Canucks & Beyond
Category: nhl-general
Hockey and Perception
by Alanah McGinley on 02/20/08 at 02:18 PM ET
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Yesterday, the Washington Post’s (oops!) Wall Street Journal’s “Numbers Guy”, Carl Bialik, insisted that “Reports of Basketball’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated.” He was responding to the widely quoted Harris Report that found that the popularity of hockey had surpassed that of the NBA and college basketball.
There is some actual reason for worry: Over the life of the poll, the NBA and college basketball really have been slipping in popularity. But the reaction was also overblown. The poll didn’t measure overall popularity. It was also constructed in a way that gave certain advantages to hockey over hoops. And the much-touted difference between hockey and its hardwood competitors was negligible.
Filed in: business of hockey, nhl general | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: media, statistics,
Bright Lights, Small Town
by Alanah McGinley on 02/13/08 at 10:30 AM ET
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When CBC’s Hockey Day in Canada came to the Cowichan Valley [map] last weekend, it was an exciting experience for a community accustomed to being somewhat isolated on this Pacific island.
With a climate more suited to year-round street hockey than frozen ponds, Vancouver Island might be unique environment when it comes to hockey culture in this country.
But I think it’s also fair to say that the game is as important to people here as anywhere else in the nation, and Valley resident Greg Adams—veteran of the Washington Capitals and six other NHL teams over his eleven-year career—gave me his thoughts on why that is.
Filed in: hockey media, nhl general | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: bchl, cbc, cowichan+capitals, cowichan+valley, duncan, hdic, hnic, hockey+day+in+canda, karin+larsen, minor+league+hockey, vancouver+island, worlds+largest+hockey+stick+and+puck,
The Game Must Go On—But at What Price?
by Alanah McGinley on 02/11/08 at 12:16 AM ET
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Watching the Sabres/Panthers matchup on Sunday, the accidental slash of Olli Jokinen’s skate blade into the throat of Richard Zednik was a terrible sight for all who witnessed it, much less to experience the horror first-hand as Zednik did.
Fortunately, all indications are that Zednik is doing fine so far. In a state of what must surely have been shock, he moved towards the bench following some internal autopilot as a trainer came out to put pressure on the wound, slowing the blood coming from his throat. He left the arena and was quickly in surgery, apparently stabilized according to reports.
But one has to wonder at the rationale to let this game continue after such a brutal incident. The show must go on? Perhaps, but who exactly should be deciding that? And was it really the best decision?
Filed in: nhl general | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: buffalo+sabres, florida+panthers, injury, olli+jokinen, richard+zednik,
Finally—Hockey Day in Canada!
by Alanah McGinley on 02/09/08 at 11:49 AM ET
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My favorite day of the year. Normally I’d be liveblogging this event—a pile of munchies and alcoholic side-dishes on hand—but today I’ve got another HDIC project to keep me occupied.
The thing is, I happen to live within spitting-distance of the World’s Largest Hockey Stick & Puck. And when you live next door to such a freakish architectural feature, that inevitably means that CBC’s HDIC crew will show up one day.
And so they have, with the kind invitation to allow me to shadow them for the day, following what goes on behind-the-scenes. Plus I’ll be catching a Caps game with them—also to be shown on CBC intermittently during the Canucks/Avs broadcast tonight. (Prediction: Canucks 3 - Evil Empire 0)
So I’d love it if others contributed to this post today, leaving their own commentary as the day progresses—whether it’s related to the HDIC broadcast, or just to share your own favorite hockey links and favorite personal stories of the game.
Enjoy the day! I’ll try and update later… if wireless is willing to cooperate. 
Filed in: hockey media, nhl general | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Boston Must Be Stopped
by Alanah McGinley on 02/02/08 at 06:23 PM ET
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Quoted in the AP today (via the Miami Herald), Jerry O’Connell has had enough:
“I’m sick of Boston winning so much. It’s like a monopoly,” the actor told The Associated Press on Saturday as he partied with friends at Maxim magazine’s sprawling pre-Super Bowl party.
O’Connell, who stars in ABC’s comedy “Carpoolers,” jokingly called for some serious intervention if Boston’s teams monopolize all sports championships.
