when parody goes too far

Allow me to preface this entry by saying that I have a pretty good sense of humor (I think anyway), and am usually pretty tolerant of "fake" accounts, parodies or whatever else you want to call them.



Over the past few days, exactly when this happened I cannot say since it's not easy to follow the WHL on the East Coast of the US, someone made a fake account of LA Kings prospect, and current Saskatoon Blades player Brayden Schenn, and proceeded to make some racist and inflammatory remarks about the First Nations people. Now obviously these comments have caused a flare up of anti-Schenn controversy and worse, death threats.

First things first, and just to get it out there, just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's true. There are a ton of fake accounts of professional athletes, coaches, politicians, you name it. Most of these accounts are meant to be funny (personal favorites are Coach Ron Wilson and Bruce effin Boudreau), and you should enjoy them. In no way shape or form am I saying that the internet has to be super serious all the time. Hell, this blog is here, so there's proof that it's not.

What I can't abide (who am I, the dude?) is people who take this way too far. The page has since been removed, but supposedly one of things that "Brayden" said was "if the First Nations people don't want to pay taxes, they should leave Canada." Two things are wrong with this, one is the obvious fact that you have to pay taxes wherever you go, well except maybe Antarctica, which is probably similar to Canada...at least climate wise. Secondly, and really the main point of this is, whoever this is clearly has some racist/xenophobic hatred towards people who are arguably more Canadian than the person saying it. Please insert the cliche about opinions being assholes here. It's true. Whoever wrote this won't listen to reason anyway, so it's not like you can change his or her mind anyway. Why drag an innocent kid into this?

Maybe I'm missing some report about the Schenn's being white power or something, but I doubt it. Could it all be that the Ed Chynoweth Cup is that coveted of a prize that opposing team/fans will sink to seemingly endless lows to win? I know that junior hockey is pretty competitive and the Memorial Cup playoffs are no joke, but at what point do you say, "yeah, let's really cause a raucous, so our team will win it all?" I'm just not getting this at all. Apparently the Saskatoon Blades have asked for some type of criminal investigation, and rightfully so. Sure you could argue that he's a professional and they'll get death threats from now until the end of his career, and that's certainly a possibility. Is it worth it not to look into it, if god forbid, he does get hurt? The NHL has certainly come under fire in the past few weeks/months about protecting their players, and certainly the Chara/Pachiorety incident exacerbated the situation on the professional level, do we need a potential murder at the junior level to take anything seriously?

Ok, maybe I'm sounding a little bit paranoid, and to a point I am. These two incidents are two-sides of a ridiculous coin. On ice violence is one thing, threats from the public against players is another. Please, enjoy the internet. Hell make a parody account if you want, just keep it funny. We all need to lighten up sometimes, but whoever this fake Brayden Schenn was, clearly has no idea how to do it. Well that or they really, really REALLY like the Prince Albert Raiders.

for quotes from the Blades, as well as another take on this situation, check out WHL from Above.

My thoughts on Chara hit

because clearly you all live under a rock and haven't heard enough about this already.

We'll get it out of the way, so here's the hit if you haven't seen it yet....



and here is an excerpt from the official ruling, which you can read in its entirety here.

"After a thorough review of the video I can find no basis to impose supplemental discipline. This hit resulted from a play that evolved and then happened very quickly -- with both players skating in the same direction and with Chara attempting to angle his opponent into the boards. I could not find any evidence to suggest that, beyond this being a correct call for interference, that Chara targeted the head of his opponent, left his feet or delivered the check in any other manner that could be deemed to be dangerous.

"This was a hockey play that resulted in an injury because of the player colliding with the stanchion and then the ice surface. In reviewing this play, I also took into consideration that Chara has not been involved in a supplemental discipline incident during his 13-year NHL career."

Now for my two cents. It is easy to watch this hit and and scream for Chara's head on a plate. If you listen to the chants of "Fuck you Chara" in the video above you can see Habs fans were ready to take it right there. You can't begrudge them for their reaction. If that happened to a player on a team I support in their home arena, I'd want revenge as well. You can't expect any less from passionate fans, regardless of location.

The fact of the matter is, that this is NOT a suspendable hit under what everyone seems to think is the be all end all of NHL rules, the infamous Rule 48, which states (as per the NHL's website)

Rule 48 - Illegal Check to the Head

48.1 Illegal Check to the Head – A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted.

48.2 Minor Penalty - There is no provision for a minor penaltyfor this rule.

48.3 Major Penalty - For a violation of this rule, a major penalty shall be assessed (see 48.4).

48.4 Game Misconduct – An automatic game misconduct penalty shall be assessed whenever a major penalty is assessed under this rule.

