Worth seeing?

How about putting a small percentage of that towards 40 seasons of play for the kids?

Kilmer Elementary school in PortCoquitlam is in dire need of a new playground for their present and future students attending from Kindergarten through Grade 5. Their current playground is 40 years old and literally falling apart. Wooden structures are rotting. Old unsafe tires are half buried in gravel. Plastic slides are missing. It is estimated that within a couple of years this playground could be closed permanently if the degredation continues.

The local community is trying hard to raise the funds, but a new playground is terribly expensive: $80,000! They have raised almost $10,000 but need a lot more.

Please help by clicking here to donate online to the Kilmer Playground Fund:

The following people have contributed to our Playground fund:

Dr. B. Meetarbhan (Port Coquitlam Medical Clinic)
The McNicol family
Ranger Security Locksmiths
The Forsyth Family
The Campbell Family
The Wray Family
Bel-Air Taxi Ltd
Best Western PoCo Inn & Suites
The Sawchuck Family
G & F Financial Group
Cairns Electric
Dura Seal Ltd.
Euro-Rite Cabinets
The Hassanali Family
Ledcor Projects Inc.
VanCity
and many other Kilmer families…. for a total to date: $9055.00

You can help.

Kilmer Kids Play Safe

Hat tip to Tim.

These guys have scoured the net and have the largest collection I have ever seen. Sorry, I was asked NOT to give the link (Yeah I don’t get it either) , but obtained permission to post a picture of their Photoshop masterpieces every once in a while

(Via james mirtle.)

Would this happen in the beer leagues? Possibly, but most likely not. In my league, at least, it’s an instant penalty if you step onto the ice without your helmet done up, and done up snugly.

If the NHL is going to so far as to mandate helmets (which they’ve been doing for years now), and even mandate that referees wear them, why not go the extra mile and ensure that they are used in a safe and responsible way?

Maybe I’m the wrong person to talk to about this, but I also think that shields and/or cages should be mandatory. But that’s another post.

[via Tom Benjamin]

Standing at center ice at General Motors Place in Vancouver, Darwin needs to shoot 20 pucks in 24 seconds, and score at least 15 of them.

Check out how he did:

[Via James Mirtle]

Not known as a scoring player so much as a shit-disturber, Jarkko has somehow managed to pull off a few highlight-reel shootout goals in his time. The most recent was from the other night against the Ottawa Senators. Watch how slowly he comes into the zone (usually the worst thing you can do), then how he stretches out with one hand to direct the puck in:

Now, if you’re a Canucks fan like me, you might remember Ruutu’s “leg kick” move back when the shootout was first put into place:

Gotta love players like Ruutu.

A Villasenor, RA Turcotte, and DJ Pearsall, from the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at McGill University tested nine male adult subjects (four elite and five recreational) . Their performances were evaluated by simultaneously recording stick movement and internal bending from high-speed digital video (1,000 Hz) and puck acceleration from a triaxial accelerometer positioned inside the puck.I n addition, an electrical circuit measured blade-puck contact time.

For the record, the elite players shot the puck at about 12okm/h. The beer-leaguers, about 80 km/h.

Analyzing the data reported on several dependent variables, including final puck velocity, puck acceleration, maximum stick shaft bending (angle and distance deflection), stick shaft angular velocities, blade-puck contact time, and corresponding time events.

The results indicate the following.

Interestingly enough puck acceleration was virtually the same between the two groups. So how did the elite players manage to shoot the puck harder? Well they would have had to accelerate for longer: about 11 milliseconds longer.

Blade-puck contact time was greater for the elite players than for recreational players (38 +/- 9 ms and 27 +/- 5 ms)

How did they do this? They bent their sticks more. The greater the bend means the recoil is greater and therefore spends more time accelerating the puck. 59.8% of blade-puck contact for the elite players was spent recoiling.

Well here is a study that should make you quit your whining and send you willingly to the front of the net.

At the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA, in a study titled Descriptive epidemiology of collegiate men’s ice hockey injuries: National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System, 1988-1989 through 2003-2004. (J. Agel, T.P. Dompier, R. Dick, and S.W. Marshall) they found that the majority of injuries in college hockey take place in three main areas on the ice:

1) The majority of injuries occurred between the blue line and face-off circles (28.0%)

2) The second highest occurrence was in the corner (23.5%)

3) and in third place: the neutral zone (21.4%).

That doesn’t leave too many more areas left: in front of the net, behind the net, …on the bench? But somehow in front of the net didn’t rate in the top 3. So drive hard to front of the net because statistically it won’t hurt.

This is one of those clips that happens so fast if you blink you’ll have missed it. Good thing we have slow-motion replays. Click here for a link to the clip on YouTube if you’re unable to watch the embedded version.

[via James Mirtle]

But there are some things you just don’t do.

