Well, now that the Ducks have officially “made a series” of this Stanley Cup Final, or whatever, and now that the League has weighed in on the Pronger hit, and now that we’re sitting down with some daiquiris after some hard, rain-soaked hours laboring as gentlewoman farmers, it’s time for IPB to start grappling with some ugly truths.
Ugly Truth #1:
The Ducks are no better than they ought to be. Or whatever it was crotchety old men used to say about “loose women” in ’50s TV shows. Thanks to how badly we wanted to see the Senators get shellacked, we were willing to blind ourselves to the fact that the Ducks are really no better. In a season that was all about the new NHL, with its charm, and its spunk, and its “isn’t this so much better than things used to be?” attitude, the Ducks were out on the Left Coast gooning things up and generally being a group of thuggish asswipes. But we could all ignore them because their games start at the ungodly hour of 10:30 PM Eastern, and, frankly, it’s just easier to try to pretend Brian Burke isn’t really still involved with the NHL. But the evil architect of the infamous Bertuzzi Incident also managed to stumble onto possession of a team that is wicked good at hockey, despite all his efforts to make them otherwise, and here they are, the nearest thing resembling the forces of Good against the soulless, rapacious, holier-than-thou Senators. Unlike last season’s Final, where there the real winner, whatever the outcome, was the fans, this year’s SCF is a lose-lose, and last night’s game just reminded us of that.
Ugly Truth #2:
Chris Neil. He’s the Rollo Tomasi of this series, in that he gets away with everything: dirty play, dangerous hits, classless taunting, he does it all. And yet the announcers lap it all up as if it’s some cute act, like a cat that’s been trained to ride a unicycle. We don’t care that he’s been an integral part in some big goals this playoffs, he’s still lowering the standards of sportsmanship and skilled play that most of the rest of his teammates strive for. So why should we be excited and happy for him when he scores? Couldn’t Doc’s call for his goals go something like, “And Neil scores! Which is a pleasant change from his usual charging hits to the head and the disgusting lack of respect he shows to his opponents!” Moreover, on the missing teeth front, aren’t we all past that? Even Heatley’s wearing teeth these days. Missing teeth does not a hockey player make, Chris. It’s not cute, it’s not endearing, it’s not “classic hockey”. It’s just ugly, immature and frankly, it makes it seem like Neil isn’t taking his job very seriously. It smacks of unprofessionalism, and if there’s one thing IPB can’t stand, it’s unprofessionlism. Furthermore, with the way NBC went on about it last night, you’d think Neil invented having babies. For the love of God, just shut up about the baby!
Ugly Truth #3:
In 2003 we almost didn’t want to go to Game 7 of the SCF, fearing that our Devils would be the team that allowed the words “Mighty Ducks of Anaheim” to be engraved on the Cup. The very thought of it made us sick to our stomachs. Fortunately the Hockey Gods intervened then (how else can you explain Mike Rupp scoring the Cup winner?) and again before this season. “Anaheim Ducks”, without the stench of Disney, is a far more palatable phrase to adorn that most precious of trophies. But the fact remains that there are far too many players in this series whose names we’d rather not see engraved on the same trophy as our heroes, Scott Stevens, Marty Brodeur and Jay Pandolfo. (You heard us! Jay Pandolfo!) First up (and this has nothing to do with the hit last night, so let’s just not bring it up, shall we?) Chris Pronger. His play has never once warranted the media splurpage he gets. Also, Teemu Selanne. Sure he’s a good player, but just because a guy’s played a lot of years and scored a ton of points, doesn’t mean it’s a feel-good story to see him win. The guys who deserve the be feel-good stories when they win the Cup at long last are the players who are already in hockey’s pantheon. Teemu Selanne and Daniel Alfredsson are not in that pantheon. Not now, and not when one of them is hoisting the Cup this coming week. Not everyone is Ray Bourque, you know? Case in point: Dave Andreychuk. He was the feel-good story in 2004, but really? Does anyone (besides maybe his mum and dad) feel that much better having seen him win? Anyone who watched that pathetic excuse for an honoring ceremony in TB this season knows even the Lightning could care less. On the Senators side, there’s the aforementioned gutless puke, Chris Neil. See Ugly Truth #2 for all the reasons he shouldn’t win it. Mike Comrie has been jerking his teams around since he started, seemingly because he thinks he’s better than them and the league. Oh, and then there’s Wade Redden. Schnookie has been trying to make him her favorite non-Devil player for ten freakin’ years, but because he’s been dropping the ball over and over and over, she’s been forced into thinking that split-ended, monocle-browed, quadzilla-ed Ryan “Crunchy” Miller is the bee’s knees. This is a travesty, people. A travesty.
Ugly Truth #4:
We want the Senators to lose because we are so sick and tired of being insulted by the Canadian media. Because we’re obsessed fans of this sport, and, presumably, because we’re gluttons for punishment (actually, that’s kind of redundant, isn’t it?), we pour over ever word about the playoffs that we can find on the interwebs at work. Which means we’re stuck reading a lot of Canadian newspapers online in which they insufferably gloat about how pathetic and unworthy of respect the American hockey fan is. Well, from IPB we send a hearty “Fuck you!” to the self-satisfied Canadian sportswriters. It used to cute, this “Poor little us, so hated by the League, so put-upon, so unable to compete against the American dollar” spew, but this is three straight years with a Canadian team in the SCF, so we just don’t want to hear it anymore. And to cut down the American fan is even more galling; since we live in a country that enjoys a crowded professional sports landscape, we have to be that much more dedicated, that much more hard-working, to follow our beloved team. If anyone deserves a break in this post-lockout NHL world, it’s the American fan.
Ugly Truth #5:
This truth can be best conveyed in an open letter:
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Dear Ryan Getzlaf’s teeth,
What is going on here? Does he never clean you? Does he chew tobacco or something? Have they not introduced toothbrushes to Re-jay-jay, Saskatchewan yet? Because seriously, you kids are making it really hard for us to like him. Some people dislike your boy for his rat face and assy smirk. Others point to his questionable work ethic and apparent misplaced sense of entitlement. Still others mock him for his youthful baldness. Hey, we like the baldness. We admire a man who can own his state of shiny pate with aplomb, a guy who says, “Screw it. My hair might be going, but I’m still sexy as hell.” We point to one Ed Harris as an example. But we digress. The fact is, you, teeth, are heinous. Is he assuming you all can go the way of his hair and he’ll still look good? Because if so, he is grievously, grievously misinformed.
