CANADA VS USA: Lets put a tidy little bow on this Olympic thing shall we?

Before every stand-up performance, Jerry Seinfeld sits alone backstage for 30 minutes completely soaked in his own fear. The best comedian of our generation, arguably, and still the guy gets stage fright. I always found that strange.

Until today. I think I finally get it.

Right now I'm thinking about all the things that can go wrong. I'm thinking that Canada has shown vulnerability while the US have not. I'm thinking that the US have nothing to lose and Team Canada has the weight of 30 million people on their shoulders. I'm thinking that Luongo hasn't been as good as Miller, that the USA can almost match us in depth up front, and I'm thinking that this funny game of hockey taketh away and giveth in the most unpredictable of ways.

Now that that's out of the way...

GO CANADA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is gonna be one hell of an afternoon folks!

Cut out of work early and then try not to sober up!

USA and Finland go today at 3pm eastern. Then you'll have to wait until 9:30 to see Canada vs Slovakia. During the break there are a ton of events going on today including the 4-man bobsled, speedskating finals and some snowboarding. Never a dull moment!

As far as the hockey, the Slovak's have taken 198 shots on net so far in this tournament. 75 of them have come from Gaborik (27), Hossa (23) Zednick (10) and Chara (10).

The Leafs and Sens are down to Ruutu and Kessel as far as BoO representation in Olympic hockey, as Don pointed out. But Nik Hagman was a Leaf until a week or so before the tournament so does he half count? He leads the Fins with 5 points.

If we want to go back further than this season, there are four ex-Sens still kicking: Hossa, Heatley, Meszaros and Chara.

Go Canada!

Jarko vs Phil

Two left from the BoO
Sens up by 2.

SENS	9
Ruutu	2
Alfie	3
Michalek	2
Kuba	1
Volchenkov	1
Daugavins	0
LEAFS	7
Kessel	2
Kaberle	3
Monster	2

A chip and a chair.

Seems like Canadian hockey fans are down. Our cockiness diluted by too many games against inferior countries and not enough success against those with talent. We've all done the math. Canada has not yet beaten, in regulation, a top hockey nation in these Olympics. It's not the bicep flexing we had hoped for and that seems to hurt. We may have all wanted a cake walk, deep down. I don't know? What I do know is that Canadian fans seem just a little edgy, recklessly throwing hall of fame defenceman and tried and true forwards under the bus, still bitching and moaning about roster choices. I'm hearing a lot of sounds coming out of mouths that when you remove the phonics and just listen to the tone you would think we've already been eliminated. A bunch of excuse-making and whining.

Enough already.

Canada is still, on paper, the best hockey team remaining in these games. Nobody can match up at all positions with the red and white. Nobody has the mix of youth plus veteran players so highly decorated and nobody else has a fourth line that could be the first line on most of the teams in this thing.

We are alive and we haven't even scratched the surface on our best performance, which, in my opinion, means that no team still standing has a better chance to win this over us. It's all square, all even, and down to 8 teams. It's the beginning, not the end.

So pull up your bottom lips, stop bashing away at players for what they've done or haven't done in your opinion and just get behind them. Quantum Physics. Think good thoughts. It could be the most incredible night to be a Canadian in a span of time when there have been many. Lets drop the suckhole attitude.

Ra Ra Ra.
The Muppet

Has Brodeur played his last game for Canada?

Luongo it is.

Hope that changes the fortunes of this team.

Leafs pull out front....

Including Sunday's games....

SENS	6
Ruutu	2
Alfie	2
Michalek	2
Kuba	0
Volchenkov	0
Daugavins	0
LEAFS	7
Kessel	2
Kaberle	3
Monster	2

*Roman Wick, Sens pick playing in/for Switzerland has 4pts.

Murray versus Burke: Olympic Edition

A quick comparison:

Brian Burke: Put together a USA team that got a lot of criticism for some of his player choices. Puts Ron Wilson in charge who many people think he should fire from the Leafs. USA then goes perfect in the round robin and beats the world's best hockey team in their own rink.

