Kilzor: The Killer Robot

Seasons Greetings everyone! It's again been a long while since I last posted, and trust me I have a few posts simmering, just waiting to be posted. In the mean time, I've been studying for exams and shoveling snow cause that all there is to do as a student living in Edmonton.

I've taken a small break out of my studying to quickly post something of great importance to me. 4 years ago, a friend of mine showed me a small cartoon he drew up hoping to get published for the Gateway. His comic was rejected on the basis of style and content by the editor at the time. If anyone has ever read the Gateway, it's hard to decipher what can be considered the threshold for what will be published as a comic in the paper. Anyways, for the next 4 years he kept on creating the comic, known as Kilzor: The Killer Robot. Time after time again, he was rejected and even for a small time my friend joined the writing staff in the A&E section in the hopes of gaining good graces to possibly get his comic published. Again his creation was turned down. This December my friend graduates from school and just like 4 years ago. In class, he pulled out a comic for me to see. Actually he pulled out his whole collection over the last 4 years. Suffice to say I didn't pay attention much to this class as I just went through all these comics and I couldn't help to think about how disappointed that none of these comics got to see some newspaper ink.

 So from time to time, I'll be posting the comics with my friend's blessing and hopefully you'll enjoy them.

How is your HUT?

After an extended absence, KD and ASam are doing podcasts again. Sorry to those who were hoping we'd just fizzle out. We can't stop, won't stop (insert your P. Diddy negation sounds). So what could the topic possibly be about? If you were expecting pressing sports banter think again. We've branched out, we're talking about sports-video games now. We've fallen in love (again) with the NHL franchise, that has somehow gotten better every year. So this is our small discussion on the craziest feature since "online play" was introduced (quote is actually from kevin).

As always, just download (right-click and save as) and enjoy.

State of Affairs

I wish I had the energy to tell you how I feel about the Oilers. I had the energy on Saturday, so did Kevin so we recorded it. May I emphasize this was Saturday before the game.

As always, download and enjoy.

Batting for Wins (Part II)

This is a part II to a piece I did at the All-Star break when the Jays were also in the HR lead and still trailing in the divisional standings, it can be be found here.

We've finally made it. Another long and grueling baseball season has come and gone. We have seen a division lead dwindle down to nothing (but hey wasn't it awesome to see those sweet military Padre unis everyday?). A promising triple crown race evaporated before our eyes. And of course, we got to see another mediocre finish by Toronto Blue Jays. At least we've been able to witness an outstanding playoffs which will feature two great franchises in the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers. But enough about them let's talk about up north.

Unlike previous seasons where the month of September was merely trying to find any excuse to watch an NHL preseason. There was just as much reason to watch the Blue Jays finish out their once promising season. That reason of course, was the long ball. 15 years ago, the long ball was considered the reason why the MLB was a success again in the eyes of spectators. To only to be told 10 years after, that maybe our eyes should have been on doctors prescriptions and "vitamin" labels. This 2010 version of the Blue Jay long ball has been thoroughly examined by the Canadian sports media and has been heralded as something spectacular (and void of any major steroid accusations).  The problem as illustrated in my column at the all-star break explained that amidst the resurgence of the long ball very little was happening with the Jays in terms of winning performance.

 Jays Third Baseman Jose Bautista ended the season with 54 HRs to lead the Majors.

(Picture courtesy of bronxbombersbeat.com)

Batting for Wins

We're a little past the halfway point through the baseball season and as a seasoned Blue Jays fan it has been going as well as can be expected. A team that flirts with a .500 winning percentage while sitting comfortably in 4th place in the always competitive AL East division. The Jays have shown that they at least have consistency when it comes to their regular season standing. Their consistent positioning in the standings has been abetted this year with something else that has sparked the interest of Jays and MLB fans alike. And that is the fact the Toronto Blue Jays are leading the league in home runs with 140 (as of July 20/10) . If this is the first time you've have heard this news let me let it settle in :The Toronto Blue Jays lead the majors in home runs! For those who have been bombarded with the Canadian sports media fascination of the Canadian Long Bomb explosion this year, you might also know that this statistical lead has not really parlayed into any major movement in the division. 