Love,
IPB
Ugly Truth #6:
We should be better than this, after over a decade of responsibly hating, as all good Devils fans do, every big-name star. But we can’t deny it: we love Sidney Crosby. Adore him. We were in a terrible place during last night’s game, but as soon as his dorky little visage appeared on our TV during the first intermission, everything was coming up roses. And what is it that we love best about him? His adorkableness. Has there ever been a more adorkable professional athlete than Sid? We want to take this moment to share with you, Gentle Reader, a glimpse into the wonderful way that Sid has wormed his way into our hearts:
The scene was an early-morning drive from Buffalo to Toronto to visit the Hall of Fame on our March road trip. We were on the Canada side of the border, approaching the self-proclaimed “Center of the Universe” (and seriously, puh-lease! If you’re not in the heart of the I-95 Corridor, you can’t even pretend to consider yourself as such), when we passed a megaplex advertising on one of its screens a film called “Firehouse Dog”. This fine bit of cinema had yet to hit the States, so we assumed (incorrectly, as it turned out) that it was one of those hilarious Canada-only movies that you see advertised sometimes during commercials on HNIC. Calling back to an interview we saw with Sid following his media-assigned viewing of “The Rocket” (which truly was one of those hilarious Canada-only movies you see advertised sometimes during commercials on HNIC), Schnookie suddenly started riffing an imaginary interview between Sid and a CBC Sports talking head:
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Interviewer: [voiceover] Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby had a chance today to see the new film “Firehouse Dog”, and I sat down with him to share his thoughts.
Interviewer: [in person] So Sid, you saw “Firehouse Dog”.
Sid: Yes. I like movies. Bleep bloop.
Interviewer: Is that so? What kind of movies do you like?
Sid: [protracted, slightly painful pause] I like, um, inspirational movies. About sports. Especially hockey. Actually, I like just the hockey, and not so much the movie. [further long pause] And I like movies about Firehouse Dog.
Interviewer: So what can you tell us about what happens in “Firehouse Dog”?
Sid: [doing that weird, jowly swallowing thing he does when he composes his thoughts] Well, in this movie Firehouse Dog has to overcome a lot of tension and violence. Dogs and cats are fighting, you see, and he has to stop them.
Interviewer: Do you see a lot of yourself in Firehouse Dog?
Sid: [with the utmost sincerity] Oh, for sure.
Ugly Truth #5 made my inner dentist rejoice. Someone agrees!
Ugly Truth #4 is also very very very very valid.
How come I see no mention of Ray Emery?
We’re trying to back off a bit on Emery. He’s made some good saves in the Finals, and seriously, we feel we’ve made our points about him. ;)
Ugly Truth #5 made my inner dentist rejoice. Someone agrees!
I have no inner dentist, but I agree too. And if the teeth are bad on my tv, I can only imagine what they must look like in HD. I might actually have to cry if I saw that.
Meg, next time they show us Getzi’s teeth take a moment to give thanks that you don’t have HD. Seriously, they start zooming in on him, it looks like he might be baring the teeth, and we both duck behind our couch. I don’t understand how teeth can look like that and still be attached to their mouth.
Chris Neil. How did this guy not make my “Reasons I Can’t Cheer for Ottawa” list? Take everything you said above and try watching it for what seems like a bajillion games between Ottawa and Buffalo every season. He makes my blood boil and a huge “shut the hell up” to every Ottawa fan who’s ever told me, “You’d love him if he was on your team!” Because no, I wouldn’t, I have some flippin’ standards! Derek Roy may be a whiny, dramatic little bitch sometimes, but he’s never gone after someone’s head and by the way, I don’t care if Neil’s hits are legal because he’s using his shoulder. “Legal” does not equal “clean” or “sportsmanlike.” It’d be nice to see a little respect for the other players on the ice. (For the record, yes, that goes for Pronger too.)
See? Blood! Boiling! This isn’t healthy!
Even though I think I actually said I didn’t want the Cup in Anaheim, I don’t really care. While I was fortunate to end up in a hockey market, if I’d stayed put in Alabama I would’ve been a non-traditional fan and I’m a little put out on behalf of the fans who are in Anaheim. I mean, there have to be some, right? :-)
I’ve only watched one hockey game in HD and Daniel Briere’s odd yellow pallor is still haunting my dreams. I will giggle imagining you two diving behind the couch each time Getzlaf’s teeth appear. Maybe he’s just playing a joke on IPB and those chompers are actually his fake teeth.
You know at first I was a little taken aback by all this Sens hate…. then I did a little investigating as to why there is such venom when it came to my team. Lo and behold turns out Earl Sleek (sly fellow) has his own blog lauding the play of the Ducks, go figure!!
Heather, Buffalo fan, and the list goes on….. Seems that everyone that is hating on the Sens are doing so with their own agenda not with an eye to whether or not good hockey is being played or whether there is “feel good” stories worth talking about because it’s not the Devil’s, Sabre’s, or Penquin’s, that are playing.
I do take with a grain of salt everything that is said here however sometimes…. hmmm…
To call this the worst hockey and that it is a waste of time is kinda like saying I haven’t been watching the hustle of Fisher or the tenancity of Phaulson, all I see is two teams that are not mine playing so who cares!! There’s been great goaltending at both ends, lots of hits, speed, everything you could ask for except maybe(insert your team name here)
Sorry, It’s that I do look forward to reading your blog and that I have found lot’s of humor in your writing so when I see such hate; it kinda throws me.
Hopefully now that this has become a series again you will go back to your normally insightfully funny stuff rather than continue with all this unneeded hate.
Go Sens Go
Actually, Bill, what’s got us annoyed today is that we’re forced to confront the fact that we don’t like the Ducks either! Another thing that gets us going from mild-mannered fans of “just good hockey” to foaming-at-the-mouth haters is that we’re watching the games on television, with everything framed by the storyline(s) concocted by NBC. So last night’s game, with its distractingly bad officiating, boneheaded call by the War Room, and awful-for-hockey hit by Pronger was made even worse by the fact that the final 20 minutes was a slurp-fest for the utterly loathsome (no matter which team you cheer for) Chris Neil. The whole thing was, as far as we’re concerned, a bad scene all around. (And yes, try as hard as we have to keep our heads about us in cheering for all of Hockeydom in these past few playoff weeks, the fact remains, we’re a couple of really cranky Devils fans. And it seems Game 3 brought out our true colors!)
I was just about to add I forgot about the force feeding done by the “main” stream media so I am glad you brought that up. That is also one of the reasons for reading blogs like yours….they are not by any means the “main” stream and thank you ever so much for that..
The “Centre of the universe” known locally as hogtown or Toronto have really created a monster when it comes to media overkill.
Living in Ottawa and being in between the two most hyped clubs in the league Tor/Mtl believe me I know a barfathon when I see one… but didn’t you know Chris Neil just had a baby girl.. maybe now he will be less cranky now that his wife isn’t sending him out in the middle of the night for ice cream lol.
(By the way I have to admit I love Chris Neil, just not the hype that goes with being the agitator.)
Seriously, now, if you don’t want to listen to the bullshit from the “talking heads” you must do what I am doing now and that is puruse the blogs until you find some that are worth returning to (ahem, IPB) and then try to get your hockey fix there.
Damn You Main Stream Media!!!!
See now I’ve gone and turned into a hater too !!!!! Damn you Gary Bettman!!!
Here’s hoping tomorrow’s game brings back the real Wade Redden, you know the one from last year before the HUGE contract…..
I laughed so hard at the Ryan Getzlaf bit that someone just asked me what was wrong with me. His bald spot is exactly where (m.b.) Dany Heatley’s is. It’s so God can talk to them, just like the monks.
