Submit your Beard-A-Thon links to heelsandhockey@gmail.com for them to be posted on the site! Can be from any fan base! Good luck everyone!
Nick (@Nick422 on Twitter)- Pens
Roland (@Spaceman518 on Twitter)- Pens
John (@jmcgough22 on Twitter) – Pens
Ryan (@dirtyjerz720 on Twitter)- Flyers
Yehuda (@PenaltyBoxMan on Twitter) – Pens
Shea Weber has one of the best beards in all of hockey.
If for some reason you are doing a Patrick Kane Playoff Mullet...okay I want pics of that!
By Stevie
There has been quite a buzz this week regarding the Canadian sports program/blog While the Men Watch. Many are saying that this site is sexist. It is ran by two women whom are married to “sports addict” men. So they offer up sports commentary and “helpful” advice for women in relationships with sports loving men who may not share that same interest.
I didn’t think the site could be that bad. Yeah, I was wrong.
Once again, more poor information is being solicited to unsuspecting females on how to please and impress their men by pretending they care at all about sports when they don’t. There is nothing wrong with not liking sports. I personally love sports- It’d be really odd if I didn’t considering I write this blog- however, not all women do. Hell! Not all men do! There is no shame in this and a person should not force the love of sport simply to impress someone else.
These women quite honestly come off as two bitter hags who are jealous that their men would dare exert effort into caring about sports rather than pay them constant attention around the clock.
While select posts are entertaining for women whom don’t check their vaginas at the door when they watch sports (re: NHL’s Best and Worst Dressed…which is missing Claude Giroux as worst dressed so this really makes me question their qualifications on this subject), for the most part, it is a road map to annoying the crap out of your significant other.
My God…his Plaid Suit of Death
I’ve written some posts on fan-girling being natural (because guys do it too!), but some of these posts make women seem like brainless Stepfords. They have come up with ways to improve baseball: Put first names on the back of jerseys, retractable roof at every stadium so you don’t get wet during rainy games, and cleaning the dugouts in the 6th inning.
Please, stop. Just…just stop. STOP. Step away from the computer. First names on jerseys? Cleaning dugouts? You want hors d’oeuvres instead of sunflower seeds? Christ on a cracker, please just don’t date men who like sports. Get yourself a nice book worm and step away from Sports Illustrated.
They are also kind enough to offer up sex games to play with men during hockey season. Just leave the man alone to watch the game! They also offer up tips on what you can yell during a hockey game to appear like you understand what is going on! “Play the boards! Play the boards!”
A friendly suggestion: Why don’t you just ask your boyfriend/husband what is going on instead of making a fool of yourself? Or better yet, why not create a site that actually teaches women about sports who have a genuine interest in learning about sports, rather than giving them poor relationship advice and pointing them in the direction of mindless, giggling-fembots.
The only thing I learned from this site is that lying makes men happy… Or at least these women seem to think so. The other thing that makes men happy is trying to control them by using sex as a weapon to gain their attention.
Sorry, ladies. Get a vibrator and let the men (and the rest of us women) enjoy sports as they are… without removing sunflower seeds from the dugouts. This site isn’t promoting sports for women or any sort of productive talk. It has been described as “Sex in the City meets ESPN.” I’d better categorize it as “asinine suggestions for women who don’t take themselves seriously.”
You are doing women no favors with this site. It is an embarrassment. Women who actually do love sports will gain nothing from this site but a look into a world that most of us wish NOT to be associated with.
And please…never EVER refer to the playoffs as the “Stanley Cup Capades” ever again. Kenny Wu isn’t going to play.
By Stevie
Brooks Orpik is yet another player to openly endorse the work of the You Can Play Project. This group is encouraging the sports community to foster an environment where gay and lesbian athletes can be open about their sexuality with their teams and fans. It doesn’t matter what your sexual orientation is. What matters if if you can play.
This week, Orpik’s video was posted to You Can Play’s Youtube site:
This makes me even more proud to be an Orpik fan.
Other notable players to speak up on behalf of You Can Play include Shea Weber, Steven Stamkos, and Zdeno Chara.
Sports and teams aren’t about your personal relationships outside of the team. They are about how well you play and how you function with your team. Most teams consider one another their second family (and for some, their first and/or only family).
