I'll show you underdogs

It's Pens vs. Canes, Pensblog vs. COI

Pittsburgh still flying high into Raleigh tonight even as they lost to the Rain-jahs in a shootout last night. Everyone is curious to see how the team will react to one-eyed Paul being back behind the bench.

Oh yeah, and it's back-to-back nights of Staal Wars for Jordan as he played brother Marc in NY last night.


Interestingly enough, I'm squaring off against Pensblog Charlie this week in the Barry Melrose Rocks fantasy league. I'm off to a decent start through last night's games:

uh, "Do it." ?

Go Canes.

The First of the Staal Wars this season

A long time ago, on a sod farm far, far away...

It is a period of unrest. Rebel fighters from Raleigh, striking from hotels and jumbo jets, have won their first victories from the evil Galactic Empire of Gary Bettman.

During the battles, rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Crosby, an armored space station with enough weapons to destroy an entire planet.

Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Prince Eric has raced home aboard his starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save his people and restore freedom to the galaxy...

Go Canes.

Hit up Cool Bars at the Carolina Ale House in Cary tonight if you've got your drinking legs on.

Welcome to Josef "I can't believe it's not Vasicek" Melichar

The former Penguins D-man who played in the Czech republic signs with the Canes today for a (cue Dr. Evil voice) One Million Dollar, One year contract.

As an aside, the Hurricanes Ticket Sales Dept. is now accepting payments in euros.

Stanley Cup Finals can't start soon enough

I will certainly make the most of seeing the final 4 to 7 games that are left of the NHL season, as it has been brutal going almost a week without any hockey to watch.

It seems throughout every round of the playoffs, most bloggers offered up their picks on who would win each series. I didn't bother with any of these, because if I use my previous history in picking things like the NCAA Tournament bracket, I'd just embarrass myself.

I have read quite a few good reviews and predictions though.

My favorite so far for the Pens / Wings series that begins Saturday was Dave Lozo's of Why Don't We Get Drunk & Blog, which included the obligatory Sudden Death clip with Iceburgh the Pens mascot.




Talk about your mid-90's flashback!

But I'll happily pull for the Pens in this one. Go Jordan Staal. (and hello to the stalker fan who has searched this blog over 600 times for "Jordan Staal", here you go. At least you're loyally consistent.)

Use the 3rd jersey to make the playoffs, or something

I can remember working in a sub shop in college. Working as the part-time night manager, we always got the job done but if we knew that the store owner would be coming by, everyone would make sure the place was running good. Nobody wants to deal with an aggravated owner on their case.

So naturally, it's good to hear that Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos is coming down to keep a closer eye on his investment (eye, ha! you see what I did there?). Turns out business owners don't like it too much when they are losing money.

A third jersey has been rumored to be produced for Carolina for years, but according to multiple unofficial sources - it's finally going to happen this summer. I'll admit that its pretty slick and I'd probably buy one.

If every Caniac that already shells out a fraction of their household salary to support the team through season tickets buys one of the new jerseys - might that allow Pete to approach making a profit next year? Oh wait, they tried that this season with a league wide jersey re-design. (More about that in a future post on how I got a new-old jersey last year.)

Why doesn't the NHL adopt a "throwback game" at least once a year where ALL teams can wear their old school digs? Those powder blue Penguins jerseys with Malkin & Crosby have to be some of the best selling pieces of hockey merch. They cover the stands in the Mellon from what I've seen on media coverage of the Pens playoffs. (Playoffs. Pete, just make that the priority buddy... don't care what colors the team has to wear - just do it in Raleigh.)

Chris at 850 the Buzz is right, wouldn't it be neato to see the Canes skating around in the W for one night against an Atlanta Flames team?

This kid ^ looks like my brother's childhood pics, seriously.

Make it an old school night. Everyone goes retro.

Watch some Staal Brothers go at it - playoff style

In what should be a fantastic series, the NY Rangers & Pittsburgh Penguins being their best of 4 stint tonight at Mellon Arena. Whereas Jordan had a stellar rookie season last year in Pitt, brother Marc has had quite the first season as a Blueshirt.

Blogging for the Pens: Penguins That Fly

Blogging for the Ranjahs: Scotty Hockey

Stop by their respective sites for the goodness during this series.

The Bag Skate For Monday, March 24th

Keep your mouse pointed here. Will be anxiously watching to see if Ottawa slips into that 6th place spot. (Yahoo Playoff Matchups)

Luke DeCock has some reasons why Atlanta is so horrible this year. (News & Observer)

Fear the Merlin Hat & The Malik Effect. (Acid Queen)

A great look at the Hurricanes' up and comers. (Hockeys Future)

Speaking of which, follow the treads of Jamie McBain with Wisconsin, Kyle Lawson with Notre Dame and Nick Dodge with Clarkson U on their respective quests for the NCAA Frozen Four Championship and wish them luck.