And I agree with everything you said about Cindy Crosby. You know when Yogi Bear used to put on a man suit to get at picnic baskets and just couldn’t fully convince anybody he was a man? I feel like Crosby is like an old man in a kid suit who can’t really convince us he’s a real kid. Love him.
Do you think they can leave Chrises Neil and Pronger off the Cup for the good of humanity?
Bill, congratulations on being an impartial fan. Not all of us are that mature :-) Much of the hate for Ottawa on my part is exaggerated – I actually really like most of their team. I like Alfie, Fisher, and Vermette. I have a ton of admiration for the improvement in Volchenkov’s game. I love Heatley. I would be more than happy to see Alfie lift the Cup when all is said and done (and on the flip side I feel exactly the same way about Selanne and Nieds). I’m happy to see Alfie playing well and I hope regardless of what happens in the Finals, people get the hell of his back about being a poor leader. I don’t even really mind Emery, I just got tired of all the hype about him although this round he’s mostly deserved it (a little shaky last night, I think, though it didn’t matter since the rest of his team finally showed up). Ottawa fans are, in my experience, some of the most fun, passionate, respectful fans in the NHL and I know they would love and appreciate a Cup win in a way that maybe some fanbases wouldn’t. I’d have no serious beef with them winning.
The only genuine Ottawa venom is for Chris Neil who can be, IMO of course, every bit as dirty and disrespectful as Chris Pronger can be. I don’t enjoy watching him play and having to see him eleventy billion times a season certainly doesn’t help those feelings. I think his hit on McDonald last night was every bit as dirty and dangerous as Pronger’s and it’s only good fortune that McDonald didn’t end up in the same position as McAmmond. I hope that when Neil finally does hurt someone, the league is embarrassed about all the times they let him go because no one was injured. (Somehow I doubt that will be the case) Obviously, this is all strictly my opinion and I’m okay with people not agreeing. (But I like it better when they do ;-) I also have no problem admitting that my opinion of Neil is definitely colored by his hit on Chris Drury in the regular season. Chris is my boy and I was pissed to see him go down the way he did. Hey, I’m only human.
And I am tired of the hype surrounding Ottawa. I’m tired of them being lauded as the playoffs most dominant team when almost every opponent they played helped them out by playing like crap and they only played ONE less game than the Ducks. I’m tired of them being pushed as the team “real” hockey fans should cheer for since the Ducks play in :::gasp::: California. I’m REALLY tired of NBC portraying the Buffalo/Ottawa game in February as something that the big, bad Sabres instigated when it all started with Neil and acting like the Sens were lucky to survive the night. I’m tired of the Sens being presented as the skilled good guys and the Ducks being presented as the thuggish bad guys when there are likable and unlikable players on both sides of the puck. Should I let the media influence me that much? No, probably not. But there it is.
That said, I have to admit to feeling that sometimes hating a team with your own agenda is okay. It’s part of sports, it’s part of rivalries. Sometimes you can’t explain why a team or player rubs you the wrong way, they just do. Maybe I’m alone in that though?
From many perspectives I agree with many of the things being discussed, as for Ugly Truth #6 I have to completely agree. I want to hate him, being the media’s baby. My 5 year old daughter is a die hard Penguins fan. But if you ask her who her favorite Penguin is she goes straight to Lemeiux. (Mind you her second favorite is Sidney). From an adult perspective watching her child fall in love with a hockey great (Crosby) I can’t help but love him for everything that the average superstar is not. I love that he is a clean player, that he is kind and nice and I never have to worry that the person she is worshipping is going to say horrible things or do horrible acts. It reminds me of when we were kids and there were athletes that we could “look up to”, ones that we could strive to be like in our everyday life both morally and for their drive to be a great athletes. I guess I am disillusioned by the Prongers and Neils that are just idiots and prove that time and time again.
All I know is that my kid drug me out of bed this morning at 5 am to get to the ice rink at 6 am on a Sunday morning for Stick and Puck session, as I was dragging my ass through Starbucks (I am in Seattle ya know) She looked at me and said, “But Mom, Sid the Kid would do it”. She is right. He would have and I smiled and knew all was right in the world when my daughter would rather be just like Sid the Kid then Britney Spears.
American Oil, I’m sure you know this, but your kid sounds awesome :-)
Yes, well she has plans, she wants to get “asked” to play for a University to play hockey. She is pretty amazing. She lives and breathes hockey. However, the 8 or 9 hours a week spent in an ice rink (and that is the weeks NOT counting going to our local WHL games and other hockey games) can get a bit daunting for a divorced Mum (my ex-husband – not a hockey fan in ANYWAY- lives across the country). Quite frankly I have no idea where she gets her drive. Last spring we were watching the SFC and she looked at me and told me she wanted to play. It has been full speed ahead since then.
At the end of the day when you little girl comes off the ice with her pink gloves, pink stick, in full gear with the biggest smile on the face because she has managed to get her backwards crossovers after 3 hours of work, it is all worth it.
On a funny note this morning all 42 lbs of her decided that she was going to check one of the guys on the ice into the boards……did I mention this guy was pushing 300 lbs??? She literally BOUNCED off of him back onto the ice. She laid there stunned for a second (since he didn’t move at all) and then started laughing got up and skated away. I guess she will leave her checking skills for later.
According to her, you will all someday know her name……
clearly I type faster then I think or just don’t think…but that would be SCF not SFC……gahhh…..oh wait….I have been up since 5…that is it…..really.
Schnookie has been trying to make him her favorite non-Devil player for ten freakin’ years, but because he’s been dropping the ball over and over and over, she’s been forced into thinking that split-ended, monocle-browed, quadzilla-ed Ryan “Crunchy” Miller is the bee’s knees. This is a travesty, people. A travesty.
I got toally sidetracked by the Ottawa/Neil think and forgot that I’m totally offended by the above. Cranky Crunchy IS the bee’s knees! He is!
Margee — you’re so right about Getzi’s and (y.b.) Heatley’s baldness patterns. They’re just bringing back the tonsure! Hott! And as for Sid, he really just is an old man. I wonder if there’s a cursed, aging portrait somewhere in an attic in Cole Harbour or something…
And Heather, thanks for getting us back on track — we get so distracted trying to explain why we don’t like certain players or certain teams sometimes that it’s easy to forget that it can all boil down to just, “Hey, whatever. It’s because I’m a fan.”
Also, Teemu Selanne. Sure he’s a good player, but just because a guy’s played a lot of years and scored a ton of points, doesn’t mean it’s a feel-good story to see him win.
This fucking hurts. Fucking hurts a lot.
I mean, this guy is the ambassador for hockey in Anaheim, and has been a leader for this team on and off the ice. He’s everything Crosby could ever hope to be, and unlike Bourque or Andreychuk, he’s playing for his first cup on the team that he built.
And after 15 years of being a team leader (both for Anaheim and for Team Finland), the guy cuts and bruises his face to his first cup finals, and you sit there with a hole in your heart and say it’s not inspiring? You say that his name doesn’t belong among the greats?
