The NHL has fully adopted it.

Two-star rating? Keep it at full price.

Whew. That’s what the hangover feels like after you’ve been roofied at a party in the Hot Tub Time Machine.

Here, hold my quilted parka.

They had some ugly sweaters last season, but now there are 202 options. Once the NHL gets hold of something, you know it’s a) well past cool and b) never going away. The ugly NHL holiday sweater is your new Nickelback, and Bettman is not sorry.

Since they’ll be dusting these off annually until Ryan Nugent Hopkins looks at least 25 (so, 40 years for now), let’s see how the doomed (that’s us) will fare.

‘Merica

This Rangers sweater is too ugly even for the Rangers. It’s the belligerent flag of whatever America Donald Trump is trying to create. Is he the reviewer who gave it 5 stars? Who bought so many that it’s one of the few holiday sweaters NOT on sale?

Now with enhanced action puck

Black and yellow… snow. That’s the color of this yarn – faded pee. I bet it’s custom dyed, the NHL is so committed to making fetch this happen. On the bright side, if you’re buying a gift for the Penguins fan you want out of your life, it’s on sale!

It’s like he signed your chest.

Sweet sassy molassy. Did Toews approve this? Or did his contract allow the NHL to put his image on “urinal cakes or Christmas sweaters, but not both”, and he’d been hopefully searching for his face in every bar bathroom in Chicago? I hope they make this in exxxxxxtra-small for his dog. (That would be retail price, obviously: $79.99.)

Beep bloop.

The Blues sweater takes the 1980’s throwback look seriously – as seriously as a low-res tube TV with the color balance turned off. I can hardly see this thing, even while squinting, at yet its impenetrable color palette does nothing to lessen the overall horror. It’s like a really, really depressed R2D2, painted by Picasso.

Merrrrrrrrrrrrp

Of course, there’s also such a thing as too bright:

Sharp cheddar

FEW LEFT! But why? The orange color was recalled to alleviate a worldwide shortage of road cones? They ran out of the radioactive dye injected into bloodstreams to find heart problems? All I know is, I’m never eating carrots again.

What if you got this Bruins Bergy facesweater for Christmas:

Hello… FACE!

Is it so horrible that you’d buy this to wear over it?

Look into my B…

I’d say yes, but I’m pretty sure if you stare at that vest long enough, a 3D image of Bergy’s face leaps out and bites you. Just think: layers warm enough for a Boston winter, and just $113.98! Order yours today!

Please note Bergy’s facesweater is $8 more than Toews’ facesweater, which is the same price as Crosby’s. I bet this is how the NHL will conduct 2016 All-Star voting.

SHOUTY CAPS

This. This looks less like an NHL Ugly Lightning Sweater and more like something you’d buy in China, wherein all the pieces are known images and letters, but their combination makes no sense.

Smells like team spirit

Apparently lightning bolts were too non-denominational, and had to be replaced by reindeer. But panthers (that look like elephants) and coyotes (that, in knit, look like the poop emoji), are acceptable representations of Christmas spirit.

Why does the Florida one need to say Florida?

Not hurricanes, though. They get reindeered. Man, what do extreme weather phenomena have to do to make the nice list?

Intern Jeff’s office attire

Notice the NHL replaced the Predator with candy canes…

Official hockey team of IKEA

Presumably because the real Predator eats reindeer, and also opposes the NHL expansion to its home planet of Yautja Prime.

Mmm, candy canes.

It’s not just trends the NHL gets right every time. They always seem to have great women’s gear too! [sarcasm font] Check out these gems:

“Eyelash” style, because it feels like you have one in your eye.

They’re not out of focus, they’re fuzzy! Because the NHL loves us and wants us to be single forever  die alone  be warm and cozy! Which is why they’ve reduced the price from $80 to $40, for something I’d use to wax my car.

A really sharp eyelash.

And ugly sweaters are not just for humans. Oh no! The NHL wants to ensure that bears and monkeys have no friends…

Society for the Prevention of Ugly Sweaters to Animals

And they figure you might as well look frightening in the morning, since you woke up alone anyway.

You may be lonely, but at least you’ll be warm.

There are many more teams and options available at shop.NHL.com. In fact, two more items were added overnight, since I began this post. Someone is counting page clicks in single digits, riotously adding ugly sweater gear because someone – ANYONE! – has been browsing there.

Er, I actually like these.

