Inspirational quote of the day

For all of you dedicated students out there (hello Christy and Sherry!), Ron Wilson wants to give you motivation to keep studying:

You never know. Like, if Brian Burke and I didn’t flunk chemistry, would we be doctors? We were pre-med.

Lesson of the day? Fail your core classes, become an influential hockey person! Why did I take all that calculus and physics again?

Read more!

Rawk the Puck: Second Round Results!

First off, we're skating a little short-handed this round as David is too busy with newborn twins to listen to Sebastian Bach, and Chris had a lower-body injury that allowed him to vote, but not get in the snark. There's always the conference finals, though! Don't forget to check out how we got here in the East and West, as well as who's making all the funny comments.

#3 Vancouver vs. #8 Calgary
Representing Vancouver: Tragically Hip, Dark Canuck
Representing Calgary: Flaming Lips, She Don't Use Jelly

Mike (Tragically Hip): Now, I don't have anything against The Flaming Lips, but I do have something against this song. It boggles me how they're a pretty good indie rock band but they have this one popular awful whiney song from a decade ago. Give me the Hip, and no, I'm not Canadian.

Carla (Flaming Lips): Y'know what I said in reference to the Neil Young vs Interpol matchup in the first round? The bit about, basically, how could a good Canadian grrrl like me vote against Neil...(?) Er, I feel a bit two-faced now, 'cause I'm casting my vote for the Lips here. Never really been into the Hip. Boy, now I feel like a bad Canadian. But that Lips song is so freakin' great! And so is the video, as a matter of fact. Love it! That Hip song is just, umm, LONG.

Acid Queen (Tragically Hip): It's really sad when the best I can come up with is "One moment on the lips, forever on the hips." The Hip in 7.

Greg (Flaming Lips): The Tragically Hip song is kind of sad and wistful, sort of like Canuck fans themselves. But I was doing the early-'90s slow-headbang within the first few seconds of the Flaming Lips song, so sorry, all you wistful Canucks fans.

Sherry (Tragically Hip): The Flaming Lips have very strategically been able to be both taken as a "serious artist" and "people screwing with your head, just because they can". Unfortunately if you put this song in the line-up, I probably wouldn't be able to pick it out from all of the other alt bands from the '90s. Plus the red hair just reminds me of Carrot Top. I admit to being one of the people who often question whether or not Gord Downie actually sings or just speaks with fluctuating tones when he performs, but it's still pretty hard to vote against The Hip.

Alanah (Tragically Hip): The Tragically Hip is usually a safe bet, and this time is no different. I actually like the opening riffs of those Flaming Lips, but it degenerates into whiney-as-hell. (Like Calgary, perhaps? Nah... I would never say such a thing... exactly.)

Chris: Flaming Lips

Final Tally:
Tragically Hip, 23+4 = 27
Flaming Lips, 11+3 = 14
Winner: Alanah's Vancouver Canucks and the Tragically Hip. Enjoy it, since the real Canucks will be gone in about a week or so.

#5 San Jose vs. #7 Minnesota
Representing San Jose: British Sea Power, Remember Me
Representing Minnesota: Skid Row, Youth Gone Wild

Mike (British Sea Power): I've seen BSP twice now, and the first time, the singer gave a tiara made up of leaves and branches to my fiance in the front row. Apparently, he doesn't know that I'm a hockey player. BSP is pretty awesome. Skid Row, not so much. Now if it was Van Halen, that'd be completely different.

Carla (British Sea Power): No competition here. BSP (a band that I was introduced to by Our Very Own Chris Young) blows that longhair Peterborough putz and his (tattered, *just so*) pocketful of cliches right outta the water. Gah, I hafta go lie down after those brainless geetar riffs: Weeeeeeeeahhaweeeeeahweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Good Lord. Where did I put my Tums?

Acid Queen (British Sea Power): Skid Row? Blegh. My sister used to torment me with them nonstop all through high school--no way do I go for them. Rule Britannia.

Greg (Skid Row): British Sea Power is one of those bands that I always figured I'd hate, so as you can imagine, I feel a bit foolish to find myself really liking this song. But alas -- "really liking" is no match for Sebastian Bach.

Sherry (Skid Row): Skid Row - This is a tough one because I LOVE British Sea Power. They pretty much embody all the Brit Post-Punk aesthetics I am hopelessly obsessed with. But do you want to know how powerful Skid Row is? Sebastian Bach can have a recurring stint on Gilmore Girls and STILL not lose any of his credibility. THAT'S the power of Sebastian Bach.

Alanah (British Sea Power): Wow, this one worked out perfectly. British Sea Power doesn't completely suck and even (I dare say) has some talent. Skid Row is another thing however. The only redeeming thing about that band is what they taught me about hair styling products. But as much as I value my hair, that's not enough to save this band from elimination. Go Sharks!

Chris: British Sea Power

Final Tally:
British Sea Power, 11+5 = 16
Skid Row, 12+2 = 14
Winner: British Sea Power and the San Jose Sharks win out over hair power and stifling Jacque Lemaire defense. No, I didn't right this for the Sharks to win.

#2 New Jersey vs. #8New York Islanders
Representing New Jersey: Bruce Springsteen, Jersey Girl
Representing the Islanders: David Gilmour, On An Island

Mike (Bruce Springsteen): The Boss is the Boss...what else can you say? Well, I guess I can also say that I don't like Pink Floyd at all, probably cause I don't do acid.

Carla (Bruce Springsteen): Oh, agh, I can't stand either one of these guys. I stopped Springsteen after about 45 seconds. That's more than enough of any Springsteen song, as far as I'm concerned. I then listened to enough of the Gilmour to decide that I should base my decision on the "extras" in both videos. To wit: it is Gilmour's backup singer David Crosby's & his former liver (not the one he's using now--I mean the one he kilt and dumped by the side of the road back in the 90s) vs Springsteen's E Street Bandmember Silvio Dante (aka Little Steven). In this context, the decision is easy. Crosby and his poor misbegotten liver are dumped over the side of Tony Soprano's yacht into the Hudson. *glub*

Acid Queen (David Gilmour): I had this big screed all ready to go about Jersey girls that I've known--but I decided to just trash it rather than lower myself to their level. I'll take Gilmour for 500, Alex.

Greg (Bruce Springsteen): No one beats the Boss.

Sherry (David Gilmour): David Gilmour - Hmm let me think about this one, the guy who did "Dancing in the Dark" or the guy who used to be in Pink Floyd. The guitar solo in "On An Island" makes me shed a tear, it's that beautiful.

Alanah (Bruce Springsteen): Jersey Girl has got to be one of the great Springsteen ballads. Or maybe it's just 'cause I'm a girl? But whatever, I love the song. David Gilmour doesn't appeal to me as much. That song is how I imagine Pink Floyd if it were turned into elevator music. Devils win easy.

Chris: Bruce Springsteen

Final Tally:
Bruce Springsteen, 15+5 = 20
David Gilmour, 8+2 = 10
Winner: You can't beat out the combination of a dude FROM New Jersey with a song featuring Jersey in the title! Bruce Springsteen and the New Jersey Devils laugh at Alexei Yashin and David Gilmour all the way to victory.

#4 Atlanta vs. #5 Pittsburgh
Representing Atlanta: The Black Crowes (from Atlanta), Remedy
Representing Pittsburgh: The Clarks (from Pitt), Hell on Wheels

Mike (The Clarks): The only reason I'm voting for The Clarks is because a long time ago, I had a music pen pal (you know, before the Internets was invented) by Pittsburgh and they were her favorite local band. Now they're kinda successful, at least in indie terms, so out of nostalgia to pages of handwritten letters about bands we loved, I pick them. Kristy Olson, eat your heart out.

Carla (The Black Crowes): Surely I can't possibly be expected to lissen to 5:19 worth of Black Crowes! Lame!!! The Clarks aren't doing anything interesting either, though. I even went to their website to see if there were any more interesting tracks there... And the answer is NO. So it's a Battle (To The Death? I'd watch that) of the Mediocre Bands!!! I guess the bad taste that Black Crowes leave in my mouth is better than the absolute lack of taste that The Clarks leave... Although I'm not sure "better" really is the right word. Nevertheless, I will hold my nose and vote for the Crowes.

