This Is Super Sunday

Got the chips, adult beverages and other grub ready for the day. And the chores here in the Lounge are done.

In other words, I have just to clear a few thoughts from my head before the the Olympic men's hockey games begin today.

***Germany, you kill me. You really do. The German team has given us every reason to find an infomercial on another channel during their games. The Jupiter Jack, the Magic Bullet, whatever. Those infomercials go on the offensive. They attack your senses. They dull your resistance by sheer volume and intensity.

Even if you do not buy these items, you know better than to doubt the resolve of the pitchman yelling -- and I mean YELLING -- at you. He wants your money. And even if you don't give him your money, you will have to defend your wallet. There will be a cost. Nothing is free.

The German team? You could do school figures in your own end and so long as you retain the puck, no harm will come to you. Boredom is Germany's weapon. Frustration is building. You are getting sleepy. You have lost the puck. Hypnotizing, yes? Sleep inducing is more like it.

Good for Belarus to draw some offense out of the Germans. Good for Belarus for defeating the Germans, 5-3, in the late game on Saturday. Of course the German coaches and managers will say, lose despite scoring three goals or lose after scoring no goals, what is the difference? Artistry, entertainment, development of skills that allows your team to contend -- yes, that's the real concept -- at the elite level.

So do us all a favor, Germany. WAKE UP. Learn to play offense. Go and sin no more.

*** A loss today will not change the attitudes of the Canadian or Russian men's teams. If you've been around the block before, you do not have to explain your failures in the preliminaries. That is why they are called preliminaries. Canada and Russia will not beat themselves up today if they lose. That is for the fans to do.

*** A victory today will not change the concerns people have about the United States men's team. And I do not think anything will settle the nerves of U.S. fans except a gold medal. This is the beauty of hockey in the United States. Fans want the team to win. Deep down, they wonder why the team doesn't win more often. And I believe the American hockey players understand this. It's still just a game down here. A game played by kids. Let's see what the kids can do. Let them play.



*** The AHL outdoor game in Syracuse was fun. An outdoor game in the minor leagues feels like a winter carnival or a state fair, and that is why I believe future outdoor games should be limited to the minors.

Look, the NHL got lucky with falling snow and rabid fans for the outdoor game in Orchard Park, N.Y. The first outdoor game, the Heritage Classic in Edmonton, did nothing to make me want to see another game outside. It looked cold, and the Oilers and Montreal Canadiens did their best to entertain, but the stadium looked like any other football stadium. Big. Charmless. Generic.

The football stadium in Western New York had the same lack of visual appeal, which the league addressed by placing the next two Winter Classics in Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. Some of that visual charm, for me, came from remembering when the NFL and the old, dearly missed AFL played their games in baseball stadiums with terrible brown grass. A stadium for the summer game playing host to the crude beauty of football in the deepening chill of late fall and early winter.

It was great to see the old baseball yards filled in winter. And to have it be a hockey game on the main stage, well that was all the better in my book.

But there are no good baseball stadiums left. They are all new, more like malls with exposed brick to make you think it is a classic stadium. But it's pretty much like New Coke. Not a classic. The new ballpark on the South Side of Chicago may be nice, but the old yard was where men went to blow off some steam as their favorite side booted grounders and waited for next year. Ditto the Polo Grounds, Shibe Park, Tiger Stadium, etc. Those joints are gone. And the malls that have replaced them for baseball and pro football leave me cold.

At least the AHL got it right. Take the game to the New York State Fairgrounds. Make it look like a carnival. No need for 60,000 or 70,000 fans. How about 20,000 fans sitting in what looked like a large rodeo ring. Big grandstand on one side. Players and some small bleachers on the other. Elephant ears, apple fritters, beer, hot dogs. Maybe even a Jupiter Jack. Food and toys for the working people. A place to blow off some steam. Kudos to the AHL. You get it.

And I get it. Time to stop writing and get the food ready. The games are about to begin.