Commentary

As Bad As You Wanna’ Breathe

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Callum Ng in Commentary, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

I have a few swimmer friends preparing for Olympic Trials, and with just over one month to go, people are looking for that final edge, push, or motivation.

Getting ready for one day, more or less a few minutes of your life that makes the difference between legends and lost souls can be daunting.

Different people deal with that kind of pressure differently. Some ignore it, others fight it, a select few manage to embrace it.

Either way, to be successful, when you’re battling for a big goal you’re going to have to want it. Bad.

One of those swimmer friends shared this video with me that’s been going around the internet and really stuck with me.

“When you wanna’ be successful, as bad as you wanna’ breathe, then you’ll be successful.”

IF YOU DON”T WATCH THIS VIDEO AND THINK THE WHOLE TIME ABOUT SOMETHING YOU WANT IN YOUR LIFE, well…work that out.

Western Conference Playoff Predictions

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Callum Ng in Commentary, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Over the past few NHL seasons, the Western Conference has been perennially tight when it comes to those final few playoff spots. Last season it was Chicago, fighting off Dallas and coming within a Patty Kane right hook of ending up in 9th place. Of course, the Blackhawks went on to come within a similarly slim margin of knocking off the President’s Trophy winners, but a Burrows one-timer wrote the ending to that story in favour of the hometown Canucks.

This season, just after the All Star break, the schedule resumes with no less than five, (ok sure, maybe six), teams in the hunt for the evermore elusive 8th and final.

Starting from the Top

LA Kings

Darryl Sutter might as well have rode an Alberta-bred stallion into town, because that’s the effect he has had on the previously disorganized Kings. Since taking over from Terry Murray before Christmas, a refreshed Sutter squad as gone 9-2-6 and currently sits in 7th place in the West. Sutter teams don’t typically falter down the stretch, and I don’t see that happening here, which is why the Kings are loosely included in this conversation.
End of season projection: 7th or better

Colorado Avalanche

Collective sigh on behalf of the Avs when it comes to goaltending. I mean, Varlamov is young and no doubt adjusting to the starting role, but there’s no leniency in the Wild West. With a sub 900 save percentage and a GAA that usually sits around a big ugly trois, the nets has to be the biggest focus here. What I do think is that this core group of younger players has been to this party before, and knows what they’ll need to do to avoid missing the post-season. The only question that’s left is can they. I like the Colorado group and if anyone emerges late season, it’s going to be the Avalanche.
End of season projection: 8th

Calgary Flames

Welcoming The Squid to town, ok pause, isn’t that what they should call him? Cammalleri > Calamari. My almost seventy year-old pops and lover of the game, can’t pronounce hockey names worth a darn. In Cammalleri’s last stint with the Flames, my Dad almost always said Calamari. “Why doesn’t that Michael Calamari score more!?” God forbid when Sven Baertschi finally cracks the line up. Anyways, The Squid was a good call, but the Flames will need more than tough angle one-timers to play past the regular season. How about a decent power play? They’ll also need to catch a fast track on some current injuries including David Moss and Curtis Glencross.
End of season projection: 9th

Phoenix Coyotes

Can I just say that I wish I was a hockey fan in the desert? Upon cruising to the ‘Yotes site, there’s an ad for their Feb 4th tilt against the Sharks: $1.00 hot dogs. One dollar!? You could almost take the whole family out for a game AND dinner for less than a single ticket inside Rogers Arena or the Scotiabank Saddledome. Haha, but I digress. This is a really aging squad, doesn’t mean they can’t pull it off but sitting on the wrong end of the bubble is bad news for anyone paying attention to the plight of the Desert Dogs.
End of season projection: 10th

Minnesota Wild

After starting the season looking like a serious contender, the Wild have slowed up big time. A second losing skid, (3-6-1 in their last 10), finds them planted in 8th spot, although they did get four out of four points against Dallas and Colorado before the break. Honestly, this team plays games in a confusing fashion, without consistency. There doesn’t seem to be a fluid offensive system and when the defense breaks down in their zone, it gets ugly. Bright spot alert! Mikko Koivu is skating. If he gets back in the line up it will definitely help.
End of season projection: 11th

