King Crosby

It had to be “him”. If Canada was going to win the gold, you know “he” had to be the reason why. We all know who “he” is and for some reason, the fact that “he” scored that goal last night – made the US’s over time loss to Canada burn a little more for some people.

I know a lot of you out there uttered the phrase, “Anyone but him!” after Crosby scored the goal. But let’s drop the hate for five minutes? I know you think he’s a cry baby, boring and there’s a laundry list of other reasons why you don’t like him. But, let’s face the kid can play. He’s talented – he didn’t get as far as he has based on looks alone. Don’t get me wrong, the kid is a looker and has a great ass - but he’s worked that ass to get where he is today.

Just moments into over time, the kid from Cole Harbor, Sidney Crosby, got the puck past Ryan Miller and his legend grew a little bit more.

But it wasn’t just Sidney who won the game, Roberto Luongo proved why he is the best goalie in the NHL. Corey Perry scored his fourth goal in the series, with the help of his Ducks teammate, Ryan Getzlaf. Jonathan Toews was one of the unsung heroes – getting his first goal yesterday and he was named the top forward in the tournament.

Plus, you’d be an idiot if you didn’t give props to Team USA. According to most people out there, they were going to be a non-issue. They were the youngest team in the tournament and in-goal was a guy who had hit the skids prior to the Olympic break. They proved everyone wrong. They made people like Brian Rafalski and Ryan Kesler household names and hopefully inspired a few kids out there to pick up a stick and put on some skates.

Team USA wouldn’t have gotten as far as they did, if it wasn’t for the performance of Ryan Miller. He was undoubtedly the star in many people’s eyes of the Olympic games and watching him so visibly upset was hard to handle.

This isn’t the first time Miller had an unfortunate run in with Sidney Crosby. Picture it, Buffalo, 2008. It’s a snowy New Year’s Day at Ralph Wilson Stadium and a young, Sidney Crosby gets the puck past Ryan Miller during the shoot out and wins the game. Hopefully Miller doesn’t go all Ray Finkle on the people of Buffalo, he was amazing during the Olympics and I know he wanted a gold medal – but a silver is nothing to look down on. You were the star, sir and I tip my cap to you.

If that doesn’t help, Team USA – well, just remember…  at least you’re not Russia.

CHOKE-VECHKIN

"Do you think my medal will clash with my Stanley Cup ring?"

I was nervous  – but extremely excited. Russia, historically, usually was a tough opponent and I didn’t want Team Canada to blow their load, excuse the term, on them and have nothing to offer later. But, I couldn’t wait to see the two powerhouses battle it out. I mean, this was suppose to be the gold medal game and instead, the top contenders were holding on for dear life. It was Thunderdome!

Did we get Thunderdome? Nope. What did the Olympic viewing audience view? What most of us viewed from the comforts of our own home, was basically the varsity football team beating up on the kids in the slow class.  You know it’s bad to beat up on the retarded kids, but sometimes you got to smack’em around & show’em who’s boss.

It was great to see Canada put the goal in the net over and over again, but a blow out is never a good time. It was depressing almost. I had the honor of catching the game with my father, Hank, and as an older gentleman, he was bummed that Russian wasn’t the beast that they use to be. Gone are the days where the Russians are the athletic superior and stacked with the best of the best. Back when their female athletes looked just as rough and masculine as the men.

Instead Russia’s team seems to be filled with victims of the Chernobyl disaster & coked up, emaciated male models. Don’t hit too them too hard or they’ll break their frail bones. Even Alexander Ovechkin couldn’t score on Canada. Maybe if he spent more time practicing like a his Capitals teammate, Brooks Laich, he’d be the superstar that he supposedly is.

Who knows, maybe Russia decided to take a year off and focus on Sochi in 2014? It’ll be interesting to see who’s in and who’s out when the Olympics come to their neck of the woods.

With last night’s win against Russia, Canada is now one game away from the gold medal round and we all know they want a rematch against Ryan Miller and Team USA. Who wouldn’t want to see that? Well, maybe Russia and the other losing teams in Olympic hockey tournament – but they should have won those all important games if they wanted their vote to count.

