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About tonight...

- I loved the Armed Forces Recognition Night – the television media wearing the yellow ribbon pins, the shots of the military members and their families in the seats…very nice and extremely respectful.

- Credit where credit is due – his positioning was sometimes shaky and his play on the rebounds was questionable, but Gerber got it done. Swiss golf claps to him (of the unassuming and neutral type). Also nice to see him get lots of congrats from the rest of the team.

- I was screaming, “skate!” at Heatley on a short-handed chance – what the hell was I thinking? Obviously I should have been saying, “glide”, or rather, “float”.

- Since Saturday, we’ve had games on the CBC, A-Channel, and Sportsnet. Dean Brown called all three. Say it with me: JAM PLAY! The lack of variation (and repeated use of catch phrases) is apparently getting to The Driver. Here was the exchange at TUC HQ:

Me: “How much would you pay me to silently place a jar of Smuckers in front of Dean Brown the next time I’m in the press box?”

The Driver: “Just push all of his papers to one side (gesturing with his hands)…’JAM PLAY! JAM PLAY!’ Then knock off his headphones. Or gather all his papers in a pile (gestures suggest making a large mess) – ‘SCRAMMMBBBLE!’”

"Scrammmbbble"? How retro. I think Dean Brown has legitimately affected The Driver's sanity this week. I'll be sending any invoices I receive from the Royal Ottawa to the Team 1200 if it comes to that.

- Garry Galley referenced Alex Ovechkin’s tinted visor, and how there’s a desire for it not to go darker a) due to safety reasons and b) because fans want to see his face, as he’s a marketable member of the league. Uh, I don’t think NFL has ever experienced the latter issue with premier RB LaDainian Tomlinson, and his visor is practically opaque. Tomlinson apparently receives special permission from the league to wear the visor due to eye sensitivity and migraine issues (although this is difficult to formally verify). If that's the case, why isn't he seen sporting sunglasses on the sidelines? San Diego isn't the cloudiest of cities.

- About the hooking issue: The non-call discussions are getting to the point where you begin to wonder if some want to see legitimate hooking, in order to justify the penalties. How utterly nonsensical. The current situation isn’t ideal, but if all involved are forced to tolerate it, why don’t we have everyone keep their sticks on the ice and call it a day?

- I liked Dany Heatley admitting that he was keeping tabs on the scoring race during an intermission interview. So often it’s, “Oh, I don’t pay attention to that type of thing…I’m just trying to play my game.” Whatever. As usual, the truth sounds better and is far more interesting.

9 responses to "It's the pads"

  1. The Sens admit to playing for their own personal stats and that's a good thing?

    Robert L

  2. Heatley doesn't drip with Jagr-like selfishness, RC -- don't blow it out of proportion. He's showing a competitive streak, and the last time I checked, the team benefits from his success -- until his next pay raise, of course. For the record, I'd expect to hear the same thing from Ovechkin, naturally in broken English.

    Let us know when you've finished typing out the transcript of Monday night's *cough* festivities. Until then, stop looking for non-existent negativity.

    The Universal Cynic

  3. Reality Check, did you even see the interview? You act as if Heatley was thumping his chest like he was Terrell Owens or something. Heater was very low key when he admitted that he followed the race. What's wrong with that if it's the truth? You're probably so naive that you believe players when they say that they don't care about this stuff and aren't paying attention. They all care and they play for themselves as well as the team. He made an admission and it was casually done. His teammates would not consider him selfish for saying so and I doubt the fans will.

    For someone with the word Reality in your name you sure have a problem with understanding it. Get a fucking clue.

    Moder Mar

  4. For aesthetic reasons, I would actually prefer not to see Ovechkin's face.

    Miss. Scarlett

  5. Jeepers, you people are touchy! It sure don't take much to get attacked. What are you slinging arrows at my site and content for?

    Robert L

  6. Sherry -- I saw that coming.

    RC -- get used to the heat if you're going to attempt to stir the pot for no legitimate reason. And who's slinging arrows? If you're referring to me mentioning a transcript that you've actually done, that's a bizarre coincidence because I haven't been on your blog for a least a week or so.

    The Universal Cynic

  7. RC deserves to be raked over the coals on a regular basis. His stupidity is well documented. Just look at the big comment thread from last week. I know he's a Habs fan but come on.

    Anonymous

  8. RC,
    You're just bitter because TUC stuffed your shit in!
    Stop fishing for things that aren;t there. This may come as a shock to you, but every player in the league plays for their own stats. The majority of them do so within the team concept which is exactly what Heatley is doing. I'm sure you would be the first one to jump all over him for his lack of production if he wasn;t scoring. Who the hell cares what his personal motivation is. To suggest he plays a selfish game is crazy talk. Not as crazy as your Jason Spezza analysis last week though on here.

    Anonymous

  9. *SIGH* Alright, that's enough.

    Seeing as that RC had an opportunity to argue his original statement and did not, I will assume he has nothing left to add. This thread is now closed.

    The Universal Cynic