Friday, June 30, 2006

Don't leave Thunderbirds!

Say it ain't so! I love hockey, and living in Seattle since we don't have an NHL team, the Thunderbirds are my outlet for live hockey. Right now they play in Key Arena which is perfect for me since I can hop the bus in front of my home and a 10-minute ride drops me off at the arena. It's always been a perfect evening for me to bus down, grab a bite and cocktail at the sports bar then watch some fun hockey while downing a few beers, and the bus takes me right back home.

Now they're considering moving to Kent? So, to see live hockey I'll now have to drive 25+ minutes each way and not have beers during the game. Somehow I think I'll be at way fewer games when the move happens. Very sad. Thank god for NHL Center Ice.

Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter are batshit crazy

I rarely actually watch Fox News, but I happened to come across Hannity & Colmes last night with Ann Coulter as a guest. I wish I could find a transcript, but trust me, these two are completely disconnected from reality. Coulter claimed that somehow the recent Supreme Court ruling about Gitmo detainees and putting some checks on presidential powers is a gross violation of the presidents wartime powers, and would lead to Congress insisting on consulting on troop movements. WTF? It amazes me to see the contorting these Bush ball-lickers go to to defend this administration's gross over-reaching of powers.

The question here in my mind, is that since Bush does not feel he is bound by the laws he signs from Congress (as witnessed by his insane amount of signing statements), will he feel bound to abide by a ruling from the Supreme Court? He obviously has no respect for the Constitution and our system of government and has repeatedly stated through these signing statements that ha can ignore one branch of government, so why not the other?

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Fuck the NBA

Ok, first off, I like watching basketball. I like the athleticism, the teamwork and the fast action. That being said, I HATE the refs, and I really hate the amount of time outs teams get. I just watched Game 5 of the playoffs, and the 5 minutes of overtime play took a half an hour to get through in real time. Really, each team gets 3 time outs for a 5 minute period? What a fucking joke. How about you just play the goddamn game?

This is why I just can't consistently watch the NBA. Every time the game is getting exciting with end to end action, they get to stop the game. "Oh, my teams not playing well, stop the game!" It's crap, and annoying as hell. Add the time out bullshit to the fact that the refs (ALL of them) completely suck ass, can't call the right player for a foul, can't call the rules correctly (like traveling), just guess who the ball goes out of bounds on and change the rules for the stars, and you have a product that is almost unwatchable for someone who enjoys the sport. Fuck the NBA.

And that being said, go Heat! And as us Sonics fans used to yell- "GP ARE YA WITH ME?!?!"

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

NHL Finals

Ok, we moved offices and all my spare time has been taken up with hockey, boozin' and Hitman: Blood Money. Anyway, on to the Finals....

Before the series started, I picked the Oilers. They were the 8th seed in the West and knocked off every team that, on paper, were better than them. Goaltender Roloson played amazing throughout the playoffs, and the entire Oilers team played gritty, but skilled hockey.

Then, the Finals started. I thought the Oilers outplayed the Hurricanes through the first half of the game, then Carolina stormed back. After leading 3-0 in the 2nd period the Oilers gave up 4 unanswered goals. Roloson played great, but Cam Ward was amazing. The Oilers were pressuring and tied the game, then the nightmare happened. Roloson, Conn Smythe candidate, out for the Finals in Game 1. Oilers lose on a misplayed puck by an inexperienced goalie thrown into a tied Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals with less than 5 minutes left.

I just watched Game 2, and I have to say, although they were spanked, I thought the Oilers played well in the 1st period, and Markkanen played pretty good for a guy who hasn't seen game time in over 3 months. But Cam Ward was great again, and the Oilers just couldn't score. In my opinion, the reason the Oilers lost tonight was the fact that they wouldn't shoot on the power play. They looked aggressive to start the game, everyone taking shots, but on the power play, they just looked like they were looking for a "pretty" goal. You can say what you want about the goalie in a 5-0 loss, but if you want to be real, a goalie who makes 55 saves and loses a game 1-0 was AWESOME. Too bad his team didn't score. Carolina won Game 1 5-4, but both goaltenders were great. The Oilers failed to score tonight, so the loss is not all Markkanen's fault.

Anyway, I'm hoping the Oilers win both games at home, and that McTavish starts Conklin (he was the original backup for a reason [3-0 to close the season at the end of April; Markkanen hadn't played since March 1st]). He probably won't, but I think this Oilers team can come back. Go Oilers! Saturday, 5:00 Pacific, CBC and NBC (I recomend CBC).
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