Hockey Narrative
October 30, 2007
Check out Hockey Narrative, a new blog about the NHL and other issues surrounding the game of hockey.
Predictions, articles, statistics and opinions. A regularly updated blog for all those who love the fastest game in the world.
Even if you're not yet a fan of hockey, take a look and you may find something you like. The Book Reviews, Psychology of Hockey and Media categories all contain articles that transcend the game.
Universiade 2007 in Full Swing
August 12, 2007
The World University Games are at the half-way point already. Day 4 saw some more taekwondo action, volleyball and track and field.
The best is still yet to come with the basketball and soccer tournaments seeing more action in the next few days.
The weather has been cooperating quite well. There has been the odd shower here and there but for the most part it has been relatively mild. Lots more on the blog, including daily photo gallery, write-ups on the action and an assessment of how well the event has been organized.
Fighting in the NHL: A 2 Part Series
Part 2: The Argument in Favour
August 2, 2007
Fighting exists in hockey mainly because of the unique, elemental aspects of the game. The inherently violent nature of the sport together with the presence of sticks, are the 2 main reasons underlying this singular quality of hockey. To hold a stick, pipe or any other length of weaponry, imbues humans with a warrior-like mindset and creates an instinctive reaction to lash out whenever attacked or threatened. It’s the stick. It’s all about the stick...
Fighting in the NHL: A 2 Part Series
Part 1: The Argument Against
July 29, 2007
The artificial boundaries that exist around sports allow us to engage in an other-worldly existence free from the constraints that bind us in real life. The narrow set of rules test our abilities to adapt. The absence of other rankist devices that exist in society means the only measure is our ability to compete and win. That is why a prison inmate can square off against someone from a more privileged background in a boxing match and compete on a field where other societal determiners don’t play a part.
Other People's Games
July 23, 2007
Sports I have never participated in nor watched as a fan have always intrigued me. To a degree. I witnessed the traditions and passions of cricket players as expats from Britain, India and other locations played in public parks on Sundays in my home town in Canada. I naturally applied the baseball template to my brief observations, failed to grasp the essence and rules of the game and moved on.
The Borderline Sociopath Sports Fan
July 21, 2007
Amongst sports fans, there is a certain element that appears sociopathic. Or at least, this is apparently what they would like others to think of them. These fans can usually only be witnessed at live events, mainly of the team sport variety. Their deranged behaviour is marked by apoplectic displays and the spewing of acidic verbiage towards the opposing team’s players and coaches.
Website Review: Hockeydb.com
July 15, 2007
After clicking on a link and arriving at a site you've never seen, it doesn’t take long to get a feel for what kind of online joint you’re experiencing. In many ways it’s like stepping into a pub for the first time. While the place may not have the fanciest décor, you almost immediately have a sense of the kind of person in charge. Do they have a real passion for what they are doing? Or are they in it for the short-term? When you sample the service and one of their pints (the site content) you have a definitive answer regarding whether it’s worth sticking around and eventually making a return visit.
Book Review
July 1, 2007
George Best had 2 passions in life, football and alcohol. If the accolades, admiration and love of his fans were the most important measure, then football was the more influential of the two. If time spent and full-on, never-say-die, all encompassing commitment are the yardsticks, then football is a barely discernible speck in the ocean of booze that swallowed Best up, washed away a dazzling career and swept him to a pitiful and early death.
Best was a football player from Northern Ireland who displayed some of the most natural and awe-inspiring talent ever seen on a pitch. A regular player with Manchester United from the age of 17, he went on to play with numerous clubs in England and North America, though his best years were essentially behind him by the age of 26. While previous biographies on Best (and other autobiographies co-authored by him) have detailed his football career, Blessed: The Autobiography focuses more squarely on the life-long battle he fought with the bottle.
Burke and Bertuzzi: Together Again
July 8, 2007
A championship winning coach or general manager takes on a new aura of respect, a cachet that makes all his moves and pronouncements seem worthy. Just as with successful businessmen, people have a habit of casually waving aside any questionable tactics that helped them get to the top.
There's always been a kind of smug defiance from Brian Burke regarding the whole Todd Bertuzzi/Steve Moore incident in Vancouver a few years ago.
Clean Language, Sobriety and Correct Dress Not Allowed
June 25, 2007
Public golf courses in Canada 20 years ago were something altogether different than the ones that exist today. There was nothing of the elitism or expensive greens fees that keep the riff-raff away. Those courses were built for riff-raff.
Wild, drunken, loutish behaviour was commonplace when heading out for a round at Bloomberg golf course located on the outskirts of Winnipeg. Regardless of what time we were teeing off, we would bring along bags of ice and cans of beer. The ice and beer would be stuffed into the side pouches on the bags of the rented clubs. A can for every hole was the usual pace of consumption. Together with the heat and exertion we were usually baked into a bleary-eyed, inebriated state of delirium by the 9th hole, bashing balls every which way but towards the hole and breaking up with mad laughter at each subsequent screwed-up shot.