It really does come down to respect. Respect the game. Respect your team. Respect your fans. No matter who or what they are, the one thing we all share in common is the love of sport.
Everyone deserves to be comfortable and open about who they are. If you would stop watching a sport or cheering for a team or a player because they came out, are you really a fan? Make hockey, baseball, football, basketball, all sports open up to letting their athletes be who they are without fear of judgement.
What’s the worst that could happen?
By Stevie
This year marks 20 years since the Pirates have had a winning season. Twenty years since former Pirate Sid Bream on that fateful day in one fell swoop killed the hearts and souls of Pirate fans everywhere. October 14, 1992 is a day that will live in infamy and horror for Buccos fans world wide.
Bream was called safe at the plate in an all time come back that made the Braves the National League Champions and sent them to the World Series and sent the Buccos home for the season.
The Braves have decided to commemorate that day with a bobblehead.
Words cannot describe how badly this pains the people of Pittsburgh.
Ouch. Poor Mike “Spanky” LaValliere has been condemned to spend the rest of his life in Bobblehead Hell. What a sentence for a guy.
These bobbleheads must be destroyed. I can only hope that if at least one of them is smashed to dust that the Curse of Sid Bream will be lifted from our team and our city. The Red Sox finally shook the Curse of the Bambino in 2004. When will the Pirates finally be freed from the chains of Sid Bream’s Slide?
I hope to God it doesn’t take 86 years.
Kill. All. The. Bobbles.
By Stevie
On Tuesday, the Capitals Head Coach Dale Hunter announced that he would resign his position to return to Ottawa, where he will resume working with the OHL team, the London Knights (team of Pens prospect and second round 2011 draft pick, Scott Harrington).
Hunter stated that he wished to return to Ontario to be close to his family and to be a part of the Knights, a team which he owns. He has no intention of working for the NHL again but feels he did well with the Caps.
The Capitals had a sketchy season, but in the end, Hunter did a lot of good for the team in the short time he was there. The biggest thing he did was get some control around Ovechkin. Former HC Bruce Boudreau had benched Ovechkin earlier in the season during an OT, which did not go over well with Ovi. Hunter began to more closely regulate Ovi’s ice time, which forced him to make smarter decisions with his time on the ice and resulted in greater production.
Controlling Ovechkin was a thorn in the backside of Boudreau, who now coaches the Anaheim Ducks. With Hunter bringing in some fresh perspective to the team, he may have the team teed up to perform more as a team next season, rather than the chaos that fans have been accustomed to watching.
Braden Holtby was a large part of the Caps success in the playoffs, but the organization still has a lot of work to do in the off season with trades and acquiring a new coach. Paul Maurice is available, as is Michel Therrien, Marc Crawford, and Patrick Roy. There is a lot for George McPhee and Ted Leonsis to consider this summer as many talented and successful coaches are waiting in the wings for a phone call.
The most important thing for the Caps will be to have a coach that can continue instilling discipline in Ovechkin’s game and who will get this team to play as a team, rather than a bunch of disjointed parts.
Whatever was going on in the locker room, Hunter did something right with this team this season. Something resonated with them. Brooks Laich had this to say:
“I just had a little short chat with him and shook his hand and said thank you. I asked him if there’s anything I can do to convince him to stay. He taught us as much about leadership and team aspects and respect amongst players and trusting your teammates as he did about hockey. He was like having another veteran in the locker room. He changed the culture around here a little bit, which the rest of us really enjoyed. He’s leaving the team in a better state than he found it.”
As for the fans, we will miss your solitary suit, Mr. Hunter.
Good luck to you.
By Stevie and Yogin Shroff
Thanks to Internet hysteria, there have been two huge controversial topics on the lips (re: fingertips) of both die-hard and casual hockey fans. The first is the re-emergence of the adage that Russian hockey players are lazy. The other is that European hockey players care more about the World Championship than the Stanley Cup. In a way, these topics are completely related.
With so many players heading to play for their respective countries in the WC as they exit the playoffs (or earlier, going immediately following the end of the NHL regular season), there is a lot to consider as far as the pros and cons of NHL players making this choice.
