clutchngrab

I'm just hyper-sensitive to the lack of discourse of any issue in my country anymore. Everything is reduced to sound-bites and jpegs. These are the tool of Ideologues who can't think their way out of a paper bag. It's all very tedious, but my bad...I guess its all in good fun and I'm well beyond 20 something.

Cute, but f*** you for turning this into some US department of defense JPG.

So I'm old school, and here is what it comes down to for me to remain a fan of a team: 1. Play with heart and passion as much as you can muster. 2. Play with sportsmanship and grace in winning and losing. 3. Play as a team. 4. Play with elegance and skill If the Wings, or hockey in general, loses these qualities, then syonara. By this definition, I'm an American hoping for Team USA, but my nationality has nothing to do with it. I pull for the team that exhibits my criteria. This year its USA, last Olympics it was Sweden.

Kane is pretty much our only d-bag, besides Burke of course. Your team is pretty much odd-even on the ****** swabbing.

Obviously Canada should win gold based on talent, but there is something about the USA team's energy + Miller in goal that is compelling. If you believe in being on a roll and hockey luck, then for sure the US has it so far this tourney. Christ, when has Rafalski looked this good ... ever? If Canada does lose, then this would be a good lesson in team dynamics for Holland and Babcock, who, for my money, have stuck with tired horses for far too long.

JJ and Shea Weber are the 2 young stud d-men to build a d-corp off of. Take another hit, before you post trades again, though.

Yeah, well Getzlaf trash-talk smells alot like the lack of class that is team Canada. Thank you Steve for creating Team "Anaheim ****** Bag" + "whiny Canadien spoiled child face of the NHL". Lot's to celebrate Canada, enjoy the class that is your team. Your sport is turning into the American NBA day by day. Enjoy that.

Spot on HH

On a more positive note, I certainly hope Wings get Sharks first round.

Right and the slew-foot by Boyle was defending himself according to the ****** bag commentator.

Excellent post meinen freund. Canada has always struggled with chemistry and not talent. I think that's because team's that excel have a good mix of youth and experience. The enthusiasm of youth is needed at times ( ala Kessler) as well as the vet experience (ala Rafalski). Same thing wins cups, btw.

Nice!

Lidstrom doesn't strike me as the type who would need to hang around the NHL. I could see him coaching in Sweden, but having said that, his kids are all essentially North American's now.

Agreed, though I wonder if he is best suited to be captain during the upcoming transitional period. I think this team is missing a twenty-something potential leader to build off of.

No pavs - too bad...

Pavs?

Did I say Bryzkolov looks shaky?

You do realize the shootout came from international hockey. Forsberg got on a Swedish stamp due to it.

Bryzkolov looks shaky

Sigh. Russians don't drive the net too much.

Slovakia looks good. Either one of these teams will give Canada a serious run based on what I've seen tonight.

Came in a few minutes ago. Who's on Dats line?

Actually, you are correct. I don't want you to feel any more special than the average 19-22 year old liberal arts major at a second rate college that spends his time.... ahh nevermind. I'll remove your name from the sig - most regulars will know who it references anyway.

Bettman came from the NBA where he was second fiddle to Stern where he cut his chops. The NBA went through a crisis of sorts during the post Magic/Bird/Dr. J era. And what was the solution? Market the hell out of the best talent of in the league otherwise known as MJ. Now it helped that MJ was legitimately the best player in the world and spoke english as his first language. Flash forward to 92/93 when Gretzky landed in LA and the hype and excitement that caused and the resultant opening of hockey to markets that were never inclined to the sport up to then. He was the face of the NHL to people that never were exposed to the game. Now we are in 2010 and the league is stagnant, if not on the decline, and as repulsive and obnoxious as it is, pushing Crosby as the face of the NHL is the horse they picked. And it makes sense using the calculus of marketing in America. How else are they gonna sell the game without a face to attach to it? It can't be more than a few, because the American public won't digest numbers more than 2 or 3. It's the same marketing concept around all the craptastic olympic coverage we get from NBC. Sports marketing is a real problem when considered from the perspective of generating solid advertising revenue through the desired demographics. Unfortunately for the NHL Crosby is no Jordan, but though I think Ovie would be a much more dynamic and exciting front-man, that won't wash in Canada, though I think it would in the US. We like the story of the "pick yourself up by the bootstraps" kind of guy that Ovie apparently is. Unlike the story of another whiny spoiled man-child North American athlete.

Go Lithuania!