Acid Queen (The Black Crowes): Hey baby, here I am
I'm your man on the scene
I can get you what you want
But you got to come home with me

Now how can you beat lyrics like that? Black Crowes in 5 (nevermind that they're one of my favorite bands)

Greg (The Black Crowes): Atlanta got past round one, which is more that they can say in real life. I'm so proud! This Black Crowes song is kind of weak, but on the other side, the Clarks don't have quite as much heft as you'd expect from someone titling a song "Hell on Wheels." If the chorus was better, they might pull it off, but...

Sherry (The Clarks): The Black Crowes is the one with the ex-Mr. Kate Hudson right?

Alanah (The Black Crowes): Black Crowes are one of the brightest spots in this competition, and with one of their best tunes from their best album. (Too bad their "Remedy" didn't do much for the Thrashers, however.) I'd never heard the Clarks before (does that make me old and out of touch?) and I kinda liked the sound. But the Crowes still take game - great tune, plus a touch of nostalgia for me.

Chris: The Clarks

Final Tally:
Black Crowes, 13+4 = 17
Clarks, 9+3 = 12
Winner: The Black Crowes have much more gumption than the real Atlanta Thrashers and pull out a win over Pittsburgh's The Clarks. I think The Clarks have been around longer than Sidney Crosby has been alive.

Your Conference Finals:
#3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #5 San Jose Sharks
#2 New Jersey Devils vs. #3 Atlanta Thrashers

New songs representing the teams will be up in a few days to commence voting.

Read more!

Rawk the Puck Second Round Voting Extended

We've moved the deadline for Rawk the Puck second round voting till the end of today because, well, I've been too busy to tabulate all of our panelist comments yet. See how far Skid Row can go when they represent the Minnesota Wild by checking out song clips and don't forget to vote!

Read more!

When Bad Karma Attacks

I'm not a superstitious guy, at least in the real world. In the sports world (and in the gambling world), there's this little thing called mojo. Mojo's a funny thing; anything can affect it. From the type of jersey a certain fan wears during the game (as I've often written about) to the oft-lamented "shutout" mention, I'm of the firm belief that sports mojo plays an integral part in any team's success. I'm sure you could come up with some sort of giant mathematical formula that factors in all of the good and bad mojo of every sports fan on the planet, and use that to determine who wins every game. The scary thing is I bet it'd actually work.

The worst kind of mojo for a sports fan is "It figures" mojo. "It figures" mojo is that heartbreaking sense you get when something awful happens to your team just to piss you off -- you know, it's the type of moment when you slap your forehead and say, "It figures!" A perfect example of league-wide "It figures" mojo is Brett Hull's skate in the crease during the season when everyone complained about the crease rule. Another example is the Buffalo Sabres losing on a power play for over-the-glass delay-of-game last season.

"It figures" mojo can be team specific. Often times, when one city laments the trade of their megastar player, "It figures" that said player is ridiculously awesome for the new team (see: Chris Pronger). "It figures" mojo can reflect upon bad management, an evil coach, a bad locker room, or inept ownership. The funny thing about "It figures" mojo is that while it's excruciatingly painful and bitter for one team (see: Edmonton), well, it's pretty darn good for another team (see: Anaheim). And that's where we stand today. There's an intriguing number of "it figures" sports mojo going on with every team in the second round. There's a reason for fans of one city to groan, slap their head, and mutter, "It figures!" if any of these teams advances. The question remains, though: in the world of lucky jerseys and fan good-luck rituals, how much of this "It figures" mojo will actually boost a team (while putting yet another dagger into the heart of another team)?

Mojo Working For San Jose
Hey Boston, how are you missing Joe Thornton right now? Wouldn't just be so terrible if he wins the Stanley Cup the year after he wins MVP? Oh yeah, how are Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau working out? About as good as Alex Zhamnov, huh? Yup, there's probably several thousand Bruins fans shaking their heads thinking, "Figures Thornton goes to a Cup contender." Will that sports mojo be enough to propel the Sharks forward? A little Boston suffering goes a long way...

Mojo Working For Detroit
Let's face it -- everyone hates Todd Bertuzzi. But really, there's so much more about the Red Wings to hate. In Ottawa, they're probably still bitter that Dominik Hasek didn't perform this way last season. The few remaining Chicago fans probably don't hate Chris Chelios, but are just a little bitter that Grandpa USA is still skating nearly a decade after leaving the captaincy in his hometown. So the Wings have several levels of "It figures" mojo going for them.

Mojo Working For Anaheim
I heard there was this fellow named Chris Pronger. He made a lot of Edmonton people really, really happy for a little bit. Then he made them really, really mad for pretty much the rest of time. Pretty much everyone around the Edmonton area is thinking, "Please don't let Chris Pronger win the Cup."

Out in Vancouver, there's still a little bad blood with former GM Brian Burke. Plenty of Canuck fans are probably thinking, "Oh man, it figures that we get Burke's team in the second round." Does this make it ripe for vengeance or just another instance of the power of "It figures" mojo?

Mojo Working For Vancouver
The few remaining Florida Panther fans are probably in a fit of "I told you so!" agony right now. They knew they had one of the league's best goaltenders in Roberto Luongo. They knew they had a bonehead GM in Mike Keenan. Now, they have to watch as Luongo takes charge in the second round of the playoffs. Panthers fans are thinking, "Man, it just figures that Luongo can win the Cup the year after he leaves us."

Mojo Working For New Jersey
It's really hard for fans to hate specific players on the New Jersey Devils, mostly because they've got so many homegrown players on their roster. There was never a moment when some fan lamented losing Scott Gomez for nothing, or Patrik Elias received the wrath of fans for demanding a trade. No, the only sort of "It figures" mojo the Devils is that there are a number of hockey watchers across the country who are frankly kind of sick of Martin Brodeur and co. However, that's more of a mild irritant compared to the pure venom that some other teams face, so the Devils probably won't get too much of a boost from this.

Mojo Working For Ottawa
The Dany Heatley trade was a pretty big blockbuster that was supposed to send the damaged soul up to Ottawa for the confident superstar. Well, funny thing about Marian Hossa in this year's playoffs -- he pretty much disappeared. Heatley? He's doing pretty well for himself. Yes, Blueland is probably mumbling, "It figures that Heatley succeeds while we flame out!"

Mojo Working For/Against Buffalo
Buffalo's in an interesting situation since they're basically the black hole of sports mojo. Wide Right, No Goal, the Buffalo-slug logo...it doesn't get much worse than that. So Buffalo being Buffalo is natural bad mojo, and any sort of strange thing can happen to possibly derail the Sabres run.

There's not a lot of "it figures" mojo targets from opposing teams to boost Buffalo's karma. Sure, there's probably some bitterness out of Colorado that Chris Drury is winning while the Avs finally miss the playoffs. Maybe there's even some Phoenix Coyotes die-hards who say "it figures" to Teppo Numminen going deep in the playoffs. But all in all, there's not a hell of a lot for non-Sabre fans to be bitter about -- meaning the traditional Buffalo-team curse doesn't have much to counterbalance it.

Mojo Working For The New York Rangers
Boy, doesn't it figure that loudmouth moron Sean Avery gets a Hollywood hottie like Elisha Cuthbert? And doesn't it just figure that Avery goes from a nowhere-bound LA Kings team to a New York Rangers squad? And doesn't it just freakin' figure that Avery -- Sean Freakin' Avery -- was pretty much the sparkplug the Rangers needed to come together? What other good things could happen to Sean Avery? Hockey fans the world over shudder to think.

So, looking at all of this, who gets the biggest boost from "It figures" mojo? Out west, you have an entire league of fans hating Todd Bertuzzi, combined with the local bitterness of some other key players. However, it's really hard to eclipse the pure vitriol coming out of Edmonton towards Chris Pronger, and that just may give the Ducks the boost they need. In the east, Buffalo's got to deal with their own natural curse, so any boost they get is pretty much negated. The New York Rangers, however, have that little annoying guy named Sean Avery that people just love to hate. I mean, the guy was on MTV Cribs! Too many people across the country are shaking their head at Sean Avery's success, and that's some pretty powerful sports mojo there.

Of course, all of this can be negated when fans have the right combination of lucky jerseys and lucky trinkets. So fans, do your part and get your sports mojo going -- just be careful of any inadvertant jinxs, and don't say "shutout" to ANYONE.

And I'm sure I've just jinxed every team in the league to something horrible by writing this post. Like I said, I'm not superstitious except in the sports world.

Read more!

Bob McKenzie, Jim Kelley, and...me?

