zapcity29

I went to the Ducks/Wings game at the Pond - Yes, I will forever call it the Pond - and was amazed by the number of Wings fans and their level of enthusiasm. As the game was winding down, their chant of "Oz-zie, Oz-zie" drowned out the hometown Duckies doing their own yelling.

Couple of notes...

1) I'm not a Wings or Ducks fan so I have no bias in my observation. 2) This cannot be written off as a SoCal phenomena where there are no "real hockey fans". Whenever and wherever I've seen the Wings on the road (in 8 buildings outside of the Joe), there fans are out in droves.

So, what do you all think? Which team has the broadest reach of true-blue fans?

...game winner.

Has the Thomas bubble burst? Can the B's dig out of this one?

After playing a Crosby sound-bite where Sid intimated disdain for Ovechkin's goal celebrations, Don Cherry went after Ovechkin for acting like a soccer player and then compared his celebration "act" to Sean Avery-like behavior.

So, here's the two-part question:

1) Is Crosby a hypocrite for making his remarks regarding Ovechkin just ONE DAY AFTER he himself jumped to the glass versus the Flyers in celebration of a goal, a la Ovechkin?

2) Do you agree with Cherry that goal celebration should be contained to a raised stick and that anything beyond that is inappropriate or are these displays of emotion/personality good for fans and good for the game?

Mine was seeing Getzlaf chompin' on a smoked meat sandwich between periods.

He lost his hardest shot record to Chara yesterday, after 16 years. What do you make of that development and would you have any conciliatory words for Al?

I'd say his record held out longer than his knees and that he still has the record for best ever hairdo - or don't - at the time of a record setting.

Thoughts?

Happy Thanksgiving to all - even though this is about 6 weeks late for our hockey brethren to the North.

I had to switch from AT&T to Verizon for their North American plan and bough the LG Dare phone. It was pitched as an "iClone" - or better - but I'm likewarm on it.

I want to buy an unlocked iPhone, but don't know if Verizon's system will support it.

Sorry if this question's been asked a lot, but I couldn't find a definitive answer anywhere. Thanks for your help...

SI did a hockey player/celebrity look alike photo spread and came up with these. Some not bad but, this one cracked me up.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_...

What's with Bob Gainey wearing full gear for his retirement ceremony? I could almost understand a jersey but, a full get-up? Really?

Also, in the storied history of this franchise, is Gainey truly the next deserving guy to have his number raised to the rafters? Not saying he's not, just wondering...

One day after dumping the Bauer hockey manufacturing brand for $200M USD (less than half of its purchase price in 1995), Nike outbid adidas for the supply rights to the French Soccer Federation to the tune of a whopping $470M USD.

Does this help provide a little perspective as to Hockey's place in the world of sports in terms of participation and following?

Been away with work, a home sale and a subsequent move but wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy belated New Year.

The turn of the calendar led me to some reflection on preseason assumptions I had made and how completely wrong I was about some. So, in the spirit of sharing, any preseason notions of yours go over like a lead balloon?

For my part, underestimating the strength of the Devils (again) was a misstep and a half, but predicting a big-time, breakout year for Drew Stafford was the rarest of gems. LOL

How many times is Ed Olczyk going to use his employers' air time to remind us of his coaching stint in Pensburgh?

Since Erica noted this habit some time ago, I've had the odd distinction of hearing Edzo drop his resume on Versus, HD Net and Fox Sports. Quite the trifecta, no?

One would think a 17 year NHLer would be free of such self esteem issues. By the way, did I mention I invented one piece sticks? LOL

Roenick's a tally from 500 and Modano's a sneeze away from Housley. At the start of the season, most of the smart money would have been on Modano to reach his milestone first. Now?

Would any of you have forseen this change of fortune for these two guys a short month ago?

<<<< as you can see, I'm doing my little part in helping Modo find his mojo. lol

By the way, Yahoo wanted to put this question in pregnancy and parenting. Must be some sort of commentary on Modano's skating these days, I suppose

Modano was awarded an assist on a play where he never touched the puck from face-off through to the score. To add more eggs to the omelette, the DALLAS arena announcer claimed the assist gave Modano the American-born point record.

The guy's 2 points away from passing Housley, never touched the puck and suddenly it's "ta-da, woo-hoo, go Modo go"?

The hometeam Fox guys were stammering and Modano looked embarrassed on the bench, but the assist was rightfully taken away after the game. This obviously won't take the lustre off of the achievement once Modano gets there but, man, what a circus!

What's my point? This is the type of yo-yo nonsense that makes the NHL come across like a gong show. Am I over reacting?

In the age of composite technology in hockey, Spezza and Stastny use old-school Sher Wood twigs. Can anyone name some of the other 20 wood stick users in the NHL?

Is he asking for too much cake or is he being too selective about where he's willing to play?