Here’s a behind the scenes look from Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Swimming Trials:

We were both hobbling around the ball hockey court for a damn good cause, Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer.
While Dan definitely has some actual hockey skills, I’m more of the talkative type, so we had a quick chat after the event.

I wanted to ask him how his community work makes him a better musician, and human being. Not to mention, why it’s so important.

It was an awesome interview, ever the songwriter, he delivers some unique quotes. And for a Canadian artist going up against acts like Drake and Feist it was super clear that all his talent and creativity will never eclipse one thing, his humility.

My interview with Dan Mangan:

Elation for Tera Van Beilen, great to see her graduate from Youth Olympian to the real thing! (Christinne Muschi / Reuters)

Day 3 at Trials had probably the most dramatic ups and downs of any night so far. There was the ecstasy of adding four girls in the 200 Fr, a first Olympic Team for Tera Van Beilen. Of course, there was also a stunning and quieting result in the men’s 200 Br.

The media mixed zone at an event like this is usually positive, with the winners and qualifiers all coming through. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t feel the shockwaves of missed opportunities and broken dreams. In fact, for every smiling question I pose, I can’t help thinking that there’s someone, somewhere, who isn’t so happy.

That’s the cold, wet truth. As a former athlete I’ve been there, and it’s a dark place for many.

All the same, last night was great for many. Here’s a nice take of the now veteran Olympian Jillian Tyler and her new Olympic teammate Tera Van Beilen.

More coverage at SwimSwam.com

Stephanie Horner swims the breastroke leg of her Olympic Trials winning 400 IM (Paul Chiasson / The Canadian Press)

Imagine one of your best friends. A person you spend an immense amount of time with. Imagine you’re both working towards something special, a dream you both have. You help each other, every day, but in the end it doesn’t work out, for just one of you.

It’s hard to imagine that an Olympic berth could be bitter sweet. But last night, this was truly the case for Stephanie Horner.

It was written all over her face. Embracing her Island Swimming teammate Alexa Komarnycky after winning the 400 IM, when neither of them had gone under the standard. This meant that only Steph would likely make the team.

It’s during sport moments like these that true character comes out. Steph was almost heartbroken for her teammate. Instead of commenting about her own situation, it was all about Alexa.
More coverage at SwimSwam.com

Here’s my post-race interview:

(Getty Images)

Doing the post-race coverage for Swimming Canada is an awesome gig. I get to interview the freshly minted Olympians as they exit the pool. Sometimes, those interviews are actually pretty emotional, even for me. Last night was a good example. My buddy Scott Dickens swam himself onto the team, after missing 4 years ago. Since 2008, I’ve watched Scott from the pool, and now the deck, adopt an almost super-human persona when it comes to training. Scotty’s a beast. He deserves this team spot and I have no doubt when he says, “I’m going to swim a helluva lot faster in London.”

Check out the rest of the results and stories from Day 1!

Swimmers qualifying for London 2012 will 'board the bus' at the start end of the pool, booking their ticket for the Olympic Games!

There’s a giant double decker bus on deck in Montreal and for the moment, it’s empty. With less than 24 hours before the start of the meet the imagery is certainly not lost on any of the Olympic hopefuls.

Earn a spot on the bus. Go to London.

The tone on deck is understandably mellow. Today is Monday, and there’s no hiding it, Olympic dreams will live on or die in the following days.

Not to be overly dramatic, there are plenty of smiles on deck and in fact, maybe a greater number of nervous coaches than athletes. As Marnie McBean the Canadian Olympic rowing champion famously says, “for an athlete, the hardest part is waiting, the competition is easy.” This is hardly ever more accurate than at an Olympic Trials. All the preparation is done, the only thing left to do is race.

The pool looks great. In fact, it’s probably one of the highest profile Canadian swim trials in recent memory. Again at the famous Parc Olympique, it’ll be broadcast live on Sportsnet. One hour of exciting swimming television, every night, mostly in primetime. Sportsnet’s embrace of all sports and the ‘fueled by fans’ tag line extends to the pool. This is great for the sport.

Furthermore, it is the first time that Olympic and Paralympic Trials are combined. Add that to two new corporate sponsors in RBC and Air Canada, and all of a sudden swimming looks like the sexiest Olympic sport around.

And it might live up to the hype. This is easily the best class of Canadian swim talent in maybe two decades, with Cochrane, Hayden, Wilkinson and McCabe leading a team that has both medal shots and the start of some depth in certain events.

