Habsfan21

Thanks...whole lot more where that came from too....

So? So, what if a game makes Belorussians care about hockey? Or Chinese people? Or Romanians? Just becasue it makes someone care, or is good to America, doesn't make it better than the greatest hockey series ever played. [Edited on 2005/1/5 by Habsfan21]

Irrelevant. Team politics was the only reason that happened. Plus, there was pretty much nowhere else to go for a goalie in 1972. There is strictly no comparison between the two events. There will always be upsets (Belarus v. Sweden, 2002 Salt Lake, was a bigger one at that). But having two teams of players that have never played each other, but are THE top players in the world, with completly different styles, and different lessons to teach each other (Fitness, stragegies, total team commitment v. Physical play, passion, the will to win no matter what the cost), will never happen again. The embarassment of Game 1 in Montréal. The hard fought tie in Game 3. The Soviet comeback in Game 5, Clarke slashing Kharlamov in Game 6, Peter Mahovlich's end to end goal, Espo's sheer will, and of course, Henderson's score, are the zenith of hockey history. Also, games that are about forgotten, but were just as important: The two game series against Sweden (Cashman got his tounge cut out by a high stick) which proved the worth of that hockey nation, and the afterward in Czechoslovakia.

Transcends the game? The last 4 Summit Series games were shown in SCHOOLS. This was Canada's pride, Canada's vision of itself as something unique and powerful, on the line. Even the Russian players (Kharlamov, Tretiak, Shadrin, et al.) of the series became legends in Canada. Canada saw beyond politics, and realized the skill and tenacity of Russians. The Miracle on Ice? "We beat those damn Commies! Woo Hoo!." PS. They made a DVD series and a documentary movie about the series....the DVD has every game, and "Summit on Ice" is a VERY good documentary.

One interesting thing to me is the reverence of the Mighty Ducks movies...which I thought were WAY too cheesy to do justice to the game. Miracle was strictly OK, a bit too jingoistic, and predictable (hehe, an alternate ending would be hillarious), but altogether, not bad. Now, Slap Shot....funny, action packed, realistic to the times, and I bet no one could predict the ending. Plus, the coolest man ever, Paul Newman. -Even with the biased announcers, and my secret wish for Tampa to win, it WAS a goal. It was past the red line...that computer generation was sh*t. I didn't think it was near accurate. -I don't think the Miracle on Ice is comperable to it's overall effect on hockey. I mean, the best Canadian pros went, and were put on their toes. The Russians brought physical fitness and planning to the forefront of the Canadian hockey mind. Keep in mind, we thoguht we kept losing mainly because they had their best and we didn't in the WC's. Those games PROVED the Russians to be near/at Canada's level, and changed the way the game was played. Miracle on Ice? A fluke with a bunch of politics around it. THe best team in the world, sure, but they had to eat American food, play on American time, and play in an American arena. Canada '72 actually had the balls to GO to Moscow, eat their food, get their stuff searched, etc, for the last 4 games. which would not be repeated with the pros in the Canada Cup. Oh yeah, and the Soviets pulled the best goalie in the world, pretty much ever. That didn't help at all, eh? -One thing I liked was that people were more open to who the "best player in history" was. Usually, people are just automaticaly "Gretzky", without considering alternatives.