The Columbus Dispatch recently assembled some opinions across the hockey world on the firing of Doug MacLean. Some big names in there, including TSN's Bob McKenzie, Sportsnet's Jim Kelley, our buddy James Mirtle, and, well, me. Strange thing here, since they're saying that this is a sample of Canadian opinion, and I was published by an American company (Fox) owned by an Australian guy. But hey, whatever works. Does this mean I can apply for dual citizenship?

Read more!

Inside Jamie McLennan's head

Apparently, this is the conversation that took place right before McLennan started hacking away. Hey, at least he's got the league's interests at heart. Jamie, you can use this blog post as evidence as you plead your case to Colin Campbell.

Read more!

First round cheers and jeers

We've got just a few days remaining in the first round, but a number of teams are already looking forward to next season. Four series finished in five games or less; however, half of those teams should be proud of their season. The other half, well, not so much.

Cheers
New York Islanders
Do players love playing for Ted Nolan or what? After scrapping into eighth place in a dramatic shootout win, the Islanders played the Sabres tough -- much tougher, in fact, than Lindy Ruff and company would have liked. While many expected the Sabres to win the majority of the games, almost all hockey pundits expected Buffalo to simply steamroll the Islanders. It looked like that when you check out the final series score, but it simply doesn't tell the tale of how hard the Islanders fought.

The Islanders were in every game, plain and simple. They had some video reviews go against their way, and if those had been different, along with a few bounces such as Ryan Miller's ridiculous "panic" (as Miller called it) stick save on Miroslav Satan during the dying seconds of Game 5, we'd have a different series. Islanders fans, be proud of our team. I personally wouldn't be surprised if Ryan Smyth saw enough to re-sign on Long Island and be named captain.

Pittsburgh Penguins
You have to lose to win. It's a simple, overused cliche, but it's been touted by nearly every champion in every sport in the history of time. The Penguins were overwhelmed by the speed and pace of the playoffs to start off, and never got into a full groove. It didn't help things that Ottawa finally decided to shed the scars of past failures to play a physical, tough defensive game. Still, the bottom line is that while Sidney Crosby didn't disappoint, Evgeni Malkin did. The whole series was an immense learning experience for a young Penguin team that came way farther than anyone could have dreamed of considering last season's disaster finish.

Where do the Penguins go from here? Well, there's nowhere to go but up. Crosby, scary as it sounds, will only get better. Malkin will get tougher.Jordan Staal will get faster and more consistent. Things are just beginning for the Penguins; Pittsburgh fans, enjoy the ride.

Jeers
Atlanta Thrashers
Two big deals near the trade deadline amounted to a nice regular season win streak and a lot of lost draft picks. On paper, it's really hard to say the New York Rangers are a better team. On the ice, well, teamwork was a big focus of the Rangers/Thrashers series. The Rangers had it, from puck possession to passing to stick-to-it intangibles. The Thrashers were exposed as a series of extremely talented parts with no glue to hold them together.

Ilya Kovalchuk came off as misdirected and selfish. Marian Hossa just plain disappeared. Kari Lehtonen had some great saves, but was the victim of an apathetic defense. The Thrashers need a leader in the locker room, a Mark Messier-type to rally the troops and get them to work together. That includes behind the bench, where the abrasive Bob Hartley may be looking for a new job in a few weeks.

Nashville Predators
On paper, the Predators and Sharks were matched up pretty evenly -- scoring, skill, speed, even size, as Nashville upgraded in that department compared to the diminuitive squad of last season. However, one thing caused the Predators to lose the series: smarts, or to put it more exactly, Nashville's lack of it. How do you lose an extremely close series? Simple -- go to the penalty box a LOT.

Let's examine the logic here. Even if you're facing a cold power play, the very fact that you keep taking penalties means that your penalty killers are on the ice, not your best players. That wears down your defense and your best defensive forwards; when you're facing one of the best offenses in the league, that's not a good idea. And that cold power play has to score eventually, just as the Sharks did on an extremely selfish crotch-spear by Scott Nichol on Christian Ehrhoff that sparked a five-minute major (Nichol claimed that Ehrhoff "fell" on his stick...Scott, you might want to check out the magic of Tivo to verify that). Predators fans have to be extremely disappointed because their team was in position for a long series, only to have their team throw it away on a few stupid plays. Blame coach Barry Trotz? Not necessarily, as he preached discipline to his squad. Still, someone has to play the fall guy for such a disaster end to the season.

Read more!

Rawk the Puck: Second Round

Well, Rawk the Puck certainly isn't accurate in predicting Stanley Cup playoff winners, but one thing's for sure -- you can't stop Spinal Tap and people are scared into voting for GWAR. This round, Tap and GWAR are sitting on the sidelines; the winning teams have new representatives for your enjoyment. As with last time, click on the song link to watch a YouTube video of the song. And for the short-term memory challenged, see how the winners were determined in the East and West and don't forget our illustrious panel. Voting is open until the end of the weekend. I have a feeling Tragically Hip will get a lot of votes.

#3 Vancouver vs. #8 Calgary
Representing Vancouver: Tragically Hip, Dark Canuck
Representing Calgary: Flaming Lips, She Don't Use Jelly

Rawk the Puck Semifinals
	Tragically Hip, Dark Canuck
	Flaming Lips, She Don't Use Jelly
pollcode.com free polls

#5 San Jose vs. #7 Minnesota
Representing San Jose: British Sea Power, Remember Me
Representing Minnesota: Skid Row, Youth Gone Wild

Rawk the Puck Semifinals
	British Sea Power, Remember Me
	Skid Row, Youth Gone Wild
pollcode.com free polls

#2 New Jersey vs. #8New York Islanders
Representing New Jersey: Bruce Springsteen, Jersey Girl
Representing the Islanders: David Gilmour, On An Island

Rawk the Puck Semifinals
	Bruce Springsteen, Jersey Girl
	David Gilmour, On An Island
pollcode.com free polls

#4 Atlanta vs. #5 Pittsburgh
Representing Atlanta: The Black Crowes (from Atlanta), Remedy
Representing Pittsburgh: The Clarks (from Pitt), Hell on Wheels

Rawk the Puck Semifinals
	Black Crowes, Remedy
	The Clarks, Hell on Wheels
pollcode.com free polls

Read more!

Doug MacLean: The overdue firing

Let's get one thing clear here -- Doug MacLean's firing in Columbus was long overdue. Sure, the affable MacLean is a great hockey personality, full of self-deprecating wit and enough snarkiness to be a great radio interview. Still, that doesn't do a hell of a lot of good in the standings, and that's all that matters. Under MacLean's watch, the Blue Jackets record has pretty much stayed the same:

2000-01 71 points
2001-02 57 points
2002-03 69 points
2003-04 62 points
2005-06 74 points
2006-07 73 points

Considering that every team's point totals are inflated post-lockout due to the shootout rule, that means that the best Columbus team was essentially the first roster.

Yikes. Teams usually need a five-year cycle to show some tangible improvement. That doesn't mean a guaranteed playoff berth in that fifth year, but at least movement in the right direction. By that time, high draft picks usually have some time to mature into burgeoning star players.

Nashville, though on the brink of first-round elimination, is on paper one of the strongest teams in the league. Minnesota's made the conference finals. The Atlanta Thrashers had a strong 2005-06 season before collapsing, and made the playoffs this season. Columbus, under MacLean's watch, couldn't even break the 75 point barrier.

MacLean's history showed a number of quick-fix free agent purchases. Early on, signing Ron Tugnutt, Lyle Odelein, and Geoff Sanderson made sense. After all, the team needed some stability to get off the ground. After that, though, the focus should have been on development. Instead, MacLean had a history of acquiring talent that would have been spectacular three seasons ago. Commiting big bucks to an aging Sergei Fedorov in the salary cap era was a bad move, plain and simple -- especially considering the fact that they sent Francois Beauchemin the other way. Adam Foote may be a gritty, tough veteran, but he's not fleet of foot and not built for the post-lockout NHL. Bryan Berard may have put up a reasonable point total in his time with the Jackets, but his whopping -29 in his half-season during 2005-2006 indicated just how the last two seasons were for Columbus: reasonable individual talent slapped together with duct tape and video clips of past glories.

The very fact that the Blue Jackets seemed to be treading water instead of showing real signs of improvement during the course of their existence should have put MacLean on the hot seat coming out of the lockout. The decision to build a team through aging free agents of retooling for a faster, skill-based NHL should have been strike #2. The ridiculous Sergei Fedorov deal should have been the third strike.

