It's almost time...

One week until the new NHL season is upon us. In news about our favorites -

The AVS have a new goalie in Craig Anderson.....

and the Bruins have a new sweater for the Winter Classic.

NHL 08-09 Goal of the year - candidate # 15

OK final choice from last year - and this is a good one. Geno Malkin with this insane backhand in the Eastern Conference Finals. This was for the hat trick - and notice how he wins the face-off forward. Beautiful.

NHL predictions - last year

OK - here were my picks last season. Let's review before I dazzle you with this year's prognostications.

Eastern Conference:
# 1 Anthem Boo-ers vs. # 8 Carolina - Speed wins this one and the desecration of the American anthem can continue.
# 2 Penguins vs. # 7 Rangers - the blue shirts get snipped like Craig's vas deferens.
# 3 Capitals vs. # 6 Bruins - homer pick, sure! But the B's rise to the occasion like morning wood!
# 4 Flyers vs. # 5 Senators - the Sen's window has closed quicker than Bill's free time on the weekend.
Second Round:
# 4 Flyers vs. # 2 Penguins - the battle of PA - they better re-open the jail at Veteran's stadium. The Pens get healthy and advance.
# 6 B's vs. # 1 Anthem Boo-ers - the call for diving gets taken out of the rule book before the series, and the 100 year celebration continues.
Finals:
# 2 Penguins vs. the #1 Anthem- Booers - sacre bleu? Huh? The dream ends as the Pens are healthy and somewhat rested and move to the finals again.
Western Conference:
# 1 City Burners vs. # 8 AVS - Tony Granato and Ken Holland are the difference - as the AVS get pounded like Anthony's fist during the lunch break.
# 2 Sharks vs. # 7 Oil - the boys from Edmonton disappear faster than Reegan's clothes in the room.
# 3 - Flames vs. # 6 Pay-per viewers - inexperience is a more confusing than Eric's burger order at Milo's and the windy city is gone early. Go Cubbies!
# 4 Ducks vs. # 5 Stars - Giggy has done it, Turco is more nervous than a Monday morning substitute missing a "Lesson Plan."
Second Round:
# 4 Ducks vs. # 1 City-Burners - the Michelin Man gets pelted with Swedish Meatballs.
# 3 Flames vs. # 2 Sharks - should be quite a series, but Mike Keenan needs a bigger boat as he gets more confused than the Tripod on an easy line change.
Finals:
# 2 Sharks vs. # 1 City Burners - Jumbo Joe takes the next step and the trendy pick moves on....

Stanley Cup Finals:
A cup for Jumbo Joe, Mini Joe Pavelski, and Jeremy Roenick is a beautiful thing!

How it actually went - West:

First Round (5 right, 3 wrong - 1 series correct)

#8 Ducks over # 1 Sharks

# 2 Wings over # 7 Blue Jackets

# 3 Canucks over # # 6 Blues

# 4 Blackhawks over # 5 Flames

Second Round (2 right, 2 wrong - 1 series correct)

# 4 Chicago over # 3 Vancouver

# 2 Detroit over # 8 Anaheim

Conf Finals: (1 right, 1 wrong)

# 2 Detroit over #4 Chicago

How it actually went - East:

First Round (7 right, 1 wrong)

# 1 Bruins over # 8 Canadiens in an absolute punishment

# 2 Capitals over # 7 Rangers

# 6 Canes over # 3 Devils

# 4 Penguins over # 5 Flyers

Second Round (2 right, 2 wrong)

# 4 Penguins over # 2 Capitals

# 6 Canes over # 1 Bruins

Conf Finals: (1 right, 1 wrong - correct winner)

Lord Stanley: (1 right, 1 wrong)

Pens over Wings

Total 19 on and 11 off - with some decent tie-breakers. Let's go with a B?!?!

It's official

It seems shocking, but the Summer is now officially over!

The 2009 Steamer Golf Tournament

Only rivaled by the legendary "Fu Manch and beef jerky Sunday" - the Steamer golf tournament was a tremendous success again this year. While it was the smallest contingent in the 7-year history of the event, there were some raucous good times at Overland Golf Course.
While there were no event shirts this year, the small number of players gave us some new options - the expanded format and some special individual awards.

New format - as there were only two groups and the team of The Carpenter, The Mesmerizer, and The Howitzer had a commanding -6 to -3 lead going into the last hole, we played the par 5, # 18 together. The hole was played with a 7-player scramble format with the following caveat:

Drive - everyone was required to do a "Happy Gilmore" drive. Way harder than you think!

Second - everyone had to hit Eric's fairway 2-wood.

Approach (drives were not good) - from about 90 yards with Eric's "adjustable club."

Putt - again with Eric's adjustable club.

The Howitzer made the birdie on the 7th putt. Nice! A -7 to -4 win for half of the defending Overland champs of RM and JC and CH gets his name on The Lord Steamer Cup!

And now for the Awards:

The Sam Malone Award - for excellence in bar tending - to Bada Bing. At the turn we stopped for Jager shots. And they may have been the largest Jagers in history (about 3 fingers high in cocktail glasses). In a move described as "all class" Bada ordered Pabst Blue Ribbon as the chaser. Jager and PBR - smooth!

The Magnum PI Award - who really didn't think The Carpenter wouldn't wear a Hawaiian shirt?
The Al Macinnis Award - for force in every shot - to the SoCo Jedi. You will probably never see anyone swing a club harder and I think his dozen lost balls and locked-up back is proof positive!
The Swingers Award - and I am not talking about a golf swing. Think of the classic movie. K-PAX really got some vibe from the bartender. And like the movie I think she wanted to go back to the trailer for some "partying." Hey-oh! Cue up Heart's "Barracuda!"