Who is the best player of all-time? Gordie Howe(Played both sides of the game perfectly) Who is the individual talent of all-time? Bob Orr(Cannot be described by words) What was the best dynasty of all-time? Late 70's Habs(More dominant then 80's Isles/Oil; Done in Expansion era) Who is the best goalie of all-time?Ken Dryden(6 Cups, 8 Years) Who is the clutch performer of all-time? Guy LaFleur Who is the most underrated player of all-time? Mario Lemieux(More points per game then Gretz, on worse teams.) Who is the greatest goal scorer of all-time? Mario Lemieux(See above) What is the best hockey nation? Canada(With Sweden in second) Who is the greatest fighter of all-time? Fergie(The original) Who is the greatest captain of all-time? Mark Messier(Exorcised the 1940 curse in NYC. Now THAT's a leader.) Which international team was the best? 2004 Canada(Undefeated, untied with the best of every nation there. No other team has ever done that.) Where is the best hockey region? Quebec(Kinda vague, but scorers/goalies galore) Who is the most notorious on-ice villain? Marty McSorely(Thanks for '93!) Who is the most notorious personality? Brett Hull(I can't even listen to him) Who is the greatest coach of all-time? Al Arbour(Ducks! But, unlike Scotty, built his dynasty) Who is the best play-by-play man ever? Dick Irvin(If one man could narrate my life, it would be him) Who is the best skater ever? Yvon Cournoyer(BEEP BEEP!) Who is the greatest passer of all-time? Gretz (Eyes front, back, and both sides of his head) Who is the most colourful player ever? Bob Clarke Who is the best player NOT in the Hall Of Fame? Guy Carbonneau Which team was the worst of all-time? 1992/93 Senators(Just absolutly BRUTAL) Who is the greatest referee of all-time? Koharski(I don't pay much attention to Ref's, but he's pretty good.) Should Brett Hull's Stanley Cup winning goal in 1999 have counted? No(Skate in Crease) What was the bigger moment? Canada's win over the USSR in 1972 or the US's gold medal victory in 1980? 1972. (It was IN Moscow, not in North America.) Which player has most changed the game? Orr (Changed an entire position's purpose.) What was the best Stanley Cup final ever?2004 (Most games were exciting) Where is the birthplace of hockey? Windsor, NS(Best evidence I've seen) When should expansion have stopped? 1992-93(24 was perfect) Which NHL leader has had the most impact? Campbell(Game changed the most under his tenure) Goal or no goal? Martin Gelains possible Cup winner in Game 6 2004? GOoooooooooaaaaaal(It WAS past the line) Should visors be mandatory? Yes(I don't mind mine when I'm playing) Should the instigator rule be abolished? Yes(It won't have as great as impact as some say, but it will help) Should fighting be apart of the game? No. (Ken Dryden's The Game proves the case against fighting.) What's better? Two refs or one? One (Takes up less room) What is better? Wood or composite? Composite (If you can afford it ) Should tied games (regular season) end in a shootout? NO Should the NHL adopt no-touch icing? Yes(It would avoid injury) Should the NHL contract? YES!(To 24 teams) Major junior vs college: Which is better? Major Junior(Better puckhandling) Ice size? NHL or international? International(An arena in Montreal in the 1870's isn't big enough for modern sized players.) Should the two-line pass be allowed? No(Enforce Obstruction rules, and you'll be fine) Should the NHL have more 4-on-4? NO!!!!!(No 8 on 8 in baseball, no 9 on 9 in football, 5 on 5 IS hockey) Should goalies wear smaller equipment? Yes(Requires more skill) Are NHL players overpaid? Yes(Not as much as some say, though...50% is good enough for me) Is the NHL draft age too young at 18? No(Don't mind this too much) Should there be a defensive defenseman award? Yes(Why not?) More playoff teams than 16? No(16 is even a BIT much, but it's cool) Suspensions based on intent or injury? No(too hard to judge) Should the NHL be at the Olympics? Yes(Best players, best games) Goalies fair game outside crease? Yes(Definatly.) Should injury disclosure be mandatory? No(I just won't report any injury then.) Who has hockey's most notorious hair? Derek Sanderson(POOF!) What is the best sweater number? 9 or 4? 9(The best) White tape or black tape? Black(Classic) What is the ugliest 3rd jersey of all-time? Boston's(That stupid bear) Who is the best anthem singer of all-time? Ducet What's better? Dark or white jerseys at home? White(Classier) What's better? Organ or taped music? ORGAN(Just sounds like a hockey game) Is it a good idea to pull the goalie? Yes(Under 3 minutes) Who is the best Sutter? Brent What is the best hockey movie of all-time? Slap Shot(Far and Away)

Canada's GDP estimated for 2004 is 958.7 billion The Americans is 10.99 TRILLION... Yet we give alot more aid... Shows you where Bush's heart is... I guess if they had oil, it would be a different story. Agreed, it is amazing. I mean, more then 200,000,000,000 for Invading Iraq, and 35,000,000 for this....jeez.

Yup, happy new year people!

Thanks for the kind words. I'm not sure which Kovalev article you are referring to though, HW has many writers, some just write basic news, while others write opinionated articles. You likely read an opinion article, and you disagreed with it, which is fine, because everyone has opinions, thats all part of the fun I meant in the article mentioned...there was a snipet in the playoff description about the incident.

