It's been a fine run for the Habs as they try to put a terrible period behind them.
Coming all the way from a top seed to battle for a playoff spot is not the way you want your season to go after believing there are bigger and better things out there for you.
They certainly have to be feeling better about themselves and that's half the battle.
The easy part is over however.
I know the experts will tell you that every game is tough when you head down the stretch.
Teams that have nothing to lose can be just as tough with no pressure on them,
but let's face facts:
Would you rather play Boston twice and then the Caps,
or...a 3 game run against the Rangers, Senators and Sabres.
While the Habs have been picking up 8 points against non playoff teams
here's what the other playoff hopefuls have accomplished:
The two teams directly in front of the Habs
The Rangers and Hurricanes are a combined 8-0.
Add the Islanders and Leafs including Toronto's big blown lead at Buffalo
and those 4 are a combined 12-2-3.
Not a lot of wasted points as you see.
The 4 game win streak hasn't vaulted the Canadiens into a playoff spot, it has helped them hang around.
The tough sledding starts NOW.
By the way,
If a silly point wasn't handed out for a LOSS in OT or shootout
Here's what the East standings would look like as of Monday morning:
6 TB 82
7 Rangers 78
8 Habs 78
9 Carolina 76
10 Islanders 72
11 Leafs 72
Monday, March 26, 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Looking in my Cristobal
Well Hab fans, what you've got is what you've got.
No plastic surgeon is coming in to perk up those drooping goal scorers.
There's no goalie-lift for the sagging situation left behind by M. Huet's hamstring.
No botox injection for their season long five on five ineptness.
Before the season started,
I thought this was a team that would squeeze into the playoffs.
I didn't like the wasted dollars (Almost $4 million) placed in the hands of the tendered Mike Ribiero and David Aebischer.
I hoped youngsters Chris Higgins, Mike Komisarek, Alex Perezhogin & Thomas Plekanec would continue with their improvement, not to mention the wild card up front in Latendresse.
Count me among those who did not predict that Sergei Samsonov would be almost a total bust.
I Thought Cristobal would help drag them through to the post season.
Goaltending, Goaltending, Goaltending.
As the Habs battle for extra time this season,
can you honestly say they are better than:
Pittsburgh or Atlanta ?
The goaltending of Rick Dipietro after the addition of Ryan Smyth makes The Islanders better.
That leaves Carolina, The Leafs and maybe the Rangers.
I can's say the Habs are better than any of those...or worse for that matter.
Buckle up !
It's going to be a bumpy ride.
Expect more wins like the one at Nashville and more duds like the one at MSG.
When you rely on special teams and goaltending that's what happens.
And when you don't have your goaltender......
No plastic surgeon is coming in to perk up those drooping goal scorers.
There's no goalie-lift for the sagging situation left behind by M. Huet's hamstring.
No botox injection for their season long five on five ineptness.
Before the season started,
I thought this was a team that would squeeze into the playoffs.
I didn't like the wasted dollars (Almost $4 million) placed in the hands of the tendered Mike Ribiero and David Aebischer.
I hoped youngsters Chris Higgins, Mike Komisarek, Alex Perezhogin & Thomas Plekanec would continue with their improvement, not to mention the wild card up front in Latendresse.
Count me among those who did not predict that Sergei Samsonov would be almost a total bust.
I Thought Cristobal would help drag them through to the post season.
Goaltending, Goaltending, Goaltending.
As the Habs battle for extra time this season,
can you honestly say they are better than:
Pittsburgh or Atlanta ?
The goaltending of Rick Dipietro after the addition of Ryan Smyth makes The Islanders better.
That leaves Carolina, The Leafs and maybe the Rangers.
I can's say the Habs are better than any of those...or worse for that matter.
Buckle up !
It's going to be a bumpy ride.
Expect more wins like the one at Nashville and more duds like the one at MSG.
When you rely on special teams and goaltending that's what happens.
And when you don't have your goaltender......
