realitycek, you *rock*!

I swear to God Roy does #6 and #8. And, far too often, #12.

::snerk::

So I cracked myself up in the shower today...

Picture (said my head to my eyes), if you will: Battaglia, Brind'amour, and Cole. All settled in by 6:45 with their beer and their popcorn. Or their cheesy bread. Whatever. They're a little down 'cause they didn't clinch the last game, but, hell, the Leafs have had to call up NINE guys from the AHL since this started, and they're still feelin' damn good. Look how far they've come, if they can just rattle Cujo, if Irbe stays solid, right, they're gonna go to the Cup! Yeah!

So they bitch a little about how the stupid baseball games always run long and they hope that they get to see face off. Which they do, amazingly, 'cause ESPN finally apparently got its shit together on the whole "hockey is cool!" thing.

And they watch.

And they cheer.

And they jeer.

And about halfway through the second period, they start getting quiet. They rally a little in the intermission, finish off another beer.

Watch the third period in silence.

Watch the OT in slackjawed amazement.

They don't say much after the game.

'Cause you know what just occurred to 'em?

"If we win Tuesday night... we have to face one of THOSE teams..."

"Shiiiiiiiit..."

Sleep well, boys.

::chortle::

Kellie, our woman in the streets in Boulder, has this to report:

They're doing a postgame show at some bar in Denver-- "The obnoxious Wings fan who was here earlier has left to go check in with his parole officer."

::chortle::

She also said St Patrick spoke highly of Adam in the post-game radio interview. He didn't *mention* Ray that she heard, but she missed some of the interview. And certainly it appeared that Patty was looking up into the stands with yearning eyes as he skated off the ice after the game.

Hee!

Type "hockey" into LimeWire's all files search... and you get some pretty cool things. Which I will share as time permits. But the most important, and just in time for the game tomorrow, is an .avi file of the Roy-Osgood fight. For those of you who've heretofore missed the full effect of Insane Bowl Haircut Goaltender, this is a must.

I've put a link to it in the side column. It's about 4.7Mb.

at least he's honest...

Irbe, who didn't even start the first two games of the Montreal series in the previous round, was outstanding -- if not sometimes lucky -- is turning away 31 shots Thursday for his first career playoff shutout.

“I felt a little better than in previous games,” said the 35-year-old Irbe. “I also got a couple of lucky saves -- the puck hitting me. (Sportsnet.ca)

And at least he doesn't flop around like a trout on a riverbank. *koff*

In other news, Cee and I voted Erik Cole as having the biggest cojones in the NHL for laughing as he got up after Gary Roberts body-checked him right down into the ice.

So when Cee's not around to be annoyed by me, poor Kellie nobly throws herself on the altar of the hockey gods.

auk: Announcers are talking about Roy wandering - "It seems like Roy wants to be a defenceman sometimes."
auk: Defenceman hell - I think he wants to be a centre.
kellie: Yeah.
auk: Bourque's there!!!
auk: they just showed him smiling proudly!
auk: No wonder Patty's playing well!
kellie: Yeah!
kellie: They just mentioned that on the radio!
auk: "Only guy who won a cup in one city and had a parade in another."
auk: boy Kellie he's there a LOT...
kellie: Heh.
auk: considering he uh retired so he could spend more time in Boston with his kids...
auk: *koff*
kellie: Yeah. Well-- maybe he took his kids to the game?
auk: *KOFF*
auk: yeah. Yeah, that's it.
kellie: He's there with his wife.
auk: They must have been off buying hotdogs.
auk: So was she.
kellie: Must be.
auk: He'll get his hotdog later.
auk: <--cracking herself up
kellie: ROFLMAO!!!

rebuttal:

Yeah just replace that guy with a chick... that's me.

During a Colorado power play, Roy skated well beyond the circles to play the puck. Maltby took advantage of Roy being so far from his net by forcing the goalie to bite on a fake before getting beat with a backhander.

Roy stayed on his knees in disbelief as the crowd went wild.

"There's nothing else I could have done," Roy said defiantly. "What did you want me to do, give the guy a breakaway?"

No, sweetie. We just wanted you to stay in net!

Notes: Before the Detroit Tigers played Cleveland at Comerica Park, a few miles from Joe Louis Arena, the winner of an octopus-throwing contest got to leave the baseball game to attend the hockey game.

Do those guys in Detroit know how to party or what?

What a game... not only the Dury goal but the Adam WWF body slam in the third - hell, that was worth the price of admission.

Whoo hoo!

A memo to the parents of future hockey players:

Think about what you're doing.

Mr. and Mrs. Battaglia, what were you thinking? "Bates"?

And Mr. and Mrs. Probert, there in the corner, yeah, you. Robert Probert? You did that on purpose, didn't you.

All right. I'm finished.

For the moment.

Go, Avs!

and okay just bear with me here 'cause this one's too good to pass up:



Poor Avs. Nasty refs.

So who are we supposed to be rooting for in the Memorial Cup? How come that's not televised in the States? Huh? Huh?

And another one from Kellie that kind of sums up the playoff season thus far:

from Kellie. For Boo. Hee.

Sent to us by the astute goon-loving Denise, who has her priorities straight. I mean, clearly. There she is surfing salon.com and what does she find? And, more importantly, send?

Ha!

God, how cool was Adam's fight in the 3rd? Helmet off and *all*! Even the erstwhile was cheering loudly. And I was hexing my heart out from Ohio - every time they even said "Ricci" I crossed my eyes, stuck out my tongue, and made a "Sloth!" kind of noise.

I'll give my firstborn to anyone who comes up with screencaps of that *great* fight...

Fuckin' Patty fuckin' wanders, eh, but it's oKAY 'cause he posted his 22nd career playoff shutout last night. The person I felt worst for was Nabokov - he's a hell of a good netminder.

And for those keeping track, yeah, I still can't stand Fuckberg.

But I'll take his goals, thanks.

And, hey, Cee, we all know the Avs play in a hellhole full of rats where the ice is mushy. But there's nothing wrong with losing to the Wings. It's losing to SLOTHS I can't stomach.

Insane Bowl Haircut GoaltendAIR - you ROCK!

right way	wrong way

I love these guys...

THE MUMMY: Canadiens defenceman Sheldon Souray, playing despite a broken bone in his left hand and a separated left shoulder, had much of his upper body wrapped in a cast and a sling after a team skate on Thursday morning.
“The Mummy returns,” Souray joked.
Despite his ailments, the big defenceman has played some of the best hockey of his career in this year's playoffs.
He missed 44 games with a fracture of a small bone at the base of his left hand. The bone has not healed, but he has been able to play while wearing a slip-on cast, which is changed for each game.
He separated his shoulder when checked head-first into the boards from behind by Carolina's Jeff O'Neill in Game 1 last Friday.
Souray left the game, but was back for Game 2 and even threw a check with the injured shoulder. O'Neill received a one-game suspension.
Souray said he was inspired by team captain Saku Koivu to play with pain. Koivu returned on April 9 after a season-long battle with cancer.
He also credits Koivu with helping him to become a better player.
“Being injured over the last two seasons gave me time to think about the way I've been playing and the way I thought about the game,” said Souray. “I was alwayshappy just to be in the NHL.
“Saku's made a big difference to me this year. He was my roommate this year and I had a chance to talk to him a lot.
“I made lifestyle changes but the main thing was attitude -- that this is a chance to make a name for yourself.”
Souray described his lifestyle changes as “taking things more seriously, picking your spots as to when to go out, nutrition -- it's all those things together.”
He also learned from his former defence mates with the New Jersey Devils, Ken Daneyko and Scott Stevens.
“Those guys were absolute animals, but they took care of themselves and their dedication was something else,” said Souray.

"They were scoring goals, that was the difference," Hasek said. "A lot of their shots went in. What can I say?"

How about "I suck!"?

sigh

two five on threes and five consecutive power plays... who needs to play good hockey when you got the refs in your pocket and a whiny coach on the bench?

sigh

Adam looked good.

"Uh, Mr. Hartley? Mr. Hartley? Yeah, Detroit's on the phone... uh, they want their goalie back."

sigh

You have to laugh, right? 'Cause, I mean, otherwise the prospect of Ricci scoring a goal on St. Patrick would just cause grown women to run for the drawer of sharp implements.

And let it be understood that I was home in time for face off. Unfortunately fucking ESPN wasn't. The last boring minutes of a boring baseball game were apparently more important than the defending champions playing the beginning of the Stanley Cup semifinal round.

NHL Awards: Go, insane bowl haircut man!