 Jays Third Baseman Jose Bautista leads the Majors in HRs (25)

(Picture courtesy of Bluebirdbanter.com)

Break Even Podcast - NHL Playoffs Round 3 Preview

Is it the Conference Finals already? It seemed like just yesterday, we were on the eve of the first round of playoffs and people were already writing off the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs against their higher seeded opponent. As we fast forward a month later and two Cinderella upsets by this season's playoff media darlings, those same Habs are once again in tough down 2 games in their series against the Philadelphia Flyers. A team which has faced about the same amount of adversity as the Canadiens considering they needed the 82nd game of the regular season to clinch a playoff spot.

So who is it going to be? If you have been scoring at home, you'll probably have a small guess at who I'm taking in this one but don't let that be the reason why you listen to this week's podcast. We're also looking at the West and 1-2 seeds going at it. The most special part of the Break Even podcast though this time around, is that we have brought out one of our friends, EvK to bring some of his insight to our usual two-man operation.

So please enjoy the sultry sounds of KD, myself ASam and our special guest EvK in our round 3 NHL Playoff predictions.

Break Even - NHL Playoff Round 3
P.S. I probably should have mentioned it earlier but our usual accompanying NBA playoff podcast is unavailable at this time due to some technical difficulties.

SOTD - Lovers and Friends (feat. Lil Jon & Usher)

Playoff Podcast Round #2

KD is finally back home after his little stint in the city of Calgary. He took the time out of his decontamination schedule to do a couple of podcasts featuring the round 2 playoffs of both the NBA and NHL. In the two podcasts, we review our round 1 predictions, look to round 2 and give a shout out to a special someone. We've also added some production value in the form of some intro music. Tell us what you think of the music and/or the rest of the podcast. Remember "Thumper rules" do apply though.

As per usual, please right-click and save.

Break Even - 05 - NHL Playoffs Round #2

Break Even - 06 - NBA Playoffs Round #2

Let's Get Ready to Rumble: My first live running blog

Here I am coming live from my man cave, full with 2 computers and a plate of half eaten Szechuan chicken and rice. It was a delicious meal and I'm glad to say I'm full. I think I'll need it, as I'm going to try to live blog the Floyd Mayweather and Sugar Shane Mosley fight. I mean I've read a whole bunch of live blogs over the years and have always thought to myself; "how hard could it be?"

9:00 pm - After 3 day of internal debate, I have caved and gave into the 3 to 1 odds Mosley is offering on some sports betting sites. Now if only I had an account...

9:05 pm - They just introduced Muhammad Ali. A legend among legends for sure. I do not have much to say about him, due to my age I was never really able to revel in his aura as one of the most entertaining athletes of any generation. Today's generation of athletes have attempted to jump into that level of being an entertainer ,as well being a dominant athlete with only mixed results. In the world we live in today athletes sit back and try to connect to the masses with their thumbs through twitter or other types of social media. Ali relied simply on the old age mediums of radio and television. Radio and television?!?!?! Radio stopped being relevant to many people about a decade ago and TV is slowly being put up against the ropes right now (hey this is boxing blog right?). With that being said, when Ali used those two mediums you knew it was just Ali and only Ali. Today's athletes who try to transcend their sport by being a celebrity hire themselves a PR agent or something of the sorts. Ali was his own PR agent for the better or the worse, but mostly for the better. So when they talk about him being the G.O.A.T., it was for more than his work in the ring.

9:08 pm - P. Diddy is wearing two huge diamond studded crosses, cause he is obviously twice the Christian you are.

9:20 pm - Chris Brown doing the national anthem? All I can say is "Really?" There were definitely some boos when he was introduced to the ring to sing the American National anthem. I must say they should reserve the national anthem for woman singers only. Not to say I'm much of a singer myself or a top notch judge like Simon Cowell but yeah that was kinda off.

9:24 pm - Sugar Shane Mosley is being introduced to the arena. To tell you the truth I'm more excited for Mayweather's intro just because I'm curious to see if he can out do his intro in the fight against De La Hoya where he came out with 50 cent and wearing red-white-green colourway complete with a sombrero.