Of course, if you’ve bought, gifted or received one of these items, you have gotten everything right. They are supposed to be ugly! This post is merely a testament to their success. And the NHL will keep them in fashion long after your favorite player leaves the team for which you bought a jersey with his name on it.

May you have many holiday occasions on which to wear your Ugly NHL Sweater, filled with cheer. Just watch the booze, because these patterns could take you from tipsy to trashed in the blink of a squinted eye.  You’ll end up slurring drunken hockey nonsense to anyone in shouting distance.

Which has never, ever happened to us.

I love hybrid icing! It’s like tag for slow people who are cheaters!

Finally, next year we suggest the NHL have a big marketing meeting to discuss how to continue selling nothing, ever, to anyone. Perhaps a brilliant, fresh idea will spring to mind. “Keep Calm and Crosby On,” anyone?

I hate that phrase far more than any sweater.

Yet we remind ourselves, and you, these are the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  No team is safe.  Not even the #1 seed.

Pittsburgh (1) vs. NY Islanders (8)

Chuck: Penguins

Let’s be honest here – can anyone beat the Pens right now? It’ll be nigh impossible to stop the Pens on their quest for the Cup.  We’re delighted that they Isles made the big show and excited that our favorite middle school science teacher, John Tavares, finally has the chance to show off his exceptional skill in the post-season.  He could break out but this series is all Pens.

Pants:  Penguins

This is too tough a 1st round draw for the Isles.  The Penguins drop players like kids drop crayons – they can still make a picture, but one color always seems to be missing.  Now it’s: Avengers, ASSEMBLE.  Expect Crosby to be unlike we’ve ever seen him.  There is nothing he (and I) would like better than to take his injuries, time missed and all the shit-talk and shove it down every other team’s throat until they choke.  Whew… I need to calm down.  Is it Wednesday yet?

Montreal (2) vs. Ottawa (7)

Chuck:

Apparently, Erik Karlsson has Wolverine X-Men-like healing ability and boy are the Senators glad to have him back.  His return to the lineup will no doubt lift the Senators’ game. He makes all around him better and that is what his team needs to challenge the Habs.   So goes Carey Price, so go the Habs. He’ll need to be stellar this series for the Canadiens to advance.

Pants: Canadiens

Or alternatively: I don’t care about this series.  If the East sees an upset I think this would be it.

Washington Capitals (3) vs. New York Rangers (6)

Chuck: Rangers

Good looks can only get you so far and Rangers are going to have their hands full with one of the NHL’s hottest teams.  Caps’ PP is en fuego and Ovechkin has poured it on in the last few weeks (14 goals in April!).  But the Rangers have Lundqvist and a solid defensive corps.  Look for the McDonough/Ovechkin match up alot this series.  I’m glad that our friendship is strong and based on more than just hockey because this series will put it to the test.

Pants: Capitals

I believe in the Caps.  Hell, I even believe in Ovi for the last two months.  He is right now the unstoppable, force-of-nature player of years past.  Like then, he brings Nicky and Mikey right up with him.  Add in scrappy players who rise to playoff occasion – Chimera, Hendricks, Beagle, Ward – and it’s talent on top off tenacity.  I think feel hope know it’s going to happen.  The red is ready to rock.

Boston Bruins (4) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (5)

Chuck:  Bruins

Original Six Match-Up! Bring it on! Bruins won the season series 3-1, but have slumped in the last dozen games.  Leafs have been a better team than they have in the past –  Kessel, Lupul, Van Riemsdyk, and the emergence of Kadri have lifted the Leafs to the #5 seed.  If Bruins want to win this series, they need to play “their game” – physical, punishing, bear-like.  Lucic, Horton, and Marchand need to step up.  Tuukka has played well in the net and it’s his time to shine as the Bruins #1.

Pants: Bruins

The Bruins are bigger and badder – and if they lose this series, it will be because they beat themselves.  Nice to see the Leafs make the dance, though.

Chicago (1) vs. Minnesota (8)

Chuck: Blackhawks

Hop on board the Blackhawks Train! Choo Choo! This team has been on-point from Day 1 of the season and honestly, the Western Conference is theirs to lose.  The Wild just squeaked into the #8 slot by winning their last regular season game. Suter has played well as of late after a rocky start in Minnesota and of course, there is Parise, but it is going to be hard to get past Crawford and Company.

Pants: Blackhawks

Remember in 2010, when you felt like you were watching magic happen?  That’s been going on since January, and it ain’t over yet.  There is almost no one I’d rather watch in the playoffs than Jonathan Toews – he is the epitome of a competitor and a captain.  That game-tying, short handed, under 2 minutes left goal to send Game 7 to OT vs Vancouver in the first round of 2011 still rips out my beating heart like we’re in the Temple of Doom.

