Yes, I am a long time Islanders fan who has endured many years of pain. Isn't it great to be a true fan?! At least we will have a great shot at drafting the next great goal scorer of the NHL, John Tavares. As far as the All Star game, it is always a treat to see that many stars on the ice at one time. The skills competition is phenomenal. You gotta love Alex Ovechkin. He loves the game for what it is. Chara and 105.4 MPH slap shot. Yikes! I wouldn't want to be a goalie.
I agree that Kurt Warner is an amazing story (not just sports). As a Rams fan of 30 years, I got to follow him for a few years in St Louis. To see my team win a Super Bowl in 1999 was amazing to say the least, but what Kurt went through the previous 4 years, just tells you alot about him and his character. This guy has gone through more than the normal person on and off the field and I hope he wins again. Go Cards!
ps. Sharks will win the Stanley Cup. They will face the Bruins in the final. I am hoping for this scenario as it would be a great story line since Big Joe was traded from BOS 3 years ago.
Wow. Bruins in the Stanley Cup. You have come a long way Roger. I remember sitting on the back deck of the motor vessel Odyssey during ASE at the SAS Under the Stars Party, with you and Mr. Webster. We were chatting abouthow we thought our favorite teams would fair in the upcoming NHL season. We all agreed that Buffalo would finish ahead of your Islanders(long season) and my Bruins. Boy were we all wrong. The Bruins have been hands down the best team in the league this year. They have endured numerous injuries to key players, Marco Sturm(out for year), Phl Kessel(Mono, missed a few weeks), Andrew Ference(30 something games with a leg injury), Patrice Bergeron(concussion, missed at least 10-15 games), and some breaking injury news... The injury bug has hit the Bruins again, and this time Michael Ryder is the victim after suffering a high-stick against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night. Ryder is out indefinitely with a fracture to the nose/eye area.
Cont from above: In years past, injuries of this nature would have destroyed the Bruins season. This year has been different. Youngsters Blake Wheeler, David Krejci, Dennis Wideman, Kessel, are really stepping up and making key contributions. While we are getting all-star caliber performances from veterans Zdeno Chara, Micheal Ryder, Tim Thomas, Marc Savard and Manny Fernandez. They play as a team and have completely bought into head coach Claude Julien's defensive style of play. They currently rank 2nd in the NHL in goals scored(185), and third in goals against(117). I hope they can keep up on the pace that they have set this season. The Bruins currently boast a record of 39-8-6, good for 84 points through 59 games played. This is the best bruins team in 20 years! I will be rooting hard for them to bring the cup back to Boston this year. It has been a long time coming! Go B's!
Please - I'm counting the days until pitchers and catchers report. You see who is playing at Yankee Stadium on the Sunday of Affiliate Summit in NYC?
As far as hockey, it would be nice to see the Devils take it, since they have a city to parade in now. Those were pathetic days when their Stanley Cup parades were in the parking lot at the Meadowlands.
As the resident SAS hockey diehard from MI, though Brian actually plays and I haven't suited up since high school. I eat, breathe, sleep Red Wings hockey to which Ctang can well attest to. I have no doubt in my mind that they defend the cup this year. The NHL has one two things in the last few weeks to jolt my team out of their championship blahs and get us ready for the playoffs.
Gary Bettman decides in his infinite wisdom to suspend Lidstrom and Datsyuk for being injured and not participating in the All-Star weekend, these two are the classiest guys ever and its just another case of Bettman giving the Wings the short end of the stick. (note the penalties from game 2 on in the finals). Also go to the video of when he handed the Cup last year to Nick, you could see the grimace on his face that it wasn't his golden boy, Cindy Crybaby Crosby.
Claude Lemeiux, long time Wings instigator, and all-around bag of crap has signed with our biggest competition, the San Jose Sharks, who thanks to our ex-assistant coach are playing like the Red Wings 2.0. I'd love for them to bring McCarty up for one game just to punch that guy in the face again.
I predict we beat up the central the back half of the season, get home ice over SJ and win the conf. finals in 7, then take on Boston and Tim Thomas looks human, we win in 6, Datsyuk with the playoff MVP. Go Wings Go!
(Thanks to Jason for goading me in to writing some thoughts)
Rangers in seven!
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I hate boston and I hate chara lolol ( thomas .. where he learns to goal... the luckiest man ever...can't believe he really stop pucks :-) Montreal wins this year sorry. this is our year. 100 years of history. we have no choice to win. The all star game was amazing.. and The god Kovy make it happen once again :-) ... can wait for the cup at montreal or to kick out boston in playoff again :-)
hehehe, that was a cute post. Montreal isn't the same team as last year. You guys dominated the Bruins during the regular season, and finished us off in a classic 7 game series. This year has been different though. Montreal doesn't have the same swagger it played with last year. You were the best team in the East in 07-08. But that was last year, and this is 2009, the year of the Bruin! Get use to it, the black and gold are primed to make a run at the cup. 100 years of history is good for a museum, not the stanley cup playoffs.
this thought was originally shared on the facebook version of this post - i thought it was really odd that I actually was the first to post - wow was I wrong...
I knew there was a reason I liked so many in the AM world.. now I know why! the Goode house is full of love for hockey - Dave and I met while we both played inline -- not the same as pro ice, but definitely the beginning of the family enthusiasm.. sure do love the game no matter where it's played. Avs fans - how can we not, we're in Colorado - but I sure do miss watching the games when we were hot - Also a Penguins fan due to word association - Dave is a Red Wings fan harasser as a secondary occupation. Hockey has always been the top of the list for all of us... and now my middle child has finally reached the age to play in the rec league this year - Hockey FTW without a doubt! Who's gonna win the cup? I donno.. someone in blue.
Since I got my big ass HDTV a few years back, hockey's value has gone way up in my house, the dimensions and clarity (I can see the puck! that's what she said.) mean that I'm predicting it's the sport that will benefit the most from our transition to HD. Hockey is utterly terrific on my 57" 1080 DLP monster!
And yep, Tampa's got ice! Few years back, I took my son to the Stanley Cup Finals over there, making memories and winning all-time greatest Dad mileage points.
And... did you see Malkin's between-the-legs goal in the All Star game? It was sooo sick that I barfed in my beer can and then ran a serious fever for a few hours afterwards.
Jason, on the plane, I let you regift my Fanatics cash card for those hotties sitting by you, I coughed that sucker up babe, just for you... pick me for the $100 post and we'll call it even. :-)
Here's an extract from my blog post on this topic. Thanks for doing this, Mr. Jangro. Fun topic.
These days, the affiliate marketing industry seems to be even more maligned than usual. It’s disparate, fractured, and some days, down right ornery. We can draw a rather nice comparison with the NHL here. I’m picking 7 teams, and telling you where they fit in the affiliate marketing world. And then reading this, hopefully you can add in where your favorite team or element of affiliate marketing fits into the grid.
New York Rangers: Cookie stuffing, free agent grabbing backstabbers. Like any BHO, the Rangers are witnessed by many, and hated by all. And the best part? Over the years, they’ve had only limited success. Goes to show that there’s a validation to being righteous. See also: Philadelphia Flyers.
I won a trip for two to anywhere in Canada last night. I'm seriously thinking of going back to Toronto, just to go to the Hockey Hall of Fame, even though we've been there before. As an Av's fan, I can't wait until Sakic gets inducted. Though this isn't our year, we've got some great rookies here in Denver, so watch out!
Been a hocky fan for years and Pat is right. HDTV makes all the difference. I think hockey is the sport where there is the biggest difference between regular and HD.
Red Wings fan here. Pretty cool they just inked Zetterberg to a 10 year deal.
And as for Zdeno Chara??? I watched him play the Spokane Chiefs when he was playing junior hockey with the Prince George Cougars in the WHL. Everybody hated him just because he was a giant.
I don't think I can win with this comment for a couple of reasons. If I win, the prize money will end up in Dave's closet as Packer stuff. And my comment is that my youngest son is such a Red Wings fan he once drove to Detroit just because the Stanley Cup was on display. And now I have commented on my sum total of knowledge about hockey. But I do agree that this year's Super Bowl is practically a non-event at our house.
I love Marty Broduer and had the opportunity to catch the devils vs the red wings right after the devils won the cup over the wings. Great game. I have to say I feel the same way about football... slower paced and less physical than ice hockey... why is football so popular again?
Wings gotta win it, they simply have a stacked roster, although I will always hope that Gretzky can win a cup as the coach of the Coyotes (my home team).
So freakin' happy to hear that others share my passion for ice hockey as I was on skates before I could walk as well (in Alaska).
Thanks for the contest Jangro!
The Pens will squeek into the playoffs and stir up some trouble as the Eagles did in the playoffs for whoever is the top seed they play. Lookout Bruins? Pens won't win the Cup but they'll knock at least one othr team out of the hunt for the cup. Steelers, of course will make Kurt Warners head spin as he thows just as many TDs to Polamalu as he does to any of his receivers.
Scott -
Great post! Nice to see some big hockey fans out in the affiliate marketing space.
I'm a huge Islander fan (I know....my pain and suffering has come in spades. Hopefully we win the Tavares sweepstakes) I actually help run their message board on NewYorkIslanders.com ("Islander Mania" http://forums.newyorkislanders.com" target="_blank">
http://forums.newyorkislanders.comif there are any other NYI fans interested, please check it out)
Anyway I like what I've seen from the B's this year. And I wouldn't want to be a goalie standing in front of a Big Z slap shot, that's for sure! But I still have to go with either Detroit or San Jose in the West as far as a Cup Winner. I just think they're going to be too tough for anyone to beat.
Scott - was there a party in Boston last night or what? It was a dark cloud in Montreal for sure. Boston played really well but I'm sure the Habs will be back soon to collect their 25th Stanley Cup :)
Vancouver Canucks Vs Bruins - Final Match Up?
I'm sure. There was a party in my living room at least.
Boy, even after getting swept at home you're citing Stanley cup counts. It's ok, I understand, you're distraught. :)
Just tell me you weren't there in the Bell crowd booing the National Anthem.
I think the Canucks are a serious contender. Sharks may be seeing an early exit!
Bruins deserved to win because they played better and had fewer injuries. We didn't have some of our best players like Markov - that's like taking Chara out of the Bruins line up. Not that distraught - they weren't playing well for a while :)
Regarding the booing of the anthem, that was pretty disappointing and not classy at all and a lot of locals are even upset at this.
Canucks - Bruins match up would be a good series!
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READ THIS POST: There's $100 up for grabs.
The NHL All-star weekend has got me pumped up for Hockey and what better time because I cannot remember caring less about a NFL Superbowl game.
I hate the Steelers (though the Pats pwn the Steelers) and the Cards? meh. The one redeeming thing about this game is Kurt Warner. What a hard-working, success story he is. I will be rooting for Kurt.
More importantly, we're back from the NHL All-Star break, where the East won (of course), and Boston's Zdeno Chara topped Al Iafrate's slapshot speed record. I guess the guy to do that would be a 7' tall giant. He's got to be almost that on skates! And our Tim Thomas, what a game!
Being born and raised in Boston, and on skates since before I could walk, hockey runs in my blood. In the 70's my dad moonlighted at the Boston Garden and I went to work with him every Saturday for the Bruins games. That solidified my love for the game and the B's.
And it turns out that a lot of my fellow affiliate marketers feel the same way. Let's name a few that come right off the top of my head:
Tim Storm taunted us all with his tweets from the New Years day NHL Winter Festival game.
Brian Littleton, a Blackhawks fan? and a goaltender. (also at that Winter Festival game. )
Carolyn Tang. A Wings fan living in Chicago? Do I have that right? (ALSO at that Winter Festival game. Grrr.)
Roger Snow is an Islanders fan if I'm not mistaken. (Sorry Roger)
Brent Elias shares my Boston upbringing, and love for the game.
Kevin Webster is a Sabres fan, but we'll list him anyway.
Kunal Vohra and Paresh Vadavia are both from Montreal and die hard fans of Les Habitants. Respect. I was chatting with them today and it turns out they both attended the All-Star game on Sunday. So jealous.
Jason Rubacky -- poor guy is from Tampa. Do they even have ice down there? Somehow they manage to suit up a hockey team anyway.
Speaking of whom, my friend Jason does work at Football Fanatics and he's offered me up something special for you hockey-loving affiliate marketers who have also perhaps moved on from the football season. More on that at the end.
My fantasy hockey team got a big kick in the stomach when Martin Brodeur was knocked out for the season, but I'm now predicting a Stanley Cup win for the Bruins.
What have you got to say about that? Let me know what you think in the comments. Post your own prediction or declare love for your own team.
And to sweeten the deal Jason Rubacky has offered me up a $100 Football Fanatics gift card to give to one random commenter here on this post (one entry per comment, but feel free to go nuts). A tweet about this contest counts as a second entry. Be sure to @jangro me so I see it.
We'll run this until the comments die out and pick a winner early next week.
Thank you Jason! Sign up for his affiliate program here.
UPDATE: Surely I'm missing on my facts, and will post corrections here as I get them...
Correction #1: Jason is from Orlando and he's a pengins fan. Out of the the frying pan and into the fire.
Disclosure: there are affiliate links in this post. Surely you don't mind that.