Posts

It's time for an NHL backed Womens Professional League

**For most of this post I will be writing with Olympic womens hockey in mind as it is the most recent major team sporting event to have occurred.** It's always been the unfortunate opinion amongst the majority of sports fans that women's sports are inferior in quality and in competition. The most popular comments you hear about games between two teams comprised only of females is that they are boring. These opinions exist for two main reasons: 1) Sports fans who immediately dismiss sporting contests involving women have probably never invested a fraction of time to genuinely sit down and enjoy a game. If they did they would probably see that although it is different, it is no less exciting.  If we look at the 2014 Olympic tournament, specifically the bronze and gold medal hockey games we are given two clear-cut examples of how exciting womens hockey can be. Both games featured tight-checking teams who played aggressively and opened up a ton of ice, both had late comeb

The Grammys Big Failure

It's 24 hours after the Grammy awards, and I'm still mad. Not at the awful music that was prevalent throughout the night (I go to bed every night hoping Katy Perry never makes an album again), but rather at the tone of the show. Not the "let's celebrate music and make new memories all the while honouring the past" tripe that host LL Cool J spewed throughout the night. Instead what bothered me was "let us not only allow a woman abuser back into our midst, but let's also HONOUR him with an award". Nah uh. No way. Not cool one bit. Maybe you think Chris Brown is a good singer (FYI he isn't). Maybe you think he's a good dancer (since when were the Grammys a dancing competition?) Here's something you shouldn't think though: that Chris Brown should be recognized in any other way beyond the fact that he is a sick and dangerous man. Maybe you're thinking: "hey Chris Brown made a mistake, a huge mistake but nobody is perfect. H

Worship in the Sporting World: The Joe Paterno Conundrum

I'll put it as simply as I can, I love sports more than any healthy person should. Growing up as an early to middle aged teenager, and being a highschool athlete (I use that term loosely) I found myself influenced by various sporting figures, whether it was teams or individual athletes, my attitude, my work ethic, even my mood were all inspired by sports. I remember watching the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on the South African Rugby team and their unlikely championship; I cried. I remember watching Invictus (same story, Hollywood style); I cried. I remember the first gold medal Canada won at the 2010 Olympic games by Alexandre Bilodeau and watching him share that moment with his brother; I needed a whole box of tissues for that one. All of a sudden though, I found myself not just cheering for the great story, crying with the underdog as they revel in the impossible moment of glory they had captured. I found myself not just being influenced by their successes, but perhaps even more

2012: The year of PLH

Really looking forward to this upcoming season in terms of the amount of writing I'll be doing. In terms of my education and aspirations for jobs after I complete my degree, this year is rather large. It would be nice to have a reasonably sized body of work just to see if I like what comes out. I'm going to be doing at least a hockey article a week (any team in the NHL) but also anywhere from a blurb to a full out article on the Habs once a week. The blog will have a focus on the Habs for the most part. I'm also toying with the idea of a fantasy hockey section, not so much me telling people who to draft or who to pick up, because who the hell am I to say that my advice is better than people who actually get paid to do tell you who to draft? It's more just because, it's my blog and I write it for myself so if you don't like it, well tough! As for the point of this post, it's more of a motivator in the upcoming months, I have posted my goals for the year a

Conference Finals

These two matchups confuse the hell out of me. It's hard to look at any of the four remaining teams and determine any advantages held. Lets just get right to them: Eastern Conference Final: (2)Boston Vs. (5) Tampa Bay: Everything about this series screams "7 games". Great goaltending, forward depth on both sides and stingy d-men. Difference makers? Zdeno Chara controls a game like very few defenders can. On Tampa's side you have to be aware of the amazing Martin St. Louis and the way he steps it up come playoff time. The goalies are great but I'm secretly hoping for a bunch of barn burners. Personal opinions about the teams aside, I think this one is going to be fantastic!! Looking forward to it!!! Prediction: Tampa Bay in 7 Western Conference Final: (1) Vancouver Vs. (2) San Jose: I'm not going to lie, I'm so starved for a Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup that I'm almost bias in this particular pick. Vancouver is a fantastic team, and if the Se

The Blogging Conundrum

I've been meaning to blog for quite some time, I constantly want to portray my opinion about the sport I'm pretty sure I'm clinically obsessed with, because I feel as though my individual opinion is unique and would cause the limited number of people who read this blog to maybe change the way they think about issues that concern the incredible sport that dominates our country at this time of year (lets be honest when does hockey and in particular the NHL NOT dominate this country's proverbial thought process. Not a day goes by when hockey is not covered by the mainstream media in some way shape or form). However whenever I do come up with an idea to write about I second guess myself, I doubt what I'm writing in the sense that I'm aware that the topic I will be discussing within my blog has already been argued and debated well before I get to it, and even if it hasn't it most certainly will be discussed by individuals who are far more qualified to speak on th

Round 2:

I must admit, a few days ago I was feeling pretty confident about my first round playoff picks. Montreal looked like a team destined for the second round, Pittsburgh took a 3-1 series lead on Tampa Bay, and Chicago stormed back to force a game 7 that I predicted they would end up moving. As it turned out, all of those picks fell apart and I'm left with a 4-4 record and with my Eastern Conference champion pick heading for the golf course. So lets try again!! Eastern Conference Semi Finals: (2) Philadelphia Vs. (3) Boston: Talk about ghosts, the Bruins, who just managed to squeak by their forever rival Habs in the first round must now face the very team that came back from 3 games down to beat them in the second round last post season. Expect a fantastic series as both teams have a tremendous amount of depth and skill. Does Tim Thomas win the day for the Bruins? Not the way I see it, Philly has the edge in scoring and I think that will be the deciding factor. Prediction: Flyers