Without Selanne, there’s probably no Sleek the hockey fan.
Don’t worry, Teemu. Win one for me, and Anaheim, and anyone else with a fucking heart. Sorry ladies, but IPB can go to hell on this one.
American Oil: I can only hope that some day I will have children as amazing as your daughter is.
IPB ladies: I’d be clapping, but you can’t hear it down south. :) Although all of your points made me laugh loud enough to scare the dog, I particularly like #4. There is no love lost on Anaheim in my heart, but they do deserve a bit of credit for following their team to the finals. Sure, there are a fair number of fairweather fans among the faithful, but those fans that went to get a construction orange towel and drink beer will have a good time, they’ll remember the excitement…and then think, hey, maybe I want to try this out next season. Thus a hockey fan is born.
I will give the Canadian media one thing: It’s hard as hell to get people into the Cup when baseball season comes around. This might be because I live in the outskirts of Sox Nation, but I can see how people would be disheartened by the giant jump from the hockey ship at this time of year.
I’m sort of inclined to agree with Earl on this one…
Did you really just call it Re-jay-jay….?
I love it!!!
I will give the Canadian media one thing: It’s hard as hell to get people into the Cup when baseball season comes around. This might be because I live in the outskirts of Sox Nation, but I can see how people would be disheartened by the giant jump from the hockey ship at this time of year.
What also hurts is that cities with hockey teams in the US aren’t sending reporters to go cover the finals. According to cnn.com, of the 21 US cities with a hockey team, only 9 sent reporters to the first three games. Everyone else is relying on pool reporters.
Case in point: Dave Andreychuk. He was the feel-good story in 2004, but really? Does anyone (besides maybe his mum and dad) feel that much better having seen him win?
Me. I grew up watching Andreychuk play for Buffalo (back when Buffalo had -chuks to spare, with Hawerchuk and Malarchuk also wearing the blue-and-gold). It was good to see the guy finally win something that had eluded him for so long.
Earl, perhaps I should clarify a bit on the Teemu point. See, ever since Ray Bourque whored himself out for a Cup with the Avs, the media likes to pounce on the idea that every SCF has a guy whose quest for that one elusive ring is something that all “true” hockey fans should be rooting for. I wouldn’t dream to say that Ducks fans should be blase about the possibility of Teemu finally getting his, or that Senators fans shouldn’t be feeling the same for Alfredsson, but this storyline is getting old and annoying for fans outside those markets. Every year now it’s someone else, some second-tier great who gets the Bourque treatment, where we’re informed by the media people who shape the framework for how we get to watch the games that there’s something heartless and wrong with us if we’re not cheering for that guy. And frankly, I’m just tired of it. Teemu’s a great player, he’s done great things for the Anaheim franchise, and the Ducks fans should be excited for him. But this Devils fan doesn’t want to hear about how much he deserves it and how much I should want his team to win just because he plays for them. And if that really is the case, how, then, do I reconcile it with the way I’m also being told I should want Alfredsson to win? I feel like this storyline should only be trotted out for absolute Pantheon players: the Ray Bourques, the Dan Marinos, the John Elways; if 18 years from now Sid’s still without a Cup, then I’ll welcome this kind of fuss again. But anyway, maybe Pookie and I would be less cranky about it if not for the fact that they shoehorn a new guy in every season since the ratings-grabbing “feel-good”ness of Bourque in 2001. I mean, Dave Andreychuk? Really?
Amy, I can see how people who were fans of teams Andreychuk played for would have been happy to see him win. But he wasn’t a player who warms the hearts of everyone in hockeydom. (Hell, he even played for MY team and I wasn’t all teary-eyed for him…) I like Alfredsson and Teemu fine, they’re both great players, they’re both apparently good guys, and they’ve both given their hearts and souls to their franchises (except for that part where Teemu, like Bourque, whored himself to Colorado for a chance at a Cup…). Which is why the fans of those franchises should be pulling doubly hard for them to win. But I don’t like being force-fed the idea that, as a fan of neither of those teams, I should somehow be thinking of them as anything more than just perfectly nice players. And it’s perfectly nice, as a fan of hockey in general, to see perfectly nice players win Cups. But I just can’t get behind this idea that every single guy who’s going to the HOF but isn’t quite one of those automatic “Top 10 (or 20) Of All Time” players is someone I should desperately want to see win a Cup just so his resume is complete.
In Ugly Truth #3, you say:
“First up (and this has nothing to do with the hit last night, so let’s just not bring it up, shall we?) Chris Pronger. His play has never once warranted the media splurpage he gets.”
Really? Never? The man is a stud defenseman who is one of the few true #1 d-men in the NHL. He can give you about 25-30 minutes of absolutely solid defense complete with a booming slap shot and a strong physical presence. The addition of Pronger along with Scott Neidermayer has given the Ducks an excellent defense which has yielded them great success up until now. He was massive in the playoffs for Edmonton in the year prior (21 points in 24 games) and currently now with Anaheim in the SCF (14 pts. in 18); in addition to his defensive work (stupid checks notwithstadning).
I think his play is most definitely warrants the hype as he is one of the top defensemen in the NHL.
John, my problem with Pronger is that, since he plays well enough on average to be his team’s best (and most important player), it is that much more hurtful to his team’s interests when he invariably takes that idiotic penalty when it matters most. Year in and year out he could be counted on to let his team down in the clutch, and in Game 3 he managed to do it THREE times (by banking in that goal, by elbowing McAmmond, then by playing utterly ineffectually on the 5th Ottawa goal because he was trying to be invisible to keep from getting called for anything). His one good postseason prior to this year was followed up by his pulling the mother of all screwovers on his team. Yet for some reason the praise he warrants for his good play is never mitigated by the huge “yes, BUT…” that should be added to it. (I think his shortcomings as a player and team leader are thrown into even sharper relief by the presence of Niedermayer on the blue line with him. Now THERE is a guy who deserves the kind of praise Pronger gets.)
Schnookie, thanks for your thoughts.
When you posted the ugly truths, did you think it would generate such a level of debate?
Still, go to hell on this one. You might be sick of your Bourques and your Andreychuks, but neither of them (nor Alfredsson or Crosby) were building a hockey franchise in the middle of a hockey wasteland. Using up the primes of their careers to put Anaheim on a fucking hockey map.
You don’t have to feel it, but I really think you’re going overboard in knocking it. Selanne going for his first cup in a 15-year career for a franchise he legitimized and a career that he resurrected is a fucking noteworthy achievement, regardless of your unwillingness to accept a feel-good story that doesn’t have the name “Sidney” attached to it.
Amy, we were drunk on daiquiris when we wrote this, so I’m just glad the post ended up in intelligable English! ;-)
There’s nothing I love more than some feverish hockey debate, so I’m delighted (albeit surprised) we’ve gotten such a response. And really, they’re not called “ugly” truths for nothing!
