Robert G. Anstey's Blog
4:55 pm Mar 09th 2010 UTC
Boring Hockey
Until the NHL adjusts the game to the level where they can produce quality hockey like we had in the Olympics and with big perks and reasons to win, the game will continue to deteriorate. The only way to do that of course is to make the league smaller with less teams, less players and less games. But because of the financial aspect of that, it won’t happen of course and so it will continue to be busines as usual in the NHL and we’ll continue to have ho-hum games all season long until the playoffs and even then things won’t get really interesting until the last couple of rounds. In short, the NHL season is boring for most people except diehard hockey fans simply because there’s nothing on the line. The players are bored and so are the fans. It’s impossible to produce high quality hockey in a league with that many teams, that many mediocre players and that many games.
9:29 pm Mar 07th 2010 UTC
Giants
In the 60’s giants walked the earth. We didn’t really know it then but they carried a great weight and drew a lot of water. The ripples are still there today and their reflection makes the world of today look grim and modest and somewhat out of time and lacking something strong and powerful.
7:35 pm Mar 01st 2010 UTC
Sidney Crosby - Legend?
Don’t get me wrong. I want to like Sidney Crosby. (Why can’t we just call him Sid? Or just Crosby?) In fact, I have nothing against him. I think he’s a good hockey player. Certainly above average. But maybe it’s all the fuss around him; all the media to-do and the hoopla surrounding him that puts me off. And maybe it’s the words and phrases used to describe him; “legend,” “superstar,” “the best player in the world,” etc. Those words really get to me because they’re tossed around by everyone and yet people fail to realize that to possess either of those things you’ve got to really win them; you’ve got to earn them over time; you’ve got to prove yourself time and time again in impossible situations. And I just don’t think that has happened with Crosby. Not yet anyway.
Personally, I haven’t seen that much greatness in Crosby yet. People always talk about his greatness and they even compare him with the likes of Gretzky and Lemieux but I think that’s really stretching things. I know that Crosby has followed the path of greatness and promise like Lafleur and Orr and Gretzky and Lemieux in that he has been a big (well, bigger than average) goal-scorer and has has won the Stanley Cup and now a gold medal but to put him into their class is pushing it a bit in my books and I think it’s also a bit premature. It’s early in his career yet and after all, he’s only 22 years old. But in all honesty I don’t really see the same greatness in Crosby that I saw in some of those others. I mean, Gretzky and Lemieux were other-worldly. Let’s face it. You couldn’t touch those guys because they simply worked magic night after night. They did impossible things that you never thought you’d ever see in your lifetime. Gretzky scoring 50 goals in 39 games? Gretzky scoring 93 goals in a season? And some of those moves that Lemieux put on goaltenders? Some of them are still searching for their jocks. And who can compare what Bobby Orr did night after night? Who ever heard of a defenceman winning the scoring championship? The guy was magic and he changed the way the game was played. All you could do was shake your head in wonder at some of the things those guys did.
To me, Crosby just isn’t in that class. I don’t see it anyway. Even in these Olympics Crosby was all but invisible. He didn’t stand out at all and was just in the right place at the right time to score the winner in the U.S. game. And it wasn’t exactly a classic goal. It wasn’t even a pretty goal. He simply got the puck on his stick and directed it towards the net. He said himself that he didn’t really aim it or anything; he merely directed it at the net and was lucky that it got through Miller’s legs. How does that compare with the goal that Lemieux scored in the 1987 Canada Cup?
People are funny though. They have even compared this Olympic series and Crosby’s game winner with the classic 1972 Canada-Russia series and Paul Henderson’s goal. Yes, Henderson’s goal was sort of a “garbage goal” too but the series was momentous and Henderson had scored the game-winners in the two previous games as well so it was no fluke. But maybe that’s all a generation ago and most of these fans and media people today don’t remember all those great games and all those great players who played before Crosby. Maybe fans today just need someone to be their hero and Crosby is the closest thing to it. I don’t know but a legend? Give me a break. Rocket Richard was a legend. Wayne Gretzky was legendary. Sidney Crosby? Ask me again in ten years.
8:16 pm Feb 24th 2010 UTC
Olympic Gold
It has to be considered a sad day when our athletes prepare for the Olympics and if they don’t win gold they are considered (or consider themeselves) as losers. One of our sage media writers said today that if Team Canada (men’s hockey) doesn’t win a gold medal this time around that it will be a disaster. Are you kidding me? Haiti’s earthquake was a disaster. Let’s get things straight here. A disaster? This is a game! Let’s not fool ourselves; the Olympics are just a series of sports competitions. They’re just games. Nobody really loses. Have we carried this thing too far? Gee, I wonder...
Here’s an interesting side note to all this gold medal stuff. Apparently the gold medal isn’t really made out of gold at all. It’s really made of silver with gold plating. Think about that for awhile. Maybe all those gold medalists are really just silver medalists underneath it all. Ha ha. (I can just see a gold medalist as an old man telling his wonderful Olympic story to his grandchildren and one of them chips the plating off to reveal nothing but silver. “Did you really win gold, grampa?”) Maybe it shouldn't be called a "gold medal." Maybe it should be called a "gold metal."
5:59 pm Feb 22nd 2010 UTC
Canada Downed By The U.S.
In these 2010 Olympics (men’s hockey) Team Canada beat Norway 8-0, then won 3-2 in a shootout over Switzerland and now lost 5-3 against the U.S. Surprise, surprise. What makes this sweet if you’re a U.S. fan, bitter if you’re a Canadian fan and somewhat ironic if you’re just a casual observer of sport is the way Canada (and not just the Canadian men’s hockey team but Canada in general) was going on and on about these Olympics being all about gold and nothing less; all about “owning the podium,” etc. I think that’s a real setup for a major loss and a major letdown. You shoot yourself in the foot when you talk like that. When you start out in an event like that, you don’t walk in with your head held high and predict to everyone that you’re going to win gold because you’re the best and nothing else will be acceptable. That’s just stupid. To me, it’s pretty hard to respect anyone with that attitude.
In these Olympics Team Canada was supposed to roll over everybody. Well, they did roll over Norway but they struggled majorly against Switzerland and that should have been an early indicator that all is not completely well with this team. The first real test was supposed to be the U.S. team and a lot of hype was attached to the contest. Well, the U.S. team came out strong and prevailed over the proud Canadians and now there is some real concern about the future success of Team Canada.
No, Canada is not done yet. These were only preliminary rounds. They’ll play Germany tomorrow (which they should win) and then face the Russians on Wednesday and once again, that will be a real test - both because the Russians are considered to be pretty strong offensively with Malkin, Ovechkin, etc. and also because those will be elimination rounds. Canada can’t afford any more losses. This is it. (Incidentally, Brodeur looked a little shaky in goal. Will they switch to Luongo against Germany? Might be a good idea. I think Luongo has a little more to reach for - and he’s at home which will raise his pride level a bit and give him an edge.)
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