Still, MacLean endured and even went on to give it another go. Getting Fredrik Modin for Marc Denis was a reasonable deal; what really sunk the Jackets this season, however, was the trio of doom that was Rick Nash, Nikolai Zherdev, and Fedorov. When your three best supposed players combine for a point total that barely eclipses Sidney Crosby's, well, that's a big problem.

Sure, you can't really blame that directly on MacLean, but he's the one overseeing the big picture. Getting Ken Hitchcock was a step in the right direction, but there's still a huge hole to climb out of. And really, MacLean hadn't done anything significant to move things forward in that time. He tried, yes, but those big moves were ill-advised and lacked foresight.

Columbus begins a new chapter in their franchise history and Columbus fans can say goodbye to season upon season of mediocrity and aimless movement; what they'll get has to be better -- it can't really be much worse. And besides, they'll probably get to see MacLean crack wise on TV in the near future.

Read more!

How are the Thrashers this bad?

Well, jeez, on paper, Atlanta looks a dynamo offensive team. I mean, Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa, Keith Tkachuk, Slava Kozlov. Heck, Eric Belanger's not too shabby, and Bobby Holik's been known to pop a goal in every now and then.

So how can a team with four first-liners have such an anemic offense? From what I've seen (and yes, this is with Center Ice channel flipping, so I haven't caught every second of every game), it's a combination of stupid and soft -- two things you DON'T want in the playoffs.

On the stupid end, Ilya Kovalchuk looked tentative at first, like he was overthinking what the right thing to do was. That, in itself, is pretty stupid when it comes to NHL-caliber hockey. Then he scored a big goal in game 2 and was all sorts of revved up, but then it flipped to the other side of stupid. Kovalchuk started trying to fly through the ice one-on-four, deking the bejesus out of everyone. Now, the Rangers don't exactly have the same defense as the Ducks, but still, when you get those odds going against you, it doesn't usually amount to success. Then late in game 2, Kovalchuk decided to slam Sean Avery as hard as he could. Hey, on principle, I have no problem with that since Avery's, well, Sean Avery. But still, this was probably one of the biggest moments of the series and Kovalchuk let his frustration take over.

On the soft end, where the hell has Marian Hossa been? Mr. 100 Points has a very ugly stat line of -5 and no points, though he did fire off four shots in game 3. Here's a guy who was considered a Hart Trophy candidate for a good portion of the season, and he can't seem to get anything going on a no-name Ranger defense. Remember how Sens fans used to complain Hossa didn't show up in the playoffs? Well, that's still following him, and it will continue to do so unless he leads the charge in an Atlanta turnaround.

As for game 3, it was a combination of soft (backchecking anyone?) and stupid (nine penalties = bad news). Yeah, Kari Lehtonen gave up seven goals, but it's kind of hard when you have the whole Ranger team against you while your guys are just kinda exchanging pleasantries in the neutral zone. From what I saw, Lehtonen did the best he could in a very bad situation, and his entire squad forgot how to bring passion to their game.

So what happens now? Unless the Thrashers pull off some sort of miracle, they're toast, leading to a very disappointing end to a strange season. Remember when the Thrashers rattled off eight straight after getting Keith Tkachuk? It's just too bad the post-season didn't start then.

When will the "Fire Bob Hartley" rumor mill start churning?

Read more!

Rawk the Puck: Eastern Quarterfinal winners

Can anyone contain Spinal Tap? Methinks not! Here's the winners for the Eastern Quarterfinal as voted by YOU and our panel. If you missed it, check out the Western Quarterfinal winners.

See the winners and panelist comments.

Buffalo Sabres vs. New York Islanders
Representing Buffalo: Peter Murphy, Cuts You Up
Representing New York: The Beatles, Long Long Long
Mike (Peter Murphy): The only good thing I have to say about Long Long Long is that Tanya Donelly covered it on her last album. I don't get why so many people think it's a hidden treasure. Peter Murphy, on the other hand, has crafted a superb piece of dark pop here. Bela Lugosi's dead, and so are the Beatles in this round.

Chris (Beatles): If you're gonna knock off the Fab Four, even at their wimpiest, you've got to do it with more than a tube of Born Blonde and strings. Beatles 4-2.

Greg (Peter Murphy): The Beatles song is just too subdued to be a good hockey song. Maybe if Entombed covered it, they'd have a chance.

Alanah (Peter Murphy): Peter Murphy, so much angst... so little food. Then there's the Beatles. Is it possible one must be high to genuinely appreciate this musical accomplishment? (Actually, perhaps that's what's involved in being an Islanders' fan...) Okay, I'll give it to the Beatles. It just works on multiple levels.

Carla (Peter Murphy): Beatles Schmeatles. Call me a heathen, but that song put me to sleep. And for some reason, it seems to me like an incomplete part of a song, rather than a whole song. Like, it's an idea for something rather than a finished product.
But I like that Peter Murphy song a lot. It picks you up and carries you along--a great driving song. And I have always loved that voice. The video is appalling, however, haha! Still, I prefer the Murphy over the (too) long, (too) long, (too) long Beatles (Schmeatles) tune. Heathen that I am.

David (Peter Murphy): Typically, the Beatles would beat competing artists handily, but in this case Peter Murphy squeaks out the win. Long, Long, Long sounds like a track Peter Murphy decided not to record. The Beatles sound like they are trying to be dark and unique, whereas Murphy actually is in this case.

Sherry (Peter Murphy): Come on, The Beatles get everything, they should learn to share. Peter Murphy.

AQ (Beatles): Hammer of the gods, Mike--you had to sully one of my favorite songs by associating it with the SlugThugs? I'll take The Beatles...and if you'll excuse me I have to go burn my Bauhaus CDs, because they're irrevocably tainted.

New Jersey Devils vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Representing New Jersey: Spinal Tap, Hell Hole
Representing Tampa Bay: Lightning Seeds, Pure
Mike (Spinal Tap): A vote against Tap is a vote against freedom, humanity, and cute puppies. Nothing can beat the almighty Tap.

Chris (Spinal Tap): A valiant fight, but Derek Smalls's bulging paraphernalia lights the lamp at every security check, I mean, arena. There's a fine line between stupid and clever, but Tap take it 4-1.

Greg (Spinal Tap): Do the Devils play "Hell Hole" at their home games? If they don't, they should. I imagine that would be pretty intimidating. Lightning Seeds? Not intimidating.

Alanah (Spinal Tap): Spinal Tap -- hate the song, LOVE The video. Pure has a similar affect on me, actually. Damn.. a tie? Can I do that? No. Okay then... Spinal Tap is the winner. Because a great video that makes me laugh is kind of like a John Tortorella Press Conference.

Carla (Lightning Seeds): Okay, now, I really do realize the obvious and sentimental vote has gotta be for Spinal Tap but keep in mind that I just voted against The (Sainted) Beatles (Schmeatles)...I absolutely love this song by The Lightning Seeds! Very New Orderesque--I think I even hear an homage to "Love Vigilantes" late in the song. I want to hear more by this band! I can feel none more black than I do finding myself in the position of having to vote against the mighty Tap.

David (Spinal Tap): This is a battle of finesse versus power. The Lightning Seeds have a better, but softer and more skillful song, while Spinal Tap shows sheer force and power (with a lot of irony and humor). It's the Old NHL versus the new NHL, and in the playoffs, the strength and toughness win out. Pure and simple every time, Pure is a little soft for Rawk the Ruck! and while a great song, the Lightning Seeds get crushed by the sheer force that is Spinal Tap. They go to 11 in this one.

Sherry (Spinal Tap): Voting for Spinal Tap. Somebody had a LITTLE bit too much fun with their Casio on "Pure", but that could just be because I'm too young to appreciate that.

AQ (Spinal Tap): Oh man....I'll take Spinal Tap for this one, cos it's Spinal Tap and they once bashed The People's Hippiecratic Republic Of Chapel Hill ("It's just some crappy university").

Atlanta Thrashers vs. New York Rangers
Representing Atlanta: Neil Young, Thrasher
Representing NYR: Interpol, NYC
Mike (Interpol): Interpol's one of my favorite bands. Neil Young, never really liked him, even when he filled in for puking Eddie Vedder at Golden Gate Park ten years ago. Snobby indie rock all the way!

Chris (Neil Young):I like Interpol, and this is a fave tune, but those dark glasses and suits are just a bit too mannered. Besides, that's Young Neil! The legend rolls on, 4-3.

