Monday, January 11, 2010

Everything From Soup to a Few Nuts



***I cannot figure out the Anaheim Ducks. Every time I turn around, they are losing games they should be winning. So I begin to write them off, and they put together back-to-back victories to keep them relevant for the time being. The Ducks sit in the No. 12 spot as of this writing, but none of the teams sitting at Nos. 6-11 seem all that intimidating (Colorado, Nashville, Los Angeles, Detroit, Dallas and Minnesota).



***Don Cherry still has a job on television. Hard to believe, but somebody up there likes him. Apparently the thought of anybody in the United States taking some comfort in the gold medal Team USA captured at the World Junior Championship just set is mind in motion. Seems as though Canada would have won gold if only... Well, you heard him. Just like the Boston Bruins would have stopped the Montreal Canadiens if only Bobby Orr had never suffered a knee injury, if only the Bruins had a coach who could count the number of men being sent out on the ice, if only... You get the idea. That's why you play the games. Otherwise, it's all just a bluster game where everyone can declare themselves a winner, Don. Woulda, coulda, shoulda ... didn't. Scoreboard.



***I expect a higher level of conversation when I turn on "Hockey Night in Canada," that is when I watch everything but "Coach's Corner." But Mike Milbury -- hmm, a former Bruin, the Florsheim attacker, etc. -- can only come up with this gem to introduce his bluster over the contract situation with Ilya Kovalchuk: "Oink, oink, piggy, piggy." Milbury, the man who traded Roberto Luongo and, with the owner's approval, tendered large sums to Alexei Yashin and Rick DiPietro. Anybody have four words I can use?



***A must see, as a rental or on cable, that is not hockey related is "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29." A very simple film that gives you better insight to young men who grew up and managed to put the game and their young lives in perspective. The time was 1968, which meant everything was in play, from sex to politics to war. But on Saturday afternoons in the fall, there was just a game of football.

THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Carolina 4, Ottawa 1
At Columbus 2, Dallas 0
Anaheim 3, at Chicago 1
Tampa Bay 4, at New Jersey 2
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Worcester 6, Portland 5 OT
At Chicago 3, Toronto 2 OT
Milwaukee 4, at Peoria 1
Hartford 2, at Providence 1 OT
At Rochester 6, Binghamton 1
Rockford 2, at Houston 1 OT
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
Gwinnett 6, at South Carolina 2
At Reading 7, Florida 3
At Toledo 6, Charlotte 3
Bakersfield 5, at Stockton 4 OT
The standings are here.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Chicoutimi 4, at Baie-Comeau 3
Montreal 6, at Acadie-Bathurst 1
At Moncton 3, Halifax 0
At Shawinigan 4, Quebec 0
At Victoriaville 6, Rimouski 3
At Drummondville 3, Prince Edward Island 1
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
Mississauga 3, at Brampton 1
At Kingston 5, Ottawa 4 OT
At Windsor 4, Sarnia 1
At Kitchener 3, Niagara 2
Sudbury 7, at Oshawa 4
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Medicine Hat 5, Vancouver 1
At Everett 4, Spokane 3 SO
At Tri-City 5, Chilliwack 0
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE
Waterloo 3, at Chicago 2
Cedar Rapids 4, at Tri-City 1
At Sioux Falls 4, Omaha 3 SO
The standings are here.

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