The Universal Cynic

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.