9:28 pm - Mayweather is stalling. They cut to a feed of him in his locker room repeating to wait til the circus starts.

Thankfully the circus did start, full with an Elvis with a white face on stilts.....The O'Jays walked down the the way to the ring singing the apprentice theme song, "Money, Money, Money.....Money". Ah, I get it your nickname is money so you get them to sing the song as you come out and will walk away in excess of 35 million for fighting Mosley. It's hard to believe that a Mayweather vs. Pacquaio fight would profit Mayweather more. Where would they fight? Yankee Stadium?



9:32 pm - Buffer time!!!!! Wait did he just do a small plug for Iron Man 2? I must admit I haven't even watched Iron Man 1 yet. I should get on that if Michael Buffer is going to suggest I watch Iron Man 2. Without further ado, "Let's get ready ...". I won't lie I'm still a bit mad he decided to copyright that, but at the same time if that is your only money maker you might as well. Especially when his brother decided to get into the same profession on his success. That's success when other family members join your profession due to your own success. Think of Frank Lucas'(Denzel Washington) in American Gangster.

9:35 pm - Round 1: You know those hairs on the back of your neck? No there are no dead people, that's just 3 to 4 months of hype. After that first round, the one thing that all the analysis we have seen of the two fighters over the last 3 months is the hand speed of Mayweather. His red boxing gloves become red flashes during his 1-2 combinations that solidify that boxing is truly his natural born professional.

9:41 pm - Round 2: Mosley finally catches Mayweather with a right hand. The crowd erupts. No less than a minute later the defense of Mayweather deteriorates further and Mosley caught him an even more impressive blow in which Mayweather's knees buckle to the jubilation of the crowd.

9:48 - Round 3-4: At the start of Round 3, Mayweather realizes he finally has to start boxing or he'll start to get behind on the cards. Also in response to Mosley hitting him harder than anyone has hit Mayweather in close to 2 years.


10:00 pm - Rounds 5-7: After rounds 3 and 4 if you're rooting for Mosley or at least had money on him you expect him to come after Mayweather. Unfortunately Mosley is unable to rally and sustain pressure on the quicker and more agile Mayweather. Mayweather is still getting the majority of the power hits in. One more thing Mayweather must be enjoying is seeing Mosley starting to gasp for air in between their small clashes.

10:04 PM - Now the talking begins, Mayweather will always win.

10:08 PM - Mosley is trying to turn this into a brawl to get Mayweather out of his defensive game but it's hard to say Mosley has enough him to keep up the barrage of attacks on Mayweather's defense.

10:18 pm - Oh Mosley, valiant effort but looks like Mayweather's only competition can't do drug testing.

10:21 pm - Round 12: Mosley is going for broke!!! I think that phrase can't be used when Mosley too is going to receive a nice payday after this fight regardless of the result.

10:22 pm - it's over! Time for some more Buff. Even though it isn't all that necessary at this point, there isn't too much drama as they go to the scorecards. For my unofficial card I'd say Mayweather had about 9 if not 10 of the 12 rounds. The only definitive round Mosley had was the 2nd.

With that, there is only one thing boxing can do to stay afloat with the UFC dominated sports is have a Pac-Man vs. Money fight. It might be the only the fight that maybe able to get me away from home to actually watch a fight.

Break Even Podcast - NHL Playoff Preview

It's exam time so if you thought posts were scarce to begin with, they just became more scarce.....if that's even possible. If your curious to when new posts will be circulating, the only information I could possibly divulge to help you figure out when new posts will be up is that my exams finish, April 27th. If you don't find new posts within the days after exams, you should at least receive an invitation from me for "end of exams" beverages.