I’ll be on deck all week, finding live stories and waiting for them to unfold. It’s going to be exciting, and, at very least, that bus looks really cool.

Follow @CallumNg for updates, and other Canadian swimming related stuff that I guarantee you can’t find anywhere else.

If the Flames miss the post-season again, there are still plenty of teams to cheer for. Or cheer against, depending on who you are.

As the regular season wanes for the Calgary Flames, and a four game win-less streak makes the playoff picture slightly faded, Flames fans have something to consider.

If their Flaming C doesn’t see post-season play, who else do they cheer for? What kind of fan do they want to be April to June, sans squad?

For Canadian hockey fans, this is question that isn’t easily answered. They are really passionate about hockey, and therefore, equally fervent about the team they support. For many Canadians, cold winter nights are spent in front of the television set, living and dying with their team of choice.

(Unless of course you grew up in Vancouver, which might be a reason why the Canucks fan base is notoriously inconsistent, but that’s another topic altogether)

If you are an unlucky supporter of a club below 8^th place after 82, on either side of the 49^thparallel, deciding who to cheer for in the post-season has a number of challenges and creates a handful of personas.

As I have been part of this group many times over in my hockey loving life, I am intimately familiar with the variety and will do my best to share a few.

Denial Guy

This unfortunate dude spends the entire playoffs talking about how his team almost made it in. To make it worse, he then compares the playoff performances of other teams to his own, in hypothetical situations. Finally, Extreme Denial Guy will ruin playoff game watching by making reference to his team’s players by their nicknames, (while they play golf), during the play between two completely different teams.

The Hater

This behavior comes about after a few years of missing the post-season. Commonly, The Hater will develop a chagrin towards a division or classic rival. Particularly if that rival is a threat for Lord Stanley. As a modern example and in the case of Flames fans, that anger is usually directed towards the Canucks. The Extreme Hater will even go so far as to cheer openly for team playing his hated rival.

The Sympathizer

This is a special breed of hockey fan. This turncoat actually pretends to be a hater but secretly cheers for the rival team. If The Sympathizer comes out in the open, she’ll claim that she, ‘just likes so-so because he’s from her hometown’, or, ‘she respects the way he plays.’ The Extreme Sympathizer may even support a legendary rival. Such as when Flames fans cheered for the Oilers in ’06. In this case, it was because the Oilers are ‘a Canadian team.’

The Bandwagon Baby

You can’t really hold anything against this guy. He’s just looking for someone to cheer for. So he chooses the favourite, the team that rolls through the first two rounds. Every player on his chosen team turns into a hero, cruising through D with supreme skills or warding off the opponent with exceptional defensive ability. The Extreme Bandwagon Baby might even drop some coin on an authentic garment or two. Just to feel a part of it.

The Faker

We’ve all done it. Maybe not in hockey, but in at least one pro team sport. Example question: “Are you a Habs fan?” Answer: “Yeah man, I mean the Flames are my fav, but I’ve been cheering for the Habs since I was a kid too.” No he hasn’t. In this hypothetical situation, he starts dropping players nicknames and fist pumping after goals. The Extreme Faker even knows a few legendary stats like, ‘24 cups’ or ‘Jacques Plante’.

The Newbie

This is the most hapless of all fans who miss their home team. The Newbie, not unlike The Bandwagon Baby, just wants to get in the game. So she tells everyone that she misses her team, but is all for one team or another. The difference between her and the Bandwagon’er is that she usually chooses a sentimental favourite, maybe Gramps favourite squad or something. The Extreme Newbie will buy an Authentic Replica Jersey, at full retail price.

Before I get a handful of angry, insecure tweets because I’ve exposed you, I’ll say this: I’ve been all of these fans in one way or another. The beauty about the game of hockey is that it breeds great fans, passionate fans, emotional fans. The Stanley Cup Playoffs isn’t just a long tournament, it’s a war. Winning that war isn’t just the greatest accomplishment possible for the team, but the sweetest ecstasy for the fans.

What Flames fans wouldn’t give for that ecstasy. Unfortunately, they may not get a chance this season.

I’m very excited to be a part of the communications team for Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Swimming Trials. March 27 – April 1, 2012.

Trials are special because the Olympics are special. The meet in Montreal will be where so many Olympic dreams will become REAL, and often in dramatic fashion.

(Who remembers backstroke standout Jake Tapp qualifying for the Beijing team in a swim off?)

I’ll be on deck, in the mixed zone, everywhere. Collecting and sharing the stories of your favourite Canadian swimmers, and some you might not have heard of before.