Earl, I’ll admit what Teemu’s doing is noteworthy, and I’ll be the first person to say that Ducks fans should be hoping with all their might (see what I did just there?) that the team can win this for him. But I’m not a Ducks fan. I would never in a million years presume to expect anyone who wasn’t a Devils fan to get choked up when Ken Daneyko took the ice for his last game ever in G7 in 2003. It was a great moment for Devils fans and a great moment for Dano, but if fans outside the Devils family didn’t feel compelled to get wrapped up in the moment, I certainly wouldn’t hold it against them.
Fine. But I don’t know anyone that made the statement that they’d rather not see Ken Daneyko ever win a cup, whether they were compelled by his story or not.
If I had to pick a player from this series that I would most like to see hoist the Cup it would definitely be Teemu.
And that’s the “ugly truth” of the matter ;)
And on HNIC the other night, I do believe I saw a little ad with Getzlaf saying that his favorite player growing up was Sakic. Bonus points for your playoff bf.
Lol. I’m just laughing at the title of this last blog.
Allow me to complete the sentence ;)
“IPB Can’t Handle the Truth….that Teemu is the most deserving to hoist the Cup and even non-Ducks fans should see that.”
How’d I do?
Hey, what can I say? We’re mean, hateful bitches. The more we’re told we should want to see a guy win, the less inclined we are to cheer for him! ;-)
Ah, Earl, here’s that East Coast – West Coast irony in action again. The person who says, “I don’t know anyone that made the statement that they’d rather not see Ken Daneyko ever win a cup” has obviously never seen a Rangers fan in action. ;) I was living in NYC when Dano went into rehab, and the things I heard from Rangers fans could curl your hair. I doubt any of those people jumped for joy that Dano won it all 3 times.
But as a fan, you just let it go. Why? Because there’s no reason a Rangers fan should cheer for a Devil.
Icing, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head!
Yes…..I agree Schnookie (however…I must admit I do heart Teemu).
But I don’t know anyone that made the statement that they’d rather not see Ken Daneyko ever win a cup, whether they were compelled by his story or not.
Isn’t there a difference though, between saying you’d “rather not” see someone win a cup and saying you “don’t care” if someone wins a cup. For example, I don’t care if Selanne wins a cup. That doesn’t mean I’d rather he didn’t. In fact, I’ll be happy for him if he does because he seems like a good guy and he’s a great player. I’m just not pulling for him in the meantime.
I like feel good stories. I also like bunnies, and cotton candy, and rainbows. Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens…bring it on.
Go Teemu, Go!
:-)
Pookie, I don’t understand what Rangers fans hating Devils players has to do with this.
Saying your team’s chief rival should not win the cup is one thing. Saying some guy in the league who is rather inconsequential to your team should not win the cup because you don’t like his “feel good” vibes is another.
I suppose I’ll restate: “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t consider the Devils to be a main rival that made the statement that they’d rather not see Ken Daneyko ever win a cup.”
Earl….Earl….Earl…..I understand your team just had to eat some serious dog shit on Saturday night. I get that. I get that you are a bit hungover and maybe (just maybe) a tidge sensitive about your beloved Ducks.
However, you are totally getting “chick crazy sensitive” here. It wasn’t ment as an insult, it was ment as, get the media off the topic already. Yes, Teemu has kicked ass and yes even more so he is a franchise player which we all love and respect, but do we need it mashed into our heads that we should be cheering for the ducks just because of Teemu??? Most of us are cheering for the Ducks, even though asking us a month ago if we liked the Ducks we all probably would have said…Blahh….! All of us have our different and sometimes decidedly questionable reason for cheering for them, but we are sick of the media rehashing that this is the best reason why we should all bandwagon on them.
Anyhow…Earl, we love you and please for the love of God, take some valium until the end of SCF (I say this only because I was just as much a spaz last year with my Oilers in them!)
Pookie, I don’t understand what Rangers fans hating Devils players has to do with this.
Earl, you suggested no one ever said Dano shouldn’t win a Cup. Pookie was just pointing out that plenty of people did! :-)
As for raising the issue of how warranted disliking a player may or may not be, I think this all comes back down to the issue of being a fan. Sometimes you like teams or players, and sometimes you don’t. One fan might think that ardent dislike is something that should be saved only for a team’s fiercest rivals, while other fans might think the statute of limitations on ardent dislike includes guys who are the “face of a franchise” for a team against which their own boys played just 4 years ago in a 7-game SCF… But I digress. The point we’re trying (and clearly failing) to make with Teemu is that we just don’t personally care about his quest for the Cup. We’ll leave that to the real Ducks fans.
Yeah, I’m sensitive today. I’ll drop it, but with one final comment to put my mind at ease.
I’m not saying the hype isn’t overblown. I’m not saying that Teemu “deserves” a cup more than Alfredsson or Crosby or anyone willing to put in their time and effort.
But I am (obviously? seriously?) pissed off when the hype becomes the reason to root against Teemu.
Or at least to wish that his name would not get put on the cup, which is the statement that’s got me all in a tizzy this morning.
Hate the hype, sure. That’s fine with me.
But don’t hate the guy just because he is the best story the team has to offer.
I completely see your point, Earl. Big style. And I’m sorry that what we said pissed you off. I mean, as Daneyko fans were certainly understand as well as anyone how the combination of a player with the logo on his sweater can add up to a far greater value than just what the player has to offer statistically. (If that makes any sense.) But please do bear in mind that we’re outside observers of this series, and our consumption of it is filtered entirely through the media. We can’t help but respond with bitter backlash to the hype, just the way a certain percentage of NHL fans in general hate Sid Crosby (not to keep dragging the poor guy into this) just because of how much we’re all instructed to love him.
And now for something completely different, you two are liveblogging G3 right? No evil jobs on Monday right? Earl, oil, Heather, icing all the other regulars I forgot (please don’t hurt me, I’ve been cramming human anatomy for 4 hours), you’re all going to be there? Because I really don’t want to stay up till 2 to find we’re all angry with eachother.
Mwuah, sending out the looooooooove. See you in the comments!
(yes, I am conveniently ignoring everything that just went on because it is cooling down [good on all of you!] and I avoid conflict the way I avoid doing the dishes)
Does anyone else think Getzlaf looks a bit like (teeth notwithstanding? Milla Jovovich? Everytime I see him I want to put makeup on him and dress him up in a pretty top!
I almost mail-ordered that Rocket movie from Canada, I wanted to see it so much. Should I not? Did I miss your review? Does it feature too much of the burning star of Roy Dupuis?
(please don’t hurt me, I’ve been cramming human anatomy for 4 hours)
Sorry, but I can’t read this statement in a way that is anything but downright dirty, and it sounds like it hurts more than anything I was going to say.
Yeah, I’ll cool down.
Mags, we are totally afraid of conflict, so this has been a very enlightening day for us! IPB’s first fight! Glad you could all be here to participate in and witness it!! :-)
As for the game diary, you bet we’ll be doing one tonight. Wild horses couldn’t keep us away! As for whether anyone’s broken up with us, well, that’s up to them…
Gabby, I know nothing about “The Rocket” other than that one of the comedic high-water marks for us this season was screaming in an approximation of Sid’s squeaky voice, “I WANT THE ROCKET!” Heh. It cracks me up every time.