My weekend was filled primarily with studying though there was sporadic playoff watching throughout. One of the more interesting parts of my weekend,however; started Saturday morning. It was like any other Saturday morning.I woke up, got out of bed and put on some pants. On my way down the stairs there was a noticeable character at the dining room table. The first few thoughts that ran through my head were: 1)Thank god I decided to put on pants and 2)What in the world is Kevin Der doing sitting in my house? What followed were our playoff preview podcasts for the NBA/NHL. While we are quite aware the playoffs have already started, believe us when we say we made our predictions before any of the games started (In the case of the NBA previews, we didn't even know the results from the early games). So without further ado, please enjoy our NBA and NHL Playoff Preview podcasts.

NHL Playoff Preview Podcast

NBA Playoff Preview Podcast

Podcast #2 - State of Affairs

Our introductory semi-regular report on the Oilers. I must admit I became more and more depressed as this podcast went on as we discussed the ups and mostly downs of the Oilers this season.

Feel free to comment happy thoughts about the blog/podcast/or just me. I could really use it after looking at the NHL standings.


02 - State of Affairs / Right-Click and Hit Save As...and Enjoy!!

My introduction to podcasting...

My good friend Kevin Der and I have made the big jump from blogging to podcasting. Feel free to take a listen, we've decided to go a bit more in-depth with our 2014 Team Canada outlooks.

Please comment on anything to help us improve. Already we're looking to find a better filesize, and more importantly a proper title.

01 - (Untitled Podcast) / Right-click the link and hit save as...and enjoy!!

Looking Ahead - Part 2

Part 1 looked at the members of the 2010 team, who won gold for Canada. I took the delicate steps of keeping certain aspects of the team together for the 2014 run in Russia, while spending the time to take a look at some players who will not have a renewed ticket to the Winter Olympics in 2014.

At the end of part 1, team Canada only has 8 open spots consisting of (1 goalie, 3 Defencemen, and 4 Forwards). So without hesitation let's get into it.

Goalie
I don't expect any incoming goaltender to usurp the top 2 spots held by Luongo and Fleury going into 2014. So any additional goaltender would get to sit in the press box in a suit (Jersey over top is optional), during games. In addition, being an excellent body in net during practice. So while being chosen as the 3rd goaltender doesn't have much glam compared to a starter or even a backup it does provide a vehicle to be in that Olympics setting over a 2 week period. Living in the athletes' village, watching a team develop within 2 weeks, and watch up and close the most competitive hockey aside from the Stanley cup finals.

If you look at the leading Canadian goaltenders you'll notice this' years Olympians Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, and Marc-Andre Fleury are sitting 1,2,3. That's a pretty easy correlation to understand why they were the Canadian representatives in Vancouver this season. Sitting 4th is Jose Theodore who at the tender age of 33 is enjoying a better season (wins wise) than his Hart trophy winning year in 2002. He'd be 37 by the time Sochi rolls around. And let's be fair his season totals between 2002 and today have been up and down and would be better suited for the cross-country events in the Olympics than in between the pipes. Age unfortunately takes out a portion of top 10 Canadian NHL goaltenders from consideration. Dwayne Roloson, Marty Turco, Chris Mason are all having solid seasons for their respective teams. This leaves the choice to the likes of: Ray Emery, Steve Mason, Michael Leighton, Dan Ellis, and Cam Ward. This focus on youth looks forward to the future. Yes, that is correct in terms of selecting a 2014 team, picking a suitable 3rd goaltender may situate Canada nicely for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Being held in either: Annecy, France; Munich, Germany; PyeongChang, South Korea(I'm secretly pulling for S. Korea on this one, but I expect politics to take over and Europe wanting to host their first Winter Olympics since Lillehammer 94').

Not to be confused with Pyongyang

With that list, it does cause one to hum-hah the possibilities with no goalies really popping out. If one goalie that does pop out it would have to be Cam Ward. In only 5 seasons in the NHL this goalie already has a Stanley Cup, and World Championship. To become a member of the triple gold club by the age of 30 in Russia 2014, would further contribute to the successes of this young goaltender.

Defence
As stated earlier, my 2014 team needs only 3 replacements on D to replace the likes of Pronger, Niedermayer, and Boyle. Truth be told, only replacing Niedermayer bothers me. As his leadership and presence on the ice was reassuring, and if you are a defenceman. Reassuring is definitely a good quality to have. Pronger skating 4 years down the road might change my thoughts on euthanasia (anti-reassuring). The picks for defencemen are a bit more important than choosing a 3rd goaltender as these 3 skaters will definitely be on the ice skating against the best in the world.