Keep glued on CallumNg.com and Swimming.ca for updates and news.
And real time baby! @CallumNg

It’s gonna’ be so live! Can’t wait to get there.

Miikka Kiprusoff can't be the only player on his game Thursday night if the Flames are to knock off Shane Doan and the smokin' hot Coyotes. (Colleen De Neve, Calgary Herald)

The Calgary Flames open up the month of March with a mini road trip on back-to-back nights. First up tonight it will be the Phoenix Coyotes, followed by the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.

These are important games. Yes, that gets said a whole lot this time of year, but it’s pretty obvious when you’re talking about a Flames team that went winless, (0-2-2), in their previous four games, all at home.

I’m not sure if it’s the calendar turning to March, or that the Flames’ winless skid put them 11^th, but these games feel pretty big. The two teams in 8^th and 9^th, Dallas and Colorado, are winning games at a regular rate. Being four points back is one thing, but the Flames also need to make up regulation wins on their Western Conference rivals. Through 64 games, Dallas has 29, compared to 26 for Colorado. The Flames have 25 regulation wins, although they do have a game at hand. (Can we ignore LA and assume they’ll keep losing?) It goes without saying that those regulation wins would make a difference should we encounter a point total tie at the end of the season.

Facing the Coyotes, a team who didn’t lose in regulation in the month of February, the Flames will need some big efforts from their top two lines. It needs to be an Iggy-show, Cammie-show, Olli, Glennie, a whoever-show, it doesn’t matter. NOT a Kipper-show. In the words of a famous but not-well-known Flames analyst, (my brother), “if it wasn’t for Kipper doing the scorpion every other night, the Flames would be 12^th”, at the time the team was 9^th, now even with Miikka’s superb goaltending, they’re almost in that quoted spot.

If the Flames do manage a win, it’ll be short-lived and a short victory flight to Anaheim to face the Ducks less than 24 hours later. This is a building that has confounded every edition of the Calgary Flames since their last win at the Honda Center on January 19, 2004. Most people would tell you that there’s no particular reason for this and I’d have to agree. It’s just a date. The only people talking about it will be those sitting or watching from the other side of the plexiglass. However, against a somewhat surging Ducks team the Flames will have to be good. As Brent Sutter commented after the team’s full practice on Wednesday, “a big part of the game is about emotion, we need to have that, I was us to have that.” Certainly, to overcome those tired game legs, it’ll be all about emotion in California on Friday.

It’s a critical potential four points for the Flames because it doesn’t get any easier from here. Example? On Sunday they’ll be back in the ‘Dome for another pretty important game. An afternoon tilt with none other than the Dallas Stars. Depending on the next 48 hours, it could be a battle for 8^th, or not.

Al MacInnis (puckpassion/flickr)

Al MacInnis will be honoured on February 27, prior to puck drop between the Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues.

The Hall of Fame defenceman, notorious for his booming shot, will receive a banner in the rafters of the Scotiabank Saddledome as part of the “Forever A Flame” program. MacInnis will be the first ever to receive such an honour.

A native of Inverness, Nova Scotia, MacInnis wore #2 for the length of his career and played 23 NHL seasons. The Flames drafted him in the 1981 Entry Draft, and although he played his first NHL game on December 30, 1981 it wouldn’t be until 1983-84 that he would complete the bulk of an NHL schedule.

From there however, MacInnis put together stunning Hall of Fame numbers. Starting as a full-time pro in the 1984-85 campaign, MacInnis rolled at a point per game pace and was voted to his first All-Star Game, (it was in Calgary that year).

MacInnis went on to be a 13-time All Star but for Flames fans who were around at the time, his most memorable moments had to come during the 1989 Stanley Cup victory. Amazingly, MacInnis led the league in post-season scoring during that run becoming the first defenceman to ever achieve that feat. Of those numbers, four goals and five assists were registered in the final series against Montreal, which led to a Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs.

MacInnis announced his retirement on September 9, 2005 as a member of the St. Louis Blues, with 1,274 career NHL points. Of that total, many were attributed to his rocket of a shot which legitimately made him one of the most feared offensive-defenceman in NHL history. MacInnis was the “Hardest Shot” king over the course of his All-Star Game appearances between 1991 and 2003. Similar to Zdeno Chara today, if MacInnis was competing in the “Hardest Shot” competition, you knew he was going to win.

MacInnis is still the Flames assists leader, with 609, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.

Callum Ng covers the Calgary Flames for The Hockey Writers, follow him on Twitter @CallumNg