IceSamurai.net

So it’s been… … … 13 years since I played ice hockey in an organized league (I’m not counting intramural ice hockey when I was in college).  So it’s been on my mind a lot lately, and I’m planning on getting back into it.  I still have my equipment from back then.  Though I think some of it *shrunk* in storage (yeah, that’s what I tell myself).  I still use my old Bauer Custom 4000s… but they’re literally falling apart, I’ll have to post a pic.  I think I’m gonna replace them with a pair of Graf’s.  I have to drive to Houston for that, but it should be worth it.

Aside from replacing some of the shrunken equipment (which still retains that great old post-game/practice smell), I have to get a new stick.  I used Titan sticks when I played.  Titan sticks were great for my slapshots.  Actually, myself and a childhood friend who got me into hockey had the hardest slapshots on the team.  He got his clocked in the lower 80′s [mph], mind you we 15 or younger.  I never got mine clocked, but it was close to his shot.

Titan sticks were manufactured by Karhu Canada (later Sports Holdings, then CCM acquired them, but then Reebok acquired CCM).  Of the brands that they [Reebok] inherited, they only kept CCM, Koho and Jofa brands active.  Heaton, Canadien and Titan brands are gone.  Titan sticks had their history in nordic/cross-country skis (google XSD History project), incorporating fibreglass in their construction.  A very stiff stick, perfect for slapshots and quite a spectacle when the blade snapped.

I’ve been searching around for the rare stick, occasionally seeing them on ebay or some classified ads.  I’ve been trying to remember what stick it was that I really liked.  I want to say it was the Titan ASD X000 (I don’t know the exact number, probably 5000).  Also had an aluminum Titan shaft, but the shaft actually cracked (yes the aluminum) while in college, so I chucked it.  The blades I used typically had a square toe and square/sharp heel with a closed face, similar to what CCM now calls the Thornton blade pattern.  This let my slapshot rise about a foot [30cm] of the ice without effort.

I’ve read that the Reebok 1k/2k sticks are what became of the Titan sticks.  As much as I hate that two shoe companies now own 90%+ of the hockey equipment market, I’ll have to suck it up and check out those sticks.

I was on a nice vacation, spending some time out at the lake.  My sister and her boyfriend stayed over a few days and they had a song on their iPod called “Kaiowas” by Sepultura.  The version they had was from the “Under a Pale Grey Sky” album.  It’s a live cut, pretty badass.

It’s an instrumental song consisting of very prominent drums and acoustic guitars (obviously with pickups).

I found myself thinking, since this is mostly drums and strummed guitars, I betcha this would sound really sweet if a pipe and drum ensemble played this.  Lots of drums, and the bagpipes could take up background drones and then a few pipers could do the guitar piece.  Royal Scots Dragoon Guards could do it quite handsomely.

The Eastern Conference is in need of losing some dead weight… namely: Atlanta and Florida.  It’s a bit overweight too,  the NY Islanders, they gotta move .  The LA Kings have to go somewhere more deserving, besides it’s only a 30 mile drive to Anaheim…

Map of an envisioned reconfiguration of the NHL

Division renaming:

• Atlantic renamed Mid-Atlantic (go with the geographic area name anyway)
• Central renamed Mid-West
• Pacific renamed Southwest

For cities receiving a hockey club, I’m renaming it to use a major hockey club’s name that the city used to host perhaps in the early years, or in a different league that was able to compete for the Stanley Cup

Eastern Conference:

• Milwaukee Wanderers (formerly Atlanta Thrashers)
  Wanderers (Montréal, NHA 1909).  I considered Maulers…
• Winnipeg Jets (formerly Florida Panthers)
  Their old team until the got moved to Phoenix, gotta resurrect it.
• Buffalo moved from Northeast Division to Mid-Atlantic Division

Western Conference:

• Seattle Metropolitans (fomerly New York Islanders)
  I seriously considered using the Shamrocks (Toronto, NHA 1914; Montréal; and other cities)… nice ring, and Seattle is known as the Emerald City.  But the Mets won a Stanley Cup, so it took precedence.  Other names considered:  Scouts (Kansas City, NHL ’67);  Snipes;  Sentinels;  Seadogs;  Seals (Oakland/California, NHL ’67);  Corsairs… or keep Islanders…  suggestions?
• Portland Rosebuds (formerly Los Angeles Kings)
  The Rosebuds were the first U.S.-based team to make it into the Cup Finals, had to go with it.  Also considered Pirates and Cougars.
  LA’s management and owners would be left in LA… 40 years to make a team better, they just can’t do anything right.
• Detroit moves to Eastern Conference / Northeast Division
• Columbus moves to Eastern Conference / Southeast Division
• Nashville moves to Eastern Conference / Southeast Division… I decided to let them keep their team, sorry Hamilton (Ontario).
• Colorado moves to Southwest Division

Visio map I created:  here

The company I work for, has a rather large campus.  Our campus resides within 3 different ZIP codes.  The ZIP code I normally use (which is on our division’s stationary) is the only used by one building on campus (mine).  Go figure.  Usually, it’s 50/50 on whether or not UPS will screw up the delivery (they give up rather easily, and just note it as an exception).  Looks like I have to wait til next week to get my iPhone 3Gs.

Do you think the US Postal system could work with the ZIP codes and maybe get the entire campus under one ZIP Code?

I would have figured with the NHL expansion into the Southern States that their balls wouldn’t be as shriveled up since moving into warmer climates… but no, they’re still non-existant, as Gary Bettman has bent the league over to kowtow to NBC’s whims… boo-hoo, NBC doesn’t want hockey to interfere with their weekday prime time summer (worthless revenue) schedule.  Hey, you bid on the broadcasting rights assholes… put up or get out.

Not that I already hate the [original] Big Three Networks… but I do (FOX ain’t nearly as bad). I find the excessive amount of ‘reality’-based programming annoying as locking yourself outside in your skivvies on a mid-winter day in Alberta (as in Alberta Clipper).  At least two of them (NBC and CBS) have canceled shows that I like… normally in favor of the shows that would entertain a cat (yes, I don’t like reality shows or cats).  NBC has, over the past several years, drawn my ire.  Now they’ve started messing around with all that is sacred, the NHL.

I realize that Gary Bettman (commissioner of the NHL) has been trying to grow the league both in revenue, geography and popularity, and has had a pretty good record of success (though I don’t agree with everything he’s done).  Over the past few years, the NHL has been broadcast on NBC.  The 2008-2009 season, thankfully marks the end of the contract term and it will be up for negotiation/bidding between all the major networks [here in the US anyway... wow I miss the CBC].

Throughout the year, NBC typically only carried a Saturday or Sunday afternoon game.  I can’t think of a single instance where I caught an evening game on NBC (though this may be because I rarely watch NBC at night).  Given that 95% of the NHL regular season (and maybe the first playoff round) occurs during the normal TV-season, I doubt NBC is going to bump their damn reality shows in favor of the NHL.  I realize the NHL is not as big as the other three major North American sports… but there was a time in the past 10 years it had better ratings than the NBA… but I digress.  So, NBC can show the weekend games, that’s fine.  Here’s my problem.  I’ve watched several of them all year… their cameramen suck ass.  They’re not used to shooting a white background (the ice), consequently resulting in a white-wash or over exposure/burn.  Their is so much over exposure, you can’t see the puck… you might be able to make out the blue and red lines on the ice if you’re lucky.  I’d almost rather watch the games on FOX with FoxTraxx (another peev).

Now comes the Stanley Cup Finals… and what does NBC request of the NHL since the Eastern and Western Conference Finals were over in 5 games or less?  Move up the start date of the Cup Finals.  So as would normally happen, for each round in the playoffs, there’s minimum 14 days allotted, every other day, maybe two days if moving to the other team’s arena that is more than 500+miles away.  NBC is a bunch of assholes who should shut the fuck up and deal.  NHL Teams play 82 games a season (6 months, or 3.15 games/week a bit less during Olympic years)… that’s a helluvalot more than those sissies in the NFL playing 16 games in 17 weeks.  All playoff series’ start dates should be determined and adhered to before the start of the playoffs, no alterations, except in extenuating circumstances.

Next year, I just need to get the NHL Channel and/or NHL Center Ice (nearly every game).