Anaheim (2) vs. Detroit (7)

Chuck: Ducks

The Ducks are a team that have flown under the radar all season.  (Flown.  The Ducks. See what I did there?)  Detroit has made the playoffs for the 22nd straight season.  Ducks have a great goaltending tandem with Fasth and Hiller.  Detroit has a phalanx of talented forwards.  Series should be fun to watch but I think Anaheim comes out on top.  I weep at the thought of no Zetterberg playoff beard. WEEP.

Pants: Ducks

I don’t think the Ducks have been under the radar, just far away.  They won all but 2 games in February, so right away they were good and loud about it.  This is the Ducks team we should have seen last year, plus I miss Bruce Boudreau’s red, screaming face.  And Teemu Selanne cannot actually play forever, despite appearances.  Getcha some Haagen-Dazs for this one.

Vancouver (3) vs. San Jose (6)

Chuck: Sharks

If the Canucks are to have any chance on winning this series, Cory Schneider & Ryan Kesler need to be healthy.  Sharks won season series 3-0, have a proven Stanley Cup goalie and a boat-load of forwards led by Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and our favorite caveman, Brent Burns.

Pants: Sharks

San Jose, the NHL’s streakiest team.  Remember how hot they were to begin the season?  If they can find the winning formula again, it’ll be the Conference Final before anyone knows what hit ’em.  Then the Sharks will choke, because that’s how they do in playoffs.  At least they’ll have taken Vancouver out first.

St. Louis (4) vs. Los Angeles (5)

Chuck: Kings

No way the defending Stanley Cup Champs are going down without a fight and I still think they’ll take the series, but if Backes steps up, this series could go either way.  Sure, the Blues may have lost to the Kings 8 times in a row but like the Black Eyed Peas – I got a feeling.  The Blues do have a shot.  Both teams play a similar game but Blues’ goaltending has been slightly better, so you can see my dilemma.

Pants: Blues

The more I think about it, the more I like the Blues here.  They’re pissed LA swept them out last season.  They’ve won 12 of 15 in April, and 10 of those by 1 or 2 goals.  That’s a lot of hard-scrabble 60 minute hockey, perfectly timed for this time of year.

Well, it’s deja vu all over again.

In a detailed memo sent to League teams on Tuesday, the NHL again proposed a new realignment plan.  This new plan would see the League go from six divisions to four and introduce a form of divisional playoffs instead of the current conference system.

Again, the plan needs approval from the NHLPA and Board of Governors.  If ratified, the plan would take effect for the 2013-14 regular season.

Under this new plan, the conferences would be re-aligned, albeit unevenly.  Columbus and Detroit would move into the Eastern Conference, leaving the Western Conference with only 14 teams.  Teams in the “Blue” and “Green” would be the East and “Yellow” and “Orange” would be West.

The schedule would see each team play teams in the other conference, both at home and away.

In the divisions with 7 teams (Yellow, Orange), the teams would play intraconference opponents three times per season and 5 of the 6 intradivision opponents five times a season.  The 6th opponent within the division would be played four times.

In the division with 8 team (Blue and Green),  teams would play intraconference three times and intradivision either four or five times per season.

With the obvious imbalance between the conference, the League has proposed introducing a wild-card to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

I guess if it works for the NFL and MLB, it could work for hockey?

Under this new system, the top 3 teams in each of the four divisions would qualify for the postseason. The final four spots would go to the two teams in each conference with the next-best records. In theory, 5 teams from one division and just 3 from the other in each conference could make the post season.

Doesn’t the NHL know that we don’t do no math?  This is too many numbers for us to handle.

Obviously, this plan is not set in stone and who’s to say that it’ll even get approved.

But hypothetically, if it did get approved, how would you feel about it?

Love? Hate? Bored Indifference?

NBC will air (potentially) seven Bruins games, six Penguins games, five Capitals and five Blachawks games, none before US Thanksgiving.  That’s not going to cut it for anyone without cable.  The good news is you can tune in to Versus on 10/10 to see Gator climb the glass after Stamkos when the Bolts play the Caps for my (and Mike Green’s) birthday.

What is the point of announcing the Winter Classic next week [link] if it’s on today’s TV schedule?  Not to mention that it’s on MONDAY, January 2 at 1 PM so as not to interfere with NFL schedules.  Or with my haircut appointment or the burning need to rearrange my spoons by how many swirls are on the handle.  Unless the NHL also announces they’ve gotten us all extra vacation days, I’ll be watching that on DVR.

Clearly not our husbands (we'd never marry Habs fans anyway).

Lucky Seven(teen)

Today you can save 17% at the NHL Shop, and you can save it on special St. Patrick’s Day gear:

Green Team

If you’re going to pick a random holiday, we’re all for SPD.  What could be more fun? And in the middle of the playoff race it’s generally when regular season attention is peaking.  Dawn and I both own SPD-edition shirts – mine is Crosby, her’s is Ovi.  Is that what they mean by fighting Irish?

Patrick, yes. Saint, not so much.

Sláinte everyone, and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

can't let a day go by without a photo of his hotness

ignore the princess on the left - fleury is adorable!

I think Geno and Crosby should just come clean like Zetterburg and Luongo and say, “I just don’t want to attend. Thanks but no thanks .”  Which leads to a whole other discussion, should there be an All-Star game? Because with the All-Stars dropping like flies – what does that say to us fans? It sorts feels like the ultimate F-You –  D-listed like the entertainment. Dissed and disrepected.

knee looks good to me

Cleeeeeek on me.

The content is a little outdated, but you can watch condensed games (known as highlights to the rest of us) and full games.  For the Penguins, the last highlights are 1/12 and full game is the Winter Classic.

Each team’s site also has features, like “A Day in the Life” and player profiles, like this ridiculously cute footage of Martin St. Louis and his kids – Squishy and Squishy Jr and Lil’ Squishy! All were previously available on NHL.com [Video].

Can I wear my helmet to school?

There are even classic games – and I screamed when I saw a Whalers jersey.  The broadcast was so lo-res it hurts my brain, but the power of Zarley Zalapsky restored me!

It's a hockey stadium. In a mall.

This is very exciting if you travel, or if you get annoyed when they don’t even show the good parts of Scott Speedman and Kate Beckinsale making out on TBS.

Where am I going with this? Well Stan Lee created THE GUARDIAN PROJECT where each day until the All Star game he is revealing an NHL ‘guardian’ based on each NHL team. Sounds cool? If you are a comic book nerd. I suppose it’s a wet dream of a life time. Really. Honest. And if you are a hockey-comic-book nerd, you’ve hit the mega-millions!



But you know what? I had a deja-vu moment. Mr. Cherrie was prattling on about this Stan Lee Guardian Project and superheroes and all I heard was the NHL and superheroes and I kept waiting for the villain Stanley. I kept waiting for ‘cup’ to follow Stanley. But it didn’t. Finally in exasperation I asked, “What does the Stanley Cup have to do with all this?!” This time it was Mr. Cherrie staring blankly back at me. “The Stanley Cup? What are you talking about?” Then it dawned on him what I meant and he started laughing. “I bet no one else in the world would even think that but you!”

Gee thanks! Really? Come on? No one? No one. No one else hears STAN LEE and the NHL and is waiting to hear CUP drop after all that? SERIOUSLY?! Well then, I guess I’m just blessed with a lovely dry sense of humor.

But if you want to check out all the fabulous superheroes created by STAN LEE and not the STANLEY CUP, go to www.guardianproject30.com or if you’re single and want to impress your comic-book nerd neighbor and get a date, send him there, he’ll be impressed that you know about it. And no need to thank me, thank Mr. Cherrie.

I’m willing to bet that most NHL players never experienced this (except Gionta).  Now they’ll have their chance.

The NHL announced the new All-Star Game format, which will debut this year at Carolina.  Here’s how it will work:

A new format for this year’s festivities will see the conference vs. conference approach replaced by a player draft, conducted by the All-Star players themselves, to determine the rosters for each team.

The 2011 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft will be Friday, Jan. 28, to kick off All-Star Weekend, which will be hosted for the first time by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Captains for each side will select from a pool of players chosen by a combination of fan balloting and the NHL Hockey Operations Department. The change in format is a joint effort by the League and the NHL Players’ Association. [NHL.com]

After the entire All-Star squad has been chosen by fan voting and NHL Hockey Operations, the players will choose 2 captains per team.  So if Crosby & Toews are chosen captains of one team and Ovechkin & Gionta captains of the other, those four will then alternate picks to draft their respective teams from the remaining 38 players.  We know which side would have blue lightsabres in the battle of good vs. evil!

I'd rather kiss a Wookie.