Real deal jerseys for a little cheaper, get them a lot quicker. (Triple Threat Sports)

Watch out if these guys make it back in time for the playoffs. Who sits from this current lineup? Tough call to make. Williams, LaRose take part in practice (News & Observer)

The RBC Center's website is really up to date. "NHL hockey featuring the stars of the Carolina Hurricanes and other NHL favorites such as Jaromir Jagr, Mario Lemieux, and Eric Lindros"
Whoaa cool! (RBC Center Events)

The newest Fanhouse contributor is starting to like the Eastern Conference. (Fanhouse: Ovechkin Mancrush)

Every single Sports Illustrated article ever. Crazy cool stuff to find. (Sports Illustrated Vault h/t Fanhouse)

Random YouTube moment: Something just doesn't seem right watching Ron Francis throw punches...

Canes handle Pens as power play explodes

Yeah. That's right. The Albany Hurri-rats, RiverCanes, whatever you wanna call them - joined forces with the remainder of healthy regulars and dominated the surging Pittsburgh Penguins tonight atta the RBC. Check out a newb's recap with CaniacD as I'm too zonked to let it flow.

But the win comes at a cost. Brindy leaves the game with a knee injury. Hope for the best. This is the last thing this team needs right now.

Update**** Dear God. Brind'amour tears ACL. Likely out for season. Seller mode time? Stay tuned, but more than likely - this team is screwed.

Thick skin or not, your opportunity is there as a Carolina Hurricane

As Cane newbie Joe Corvo came in this week from the Senators, much was made about his departure and the defenseman not being able to "take the pressure" in a Canadian NHL market.

Senators GM Bryan Murray:

“I don’t know whether it was the pressure or never having a life away from the building, but he felt that Joe would enjoy going to an American team,” Murray told the Ottawa Sun. “He wanted to play where there was less scrutiny. He just couldn’t handle the pressure here."

So be it. An unwanted player left a team for a patch of greener grass in Raleigh, not to mention from the sub-zero tundra to the 60 degree February days of NC. Who knows how Joe "Uh Oh" Corvo may end up playing with the Canes. Although he may not be the savior to Carolina's defensive woes, chances are he will flourish in Coach Lavi's system.

The soul searching and confidence boost that comes with joining a new team may be all an athlete needs to jump start his game.

Exhibit A. Look at Mark Recchi (sans his manboobs), who left his long time home in Pittsburgh this year to the (at the time) lowly Atlanta Thrashers. Be it spite or having the drive - guys like him can benefit from being out of the limelight in major hockey towns.

Exhibit B. - Mr. Sergei Samsonov. People can remember when he was "the next big thing" as a Boston Bruin. A former rookie of the year, he struggled mightily in Montreal, had a stint in Edmonton and signed a lucrative deal with Chicago. He had constantly been turning the puck over this season with the Hawks and had a whopping 4 points until he was claimed off waivers by Jimmy Boy and the Canes. Now? He's been consistently one of Carolina's best players using his nifty puck handling skills to chip in offensively at almost a point a night average.

So I say let them talk all the trash they want to about Big Joe Corvo and whether or not he could "handle" things up there. While they chase their players away, just remember there will always be a place down South for them to flourish, thick skinned or not.

We've got ourselves a Dirty South Three Way

(tsn.ca)

Get your minds out of the gutter. We're tied in the division standings, this hasn't become a porn site. (not yet anyways :) )

Washington is certainly the only team playing like they want the lead within the past few weeks. They've been consistent, something that Atlanta and Carolina can not seem to do.

Here-in lies the problem though. If you look ahead to the end of the season, the Caps and Canes both have 3 games in April. They play each other on the 1st in DC. After that, the Canes will play the TB Lightning the next day and Florida as the final game on the 4th. The Caps get to play the Bolts on April 3rd and the Panthers on the 5th, with both clubs having tired legs to defend against the lethal AO.

So the NHL scheduling crew is at it once again with their brilliance. Carolina controls their own fate however and all they can do is win-and-yr-in.

A great way to head into the stretch run would be tonight against a Pittsburgh team that played last night in a 3-1 loss to Boston. Although Geno Malkin is shredding nets without Ol Juicy Lips & co, the Canes have proved they can hold their own against this team, Sidney on ice or not. Overshadowed by the media love affair with Malkin is Eric's brother Jordan Staal who has also picked up his play of late. Should be fun!