Mike Green, a player who arguably should have been taken in 2010 will easily receive a invitation to Russia. It will provide an excellent setting for Mike Green to solidify his comparison to the great offensive defenceman, Paul Coffey. By this time, Green will have had 4 solid shots to playing in a cup final in the NHL playing for the Capitals. If that is the case, the argument that his shotty defensive play may be left at the wayside or he may improve it between now and then. Even more apparent is his ownership of the title as league leader in points for a defenceman. If he stays in the top 5 for points over the next 4 years, how can you not take him to Russia?

Dion Phaneuf, his time in Calgary can be simply labeled a tragedy. Especially for all those Calgarians who bought themselves a Phaneuf jersey. I can just imagine all the individuals who wore their Phaneuf jersey with pride at the beginning of season. Fast forward 3 months later, I imagine those same individuals walked a bit faster to and fro to make sure to sit down as soon as possible to hide the back of their jersey. Better yet they could have just gone to a Flames game. No one stands up at those anymore, do they? For Phaneuf though, he's been given a new start in Toronto thanks to the hands of Messiah GM (Brian Burke). I can't imagine a defenceman in the NHL now with a bigger upside; who isn't a rookie this year. It's hard to say whether he'll develop into this prototypical hybrid defenceman who has an offensive gift along with the grit to defend and check on the back end. Not to mention an NHL 09 cover, along with an invitation to the 2010 orientation camp. Or wait....how could I forget its his destiny.

Lastly, Ian White the player Phaneuf was traded for in the blockbuster pre-olympics trade from TOR to CGY. Both players who needed a change of environment in hockey heavy cities but both posses tremendous upside. For the most part the same paragraph pertaining to Phaneuf could apply to White except for more focus in the defensive zone. I also doubt there was as many White jerseys in TOR as there were Phenuf jerseys in CGY. If there was a similar number that would be eerie but if you really think about it. Who else would you have on the back of your jersey as a TOR fan?

Forwards
With 4 spots left on my 2014 roster, rejuvenating the forwards with some young talent sounds like a good way to end things. I am for the time being leaving the 13th forward up for grabs for the time being (I got for 4 years right?). So those 4 spots turns to the 3, which fortunately makes the list a bit easier to choose as 2 of them will feature the likes of 2 number one overall picks: Steven Stamkos (2007) and John Tavares (2008). The magical last pick goes to Jeff Carter, the player who was one ankle ligament away from playing in Vancouver this past February and what better way to repay his readiness by inviting him to Russia in 2014.

Now time to put it all together.....

In Net
Roberto Luongo (A)
Marc-Andre Fleury
Cam Ward (new)

Back End
Drew Doughty
Duncan Keith
Shea Weber
Brent Seabrook
Dion Phaneuf (new)
Ian White (new)
Mike Green (new)

Front End
Sidney Crosby (C)
Jarome Iginla(A)
Rick Nash
Ryan Getzlaf
Jonathan Toews
Corey Perry
Eric Staal
Dany Heatley
Mike Richards
Jonathan Tavares (new)
Jeff Carter (new)
Steven Stamkos (new)


SOTD - Vampire Weekend - Giving Up The Gun
(amazing cameos)

Looking Ahead

Is it too soon? As a country, we celebrated in every major city centre from Victoria to St. John's. According to CTV, close to 80 per cent of the nation (26.5 million) watched some portion of the game. So when I ask, is it too soon? It is actually a small part of a bigger question: Is it too soon to be picking our Olympic hockey roster for Sochi 2014?

Considering my friend, Kevin has attempted to do the same and the majority of the nation (or at least Alberta) has rolled over with the return of NHL hockey, I have taken it upon myself to create my own Team Sochi.

Part one will look at who will be returning from the 2010 squad and who will be absent. The second part coming later this week will focus on new additions.

Goaltending
Martin Brodeur
Roberto Luongo
Marc-Andre Fleury (Flower Power, Really?!)