Thursday, February 22, 2007
That Old Black Magic, or is it Red, White & Blue
This NHL trading deadline thing is like waiting for Godot.
Tick tick, let's go already !
Give me some damn names !
This is Montreal after all, so we all know Bob Gainey is not likely
to be able to do his job without our input.
And we all know what he would do with our input once received.
That would certainly be an uncomfortable spot to accept our info !
But, what the hell...
Here goes.
If I were a Habs fan....
Trade them all !
Every last free agent to be.
Sheldon Souray...Gone !
Craig Rivet...Gone !
Markov, Aebischer, Bonk.
Gone, gone, gone !
This curse on the Habs is my fault.
Tortured by them and their Cups every damn year !
I hated them.
Let their fans find out how the other half lives I wished !
Enough is enough.
I've ended up torturing MYSELF.
Forced to watch this mediocrity season after season.
Someone much smarter than I might have described this,
hoping for the last playoff spot year after year
as having your feet firmly planted in the air.
Mr. Gainey,
Please.
Do what you have to do.
I've seen all I care to of the second and third line players this organization has rolled out for the better part of a decade.
This NHL is built on cheap labour.
Get the inexpensive ones that deliver and you can afford the expensive ones that bring riches.
If the hurt of missing the playoffs in the present means battling for a cup in the future.
Hab fans will thank you then.
YOUR problem of course is that general managers that miss playoffs at the Bell Center
don't get to do that twice !
MY Problem is, I'm getting old,
and can't remember how to remove this curse.
I guess it's up to you !
Tick tick, let's go already !
Give me some damn names !
This is Montreal after all, so we all know Bob Gainey is not likely
to be able to do his job without our input.
And we all know what he would do with our input once received.
That would certainly be an uncomfortable spot to accept our info !
But, what the hell...
Here goes.
If I were a Habs fan....
Trade them all !
Every last free agent to be.
Sheldon Souray...Gone !
Craig Rivet...Gone !
Markov, Aebischer, Bonk.
Gone, gone, gone !
This curse on the Habs is my fault.
Tortured by them and their Cups every damn year !
I hated them.
Let their fans find out how the other half lives I wished !
Enough is enough.
I've ended up torturing MYSELF.
Forced to watch this mediocrity season after season.
Someone much smarter than I might have described this,
hoping for the last playoff spot year after year
as having your feet firmly planted in the air.
Mr. Gainey,
Please.
Do what you have to do.
I've seen all I care to of the second and third line players this organization has rolled out for the better part of a decade.
This NHL is built on cheap labour.
Get the inexpensive ones that deliver and you can afford the expensive ones that bring riches.
If the hurt of missing the playoffs in the present means battling for a cup in the future.
Hab fans will thank you then.
YOUR problem of course is that general managers that miss playoffs at the Bell Center
don't get to do that twice !
MY Problem is, I'm getting old,
and can't remember how to remove this curse.
I guess it's up to you !
Thursday, February 15, 2007
The Unforgetable Fire
Perhaps you haven't noticed all the attention that's returning to the
late great basketball life of Pete Maravich thanks to what's being described as a sensational new book "Pistol" by Mark Kriegel.
As turning 50 back in January reminds me,
I've got a lot more behind me than in front, though you never know when the fountain of youth will be uncovered.
It gives one pause however to having lived through a very different time when it came to viewing our sports heroes.
There was no nightly highlite show, let alone entire networks dedicated to the best of our time.
If you were lucky, your hero was on the "Game of the week".
If not, you waited and you read.
Today's highlites of the past simply don't do justice to the greats of my youth.
There is no doubt that today's athletes are bigger, stronger and faster than those of yesteryear.
For every Bobby Hull that could fire a slapshot through a brick wall,
every team has 20 of them now.
Stronger perhaps but more electrifying ?
I think not.
I didn't see the Rocket but I was told of a fire unmatched.
Before Gretzky & Sidney.
Before Magic, Bird and Michael.
Before Tyson.
Before Bonds.
Before Brady & Manning.
There was Pistol Pete, Bobby Orr, Joe Namath & O.J.
Willie Mays.
Muhammid Ali.
You didn't see them every day but their glow of flash worked wonders on imagination and will last MY lifetime.
Sorry if you missed them.
late great basketball life of Pete Maravich thanks to what's being described as a sensational new book "Pistol" by Mark Kriegel.
As turning 50 back in January reminds me,
I've got a lot more behind me than in front, though you never know when the fountain of youth will be uncovered.
It gives one pause however to having lived through a very different time when it came to viewing our sports heroes.
There was no nightly highlite show, let alone entire networks dedicated to the best of our time.
If you were lucky, your hero was on the "Game of the week".
If not, you waited and you read.
Today's highlites of the past simply don't do justice to the greats of my youth.
There is no doubt that today's athletes are bigger, stronger and faster than those of yesteryear.
For every Bobby Hull that could fire a slapshot through a brick wall,
every team has 20 of them now.
Stronger perhaps but more electrifying ?
I think not.
I didn't see the Rocket but I was told of a fire unmatched.
Before Gretzky & Sidney.
Before Magic, Bird and Michael.
Before Tyson.
Before Bonds.
Before Brady & Manning.
There was Pistol Pete, Bobby Orr, Joe Namath & O.J.
Willie Mays.
Muhammid Ali.
You didn't see them every day but their glow of flash worked wonders on imagination and will last MY lifetime.
Sorry if you missed them.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
The King is Dead
The great Eddie Fiegner passed away friday.
Most of you never heard of him, the ones who saw him will never forget.
The famed softball pitcher who needed just a catcher but employed 2 other fielders
to form the 'King and his court'.
He threw 104 mph, pitched blindfolded and could throw strikes from second base if he wanted to. There were 930 no-hitters and 10,000 games.
There was his legendary spring training feat in 1967, where he struck out Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Maury Wills, Harmon Killebrew, Roberto Clemente and Pete Rose in succession.
Clemente on a between-the-legs pitch and he got Killebrew with one behind his back.
So famous was he that he pitched for presidents (Kennedy) and other kings (Elvis).
Once on Johnny Carson's tonight show,
he knocked a cigarette right out of the host's mouth with a softball.
There was a story several years back in sports illustrated about a ficticious pitcher with an otherwordly fastball by the name of Sid Finch.
Notice the date of George Plimpton's release (April 1st)
http://www.strongmemories.com/toppage8.htm
But this king was no made up character
and today he is gone.
Thanks to John Canzano for the memories...Go and learn:
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf?/base/sports/1171167946308780.xml&coll=7
Most of you never heard of him, the ones who saw him will never forget.
The famed softball pitcher who needed just a catcher but employed 2 other fielders
to form the 'King and his court'.
He threw 104 mph, pitched blindfolded and could throw strikes from second base if he wanted to. There were 930 no-hitters and 10,000 games.
There was his legendary spring training feat in 1967, where he struck out Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Maury Wills, Harmon Killebrew, Roberto Clemente and Pete Rose in succession.
Clemente on a between-the-legs pitch and he got Killebrew with one behind his back.
So famous was he that he pitched for presidents (Kennedy) and other kings (Elvis).
Once on Johnny Carson's tonight show,
he knocked a cigarette right out of the host's mouth with a softball.
There was a story several years back in sports illustrated about a ficticious pitcher with an otherwordly fastball by the name of Sid Finch.
Notice the date of George Plimpton's release (April 1st)
http://www.strongmemories.com/toppage8.htm
But this king was no made up character
and today he is gone.
Thanks to John Canzano for the memories...Go and learn:
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf?/base/sports/1171167946308780.xml&coll=7
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Super Bowl's Over Replacement Blog
Another 4 a.m. alarm
Never thought I would get used to answering that damn thing.
I was right !
Still, there are worse things than talking sports for 4 hours.
Really, how lucky can you be.
Oh yeah, you could be making millions for playing !
And by the way, I know that this is a shameless plug, but let’s face it
I’m preaching to the converted here.
I believe we have the most entertaining morning show in town.
They’re both gonna call me a big suck
But Casavant and Starr make up the best team I’ve ever been on.
I wouldn’t mind turning over tomorrow morning and waking up in April.
I love the NFL and that’s over.
I love playing golf.
I love playoff hockey.
I love the start of the baseball season.
I hate winter.
I hate the cold.
It’s not the worst thing being one of the Bears.
Eat until you can’t move and then go to sleep until it’s warm.
No one said this blog had to be about sports.
Sorry,
Elliott’s asleep right now
Please come back later in the week.
Never thought I would get used to answering that damn thing.
I was right !
Still, there are worse things than talking sports for 4 hours.
Really, how lucky can you be.
Oh yeah, you could be making millions for playing !
And by the way, I know that this is a shameless plug, but let’s face it
I’m preaching to the converted here.
I believe we have the most entertaining morning show in town.
They’re both gonna call me a big suck
But Casavant and Starr make up the best team I’ve ever been on.
I wouldn’t mind turning over tomorrow morning and waking up in April.
I love the NFL and that’s over.
I love playing golf.
I love playoff hockey.
I love the start of the baseball season.
I hate winter.
I hate the cold.
It’s not the worst thing being one of the Bears.
Eat until you can’t move and then go to sleep until it’s warm.
No one said this blog had to be about sports.
Sorry,
Elliott’s asleep right now
Please come back later in the week.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Superb Bowl
Another Super Bowl and it's getting hard to remember them all.
I don't remember the first 2 but the Joe Namath guarantee in III was for the ages.
Without looking them up, here are some random remembrances:
Broncos Craig Morton was a ragdoll, Cowboys Jerry Smith dropping a sure TD,
my beloved Raiders finally winning the big one on my birthday, thank you John Madden.
Kicker Garo Yepremium tries to throw a pass but the Dolphins are perfect anyway.
Wide right, Rams stop 'em on the goal line and 2 more Raider championships.
Lots of Steelers, Niners & Cowboys.
When I was a kid, you had two leagues to choose from.
I Had my Raiders in the AFL and yes the Colts were in the NFL.
After the merger I kind of lost the Colts when they moved into the AFC
seemed silly to have 2 teams in the same conference.
I'll cheer on Indy but I don't really care who wins.
After Thursday's Hab game in Pittsbugh,
I'm anticipating the Penguins afternoon affair as much as the football game,
that's how good that last one was.
Unless the Habs are playing, generally, I would pick any NFL game over the NHL.
And before the new rules last season,
I stopped watching the NHL altogether.
I used to know when pitchers and catchers reported.
Gotta go play with the kids.
I don't remember the first 2 but the Joe Namath guarantee in III was for the ages.
Without looking them up, here are some random remembrances:
Broncos Craig Morton was a ragdoll, Cowboys Jerry Smith dropping a sure TD,
my beloved Raiders finally winning the big one on my birthday, thank you John Madden.
Kicker Garo Yepremium tries to throw a pass but the Dolphins are perfect anyway.
Wide right, Rams stop 'em on the goal line and 2 more Raider championships.
Lots of Steelers, Niners & Cowboys.
When I was a kid, you had two leagues to choose from.
I Had my Raiders in the AFL and yes the Colts were in the NFL.
After the merger I kind of lost the Colts when they moved into the AFC
seemed silly to have 2 teams in the same conference.
I'll cheer on Indy but I don't really care who wins.
After Thursday's Hab game in Pittsbugh,
I'm anticipating the Penguins afternoon affair as much as the football game,
that's how good that last one was.
Unless the Habs are playing, generally, I would pick any NFL game over the NHL.
And before the new rules last season,
I stopped watching the NHL altogether.
I used to know when pitchers and catchers reported.
Gotta go play with the kids.
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