Happy Valentines Day all you love birds out there! Smooches!"You wouldn't propose to me at a hockey game ... would you?"

Canes Travel To Visit 'Ol Juicy Lips & Co.

Here's hoping:

That the Pens will lay turds on the ice for us again.
Some of you have asked, "Who the MF is this Juicy Lips you speak of Wuff?"
Answer:
Sidney Crosby

GameDay Previews:
Living For The City - Canes Country
NHL.com's Preview
The Confluence of Three Rivers

ECU is wiping the floor with their competition this year. The beat UNCW handily last weekend. They now turn to their most anticipated game of the season with NCSU coming into town Friday night as part of Rivalry Weekend in Greenville.

UNC lost two games in 3 tough days. 8-0 to Duke last Friday, and 8-2 vs. VT on Sunday.

Added to Carolinas Hockey Links -- Central Carolina Hockey

Sorry for lack of posts, but I still don't have a computer yet (see the whole "fire thing")

To keep you entertained and knowledgeable for the upcoming Pens game on Friday, check out:
The Pens Blog - very funny stuff!

Canes Defeat 'Ol Juicy Lips, Turn Towards Shutting Down Russian Dudes

In the meantime, a few thousand of your closest friends are heading out to Durham for the World Beer Festival today. Happy Saturday.

Open Letter To Sidney Crosby

Sid the Kid & Staal Jr. in town tonight to take on the Canes.

"Dear Mr. Crosby,

We know you're badass and all. We've seen it. Seen the scoring a goal while standing on your head and baking an apple pie. We've seen your pink Reebok designs. We've YouTubed 'Sidney Crosby' and seen the numerous Canadian commercials where you are worshipped. Now that you're captain and all - would you mind laying down tonight and letting our boys win one? No? OK then, we'll just have to kick your asses then. My boy TIMAAAAY doesn't care about penalties, he'll just throw down. It'll be fun. Then, Jordan and Eric can go out and buy everyone drinks at Sullivan's tonight, K? Stick around, we'll all go to the World Beer Festival in Durham tomorrow - we'll send Trevor Letowski and some Albany River Rats to play the Caps Saturday, don't worry about it."

Staals Get Schnockered Up

The NBA has a cheating ref, MLB has steroid abuse, NFL has dog fights, and we have:

Eric Staal, his little brother and cousins getting arrested the night of his bachelor party

No big deal here, I'll be the first one to admit I've done things much worse than what they did up there. Pretty funny, however. The important part is that nobody was driving!

Edit 7/26: Their mugshots are now out!

Who The Hell To Pull For? I Just May Hate Them All...

Hi all,

As all of our loyal readers (yes, both of them) know, the Wuf is prowling Jamaica, swilling Red Stripe while we are resigned to watching other teams navigate the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Thus, I find myself filling in, upon request. I'd hoped to cobble together some (hopefully) semi-humorous rant for this momentous occasion; but unfortunately, without a Canes playoff run, I seem to be in a creative funk.

And so it was, this weekend I found myself flipping between several playoff bouts on center ice, NHL and the Channel formerly known as OLN. The games were entertaining, but something was missing. It suddenly occurred to me that I had not picked a team to pull for and was thus lacking the requisite emotional attachment to truly enjoy these games. (Well, except for obviously pulling for the Islanders, bless their hearts...). So I got to thinking about it and I found that I was incapable of picking one team. I really wanted to pull for the Rangers because of the presence of Matt Cullen and Kevin Weekes. But it just didn't feel quite right to pull for Jaromir Jagr. Pittsburgh was a tantalizing choice because of Staal Jr. and Mark Recchi, but pulling for Brooks Orprick and Colby Armstrong just gives me the heebie-jeebies. The Islanders have enough of the underdog factor to interest me, but it is just a bit too weird watching Sean Hill actually stay out of the penalty box for me to be truly comfortable. I could probably pull for Ottawa; but given past history, I can't help but feel like that effort would be in vain. The Lightning have the advantage of being from the Southeast Division, but I just can't bring myself to pull for Martin St. Louis (the Baggins can't have my precious...). Atlanta is from the Southeast as well, but Bellanger and Koo Koo for Kovalchuk (thanks C-Leaguer...) irritate me more than St. Louis. I could pull for the Devils... oh who am I kidding, no hell I couldn't. And to be honest, as a true Caniac, I'd rather see my sister in a whorehouse than the Stanley Cup in Buffalo. So I find myself mentally drifting as to which way to go.

Increasingly, during the commercial breaks (when I am able to phase out the Geico and Herpes commercials), I swear I can hear the faint echoes of the spirit of Horace Greeley directing me: "Go west young man. Go west".

I hear San Jose is nice this time of year...