Bryan Murray: He drafted Getzlaf and Perry. Getzlaf takes a dumb and costly penalty in the game which the US shoves right down our throats with a PP goal. And later, Corey Perry lets Kesler score easily on an empty net to seal the game and kill what was at that point a barrage by Canada trying to tie the game up.

Lets make Burke GM of the Canadian team next Olympics. Who is with me?

I hate Phil Kessel.

For one game at least. Tonight him and that bastard Ron Wilson are the enemy. I wish them nothing but misery for the entire 60 minutes. They should know the feeling well.

7:40PM. Battle of Ontario united and cheering for the same team on CTV. Go Canada!

Speaking of the TV coverage, which of these 6 TV commercials we watch over and over are starting to do your head in? The Tim Hortons one just entered the rotation and I already want to claw my eyes out.

GDT - Canucks vs Swiss - Is it bar worthy?

I don't know about you, but I'm not spending my drinking money just yet. Going to the pub and dropping a bank roll to see Canada beat Switzerland just doesn't add up for me. Then again, I'm old as dirt compared to probably most of you.

Except DC.

No, I think my first visit to the pub to watch Canada will be Sunday against the US, who just beat Norway 6-1 btw. Kessel with a goal and an assist.
So far it looks like the top teams in this tourney are Canada and Russia with everybody else a step back.

Looks can be decieving, so I won't be too cocky. Wait, what fun is that?

Canada 7 Switzerland 0.

I think Team Canada is going to get better and better as this thing rolls on.

Olympic jerseys you wish you could buy

BoO Olympic style

So, which teams reps will gather more points in the Olympics?

We'll give 'the MONSTER' 2pts for a win and an extra 1 for a shutout.

Update: The Sens take the early lead!

Sens	1
Ruutu	1
Alfie	0
Michalek	0
Kuba	0
Volchenkov	0
Daugavins	0
Leafs	0
Kessel	0
Kaberle	0
Monster	0

GDT - DON'T MESS AROUND CARLO!

Game day thread. Leafs and Blues.

I'm heading from the office back to the hotel at 4pm local time to crack open a $12 minibar beer and watch this sucker online.

Leafs will face Steen and Colaiacovo, the latter a focus in some trade rumours. So if you're keeping track, he's motivated by facing his old team as well as performing for potential suitors at deadline.

Great.

Enjoy this one as it's the last for Leaf fans for a few weeks. Thankfully we'll have some good hockey to focus on over that time, when Canada's OTHER team starts working towards gold.

REALITY IS SETTING IN FOR THE LEAFS.

Forget that JS Giguere has a 1.01 GAA with a 9.65 save percentage since coming over. Or that the Dion Phaneuf has solidified the blue line and made everyone around him play better. Forget Phil Kessel's 21 goals and counting, or the emergence of Tyler Bozak.

Toronto are 29th in the NHL with 22 games left to play. To make matters worse, they are a full 7 points behind 27th place, with the Panthers having a game in hand. In short, it's fucking dire. Sorry about the language.

As of late Toronto are playing better but in all the excitement I'm hearing some pretty crazy ideas floating around. And I'm not talking crazy as in "wacky", but crazy "you're out of your bloody mind".

So lets break down three potential goals for Leaf fans to have as the season winds down for Toronto.

1. MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.
Lets break the hearts of those who think this is still even possible. The Leafs need 41pts to get to 90pts [which is thought to be the playoff cutoff this season]. That would require the Leafs to finish the season 20-1-1. You're more likely to grow a tail between now and then. Let it go. No really. Let it go.

2. NO TOP TWO PICK FOR BOSTON.
With no playoffs Leaf fans can only cheer for Boston not to get the top pick. This goal requires finishing 24th in the NHL. Why 24th? Because even if the Leafs win the draft lottery they can only move up 4 spots. Finishing 24th means Boston can at best get the 3rd overall pick. To finish 24th it will require the Leafs to get around 80 points. That's a record of 15-6-1 from here on in. You're more likely to win a proline where you chose 6 outcomes, but that actually happened to my brother last week so lets call it stupid, odds-wise, but not impossible.

3. FINISH 4TH LAST AND PRAY
The lottery pick usually goes to the 30th place team who has the most odds. So, to stay out of the top three the Leafs need around 75 points. That's a final run of 13-9. This is still uphill all the way, but at least reasonable to hope for. You're more likely to grow an increased interest in the Raptors over this span of time, but if it's a goal you're looking for, this is one to root for.

Kadri to play tonight against the Sharks.

Couldn't believe when I read this.

I'm away on a work thing and won't be able to see any of this game. What a bummer.

Barf.

Ok, so last night actually happened. I'd been hoping it was a nightmare.

Well, the Senators completely mailed it in and gifted a win to the perpetually awful Leafs. I don't really understand why the Senators chose not to play very hard last night, but it's not for me to analyse why they elected to throw the game.

Whatever the case, it's still miserable for the fans of the playoff-bound team and especially me as I have to spend it in downtown TO listening to the blue-and-white fans talk about Giggy's pending Vezina, Phaneuf's Hart, and Kessel's Richard trophies that they're going to get this year. (If you think I'm kidding about the Vezina, you should check out some of the comments in the multitude of sports websites...)

Alas, I'm off to Spadina. At least last night will keep the Senators and their fans in check. Of course, the reverse is true of the baddies.

BoO 4: GDT. Senators @ Leafs

Launching @ ~6:45 pm

(assuming the regular outages all of blogger.com is experiencing today are fixed)

Here goes the 2nd round of live-blogging which should be a regular event for all BoOs. Comments are moderated so dickheads will be removed with extreme prejudice. If you're not an invited panelist, you may have to wait a few minutes to get your first comment posted and the rest should appear without moderation.

Enjoy folks. Have fun, but stay respectful, especially given the tragic loss of Brian Burke's son Brendan last night. Those not complying with that request will be banned from all future live-blogging events on the BoO.

Panelists - If I'm not online @ 6:45 and you have the capability (as invited Producers), please launch!

The passing of a trailblazer.

As suggested by Steve in the comments section and confirmed by tsn.ca, Brian Burke's son Brenden was killed in a car accident today.

While I've never respected Brian Burke as a GM, I very much respected him for his openness and candor in discussion about Brendan.   His support for Brendan, whom some of you may not know came "out" this past year in an interview with ESPN, was impressive for perhaps setting the tone from the very top of the NHL that homophobia would not be tolerated in a sport which has been called the least open to recognition of hockey players for whom they are off the ice.

The Battle of Ontario doesn't matter so much tomorrow, though one could not be surprised if the Leafs are driven to gift a win to Burke as a small measure of support for their dedicated GM.

Sympathies to the family of Burke and all who looked to Brendan as a trailblazer.

Late GDT - So far so good...

Third is about to start.

Brodeur in. Kovulchuk in. But it's the Sjorstrom/Wallin/Kulemin line that's been the best of the night - who would have thought the "spare part" in the Phaneuf deal would be this good after 5 periods? Powerplay working. PK working. Gustavsson standing tall which means the Sens will see Giguere, and Kessel has a pair of assists for good measure.

Hold on for the last 20 minutes boys...

Coming soon....

There should be another coveritlive thread here for tomorrow's game.  I'll be sending out a few invites via email tomorrow as I did last time.   If any of you remember my email, send me a request to be added to the unmoderated.  I'll be rigging some of the 'faithful' as producers so you can give commenting privileges to people who pop on.  I hope to be on at the beginning, but I might not be alive after breathing in some downtown Toronto air.

Eleven is heaven.

For the first time since Gee moved overseas I've got my drink on during a week night, and what a way to celebrate it.

11 wins straight to join only the somewhere-in-the-50s Habs and present day Washington as the only 10+ streaking teams.  Fuck yeah, it feels good - just as good as that ice-pack must've felt on Glass's face after Carkner performed upper mandibular surgery thereupon.  

I can't go to bed tonight.  Fuck a rational posting, I'm heading *back out* to the Heart & Crown to celebrate.

I'll be back on sometime after my impending hangover subsides following next Zorfubvzutday.