Dallas Stars

Jaaaamie Benn. Ok, got that out of my system. Kid can snipe. Definitely an NHL heavyweight if not already. However, I’m not sure if Benn’s emergence in the last season or so is enough to push his team into some extra April ice time. Dallas is tremendously streaky, right? Despite kicking off the campaign 11-4-0, since Nov 12, the team has gone 14-17-2. Winning or losing in little packets of twos and threes. With Brendan Morrow out, (although apparently close to return), they’ll have to win consistently to have a chance. Meh, I don’t see that happening.
End of season projection: 12th

But what about the Anaheim Ducks…?
C’mon, who are you Jamie McLennan? Haha, no way…

Stamkos shows off and Chara smashes rubber at the 2012 All Star Skills

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Callum Ng in Commentary | Leave a comment

Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara hammers a slapper 108.8 MPH to win the Harden Shot Competition (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

All Star weekend commenced today in Ottawa, giving NHL fans a chance to see the superstars of their game in a more relaxed, entertainment focused environment.

Interestingly enough, the event that most embraces this big show mentality, the Breakway Challenge, turned out to be a relative sleeper compared to the other events.

The Breakaway Challenge has a slam dunk comp. format, where creativity is encouraged. The big difference is that in the case of hockey, it is more a show of technical skill than unbelievable athletic ability. No doubt, Corey Perry’s magnet stick blade is a sweet skill, but nobody is showing off anything similar to a 40+” vertical like in basketball.

But enough about that. (Oh, by the Patty Kane won the Breakaway Challenge. Something to do with a cape).

The Accuracy Shooting was mostly interesting to fans because it showcased the deadly sniping skills of budding superstar Jamie Benn. It was also a nice feature for him, and will no doubt enhance his profile in other hockey markets, such as fans from the NE and Atlantic Divisions who don’t see much of Dallas’ #14.

Skip ahead to the Skills Challenge Relay, which was cool because it gave other players a chance to, well, do something. We saw both Sedins in this one, along with NW division counterpart Jarome Iginla. One-timer magic from the likes of @Hartsy19, Letang and Tavares. Highlights had to be unreal tight turns from #1 Fantasy Draft pick Pavel Datsyuk, and how the Sedin twins are actually more accurate passers when they saucer cross ice. Unreal.

I could intro. the Hardest Shot competition with a preamble but instead I’ll just start with this: 108.8. You’re kidding right? That’s how many miles per hour Zdeno Chara can smash rubber. I really don’t even know what to say. Apparently he uses a 160 flex stick. It’s a Warrior in case you were wondering. Solid endorsement deal Warrior, well played. Special mention goes to pretend bronze medalist Daniel Alfredsson, 101.3. Not bad for weighing 59 lbs less than big Chara.

At this point, we’ve been watching for over two and a half hours, clearly an event made long enough to give the fans in the building some bang for their buck. It’s more than likely that much of the television audience either bailed when Corey Perry pulled something short out of his trousers, (which was momentarily scary), or watched passively throughout.

I will say that the CBC broadcast was prepared for the lulls in action, and filled the dead spots with, well, Carey Price. He was mic’d up and hilarious. The Habs ‘tender demonstrated his well-known charisma, and exchanged classic hockey boy quips with the broadcast team. It was mostly funny because while Carey was having a “beauty time” as he might put it, Glenn Healy was trying to provide overly serious, analyst type commentary. Haha, during the Breakaway Challenge, most of Healy’s remarks were lost on Price who was busy trying to think of the next goofy manoeuver.