48.5 Match Penalty - The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a match penalty if, in his judgment, the player attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent with an illegal check to the head.

48.6 Fines and Suspensions – Any player who incurs a total of two (2) game misconducts under this rule, in either regular League or playoff games, shall be suspended automatically for the next game his team plays. For each subsequent game misconduct penalty the automatic suspension shall be increased by one game.

If deemed appropriate, supplementary discipline can be applied by the Commissioner at his discretion (refer to Rule28).

Watch the hit again with these guidelines in place. It does not fit . While it is a lateral hit, the head is NOT the principle point of contact. For those that would argue this still shot as an example, that's called a follow through. It's forearm to shoulder at best with the hand coming forward, as i doubt Chara is a contortionist.

So, if you haven't figured it out yet, I agree with the NHL's ruling for once. Before you ask, no I am not a Bruins fan either. I am simply looking at this hit within the guidelines as set up by the NHL. And here's the kicker, IF the NHL punished the injury and suspended him for a few games, I wouldn't have protested. Disagreed absolutely, but the fact remains that the NHL has a tradition of punishing the injury and not the play. The referees did that last night, by handing out a major penalty and a match misconduct. Ultimately this is a play that any defenseman could and would make to prevent what would be an odd man rush and scoring chance. It is a tragic result and everyone should keep Max Pacioretty in their thoughts. The NHL had a rather difficult decision to make, and I believe that at the end they made the right one. Unfortunately this is a no-win situation for the league. Should they suspend people would say it's excessive, and since they didn't people are saying they should. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

the Winnipeg Coyotes..

So, here we go again. Another week, another chapter in the ongoing saga of the Phoenix Coyotes. The biggest problem now appears to be the selling of the bonds to help finalize the sale. Apparently, the Goldwater Institute is crying foul, and thus throwing yet another wrench in this whole process.

Sadly all of this could've been averted if the NHL didn't have such a hard on for sticking it to Jim Balsillie. Make no mistake, I am not condoning or approving of his back door approach to purchasing an NHL team, but one cannot imagine all this drama going on if the league relented and gave him the team he has been chasing for so long. Lest we forget, he was almost the owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins before Bettman handcuffed him by stressing the team stay in Pittsburgh.

At the end of the day this current issue will more than likely be settled in court. Again. One has to feel sorry for the few citizens who actually support the team, but therein lies the problem. This team has never been successful in the desert. Even with the teams recent successes they still have a poor draw and continually lose money. NHL is ultimately a business, and how it fails to see that this is a failed venture is beyond me. In the simplest of terms, the Coyotes are a failed experiment. It is time to admit to that and return the team back to where it all began.

Yes there will be the undoubted economic impact on the city of Glendale, and that is most unfortunate. Businesses close and/or relocate every day. We do not cry foul with the turning of every lock, so why are we starting now? I'm not saying it's fair either way, but I can't accept this argument in keeping a failing team in a failing market. Right or wrong, however this soap opera plays out, there will still be plenty of questions to be answered. I say we do everyone a favor and just pack them up and send them home.

Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers "live" blog

I kept an active blog on the game today. Read along.


1st Period: Ugh, Pierre McGuire to start the broadcast. It could only be worse if Mike Milbury is between the glass. Doc Emerick, and Eddie O with the call. Boosh vs. King Henrik. Oh hey, Gaborik is healthy. Give it 20 minutes.

20:00 Here we go.

19:09. Flyers remain the only team in the NHL without a shutout. The first bit of sustained pressure by the Rangers results in goal. Dubinsky puts the work in and Callahan gets the goal.

17:48 Flyers set up. decent puck movement, but Lundqvist is gonna stop everything he can get square to.

17:15 Doc let's us know that Jeff Carter is out sick with the flu. Oh no, who will throw it high and wide for the Flyers?

16:05 Prust stopped on the wraparound. A quick flash of the pads by Boucher to close the door. Flyers getting out played so far. Most of the first 4-5 minutes played in the Philly end.

14:48 Flyers can't get set up. They look tired so far, playing yesterday.

14:21 Penalty to the Flyers. Trip (?) on Shelley. Really, Shelley to the box? In other news ice is cold.

14:08 McCabe with a slapper from the point, gloved up by Boosh. Rangers are tied for 24th in the league in Power Play, Flyers are 7th on the PK

13:11 Zuccarello wide open back side, but Boucher gets square and smothers the high snapper. No rebound. Decent kill so far. Any shots getting through are being stopped.

12:20 Penalty over and now Hartnell draws the penalty. This should almost be a wash since the Philadelphia penalty is terrible right now. and we go to commercial. I can't wait to hear more of Pierre McGuire's "expert" analysis. This dude is the James Lipton of hockey broadcasters. Please. Shut up.