Easily one of the bigger stories to come out of Canada's experience in 2010 was the goaltending. Brodeur who was believed to be the saviour between the pipes never truly came to fruition. Spotty showings against the Swiss and US saw his fairy tale ending of being the goalie out there on the final whistle came to a halting end. So forgive me for not considering him for 2014, he'll be at home with his numerous records, stanley cup rings, two gold medals and awaiting a phone call from the Hockey Hall of Fame.

With that being said, it will leave goaltending to the likes of Roberto Luongo and Marc-Andre Fleury. It's hard to say that it will be a drop in talent considering Bobbie Lou won out the final 4 games to win the gold for Canada. Between now and 2014 though the likelihood of Fleury becoming a more successful goaltender is a possibility. With Evgeni Malkin (Gino), Sidney Crosby (Sid), and Jordan Staal (no nickname for some reason, or the rest of the brothers for that matter. On top of that you have to refer to their whole name and not just the last name as you can with a lot of other NHLers, anyways)locked up long term. The odds of the pens returning to the finals year after year, seems inevitable. Will this success be enough to put Fleury over the top and maybe considered starter for 2014? Highly doubtful as Hockey Canada has shown great loyalty to the goalie position when it comes to choosing a starter. For Argument's sake though, shouldn't we set up some type of head to head/point-spread stat comparison competition for Fleury to possibly take that starting spot?

I'd say Fleury would have to win at least 2 more Cups, and 2 Vezinas. I must admit that is setting the bar pretty high for the young man from Sorel, Quebec but it has to be done. Considering that Luongo, situated on the west coast won't exactly be sitting on his laurels for winning one gold medal. He was brought to Vancouver for a team who has never had good goaltending. So definitely look for him to steal a cup away from Fleury (Canucks-Penguins finals anyone?)

Defence
Scott Niedermayer
Chris Pronger
Dan Boyle
Shea Weber
Duncan Keith
Brent Seabrook
Drew Doughty

By far the easiest selections, out of the 3 groups. This D corps featured a perfect combination of youth and experience. Drew Doughty shined at Canada Hockey Place at the tender age of 20. He easily won me over as Canada's best D-Man by pulling off the same spin-o-rama move coming off the left wing 3 games in a row against the Swiss, the U.S., and the Germans. I felt maybe he kept it on the backburner after team Canada was up so many goals against the Russians in the quarterfinals. Word of caution though to any first round NHL playoff opponent, expect him to use it.

I'd love to believe Scott Niedermayer could play when he is 40, but for one I can't imagine how much more grey his beard could become. Secondly, the international ice will be a factor. I will say this though, out of three of them (Pronger, Niedermayer, and Boyle) I'd choose him if I had to take one older player on the back end. Pronger on the other hand somehow got slower and slower as the games progressed. Now add 4 years and a larger ice surface. It might sound funny if your an Oilers fan but when your team Canada hopes are on the line maybe not so funny. Boyle who has had impressive season with the Sharks at this point also had a good run at the Olympics but his style of play 4 years from now could be easily matched if not overtaken by the substitution with Mike Green (Seriously though this couldn't have been much of a surprise. In fact, I dare you to look at the leading defencemen point totals and tell me you would be surprised on picking Green.)

Forwards
Patrice Bergeron
Joe Thornton
Patrick Marleau
Brenden Morrow
Dany Heatley
Sidney Crosby
Rick Nash
Mike Richards
Ryan Getzlaf
Corey Perry
Eric Staal
Jonathan Toews
Jarome Iginla

If the Defence was the easiest selections, this by far was the most difficult. I sat in my 3 hour night class this week looking at the forwards who could carry the flame to Sochi in 4 years and it may have been one of the most difficult decisions as an armchair GM ever. 2nd most difficult, was the decision to not trade LBJ for Steve Nash and David Lee in fantasy basketball. Thinking about it really bothers me. My current situation in fantasy basketball is last place and I have LBJ! LeBron James! The heir apparent! The dude I was to trade with is in 1st place. Who by the way is a rookie in our fantasy basketball league. I swear I'm not bitter......Right the forwards, I've truly been stalling on these picks. Even when this will be posted I will probably regret the decision so if you notice a change in the picks on a later date. You're not crazy. Well you might be, because it meant you've visited this site twice and this post in particular. Which I must thank you and I truly do mean you cause I doubt anybody else reads this. Okay, seriously back to the forwards....