The Eric Johnson award - yes, the former # 1 pick / Blues' young D-Man - to The Tripod. Yes, the golf-cart-related injury award. After missing his golf ball on a quick drive-by, the cart driver (Verbal / Kaiser) whipped the steering wheel to the left. A big lummox went flying out of the cart - unfortunately landing first on the golf ball in his right front pocket. I hear his leg still hurts!
The BDSM Award - to the Mesmerizer. As we approached the 18th he had a few beers in his system and meant to ask the other team if they were conceding the match. Instead he asked if we "would consent to losing." The statement was quite chilling and silence overtook the group!

The Porn Star Award - to the Howitzer. Not only would he yell while shots were being fired, he also put about a 100-yard pitching wedge off the roof of Bada and E5's cart. Way to drop your shot on some heads.

So, that's it. Thanks to everyone that participated. We will try to organize earlier next year!

Improving the NHL?

We all have ideas on how to do this. I think we all have some good suggestions. That being said, this article - from Bleacher Report is one of the better efforts I have seen for ideas to improve the game!

Change of seasons - revisited

Another reminder to enjoy the Summer as Fall is almost upon us again!

Another new feature?

Yes, the fan mail never stops rolling-in to the Steamer BLOG. Based on endless requests, we are starting yet another new feature........wait for it......The Top 25 hockey movies of all-time! I know what you are thinking - are there 25 movies about hockey? Honestly....no.


But really our goal here is to point out movies that show some love for the greatest sport on earth. So, we are taking some poetic license on this one. Come on, play along.


# 25 - Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Yes, I know. It is not about hockey. The important part is that the late director, John Hughes, let Cameron Frye spend over half the movie in a Gordie Howe sweater. Even if you hate the Red Wings - and there are so many reasons to - you have to appreciate the hockey love. Almost as intriguing is that this movie took place in Chicago - pretty gutsy wearing Wings gear in the Windy City.
Hold on, Detroit to Chicago.......who does that remind me of?

Ouch

This is just plain mean. Then again he just signed for 5.2 (?) with the Blackhawks.

Editorial - the NHL on television.

We do not editorialize very much on the Steamer blog. That is a bit uncommon for a budding national media outlet with a loyal following of over 6 readers. That being said, I have seen a lot of recent talk about the NHL on television.

I guess I have a couple of the same questions that you hear on occasion. Does the NHL need more coverage? Since the lock-out is the NHL just a niche sport? Are you really going to gain more hockey fans or will it just be the same die-hards watching on a new channel?

I'll post a couple of links to some great discussion which all have one central theme. Should the NHL go back to ESPN? Don't get me wrong, I think ESPN totally sucks. I tried to watch Sportscenter the other night and it is brutal. As Slim Shady said, why did they need an NBATV channel when ESPN already exists? And although it is not the NBA season, and shockingly, the Yankees and Red Sox were not on ESPN for the whole hour - it was the standard crap festival. You see my point.

Where was I? Seeing the newest debate between Comcast and Direct TV made me re-think the issue. I guess "the rub" is that Comcast owns the Philadelphia Flyers. Comcast has just raised the fee for Versus for Direct TV - as they did with Dish Network a couple of years ago. My hatred of Comcast and the Flyers aside, that just seems like an inherent conflict of interest.

Anyway, a couple of unique arguments are brought out in the following articles:

Ken Campbell of The Hockey News wrote this interesting take. I think the most salient point is that even if the NHL goes back to ESPN they might still be behind golf, NASCAR, and poker.

Mike Chen busted out this beauty on Kukla's Korner. This is a compelling article as he points out that with Center Ice, the NHL Network, the internet and the BLOG world - you really don't need ESPN. I guess people in favor of "growing the game" might take issue with this quality read.

But here is the article you should read from Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch. Brief and simply put, he makes a lot of sense. I have to say that I found this as the most persuasive article. Harlan Pepper sort of emphasized this point when he referenced last season when reporters asked Zetterberg if he had watched one of the games. HZ said no because the hotel they were staying in didn't have Versus.

There is another vicious cycle hurting the NHL. Being the best spectator sport, seeing it live in person will "grow the game." Of course, going to the games is tough as the ticket prices are so high. Why are they so expensive? Because of the terrible TV contract. And while hockey is the best sport in HD, don't kids need to be able to go to the games?

I guess the corollary to that argument is the Quebec Nordiques becoming the Colorado Avalanche. Since their arrival in 1995, youth hockey and the building of rinks has increased in the Denver area. There are kids from Denver that include the # 2 prospect in the Carolina Hurricanes system, and players in Division I hockey at Northeastern and Notre Dame. And of course, there and 7 Colorado kids playing for the University of Denver - who will likely be the pre-season #1 in college hockey this Fall. Is that a result of these kids attending AVS games, watching them on national TV or following them on the local carrier Fox Sports or Altitude? I really don't know.

At this point though, I guess I really wonder if we should want the NHL to grow? Do you want more competition to buy tickets? On the other hand, it would be nice to go into a sports bar and be able to get playoff games on the big TV without The Professor having buff and shine the cougar waitress.

What is my rambling point? I guess I'd like to see the NHL return to be the # 4 sport in the USA. But maybe I realize that at this point the NHL is like your favorite band - people either get them, or they don't.