Bruins Are On the Way to the Stanley Cup Final!

First time since 1990.  I love hockey.  What other sport could they pound the crap out of each other and then at the end of the series they all shake hands. 

What other sport does a guy get hit with a puck, get his nose broken (Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning) or his teeth knocked out (last year Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks) - they get some treatment and are right back on the ice to finish the game!

So congratulations Bruins!  And here's your victory dance:



See you in Vancouver!***

*** Here's the whole song which makes me laugh. 

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Notes on the Games

So I sat down tonight from 10pm to 11pm Eastern time - prime time.  To see exactly what we're getting for tuning in to the Olympics.

I have to say taking notes on this stuff is about as boring as it gets.  Really.  Therefore, I'm going to spew them out exactly as I wrote them - below the fold so you can skip them if you like.  I was even generous and skipped the earlier hours where we were regaled by a travelogue about Polar Bears (did you know they were endangered in "some places"?  thank you Bob Costas for that interesting bit of folklore).  BTW - Bob Costas is the only guy I know who can take a winning moment and make everyone feel bad... it's a gift.  Instead of congratulating the winner and leaving it at that - he has to then pull in those who didn't win first and finish up by asking something along the lines of "wow - don't you think they feel terrible?" 

We also miss the 5 different interviews with Bode Miller who apparently didn't live up to NBC's expectations in the last Olympics and they are therefore going to ask him about 100 more times if he has a different outlook this time around and did he clean up his act.  

We enter the hour at the end of the 10th repetition of the Gold medal win for Alexandre Bilodeau - the Canadian gold medal winner, repeating yet again his "story".  I was okay with it the first time, but it's worn way way too thin. Okay I know he has a disabled brother, I know he skied for him, I'm good with that, can we move on now?

Mind you, it's not his fault and I'm glad for him that he won the medal - he deserved it, but how many times do we have to hear about it in the course of the first 2 hours of broadcast after we're on to other events?

Oh well... read on if you are so inclined.

more...

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For the first time in years

I will be watching the Stanley Cup playoffs this year.  Hockey in HD is excellent.  And I will be rooting for the Pittsburgh Penguins (since Chicago is out).   I highly recommend it for some great fun relaxation time.

Especially watch for this guy - Evgeni Malkin - incredibly talented and just wow!  Prettiest goal you'll ever see - hat trick goal game 2 against the Hurricanes.



Whew. Yeah - Incredible.

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Because the Bruins Won Tonight

And will now have a game 7 against the Carolina Hurricanes to get to the semifinals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

My favorite Bruins commercial.



heh.

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And I Only See It On Television

My daughter was at the Blackhawks game tonight in Chicago.  I was watching on television. 

They pulled it out in overtime to win 2-1.  Wow!

Darling daughter says it was awesome and sends this from her cell phone:



I think I need to get out more.

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Whew!

Well, it was a hell of a game.  Congratulations Pittsburgh Steelers!   I'm so glad it was a game down to the end.  I really hate blow outs and this one went down to the wire.

I was hoping Warner could pull off a victory, but in the end, it wasn't possible. OTOH - It's wonderful when both teams turn up to play and give it their all.

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Congratulations Carlos Zambrano

The first Cubs no-hitter since 1972!  Way to go!

Oh yeah, I should add. I had forgotten they moved the Houston game to Milwaukee because of Ike.  So I was looking at the score box on Sports Center with  Cubs vs Houston in the boxes.  Then at the "brewers.com" behind the hitter and it was the most disorienting thing I've seen in sports for a while.  heh. 

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Got Some Extra Time On Your Hands?

Then you can still watch baseball.  Looks like instant replay is coming to a baseball game near you... 

Replays would be used only to determine whether a ball leaving the field is fair or foul, or whether it actually went over the fence. It would not be used on close plays on the bases, or to determine balls and strikes.

No problem, just add an extra half hour to every game, make 'em an even 5 hours.  Cause if you've got 4 to 4.5 hours for baseball, what's another 30 minutes while the umps haggle over fair or foul. 