Evgeni Malkin is no stranger to being rewarded for hard work in the NHL!2009 winner of the Art Ross and Conn Smythe (and Stanley Cup)
Of course, the biggest drawback is the possibility of sustaining an injury that could hinder their production in the NHL come October. This is a nightmare for any GM as free agency comes around in July and they are forced to make considerations around a player who may or may not be well enough to play. If they are ready to play, depending on the injury, what is the guarantee that they are at 100%? The Penguins experienced this with three players this past season.
Sidney Crosby, Evegeni Malkin, and Dustin Jeffrey all carried over injuries from the regular season of last year into the 2011-2012 season. Crosby and Jeffrey did not begin the season and Malkin exited for a few games to continue rehabbing his knee. Dustin Jeffrey also struggled with his knee injury. In the 2010-2011 season, Jordan Staal also missed the start of the season recovering from injury.
On the flip side, the majority of NHL players have six months of off season to occupy themselves. Participating in the WC is a way for them to:
1. Continue working and doing what they love most.
2. Stay conditioned and physically active while still working on their game.
3. Stay competitive and challenge themselves in a do-or-die atmosphere.
4. Add to their resume and possibly their trophy case.
I see no problem with players participating in the WC. If players are afforded the chance to play in the Olympics, why not the WC? The same risks are there. The Olympics in many circles are considered the most prestigious sports championship one could conquer and one of the highest honors a player can receive.
Winning any award is an honor and deserving of celebration. Mark Madden at The X says that the WC is more important to European players than the Stanley Cup. I think this is completely untrue. Biggest argument against: Why would players choose the NHL over playing in their home countries if they didn’t want to taste the glory of Lord Stanley?
Look at players like Malkin, Datsyuk, Zetterberg… and the players remaining in these playoffs like Gaborik and Anisimov (I’m watching the Rangers game right now haha). Do you really think that the WC is on their minds? Doubtful. In the semifinals of the Stanley Cup playoffs, do you think at Artem Anisimov is sitting on the Rangers bench between shifts saying to himself, “Man. I really wish I was at the WC right now.”? Ridiculous at best.
Do you think that Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Semin, and Pavel Datsyuk are happier to be at the WC than still fighting for Lord Stanley? Get real.
This also dovetails us into the notion that Russian players are lazy, which I will now turn over to the guys to talk about since I went hog wild on topic number one.
Yogin:
Prior to game one of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs against Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Evgeni Malkin had this to say: “I read newspapers and sometimes people say if you win one Stanley Cup, you’re lucky,” he said. “They say maybe we get lucky in Game 7 against Detroit, so I want to win again. You win second time, it’s more important.”
Evgeni Malkin’s on ice production during the 82 game regular season was no fluke, nor was it a mystery. It’s become evident that the high-flying Russian superstar has the drive and motivation to be the best in the world.The same Evgeni Malkin, coming off a torn ACL/MCL injury from the previous season, proved again to the hockey world why he is among the elite players in the National Hockey League. Having scored 109 points in 75 games is clear indication of a lazy hockey player, right?
So before we go on creating irrational stereotypes, let’s revisit a few items. In the 2007-2008 campaign, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost superstars Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury high ankle sprains. Just about everybody, including the media and the fans, were ready to give up on the Pittsburgh Penguins (who at the time were one year removed from their first playoff appearance since 2001). The only person who did not give up on the season? Evgeni Malkin. Fairly certain he needed Advil after every game because his back was so sore from carrying the team every night.
Pavel Datsyuk receiving his Selke Trophy in 2010
Evgeni Malkin then followed up that 2007-2008 season with an even better season in 2008-2009, racking up a career high 113 points which concluded with him raising the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophies. Decimated with injuries the past two seasons, fans and media members have seemed to turn on him in a way not many cities would treat their superstar player. He quickly became a scapegoat and was involved in numerous articles suggesting he get traded from Pittsburgh.
But clearly…everything I outlined above makes him a soft, lazy Russian who doesn’t care about winning Cups. Clearly.
Now that I got my rant out of the way…it’s important to understand that Malkin is one of many Russian born players thrown under the bus with this perplexing notion of being “lazy.” You look around the league today and you see guys like Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, Datsyuk, etc…you don’t think these guys give it their all to win the Stanley Cup? Give me a break.