I'll admit it wasn't all that hard to take a few players off the team. The Patrice Bergeron experiment can only be considered the worst trial run since 3D TVs. Mark my words 3D TVs will fail. No way a whole family is going to watch movies and regular TV with those damn glasses on. What happens if I lose a pair in the couch? Am I to go to Future Shop, and buy a Monster brand pair of 3D glasses that the salesman will hype me up to buy for $50? I will not! Simply because cereal companies will be releasing those awesome cut out 3D glasses like they did back in the 90s. Alright seriously the Patrice Bergeron selection must have been the executive's belief that they had overlooked Marc Savard too many times. Realizing he was hurt so they convinced themselves to believe that Patrice Bergeron was somehow his reincarnation. Thus didn't need an invite to orientation as he was still recovering from his post-concussion syndrome. Not to mention that his offensive output during the season was not due to his regular second line duties, but his promotion to the first line. Guaranteed Savard gritted his teeth every time he saw Bergeron on the bench. I only say bench cause the probability of seeing him on the ice was much lower.

Now the tough part, it came down to four guys for me. The sharks line consisting of: Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla.

I'll start with the sharks' line as a whole. They performed admirably during the games and regular season. They've haunted me ever since I decided to draft Datsyuk after Thornton was picked thinking he'd be the only successful player on that line. Little did I know the chemistry they possessed. I had the pleasure of going to one of their games as they came to Edmonton on Nov. 27 as a gift from my girlfriend. I went in thinking I was going to be able to boo Heatley and see his line fail terribly. Instead I was treated to a Patrick Marleau hat trick and Pavelski SO winner. The only real positive came from seeing the Oilers Movember moustaches upclose and personal. (Wow)

That was then, 4 years from now Marleau will be shipped off somewhere else as he'll realize that winning in San Jose isn't possible and will be lured by a real contender, as his contract is up before both Thornton and Heatley's. He and the rest of the NHL loving public will realize that his stat totals, at least for this year and the next 2 will be a slight inflation of what they truly are. Ask Devin Setoguchi and Jonathan Cheechoo. It's truly a reflection of Thornton's play which at times is overlooked especially in the bigger light that is cast on his inability to show up for the big games. He's like the NHL version of Steve Nash. That being said, Marleau will be the first victim of my tough selection to remove from 2014 but don't worry Marleau always has that disappointed look on his face.

A Brave Soul.

As for the NHL version of Steve Nash. The international ice will play a factor for some of the older players hoping to play in Sochi, as alluded to my friend Kevin Der. 4 more years of Thornton in the NHL can only be seen as successful, hopefully in post-season play and a small decline in points. The large international ice in the Olympics will hamper him though. In addition, the depth of talent -- centre wise will allow for a transition to the youth.

The decision to keep Heatley was tough considering I let go of his current comrades. His talent on the wing can not be overlooked and to find a comparable young forward with his size and ability is difficult to find. He is also the youngest on the Sharks' line and will only be 33 when it comes to Sochi.

(Hey Aaron, I noticed you kept Iginla there at the bottom. Trying to sneak him on the team?) In a way yes, but this two time gold medal Olympian can't really sneak around. He is the only black guy to play for team Canada at the Olympic level. He also had 3 points in the 2002 Gold Medal game against the U.S. and fed the puck to Crosby on the GWG that Crosby himself has said, "I didn't really see it to be honest." Okay, the man from St. Albert will be 36 by the time Sochi rolls around but I do strongly suspect Iginla will be up to the task when 2014 arrives.

You forgot Brenden Morrow, you might be asking. Well, the dude married one of his former teammate's (Guy Carbonneau) daughter, one gold medal will do...... seriously.