“It looks like the Celtics are going to win the season as well,” O’Connell said. “If the Boston Bruins, the NHL team, wins, the federal government has to break them up. They have to take a team away - they have to.”
Geez… If he thinks Boston deserves the attention of the U.S. Federal government, just imagine how he’d feel if the Detroit Red Wings were on his radar…
(And they should be—O’Connell looked a bit like an Anaheim Ducks fan last June…)
Filed in: dumb stuff, nhl general | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: boston+bruins, jerry+o'connell, nba, nfl, superbowl,
Live Hockey Talk
by Alanah McGinley on 01/28/08 at 10:10 PM ET
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One of my favorite hockey bloggers, Mike Chen—and one who’s been running around far more competently than me (though over less years, Mike!)—is talking hockey tonight on Team 1200. Check it out if you get a chance.
Mike’s also a writer for FoxSports. You can listen live here right now (7-9 pm PT).
Filed in: nhl general | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: media, mike+chen,
Autonomy
by Alanah McGinley on 01/28/08 at 02:44 PM ET
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The Instigator Charlie Teljeur’s comic editorial at CBC:
Filed in: dumb stuff, nhl general | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: cbc, charlie+teljeur, richard+peddie, the+instigator, toronto+maple+leafs,
Fashionable Hockey
by Alanah McGinley on 01/25/08 at 04:24 PM ET
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If you’re not going to check out the ASG for the hockey, how about the designer clothes? From Nedra Rhone’s “Shop Talk” in the AJC:
Even if you’re not a total hockey head, NHL all-star weekend isn’t a complete bust.
Alyssa Milano (seen lately on My Name is Earl) is making an appearance in Atlanta this weekend at Rockin’ Skate 2008 to launch her new clothing line for female hockey fans who are into fashion.
Touch, available in early spring at shop.nhl.com, will include outerwear, denim, dresses and more. Clearly a sports lover, Milano also designed a Major League Baseball line.
I have no doubt there’s a market for it—and that baseball line of hers has certainly worked out well— but I’ll be sticking to my Luongo jersey, thanks.
But for the more chic hockey chick, here’s something for the LA Kings fan:
Filed in: nhl general | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: alyssa+milano, fashion, nhl,
The Swedish Canadian
by Alanah McGinley on 01/19/08 at 08:59 PM ET
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CBC’s Satellite Hotstove just wrapped up with a few words on the Mats Sundin fiasco situation that might be of interest to Canucks fans.
Al Strachan made the comment that Sundin may be leaning towards Vancouver, in part because staying in Canada is his preference—he doesn’t want to leave Canada due to the nature of his investments. However he also emphasized that John Ferguson is asking for a lot in return.
Pierre LeBrun’s perspective is that more than anything, Sundin really wants to stay in Toronto.
I guess we’ll see. Sundin has a NTC after all—he can go wherever he wants. And with the Leafs having only 44 points, almost zero hope of making the playoffs at this rate, and their captain a free agent this summer, JFJ and his bosses really don’t have much choice here.
Update 6:10pm PT: Spector also summarizes the Hotstove talk above with his opinion that, as long as the Leafs are in the playoff hunt, Sundin won’t be traded.
No doubt, true, and so it’ll probably all come down to where the Leafs rest in the standings by trade deadline day, late February.
Filed in: nhl general, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: cbc, mats+sundin, satellite+hotstove,
Willie O’Ree Never Stops
by Alanah McGinley on 01/12/08 at 01:20 PM ET
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From NPR,
Fifty years ago this month, black athlete Willie O’Ree took to the ice for the Boston Bruins. It was a decade after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier. O’Ree also skated with a secret that would have barred him from playing professional hockey. He could only see through one eye.
Go here to listen to a short audio interview O’Ree gave NPR. Good stuff.
Filed in: nhl general | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: willie+o'ree,
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About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003 (with a notable gap in time through 2010, kicking it with new baby Lucy while living knee-deep in chaos while reading “parenting for complete idiots” during every spare minute) sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen.
In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah was one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast. She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
So that’s me. Who the hell are you?
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Alanah’s Twitter: [@alanah1]