Earl, I’m glad you’re here to make the essential “cramming human anatomy” jokes, because I couldn’t decide whether I should touch that one or just let it go…
G4, btw. I have not brain.
Gabby, I don’t even want to go there. And he sorta looks like Ioan Gruffud to me. Sorta. In a very distant way.
Earl, you have a filthy mind. Welcome to the world of dental science and med school, we’re all like that here.
Schnookie, myay! Should I make you cookies? “congrats on your first fight!”… Maybe not. You were all very mature about it though.
Also, I can’t spell… NO brain, thank you kindly.
Mags, we totally love Getzi entirely because of the Ioan Gruffud thing. We stopped calling him “Hornblower”, though, just because “Getzi” is faster to type.
Cookies are always welcome — just mail ‘em to “Schnookie, c/o IPB Manor, New Jersey.”
I just had to do a double take as I have a hockey game at 9 tonight….HOWEVER since I am on the West Coast the live feed starts at 5! Yippee, I guess I will bail out of work early (wait who am I kidding I didn’t even make it in until 10:30 this morning) grab my spawn from school and hit the take out chinese place by the house…..WOO HOO…..!!! I am DOWN for actually being on during the live blog!
Girls, seriously, you ROCK. Also, my daughter was wondering if she could be an honourary “IPB, Jr” member?
Hm. An IPB Junior member, says you? We should probably open a Kid’s Club or something, where you subscribe to get an activity kit, a birthday card from IPB’s Official Mascot [Holy crap, Pookie. Why have we not thought of a mascot yet?], and the option to order hot dogs or chicken fingers from the kid’s menu at all IPB functions. Although I think inclusion in the magical world of IPB knows no age limit — if she can bring the snark, she’s more than welcome!
Earl, I just want to add that I was in the process of adding an apology to you for co-authoring a post that angered you, but the stupid internet went down here at work, making me look like a non-apologizing jerk. So, now that that tubes are no longer clogged, “Sorry!”
And now on to our originally scheduled conflict resolution! Yay, conflict resolution!
Mags, Getzi totally looks like Ioan. Thus the WC boyfriend status. It used to be we’d sing the Hornblower theme everytime he took the ice. We’ve since moved on, but maybe that’s what this series needs some more of, to get it back to it’s Games 1 and 2 fun. Everybody, sing along — “duh duh DA-DAAAAH”!
Oh…she can bring the snark. However she is dying to leave comments! What can I say, almost more computer literate then me!
You’re kidding!? Flutter and mom always tells me I’m crazy when I do Ioan impressions when Getzi is on. I AM JUSTIFIED!
Oil, I’m playing a game at 10 my time (reminds me, I need to go get changed and get to the club) and then getting chinese and sitting down to watch this SCF game. Fast food all around!
Aww. Look at all you guys, making up like champs. My heart is swelling, and my eyes are welling.
Good work, team.
No, I should probably be the apologizing fool. It’s just that this site has been such a therapeutic site for my postseason stress that the Teemu gutshot was wholly unexpected.
I guess it’s time to move on to Phase II–tougher theraphy.
Anyway, sorry for the ugliness. Carry on.
Heather B: if I’d stayed put in Alabama I would’ve been a non-traditional fan and I’m a little put out on behalf of the fans who are in Anaheim. I mean, there have to be some, right? :-)
Yes, there are, my coworkers. And everytime the Ducks win they come in the next day and hesistantly look at me (the diehard Kings fan) just waiting to hear me rant about how much I hate the Ducks.
Getzlaf’s teeth. Honestly, I’ve never noticed. But I’m sure I will not be able to look at anything else. Thanks, IPB!! But that bald spot…he will NEVER be an Ed Harris. No one does bald better than Ed.
Earl would you feel less stressed if we pink piranha’d you? Think with all the drugs you would have in you……wouldn’t be stressed about a thing…then you could just sit back in the hospital and watch the game!
Here is something that will make you sick, my owner (ok, so the owner of the Lodge that I work for) is a very rich, what am I saying….DISGUSTINGLY rich man. Who happens to live in Orange. Can you imagine where this is going??? Yeah….so he buys season tickets for every local team, best seats, money is no object. So go ahead….let your mind wrap around the fact that he has season tickets to the ducks…….wait…did I mention he doesn’t really give a shit about sports and less about hockey….he just hands them out willy nilly or doesn’t use them, cause he just likes to say that he has them.
GAAAAAAHHHH
Aw, Earl… hugs all around! (Sheesh. Are we the girliest hockey blog on the planet? We finally get some fiesty hockey debate going, and we’re all like, “Hold on — are we all still friends?”)
kms2, how could you NOT have noticed Getzi’s teeth? He practically has black flies swarming around his mouth every time he opens it.
Damn job! I missed the fight and the making up! Boooooo! I will be here for the game diary though although we’ll see if that’s a good thing considering the outcomes of the games I missed due to work (Ducks wins) vs. games I watched at home (Sens win).
I probably am overdue for some Pink Piranha stress release (tougher therapy, indeed).
As for your wealthy ticket-bragging boss, well he actually sounds like the guy I buy tickets from. He’s got 2nd row season tickets, and I don’t know how often he uses them–just distributes them to the various people who help pay his bill, but I think he is more interested in the perks of season-ticket-holder ownership than the actual sport itself.
Me: “Hey, those tickets were great for G2! What an awesome game, and a great game-winner for Sammy!”
STH: “Huh? Who’s Sammy?”
It’s just that this site has been such a therapeutic site for my postseason stress…
Hear, hear. I actually had to repeat to myself, “This is not a Ducks blog. This is not a Ducks blog. This is not a Ducks blog.”
(Sheesh. Are we the girliest hockey blog on the planet? We finally get some fiesty hockey debate going, and we’re all like, “Hold on — are we all still friends?”)
And then I fell in love with IPB all over again. : )
nice…yup…sounds like him…..he is a piece of work……but hey…..he keeps paying me to show up and can’t complain, I am getting paid as I sit here and chat with you all!!!
I actually had to repeat to myself, “This is not a Ducks blog. This is not a Ducks blog. This is not a Ducks blog.”
Pookie and I live in fear of losing all our wonderful Gentle Readers as soon as next season kicks in and we actually start behaving like a Devils blog! We’re trying to figure out how to watch every single game for every single team next year, to keep our readership as broad as possible… ;-)
You could always pick 2 additional games a week (one east and one west) to watch and comment on. Kinda keep it random……
Well, we’ve mentioned before that we like to follow 4 teams at once, all 82 games for them. So there will probably be a lot of liveblogging/running commentary for our secondary, tertiary and quarternary teams (the identities of those teams are a closely-held secret — not necessarily the same ones as this past season!)… but we have some plans for keeping things random, too. I’m kind of excited to see how things play out, actually…
I love it with my daughters love for the Penguins I have just started learning things about the East…..