SOTD - Telephone(feat. Beyonce) - Lady Gaga

Quick Thoughts on CAN - RUS last night

I have to admit I didn't suffer from many nerves last night at the beginning of the game as some people who I watched the game with. I'd like to thank the 09-10 version of the Edmonton Oilers for instilling a sense of "I know we might not win the game, but at least make it interesting" mentality going into games. It might be hard to imagine that one could have that mentality with the likes of Iginla, Crosby, Staal, Nash, etc... wearing the jersey I'm rooting for. It was however Team Canada's previous performances which left much to be desired. Not to mention watching the highlights of  Russia's Sunday matchup where they won the game on the heels shoulder of Ovechkin's hit on Jagr. 

After seeing that goal by Malkin and their subsequent win against the Czechs, then comparing the Canadian performance against the US. It led me to one conclusion. The Russians got their swagger. It took a while for me to realize this fact, simply because I hadn't seen swagger at all in a while. The Oilers definitely don't have it this year, and neither did Team Canada against USA or Switzerland (Sorry, Norway I love Tore Vikingstad, Patrick Thoresen, and your norweigan curling pants. Problem is your hockey team just isn't Swagger Test approved yet).

Last night though, they passed all the requirements of the swagger test.

1) First Goal  - It's obviously a bonus if you get the 1st goal (score would be 1-0). It sets the bar for your opponent and if your at home it just increases that crowd noise 1 or 2 notches higher than it was at the first puck drop. The quicker the better as if you do it as the away team, chances are you'll drown out that first puck drop crowd noise before everyone has even gotten in their seats. The Americans were aware of this and were quick to put anything on net early in the game in the chance of snapping up that first goal. 

In the Russian game, the Canadians pulled off the first goal in convincing fashion on the rush with a defenceman (Dan Boyle) leading the way. Dishing it off to Getzlaf coming down the middle into a very wide open net. The crowd goes wild, and that line goes back to give high fives to the rest of the bench with the look into each other's eyes with that, "Do you smell that?" appearance on their face.

2) Quick Goals - It proves the offence that lightning CAN strike twice, and that yes we are the best hockey nation in the world, and answering the question of why shouldn't we be putting up goals by the minute (Ok, sorry consider me non-apologetic that I believe it's Canada's god inherent right to win gold at home -- I'm just Canadian after all) 

On the other hand, it rattles the opposition goaltender and coaching staff that maybe everything isn't right in between the pipes. The opposition coach starts eyeing up the backup goaltender while making sure the goaltender in net isn't looking back to notice. It's kind of like if you are on a first date and you notice it's starting to go south after awhile. You start texting other options but doing it discreetly so that the girl your on the date with, doesn't get suspicious and starts to get mad. At that point it just gets ugly. Trust me.

Sure enough Russian Head Coach Vyacheslav Bykov looked to Bryzgalov, after Canada's 2nd round of quick goals and decided to hedge his bets and take out Nabokov. Problem is this never works out. Canada having already gone through it's SECOND round of quick goals were already lightyears ahead of the whole Russian team in terms of heart, swagger or whatever you want to call it.

3) That Key Save

This moment can happen at any point during a game. Early on, really late, but when everybody sees that one save. They understand that their team's fortunes were on the up and up due to the moves of the goaltender which can be best described as "ninja-like".

Nabokov had a chance against Nash on his breakaway but decided to lay down on the ice instead.


It would seem Canada's swagger is on full blast and don't plan on turning it down anytime soon...

SOTD - Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend

P.S. I was asked to comment on who I think has been the best player for Team Canada thus far, without a doubt Drew Doughty. Based simply on his ability to pull off the exact same spin-o-rama coming off the left wing 3 STRAIGHT games in a row. Slovakia D has to know it's coming today.

I'm Sorry

I'm so sorry blog. We've spent close to 5 years apart. And I want you to know that you've been on my mind for years. I've been meaning to pay some attention to you but alas the pressures of life and what not have not let us be together. Now "Don't call it a comeback", but definitely understand there will be a re-commitment to this once illustrious active blog.

Tomorrow, mission statement. And later this week, something really special.

SOTD - LL Cool J - "Momma Said Knock You Out"