It's happening again! More NHL and something about fashion?
I've always had hopes of a St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup Final. Soooo close right now. That's the good news.
The bad news? Tonight, it's do-or-ie' for the Pens and then tomorrow night it's 'do-or-die' for the St. Louis Blues. I've said it before - not enough hair left for this crap!
Anyway, it's game 6 for both teams over the next day-and-a-half. Both teams are down three games to two in each best of seven series. Both teams have looked dominant at times in the series and both teams have looked like they don't belong there in each series - sometimes in the same period.
What's it going to take? How about (as always) consistent officiating for starters. If you thought I was going to rant about how the Penguins and Blues have been treated unfairly by the refs, you're only half right.
The officiating hasn't been atrocious, but it has not been steady, and it has not been steady for all four remaining teams. They've missed egregious offenses by all four and against all four teams and they've missed them frequently. They've set the tone for all four teams to realize that the clutching and grabbing, the hooking and holding, the crap after the whistle will all be permitted to a large degree.
The main issue I've noticed this season - and maybe it's just because I'm so close to a dream-come-true finals series that I'm more picky - but watch the next game you have a chance to see. Heck, for that matter, watch any of the games anywhere in the playoffs thus far.
Count how many times an official has been in the way of a puck-clearing attempt. Or a quick escape stick-handling behind the net. Or a player expecting a perfect stretch pass and bouncing off of an official before even getting started for the receiving end of the pass.
A whole bunch of times.
If the Penguins lose tonight, my interest drops significantly. If the Blues lose tomorrow night, the disappointment rises as high as the interest has dropped.
But enough about that. Though I really enjoy talking hockey, sometimes there is another issue that rears it's ugly head and MUST be addressed.
When you hear the word 'fashion,' do you immediately think "Ah! Mike Kimmel!" or is it more of a response of disdain? I'm guessing the latter of the two.
However!
What in the name of John Wayne's a$$ made ANYone think that a 'man-bun' was an attractive, convenient, or even hygienically-sound method of caring for one's hair???
Some may be thinking "You're just saying that because YOU couldn't do a 'man-bun' if I paid you to do it!" Not hardly, Bub. I'm not exactly perfectly happy with the 'reverse-mohawk' that nature has saddled me with, but if I wanted to look goofy (or in my case, goofier) I could find a bunch of other ways to do so.
As the Stanley Cup Playoffs are in the next to final round I'll pick out one of the guys still playing (and looking like his team is going to advance, despite his hair). Watch the pre-game skate before the next Blues-Sharks game. Look for #88 - their all-star defenseman Brent Burns.
The guy is 6'5", 230 pounds, has a slapshot that could stop a rhino, and he's not exactly a shrinking violet when it comes to any of the nasty stuff that goes on during the game. He also, however, features some goofy-looking man-bun variation. I'm not even exactly sure how to describe it.
He's got some of his hair pulled back somehow - not even sure about that - but he has some pulled up in some goofy looking configuration at the top of his head. You add that formation to the undisciplined, unbathed Sasquatch-looking beard and you wind up with... well, you wind up with Brett Burns.
There are others, but I'll stop at that. Probably spent too much time there, anyway. So until next time - a time at which I guess it'll be a Tampa Bay Lightning versus San Jose Sharks Stanley Cup final this year. Yeah, I'll probably still watch it, but you can't make me like it!
You can't make me like the fact that my first favorite team - the Pittsburgh Penguins - looks like early tee times are looming for them. Same thing for my second favorite team; the St. Louis Blues, who may be joining the Pens at the course.
The wheels just fell off of the Blues. They looked good in the early part of last nights game (game 5 on May 24), so I felt safe falling asleep. What a major mistake that was. Same thing happens with the Pens. Seems like I'm perpetually looking for something good to happen, and that's when either Malkin loses his mind or the 'Letangrenade' goes off.
We shall see. Both team have announced that they're going back to the original goalies - the guys who have gotten them this far. Hopefully that's a good call. Winning two in a row in the playoffs is tough, so the goalies better be the best that they can be and they'd better get some help from their scorers!
