Dear Ron MacLean:
More Don Cherry!
Jake Goldsbie
Recent Posts
HNIC Open Thread: April 6th
Posted by Jake Goldsbie under Game Thread on Apr 06, 2013
Trade Deadline Drinking Game: A periodically updated running diary
Posted by Jake Goldsbie under 2013 Trade Deadline on Apr 03, 2013
Welp, we’re under way. Check back here for updates as they happen – if you don’t know what I’m talking about…read this
* I can’t adequately describe how much joy it brings me when each person to arrive in the office this morning walks in and, without fail, asks if Zubes & Kyle are still alive.
Dreger on his phone. First drink down.
— Archi Zuber (@Archizuber) April 3, 2013
* There are so many people in TSN’s studio. Why do they need three desks? And poor Jennifer Hedger, making her sit all by her lonesome. Give her some company on that desk, guys. Rude.
* A lot of protesting coming from the boardroom about the ‘using the phone’ rule. Direct quote from Kyle: “We don’t know he’s looking at his phone! He could be looking at his penis for all we know!”
* An entire segment about Brian Burke. Oh, I am so sorry, boys. (Not really). Read the rest of this entry »
Old man Steve Sullivan fulfills destiny, joins New Jersey Devils
Posted by Jake Goldsbie under 2013 Trade Deadline on Apr 03, 2013
The New Jersey Devils have acquired Steve Sullivan from the Phoenix Coyotes for a 7th round pick, speaking to their determination to have nothing but old (yet still pretty good) players on their hockey team. Sullivan joined the Coyotes this past off-season in a move that I quite liked at the time, mostly because it allowed me to wax nostalgic over Sullivan’s career, and has been a solid, if unspectacular, player for the Coyotes this year.
Sullivan had a decent season last year with the Penguins, putting up 48 points in 79 games though that could also have been a facet of playing on the Penguins. His last full season, in 2009-10 with Nashville, Sullivan scored 51 points in 82 games. This season, Sullivan has 12 points in 33 games with a -8 rating but has put up an impressive 7.91 Corsi On as well as a 1.170 Corsi QoC. Not bad. Love you, Stevey.
Toronto gets Ryan O’Byrne from the Avalanche
Posted by Jake Goldsbie under 2013 Trade Deadline on Apr 03, 2013
Yay? Wait, no, not yay.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired Ryan O’Byrne from the Colorado Avalanche for a 4th round draft pick because the Leafs really need more big defencemen who take a lot of penalties. O’Byrne has spent the last 3 seasons with the Avs and, this season, has four points to go along with 54 penalty minutes. He also sports a -15.1 Corsi rating on the Colorado Avalanche who, I’m not sure if you’ve heard, are not a very good hockey team.
Maybe Dave Nonis thought he was getting Ryan O’Reilly? I can’t wait to see how far ahead O’Byrne slots in ahead of Jake Gardiner on the Leafs’ depth chart.
But seriously, this is a nothing trade. O’Byrne is a pending UFA after this season and, while he will probably be used incorrectly here because Carlyle, it’s hard to get in too much of a frenzy over this one (though God knows we’ll try).
Basically this:
At least on the scale of mistakes it’s minor unless Randy Carlyle now demands O’Byrne play on the top pairing with Phaneuf.
— Pension Plan Puppets (@mlse) April 3, 2013
O’Byrne is a classic example of the Leafs’ tragic obsession with a trait (size, “toughness”) instead of actual ability to play hockey.
— 67Sound (@67sound) April 3, 2013
Game of the Night: Vancouver Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks
Posted by Jake Goldsbie under Werner GOTN on Apr 01, 2013
“Game of the Night” is a feature that takes a daily look at the best game on the NHL schedule, and sets it up for you. So y’know, you should probably watch the game below. This is brought to you by the Werner Ladder Company (check out their hockey vid here), because how else do you think the bulbs in the red goal light get changed?
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Backhand Shelf Podcast: Crosby’s grotesquely broken jaw, Bobrovsky’s Hart (seriously), trade rumors galore, and more
Posted by Jake Goldsbie under Backhand Shelf Podcast on Apr 01, 2013
Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.
Hey, it’s Three Stars Monday. And on Easter. Just as Jesus intended.
Today, our version of an April Fools’ joke is the fact that Bourne is out spending time with his family or something so you’re all stuck with just John Noon and myself. As well as some key contributions for producer extraordinaire Ryan Eligh.
UPDATE: We falsely said that Taylor Hall’s hat trick was an NHL record. It’s not, just an Oilers record. He still beat Gretzky, though. Which is just as good.
We discussed:
* Sidney Crosby potentially not being so handsome anymore.
* Breaking your jaw sucks.
* The Blue Jackets’ surprising playoff run and Sergei Bobrovsky’s Hart Trophy candidacy (again, not joking).
* Lubomir Visnovski’s hilarious contract extension.
* Taylor Hall besting Wayne Gretzky (still not joking).
* Not too much Leafs talk (Kadri the best, Orr/McLaren the worst).
* Every goalie will be traded somewhere by Wednesday.
* And much, much more (this was a long one).
You can listen to it here:
Download it here, and subscribe on iTunes here. Facebook!
Editor
Contributors
Jo Innes, Ryan Lambert, Daniel Wagner, Cam Charron, Ellen Etchingham, Jake Goldsbie, Darren Kritzer
Weirdness in the time of YouTube
Posted by Jake Goldsbie under Commentary on Apr 09, 2013
Update: Just wanted to make something clear. It was brought to my attention in the comments, and I just saw for myself, that the wonderful Down Goes Brown recently broke down the same clip on Grantland. This was entirely unintentional as I totally missed his article and had no idea that it existed. Read his much funnier, more informed, and all-around better breakdown here.
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I’ve been thinking a lot about weird stuff on the Internet and how social media and things like YouTube make weirdness so much more relevant, viable, and/or drilled into our collective consciousness. For example, I will always remember April 8th, 2013 not as the day when we moved into our new office (though we did and it is incredible) but as the day that we first heard the genius that is Accidental Racist. If you haven’t heard the song yet, stop reading this, go to YouTube, and change that. There is a hole in your life you did not even know existed that this song will fill. It is the best. I have read the lyrics around 28 times and I could go on for like 20,000 words on LL’s verse alone but I’ll spare you the inner workings of my brain.
I bring this up because in the age of YouTube and Twitter, infamy can be instantaneous. Look at the mere existence and celebrity of the Denver Nuggets’ JaVale McGee. Yeah, he had a lot of amazingly stupid plays last season (and I will love him forever for it) but the cult of JaVale lives on because of his clips being on YouTube and his utterly bizarre Twitter account. YouTube allows crazy-ass plays to live on forever in our memories and allows us to discover plays long since forgotten (or at least ones that haven’t shown up on a Sportscentre Top10 for a couple of years).
Really, all this is just an excuse for me to talk about this play that I had totally forgotten existed that I found on YouTube and now I can’t stop watching because it’s just as densely packed with weird greatness as Accidental Racist (well, maybe not quite as much). Because we’re talking about weird, old stuff we’re of course talking about the great Patrick Roy. If you know where I’m going with this, you should be excited. Here is the play in question: Read the rest of this entry »