HLOG Q&A Update with Leanne

Today's Q&A update is with Leanne, the HLOG Calgary Flames blogger. Her original Q&A is here.

1. What are you up to these days? Still blogging? Why or why not?
I seem to have (despite having started my HLOG days as a computer professional) become a career student. Ooops! Open Ice Hits  has largely been inactive but Dave (my co-blogger) and I are occasionally still active at @openicehits on Twitter. We've found the 140 character limit and quick posting times are ideal for the kind of ranting we do nowadays.

I haven't been blogging as much lately for a couple of reasons. The main one is I just spend too much time writing, now that I'm a grad student. The last thing I want to do when I have a break or once I get home is to crack open my computer and crank out more words, and it's hard to change my writing voice from the dry technical stuff I do through the day to being more passionate or emotional. I'm also finding I'm incapable of doing any technical analysis of the Flames' various statistics (and the trends aren't exactly cheerful either).

The second thing is that now that I'm back in Calgary, I'm much more connected to the Flames than I was when I was living in Ontario. I can watch Flames games on TV a couple of times a week rather than just a couple of times a month. My co-blogger Dave has also recently moved back from Ontario, so he also isn't feeling that disconnect which led us to band together and start ranting to begin with.

2. Have you changed team allegiances, or are you still in love with the team you represented on HLOG?
I'm not particularly in love with the Flames given the season we've had...but I am still loyal to them. I've also purchased season tickets for the WHL Calgary Hitmen...and that hasn't been so good a season either. But still fun.

3. How do you feel about your team this year?
I've been holding my breath and waiting for the rebuild since the middle of last season. I'm not optimistic.

4. Who is your favorite player now?
Still Iginla. Mark Giordano has been a revelation this season as well. Besides that... my favourite player is whichever guy has just netted me a huge night in fantasy hockey.

5. Are we too old to use the term SQUEE?
Gosh, no. If I'm not too old to be back in school...then...

6. Do you feel that the role of the female fan in keeping the game alive or picking heroes in the community has changed any since you were on HLOG?
I think I have a different view of it being one of the Canadian members of HLOG. Hockey is so engrained into everyday life here that naturally women are going to have a huge role in the game. I have been bemused by the Hayley Wickenheiser commercials for The Brick...that is not usually how you get females to advertise washer/dryer combos!

7. Hockey just isn’t the same without Minus-forty temperatures.

8. Favorite HLOG memory?
Probably from before I joined HLOG! I first met (our long-gone, well-missed) HG at an AHL game. She leaned over and handed me a piece of paper with the URLs for both HLOG and her own blog... and I had to admit... gosh, I was already reading them both!

9. How do you feel the blog community has changed since our HLOG days?
This has been reflected in larger online trends, but the blog community has largely become much more professional in tone. From slick meta-sits like SB Nation, the success of guys like James Mirtle, and the focus of many blogs on detailed statistics... it's harder to be all goofy and dorky on your blog these days.

10. Have you reached any milestones in the last few years, personally, that you’re willing to share with us all? Do you have any upcoming milestones in the foreseeable future? (ahem, wedding? baby? book deal? etc?)
I just got my Masters' degree in Computer Science. Also staring the 3-0 in the face. It'll be coming for me in a couple months. Wish me luck!

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TOE-PICK!

Um... long time, no post.

Just want to let those of our loyal readers Stateside know that my tax dollars are being used to fund the most ridiculous (and awesome) reality show ever: The Battle of the Blades. (Sorry, vids restricted by geography - you'll, uh, have to resort to creative means to find them...)

Take an ex-NHL player. Add an ex-pairs/ice dance figure skater. Make them do their thing Dancing with the Stars style.

What could possibly go wrong?

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A Day Late and a Dollar Short? Not Iggy!

So I'm (yet again) terribly late to the party, talking about our team's franchise players.

Let's go through some Flames, more past than present...


Growing up in the 1980s as I did, the Flames' franchise player was clearly Lanny McDonald. He gave us (for a few short years) the ability to match up against Gretzky's Oilers just north of us, and his moustache could be spotted for miles around.

After the Cup win in 1989, Lanny retired, and a new generation of players took up the mantle in quick succession: Doug Gilmour, Joe Niewendyk, Al MacInnis, Gary Roberts. But soon the face of the franchise was evident... it was one of my favourite all time Flames, Theo Fleury. Not only was he the last one left from the Cup team, he was a feisty lil' fireplug on the ice, and was only recently passed as the franchise's all-time scoring leader.