Sorry but I loathe instant replay no matter what sport it's used for.  The game is played by humans (so far) so let humans call the shots.  It's not perfect and it shouldn't be.  I don't give two hoots in hell if it's fair or not - when has life ever been fair?  Besides, just look at the arguments continuing to this day...

"Was he out or safe?"

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Top of the 9th

We were out at dinner tonight and sitting at the bar as the Red Sox game was finishing up.  It had been a long rain delayed game.

The Yankees were up to bat - Pappelbon was pitching. Sox were up 4-3. On the Yankees, there were 2 down and 2 strikes on the third hitter of the inning. 

Bam!

Since I know there are people who don't like sports - I put the rest below the fold so they may ignore it.

more...

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What.A.Game!

Down to the wire.  Every shot counted.

Congratulations to Kansas for squeaking by Davidson to go on to the final four. 

Congratulations to Davidson for playing so damned well. 

I was pulling for Davidson.  Even though, looking at Kansas and knowing Davidson would be playing in the land of the giants, I never thought it would be that close.  If only they had made that last three at the buzzer...

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You'll Forgive Me If I Don't Cheer For This Guy Anymore

It seems that Manny Ramirez couldn't be bothered to make the trip to Washington DC for the President to congratulate the team. Well, I don't much care about that, but in skipping the trip, he also skipped something else...

But the president also had some serious things to say -- in particular when he thanked the Red Sox for taking the time, during their quick visit to the Capitol, to visit wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

"These champs," Bush said, "have got a chance to bring some joy in somebody's heart, and I want to thank you for really honoring the true heroes of the United States of America, those who wear the uniform of our country."

What a guy. Apparently he is too important to be bothered by such little people.

I think Jim Donaldson says it all:

While Manny is a certified baseball hero who certainly has brought joy to the hearts of Red Sox fans with his clutch hitting, heaven forbid that any devoted citizen of Red Sox Nation ever confuse Ramirez with being a true hero, simply because wears the uniform of their favorite baseball team.

Not when he can't be bothered to fly a few hours to spend a few minutes with wounded veterans who proudly wore the uniform of their country, and now his country.

I will have to disagree with one point.  I no longer consider Manny to be a "baseball hero".  He is merely a very good player.  And while I don't wish any ill on the Red Sox team, I won't be cheering for Manny this year. I may even be leaving the room while he takes his at bats.

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Congratulations to the New York Giants

On winning the Super Bowl.  They certainly surprised me - I didn't think they'd be able to pull it off.  A well deserved win. They played an excellent game.

Now, will the pod people who took over the Patriots offensive line - please bring the real guys back? 

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Super Sunday

We all know it's Super Bowl Sunday.  Some people would prefer that it just all go away and leave them alone.  Others love it.  We're going to have our neighbors over and just have fun.

I happen to like football although more often than not, the Super Bowl game sucks pond water.  But there's always the commercials.

One of my favorites from a few years ago - shown at the very end of the game:



Last year this was the best one:



I wonder what they'll have this year.  I haven't heard any hype at all. Which is odd come to think of it - generally there's lots of buzz. 

In any case I want the Patriots to win.  Why?  They aren't really "my team" I'm not from here.

Because I don't want to listen to the hysterics by suicidal fans around here if they lose. (the Tobin Bridge would be blocked for days as people tried to leap because their team lost) 

Also, I like Tedy Bruschi  an all around great guy, a terrific comeback story,  inspiration to stroke victims, and one of the few people (I'd put Brett Favre in this category too) who seems to truly enjoy himself when playing the game.

Go Pats.

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Regular Season - Over

Congratulations New England Patriots!

16-0 

On to the playoffs.

BTW - if Eli Manning had just a couple more players with the talent of the Patriots... he would've won this game - he played better than I've ever seen him play before. 

All in all - I think the playoffs will be disappointing after this game. (I might be wrong about that - but it was an excellent game)

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Follow the Money

The NFL (in case you aren't a football fan and didn't know) has set up its own network, called.... the NFL Network (catchy name isn't it).  Since its inception, they have been fighting with cable companies to carry their product without extra charge, even though they charge nearly the highest fee to these companies for broadcast rights. 

