Friday, January 22, 2016

Grab Bag: John Scott, bigger rinks, the original holdout, classic weird all-stars and more

In the Friday Grab Bag:
- The one thing the NHL will probably do to make this John Scott all-star situation even worse than it already is
- The problem with making the NHL rinks bigger isn't what you think it is
- An obscure player who was also a coach, fighter pilot, and the league's original holdout
- The week's three comedy stars
- And a YouTube breakdown that reminds us that the all-star game has always featured a weird mix of superstars and... other guys.

>> Read the full post at Vice.com




1 comment:

  1. A few things to note from the clip you posted (I was only 7 at the time, but I remember watching this game because I grew up in Kingston and that is what kids did back then):

    1) the game took place on a Tuesday night (it was a school night). I know baseball will play its' game on a weeknight, but that is because it has a monopoly on the summer sporting calendar (and people want to be at the cottage on summer weekends). How crazy does that seem now? They even got the day wrong, as major sporting events (NCAA Basketball Championship, NCAA Football Championship, and even the WJC Hockey) are held on Monday nights.

    2) isn't the on-ice announcer the late, great Dan Kelly? He of the 1987 "Gretzky to Lemieux" fame from the Canada Cup? I immediately got chills when I heard those introductions as Dan Kelly's voice is only behind that of Bob Cole.

    3) did you notice how young almost all the All-Stars are? Here is the breakdown:

    Garret 31 (replaced Brodeur 30)
    McDonald 29
    Babych 21
    McCarthy 22
    Broten 23
    Hartsburg 23
    Cicarelli 23
    Sutter 26
    Murray 28 (sneaky young as he looks just as old today at 60)
    Savard 22 (who looks like he wanted to give us the Savardian spin-o-rama at the red line)
    Bannerman 25
    Wilson 25
    Secord 24 (looking like an axe murderer and giving us a solid stop at center ice)
    Dionne 31
    Vaive 23
    Huber 25
    Kurri 22
    Coffey 21
    Messier 22
    Gretzky 22

    So a roster of 20 players had 11 players 23 or younger (meaning this was almost a Young Guns team from the upcoming World Cup of Hockey) and only 2 who were over 30 (Garrett and Brodeur were over 30, so either one doesn't impact things). If we raised the arbitrary limit to age 25, then we would have had 15 out of 20.

    4) Forgetting the equipment, check out the physical stats of the goalies (not to mention all of the skaters, except Huber of course).

    5) Great call on the organ - such a wonderful part of hockey lore.

    That's all I have for this clip.

    Keep up the excellent work.

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