But from out of the sad years of the 1990s, a new leader emerged, one who is indisputably our franchise man today. A perennial scoring leader in the league, a mean, tough player on the ice, a guy who can throw the punches and pick up the team and carry them wherever he needs to go. A class act in the community, an example to all the local kids, a role model for minorities everywhere.

Jarome Iginla.

His performance in the 2002 Olympics and then the magic Cup run of 2004 cemented his place in Flames history. For the last 12 years, he has been the lynchpin for all our various GMs and coaches' (he's seen three general managers and eight head coaches for the Flames during his time with us) schemes to improve the team.

In his time here (and that will continue, what with the long term contract he just signed), he has become not just the face of the Flames today, but possibly the greatest Flame of all time.

In short, he's da man. Our man.

SHAMELESS SHILL TIME: For a less polished version of pretty much the same post, look at one of our greatest hits, on our blog...

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The Open Ice Hits Guide to this Series

Cross-posted to my other blog, of course!!!

This series has been fantastically dead even. It's been great. The ups have sent us soaring, the downs have been lower than low. Being nervous and twitchy from school and the stresses of playoff time, I've decided I can't wait to see how this puppy gets decided, I'm taking things into my own hands.

We have here some of the players from each team. Phaneuf? Lombardi? Roenick?

It's obvious. Phaneuf and Lombardi win this for sheer angelic looks, and of course, for posing with gold medals in their hands.

Roenick loses for looking like a doofus.

Next, let's look at the leaders of both teams.


Jarome Iginla is all business. He has his eye on the goal.

Joe Thornton is still stuck prying breakfast out of the toaster.

Flames all the way.

One of the most important (yet still unrecognized) parts of making it through the playoffs is the ability to stay loose.


Now, on one hand, we have a stolid, family-friendly, and yes, cliche-ridden, stuffy holiday party. On the other hand, we have a rookie really gettin' down. I know which party I'd rather slit my wrists than sit through.

This round to the Flames also. See a pattern?

That's all I have to say about today's game. We're the full deal, obviously! Now, we just have to play some hockey.

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Spring time == hockey galore

Oh, yes, it's that time of year... playoffs are underway and the scent of Game 7s fills the air....

No, I'm not talking the NHL. Definitely not yet. In fact, I almost don't wanna look until the dust settles and I know who we're playing first.

Who else is following some of the other leagues doing interesting things right now? Who else needs stuff to do? (Yes, Connie, I'm looking at you!)

In the CHL, playoff time is in full bloom. In a lot of ways, the path to the Memorial Cup is even more gruelling than the trip to the Stanley Cup finals. We're talking a full four rounds of playoffs, plus a tournament afterwards between the three league champions, and the host (who maybe has the easiest time of it, since, well, they don't actually have to win a lot to be there).

WHL-wise, the Calgary Hitmen are playing a spirited series* (I'll ignore the last two periods of game 2, ok guys? It's really my fault I tuned in to the radio feed, to begin with) against the Moose Jaw Warriors. Better yet, most games are out of the Saddledome, tickets are cheap, and there's lots of seats to be had.

*(Yes, that's playoff-speak for "We are kicking butt")

I think what really excites me is the potential for the next round to be against Swift Current...

I'm serious! I have a good chunk of family who lived in Swift Current for the longest time, and the rivalry is intense. Trash will be talked.

In the OHL, I am told some teams have already advanced to the second round. Congrats to the Belleville Bulls. Um. I have nothing, about other teams that might have made it already.

In the QMJHL, well... most of us know what`s going on there...

What else is there? CIS Men's hockey just finished up (sigh, the rival U of A Golden Bears picked up the championship)... How's NCAA going? AHL? (I wouldn't know. Our farm team in Quad Cities this year was less than stellar, though there were some good individual performances.)

So many choices... so little time to procrastinate with...

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Yeah, but can your rookies do this?

And he plays Guitar Hero too. And hockey...I'm sure somewhere there's some hockey involved.

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Dear Flames,

Me again. Remember what I said about suck? Before this blog got flooded by letters by girls everywhere, concerned about the performance of their boys?

Remember what I said about suck?

Don't do it again. Friends don't let friends suck. Especially when they play Edmonton.

Go for the jugular. Kick them when they're down. Kill.

Hugs and Kisses,
Leanne

PS. Ladies, I'm blushing. I love you all, I really do. Even all the Edmonton partisans. Really.

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Dear Flames,

A little less suck next time? (ie, tomorrow night?)