What do you think of this? Shanahan’s all for it, as is Rob Blake: more excitement, mix it up, invest the players in the fun of the event.  And since there was no All-Star game last year due to Olympics, it’ll be nice to have everyone back.  The Skills Competition is still the highlight – should we call it the Showboat Competition?  The Hockey Hair Pageant?  For my vote, I think the fantasy draft is a cute idea and I look forward to seeing how it works.  Players from the same team could face each other – Ovi’s shot blocked by Green, Getzlaf vs. Selanne on a face-off.

Спасибо. (Spasibo.)

There’s one solution the NHL has not considered here:  Team Cherrie/Pants vs Team CI/Chuck.  The epic battle of choosing good vs. good-looking, sexy vs. scoring ability and the inevitable hug between Sid & Ovi when C/P wins… a sports legend in the making.

PS: @DaveLozo is tearing it up on Twitter with random imaginings of how the draft will go down.  Hilarity -“Alex Ovechkin with his hand-written lists on notebook paper saying, ‘I’m pretty sure I can get Semin later. I’ll take Toews.'”

The current leader board across the NHL has four Washington Caps in the top five spots, raising money for the cause: John Erskine, John Carlson, Karl Alzner and Matt Hendricks – you go my boys!

George Parros of the Anaheim Ducks  SHAVED his famous mustache in support of this event!

Mr. Cherrie has also decided to support this cause by growing his own ‘Mo’ much to my dismay but I guess it’s for a good cause. Stay tuned for that  photo at that end of the month!

Mike launched a Facebook fan site.  I squeed.  This is the one and only time I will ever find sloppy grammar adorable!  He posted this video in which he’s half-asleep.  At any moment, Bettman is going to appear behind him in a ski mask and make him read a manifesto condemning hits to the head and the sale of the Coyotes.

The Real World: DC

I’m kidding!  I think this is great.  The NHL GMs meet today to discuss lots of things, including a social media policy (or lack thereof) for players on Twitter and Facebook.  I really hope they don’t decide to start policing this stuff – it’s absolutely fantastic for the fans.  Some of the content is off-color, but we let other celebrities talk, get political, all that.  If BizNasty wants to post a picture of himself giving a homeless guy a fiver, then rock on!  And (grimace) the Capitals have the best social media presence of any team in the League.

So Mike.  Sure we could get him to look at the camera and and take the ‘ out of fan’s, but who cares?  Some people think Mike is dumb – I disagree.  He’s smart enough to be marketing himself instead of letting (hoping/waiting for?) the League to do it for him. They only see Crosby and Ovechkin.  Mike’s doing a national (American!!) ad campaign for GEICO while other guys are hawking pool supplies and local auto dealerships (nothing wrong with it, Talbot, just making a point).  Green is doing something right and I’m pretty sure he’s doing with a lot less help.

My inner publicist loves this.  I wish more of the players (or their media departments) would make a go of something similar.  How much fun would it be for the fans to see more personal interaction with the players? The NHL ranks 7th in American sports attendance numbers (as of 1/10) but is actually 5th according to a recent Harris Poll.  That’s just above the NBA and far higher than golf or tennis (source).  We are getting there!  Now get out there and work it.  (Or hire me and Dawn to work it for you.)

Following is an excerpt from the section that addressed “Contact with Fans”:

“Under no circumstances are Club personnel — either players or non-players — permitted to have physical contact with fans, or enter, or attempt to enter the stands. Even where a fan is verbally abusive, intoxicated, or profane, Club personnel should either ignore the conduct or, where appropriate, seek the assistance of police or security personnel at the arena.

“Accordingly, please be on notice that all Club personnel (management, coaches, trainers, and/or players) who engage in any form of physical contact with fans, including the squirting of water, will, on a going forward basis, be subject to discipline in the form of a suspension.  The Club involved will also be subject to a fine.”

Now, Pants knows from various off-line chats we have, well, let’s just say I an active imagination and maybe some NSFW comments. But what if say Pants, or Chuck or I, were to lure one of our favorite players away before, during or after a game but still on-site would they still be fined for contact with a fan? Does this cover that kind of contact? What if it’s consensual? Because if I got that close to Ovi,  Miika, Brodeur or Fedorov, I’m pretty sure it would look something like this:

Then I have to add this classic clip of Ti Domi when a drunk Philly fan fell into the penalty box for your entertainment.

i can skate - even in this shirt!