Greg (Neil Young): Neil Young is great, and this is a song I'd like to hear (maybe not six minutes' worth) at a Thrashers game. Interpol is one of those bands that I like in theory, and then when I actually hear their music I fall into a deep, sound slumber.

Alanah (Interpol): Geez, it's tough to go against Neil Young. Impossible even. But Interpol was worthy competition. And after a modest debate, I had pick them for the lyric, "the subway is a porno". It makes me think SO MUCH of Brendan Shanahan in that ball gag a couple weeks ago. It must be fate.

Carla (Neil Young): Interwho? It's nice to see that they seem to have mastered that one guitar chord. Their moms must be proud. It's Neil Young, man. Do you seriously think a Canadian like me would vote against Neil Freakin' Young?? Pfffft.

David (Interpol): When you go up against a consistent winner, a classic so to speak, you had better bring it, and bring it strong. In this case, Interpol, all mod'd out puts in a strong effort. The droning melody is similar to Neil Young's Thrasher. This was closer than I thought it'd be, and in the end, after three overtimes, Interpol pulls it out on a lucky bounce.

Sherry (Interpol): NYC, hands down. Sorry Neil, you're a Canadian darling but I'm a sucker for well-dressed indie rockers with pretentious haircuts, I guess.

AQ (Interpol): Another tough one, but I'm going to have to go with the heirs to Joy
Division (Interpol). Sorry Neil, but I hope you'll remember that a southern woman doesn't need you around anyhow.

Ottawa Senators vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Representing Ottawa: Fountains of Wayne, Senator's Daughter
Representing Pittsburgh: GWAR, Penguin Attack!
Mike (GWAR): GWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Chris (Fountains of Wayne): We don't get playoff hockey here this June, but we do get Gwar (yes, I noted that on Pollstar the other day. Sigh). I'd rather stab Pavel Kubina's stick in my ears. Fountains 4-zip.

Greg (GWAR): It takes a lot to beat a band that has killer penguins on its side. Whatever "Fountains of Wayne" is, it doesn't pass muster. Really an unfair matchup -- 10 seconds of Fountains of Wayne is too much, and then on the other side, there's GWAR and penguins??

David (GWAR): There couldn't be a stranger match up than this one. I'm scared to vote against GWAR, as I think they know where I live. GWAR oozes misdirected, immature creativity, while Fountains of Wayne presents a more skillful yet subtle musicality. Ultimately the energy and intimidation GWAR brings wins.

Alanah (Fountains of Wayne): Geezus.. I think if Sidney Crosby had been forced to sit and watch that GWAR video - and listen to that song - every last breath of talent would've been wrenched from his body. The Fountains of Wayne is an improvement, and thus the winner of my vote. (But that's not saying much. Listening to my cat kill a bird would be preferable to GWAR.)

Carla (Fountains of Wayne): I cast my vote in Fountains of Wayne's direction and now, immediately after having sat through the nightmare of GWAR, I must quickly saw off the top of my head, remove my brain, and give it a good scrub. (One observation before I go... She could take an eye out with those things she's wearing.)

Sherry (Fountains of Wayne): For some reason, I had imagined a "Penguin Attack" to be much cuter. A vote for that song is a vote for Satansim and misogyny! Fountains of Wayne for me.

AQ (GWAR): True story: A friend of mine in Sactown knows the folks in GWAR, and at
one time was one of their securebots whenever they did shows in the Sacramento area. So out of loyalty to NoCal Mikey, I gotta go with Slymenstra, Beefcake, Oderus, and the rest of the gang.

The Results
Buffalo (Peter Murphy) 9 +6 = 15
NYI (The Beatles) 15 +2 = 17
Winner: New York Islanders: The Beatles take a 3-1 lead before the Lightning Seeds force a game 7, but Lennon, McCartney, & co. decisively win the final game.

New Jersey (Spinal Tap) 15 +7 = 22
Tampa Bay (Lightning Seeds) 3 +1 = 4
Winner: New Jersey: Spinal Tap and Martin Brodeur take out any wussy New Wavers in a four-game sweep.

Atlanta (Neil Young) 11 +3 = 14
NYR (Interpol) 8 +5 = 13
Winner: Atlanta: It took overtime in game 7, but the old flannel god beats out the sharp-dressed lads from New York.

Ottawa (Fountains of Wayne) 5 +4 = 9
Pittsburgh (GWAR) 16 +4 = 20
Winner: Pittsburgh: Seriously, GWAR has rubber costumes and hideous screaming vocals. Is anyone going to challenge them? I think not.

So, your Eastern Conference semis will pit New Jersey vs. the Islanders and Atlanta vs. Pittsburgh. New songs to represent each team will be up in a day or so.

Read more!

Kipper and Homer walk into a strip club...

The NHL's Frozen Moment series is a really cool daily high-res photo collection. It gives you nice insights into the game that wouldn't have otherwise noticed, such as this beauty with Tomas Holmstrom and Miikka Kiprusoff. Apparently, Kipper just told Holmstrom about the strip club he and Dion Phaneuf like to go to in Calgary. Holmstrom must think it sounds much better than the ones in Detroit.
Now we know why the Flames players seem like they're distracted!

Read more!

A dedication for Maple Leafs fans...U2's 40

In celebration of the first round of Rawk the Puck winners, I thought it'd only be appropriate to send out a shout out to all of those members of Leaf Nation who are cringing as Gary Roberts scores for the Penguins. Only one number and one song came to mind when I thought of Leaf fans...40.

I will sing, sing a new song
How long to sing this song?

Yes, Leaf fans. It's all about 40, isn't it? I suppose Bono wouldn't sound as eloquent if he called it 1966-67. Sing along with Bono (back when he was good), now.

Read more!

Rawk the Puck -- Western Quarter Results

We've got a LONG post here filled to the brim with our panelist's snark and your votes. Click the Read More link to get the full results -- and don't forget to vote for your Eastern Picks. Voting for the East closes today. As a reminder, here's our panel's bios.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Calgary Flames
Representing Detroit: KISS, Detroit Rock City
Representing Calgary: The Cult, Fire Woman

------
Mike (The Cult): Does anyone remember when KISS actually had a pro wrestler called The Demon representing them? I guess you now know how my college roommates and I wasted our time. KISS is awful, even as my roommates dressed as them for Halloween. The Cult because they rock in a cheesy way.

------
Carla (KISS): Wow, that's a helluva lotta hair. Everywhere. At least KISS isn't taking itself seriously with a crappy song the way The Cult is. Like, the phonily exploding speakers at the end are very Sid & Marty Krofft. Hrm... now that I think about it, have we ever seen Gene Simmons and Witchiepoo in the same room together?

Contrariwise, Ian Astbury seems so self-serious that I can see why Ray Manzarek & Robby Krieger pulled him in to "replace" (*ahem*) Jim Morrison in The Doors "reunion" (*cough*). That Cult song seemed to be just one note. Okay, mebbe two. KISS wins my vote by more than a hair.

------
Chris (The Cult): Upset! Battle of the gee-tar rawk clichés goes to the Cult in six games, with lots of blood spilled along the way.

------
David (KISS): Detroit Rock City wins in a landslide. Kiss manhandles the Cult in musicianship as well as showmanship. If you're gonna do make-up, you can't go half way. The Cult puts in a noble effort, but it pales in comparison to the glam masters.

------
Greg (KISS): Ooh, it's battle of the cheese. Nice touch on the open of "Detroit Rock City" -- blaring sirens are actually the city's theme song. As much as it goes against everything I believe to vote for Detroit in ANYTHING, Kiss's goofiness trumps the Cult's very sincere/heartfelt cheese.

------
Alanah (The Cult): Definitely Firewoman - The Cult. Wow. The first matchup I'm asked to judge and I end up pushing CALGARY? Ugh. But in a battle between The Cult and KISS, I have no choice. The Firewoman takes it in a walk.

------
AQ (The Cult): The Cult. Even if the Red Wings had a decent song on their side, I'd so totally go with The Cult because you just can't go wrong with them. And of course I'd pick a two-hit wonder over one of the biggest and most popular hair-bands of all time, and conveniently ignore the fact that I was a huge KISS fan when I was a kid.

In a way, it's kinda like Zack De La Rocha cutting off his nose to spite his musical face while hollering "TESTIFY!" and beating the crap out of random people with FREE LEONARD PELTIER signs--only much, much more satisfying.

------
Sherry (The Cult): My vote goes to The Cult – Fire Woman. KISS? Detroit Rock City? It's about as original as Hasek getting a groin injury.

Anaheim Ducks vs. Minnesota Wild
Representing Anaheim: DADA, Dizz Knee Land
Representing Minnesota: The Replacements (from Minnesota), Left Of The Dial

------
Mike (The Replacements): The Replacements are one of the greatest bands ever in the history of time. Left Of The Dial is one of the greatest songs ever in the history of time. No contest.

------
Carla (The Replacements): This is more like it! I have never heard DADA before, but I want to hear more. I really love that sweetly jangly sound and the clever lyrics. If their song weren't up against The Replacements, it'd get my vote. But, geez, we're talking one of my favourite bands, here... Surely when it comes to sweet & jangly, sweaty & drinky, nobody can beat The Mats. The Replacements win this Battle Of Flannel.

------
Chris (The Replacements): Maybe it’s because I completely missed Dada first time around – nice tune – but I’ve gotta go with the Replacements’ thrashing and trashing in five games.

------
David (The Replacements): I always thought it funny that they effectively avoided litigation by spelling it this way, but Dada is surprisingly strong in his match up against a powerhouse like the Replacements. The timelessness of Westerberg & Co. though shines brighter than the post-punk, post new-wave, pre grunge niche sound and lyrics that Dizz Knee Land presents.

------
Greg (The Replacements): Wow, DADA owe a heavy debt to R.E.M. Seriously, have Michael Stipe's lawyers heard this song? For something I expected to hate -- the band's name made me think they'd be along the lines of They Might Be Giants, the band members look like Mister Mister -- this is a pretty good song. Unfortunately, it's up against the Replacements.

------
Alanah (The Replacements): Well, I actually like the tune Dizz Knee Land, but even in jest, the phrase "I'm going to Disneyland!" makes me throw up a little. I'll take "Left of the Dial" by default.

------
AQ (The Replacements): When I lived in the Cities, I used to loudly sing whatever 'Mats track I could remember off the top of my head whenever I passed the Stinson Street exit off of I-35W (on the Minneapolis side of the river)--somehow believing that I would see a sign that Bob Stinson was watching over us from the Great Recording Studio in the Sky. My faith was rewarded the day I saw that some graffiti artist had spray-painted the sign to read "Bob Stinson St." 'Mats in seven, Bob Stinson (may he rest in peace) for the eternal win.

------
Sherry (The Replacements): The Replacements – Left of the Dial. Technically, Anaheim isn't owned by Disney anymore but that detail aside, I realize that Dizz Knee Land is from the '90s but isn't it time that we all moved on from this whole grungey, whiny phase? Isn't that what the emo kids are for? At least they seem to have better hygiene…marginally.

Vancouver Canucks vs. Dallas Stars
Representing Vancouver: Jeff Buckley, Vancouver
Representing Dallas: Muse, Sunburn

------
Mike (Muse): I really like Muse, and I have to point out that I spun Muse at my indie nightclub YEARS before Knights of Cydonia came out. I like Jeff Buckley too, but I just saw Muse last week in SF and I'm still kind of on a kick from that.

------
Carla (Jeff Buckley): Creepy Asian-horror-film-style video for the Muse song. But the song's as overwrought as the video treatment of it. I like the simplicity of the Buckley. It's all guitars and drums. No need for anything else, thanks. R.I.P., Jeff. He gets my vote.

------
Chris (Muse): I don’t know Muse as well as I should, having dismissed them long ago as arty-rock poseurs, but they sure kick ass here.

------
Greg (Jeff Buckley): Vancouver falls into an early hole. Jeff Buckley's great. And this is a great song. But instrumentals are for lying on the couch, slightly drunk, a summer breeze flowing in the window. Instrumentals are not for when I want to RAWK. But then I heard the Dallas song. Seriously, who is this? Skinny guys staring at the floor, producing whiny music? Someone play "Highway to Hell" for these guys. WINNER: VANCOUVER IN A COMEBACK!

------
David (Jeff Buckley): Buckley's Vancouver smacks of self-appreciation, but still comes out ahead of Sunburn by Muse. Vancouver almost lost it at the end, as Buckley adds the completely unnecessary falsetto, but quirky chirping & dark lyrics throughout Sunburn makes the song seem even more pretentious.

------
Alanah (Jeff Buckley): Jeff Buckley is my pick. Not only is he awesome, but he's from the best city in North America (no bias, honest.). But that Muse tune? Whiny, just like Texas. (no bias, honest).

------
AQ (Jeff Buckley): Oh man....hmm. Methinks I'll go with Jeff Buckley for this one. I had to flip a coin to decide--that's how little I care about this series or either team (sorry Alanah).

Actually, that's not true. I don't have a dog in the fight other than my longstanding required-by-law-as-a-Redskins-fan hatred for Dallas and everything in it (except Mark Cuban--but he's not native Texan, so he doesn't count toward the Hate Quotient anyway). So I went with Jeff Buckley because I'll die before I willingly go for anything Dallas. HAIL TO THE REDSKINS, BABY!!!!

------
Sherry (Muse): I feel like I should preface this by saying that I love Jeff Buckley. His albums have gotten me through a lot of long nights working on projects or cursing the existence of males with my friends. And I'd hate to say it but critics might say that Buckley is a bit…soft. Soft-ness will not get you deep in the playoffs. As much as it pains me to vote for something associated with Dallas…Muse, all the way. Time and time again. No, I'm not biased at all.

Nashville Predators vs. San Jose Sharks
Representing Nashville: Nashville Pussy, Fried Chicken & Coffee
Representing San Jose: Dead Kennedys (from San Francisco), Holiday In Cambodia

------
Mike (Dead Kennedys): Even if Joy Division was representing Nashville right now, I couldn't vote for them. I hope Peter Forsberg eats fried chicken and coffee and spends games 3 and 4 in the bathroom.

------
Carla (Dead Kennedys): Psycho-(g)rock vs Punk... I would rather have a holiday in Cambodia than eat fried chicken with coffee. Blecch. Punks kick cracker ass.

------
Chris (Dead Kennedys): Classic matchup of south vs west, punk vs punk, Jello’s sweaty bare chest vs Cherokee Parks’ sister’s tatas (he had bigger ones, if memory serves). Seventh-game, double OT – Biafra goes top-shelf with the polemic, and all the top west seeds are gone on this card, anyway.

------
Greg (Nashville Pussy): The 4-5 matchup is the closest. "Fried Chicken and Coffee" sounds like Tomas Vokoun's breakfast meal. But "Holiday in Cambodia" is an all-time classic. Ultimately, though, grit wins in the playoffs -- and Nashville Pussy just has a bit more grit.

------
David (Dead Kennedys): Putting Nashville Pussy up against the Dead Kennedys is like putting Vanilla Ice up against Run DMC. No Brainer. Dead Kennedys in a heartbeat.

------
Alanah (Dead Kennedys): That Nashville Pussy tune is SO wrong; on so many levels, wrong. The Dead Kennedys win because they're infinitely better. Also, they don't make me want to stick my head in a blender.

------
AQ (Nashville Pussy): Mmm....Fried Chicken. I'll go with Nashville Pussy, as the song title alone makes me picture Darcy Hordichuk going all wild-man and hollering "LEEROYYYYYYY JENNNNKIIIIINNNNSSSS!" and rushing headlong into the Sharks' bench, thus precipitating an all-out melee between both teams that ends in a total wipe and Tomas Vokoun's last words being "Leeroy, you are just stupid as hell" as Hordichuk retorts "At least I have chicken!" The video alone would be SO worth the price of the pay-per-view.

------
Sherry (Dead Kennedys): Okay, so obviously music associated with Nashville isn't all hillbilly country music at the Grand Ole Oprey or bad attempts by Faith Hill to make "pop" music. But I can't say this is any better. Dead Kennedys for me.

The WINNERS
I've tablated the public votes as of 11:30 PM PST, then added in our panelists' votes.

KISS 29 +3 = 32
The Cult 28 +5 = 33
Winner: By a single vote, The Cult's Fire Woman (Calgary) beats out Detroit Rock City in Game 7 quadruple overtime.

DADA 13 +0 = 13
The Replacements 32 +8 = 40
Winner: One-hit 90s jangle-rock band gets stomped and smacked around by drunk Paul Westerberg and co. The Replacements (Minnesota) take it in a sweep.

Jeff Buckley 21 +5 = 26
Muse 17 +3 = 20
Winner: The ghost of Jeff Buckley (Vancouver) eeks out a victory over current art-prog rockers Muse's first single.