Love,
Leanne

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Stuff I guarantee you did not know about the Calgary Flames

I'm feeling better about my hockey team these days. A week or so ago, when they started their road trip in Chicago, things did not look good. A bad road trip would pretty guarantee a finish out of a playoff spot... a decent one, and we'd stay alive.

What we've got is a GREAT road trip. Four wins in a row... some high scoring (mostly from our top line), good times, good times.

In particular, Calgary's 9-6 win over Tampa (sorry, Finny!) was a catalyst for visiting the history books of Flames seasons past. The Calgary Herald's beat writer for the Flames has a list of statistics:

• Thursday's three-ring circus in Tampa marked the first time since Feb. 10, 1993 the Flames had two players fire hat tricks in the same contest.
• Dion Phaneuf became the first Flame to get five assists in a game since the great Al MacInnis on March 20, 1994 (at Toronto).
• Only three other NHL blue-liners have had five-assist games in the past nine seasons
• The Flames haven't scored nine in a game since they scored 10 against Tampa, of all teams, on Jan. 2, 1996.Fifteen total goals was the most since Feb. 21, 1997Feb 21 1992, when the Flames outgunned the Kings 9-7. (He said 1997, but I was actually at the game for my birthday, and I know it happened much much earlier than 1997. Sad!)

Well...that concludes the trivia portion of today's reading... I guess I should get back to finishing my term project...

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Amazed

So... the Flames are in their worst slump since Darryl Sutter took over five years ago, and... I'm still on cloud nine.

That's right! I was at the game Saturday to see Calgary lose to Bethany's Blue Jackets, and it was probably one of the best hockey experiences of my life, to the point where I actually kicked myself for not having a camera.

Reason is, we got free tickets to the game from a relative. And, better yet, these tickets were for the second row behind the Flames bench. Stunning! My eyes got wide in a way they haven't been for a while, and I have to confess there was just too much to take in, during the game. It's not that the view is particularly good from down there, but that the game is right in your face. You could hear the guys cheering Iggy as he got back from his fight. You could see the assistant coaches getting more and more frustrated. You could see Dion and Rick Nash, and omigod, what young giants they are!

I did pipe down for a bit. Didn't want Keenan turning around and glaring at me, after all. But after a while, it was obvious that these guys were so focused they wouldn't have known if I was blonde, or had a green nose.

Which brings me to ask: What is the most amazing hockey experience you've ever had?

I've had a few others - getting four lower bowl seats for my birthday many (let's not say how many, but Gretzky was still playing for LA) years ago. Seeing the Red Mile bloom from afar, right on the lawn of my old high school. The World Cup in '96, even if I was sitting right underneath the rafters... Oh. Tiny deal what with winning the Stanley Cup, that kind of thing...

And PS, Bethany: Those new uniforms + red trunks + sitting lots makes the Blue Jackets look like the entire team is having incontinence issues. Thank goodness our trunks are black!

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Stupid-stitions...

So... after 20-odd years of hockey fandom, I've pretty much concluded nothing works. Really.

When I was little, I had to stare intently in the direction I thought the game was going to happen in, and mutter things like "goflamesgo." (To be fair, I had an hour or so to kill on the school bus with nothing but a Walkman. This makes for juvenile insanity).

When I was a bit older, I had to a) optimally wear the Flames' colours (in the candy-cane white-and-red days, this was a stretch. Once they introduced some black it was easier) on game days, OR b) at least avoid the other teams' colours at all costs. I was in trouble those times we played teams (I'm looking at YOU, Florida) that had the exact same colours.

So, now, I've decided, I've seen them when they're good, I've seen them when they're bad, I've not seen them at all. So it's pretty much all for my enjoyment now. I will wear my jersey when I think they need that extra bit of juice, but meh, no big deal.

(As for superstitions that work, I do insist on bringing a certain pencil into class with me for multiple choice tests. Why? It's not like I use the damn thing to write with. It's one of those hexagonal ones, and carved into the bottom near the eraser are flat spots, labelled, 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D'. It's a cleverly disguised random letter generator. Like a dice! For those times when you just don't know, or don't care... Works like a charm, I swear.

And always eat French Onion Soup before you go play volleyball. It's weird, but we do win games when we do the pre-game meal.)

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Just curious

So...one intrasquad prospects game, one practice later, and moments before I head out to one of two pre-season games I've got tix for, I've gotta ask...

...who here cares about the pre-season? In various chunks of the blogosphere, the reaction has been anything from "Meh" to "OookOoookOook!" to "Cool, now I can start looking for prospects for my fantasy team."

So where do people here stand?

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Name that guy

Calgary's got a bunch of them. Budding young stars...fated to become answers in trivia questions, because we drafted them, and then they never panned out.

