Super Bowl = Super Hungover

For as long as there has been Super Bowls (at least in my 28 years on this earth) the Super Bowl has been played on a Sunday, the traditional day of football, the end of the week (or beginning of a new depending how you look at it), but why for the Grand Daddy of them all would you make it a Sunday???!!!  All across North America there will be Super Bowl parties galore.  Bars stools will have big fat American's asses firmly planted in them from 11 a.m. until close and I'm sure there are some establishments that will open a little early so that any patrons who wish to partake in pregame banter and watch the know it all's talk about each teams journey to this point.  What I don't understand though is why is HAS to be Sunday?  This is a one day, winner take all show, so why does the day have to be Sunday?  People want to drink and enjoy themselves and they do!  The fact that the biggest sporting event of the year is on a Sunday, when most of the world has to get up and work the next day, doesn't seem to stop people from fully involving themselves in the festivities.  On average 6% of people (American Statistic Only) call in sick on the Monday following the Super Bowl.  That's over 18,000 people, approximately 350 per state!  Some states in American would shut down with that many people home sick for the day!  Other sports do not limit their grand prize being handed out to just one day, granted not all sports are a one game winner take all; most are your traditional 7 games series.  TV contracts and other things come into the equation as well and in a 7 game series you never know how many games it might go or when the prize will be won.  This past summer the World Cup was played and the final match was on a Sunday.  Why??!!  Why must the sporting world do this to the public.  All we want to do is enjoy watching our favorite sports team, or sport, enjoy the company we are in, maybe a few cocktails and not have to worry about going to work the next day!  If you are reading this and you say "Well Angry Sports Fan, how about you just not drink?"  Then I say to you, don't be ridiculous you killjoy!  Learn to have some fun, enjoy life, get tanked during the Super Bowl!  I'm not suggesting much, I'm just simply saying why not make the Super Bowl on a Thursday (as 7.5% of people call in sick on a Friday anyways, even when they are not sick) or even better a Friday or a Saturday.  I can understand viewership overall for tv drops significantly on a Friday or Saturday, but it's the FREAK'N Super Bowl!!!!  I am pretty sure you could host the Super Bowl in Alaska at 3 a.m. and it would still sell out, the ratings would still be astronomical and you'd still get the Black Eye'd Peas to play the half time show, but that's another Angry Rant...stupid Black Eye'd Peas.

  Dear NFL,
    Consider my argument I have made above.  Traditions are made to be broken or adjusted.  Throw this one in the trash like the Patriots threw their Super Bowl hopes in the trash.  People love the Super Bowl, but I know that every year there are thousands of people standing around the water cooler saying "I really wish the game was on Saturday, I'm going to be sooooo hung over on Monday.", while others will just simply say "I'm not coming to work on Monday, I'll be tooooo hung over."  If you listen to me and move the game I guarantee you will still get the same ratings, make the same in revenue (if not more) and the economy will benefit with the reduced number of employees sick on the Monday following.  This isn't just a blog NFL, this is a revolution, I'm helping to stimulate the economy and keep America Productive.  Suck it Barack!

Consistency Is What You Make It

For a couple of years now the NHL has been all about protecting players and trying to remove hits to the head from the game which is a worthy endeavor as it's a dangerous aspect of the game.  They have increased fines, suspensions and Colin Campbell spends more time in player meetings that he does at home it would seem.  I do not have any dispute with the NHL cracking down on head shots, it's dangerous and can cause serious harm, but what I do have an issue with is the inconsistency of the NHL's punishments from incident to incident.  This week Mike Brown of the Toronto Maple Leafs was suspended three games for his hit on Ed Jovanovski in a game in Phoenix.  There was contact to the head, but the contact was not intentional, as Brown was following through on a hit and Jovanovski put himself in a vulnerable position.  These are situations that I can understand must be difficult for the NHL to asses, as it's a fast game and from watching the game live and seeing highlights, if Jovanovski had not have reached for the puck (bent over) as he did, there would have been no contact to the head, just a standard shoulder to shoulder check; there was no penalty on the play  You review this suspension and then you look at recent incidents in the NHL that have lead to injuries that have gone without any NHL involvement, be it suspension or fines.  Most recently you look at the Winter Classic, the great idea of the NHL, where Sidney Crosby was blindsided without the puck and the play up ice, which has now lead to a concussion and Crosby to miss the last 5 games.  There was no penalty on the play and no suspension or fine.  I guess the NHL didn't want to draw negative attention to their spectacular idea.  Another example would be last year when Marc Savard was hit by Matt Cooke which put Savard out from the middle of last season until this past November, again, no penalty or suspension.  A week ago Friday, Ben Eager of the Atlanta Thrashers sucker punched Colby Armstrong of the Toronto Maple Leafs, not a clean play, but he was given six games!!! Six!!!  The NHL is handing out suspensions and fines like a blind referee.  It's often been a theory from minor hockey to professional that when a blatant call is missed during a game, that at some point after that in the game a really bad call will be made to put the referee's mind at ease that he has even up the game.  It appears that Colin Campbell and his disciplinary committee do the same when it comes to handing down fines or suspensions.  He misses one such as the Crosby hit so he feels he needs to come down hard on a play like Ben Eager, or Mike Brown when they certainly don't warrant such punishment.  If the NHL wants to keep head shots out of the game, which in my opinion you'll never fully get rid of them, the game is too fast, players react at the last seconds putting themselves in harms way *Cough Jovanovski Cough*, then you have to take the first steps and have a more consistent manner of punishments.  I understand there are reoccurring offenders and punishments are harsher for them as they would be for a first time offender, but be more consistent.  Swallow your pride and call a guy down for a meeting at Principal Campbell's Office even if it's a week after the hit.  Take your time review the play, determine if it needs a suspension.  The NHL is reacting to rash with some of these decisions and it's creating a credibility issue in the eyes of the public and I'm sure in the eyes of teams, management and players.

Dear Colin Campbell,
    How about you spend less time being a hockey dad and protecting your baby boy (who is a pro hockey player and should be subject to discipline as well) and focus on your job and doing it right.  You are an advocate for cleaning up head shots and being diligent in player accountability, but when you let the best player in the league take a cheap shot and you don't hold the player who hit him accountable, you are just continuing your inconsistent ways.  Use some common sense you tit mouse! 

Sports Casters, More like Sports Assholes

On the heels of the disappointing loss in the Gold Medal game of the IIHF U20 World Hockey Championship, Canadians all across the country were left dejected and with an empty feeling, just not quite able to explain what we had all just witnessed. We then awoke to newspaper articles, highlights and still images of those young men after the final horn had sounded. This game was difficult to watch as the outcome unfolded, but what I found harder to accept was the criticism and out right assault sportscasters and sports writers in this country unleashed on these young men. These are just kids, young men going into an international tournament to represent their country, which only a few understand that pressure. These are not professional players, they are the most talented this country has to offer in junior hockey. These boys play because they love the game and they all have just one dream, represent their country and make the NHL. I hope that they all avoided reading newspapers or watching highlights because if they weren't crushed by the loss, some of the harsh things that were said certainly would have broken their spirits , what spirits they have left. Mike Babcock, coach of our Canadian men's Olympic Gold medalists said it best, that this country should be proud of what those young men did. They are just that, young, mistakes will be made. If people want a place to place blame, look no further than TSN's James Duthie, he jinxed the Canadians. Just before the camera panned away from him to end the 2nd intermission he made the snide comment "The Russians came back from against Finland, down 3-1 and against Sweden when down 2-0, can they do it again, well Canada isn't Finland or Sweden.". This comment may not seem like much, but like similar comments made many times before it came back to loom large at the end of the third. Talk to any athlete or sports fan and we're are very superstitious and a comment like that just put a jinx over the heads of our juniors. It's like a commentator stating during the 7th game of the world series, two out and winning run at bat, "all he has to do is hit a home run and his team wins the world series!!!". Thanks asshole I know how the game works, next thing you know "bam!!!" home run. Or when sports casters keep count of home many outs until a no hitter. I understand that dialogue is a must during televised sportscasts, but sometimes sports casters need to just shut the he'll up!! Part of the greatness of sport is that no game is over until it's over, until the fat lady has sung (speaking of Gary Bettman's wife), but it is just extra frustration when a guy who is painted up to look pretty for tv makes stupid comments like James Duthie did last night and then a result like last night follows. I understand that the game is played on the field or ice or court, but JINX, JINX, JINX!!!!


Dear James Duthie, just SHUT UP! You better hope you haven't caused a curse, that you have destined the Canadian juniors for silver finishes for years to come, or I will single handedly insure that it's known as the Dirty Duthie curse....worse than any sports curse you pretty boy douche!

Hockey on the Pond is Not for the NHL

Lacing up the skates and taking to the old pond was and is still good for amateur, no professional hockey.  There is nothing like a sunny winter day at the cottage or the community outdoor rink where you can enjoy some pick up hockey with friends, but it's not something that works for the NHL.  The atmosphere works, the idea of playing these outdoor games work, having crowds of 25, 50, or 75 thousand fans out to enjoy some old fashion hockey.  All the festivities and grandeur that go along with these events is all great for the sport, but that fact that this is an actual game, with actual points on the line blows my mind.  This years game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals was close and by all accounts a good game, but the original start time was 2 p.m., pushed back to 8 p.m. because of rain and too mild temperatures (organizers hoped by moving it to the later time it would cool down and give a better consistency to the ice).  For a regular season game that has meaning to it, two points, which could mean making or missing the playoffs, winning a division, or gaining home ice advantage for the playoffs, it make no sense to me why you would put that in the hands of unpredictable conditions is beyond me.  I am not saying that you should do away with the Winter Classic (or Canada's version Heritage Classic - because Gary "I hate Canada" Betman won't give us our own Winter Classic), I'm just saying that it should be something that is part of the All Star break or even the All Star game itself.  Granted this isn't a possibility in all climates where the NHL finds it's home, but it's a better option than awarding points.  I understand that any given night, one team is going to win and one is going to lose, but when it's not a level playing field (or soggy ice surface) then it's just not fair, nor is it logical.  I like the idea and the atmosphere of these Winter Classics, but come on NHL, get your collective heads out of your giant asses and make this an exhibition game and not something that could make or break a teams season.

  Dear NHL,
      It's a great idea and I know it makes you a shit tonne of cash, but don't make this a "real" game.
 
  Dear Gary Betman,
      You're a rat!  I don't like you!!!  You are worse than a politician when you are asked for a straight answer!  Bring hockey back to CANADA where we will make more money than any club in the US and give us our own Winter Classic, image a Maple Leafs vs. Canadians outdoors in either Montreal or Toronto...CASH COW!!!  Speaking of your wife...BAZING Gary BAZING!