Hockey (Canadian Soccer) and A Little Basketball

Let me start with basketball so that I can finish well. Remember, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. When a basketball season starts, you already have a good idea of who is going to win. You have the Celtics and the Lakers, and every year you have new teams that are good but just not good enough. Like for example, Orlando or the Spurs. This year, of course, the heat are a favorite because of Wade, James and Bosh. And there are the upstart teams that never go far that everyone is pulling for. Oh yeah, there is one funny thing about basketball. Every year you have one team that is trying to do as badly as possible. Last year it was the Nets, this year it is the Cavaliers, who have now lost a League best 22 games in a row, one off the NBA record. Other than that, there isn't anything interesting. I'm miserable every basketball season, let me go to hockey.

Hockey - it's defined as Canadian soccer, but in America, it is a mix of football and baseball. Here's what I mean: It has the physicality of football, but it also has the scoring aspect of baseball where it is harder to put points on the board (unlike basketball, where you can have 250 point games). But there is one aspect that is not in any of the other three major sports - that is the fighting. Fighting is a unique thing. Instead of getting in brawls and stuff, you have two guys who are frustrated who can get out their anger without doing anything dirty. They are called "dance partners." Yes, there are many brawls in hockey, too, but the fans love to watch hockey fights. Some cities are more into the scoring, and some cities are more into the fighting. (Of course, they like scoring also. . .) Let's get into the standings. At the moment that I am writing this, the Canucks are the best in the NHL and the Flyers are the best in the Eastern Conference. The playoff picture usually moves around A LOT as one team gets hot another one gets cold, but I doubt that the teams atop their conferences are going to miss the playoffs. There is a hot topic right now in the NHL: devastating hits. Last season, there were many head shots and not many suspensions. This year I am seeing more suspensions than last year, but a perfect example of the extent of the damage that these hits can cause is Marc Savard (of the Boston Bruins). A couple of years ago, he was their topplay-maker. Now, he is contemplating retirement. He has gotten four concussions and that is enough to give you brain problems later in life. Currently, the League's favorite player, Sidney Crosby, is close to coming back from a concussion, if not two (Winter Classic/David Steckel and I'm not sure/Tampa Bay Lightning). Because of this and many other incidents, I think that the League will crack down on head shots. (No pun intended - remember Ian Laperriere?) This isn't the NFL, so I doubt they are going to be very strict on devastating hits - I mean, this is hockey. There is some good goal scoring in the game, that seems to attract fans. Crosby, Ovechkin, Stamkos, and the surprises to keep everything interesting, like this year Ryan Kesler and maybe Danny Briere. ( I could include Johan Franzen who just put five goals on the Senators.) Please tell me anyone that you think is a surprise goal scorer this year. You could also tell me who you think is going to win the Cup this year. Oh yes, I did forget in this hub the bad calls in hockey. There are definitely enough for people to notice, but the problem is that a lot of the stuff is a referee or linesman's call, which means that it is up to them to decide what is a penalty and what is off-sides, etc. Of course, there are obvious missed calls and bad calls which ruin seasons, but I'm not going to get into this right now. You can write in and tell me what you think has been the worst call of this season, or if I missed any top caliber goal scorers. And please comment on anything that interests you, or if I forgot anything.