Who was a dud for you? Name a guy who was a) taken in the first two rounds, b) showed a lot of potential and led you on for years, or c) never made it to the big leagues, played only a few games in the big leagues, or toiled in obscurity for a bit and is currently playing in Uzbekistan.

I know you've got them! Bring them out for us all to see and belittle...

(I'm looking at you, Daniel Tkachuk. Yes, YOU. Also you, Jesper Mattson. And you, Rico Fata. And... )

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Checking references

By now, the worst kept secret in the NHL seems to be that Calgary is thinking pretty hard about hiring Mike Keenan as their head coach. While he's one of the first coaches in the NHL I remember having a hate for, these days, I only have a mild dislike for the guy (my full take on this is on our blog), and obviously, I've never actually had to cope with his coaching before. And it can't be worse than "Nervous" Jimmy Playfair in charge of the boys for yet another year...

So who has a horrific Keenan story? Why should I be afraid? Or...should I be very very happy?

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Help wanted

Spotted this courtesy of James Mirtle's blog.

So. What is more awesome?

a) the NHL puts stuff on craiglist
b) you, too, can be an extra at their awards show

I'm just saying...

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Broadcast Heroes and Zeroes

(It's been a while for both blogs. Cross-posted to the other one too)

As the playoffs have been going, I've found myself watching a bit more hockey than usual, and with that, I've had exposure to a lot more broadcast teams than usual. So which ones have kept me glued to the games, and which ones have left me cold?

First, the three broadcast teams I bounced between for the Calgary-Detroit series.

Peter Maher & Mike Rogers (Fan 960: The end of games 1, 2, 5...also the entirety of Game 6): These guys were the gold standard in terms of quality of play by play during the series. Obviously, they get a lot more practice through the entire year, and cover the Flames exclusively. Despite that, coverage is decently balanced (I'm much more a homer than they are), and oftentimes, I found the radio feed to be much more informative even with, y'know, the lack of moving pictures. Only downside? I have to depend 100% on their coverage, not having any idea myself what is going on. Peter could tell me we shut them out 7-0, and I'd have to believe him...and I would!

Don Wittman & Drew Remenda (CBC: Parts of every game except Game 4): Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. I found Wittman's play by play constantly to be a bit behind what was happening on the ice, those times Remenda stayed silent enough for Wittman to collect his thoughts. And my dislike for Remenda is well known in the Flames blogosphere. Mute this. Best part of this for me? The graphic with the goalie which showed exactly where pucks are going in. Also, come back to the Mother Corporation for the commercials.

Mike Emrick & Ed Olczyk (NBC: Not enough of Game 1, 2, 5 ): A little voice inside my head tells me I should be handing back my Canadian passport, but Emrick and Olczyk were clearly the superior television broadcast team this go-round. Balance was much more balanced than on the CBC, and Emrick seemed to be better prepared and able to let the play speak for itself when appropriate. There were some verbal tics I found a bit disconcerting, but I can chalk that up to differences in hockeyspeak on different sides of the border. I found it interesting that almost every other Flames blogger I talked to ended up with the NBC feed for those games which were available. I think that alone speaks for the quality of play-by-play on NBC compared to CBC for a game both networks were broadcasting at the same time.

Honourable mentions: The teams on TSN who provided competent coverage of teams I wasn't really paying attention to first round. The CBC really will rue the day they lost Chris Cuthbert...

Dishonourable mentions: I don't usually pick on the CBC! But Bob Cole and Harry Neale (despite being split up and paired with Hughson and Millen) showed a lot of hiccups with teams-that-are-not-Toronto, and you could catch a lot of the key phrases which indicate, no, they have no idea who the hell that was.

So? Anybody have peeves or raves for the broadcasters these playoffs?

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Dizzy little circles

Assuming that the playoff matchups look exactly the same today as they do Monday, the first round in the West is going to be crazy. Just look at the standings right now. With the exception of my Flames (sigh), every single team that's made the playoffs has at least 100 points. So, really, all bets are off.

That, and usually I wait till after the first round to make educated guesses about the rest of the playoffs. Which are often quite, quite wrong.

I will note that every single matchup will involve an obscene amount of travel:
Detroit-Calgary(??? Please please please)
Anaheim-Minnesota
Vancouver-Dallas
Nashville-San Jose

Every single one of these series involves a difference of at lesat two time zones. Even should Colorado make the playoffs in place of Calgary (like HELL that's gonna happen!), that doesn't actually change the timezones involved, although I suspect it does shorten the actual amount of travel time involved.