Again this week they put ValKat in the bottom two when they are by far and away the best skaters – which makes me think Canadian’s are Russian skater-haters! Seriously, I don’t think my blood pressure can take many more of these episodes. Patrice and Shae-Lynn had a far less difficult routine but scored the highest so far this season – but riddle me this Batman? ValKat have done two firsts in three routines for BOTB – double lutz and a double throw. So how can they be continuously in the bottom two? Even in this shirt smokin’ hot Val does not deserve to go home and thank god – he didn’t! My life will go on! But my inner publicist says – Val – don’t let them show you having a snit. Not good PR. Next week think warm and fuzzy! Keep it hot – you know how to!

If Canada would allow US residences to vote, I think this would have a completely different result but they won’t allow us to – which totally blows!

As I write this, Mr. Cherrie is watching Men with Brooms, another Canadian show and the vending machine is tormenting one of the characters – with a RUSSIAN ACCENT – OK – don’t make me go there – again – I will turn to Johnny Weir! While words really can’t do justice to anything Johnny-Weir-esque: He looks like a bastard child of Ziggy Stardust and something Sarah Palin shot down from a plane in Alaska and God bless him for it! Now that’s entertainment…

i just like him ... well, maybe the russian chicken dance?

In other news, last night in BATTLE OF THE BLADES, Valeri wore the most atrocious outfit on earth! But even he can work that and work it he did! He is by far the best technical skater. Are they trying to get him voted off? OK – don’t answer that because we know they are. But he could have said no – I think. Plus, the practice video showed him having a full-on Russian snit-fit. I’m sure the translation wasn’t “Darn …”

I also have to note that if Kelly Chase doesn’t finally go home after yet another Viagara induced spasmodic jerky-freak out, I might kick in my television because that is enough to cause birth control for all of Canada!

BUT! that best part is TONIGHT, TONIGHT … cue them from “Westside Story” because I have only two names to drop for you and then you have to wait for tomorrow’s glorious post: Johnny Weir skates to Lady Gaga’s JUST DANCE … oh yes, I just wrote that!

But today was different.

When I woke up, I had extra pep in my step.  Sure it could have been that the sun was finally peeking out after 3 days of non stop misery and rain.  Or maybe it was the fact that the long weekend is almost here.  But nay, it was something less entirely! It was….

NHL FACE-OFF 2010!!

Today marks the first day of the 2010-2011 NHL Hockey season and I think that I can speak for my fellow WUYS that we are totes excited.  Totes MaGoats Excited!  We’re sort of like Buddy the Elf when he finds out that Santa is coming. SANTA!!!

This season of promise kicks off with three games today:

• Carolina Hurricanes vs. Minnesota Wild (in Helsinki, Finland)
• Montreal Canadians vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks vs. Colorado Avalanche
• Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Sid the Kid and the Penguins vs.  Philadelphia Flyers

I think we all know where Pants will be for the Pens game.  If you live in the San Francisco area and hear screaming and screeching, don’t be alarmed.  Do not call the police.  It just because they showed a shirtless Sidney Crosby doing squats in his Reebok Zig sneakers.

Boston Bruins start their season on Saturday the first of two games versus the Phoenix Coyotes in lovely, historical Prague, but the first stop on their Eurotrip was Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Personally, I LOVE that the NHL is taking the game global, if for nothing else than more BOYCH MEETS WORLD episodes, feature B’s defenceman Johnny Boychuk, who might be the most adorable Edmonton, Albertonian EVER!  Plus I dig his last name.

This week’s episode
Boych Meets World: Belfast

um .. now if that was Ovi

I was going to save this rant for another time, but here it goes. The NHL has allowed their players to play in the Olympics including this past year because CANADA hosted them. NOW – when RUSSIA is going to host the next Olympics, they are going to possibly revoke NHL players from participating thus that would crush Ovi’s possibility of winning gold in 2014 – quite a snub. Even though Ovi has said that no matter what the NHL decides, he is playing in Socchi in 2014. And props to Sidney in supporting Ovi’s desire.

I rant to Mr. Cherrie about my Hockey Husband Don’s comments ALL THE TIME that not only Russian hockey players but eastern European players have to play at a level greater than any Canadian hockey player to even be considered to compete on the ice. Yes, Canada you gave us hockey but don’t whine when someone else can do it better. Step up your game and be glad people love it!

But thank goodness! ValKat escaped the penalty box and even the judges said they shouldn’t have been in the bottom two. He will live again to ice dance into my heart for next week’s theme of  .. wait for it … “BRINGING SEXY BACK” oh yeah!

*sigh* i wish i could skate