1) Hits of any sort to the head. Whether an elbow, a shoulder or a stick, keep it down. With the speed you’re travelling on those skates, with your body weight behind you, if you can’t take a guy off the puck with your shoulder to his body, or if you can’t pin him to the boards to free the puck for a team mate, then you need work on your balance and strength. Hitting the head of an opponent is a cheap tactic used by cowards that are looking for an easy way out of a good battle.

2) Taking out the knees. There’s a saying in rugby: “Take away his legs, he can’t run without them.” But this ain’t rugby. In hockey you don’t tackle, you hit or out-hustle your check to the puck. A knee-on-knee hit is a lazy attempt at slowing down a check. You desperately try slow the player down by throwing your knee in front of him. because you were too slow to get there and off target.

3) Hitting from behind. Simply ignorant. All youth recreational levels of hockey have stop signs on the back of the jersey as a constant reminder how dangerous this action is. Head injuries, spinal cord injuries, shoulder injuries, rib injuries, leg, ankle and foot injuries are all possible outcomes of a hit from behind. Personally I’ve seen cracked ribs, a concussion and a broken heel in my years of playing. Most recently the broken heel which has put a labourer, foremen, husband and dad out of a job for 8-weeks. I’ve also seen the brouhaha that results afterwards, and the retribution carried over seasons. The most telling sign of how distasteful this action is; team-mates shaking their head, turning away from their own player who committed the foul.

In the beer-leagues where every person on that sheet of ice has a family and a day job to go to, a hit to the head, a knee-on-knee hit and a hit from behind into the boards extend well beyond the game. It can affect a person’s whole life. In an emotionally charged game we all get carried away and perhaps do or say things that we know we shouldn’t, but no matter what the situation, the 3 now-written laws of hockey are never part of the scenario.

In honour of a teammate’s 4-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with type-1 (insulin dependent) diabetes, The 16 Guys Named Moe Hockey Club kicked off an annual November Fundraiser in 2005 for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) — the leading charitable funder and advocate of diabetes research worldwide. Since then, MOES 4 A CURE has raised nearly $10,000 for JDRF.

To raise money they are holding - and depend on your participation in - numerous events including an Online Auction and a Charity Poker Tournament.

Hailing from Toronto, 16 Guys Named Moe are an infamous beer league hockey club established in 1997. The 16 Guys Named Moe’ name was suggested by a player named Stephen Thorne and the team’s motto became something like, “If we’re going to stink the joint out, we may as well have fun doing it!”

And yes, they are named Moe on the ice: Moe Skeedo, Moe Diggity, Moe D Lawn, Moe Lovin, …

If you can’t benefit from the Toroto-centric auction prizes or attend the poker game, don’t worry. You can donate online thru PayPal!  Its quick, easy and 100% legit, I’ve done it myself.
Let’s rally ’round the puck people and support your fellow beer-leaguers in the most worth-while cause there is: Family.

16 Guys Named Moe

Other more notable reviews can be found in a December issue of “The Hockey News” and it will also be featured in the Gear Up section of the November issue of “USA Hockey Magazine.” “Hockey Days” is available at Borders stores, Amazon.com and at Chapters, Indigo and Coles stores in Canada. Copies can also be ordered at www.hockeydays.net.

There’s the standard kind of shame felt as a goaltender; the feelings of inadequacy, the look of disdain in the eyes of your teammates after an 8-1 loss, the smell of your trapper hand during dinner.

And then there’s the shame felt when, during a pickup hockey shelling, you’re asked to skate the length of the ice and take up residence in the other net. Ah. The Skate of Shame.

The Skate of Shame is known to any goalie who has ever said yes to an 11:00 PM start time game of shinny on a Tuesday night because a buddy was desperate to fill the crease. You grab your kit, you get in the car, you roll to the rink, you strap on the pads, you skate to the net and then it begins. Ten minutes go by and your side is down 16 goals.

Clearly, the left winger with the shin guards taped to the outside of his jeans is not pulling his weight. In fact you’re pretty sure that they don’t make water bottles out of 355 ml aluminum cans, despite nearly every member of your team drinking from them. It’s not your night.

And then you get the call. Some genius on the other bench says the magic words “hey, goalie… switch ends.”

You turn, grab your water bottle off the back of the net, and start the long, awkward skate to the other end of the rink, head down, forlorn.

First, your own bench watches you, then the players ready to drop the puck and carry on with the night, gathered around centre, impede your progress a little. None of them look you in the face.

You pass the other goalie, who says something like “tough night out there, huh?” or the ever patronizing “good job out there, man.”

One last hurdle: the opposition bench. Your new brothers-in-arms. Your new lackluster defence. Your new team. They don’t look directly at you, but they look down the other end, eyeing up the other keeper, whose only moves tonight have been to skate to the other end of the rink. There goes their reason to play hard.