I'm worried if this sort of travel keeps up all playoffs long. If some nicer matchups arise in subsequent rounds which do involve mere puddle-jumps (Detroit-Nashville? Again, HELLno... or Calgary-Vancouver), perhaps whichever team that comes out of the West will have a chance - otherwise, all we can do is stare enviously at say, Ottawa, Buffalo or Pittsburgh.

I'm not going to talk about the Eastern Conference - I may live in Toronto but I'm so completely oblivious right now. Talk to me after we're done tonight's game, and maybe I can make something up.

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Here we go again... sigh.

It would be nice to go one season without a Todd Bertuzzi incident, a Marty McSorley one ... and now we have to add a Chris Simon one to the list.

I've always believed that hockey is a physical game without being a truly violent one. I don't think we can deny that the violence we see (and which gets aired so prominently during the highlights) is a part of the game, but at the same time, it's not what the game is about. Make sense?

That said, there's been too many "isolated incidents" for those who don't get the game to avoid jumping to certain conclusions. I'm very uncomfortable of this offhanded dismissal of hockey as a goon's sport, a sport where it's-ok-if-they-fight-because-they're-all-white-men-not-like-the-NBA.

What I think is problematic is that for players, there's a lack of good options these days in response to a cheap hit or play. Can't pick a fight anymore with the same kind of impunity as before - that'll get you an instigator, that'll cost you a couple of days of pay, that'll cost your team. Can't rely on the officals to hand out a proper penalty - some things never change. And when players get frustrated, when they have to keep on bottling-up that ohhhhhh-I-hate-that-pest-and-I-want-back emotion, they're only human. Eventually even they will boil over. They're professionals, they're not saints.

As for the Simon case specifically? I like Chris Simon. He was a fan favourite during his time in Calgary, and even now, none of his ex-teammates or coaches, or even the local media have been anything but supportive of him. A guy like that might not be perfect (not with his career PIMs and previous suspensions, he's not), but he also deserves to have his story considered as well.

I don't like the suspension. I don't dispute that it was deserved, but I don't like that it's so long. Yes, it was a dangerous and stupid move on Simon's part, but Hollweg walked away from the entire thing and was able to (nervously) laugh about it afterwards. This is not a Steve Moore by any means, lucky for Simon. I can think of players who get put out for weeks, with their assailants getting only the rest of the night off, tops. This is the league making an example out of Simon. This is all about optics.

I would be happier with his punishment if there was some acknowledgement that Hollweg's hit on him wasn't entirely kosher. I'm not familar with Hollweg particularly, but listening to the players around the league talk about the incident, you can hear the subtext...here's a guy who's a superpest who now gets to bother other players without fear, without any brakes. Here's a guy who could be dangerous, take things too far, and be on the receiving end of a suspension himself if somebody doesn't stand up to him on the ice. So Simon got the 10 min intent to injure.... let's see Hollweg get at least a two-minute token unsportsmanlike. It's not like he's going to be skating for those two minutes, anyways.

If the league wants to curb violence in the game, be it players lashing out at each other, or outright brawling, then they have to make the players who are making the dirty plays and the dirty hits accountable for their actions. I don't care if it's a penalty on the ice, or punitive fines after. Our guys aren't perfect, we shouldn't expect them to be, and hell, that's the way I like them.

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Oh, the exes

The players I still secretly follow are for the most part ex-Calgary Flames. And through the bad years and the new good ones, there's been quite a few. I'll run through a few faves of mine...

There's Gary Roberts, last still-active relic of our Cup winning team back in the day. How weird is it that he won the Cup back when at least two or three of his current teammates were still in diapers? I was sad when he retired about ten years ago due to back/neck injuries, and sooooo thrilled when he made his comeback. I wasn't a huge fan of his (to be honest) during his stint with the Leafs

There are the remnants of the "Young Guns," a failed marketing ploy of the 90s, back when we had nothing going for us other than minty-fresh cute hockey players. Cale Hulse? Todd Simpson? They'll probably never make a splash in the league, but I still get a thrill of "oh, are they still around?" every time I see them do something. For the most part they haven't panned out, so it's like rooting for the underdog when they are playing.

There are a few guys who just didn't fit in over the years - Marty St. Louis is probably the prime example (even if he did win the Cup fom right under our noses).

The biggest group by far are the guys who left after the Cup run three years ago. I absolutely can't hate on them, and for the most part wish them well. Guys like Boston's Shean Donovan, Kobasew, and Ference, Carolina's Mike Commodore, St. Louis' