I'm not quite sure how I feel about tonight's game. The Leafs played poorly, but still seemed to have more chances to win than Buffalo. The Monster did not have a great performance, but he wasn't bad either, and he didn't really have a chance on any of the goals against. Ultimately, while it's hard to see the bright side in losing a close game, the Leafs managed 3 points in their weekend of horror against Buffalo twice and the Bruins. Their next opponent, the New York Islanders, are a far more beatable opponent. Also, to the NFL: Despite what you might believe, we the viewing audience can survive a single week without having the NFC East shoved down our throats. I'm sick of that division and every team in it, and yet again tonight two of their teams conspire to put on a stinker in primetime.
Mercurial: Now you're talking! I have been a die hard Colts fan for the last 5 years, haven't missed too many games. I agree with you, Peyton is the bomb. In my house we have two Steelers fans, one Eagles, one Patriots, and I bring up the rear with the Colts, oh the boyfirend is a 49 er, so football games are very noisy in my house. We also live in Pa and about an hour from the Ravens and two and and a half from the Redskins, and also Penn State. So bring on Sunday, Monday, Sat. and now Thursday! I also rode horses and LordKyle of Earth my group are big paintballers, the three kiddos and the boyfriend, it is quiet the sport. Oh and the boyfriend is also a hockey player so not only do we cheer him but also the Flyers and Penguins. oh heck we just love it all, we can't wait for the winter Olympics. You should see us all glued to the chairs in front of the TV during curling, got gotta love it.
Apparently, the referee from Saturday's game has told the FA that he made a mistake in booking one of our players and has asked the FA to switch the booking to someone else (who also had a booking, meaning he'd pick up a one-match ban for a sending off). Having been at the match, he got it spot on in the identities of the booked parties. Lee Peltier was booked for jumping up to prevent a throw being taken quickly, while Anthony Pilkington was booked for a foul on their full-back. Although how he got the Pilkington booking right is beyond me - he didn't see the incident as he had his back turned and the linesmen also missed it. He was guided entirely by crowd reactions. Anyway, I'm not sure how he can claim he mistook the two players for each other. A) Pilks spent the second half on the left wing, where Pelts was at right back, and B) here's a picture of Pelts: And here's a picture of Pilks: And the FA's apparently agreed with him, meaning Pilks is banned for the Boxing Day clash with Carlisle. Nice one, ref. You managed to ruin the game, and now you've managed to ruin Christmas full stop by getting the most exciting player in the division banned for something he didn't do. Idiot.
It feels like the Leafs have only played 4 teams this month. Tonight, it's the Islanders and Tavares again. Leafs should get the 2 points tonight, they've played NYI out of the arena in the two other meetings, but had the first stolen by the kind of goaltending performance Dwayne Roloson isn't capable of repeating. Kessel will get one early, Ponikarovsky will break out of his slump, and Leafs fans will spend Christmas congratulating themselves over how good their team is.
The game was disaster and I have nothing else to say about it. World Junior Hockey Championships begins as always on Boxing Day, this Saturday. It give me a chance to give my Olympic avatar a trial run. Also, a gold medal win will give Canada a record 6 straight in the tournament. I am thinking of getting a Kadri Canada jersey, because then I'll have him covered for both international and club play- the colours are off but the Hockey Canada symbol is pretty close to the best logo in the sport
In honour of HTFC's magnificent chairman: He sells cards, my lord, He sells cards. He sells cards, my lord, He sells cards. He sells cards, my lord, He sells cards. Oh, lord, he sells cards. Two for one, my lord, Two for one. Two for one, my lord, Two for one. Two for one, my lord, Two for one. Oh, lord, two for one. Thanks to Dean Hoyle, we once again have a share in the Galpharm Stadium! We own our own ground again! Seven years on, the administration nightmare is over, well and truly. Thanks to this action, we're more financially sustainable in the long term, and now stand a chance of attracting further investment now we no longer have to pay the stadium company for our tenancy (upwards of two million a year is the difference between what we were paying... and what we'll now earn as a result of this share). Rumour has it that Graham Leslie is interested in investing, and with that kind of financial clout behind us, the Premier League has got to be our target.
Today's game at Ice Station Carlisle was called off due to a frozen pitch. Look, I could have told you the state of the pitch without the need for the ref to turn up late and say it's unplayable. Anyway, thanks to that we've now got a game in hand over Colchester, Norwich, Charlton and Monday's opponents MK Dons. I could go off on one about why I loathe what MK Dons stand for, but instead I'll go on about the importance of winning on Monday. They're a place above us (we dropped to sixth following the results from today), but they've been in indifferent form, struggling against the division's mid-table battlers and relegation fodder in the last month. Town beat them 3-2 at their place in September, after which their 'manager' Paul Ince whined. As this is at the Galpharm, I'm really confident. Home and away we're different teams, but the home side is nothing short of breathtaking. At our best, we're unstoppable; even when off-form we've managed to scare the life out of Newcastle, the side top of the division above.
As I type this, Canada is up 12-0 over Latvia in their first game of the World Junior Hockey Championship. This game highlights what I think is one of the less pleasant aspects of the tournament. It was clear from about the five minute mark of this game that Latvia was simply not able to compete at Canada's level- they are so overmatched, there is no way they could possibly win. But because the tournament includes goal differential as an important tiebreaker, Canada continues playing their best players and are trying their hardest to run up the score. There is something to be said in professional sports for playing as hard as you can for the duration of the game, but these players are not professionals. On the one hand, the Canadian players should be learning sportsmanship, and on the other the tournament should be a chance for countries with developing hockey programs to get a feel for the game at its highest level, and grow the sport outside of its traditional hotbeds. Instead, you get an embarrassing romp and a half-dozen meaningless goals. In the span of writing this, the score became 13-0. Now, when it comes to competing hard the whole way and showing no mercy, I would be delighted if it came up in tonight's game. Because of Daniel Alfredsson's antics, in mocking the more highly acclaimed and respected Mats Sundin, many Leafs fans hold a special contempt for Ottawa. Montreal however is my target of dislike. There are many, many things I hate about the Montreal Canadiens, and nothing I like more in hockey than seeing the Leafs send them home to a chorus of boos. Basically, even without taking the standings into consideration, tonight is a must win for one simple reason. I have Montreal fan relatives, and one side is going to be making a phone call tonight. It had better be me. edit: to the post below- I like poker, but I'm only decent at it. edit 2: 14-0
Hehe, you made me giggle. It's been ages since I played it, a Candian guy thought it to me (he was quite a gentleman, refused to play a game if I wouldn't play as well ) but I'm afraid I've forgotten most of the rules. I'd love to pick it up again, though, cause I found it quite enjoyable. Oh, I also have a lot of trouble keeping a poker face.
The final score was 15-0, which ties a Canadian record, which was originally set against noted hockey superpower France. I spoke too soon. 16-0. The next game is against Switzerland, which should be another ugly one. Shots were Canada 66- Latvia 10. This was one of the most lopsided games I've seen. edit: as for the Leafs, their effort has been anything but acceptable. Yet again they start slow, take stupid penalties, and give up powerplay goals. I don't care if Burke is the guy's friend, and I certainly don't care that he's the guy Burke picked to coach the American team in the Olympics, Ron Wilson needs to be fired.
It's looking like the start of the season again. Leafs thoroughly outplay Montreal, take over twice as many shots and generate at least twice as many good scoring chances, and lose the game because their coach can't get them to play for the first twenty minutes of a game, and because their goaltending is AHL quality.
"Can't read my, can't read my, no he can't read my poker face....." Okay, I'm done. Hopefully, if we win against the Seahawks, we'll get our playoff ticket punched and ready to go. *crosses fingers*
I just read that and had a total jolt of recognition lol (you know, when you read something or hear something somewhere and not expecting it but it's something indicitive of something familiar )
Tennis, badminton, cricket, and fencing are fun. Golly, I come across as a complete snob. Mostly, though, I hate team sports.