12:02 We're back. Fedetenko in the box, thanks to Hartnell's fine acting.

11:25 nice hard pass by meszaros, snatched up by Lundqvist. He seems on his game so far today. Flyers will need to get bodies in front and hope for some deflections or screens.

10:50. Flyers getting excellent puck movement...but that's it. Ok NOW they're shooting. If the flyers keep this up, a very tired rangers kill is going to yield something.

10:02. Rangers escape that one.

9:25 Shelley and Boyle in a quick scrap after Shelley drops Gilroy with a heavy hit along the half boards. Shelley wins! I'm pretty sure hell has frozen over. Boyle gets an instigator penalty. ....wow. Didn't expect that at all. Not a good call. Torts is PIIIIIIIIIIIISSED! Flyers back on the power play.

9:04 Flyers once again getting great puck movement, but refuse to shoot. Interesting seeing Carle playing so low. Pronger is the guy up top

8:28 ....and that's it. Richards to the bin for Slashing.

7:51 Rangers get away with a delay of game. Ruled a tip, but wasn't.

7:20 abbreviated power play beings for Rangers.

7:02 Callahan with his 2nd on the power play. bad angle shot, roofed it. Boosh thought pass, so Callahan took the real estate given. Flyers in a hole now

6:25 "It's all Rangers right now" says Doc Emerick. Just in case you didn't see the scoreboard, or just turned your TV on right now.

5:30 Flyers are in trouble. Rangers are pressing. Out hitting, and out hustling. Flyers have no sustained pressure. It can easily be 3 or 4 by the end of the period if they don't do something.

4:17 Why does Brian Boucher play the puck? It's like he's in cahoots with Cholesterol and high blood pressure to help give people heart attacks.

3:13 Rags come in with a 3 on 1 and Boosh makes the save. He's easily been their best player, which doesn't say too much considering the score. In all fairness, he's getting no support and it could be worse. The first period cannot end soon enough for the Flyers. They need to regroup.

2:42 Flyers with a chance, but once again can't convert.

2:05 Carle backhander stopped by Lundqvist. This one and done will not work against a goalie like Lundqvist. No traffic = no goals.

1:02 PING! The post is the goalie's best friend.

0:46 Andres Nodl with a great pass to Grioux, who's robbed by Lundqvist. too little too late in the first. Hands down their best chance of the period.

0:00 Period over. The Rangers need to keep up the pace. They're absolutely dominating every aspect of the game. Torts should just stroke the ego a little bit and let them know they're killing it right now. The other locker room should be fire and brimstone. Flyers came out flat and are now 2 goals down. Only positives to take away is puck movement on the power play. They kept it in the zone and out worked the PK. However they have nothing to show for it, since the don't pucking shoot. Rangers are out shooting the Flyers 14-7. U

And now it's time to Milbury-McGuire. NBC....PLEASE fire these assholes.

20:00 2nd period underway. Time to see what kind of adjustments the coaches made, and if the players are actually paying attention.

19:05 Rangers continue to dominate. Dubinsky and Richards scrapping in response to a big hit by Richards. Capt. Mike is clearly trying to spark the team, but Dubinsky is getting the better of him. Hopefully this will wake the Flyers up. Edzo points out flyers with 6 hits in the oppening 55 seconds.

18:14 Avery laying in the crease picks up the goal. 3-0 Rangers. Any interference is negated since Meszaros hooked him. oooohhh replay shows him kicking it. They're going upstairs. Commentators are calling a "distinct kicking motion," but he was hooked and going down. Will be interesting. Wow, 20 years of video review. War room says kicking motion. Thems the breaks when you're Sean Avery. Flyers get away with one. Let's see if they can build on it.

17:30 The Flyers cross the redline. Yeah that's it.

16:48 Gaborik just threw a punch at Versteeg. Coming back from a concussion and already getting your bell run by a Flyer before, you'd think he'd learn. Matching minors.

15:40 Flyers shooting from the half boards, failing to get any sustained pressure. It's going to be an easy afternoon for Lundqvist if this keeps up

14:54 Rags get the 3rd goal back. Zuccarello converts the 2 on 1. Matt Carle playing the pass, and Boucher just gets beat far post. Something's gotta give for the Flyers

Commercial break. via Tim Panaccio's twitter "not sure if UGLY fully does justice in describing this game right now"

13:32 And that's the trick for Callahan. Versteeg served up the biscuit on a platter. Boucher beaten from just inside the right faceoff dot. Based on play thus far, there's no way this game is going to improve for the Flyers. Bobrovsky coming in. This game is decided, barring a miracle. Final stats for Boucher, 4 goals on 18 shots.

