Penner gets a lot of flack, but he sure scores some important goals. Photo by Linda Hamilton

If you read anything I write over on Get Higher, you’ll see in today’s post that I officially claim the award for worst blogger this week. Unfortunately, life takes over sometimes. So here, I’ll talk about briefly the Kings last three games (all wins) and then move on to discuss their chances in the second round.

» Continue reading “Kings Advance To Second Round”

When most people hear the name Brent Burns, they likely think of the roar of laughter that came with this season’s training camp and what became well known as The Evolution of Brent Burns. I suppose when a 6’5”, 225 pound defenseman (sometimes forward) turns up at the San Jose Sharks training camp looking more Paul Bunyan than Blades of Steel, it’s hard not to notice. And you have to admit, it was going to be difficult after a four-month long lockout for punch-drunk hockey fans not to find something so easy to poke fun at.

Given his reputation as someone who spends a considerable amount of his time caring for others, his rough around the edges look didn’t seem too surprising. Who has time to worry about themselves when they’re busy living life and making other people priority? His ear-to-ear smile with the gap from a long-ago misplaced front tooth, the tattoos, the toques that match his suits, that’s just him. The beard and out of control mop of hair, well, alright… one had to wonder just what in the world he’d spent the lockout doing.

I’m no expert, but I’d like to believe he’d been having a ball with his family and looking after the folks and all the living things he’s made a part of his life. I’d really like to think that meant spending his extra time tending to all the interesting creatures – birds, cats, lizards, fish, you name it – in the animal sanctuary of a home he’s created for them which is lovingly referred to as the Burnzie Zoo.

» Continue reading “The Hawt Trophy: Brent Burns”

What happened to this guy on his birthday last week? (Photo: Sarah Connors/flickr)

I have no idea what happened but this week we’ve had no problem finding awesome player tweets. In fact, we found so many that we couldn’t decide which to use and therefore made the executive decision to use all of them. You’ll understand why soon enough.

» Continue reading “They Said WHAT?!? – Dare You Not To Laugh At These”

You’d think that an invention as game changing as the Zamboni Ice Rink Resurfacer would get at least a little bit recognition in hockey card sets from time-to-time. Given there are subsets featuring players doing any number of ridiculous things off the ice, trophy cards, checklist cards, this card, that card, why not salute the on-ice masterpiece that is the Zamboni? Throw the odd Zamboni trivia card in, make things interesting, maybe even exciting? Exhilarating? After all, isn’t that what Zambonis are?

Season after season, rink rats work to fine tune their mean machines. Do you notice when the Zambonis at your favourite barn hit the ice and have undergone some sort of magical transformation? (Alright, I do.) From undercarriage neon lighting, to strapping on apparatus to enable a little go-go dancing during intermission, to simply providing the perfect flood for the game, the job is thankless but also one that enables minds to wander free with Zamboni creativity.

» Continue reading “Hump Day Hockey Cards: Z Is For Zamboni”

What happened when the Dallas Stars hosted the San Jose Sharks on February 23rd? An All Star fight!

Nearing the midpoint of the second period, Thornton used some stick on Benn. The two exchanged pleasantries and then they paired off. Fights are often chaotic affairs, equipment flying all over the place. This bout? A lot more deliberate. Slowly removing the equipment before moving in to throw ‘em.

To quote the announcer: “This is a prelude!”

» Continue reading “Friday Fisticuffs: Joe Thornton vs. Jamie Benn”

1989-90 Kraft Dinner box, Jari Kurri card #29, Wendel Clark card #8

I hated Kraft Dinner as a kid. KD is Canadian code for what Americans call Kraft Macaroni & Cheese or Kraft Mac & Cheese. We Canadians sometimes think we’re clever and try to shorten things but don’t succeed as well as the Brits or Aussies. We try.

In Souvenir of Canada, Volume 1, Douglas Coupland wrote: “cheese plays a weirdly large dietary role in the lives of Canadians, who have a more intimate and intense relationship with Kraft food products than the citizens of any other country. This is not a shameless product plug — for some reason, Canadians and Kraft products have bonded the way Australians have bonded with Marmite [sic, recte:Vegemite], or the English with Heinz baked beans. In particular, Kraft macaroni and cheese, known simply as Kraft Dinner, is the biggie, probably because it so precisely laser-targets the favoured Canadian food groups: fat, sugar, starch and salt.” ¹

This Canadian alliance with and dietary reliance on KD and my dislike for it presented me with two harsh realities.

» Continue reading “Hump Day Hockey Cards: The Great Kraft Dinner Dilemma”

For this week’s fight, we’re heading to the Western Conference. Last Sunday the San Jose Sharks hosted the Vancouver Canucks for a showdown between the Pacific and Northwest divisions.

It was a night that saw Ryane Clowe record 35 PIMs. Not bad for one game’s work.

» Continue reading “Friday Fisticuffs: Zack Kassian vs Ryane Clowe”

There’s a lot of Eric Lindros hockey cards that make you scratch your head. It’s easy to forget that he was kind of a big deal before suffering so many concussions. Whether it was that star power or just a fluke of the 1990s, we’re definitely glad for it.

Happy Wednesday!

» Continue reading “Hump Day Hockey Cards: What The What?”

Someone was still watching hockey even on his night off… (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

There are a couple of things that make hockey fans happy. For one, we like to watch hockey games. We also like to eat while watching those games. Apparently those things are important to hockey players as well.

» Continue reading “They Said WHAT – Food & Hockey Makes Us Happy”

Secret’s out, Gill

The NHL is back! Yay! But with that, we’re probably going to see a lot less tweets by hockey players. Sad face. So here’s a bunch of tweets that made us laugh this week during training camp.

» Continue reading “They Said WHAT- Training Camp Edition”