It occurs to me that when you guys revert to your Devil loving ways there might come a future post when you are even anti-CRUNCHY. I feel insecure and needy just thinking about such a sad day. He will always need your tender loving. Always.
Whenever the Devils play the Sabres I just wish for the backup to start. Crunchy’s comportment in the Sabres first game against the Devils in NJ this past season, though, sparked a huge debate (NOT a fight, mind you. We never fight. Seriously) between Pookie and me. He was unjustly credited with a save on a Patrik Elias shot that clearly crossed the line, and then had a total meltdown when the officials made up for the blown call by letting Madden poke a covered puck away from him. And his crack-up led directly to the Devils winning the game. It was a very conflicted and tense night at stately IPB Manor, to say the very least. The marriage of Devils fandom and CrunchyLove is a prickly one at best, and Crunchy, bless his prickly little heart, probably wouldn’t want it any other way. Oh, and suffice to say, I was THRILLED when Crunchy lost several weeks later to my boys in the game in Buffalo we drove up to see, so I guess I made my peace with it. I wasn’t ANTI-Crunchy, per se, but I was most definitely pro-Devils. I think what I really hope for is a 1-0 Devils win in which Crunchy makes 65 saves. (Not that the Devils could get a total of 65 shots in all 4 games against Buffalo all season. I mean, who am I kidding?)
This is just amazing;
Thank you Heather for taking the time to respond so thoughtfully. That was so refreshing.
Girls I think you nailed it when you said when it’s not YOUR team the stories aren’t the same… and when the media does decide to run with a story well they all use the wire services therefore quaranteeing repitition ad nausium.
I have to admit most of the time I have to turn off the sound when I watch the game because the announcers are so biased or befuddled…. hello Hockey Night in Canada.
Like Earl I am now going to take a chill pill and try to contain my sensitivity towards those who wish ill will on my team.
Funny how being an outside observer with no emtional attachment of the two teams playing can really open ones eyes to things we as ardent fans might otherwise miss.
Here’s to a good game and I look forward to more from IPB
Go Sens Go
Thanks for weighing in, Bill! It really can be hard to remember when your own beloved guys are duking it out for the Cup that not everyone in the world loves them. I’m still startled to hear that there are people out there who — gasp! — weren’t cheering for the Devils in 2003! (And as a fan who saw The Hockey News run a cover story this year hoping against hope that my team doesn’t win the Cup, I call free rein to say whatever nasty things I want to about the other 29 teams in the league! :P)
Holy cow This place has become huge!!! When I started my comment I was on number 51 by the time it got put up I was at number 73 so if I seem a little out of touch ie: fight what fight ? sorry.
I for one plan on continuing to read IPB into the next year (even if Earl has somehow convinced you Ducks are good) lol.
Got to put this up quickly before I seem out of step again.
(even if Earl has somehow convinced you Ducks are good)
Nah, all I think I did was convince them that it’s stressful being a Ducks fan.
Not only do you have a lot of the league against you (“You’re a Ducks fan?! Dear God what kind of bet did you lose?!”), but living in Southern California you have a lot of your neighbors against you too (“You’re a hockey fan?! Dear God what kind of bet did you lose?!”).
Looks like McAmmond may play tonight. While I’m genuinely relieved that he wasn’t seriously injured, this Ducks fan can’t help but find it conweenient that he has miraculously improved after the suspension and before Game 4.
Aww, Earl. I think you need some Crunchy style tender loving. Consider yourself protectively cradled in my nurturing arms. :)
Kate…sharing your Crunchy love??? Man, Crunchy is not going to be very happy!!! :)
Earl, I’m glad you’re here to make the essential “cramming human anatomy” jokes, because I couldn’t decide whether I should touch that one or just let it go…
A heartfelt ME TOO to that one. I was going to wussily put in a bunch of disclaimers around my sick minded comments to lessen the chances that someone might get mad at me. What was I thinking? I’m in the right place obviously. Phew.
I’m not good with conflict but I actually didn’t think the fight was too bad.
I love IPB and all the people outside marching with signs :)
And remember – if the Sens win tonight it just means a longer series! Yay!
Man I’ve gotten long-winded of late…but does stately IPB manor get the NHL awards on t.v.? I hope so (yes, I’m such a nerd I watch them and even attended one year, the year that Bourque won the Cup and I got teary when he came out with it) because I picture that being great blog-fodder.
Not only do you have a lot of the league against you (”You’re a Ducks fan?! Dear God what kind of bet did you lose?!”), but living in Southern California you have a lot of your neighbors against you too (”You’re a hockey fan?! Dear God what kind of bet did you lose?!”).
Hee hee!
I think we know a bit about how you feel though, living as we do in the overflow region between Rangers and Flyers Countries. And we’ve got that whole “Devils fans?? ARE there any?” thing from the rest of the league (rather with the attitude about Ducks fans, there’s this condescending belief that Devils fans are simultaneously nonexistant and incredibly stupid), as well as the constant chorus from all sides of “The Devils and their style of play are killing hockey”. Wah wah, we’re so persecuted! (Yeah, I know, I can hear that smallest violin in the world playing for us and our three Stanley Cups…)
Icing, I haven’t watched the award show in a few years (not since the debacle with our ex-roommate during the 2003 show. I’ll leave the story at that and just whet your appetites…) but I think liveblogging it for IPB might actually make the painfulness of the “banter” worth watching. I think I’m correct in assume VS is broadcasting it, right?
Kate…sharing your Crunchy love??? Man, Crunchy is not going to be very happy!!!
I have long since relinquished Crunchy to Schnookie’s tender care. I know when I’m beat. I do however have lots of tender love to give, so when I see an area of need, I can’t help myself. Earl needs my tender loving, and so tender loving he shall receive.
The Great 2003 NHL Awards Debacle. Consider my appetite whetted.
Earl needs my tender loving, and so tender loving he shall receive.
Accepted, but careful that your arms don’t get hacked by a Pink Piranha in that embrace. I’m a target out there, you know.
The Great 2003 NHL Awards Debacle. Consider my appetite whetted.
Anytime the use Debacle can be used, I know I am gonna love that story!!!
I have long since relinquished Crunchy to Schnookie’s tender care.
You are such a dear friend…….however, I am not sharing my obscene crush on Luongo. Not that anyone else actually wants to give him tender loving care.
Earl needs my tender loving, and so tender loving he shall receive.
Earl, I vote for this over getting Pink Piranha’d. Really.
damn you Earl…at the same time….ugh.
I do not know who of what a Pink Piranha is, but I am not scared of her. Not. at. all.
Kate, Pink Piranha is the name of my 5 year olds hockey stick. Yes, she names her sticks and sleeps with them, she claims happy sticks score more goals (she named her first stick, Stick). Pink Piranha is a lovely Pink Left Handed TPS stick that might have been broached in early conversations with Earl.
But clearly, I am completely innocent.
Pink Piranha is a hockey stick enjoyed by a-oil’s 5-year-old daughter. It has its own name and its own attitude, and has been used both as a threat against my usually-bruiseless legs and as a helpful distraction to take my mind off the SCF.