^ I've always wanted to fence, but there arent any options to pursue that sport where I live. I always thought it'd be really fun though. xx What a horrible day for the NFL. Patriots killed the Jags, and the Carolina vs Giants game was just embarassing. I'd hate to be a NY Giant right now. The Steelers beat the Ravens; I'm impartial to the Ravens, but I hate the Steelers and would have preferred a Baltimore win. I've got nothing against the Saints except that they're a worthy opponent to the Colts, so I'm at least pleased that they lost again. With the exception of the Saints, everyone who I wanted to win today, lost. Our Colts handed the Jets a win --not that they deserved it. We played our third-string quarterback for most of the second half, and it's really obvious why he's third-string. Poor guy; I do feel bad for him, being boo'ed every time he made a move, but that kind of performance is unacceptable. I would have boo'ed him too, had I been in the stadium. We played most of a second- and third-string game for the second half, and it showed, with a 29-15 loss to the NY Jets. And, sorry Jets fans, but we're simply a better team, and it took a crap decision like this to blow our winning streak. I'm all for keeping our starters safe, but was there really any question of safety? There was never a Colt down on the field! Personally, if we pay our starters as much as we do, then they should play their hearts out for all sixteen regular season games and any post-season games; that's what they signed up for. What a bummer. I think what pissed me off most was how we kept challenging and calling time-outs left and right. We obviously didnt care about this game, so what's it worth pretending?! We should have just left after halftime.
The only good thing today was the Eagles beating Denver. If the Doncs somehow miss the playoffs after starting 6-0, I will be simply delighted. I agree about the Steelers though... if I were a Ravens fan, I'd be very upset. There were some real questionable calls on big plays against Baltimore. The worst thing about the Colts losing is that my brother is a Jets fan. I was teasing him up until Manning left. What happened to Jim Sorgi? He's not good but surely he could have done better than that terrible third stringer. The Leafs are beating everyone's favourite bandwagon, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in a game I didn't even know was happening. If they keep it up, a lot of casual NHL fans will be angry, and I will be very happy. Edit: Leafs Win!
I think Sorgi had either a chest or shoulder injury. In all my years supporting the Colts, I've NEVER anything more stupid than putting in a third-string rookie as quarterback. Actually, I take that back. The most stupid thing was not taking him back out after seven plays and NO YARDS GAINED. I'm all for keeping our players safe, but UGH. There wasnt ever a threat to their safety; we just tossed that game. Yeah, and I feel for the Ravens fans. I was semi-watching that game; flipping between the Ravens and the Pats game, and I saw so many calls that should have been favoured toward the Ravens, but weren't.
Off to the Town-MK Dons match now. My sore throat has cleared up, so I hope for the nearside linesman's sake that he has a good game. My hopeful team: Smithies, Peltier, Williams, P. Clarke (c), N. Clarke, Kay, T. Clarke, Roberts, Pilkington, Rhodes, Novak. Subs: Glennon, Butler, Berrett, Collins, Ainsworth, Robinson, Simpson.
That was a proper football match! A 1-0 win for Town was much deserved over an MK Dons side in the image of their manager - in other words 'blimey, we can't cope with this, so kick him!' Special mentions to Town goalkeeper Alex Smithies who made a fantastic save from an MK Dons penalty after the ref had a shocker at 0-0, and then to Anthony Pilkington, who scored one of the goals of the season, cutting inside his full-back before blasting a 25-yard screamer past the despairing dive of Dons keeper Gueret. Town could have scored more, Rhodes missing numerous opportunities and Gueret making a few good saves, but 1-0 was all there was to be. A season-high crowd of 16,086 cheered Town off at the end as we leapfrogged MK Dons back into 5th. The referee had a shocker best summed up when, in the 90th minute, he failed to send off Luke Chadwick (yes, that one, who was terminally bad for Manchester United) after he elbowed and headbutted Tom Clarke in one swift movement, then promptly swung a fist at Pilkington. And MK Dons manager Paul Ince wants sacking from his job after he gave Town fans the finger at the death.
This just in, screw you Steelers. That is all. Seriously, the Steelers didn't win that game, the Ravens lost it. I swear, it's like they can't get through a game with less than eight penalties. Though thanks to the Broncos, Dolphins and Jags losing, they'll still likely get a playoff spot. Oh and I agree that pulling the starters was a bad move for the Colts. If they wanted to protect Manning, the coach could have simply asked him to hand it off a lot or to make short quick passes. Oh and we know of well the Colts have played in the past in the playoffs after resting their starters.
*high fives for a fellow Steeler-hater* Although our loss to them doesn't matter anymore, I guess. Even if (and God forbid!) the Pack get knocked out of the playoffs, I'll still be so proud and happy. They played a fantastic season, every one of them.