Nashville Pussy 14 +2 = 16
Dead Kennedys 30 +6 = 36
Winner: Dead Kennedys (San Jose) runs over Nashville Pussy in five games.

Check back tomorrow for RtP Eastern results. In the upcoming days, we'll have new songs representing Calgary, Minnesota, Vancouver, and San Jose for the second round

Read more!

Hey America, did you see that?

For what it's worth, I really hope NBC gets a decent rating for today's broadcasts of Pittsburgh/Ottawa and NYR/Atlanta. I mostly watched Pitt/Ott, but flipped between both games and they really were fantastic. Great hitting, great passion, just a fast, brutal, passionate pace to both games. Crosby, Malkin, and co. really showcased their stuff, and it was probably the perfect type of game to really demonstrate just how good NHL hockey can be. Even my fiance, who's a Sharks fan more than a hockey fan, was enthralled by it, especially when the hitting picked up in the second period. Let's just hope people watched it.

Read more!

Don't forget to RAWK THE PUCK!

In case you haven't voted yet or want to vote for your favorite songs more, don't forget that RAWK THE PUCK quarterfinals are still going on. Can anyone take down Spinal Tap or GWAR? We shall see!

Here's the rules/panelist bios, the Western matchups, and the Eastern matchups.

Read more!

Minor Miracles

Will he or won't he? For Sharks and Predators, that's the burning question surrounding the return of Jonathan Cheechoo -- though, obviously, for different reasons. Ron Wilson said that Cheechoo wanted to return to the overtime of game 1. Is that true? Is he bluffing?

Everyone's initial thought was yes. Hockey observers, from mullet-head Barry Melrose to Joe Fan sitting on the couch, thought the absolute worst. You don't just bend your knee like that and get up about your day.

Still, here's Cheechoo walking around without crutches and without a brace, just a heavily bandaged knee and a limp. What's possible?

"I haven't ruled myself out," Cheechoo said Thursday night. "If I wake up and feel better - magically - then I'll play."

Is Cheechoo nuts or tough? Well, what we can tell from this is that he's not done for the playoffs, if not the series. Other players have played, to varying degrees of effectiveness, on insane injuries. Injuries, schminjuries -- this is the gosh darn playoffs. As a great hockey commentator once said, "He's tough; he's a hockey player." Consider these extreme examples of coming back early from injuries:

Erik Cole returns from a broken neck to play in games 6 and 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. On his first shift, Cole takes a nasty hit into the boards and everyone that wasn't an Oiler fan (and maybe even a few of those) held their breath to make sure Cole would get up. To his credit, Cole got up and threw a few hits of his own. Sure, he was fairly ineffective in game 6, but he was involved in critical plays in game 7 and rightly had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.

Jeremy Roenick made friends with Derian Hatcher after JR ran Mike Modano in a twisted Team USA lovefest. Hatcher's elbow met Roenick's jaw and lots of stuff was shattered, all captured in its glory by the Phoenix Coyotes TV broadcast, including the trainer moving JR's jaw in a "holy crap, that's broken" way. Hockey players are known to be tough, but what JR decided to do borderlines on the insane factor. No wired-shut jaw for Roenick; no, that'd mean a liquid diet that would derail his fitness. Instead, Roenick told the dentist to make some room by cutting out his bottom teeth, then support the whole thing with rubber bands so he could eat. Wearing a football-style helmet to protect his jaw, JR played in game 7 vs. St. Louis -- a 1-0 overtime loss of a Pierre Turgeon tip.

Brett Hull's infamous skate-in-the-crease incident should be noted for one thing besides the fact that Hull was possibly cheating. Earlier in the series, Hull was taken out of the lineup for a torn MCL and a torn groin. Yes, a torn MCL -- as in, the injury where you're usually out for at least a month. Wearing braces similar to RoboCop's armor, Hull managed to skate in game 6 and score the biggest -- and most infamous -- goal of his career.

In a lot of ways, Cheechoo's situation is similar to Hull's. Sure, we don't know the results of the MRI yet, but we know that it's a knee injury. Cheechoo is scrappier than Hull, but the basis of their game is similar: find an open spot, wait for the pass, and shoot really, really hard. If this was, say, Milan Michalek or Patrick Marleau, a knee injury like this would be far more devastating because those players base their game on speed. Cheechoo, however, will never be compared to Scott Niedermayer when talking about his skating skills. So, if he can get enough strength and movement where he can battle on the boards and fight off defensemen to move around in the high slot area, well, the Nashville Predators may not have seen the last of Cheechoo.

Of course, it IS the playoffs, and that means that anything is possible. Cheechoo could have dislocated a vertebrae on his fall or some other bizarre tangential twist and we'd never know until the season is over. Until then, we'll go with "day-to-day lower body injury."

Read more!

Day 1 thoughts/Rawk the Puck East Voting

First off, remember you can still vote on the Western Rawk the Puck matchups. Voting is open till whenever I cut it off over the weekend. Eastern matchups are below...

As for last night's games, here's some random thoughts:

• As crappy as it was to lose Jonathan Cheechoo (still no word on the MRI as of 12:30 PST), I'm breathing a sigh of relief that it wasn't Patrick Marleau or Joe Thornton. The Sharks have so much depth on the wing that any number of players can help fill the gap for the time being. Let's just hope that it looked worse than it actually is.
• That darned Vancouver goalie proved once again that he is Luon-God. Mike Keenan claims that he couldn't have signed him no matter what, and there are rumors that he clashed with Jacque Martin, but seriously, how bad does that deal look now?
• How fired up were the Senators last night? When Mike Comrie of all people starts flying with the hits, you know they're jacked up. Still, I'm guessing the young Penguins will learn their lessons pretty fast and be much better for game 2.
• Here's a suggestion to anyone using Tivo -- remember always to buffer your recording in case of overtime and make sure that you've got enough disk space so that your monster 6 hour recording doesn't get deleted right away for other scheduled programs. Otherwise, you'll feel dumb like me.
  

Here are your Rawk the Puck Eastern Conference matchups. Results will be posted on Tuesday, along with our panelist's sarcastic comments. GWAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!

Buffalo Sabres vs. New York Islanders
Representing Buffalo: Peter Murphy, Cuts You Up
Representing New York: The Beatles, Long Long Long

Rawk the Puck! Eastern Quarters
	Peter Murphy, Cuts You Up
	The Beatles, Long Long Long
pollcode.com free polls

New Jersey Devils vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Representing New Jersey: Spinal Tap, Hell Hole
Representing Tampa Bay: Lightning Seeds, Pure

Rawk the Puck! Eastern Quarters
	Spinal Tap, Hell Hole
	Lightning Seeds, Pure
pollcode.com free polls

Atlanta Thrashers vs. New York Rangers
Representing Atlanta: Neil Young, Thrasher
Representing NYR: Interpol, NYC

Rawk the Puck! Eastern Quarters
	Neil Young, Thrasher
	Interpol, NYC
pollcode.com free polls

Ottawa Senators vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Representing Ottawa: Fountains of Wayne, Senator's Daughter
Representing Pittsburgh: GWAR, Penguin Attack!

Rawk the Puck! Eastern Quarters
	Fountains of Wayne, Senator's Daughter
	GWAR, Penguin Attack!
pollcode.com free poll

Read more!

Rawk the Puck! Western Quarterfinals

As a great band once said, TONIGHT I'M GONNA ROCK YOU TONIGHT! It's time to drop the puck on the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and that means it's time to Rawk the Puck. Here are the Western Conference Quarterfinal matchups. I've linked a YouTube clip to each song in case you need to refresh your memory. Vote today, vote early, vote often; we'll tabulate your votes and the votes of our panel and present the winners on Monday. By the way, to get everyone in the mood (and to force my musical taste on people), I've added a FineTune widget to the right column. Press play and you'll get a good taste of indie rock, synth pop, new wave, punk, and britpop.

Tomorrow, we'll get the Eastern Conference matchups.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Calgary Flames
Representing Detroit: KISS, Detroit Rock City
Representing Calgary: The Cult, Fire Woman

Rawk the Puck! Western Quarters
	KISS, Detroit Rock City
	The Cult, Fire Woman
pollcode.com free polls

Anaheim Ducks vs. Minnesota Wild
Representing Anaheim: DADA, Dizz Knee Land
Representing Minnesota: The Replacements (from Minnesota), Left Of The Dial

Rawk the Puck! Western Quarters
	DADA, Dizz Knee Land
	The Replacements, Left Of The Dial
pollcode.com free polls

Vancouver Canucks vs. Dallas Stars
Representing Vancouver: Jeff Buckley, Vancouver
Representing Dallas: Muse, Sunburn

Rawk the Puck! Western Quarters
	Jeff Buckley, Vancouver
	Muse, Sunburn
pollcode.com free polls

Nashville Predators vs. San Jose Sharks
Representing Nashville: Nashville Pussy, Fried Chicken & Coffee
Representing San Jose: Dead Kennedys (from San Francisco), Holiday In Cambodia

Rawk the Puck! Western Quarters
	Nashville Pussy, Fried Chicken and Coffee
	Dead Kennedys, Holiday In Cambodia
pollcode.com free polls

Read more!

And the least crappy player is...

Yes, the season's come and gone, and sure, Sidney Crosby may have won the Art Ross trophy, but the ONLY competition that matters is the Crappy Player Pick 'Em. Well, I suppose it didn't matter THAT much because I got lazy about keeping the leaderboard up (anyone know of any sort of widget that can pull live player data like that? Hunting down every guy's stats was a REAL pain in the ass). In any case, we had a number of tight races at the end. Ian Laperierre and Manny Malhotra both made a push up the standings, and Stephane Yelle had a noble return from injury. In the end, though, no one could get past Eric Perrin. In fact, somewhere around December, Perrin decided to STOP being crappy and start being, you know, kinda good. Bolts fans know that Perrin was a valuable penalty killer and put up some pretty big time goals. This type of quality may disqualify Perrin from being recognized as crappy next season.

At the bottom of the leaderboard, Erik Rasmussen made a valiant effort to try and claw out of the basement, but Jeff Friesen's whopping 12 points made that all but impossible. You know, I was just looking through an old Hockey News yearbook from 98-99 and Bob McKenzie picked Friesen as his second-line left winger for the team that he'd like to build around. Whoops.

So John from Boltsmag, congratulations -- way to recognize the diamond in the rough! For everyone else, stay tuned for next season's version of the Crappy Player Pick 'Em...hopefully with more defined rules, regular updates, and maybe even a prize!

Read more!

Sidney Crosby: More Popular Than Napoleon Dynamite

I noticed this today on Yahoo's home page:

The NHL must be pleased -- people actually know who one of their players is! He's more popular than Jon "Napoleon Dynamite" Heder, lazy hungry people ("Quick and Easy Dinner)", racist radio folks, and fancy-ass cell phones. However, he's not quite as popular as hot British actresses.

But one can dream, right?

Read more!

Read my stuff!

I've got a few different playoff things going on in addition to organizing the whole Rawk the Puck thing. Over at Fox Sports, I've got an exclusive article about the top 10 players critical to playoff success. Over at RotoRob, they've taken down the picture of my dog and replaced it with some general playoff thoughts, including potential heroes and goats for each series and my predictions. Check it out.

Read more!

Rawk the Puck 07 -- Meet the Panelists

It's the eve-eve-eve of the Stanley Cup playoffs and that can only mean one thing -- it's time to RAWK THE PUCK! Yes, it's the second installment of the annual hockey/music crossover that is really too convoluted and silly to fully describe, but I'm going to try my best anyways. If you're new to RAWK THE PUCK or simply want to refresh your memory on last season's excitement, check it out over at the JABS archives.

Here's the basic rules:

• Songs will be picked to represent playoff teams. The song associations can be location-based, title-based, or even a play on words. Don't worry, I'll put in an explanation for each choice. Again, only playoff teams, so no songs by Boston, Chicago, or LA Guns. Of Montreal, well, you can thank the Habs for crashing and burning their way out of RAWK THE PUCK. (Yeah, yeah, specific song titles will work too, so they're not TOTALLY eliminated)
  
• Songs will be matched up against each other based on playoff brackets.
• Songs will advanced based on YOUR votes (there will be a voting widget) and the votes of our illustrious panel. So who advances has nothing to do with the real Stanley Cup playoffs, that's just the basis for the setup.
• The winning team will be awarded the Chris Young JABS Memorial Cup. I'm sure I'll really confuse the actual team's PR crew when I tell them about it.
  

In a nutshell, listen to the audio/video clips I'll post, vote, and read the snarky comments by our panelists. And as David Letterman would say, remember, this is just an exhibition. No wagering please.

And with that out of the way, let's meet our panel of hockey blogging all-stars...

Mike Chen (me!), Mike Chen's Hockey Blog
Favorite bands: Pulp, Blur, Ladytron, Smiths/Morrissey, Tanya Donelly, INXS (Michael Hutchence only), David Bowie, U2 (only up to Pop)
Best concert you ever saw: Either Blur at SF's Great American Music Hall or Belly & Catherine Wheel at Palo Alto's The Edge. Jewel of all people actually opened for them before she got famous and I thought she was bloody awful.
Favorite hockey player: Past: Wayne Gretzky. Present: Vincent Lecavalier
Artist you'd most like to resurrect: Ian Curtis or Michael Hutchence

Chris Young, JABS (defunct) and Big Wig Editor Guy at the Toronto Star
Favorite bands: All-time: David Bowie; Last few years: Spoon; Right now: Of Montreal.
Best concert you ever saw: The Clash, Feb. 2, 1979, at the Rex Greek Theatre on the Danforth in Toronto.
Favorite hockey player: Frank Mahovlich.
Artist you'd most like to resurrect: Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Alanah McGinley, Canucks & Beyond
Favorite bands: (today’s answer. this changes!) Aimee Mann; The Cure; Roxy Music
Best concert you ever saw: Long John Baldry. Every time.
Favorite hockey player: Matt Cooke (current); Wayne Gretzky (past)
Artist you'd most like to resurrect: Madonna’s 1980s career

The Acid Queen, Sweet Tea, Barbecue, and Body Checks
Favorite bands: Rush, Great Big Sea, Tyr, Tool, A Perfect Circle, The Police, New Model Army
Best concert you ever saw: Rush at Alltel Pavilion on the "Vapor Trails" tour. It was hot and humid, but it was on the 4th of July and the boys kicked ass and it was worth the 20 years I'd waited to see Rush live.
Favorite hockey player: Marek Malik (He's even enshrined on my license plate!)
Artist you'd most like to resurrect: John Bonham. Zep would have gone about 10 more years and had a few more kickass albums if he hadn't died.

Sherry, Scarlett Ice
Favorite bands: Muse, Interpol, Portishead, Spoon, Damien Rice, Editors, Mellowdrone, Aqualung, Feist, Keren Ann...to name a few.
Best concert you ever saw: It's a toss-up between Feist at Harbourfront on Canada Day and Muse at The Docks. Mostly because the Feist concert was free and it was out by the water. Muse always puts on a stellar show but I got kicked in the head at that concert so that kind of decreased the awesomeness of it a little.
Favorite hockey player: Of all time is Steve Yzerman. Currently it's the whole Senators squad because Wade Redden used to be my favourite on that team but not even I'm able to defend his play anymore.
Artist you'd most like to resurrect: Elliot Smith. I think we'd have a lot to talk about.

David, Matching Minors
Favorite bands: so many . . . the Clash, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Archers of Loaf, Beastie Boys, the Minutemen, Ben Folds & Mason Jennings to name a few.
Best concert you ever saw: Spearhead -- great performance
Favorite hockey player: Scott Stevens, if it has to be an active player, I'd say Martin Brodeur.
Artist you'd most like to resurrect: Shakespeare, I mean Jimi Hendrix

Carla MacDonald, Our Lady of Perpetual Hell
Favorite bands: X, The Flesh Eaters, Imperial Teen, The Replacements, Sloan, The Wannadies
Best concert you ever saw: Lou Reed - University of Buffalo, free outdoor show circa 1987
Favorite hockey player: Gary Roberts
Artist you'd most like to resurrect: Bobby Darin

Greg, The Post Pessimist & contributor to Hockey Rants
Favorite bands: Steve Earle, Die Kreuzen, Son Volt, Slobberbone, the Hold Steady, Wilco, the Rolling Stones, Unsane
Best concert you ever saw: Rocket From the Crypt and Superchunk, Tucson, 1993
Favorite hockey player: Milan Hejduk
Artist you'd most like to resurrect: John Coltrane

So there are your panelists. On Wednesday, I'll post the Western Conference song matchups and on Thursday, I'll post the Eastern Conference song matchups, and voting will take place over the next few days. Sound like fun?

Read more!