You place your water bottle on the back of the net, you turn, you try your best to shave out the deep little skate ruts the other goalie left in the crease before he left, and then you get shelled some more.

Somehow, your new team has lost all confidence. Their earlier escapades of lighting you up have gone for crap against the challenge of a fresh keeper and now you’re on the receiving end of a shelling from a newly inspired team. One of whom is a left winger with shin guards taped to his jeans.

There is nothing you can do about the Skate of Shame. It just happens. The best thing you can do is try and keep your chin up, ready your gloves and keep your stick on the ice. It also helps if you bring the best player from your team over with you. Call it a preventative measure.

Unfortunately, based on the first one I’m definitely not impressed. While San Jose’s Shark Tank is certainly not the greatest rink with respect to camera location, the camera work in general was terrible. It seemed like they only had two cameras in the entire rink, and the whole broadcast was just flat. Vancouver personality Don Taylor did the play-by-play, and as much as his act works great for highlight reels, Canucks TV probably should have gone with either Jim Hughson, or simulcast the Team 1040 broadcast with John Shorthouse. Unfortunately simulcasts are a pain, and my bet is Canucks TV can’t afford Hughson (or he may be contractually prevented from doing it).

In any event, at this point I’d have to recommend that Canucks fans save their money and just listen to the pay-per-view games on the radio. And don’t get me started about the fact that the premium pay-per-view games aren’t offered in High Definition. Gary Bettman, you want to fix the NHL? Look at some of the obvious stuff like this.

It happens when a break in the skin lets in nasty bacteria, The bacteria finds it’s way into your joints and the bursa sacand starts to reak havoc. The consequences can range from irritating, painful, debilitating, all the way to amputation or worse.

Toronto’s Mikael Renberg sliced open his hand while tying skates during a Toronto road trip. Bacteria, possibly from Renberg’s gloves, entered the wound and he eventually had to be rushed to a Vancouver hospital. Reports said doctors considered amputating Renberg’s hand because the infection had become so severe.

Barry Trotz once had to undergo emergency surgery for an ankle infection.

San Jose’s Gary Suter’s tricep muscle was nearly eaten away by infection.

CuppaJoe Grinders’ Glen Trainor was sidelined for 2 weeks. Don’t know him? Thats me; and this was/is my elbow.

What happened? Small cut + dirty gear = large aching elbow.

I had a small cut on my elbow which wasn’t of any concern. Typical scrape and scratches you get when horsing around with the kids. I typically wear a long sleeve shirt under my gear, but due to a couple of back-to-back games, I wore a t-shirt instead for the second game. That left the small scrape exposed to the dirty, wet elbow pad.

Nothing happened immediately. Two days later however, late at night, sitting at the computer I started to feel a small ache in my elbow. By midnight it started to really hurt. By 2 am I couldn’t sleep for the pain. 9am; I was in the doctor’s office with an elbow larger than my knee.

A Septic Bursa was the official call. Instead of bursitis caused by repetitive over use, it is bursitis caused by bacteria. The bacteria involved in septic bursitis is usually staphylococcus.

Staphylococcus (Staph) is group of bacteria that can (and do) cause a multitude of diseases. Staph can cause illness directly by infection (such as in the skin) or indirectly through their byproducts such as toxins responsible for food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome.

I went to the doctor early enough so that I was treated with antibiotics and painkillers. She told me that I came just in time else I would have hospitalized and treated intravenously. If the antibiotic therapy didn’t work then repeated aspiration of the inflamed fluid may be required and possibly surgical removal of the infected bursa sac (bursectomy).

She drew a pen mark around my elbow, told me to go home, take the drugs and watch the swelling. If the swelling went outside the pen-mark return immediately for additional treatment.

Fortunately the swelling subsided, the pain eased and 2 weeks later I was back on the ice. Now, I make sure I dry my gear properly and regularly use a disinfectant (endbac II) that kills staph, influenza viruses, strep, athlete’s foot fungus, and prevents mold and mildew growth and stinks prettier than hockey stank.

Written by lifelong Leafs fan Mike Myers, The Love Guru, revolves around the team’s 40-year Cup drought he dubs the Bullard Curse. It’s scheduled to come out next summer, by which time the Leafs will have gone 41 years without a Cup.

Pitka (Mike Myers) is an American raised outside his country by gurus. He returns to the US in order to break into the self-help business. Pitka is engaged by a hockey team manager (Jessica Alba) to settle the romantic troubles and professional life of a star hockey player whose wife left him for a rival star Jacques Grande (Justin Timberlake) out of revenge, sending her husband into a major professional skid — to the horror of Coach Cherkov (Verne Troyer). Pitka must return the couple to marital nirvana and get Roanoke back on his game so the team can break the 40-year-old ‘Bullard Curse’ and win the Stanley Cup.”