SB Nation User Blog: Bald Pollack

"He couldn’t believe the rage I had, not only in attacking him, but it took two (linesmen) to restrain me afterwards and throw me in the penalty box."

Bald Pollack — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:42:57 -0000

"He couldn’t believe the rage I had, not only in attacking him, but it took two (linesmen) to restrain me afterwards and throw me in the penalty box."

Brendan Shanahan, recounting an awesome story which shows he remembers everything. So maybe he'll be a fair judge of league discipline (via Deadspin).

Washington Capitals 10 Greatest Games, on video soon(?)

Bald Pollack — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:00:00 -0000

I've been told that Warner Home Video will be releasing the Caps' 10 Greatest Games collection on DVD on March 23, and I feel slightly uneasy about such a release. Why? Simply put, while similarly released collections have games that should have been included and weren't, I feel like such a release for this team, right now, would be unnecessary.

If nothing else, let's go through an exercise of the 10 greatest games in Capital history. Warner traditionally doesn't include team losses on the team it honors on this set, so that automatically rules out the Islander and Penguin 4OT games as being, well, "great." So where do we go from there, for my money, and in no random order, I'd be happy seeing these on a set:

Game 7 4/16/88 vs. Philadelphia Flyers (Dale Hunter. 'Nuff Said.)
Game 6 ECF 6/4/98 vs. Buffalo Sabres (the Conference Finals clincher from Joe Juneau)
Game 2 ECSF 5/4/09 vs. Pittburgh Penguins (hat tricks from Alex Ovechkin and Sid Crosby)
Game 6 PDF 4/27/90 vs. Rangers (John Druce's OT winner)
1/31/08 vs. Habs (Alex Ovechkin's 4 goals and broken nose in the win)
Game 1 ECQF 4/11/08 vs. Flyers (1st playoff game/win in years)
3/12/08 vs. Flames (Olaf Kolzig's 300th win)
2/3/96 vs. Islanders (Peter Bondra gets 4 against Tommy Soderstrom in a 6-5 win)

And I run out of gas. Honestly that last one's a reach also. But other existing compilations are from teams that have, you know, won something (Habs, Rangers, Oilers, etc.). So with this pending release, regardless of how you vote, what would your Top 10 be?

Poll

Should there be a Capitals Greatest Game Collection set?

Yes, Yes, a thousand times yes!

16 votes

Hell to the no.

27 votes

43 votes | Poll has closed

Pics, notes and thoughts from Mecca.

Bald Pollack — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:19:51 -0000

(Note: Some of this rambling was done in Saturday's Game Day Thread).

So using a travel voucher from a travel company and a buy one night, get the second for half off hotel offer, I was able to sink some money into tickets to the Canadiens game Saturday night. Nothing like a 48-hour jaunt during Thanksgiving weekend for a road trip. Some things I learned after the jump:

(All images via my crappy phone)

The one thing you need to know and soak in when going to Montreal for a game: be prepared for history. A lot of it. As it should be, since the outside of Bell has statues of Richard, Beliveau and others. You get timelines and milestones inside along the concourse, and inside a Ring of Honor, featuring more of Robinson, Blake and even Rod Langway adorns the ring in the 400 level.

The marketing campaign is "I Am." So you get "I Am Elmer Lach," "I Am Serge Savard," but you also get "I Am Kyle Chipchura" to balance out the history. The latter dampens the former two, but it gives you goosebumps nonetheless.

The coolest thing, by far, is a pregame reel which shows the names of all 775 Habs players displayed on a on-ice scroll, with selective pausing on some names through the years and highlights on the jumbotron. While it may be one of the few times where Jeff Hackett and Georges Vezina are in the same context, the effects of it all, set to "Viva La Vida," is awesome. I loved it. That leads me to point two:

The music selection is outstanding. Aside from some of the Francophone stuff, my ears picked up "Fix You," several pre-Black Album Metallica songs, and as warm-ups started, "Eminence Front" by The Who. I love your hip music choices Montreal. Several other rapid-fire things in no order:

When in concessions, get a smoked meat sandwich. Just do it (This goes for the whole on Montreal, but that's another story). If I could adopt one and have brought it back across the border, I would have. In between that and the hot dogs on buttered toast with relish, plan accordingly.
The seats themselves, particularly in the pics you're seeing, don't have a lot of legroom. I sit one section over (in 117) in the same row as the seats here, and it feels like an Economy Plus flight compared to the Bell seats.

The fans themselves are nice though some are cut from the Cherry cloth a little bit. This night had them wonder why Alex Ovechkin wasn't suspended for the Paleta hit, for instance, and speculating about the way he plays and whether he's headhunting. On a related note, there are a lot of Ovechkin and Mike Green jerseys in the stands (along with a Mathieu Perreault one and an Andrew Gordon practice jersey(?)). There are lots of people who are fans of the players who aren't so much fans of the team. There were even a few folks I met who made the trip up from DC and enjoyed the environment.

On the environment, the crowd is loud. For as much exposure we've had to VC crowds and their sound, the Bell Centre faithful yell significantly on blown penalties and dawdling power plays like every other place more than other arenas, but the goals are an explosion of sound like few you're liable to hear. You're almost left humbled by it. Now in the defense of the Caps, the Habs' revenue stream is like gold-plated gold, so there's no need to throw in quick ads or sponsorships for power plays or more than 5 goals scored to rev up the crowd (at least, not that I noticed). Everyone sings the anthem, everyone is boisterous when a successful PK, everyone is into the game, rather than the spectacle of just being there.

There are a couple of points of observation about the crowd which have reinforced some underlying opinions I had. First, the passionate cheering of the Quebecoise and Francophone players more than other players is there, though not as much as I would have presumed. And second, the booing of blown calls, and hearing a fan actually say that the Habs are "always getting screwed" prompts me to say this one more time, with feeling: officiating is subjective. When it goes against you, many tend to think it's a conspiracy, no matter how big your trophy case is. But it's your ability to rise up past it that separates the skin from the pudding.

But ultimately, you know the best part about going up to the Nexus of the NHL to watch your favorite team play in hostile territory? Sending the home crowd home sad. Thanks to Montreal for a great atmosphere, but a larger thanks for the result goes to Bruce Boudreau and gang, and for a fun night.

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of the NHLPA.

Bald Pollack — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:37:02 -0000

A little while ago, some fool mused on the firing of NHL Players' Association Director Paul Kelly and the possible impact it would have on a lockout/strike after the 2010-11 season. At the time, I mused that League General Counsel (and interim Director) Ian Penny, union ombudsman Buzz Hargrove and former ombudsman Eric Lindros "should be given a short leash to work with," but if you had odds on what happened next, you'd be a rich man. More after the jump.

The biggest events by far would be Penny's resignation. Mirtle has posted the text of Penny's letter sent shortly before his dismissal, which I encourage everyone to read. Not only does it burn any possible bridge of reconciliation, but it salts the earth afterwards. The biggest culprit thrown under the bus would have to be Chris Chelios, one of four members of the Union's review committee which was put together to find out more about Kelly's firing and to serve as a housecleaning measure of sorts (Rob Blake, Nicklas Lidstrom and Mark Recchi are the others). Now, Kelly's dismissal was something that stuck in the craw of a few union members more for the way it was done than anything else, but it appears that Chelios was most offended by this, and appears to be waging a vendetta against those responsible for it. Penny was part of the Hargrove/Lindros camp that felt that Kelly's methods were unconventional and possibly damaging to the union. Frankly, if informally communicating to management could benefit the union in future labor negotiations, why anyone would object to the tactic is beyond me, but maybe that's naivete on my part.

Along with Penny's dismissal, Steve Larmer, former teammate of Chelios in Chicago, who served as one of the members of the Advisory Board resigned on Friday, citing the "long-term damage" that Chelios and the committee were doing to the union based on their current practices. He was not the only one; when turning in his resignation, advirosry board chairman Ron Pink questioned the constitutionality of what the committee was doing. Three other board members (Dan O'Neill, Ron Lloyd and Ian Troop) also stepped down from the board.

But the most important message in the wave of resignations may come from advisory board member (and former union VP and New York Islander) Ken Baumgartner, who tendered his resignation. His message was more passionate to the union members, whose continued apathy is both offensive and tragic. "The strength of the union lies in your locker rooms..." is something simple that the union can follow, yet continue not to adhere to. One can question Chelios' actions and intentions, but when union meetings need to suspended due to lack of a quorum, especially in light of recent events, having a 47-year old AHL player as the guy running the show for the Union might be what the Union deserves most of all right now.

Coach's Corner, 10/24/09. Skip to around the 5:00 mark for the relevant comments. Honestly, Ron...

Bald Pollack — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:41:45 -0000

Coach's Corner, 10/24/09. Skip to around the 5:00 mark for the relevant comments. Honestly, Ron McLean's comments were more harsh than Cherry's, but that's my $.02.

Better or worse than Mites on Ice?

Bald Pollack — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:22:12 -0000

Better or worse than Mites on Ice?

The NHLPA may want to rethink its vetting process.

Bald Pollack — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:14:42 -0000

The NHLPA may want to rethink its vetting process.

It would be funny if I could stop shaking my head in disbelief.

"If players are pissed off, maybe they'll start getting involved."

Bald Pollack — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:36:47 -0000

"If players are pissed off, maybe they'll start getting involved."

Oilers player rep/NHLPA executive board member Shawn Horcoff, hopefully sounding a message other player reps have relayed to their fellow players in the days and weeks following Executive Director Paul Kelly's dismissal (Dreger).

"As GM, you agree to these provisions at your own peril – and we all have done so."

Bald Pollack — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:05:39 -0000

"As GM, you agree to these provisions at your own peril – and we all have done so."

Former Lightning GM Jay Feaster on No Trade/Movement Clauses (spoiler alert: He's not a fan).

"I don't care...I'll go play in the Olympic Games for my country. If somebody says to me you can't play, see ya."

Bald Pollack — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:04:58 -0000

"I don't care...I'll go play in the Olympic Games for my country. If somebody says to me you can't play, see ya."

Alex Ovechkin, further clarifying his position on Sochi '14 (LeBrun).