Coming full circle, the night ended with an actual breakaway event, in the Elimination Shoot Out. Thank goodness for that. Relating to what I mentioned about a slam dunk comp., this one gave the players a chance to show power and force, combined with sweet skills. Tavares approached this with grave seriousness, probably because he had a chance to win something for once. It worked well. Jarome Iginla actually scored on his first attempt, (rare for Flames fans to see) . However the eventual winner, Steven Stamkos, did everything. He used his skates, faked a snapper, everything. It was literally a delight to watch. It also woke my buddies on the couch, to the sound of my exclamations. So sick.

All in all, as a big hockey fan, I sat through the entire Skill Competition. Doubtful that casual fans would have made it more than half an hour and that’s too bad because they missed this…

When it comes to hockey, let’s not forget about who really gets hurt.

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Callum Ng in Commentary, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Friday, March 11, 2011

As of this Friday morning, a Google News search of two particular names returns 2,166 results.  Those names? Air Canada. NHL.

Sports writers, bloggers, hockey fans and others are all talking, tweeting, writing about the recent letter sent by Mr. Denis Vandal to league commissioner Gary Bettman.

In short:

Air Canada director of marketing writes letter.
The letter says, “Fix hockey, or lose sponsorship”.
Letter is leaked.
Bettman says, “We can fly other airlines”
Media frenzy begins.

The catalyst of this latest PR debacle, (debacle for who is yet to be determined), was a devastating check by Boston Bruin Zdeno Chara on Max Pacioretty of the Montreal Canadians.

In short:

The puck clears the zone just beyond the Hab’s defensive blueline.
Pacioretty gives chase. Chara closes.
Pacioretty chips past Chara.
Chara interferes with Pacioretty, finishes the check and unfortunately Pacioretty’s head makes contact with the stanchion separating the two benches.
Pacioretty suffers a concussion and fractured cerebral vertebrae.

Deep breath.

As a hockey fan, I cannot help but be concerned with what happens next.

Over the past few days I have read and listened to opinions from everywhere. TSN analysts, prominent sports writers, inside the locker room at my local rink, both people who live and breath hockey and people who don’t know much about the game.

I have forced myself to watch the clip a couple times. And with this collection of opinions and visual evidence I have weighed my personal reaction, accounted for my passion and considered all angles whatever the variety.

Simply put: I feel sick.

At first I found the disciplinary measures dealt to Chara to be sufficient. It was clear interference, and nothing more. The play was part of the game.

But now, after some reflection, what I find more disturbing is my last sentence from above, “The play was part of the game.”

I am not sure anymore if the manner in which the game unfolds on a night-to-night basis is just going to lead to something potentially more serious, and with consequences more terrible than anyone can imagine.

I am not sure if it is still okay to accept this level of violence. In fact, I am not sure it ever was.

This obvious thought prompted Mr. Vandal to pen a letter to Mr. Bettman. Whatever you think of the commissioner that presides over the NHL and our game, his response was, by any measure of professionalism, rude and thoughtless. Who speaks to a sponsor like that?

But this isn’t about Mr. Bettman, or Air Canada. Understanding that the world of professional sport is driven by ticket sales and TV revenues and that the airline industry is driven by passenger miles and public image, these two men are simply behaving as one would expect.

Instead, it seems that everyone has forgot about what makes this system exist in the first place.

People.

Chara forgot. When he imposed his 6’9”, 255 lb frame on the smaller Pacioretty and drove him into an immovable object.

Some owners and GMs will tell you that it was a standard hockey play. Of course, the league agreed and Chara had no further punitive measures applied to him.

I say the standard has to change.

We have to change the mentality that will lead a player like Chara to drive an opponent into a known danger area, (between the benches at the Bell Centre). Someone has to tell young hockey players and parents thinking about enrolling that the game isn’t like that.

That we don’t treat people like that.

In sport, we respect our opponents, care about our game and want others to enjoy the fun.

Not lying on the ice, crumbled and unconscious.

I suppose the question is how.

I wouldn’t profess to know the answer right now, but what I do know is that hockey people in high places should pay attention to letters like those issued by Air Canada. Because these letters indicate that the speed, danger and violence that sold hockey in the first place, may be its undoing.