Ode to Hockey and More!

As we roll into all-star break for the National Hockey League, I must admit I still love this forgotten game. I was definitely was one of the "ney sayers" after the strike year, that followed the horrible Bertuzzi debacle; I was alittle disenchanted. And my interest hasn't gotten back to high level yet.

But I do love the game, and I enjoyed my days when I looked at the Thursday sports section to peruse the stat leaders where I would usually find Sakic, Foresburg, and Roy among the tops. And my first nostalgic memory of this lost game, where the players are men, not momma's boys, and they show class anytime (at least off the ice), returned to me when I listened to the radio as I drove into Manhattan. The New York Rangers won their game against the Atlanta Thrashers in an overtime shootout.

There were no shootouts when the Rangers captured the Stanley Cup in 1994. And tonight would have been an amazing night to be at the Garden. They retired Brian Leetch's number. Other Ranger Greats gathered before the game and Leetch honored them all, and was thankful to his great fans. NYC is a hockey town, at least for the white folks. I came to this conclusion cause I damn sure can't talk to anyone about Basketball, which means I don't have enough black friends. But this hockey town still has the enthusiasm and hope of 1994. Amazingly, when they won that long sought Stanley Cup I was just getting to know this game played on ice, and I watched rooting for Brian Leetch, Mark Messier, and crew. I rooted for them then, but in NHLPA '93 for Sega Genesis I played with Detroit, and I 've strayed focus here.

The point is, I gotta give hockey some love. And in NYC they are Hockey crazy. In Colorado, it should be too. Although the Avs have fallen in recent years, right now they are still in a "Fat Man Squeeze" type battle in the Northwest Division , and currently holding the eighth playoff spot. I really hope the Avs and Rangers (who have the eighth spot in the East) both make the playoffs, and then in the early summer, I can fill those long gaps between NBA playoff action with NHL playoffs.

Notes
Unbelievable results from the Australian Open! After 10 straight Grand Slam titles Roger Federer lost his semifinal match to the number 3 player in the world, Novak Djokovic. To top it all off he lost in straight sets! A disappointed Roger made a great point after the match, "I've created a monster that I need to win every tournament -- still the semifinals isn't bad." Federer has won a total of 13 major titles. "The Spaniard" Rafael Nedal also lost in the semifinals to the unranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. leaving us with an uninteresting final, or a very interesting final depending on how you look at it.

Glad to see the Nuggets fight out a tough win. Camby amazing! K-Mart good game. And our new offensive threat Linas Klezia! Or is his good play just making him trade bait? What a night for Atlanta's Josh Smith 22-12-10 a nice triple double.

Speaking of triple doubles. Jason Kidd leads the NBA by far with 10 triple doubles! He is third on the all-time list with 97. With just over 1000 games that gives him almost one in every ten. Ahead of him are Oscar Robertson (181) and Magic (138). For real sports dorks look at the break down: http://www.nba.com/features/kidd_tripledoubles.html

Super Bowl insanity here too! Go Giants! And Why oh why does ESPN insist on showing tabloid-paparazzi type videos of Tom Brady!!??? Damnit I hate those Patriots! They are too good.

Scrols

Sad Situation

The nuggets are in a tough spot. It is not an uncommon spot for teams in the NBA, but never the less as a fan it can be difficult to keep quite about it. Of course the Nuggets suffer from the NBA sickness of poor team chemistry, squelched by the scarcity of selfless play, but they also have had unfortunate injury problems. This can make it tough to cultivate that ever so fragile balance of ego and talent. But I do not want to make excuses for this team. No matter what you can put in the effort, play committed tough defense. We all know the talent is there, but every team has it right? Right? But with four highly talented players with health problems, that does bring me back to injuries.

As I watch while Iverson's struggles to sink shots, and keep his teammates interested I think of the grimicing face of Carmelo Anthony. The LA fans chant MVP for Kobe, and I think, "they're probably right." He finished with another 20 plus game, and put his stamp on the game with his double digit assists. And thanks to Derrek Fisher and Jordan Farmar playing like champs his unselfishness paid-off.

So now the poor old nuggets have to play with Von Wafer getting close to 10 playing minutes, and Allen forcing up shots because Linas Kleza's hot streak wore off quickly after is 41 point outburst in the win over Utah on Thursday. Camby showed amazing heart (as usual) but just can't put the sweet english on the ball you wish he could. His heart just isn't enough, he did all he could and finished with a double double for his 14ht this season. Now the name Carmelo Anthony will join its fellows, Nene, Chucky Atkins, and Kenyon Martin in the injury update box each and every day. And the only thing we Nuggets fans can think is, "Can't we just get a dose of that ever so scarce selfless-chemistry, and then...We would at least have that going for us". If this injury to Melo is anything serious or even long lasting, to even think of writing, championship contenders anytime soon, sure seems...well...ha ha.