To say I’m heated, fuming, livid, sad, devastated, rip-roaring mad, crushed, and/or pissed off just would not cover my feelings towards what’s going on with the Penguins these days. Fine. Fire Shero and Bylsma. That needed to happen. Fine. Hire … Continue reading
Not-so-obvious statement of the day: I love Logan Couture.
No one knows this because I don’t tweet about him as often as I like. Usually while he’s playing on the west coast, I’m dead asleep here in Boston. (Don’t forget, I am a college student.)
But that’s my only excuse (and hardly even a valid one). Back to Logan though!
Today is his 25th birthday!!
He’s now 25, and you’re saying “so what?” I’ll tell you what, every hockey fan needs to have a deep appreciation for Logan, his hockey skills, and personality.
In case you missed it, Logan got some attention for saying his celebrity crush was Selena Gomez.
But what’s even worse, he got overlooked during the 2012 All-Star Game so many times, that he ended up being the last pick in the draft.
The entire time I was staring longingly at the TV, waiting for his name to be called. (Shame on the team captains that year.) At least he took the time to thank me.
So you’re wondering what he was doing at the ASG. Well, he’s actually a great hockey player. And even though I can’t watch as many of the Sharks games as I’d like to, he never fails to find the highlight reel.
His rookie year, Logan was nominated for the Calder Trophy because why not?
Logan’s basically been a stud his entire life. (Thank you Sharks for posting these bad boys.)
Logan also has a great sense of humor. Do yourself a favor and give him a follow on Twitter @Logancouture
I hope you have the best 25th birthday ever, Logan!
If you didn’t know who Jacob Trouba was before reading this post, pay careful attention.
Today’s his 20th birthday! Oddly enough, I didn’t know he was only 20 until he posted it on Twitter.
Reasons you and I didn’t know this:
1. Jacob played a year at the University of Michigan.
If you know anything about college hockey, then you know freshmen are typically 20-21 years old. However, he entered college at the ripe (more like normal) age of 18, where he was an outstanding defenseman for the Wolverines.
2. Jacob’s represented his country on the international stage and came back with some serious hardware.
That’s really impressive for an 18-year-old. Especially since he figured out how to score against Team Canada.
3. Jacob and Zach Bogosian are roommates in Winnipeg. Aka, I just thought he was a rookie living with a veteran guy. Then again, the maturity level between Jacob and Zach combines to about late middle school-high school years. Seriously, just look at their Instagram’s.
4. Apparently Jacob can’t grow a mustache. So I, logically relating everything to Sidney Crosby, thought that he just had baby-face syndrome, meaning facial hair is not an option. So this happened:
And then the Jets did this about it: Pass the Mic: Episode 1 (Just wait for Zach to start talking to Jacob. The two can’t control themselves.)
So more or less, we all should love Jacob Trouba and wish him a Happy 20th, because you’re only in your 20’s once and rumor has it, it’s a pretty good time. Except when we make a few mistakes along the way.
Poor Brandon Sutter. You ask why? Watch this weeks preview of “In the Room”
In the Room: A Peek Inside 2/25/14
Sutter gets THAT nickname because he’s skinny? But as our resident bad boy, James Neal, admits, he doesn’t even know how “Flat Stanley” became the official nickname for him.
If he was so skinny, he probably couldn’t do this:
Definitely making it my mission to make sure “Flat Stanley” doesn’t stick around for much longer.
NHL games are BACK today and boy are we ready!!
The last two weeks were amazing. The Olympics provided more than enough entertainment to make up for the lack of NHL games. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out so well for Team USA.
But just a few great things did happen in the world of Olympic hockey…
1) Everyone and their mother now know who TJ Oshie is
And the majority of those people are going to claim to have loved him before this epic shootout…
but what really matters is that AMERICA loves him now.
Let’s face it.. how could you not?
2) America didn’t suck as bad as we thought they would
They still didn’t bring home a medal but before the games started most people predicted that Team USA would be a joke. The Olympics were going to be a great opportunity to make fun of this amazing country on the world stage.
And it’s true… Team USA didn’t have the depth or skill level.
But what they lacked in talent they made up for in HEART.
To say that we were surprised by how well their first few games went would be an understatement.