One look at Ovechkin’s passion, tenacity, and maturity throughout the Capitals two playoff rounds, is all you need to know about how much he wants to win. Kovalchuk has been a huge reason why his team (the New Jersey Devils) is in the 3rd round of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. These illogical stereotypes are brought up due to the mere fact that these players are not North American born hockey players. It’s just mind-boggling to make the assumption that Russians don’t care on and off the ice as much as North American players do. Case in point, Evgeni Malkin’s off-ice training last summer.
Alexander Ovechkin taking home a slew of awards in 2008- Art Ross, Maurice Rocket Richard, Hart, and the Lester B. Pearson Awards…Sign of sloth for certain, huh?
Simply put, these “lazy” Russian players all know that at the end of their career, they want their legacy written on the Stanley Cup and they will not stop until it happens.
By Matthew Taylor from the blog Dear GQ @Dear_GQ and @CrazyIrish76
Ladies and Gentleman it’s official The Washington Capitals High Sticking Double Minor with less than 45 seconds to go in Game 5 cost them the series against the NY Rangers. After not allowing a shot on the PP the entire game they somehow allowed 2 PP Goals in under 2 minutes the 1st with under 30 seconds to go in regulation and thus sending the game into OT in which still being on the PP for the 2nd of the double minor allowed yet another goal and giving the Rangers a 3-2 series lead. Washington took care of business in Game 6 at home and then proceeded to lay an egg in Game 7 and now yet again Ovechkin has yet to make it past the Conference Semifinals. The question is can Ovechkin deliver in the clutch he didn’t in Game 7? Will whomever takes over coaching next season turn this team into a winner and will Ovechkin finally get a shot at Lord Stanley’s Cup? We will have to wait and see.
Onto the NY Rangers: they play an awfully risking style of Hockey, relying on defense and Henrik Lundqvist to win 1 goal games. They say they are comfortable winning games 3-2 & 2-1. Can they win the Stanley Cup this way??? So far, they have been taken to the limit in the 1st two rounds against Ottawa and Washington. The New Jersey Devils won 4 straight against Philly after dropping game 1. When game 1 of their series against the Rangers starts they will be the rested team. The Rangers played a 3 OT game in the last series, which basically made the last series 8 games. It should be a badass series Conference Rivals squaring off only miles apart from each other. The series will feature a Clash of the Games greatest goalie of all time Brodeur vs. one of the best in the game today in Lundqvist. Who will prevail to have a shot at Lord Stanley’s Cup??? I am going to go with New Jersey in this one.
By Stevie
The Flyers have gone the way of the Penguins and it came full circle. The Penguins completely melted down against the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs. But in round two, the Flyers resembled the Pens against the Devils.
In game four, Claude Giroux did this:
For this hit (illegal hit, mind you) Giroux served a one game suspension.
Here it is slowed down, where you can see Giroux laying his shoulder into the head of Dainius Zubrus.
Angle #1
Angle #2
Clearly, an illegal hit. And for this fanbase to decry James Neal and Arron Asham needing to be suspended but their player isn’t worthy of suspension for hits to the head is preposterous. (And for the record, MOST Pens fans vehemently SUPPORTED both of those suspensions and some of us felt that they weren’t even enough games!)
I saw someone tweet my favorite argument of all time: “You can’t suspend him! He’s a superstar!”
Wow, I was not aware that superstars were immune to the rules of the game. But, okay.
So, the Flyers shit the bed this week (And for the record, I was cheering for the Flyers to make it to the finals…where I wanted them to lose to the Kings, but I digress). Following the loss, which apparently had nothing to do with the Flyers playing horrible defense or anything play related, fans online exploded.
Take a look…
To say that this is irrational would be the understatement of the century.
Claude Giroux NOT playing is why you lost? Giroux only had 3 points the entire series! He is leading the league still in points for the playoffs only because the Pens melted down. He scored a lot against the Pens, but who didn’t? The only person who didn’t have a goal against the Pens was Peter Laviolette’s mom.
Yes, this playoff season has been awkward.
But Mike Richards and Jeff Carter are sure having a good time!
The Capitals forced a game seven against the Rangers, which will be played on Saturday.
But, as far as I am concerned, I’m all in for the Kings!