The cable companies dug in their little toes and said "NO!  Ain't gonna happen."  Even Comcast, who carried the NFL network as a regular channel last year, has moved it to the Premium tier this year. 

The NFL in its infinite wisdom figured they could set up their own little football fiefdom... with the games available to only a very very small percentage of viewers. (they should ask the NHL how that worked out for them...) They thought people would go out of their way to clamor for the product... apparently they were wrong.  Shocking isn't it. 

Their broadcasts have been royally panned by the sports talking heads here in town and no one seems to be breaking down the doors of the cable companies to "make" them show the games on regular television.  Most people - even football fans - just shrug and figure they'll miss that game this week. 

Then the Patriots winning season put them in a quandary.  Do they stick to their guns and only broadcast on NFL Network... or do they give in and show it on nationally broadcasting channels.  It's a tough one.

The last few weeks there has been a hue and cry over the fact that only a very tiny number of people (directly in the Boston area) would be able to see the Patriots - Giants football game on a regular tv broadcast.  The game that will decide if the Patriots remain undefeated for the season or if the Giants will take them out and be THE team to have beaten them.  The real problem is this... the Patriots are The New England Patriots - not the Boston Patriots.  Their fan base for the most part runs from Maine through Connecticut and out to Vermont.   The  local telecast was only going to be for the small Boston market - not the entire fan based market which encompasses the New England area...  How's that again?   Pretty stupid if you ask me. 

Personally I figure most of the country could care less, but the NFL has finally figured out that they can really milk this one...

Pats-Giants to be first three-network simulcast game in NFL history

Wow!

But the league announced Wednesday that the NFL Network feed will be simulcast on NBC and CBS. It's a major concession by league officials, who repeatedly said they would not show the game anywhere but the NFL Network. The NFL had faced mounting pressure from politicians in recent weeks to make the game available to more viewers.

I don't believe the "politicians" bit... it's all about the money - it's always all about the money.  First you have fans who are very likely letting the NFL know in no uncertain terms that this network garbage they have going on is going to drive them off to other sports - there are plenty available.  Then the BIG inducement... advertising... How much money do they stand to make on this simulcast?  The dollars are HUGE. 

So let's quit pretending that John Kerry's little hissy fit had anything to do with them broadcasting the game to one and all.  With something this large - 3 networks... each with advertisers... you do the math and then convince me that Kerry's threat of "legislation" even made a dent.

Right - I don't think so either.  I'll watch the game... I wonder who will be doing play-by-play.  Hmmmm...

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It's Just a Guess

But I'm thinking that this made Tammi very happy today:

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Micheal Spurlock started up the middle, cut to the outside and didn't stop running until making history for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bucs ran back a kickoff for a touchdown for the first time in the franchise's 32 seasons and routed the reeling Atlanta Falcons 37-3 Sunday to win the NFC South for the second time in three seasons.

Congratulations!

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Congratulations to Oklahoma!

For playing a really good game last night.  Mizzou was not on their game at all.  I was wondering if they used up all their energy last week against Kansas...

Mizzou did have some really bad offensive play calling in the first half.  After I got annoyed with Musburger and Co... I didn't watch the second half.  So, as a Mizzou fan, I guess I saw the best half.

Watched the end of the Pitt - West Virginia game.  Saw a couple of blatantly bad calls that put Pitt at a tremendous disadvantage.  Were the refs watching the same game I was?   You know when the defense actually HOLDS the receiver... that is generally known as "pass interference".  You refs should look it up sometime.   (disclaimer - I'm not a fan of either team but Pitt got a lousy officiating crew for that game).  Anyhow, congrats to Pitt for keeping their heads and winning.

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I Loathe ABC's "Coverage" of Football

We are attempting to watch the Mizzou - Oklahoma game (forgot to add that at the beginning because I'm so annoyed - heh)

I had to get away from the television.  Musburger and his television partner Kirk Herbstreit are making me want to strangle someone... anyone... preferably one of them.