Hmm. Perhaps I’ve underestimated the strength of the Pink Piranha.
*backing slowly away from Earl*
I think she just may have to sign the stick and send it in to IPB Manor when she grows to big for it, since it seems to have gained momentum all of it’s own here on IPB. It can be one of their first pieces for the IPB Museum.
american oil, I don’t even like children very much and I think I love your daughter. Anyone who names and sleeps with inanimate objects to make them happy is my kind of person.
There here you go, this was an assignment brought home from school at the beginning of the year…….(as drawn “Stick”)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p43/zhockey/jesus-hockeystick.jpg
Wow. That kid is amazing.
And to think, the IPB Museum is just one rung lower than Baby Jesus on the stick-giveaway ladder.
*backing slowly away from Earl*
Oof. I’ll be seeing Crunchy at the “dropped by Kate” support group, then.
I obviously have to quit my job because I honestly cannot keep up with the torrid pace this comment thread seems to be increasing by.
So I will just say Go Sens! If they win, everybody gets brownies ;D
Oh Earl, Kate isn’t going to “drop you” she is just going to comfort you on the D.L. (or Down Low for those of us not “in the know”)
Sorry Sherry, it is just for us West Coasters’ like Sleek and I, we are finally up and functional at this time of day…..we miss out on all the early AM East Coast Chatting! :(
I obviously have to quit my job because I honestly cannot keep up with the torrid pace this comment thread seems to be increasing by.
Sherry, that makes two of us!
IPB, what’s the record for most comments? (Why did I use a Doc voice when I asked that question?)
IPB, what’s the record for most comments?
I’ll guess the answer is 100.
Oh no, Earl! It was merely a bluff intended to confuse the Pink Piranha. You have been in my loving embrace this whole time. As for dropping Crunchy, don’t be absurd. The only members of the Dropped By Kate Support Group (DBKSG) are Owen Wilson, Chuck Knoblauch, Joe Lieberman, and Dr. Phil.
Kate, my mind is spinning about the membership for the DBKSG. How? Why?
100 comments is indeed the record here at IPB. And in honor of this most exciting event, everyone who contributed to this thread gets an extra 100 bonus IPBucks!
Heather, you actually get double the bonus bucks for being our thousandth comment late yesterday!
Chuck Knoblauch? Chuck Knoblauch?! I can honestly say I never expected to see that name pop up on our blog. I’m almost tempted to say there’s a 100 IPBuck demerit levied for all mentions of Knoblauch. But that’s giving all Yankees-who-were-Yankees-before-I-had-my-Yankees-epiphany too much credit.
And in honor of this most exciting event, everyone who contributed to this thread gets an extra 100 bonus IPBucks!
What’s the ratio of Stanley Nickels to IPBucks?
The exchange rate is brutal to the Stanley nickel! However, one Drew Stafford Buffalo News Medallion is worth 1,000,000 IPBucks.
(Um, what’s a Stanley nickel?)
What’s the ratio of Stanley Nickels to IPBucks?
Excellent–thanks, Grace. That actually cheered me up a great deal.
(Um, what’s a Stanley nickel?)
It has surprisingly little to do with the Stanley Cup, and a lot to do with the character Stanley in the season finale of The Office.
Yes, Pookie, Chuck Knoblauch is reprehensible, which is why he is now dead to me. I accept my 100 point demerit, and I agree, there is no need to speak of him again.
HAHAHA! Stanley Nickels!
No problem, Earl. Glad to help. I would get started on Kate’s 100 demerits (=33.3 citations=6.66 violations=1.67 verbal warnings), but the math is too hard. ; )
I’ve been a regular Office watcher, but damn! That season finale’s ending was a great twist!
I can’t wait for next season!
Ok! I am bailing out of work as we speak to head home (whoops…pick up the spawn…pick up the spawn)!!!! I will catch you on the start of G4!!!!
Earl, I have some nice Black Bush (stop, take your mind out of there) Whiskey I will pour you a glass!
Now I get to cheer for the Ducks Pronger FREE!!! YIPPEE!
I’ve been a regular Office watcher, but damn! That season finale’s ending was a great twist!
The quick look to the camera at the end was priceless.
American Oil, I’m glad you didn’t forget to pick up “the spawn.” I spent too many after-school hours waiting on the school lawn. : (
You’re all still here! What’ve you covered since I was gone? *scans comments* a lot. Right, I’ll talk to you again once I’ve read them all (oh, and my game was awesome)
Congrats on a good game, Mags!
Is it game time yet?
Darn late again Good game Mags!
15 more minutes! And part of my comment got lost… I said I hope this is going to be a good game too. So there I’ve said it again.
And thank you very much Pookie.
Have aquired spawn from school, no time for chinese…..cooking mac and cheese as I type….let the games begin!!!!
I feel like I’ve been hanging out with you guys all day!
4:59! Made it!
I had a complete heart attack here…our NBC station had pre-emted it for NEWS!!! AGH….but pushed it over to a sister station….Thank God….not sure if I could handle watching the CBC feed!
Food has been consumed, celebratory alcoholic beverage has been located (which as a non-drinker doubles as an effective way to soften the blow should this go badly, I get drunk pretty quickly) and I am officially ready for whatever CBC is going to throw at me. Well, you’re never really ready for Don’s outfit, but you get the idea.
I feel like I should put up the pregame of my liveblog so we can all get commenting on that post, and give this one a chance to cool off!
I know Kate…..it has been a nice day with you all!
I think sometime soon we need to do a shout out and remind everyone who we are, where we live and our favorite team….I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time keeping it all straight! What do you think IPB??
However, one Drew Stafford Buffalo News Medallion is worth 1,000,000 IPBucks.
Pookie, the Sabres online store has Stafford T-shirts for sale.
Staffy t-shirts, eh? Well, my birthday is only a few months away!
However, one Drew Stafford Buffalo News Medallion is worth 1,000,000 IPBucks.
I’m rich! I’m RICH!
You should never have mentioned that you have a Staffy medallion, Heather. Now Pookie’s going to be stalking you…
You should never have mentioned that you have a Staffy medallion, Heather. Now Pookie’s going to be stalking you…
Uhhhh…. I mean, I WAS rich but I ummm… sold it on ebay! Yeah, that’s right. Sorry, Pookike!
So I was off work and surfing and found this place and thought I would join up. I don’t have much more to say right now except I need to start reading some of the older posts to get up to speed before I can start posting.
Em
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/WImA4l.jpg[/IMG]
[CODE]Genre: Drama | Romance
iMDB Rating: 7.8/10 (13,175 votes)
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams and John Doman
Release Name: Blue.Valentine.LIMITED.RERIP.720p.Bluray-CBGB
Size: 4.37 GB
Video: x264, 1200×720, 4073 kbps
Audio: DTS 1510 kbps
Runtime: 112 mins[/CODE]
[SIZE=5]
Download Links:[/SIZE]
[B][SIZE=5]Wp Upload links:[/SIZE][/B]
[CODE]
http://www.wupload.com/file/184669146
[/CODE]
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