By Stevie
A few weeks have gone by since the Pens cleaned out their lockers and resumed normal, daily lives. The dust has settled enough to bring up a few points, which have mostly been covered on the blog before, though while tensions were running high.
This season brought the team together in a way I don’t believe I have seen in quite a few years. The absence of the Captain forced new thinking and strategy in the team. What happened was beautiful. Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Jordan Staal, Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis, and Matt Cooke all had career seasons.
The most amazing thing about Staal’s season was that he had a career season in 62 games played, missing 20 games due to a knee injury. The saddest part of the season is that Staal is being snubbed for the Selke. His defensive abilities shined this season and playing less games than Bergeron, Backes, and Datsyuk, who knows what he could have accomplished with the additional 20 games under his belt.
Unfortunately, if Staal does ever get the coveted Selke Trophy, it may not be with the Pens. The Pens are tight on the cap and with James Neal’s new contract they’re several million in the hole. Zbynek Michalek and Paul Martin’s contracts are harder to get out of than Alcatraz. Someone is going to have to go…Teams are interested in Staal, who’s contract is up for renewal for the 2013-2014 season. He is currently at $4 million a season.
Someone has to go and of our three star centers, Staal is the most likely. (This topic will be covered in a joint blog between myself and Meesh from Crosby…For the Win! and @schneid3306.)
The biggest thing that needs to be addressed is Dan Bylsma’s approach to coaching. Not entirely, but Bylsma tends to be stubborn and usually at the cost of the team by being persistent at sticking with failed methods. He seems to make unnecessary changes and neglects to make adjustments necessary to defeat other teams.
We saw proof of this in the playoffs against the Flyers. You cannot use the same strategy against every team and Bylsma did not make the proper moves to work against Philly’s special teams.
It goes without saying that the Pens need assistance defensively. Kris Letang is another player who could potentially be on the trade block. Letang’s contract is locked down through 2013-2014 season, but he will want to renegotiate prior to. So much of our cap being locked up is basically holding guys hostage. They are stuck taking hometown discounts, or they walk. But either way, someone is going to have to leave.
The Pens have great defense coming up in Simon Despres, Joe Morrow and Scott Harrington, but Depres is the only of the three that we know for sure is NHL ready. Morrow likely will get a tryout in the fall depending on how to performs at camp and in the preseason. I hope that Morrow is ready. If he isn’t, I think that he and Harrington making their way to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and getting some NHL ice time is very realistic possibility.
The other thing that the Pens, and Bylsma, need to work on, is properly integrating Sidney Crosby back into the team. While it seemed as though in his first few games back last season that the Pens had it figured out, Bylsma switched things around and things fell apart. Hockey isn’t about having the best players, it is about having the right combination of them. (Look at what the 8th seeded Kings have accomplished in the playoffs so far.)
The team cannot be about Sidney Crosby’s desired specifications. It has to be about what is best for the team: who is best at a particular spot on the power play, who is best on line together, who is best on PK together, who should be on the blue line together. This is a demon the Pens are battling but should not be.
What to do with Dustin Jeffrey and Eric Tangradi is another issue. DJ spent a good portion of this season recovering from injury, but the time he did spend on the ice had many scratching their heads as to why he was a healthy scratch night after night in favor of the struggling to catch up to NHL speed Tangradi. Tangradi showed some hope in the playoffs that he could be an NHLer yet, but many are wondering if Jeffrey peed on the carpet in the locker room because his extended absence is a great mystery to fans of his, like myself. (Free Dustin Jeffrey!)
This season showed a tremendous amount of success for this team. They are truly a force and every team out there should be afraid of them. But something went seriously awry when Crosby returned and I believe a lot of it was missteps in coaching. Either the coaching staff needs shaken up, or their mentality needs to change. I have great respect for Byslma, but he needs to make some adjustments and learn to be more flexible, or the Pens will look at a fourth early exit to the playoffs next season. At that point, it will be come a matter of who the coach should be and not what the coach should do. This post-season should serve as Bylsma’s warning shot from Penguin administration.
With the new collective bargaining agreement due this summer and free agency, it should be a busy summer for hockey and a real nail biter for Pens fans. Hopefully they can do what is necessary to bring this team back together.
