is no angel himself - but is it really that difficult to believe that Avery, who is infamous by this point for the ridiculous stupid bile that he spews, would make such a comment? Of course not. The Oiler winger has stated that he will not pursue any on-ice vengeance (smart of him, given the whole Bertuzzi-Moore incident), and a shouting match between the two teams in the Staples Center parking garage amounted to nothing. But I'm sure that there would be a few smiling faces around the NHL if Laraque managed to catch Avery traversing the neutral zone with his head down sometime soon...nothing says "shut your face" like a big, clean check. Delicious.