We loved it though. Every second of it.
3. PUPPIES
Oh yeah… this happened too.
So while it wasn’t the best outcome for Team USA, it’s time for us to hug it out and move on
BACK TO THE NHL
We’re ready for games to be on at normal hours of the day again…
And there’s a good game or two on this week.
Like this one.
So have a great week everyone. You deserve it.
This has been a sad week.
It was announced Wednesday that Steven Stamkos still wasn’t medically cleared to play.
Which means no Sochi for Stammer. And no Stammer for Team Canada.
But now is the time to turn that frown upside down.
STAMKOS IS 24!!!!
24 shades of stud
Who knew lil Stammer would grow up to be….
…. well not so little
Not to mention he’s classy as F#@&
So have a great birthday, Stamkos. You deserve it.
Ahh, the smell of Sochi is truly in the air. All of the hockey teams have been chosen and whether or not you agree with who is or isn’t on whatever team you’re rooting for, it’s time for us fans to be excited for those lucky guys who got “the call”.
As many of us know, NHL Revealed will be coming to NBCSN starting on January 22nd and to CBC the following day, and late yesterday, the league released a clip of New York Islanders captain John Tavares.
I would’ve loved to see him actually get the phone call and talk to Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli. However, it’s just as adorable listening to John telling his parents the amazing news. Personally, I would’ve been jumping up and down on the bed like an immature school girl if I ever received the call to be on Team Canada, but being John Tavares, he had to be a bit more subdued.
All in all, congratulations to everyone who was named to Team Canada, USA, Russia, Sweden, Finland, and all other competing Olympic teams.
Here’s a link to the rosters of all competing nations:
After a rough week of hockey and now the beginning of finals week I couldn’t take it anymore.
We all need a reason to smile. Cause it’s our favorite.
So enjoy this little break from studying and take a breath. A deep breath.
Here’s a few things things to remind us that everything is going to be alright.
1) ALL MEN LOOK CUTER WITH PUPPIES
2) THIS HAPPENED
3) SO DID THIS
4) THIS KID SCORED HIS 250TH GOAL…
5) THE OLYMPICS ARE IN ONLY 59 DAYS
6) 24/7 STARTS THIS WEEKEND
7) THERE’S ONLY 16 DAYS UNTIL THIS MAN COMES TO TOWN
8) THE OIL KINGS DECIDED TO START THEIR SINGING CAREERS
9) KRUG CONTINUES TO GET MORE AND MORE ADORABLE
http://video.bruins.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=484075
10) THIS BEAUTY OF A MAINER (@du24theboyz) GOT RECALLED
11) THE COYOTES WENT CAROLING
12) CELEBRITY CRUSHES
13) THIS BROMANCE EXISTS
14) EVERYTHING GINGER
15) NHLers ACTING ABILITIES
And with that I’m going to wish you all good luck on your finals and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Forewarning: This isn’t our typical kind of article. So if you’re looking for pictures, gifs, and funny commentary, please continue to the next article.
It’s an unfortunate reality that in life our favorite things, people, and sports teams inevitably disappoint us for something they did that we simply cannot stand behind.
Clearly I am an avid hockey fan. I have a passionate love for the game that my parents and non-hockey-fan friends see has borderline crazy.
On more than one occasion, I have been thoroughly disappointed by the Penguins before. Whether it was the end of the 2011-2012 season with their last game against the Flyers ending in absolute bedlam, along with the atrocious playoff series to follow or in the Eastern Conference Final last year where they were swept by the Bruins and the rivalry that has budded since. And I’m sure Tina can say how many times the Bruins have disappointed her as well.
Leading up to my next point. In my time as a hockey fan, the game itself has never disappointed me. But there’s a first time for everything.
Last night was nothing but normal here at school, Tina and I in separate rooms watching the Penguins @ Bruins final regular season game for this year.
Then, incident #1: Brooks Orpik laid a huge hit onto Loui Eriksson within the opening minute. I’m not going to discuss whether I think it was a clean or dirty hit, but this hit set the stage for the rest of the game seeing as Eriksson had to leave the remainder of the game and no penalty was assessed on the play.
Now mind you, at this point I’m looking at the TV like “Oh God. Here we go again.” Because as tough as the Penguins are, hard hitting will always and forever be the Bruins dominant territory. If you watched you know the game got more and more intense throughout the first period. Shawn Thornton being the “stick up for your teammate” kind of guy was going after Orpik to make sure he answered for his hit on Eriksson. However, if you know Brooks’s game as well as I do, you know he’s not the kind of guy who feels the need to fight in order to settle a score for something he did. Thornton continued to harass him without answer and was given a minor penalty for roughing about 6 minutes into the game.
The game continued in its rough nature until the two most highly controversial plays of the night. Let’s go in chronological order and discuss James Neal’s run-in with Brad Marchand first.
Everyone knows I love Nealer, but his knee to Marchy’s head is something I will not standby and defend him for. It made me even more upset when in his post-game interview he tried to play it off as if it was an accident and he didn’t notice him laying on the ice. I call shenanigans on those statements. Luckily Marchand was okay and able to finish out the game. As for another post-game interview, specifically coach Dan Bylsma’s, I applaud him for calling Neal out and saying he didn’t make the effort to get out the way. Neal has a phone hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety at a date TBD and since it is a phone hearing, his suspension will be no more than 5 games.
Now the incident that ensued in the seconds after Neal’s knee on Marchand.
There was a bit of a scrum occurring between the two teams at the other end of the ice because if the previous incident and dutifully, the referees were breaking it up. One of the people involved in the scuffle was none other than Brooks Orpik. If you’ve seen the video (which will not be posted on this blog), then you know Shawn Thornton made an effort to skate towards Orpik, pull him down to the ice, and punch him in the head a couple of times. I do not want to know what possessed him to do such a thing to an unsuspecting player who made it pretty clear in the minutes before that he was not interested in fighting.
Orpik was down on the ice for a significant period of time and the training and medical staff were immediately called from the benches once the referees saw the condition he was in. After getting him to Mass General Hospital, where he was able to complete a number of tests to ensure he was okay, the Penguins did release a statement saying the Brooks was conscious and alert. *insert slight sigh relief here*
In Thornton’s post-game interview, he did nothing but apologize for his actions, and as a Penguins fan I’m glad he did. He will have an in-person hearing with the Department of Player safety at a date TBD, meaning he will face a suspension of 6 or more games. Now before any of you start smack talking Thornton for being “such a dirty player” please keep in mind that this will be his first suspension EVER. One dirty play does not make him a dirty player. Make sure you get your facts straight.
When all hope was essentially lost at this point in the game, there was one moment that made me realize there was still some class left. This act was performed by none other than Patrice Bergeron, helping the responding EMT get the stretcher over to where Orpik lay unconscious.
This was the only redeeming moment in the entire game. So thank you Patrice for making me believe there was still some sort of light at the end of this very dark tunnel.
Say whatever you want about what happened at this game, but for me, I was crushed at what this “rivalry” has come to. If playing tit-for-tat and messing with a players long term health has become a part of it, then count me out because that’s not a true rivalry. Also, if you’re a so-called fan saying “Orpik got what he deserved”, then you need to learn to respect another human beings life. Because it doesn’t matter what team you cheer for, any decent fan would never wish this upon their worst enemy. This is a time when Eriksson and Orpik’s long term health has come into play and all any fan should be caring for is that they both make a full and speedy recovery.
I’m happy this is the last time the Penguins and Bruins are to meet in the regular season because I don’t want to know what the next game would (or may (come playoffs)) have entailed after this disgusting, gutless display of hockey.
The score may have been 3-2 in favor of the Bruins, but there was no real winner at the end of this game.
Take the time to read these articles as well:
http://section328.com/2013/12/08/no-place-in-our-game-for-what-happened-tonight/
Tina and I have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. We go to an awesome college, there’s no lockout this year, and our favorite players have continued to impress us with their good looks and charm throughout these past few months.
Here’s some of our favorites:
But most importantly Tina and I are most thankful for all our loyal readers. Without you guys, this blog would not exist!
ProHockeyTalk on NBCSports.com
We talk puck, not slut
We talk puck, not slut
We talk puck, not slut
We talk puck, not slut
