Program Notice

I never saw this as a blog.

It was always a place for me to post my "articles". I'm young(ish), but I'm old school at heart. I didn't want to blog, I wanted to write as if I were applying for a job as a sports columnist. And I did.

I wanted to write for TSN.ca. For years I sent them my stories and tried to sell them on their need to hire me as a "super-fan" columnist. They never bit, and so I turned here. Reluctantly.

And I posted articles once a week, stuck to my format, and continued to swim against the trend. Like I said, I'm old school. I was the last guy to get a cell phone. Everyone tells me I need to be on Twitter.

Instead, I continued to tell myself that I could make it happen. I went to school with a lot of these media guys, and look, Eric Duhatschek just told his audience what I've been preaching for years. I was mindful of my criticism, style and content, all with an eye towards something bigger and better.

And while I had this little sabbatical from this space the last couple of months, I realized that I didn't miss the writing. At least not the work I was putting into it. I love sports. I mean, I really love them. The pressure, the stats, the drama. I love cap numbers and sabermetrics. I love the Leafs and Jays, the Raps and Bombers, but I never wear "the goggles". I love the world juniors, NFL Sundays, the baseball playoffs, and the PGA Tour.

What I really missed was talking sports with my friends. I've moved around to a few different places, and each time I've had to leave behind a great group of guys. Sure, we can always text. But "pti was awwsum today" just doesn't cut it.

I never saw this as a blog. Now, this is a blog.

The Kid

After three games where he registered just a single point, four really, if you count the 60 minutes of regulation time against the States in the final, the critics were ready to pounce on Sidney Crosby.

Too young. Not as good as Ovechkin. Will never be the next Gretzky.

The native of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia came into the Olympic tournament, for better or worse, as the face of Canadian hockey. With an NHL co-leading 42 goals already this year and on the heels of a Stanley Cup championship last spring (not to mention a decade's worth of hype), pre-tournament expectations were almost out of control. Sid was named an assistant captain and his line was pencilled in as the number one unit. He was saddled with the label of the man who would lead Canada to Gold and that saddle weighed about a billion pounds.

Crosby had been good, but not great the entire tournament. He answered the bell in the shootout against Switzerland and used his speed and strength (does anyone use his body better in the corners?) to create chances in every game but never could get comfortable with any of his wingers, never had the breakout performance everyone was waiting for.

Then in overtime, in front of 20,000 delirious fans at Canada Hockey Place and a nation more watching on television, Crosby turned a one-on-four rush into a Gold medal winning goal for Canada.

And the legend grew.

Crosby has now won Olympic Gold and the Stanley Cup in the last two years. The year before that he lost in the Cup finals. He led Rimouski to the Memorial Cup final during his last year of junior hockey and also won a World Junior Championship.

Sid might not reach the individual point totals that were projected when he went from junior phenom to a 100 point NHL player as an 18 year-old and then followed that up with an astounding 120 points in his second year, but he sure does win. A lot.

The Gretzky comparisons seemed reasonable those first couple of years and for all we knew 150 point seasons were right around the corner. In hindsight, Crosby was actually almost a finished product when he arrived in the NHL. His game hasn't progressed as much as it has matured. Sure he's found small areas to focus on (face-offs, shot release), ways to make his overall game better, but he's probably not as offensively talented as Ovie or Malkin, and definitely not destined to erase Gretzky from the record book.

Crosby hasn't dominated the scoring races like he was supposed to but it's time to focus on what he is rather than what he isn't. He's 22 years-old and already has one of the most illustrious hockey resumes in history. All along the way he's scored, made plays and led every one of his teams through playoff battles and out the other side.

You can have Ovechkin and the highlight reels. I'll take Crosby and the championships.

Vancouver 2010: Game One

The opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics may have occurred last Friday night but the Games didn't really begin until yesterday when the Men's Hockey team played their first game.

Jenn Heil, Kristina Groves, Alexandre Bilodeau, Mike Robertson and then Maelle Ricker all provided some great moments over the first few days and it definitely is nice to be in the overall medal hunt, but the real competition, the tournament within the tournament, began last night.

The 8-0 win over Norway was just what the doctor ordered for this team: a tiny bit of adversity (after a scoreless first period) that was followed by an overwhelming performance. Here is the breakdown...

The Good
1) The eight goals scored were the most for a Canadian Olympic team since NHL players began competing in '98. Yes, they came against Norway but at this level eight goals is an impressive total for any team that doesn't include Alex Ovechkin.
2) Balance. Twelve different Canadian players had a hand in the first 4 goals and 17 of the 20 skaters recorded a point. All three of the scoring lines produced goals and the glue guys, Jonathan Toews, Mike Richards, Patrice Bergeron and Brendan Morrow, showed they are willing to bring energy and do the dirty-work that every winning team needs.
3) Face-offs. I tried to find the stats to back this point up but apparently an Olympic boxscore is a time warp back to 1994 so you'll have to trust me that with Crosby and Toews taking face-offs, this team will win the important ones.
4) Drew Doughty. The 20 year-old borderline surprise selection was Canada's best defenceman at both ends of the ice. Anyone still wishing for Mike Green?
5) The crowd at Canada Hockey Place was very, very good. It was a real hockey crowd filled with jerseys, face paint and most importantly, noise. In fact, it may have been the crowd starting the 'Go Canada Go' chant late in the first period that finally kicked the players into gear.

The Bad
1) Team Canada opened the game playing extremely tentatively and forced far too many passes, trying to make pretty plays rather than shooting the puck and going hard to the net. Let's hope that was the feeling out process and not a developing trend that will see this team work it's way into games.
2) Discipline. And we can't even blame the way the international game is called because all five Canadian penalties would've been called in the NHL. This team has to stay away from retaliatory penalties and maintain it's composure.
3) The powerplay went 2 for 7 and too often was content with moving the puck around the perimeter.
4) The puck-handling of Roberto Luongo. Let's just say Vancouver Canucks fans should be happy the NHL has the trapezoid because each time Luongo ventured out to play the puck it was an adventure.
5) The name 'Canada Hockey Place'. Really? I would've been willing to lay down $100 to call it "The Canadian Sports Junkie Arena". If I had an agent, I would fire him.

The Ugly
1) The Norwegian curling pants. I know they had nothing to do with the hockey game, but how could they not lead this section?
2) It's been...ummm, interesting to watch the Olympic telecasts and see the on-air talent from both TSN and Sportsnet work together. Get ready for more awkward transitions as unfamiliar analysts throw to each other and continued over-laughing by Nick Kypreos at anything that resembles a joke.