Excellent writing, something I've noticed with most of your site's columns. That goal by Vinny L just broke my heart....it was depressing. Had my sweater on, watching the game, brother (Leafs/Bolts bandwagon) next to me, celebrating, havin' a good time, then BAM. F'n joke. Went from feelin' the comeback to pretty much gone. Never forgave the damn 'Ning 'till after Game 7 of the finals. I also thought you were a biiiit too easy in the article on Kovalev on the slash...he was REALLY overdoing it with the acting....if you're in prime position on the play, you don't just give up the puck hopin' on something. He's gotta know you only get MAJOR, Obvious calls in 2OT. (Did you guys have the "guillotine" feelin' too, when the puck was given up? I just KNEW Murray was gonna score, just KNEW it. Even Theo would have a better shot in the 6/49). Well, anyway, we're close, I can taste it. Maybe not this season (Whenever it is...), but next few years man, we're gonna be up there. Again, great, polished writing, glad to be here. [Edited on 2004/12/31 by Habsfan21]

I've heard lots of Swedes have perished as well....

Damn, US coverage is an hour behind....It's only 2-1 here. Andrei is lookin' great...he's going to be someone special, I think. And the announcer is VERY overenthusiastic. To the point of irritation. [Edited on 2004/12/30 by Habsfan21]

As usual, Rex Murphey says it best: http://www.cbc.ca/national/rex/rex_041228.html

Merci!

You're right. CNN has just been absolutly negligent in it's coverage of this, and, sad to say, it's the most international of the US 24/7 news networks. I watch the BBC news at 5 on a Public station here to get international news...the coverage on American networks of anything not involving Americans is pathetic. Examples from the last few days: The main lead in the story on ABC here at 6 on the 27th was the quake...for 5 minutes, then a 10 minute story on if it could happen here (In FL). Pffff. FoxNews's interview when I turned there was if Bush was giving away too much. CNN was discussing that very topic, then moved on to a stupid Gallop poll about the "most admired women...." And about the 9/11 thing....don't want to come off as unsympathetic to it, and it was a big event, but it's not even close to the size of this event. Once the total is fully realized (It will take a few weeks), this will be the biggest humanitarian disaster of our generation.

I agree, this is going to take years and years to repair.

I agree, if a guy is out on the ice, he has to play by the rules, and not recive special treament because he's been injured previously.

They're saying 21k now...just, wow. Those poor people.

I think it's a decent idea, and a relativlely sound one, but there are some flaws. Let's say Mats Sundin hits some AHL call up from the Bruins, and Mr.AHL is out for awhile. What would prevent the Bruins from taking their sweet time in sending Mr. AHL back, by extending the injury a month or two, especially if TO is coming in for a couple of games? Plus, this would also require the definition of "dirty hit" to be VERY firmly put down, because some hard, legal checks can be considered dirty. I agree that firmer suspensions should be handed out for knee/knee hits and intentional headhunts. I think, though, that a strict injury/suspension link could create some trouble. I also think, thanks to the effects from the Bertuzzi/Moore hit, we'll see a bit less of the cheap stuff.

There was actually a 2nd chance to get Vinny for Montreal, Torts didn't like him a lot in his first year in Tampa, and he almost went to TO or MTL. I'd guess he would have gone back to #8, since 4 is retired. I can't actually think of another trade I would have liked a lot....I think we could have done better in the big Rangers/Capitals salary dump, however.

Anyone know when/if the games are on US TV? [Edited on 2004-12-29 by sakiqc]

What was yours? Mine would be Collateral, with Sky Captain: World of Tomorrow and F9/11 as runners up. [Edited on 2004-12-29 by puck7x]

Haha, yeah, Vinny is (From what I've heard) probably the nicest guy in the league....he signs auto's till his hand turns blue, and loves the area (And that's reciprocated...He's definatly the most popular guy here). Here's me in more acceptable attire...(Sorry about the smile...it's kinda akward to take a picture of yourself:eyes: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/habs...va/DSC00020.jpg

Yeah, true, I guess I'm just mad at him for the Carbo trade.

Hopefully contraction...baseball needs to lose teams. Probably? Northern Virginia. At least some of the DC council wised up to the deal...it was a rip-off.