His "Guilty Pleasures" series this August, which "features puckheads from all walks of life answering questions about their own hockey-related guilty pleasures," has made for some good reading during the slowest month in the NHL year.
Since I'll never be on that sight, and have the space here, I thought I'd have a bit of fun while strolling down memory lane.
1. The Player You Most Love To Hate
The Ottawa Senators Daniel Alfredsson, and his "holier than thou demeanor." I hate everything about him on the ice, especially the fact that he torments the Sabres. I can (almost) live with the likes of Daniel Carcillo, he's a skating caricature, or Sean Avery, he's kinda like a schizoid uncle. Claude Lemieux and Dale Hunter were crazed provocateurs who could score some and they were particularly annoying. But Alfredsson? The guy skates like he's upper-crust nobility in the midst of mere peasants. I hate his self-righteousness, I hate his team and I especially hate that friggen' Senator guy.
2. Other Than Your Own, The Team You Can't Help Rooting For
Chicago. I go back to the days of Chico Maki, Bobby Hull, Pat Stapelton, Tony "O" and Stan Makita. I have an old friend who I grew up with who loved the Blackhawks. One of my earliest memories was going to summer camp and doing one of those plaster mold thingies. They had one of an Indian head that strongly resembled the Blackhawks logo. We chose that for the plaster mold and painted it. Wish I still had it. Once the Sabres came along, though, Chicago became my second favorite team.
3. Favorite Fight or Brawl of All-Time
Jim Schoenfeld and Wayne Cashman going through the zamboni doors at the Aud. Unbelievable. No hesitation on either player's part. Just start swinging. I can remember watching that happen, jumping up screaming "Yeah! Yeah! Get 'Im!!!," or something really close to that. I hated the Bruins. Cashman, Terry O'Reilly, Johnny Bucyk, Carol Vadnais, Derek Sanderson. Schoenfeld, a rookie with a fledgling franchise, fought three times that night vs. the Big, Bad, Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins.
4. The Hideous-Looking Hockey Jersey You Secretly Love The Most
The Vancouver "V" in those 70's colors. They were pretty damn ugly, but the 70's were full of funky things like that. As ugly as they were, I never really minded them.
5. Your Favorite Hockey Cliché (terminology, traditions, announcer-speak, etc.)
"Rang that one off the post." Is there any cooler sound than that of a shot ringing off of the post? It pierces through everything in the arena no matter what the noise-level. The late Ted Darling would just blurt out "Hit the Goal post!" in a higher pitch than his normal announcing voice. Then he would say, "(enter full player name) just hit the post."
6. The Injury You Couldn't Stop Staring At (Non-Skate Lacerations Only)
Many bring up the Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty, and I agree, that one was a doozy. But there's one that's etched into my head from when I was a kid and if there was a video of it available, kids these days would be aghast. There was a player back in the day who was going full speed in on goal and got tripped up. His head went full-on into the post. Back then they had no helmets and steel pipes held the net in place. Can't remember his name, the team or the game, but I've still got a pretty good image of that hideous collision between his head and the post.
7. Your Favorite Cheesy Hockey Reference in Popular Culture
Is there anything more cheesy than an 80's fluff star/Tom Cruise wannabe playing the role of a internally tough, yet sensitive hockey player who beats the bad-guys then beats up "THE BAD GUY" in a hokey, cliched ending?
7a. Your Favorite Terrible Hockey Card Or Hockey Action Figure
Dennis Maruk, 1976. I had it. He had the 70's hair and thick stash. That particular card had connections with two soon to be lost franchises at the same time--a Cleveland Barons card with Maruk in a California Golden Seals uniform.
8. Finally, What's The Thing You Secretly Respect Gary Bettman For The Most?
I like the fact that he held out and didn't go crawling back to ESPN for a television contract. I haven't liked ESPN since Dan Patrick and Keith Olberman left. The irreverence which started early with Tom Mees and a young Chris Berman lasting through Patrick and Olberman, was replaced by religious fervor for sports. Fun became serious business as more ad-revenue--and consequent air-time--was needed to feed the behemoth that is ABC/Disney/ESPN. Two of my favorite sports as a kid--football and basketball--are hardly recognizable anymore with the flow of the game being constantly disrupted by commercials.
Bettman did good by going with Comcast/OLN/Versus. It wasn't the quick fix that fat boy was offering, but at least hockey was able to retain it's identity.
No comments:
Post a Comment