Why are they there?  They don't seem to be the least bit interested in the game.  Musburger doesn't know who the players are - for that matter I wonder if he knows he's calling a Big 12 game. (last week he said it was a Big 10 game - sheesh!) They're more interested in yakking at each other and showing us cute graphics and talking about the possible Bowl games coming up.

And let's not forget the sideline guy (can't remember his name and don't care) who apparently knows more about football than anyone else on the field as he's soooo keen to tell us exactly how each team "should" be doing things.

Why is there not a "mute telecaster" button so I can have the crowd, but not these bozos?

At one point the cameras are once again giving us the oh so excellent view of Musburger and Herbstreit in their nice black coats whereupon Musburger says - you can see the injured player is leaving the field under his own power.  I'm yelling at the television "We could see it if you morons would show us the FIELD instead of you two!"

ARG!!!! 

Can we PLEASE have the guys who are broadcasting the Pitt - West Virginia game?  THEY actually seem to be interested in the game and... wait for it... know what's happening on the field!!! What a concept.   (yes we are flipping between games - can't stand the horrid commercials)

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College Sports Has Game

Since the NFL decided to make it's product unavailable to most of the country, beloved husband and I were watching college sports tonight and saw some great games!

Mostly we watched the Kansas State - Oregon basketball game which went down to the wire in overtime - very very exciting.  Congratulations to Oregon for pulling out the win.

Periodically we flipped the channel to the Louisville - Rutgers football game.  It didn't look like much early on - Rutgers was walking away with it.  But while we weren't looking, Louisville made a dramatic comeback.  They ended up kicking the winning field goal with 20 seconds left on the clock!  Their kicker is a senior so this is his last game - he broke a school record for field goals AND he won the game.  Excellent. 

Take THAT NFL. 

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A Waste of A Few Minutes?

I heard this on the radio this afternoon:

Weather problems silence national anthem in Pittsburgh

Yeah, you read it right - for the first time EVER they did not play the National Anthem before starting the game. 

Why?

With the kickoff already delayed 25 minutes by terrible weather, and a stadium filled with rain-drenched fans growing impatient for the opening kickoff, the NFL skipped the national anthem before Monday night’s Dolphins-Steelers game.

Heaven forbid they extend the start time by about 3 minutes or so.  THAT will certainly make every fan in existence turn the channel and watch something else.  And just think how uncomfortable those poor wet fans were... now it wouldn't be nice to make them wait for a few more minutes to pay honor to the country, maybe think for a few minutes about deployed troops - nope they might get even more wet and be angry they had to wait through that endlessly long anthem...

The alternative would have been to play a recording of the anthem; it’s not certain if the league considered this option.

Now why would they want to do that?  They had already figured out a way to cut the damned thing out of the game - hey just run with it!

There is no other known instance of the anthem being skipped before a major American pro sports league game of recent vintage, except for mechanical or electronic problems.

Which means that there was no good reason - other than ESPN and the NFL thinking viewers would run off in droves over a few minutes more delay... gee guys thank you so much for making it clear how tedious it is to take those few minutes for the anthem - I didn't realize it was such a chore.

The NFL’s decision to bypass the anthem was surprising if only because American soldiers continue to fight in Iraq and the league often has embraced patriotic themes.

Oh well, it's okay if soldiers work their collective asses off - the NFL is worried about AUDIENCE people!  At least that's what they tell us.  Right - that's why the second biggest game of the season - Green Bay and Indy is going to be on the NFL network Thursday night where 99% of the fans don't even get a chance to watch it.  I can see how concerned they are with their fans.

After Sept. 11, the league changed the theme of its next Super Bowl to "Hope, Heroes and Homeland" and altered the game’s logo to incorporate the American flag.

Ah, they made the gesture! Wonderful - guess that's why we see NO military deployed during games on the holidays.  For years that was a staple of the NFL. You saw the games and the greatings from troops stationed around the world.  If you've been watching football this year and even last year... when is the last time you saw ANY troops doing greetings to those at home?

Right - we know where the NFL stands now - logo not withstanding. 

Posted by: Teresa in Sports at 09:11 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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