12:52 Flyers going on the powerless play. 12 shots on goal so far. 0-2 on the power play this afternoon.

11:02 Flyers ice the puck. Really indicative of their play today.

10:26 Imagine that, Lundqvist making the easy save. He looks very comfortable, challenging up high.

9:58 Rangers again going to the box. Looks like Prospal. It's strictly academic at this point. The Flyers want to get on the bus, and the refs want to go home. It's times like this you almost wish there was a mercy rule, like in little league. Almost waiting for the short handed goal to put an exclamation point on this fiasco for the Flyers. Yeah I did that on purpose.

6:46 "All you need is one goal," says Eddie O. yes and no, simply because the Flyers right now haven't put forth a consistent effort to warrant a comeback. A goal a this point just goes towards a "respectable" loss.

5:59 Was about to compliment JvR one being one of the few Flyers putting for a decent effort....and he goes to the sin bin. Apparently the Flyers are treating this like a golf game. Everyone wants to be a minus today.

5:06 Bobrovsky with a stretch across the crease to deny Gaborik. Easily the best Flyer today....and he's been in for 8 minutes.

3:05 Briere to the box for slashing. I don't know if there's a stat for this, but in terms of just stick infractions Briere has to be among the league leaders. He's a like a combination of Zorro and Phil "Dr. Hook" McCracken.

2:02 Bobrovsky makes a nice save on Callahan to keep him at 3 goals.

1:00 last minute to play, and the horn can't come fast enough.

0:00 Rags leave the ice to hometown cheers. Rangers continue to dominate the play through 40 minutes. At this point it's all over, barring one of the craziest 3rd period comebacks ever. Rangers just need to continue to play they have been all day and they'll get out of here with a much needed two points. The only adjustments I see the Flyers making is their bus driver fixing his seat. Start warming it up now. The best part about the 2nd period was hearing Rusted Root in that Enterprise commercial...and I don't even like Rusted Root.

20:00 The Broadway domination continues. Pierre is commenting that the Flyers are not happy with the way they've played today. Ya think?! Thanks for that insight. I can't wait for more in depth reports like the Flyers are wearing orange

18:45 Nodl gets a stick up high after a good hit on Anisimov. 2 minutes only. Powerless play on for the Flyers.

18:12 Zherdev with a nice cross ice feed to Giroux, who with plenty of room....passed it back to the point. Poor decision making on the man advantage.

17:23 Briere to the box for Interference. He has to know most of the sin bin people by name at this point.

15:40 Callahan with his 4th of the night on the power play into the open net. Bobrovsky over committed and left the cage wide open.

13:42 Rangers clear the puck out of danger with Lundqvist on his back. Everything going the Rangers way today.

12:00 Flyers can't even beat the traffic today. Only thing going right for them today will be the bus as it drives out of NYC.

11:12 Bobrovsky freezes the puck. stop dragging this out.

9:50 The Flyers have their 4th line out there banging. At this point any energy they create will be a waste. Might as well play them anyway, give the other guys a rest

9:12 vanRiemsdyk with a nice wrister, but Lundqvist is square and swallows it up. While he hasn't had too many scary moments, Lundqvist has been strong whenever he's tested. This is a team shutout, as the Flyers hasn't had too many quality chances, but Henrik will not be denied.

8:41 Meszaros played the 2 on 1 nicely denying the pass and Bobrovsky comes up with a save on Anisimov.

7:37 Every little miscue, errant pass or broken play has been a microcosm of the Flyers recent stretch of poor play. They're trying, but it's just not going their way. The frustration has to be reaching a boiling point. This is not a team that has Stanley Cup aspirations right now.

5:19 Anisimov for the 6 pack. He won't be denied by Bobrovsky again. The end can't come fast enough.

4:22 That sums it up. Nice puck movement, and it looks like they'll finally get on the board, and the puck won't go in. Not the flyers night.

1:13 Giants 7, Eagles 0. Oh wait, this is a hockey game. Rags put up 7. Zuccarello with his 2nd of the night.

0:00 Rangers with the shutout. they go to 1-4 on the year against the Flyers. Lundqvist gets his 9th shutout of the season. With the win, the Rangers hold on their 7th place position in the standings and the Flyers stay in first. This game was over almost as soon as it started. The loss drags out the Flyers winless streak, and one has to wonder where they go from here. I will be looking forward to the post game with Laviolette. He cannot be happy with his team, and with Flyers playing Edmonton on Tuesday and Toronto on Thursday, it could be a chance to right the ship. The Rangers meanwhile have to be happy with their performance today. While I don't think they will move up to 6th, it was a solid 2 point effort and helps to increase their grip on the 7th seed.