Canada takes on Slovakia Friday night, while the US takes on Finland.

But Canada Was Suppose To Win!

Waking up this morning, I couldn’t help but wonder if last night really happened. 30 years ago the US hockey team beat the Russians in Lake Placid, cut to 2010 and the US hockey beat Canada 5-3 in a huge upset.

During talks with the media prior to last night’s game, both teams were doing whatever they could to keep the rivalry alive. Team USA biggest pot stirrer was Vancouver Canuck, Ryan Kesler, who flat-out said he hated Team Canada and wanted to do whatever he could to make sure Team USA won. Bringing the hate paid off last night for  Team USA.

Team Canada got schooled on their own sport and it was embarrassing. There was no reason why USA should have won and after Team Canada barely won in a shoot out against Switzerland on Thursday, the same team that Team USA pulled off their first win against, you would have thought Babcock and the rest of his staff would do whatever they could to find the right line combination to battle and beat Team USA.

Now Team USA is hardly a rag tag group of guys – excuse the term, they’re the best that money can buy. The Bad News Bears, they’re not (although, I would like to nominate Kesler for the Tanner Boyle award for being the biggest shit starter). But unlike Team Canada, Team USA just seemed click together better. Maybe Brian Burke had them do extra trust falls or they had a slumber party during try-outs, where they shared their inner most secrets. I don’t know.Whatever they did, it’s working.

I mean look at  Brian Rafalsky – he’s suddenly the King of the Stars & Bars and  you know Mike Babcock is wondering what the hell is going on and probably recommending he gets tested by Olympic officials. Rafalsky has scored 4 goals so far in Vancouver, which is also the same amount of goals he’s scored in 57 games this season. I guess with the right teammates, anyone can be a superstar.

Team Canada plays against Germany next. If they beat Germany, they’ll take on Russia in the quarterfinals and if you think Sunday night’s game was intense, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

How Child Abuse Made Me A Team Canada Fan

Now, I maybe born and raised in the US of A – but the majority of my mother’s family hails from the great white north. My Nana, Celeste, not to be confused with Mama Celeste and her delicious microwavable treats, was a product of Prince Edward Island. She loved where she was from and would tell me about her life growing up on the farm and her summers she spent on the beach.

Celeste was a classy lady(unlike me who’s a heathen) and enjoyed the finer things in life. She was the type who never let her hair get wet while swimming (besides the time I flipped her & inner tube over in the pool by accident) and was always impeccably dressed. Sporty she was not, but she loved watching them.

For whatever reason, she hated Roger Clemens with a passion(she must have been clairvoyant) – but loved the Sox, she blushed & turned into a school girl when she would talk about the time she met Red Auerbach and she would be sitting right next to me cheering on the Bruins when I was little. She loved sports and she especially loved the Olympics. Now granted, she had left Canada when she was 19 – but she still considered it home and was very proud to say she was from there.

She was so proud – that whenever the Olympics were on,  the two of us became Team Canada loudest cheerleaders. So how did Celeste get me to share her love for America’s hat? By beating it into me. See, Celeste used the fear technique to get me to support her native land. If either my grandfather or I showed the slightest bit of patriotism or support for the US during the Olympics or some international sports competition - 9 times out of 10, someone was going to get smack and let me tell you, homegirl had some power behind that punch.

So after a few shots to the head, I learned my lesson and  was all about the Maple Leaf. I know it’s weird to think that child abuse is the reason behind me throwing my support to Team Canada, but for me it makes sense and honestly? I’d feel guilty switching sides now.  Celeste was awesome and I wouldn’t be the broad that I am today if it wasn’t for her. I wouldn’t have a dent in my forehead either, if it wasn’t for her – but that’s not that point. The point is, is that I’m afraid I’m going to get clocked by a rogue shoe(thanks to her ghost) if ever start rooting for Team USA. Plus,  Phil Kessel is on Team USA and whenever I see him on tv – I have the urge to throw something at him.  BUT I’M NOT BITTER! It’s just another reason for me to root against the US.

So out of support of my Nana, I’m Team Canada this year. Even though their national cheer is LAME.