The bad news? Tonight, it's do-or-ie' for the Pens and then tomorrow night it's 'do-or-die' for the St. Louis Blues. I've said it before - not enough hair left for this crap!
Anyway, it's game 6 for both teams over the next day-and-a-half. Both teams are down three games to two in each best of seven series. Both teams have looked dominant at times in the series and both teams have looked like they don't belong there in each series - sometimes in the same period.
What's it going to take? How about (as always) consistent officiating for starters. If you thought I was going to rant about how the Penguins and Blues have been treated unfairly by the refs, you're only half right.
The officiating hasn't been atrocious, but it has not been steady, and it has not been steady for all four remaining teams. They've missed egregious offenses by all four and against all four teams and they've missed them frequently. They've set the tone for all four teams to realize that the clutching and grabbing, the hooking and holding, the crap after the whistle will all be permitted to a large degree.
The main issue I've noticed this season - and maybe it's just because I'm so close to a dream-come-true finals series that I'm more picky - but watch the next game you have a chance to see. Heck, for that matter, watch any of the games anywhere in the playoffs thus far.
Count how many times an official has been in the way of a puck-clearing attempt. Or a quick escape stick-handling behind the net. Or a player expecting a perfect stretch pass and bouncing off of an official before even getting started for the receiving end of the pass.
A whole bunch of times.
If the Penguins lose tonight, my interest drops significantly. If the Blues lose tomorrow night, the disappointment rises as high as the interest has dropped.
But enough about that. Though I really enjoy talking hockey, sometimes there is another issue that rears it's ugly head and MUST be addressed.
When you hear the word 'fashion,' do you immediately think "Ah! Mike Kimmel!" or is it more of a response of disdain? I'm guessing the latter of the two.
However!
What in the name of John Wayne's a$$ made ANYone think that a 'man-bun' was an attractive, convenient, or even hygienically-sound method of caring for one's hair???
Some may be thinking "You're just saying that because YOU couldn't do a 'man-bun' if I paid you to do it!" Not hardly, Bub. I'm not exactly perfectly happy with the 'reverse-mohawk' that nature has saddled me with, but if I wanted to look goofy (or in my case, goofier) I could find a bunch of other ways to do so.
As the Stanley Cup Playoffs are in the next to final round I'll pick out one of the guys still playing (and looking like his team is going to advance, despite his hair). Watch the pre-game skate before the next Blues-Sharks game. Look for #88 - their all-star defenseman Brent Burns.
The guy is 6'5", 230 pounds, has a slapshot that could stop a rhino, and he's not exactly a shrinking violet when it comes to any of the nasty stuff that goes on during the game. He also, however, features some goofy-looking man-bun variation. I'm not even exactly sure how to describe it.
He's got some of his hair pulled back somehow - not even sure about that - but he has some pulled up in some goofy looking configuration at the top of his head. You add that formation to the undisciplined, unbathed Sasquatch-looking beard and you wind up with... well, you wind up with Brett Burns.
There are others, but I'll stop at that. Probably spent too much time there, anyway. So until next time - a time at which I guess it'll be a Tampa Bay Lightning versus San Jose Sharks Stanley Cup final this year. Yeah, I'll probably still watch it, but you can't make me like it!
You can't make me like the fact that my first favorite team - the Pittsburgh Penguins - looks like early tee times are looming for them. Same thing for my second favorite team; the St. Louis Blues, who may be joining the Pens at the course.
The wheels just fell off of the Blues. They looked good in the early part of last nights game (game 5 on May 24), so I felt safe falling asleep. What a major mistake that was. Same thing happens with the Pens. Seems like I'm perpetually looking for something good to happen, and that's when either Malkin loses his mind or the 'Letangrenade' goes off.
We shall see. Both team have announced that they're going back to the original goalies - the guys who have gotten them this far. Hopefully that's a good call. Winning two in a row in the playoffs is tough, so the goalies better be the best that they can be and they'd better get some help from their scorers!
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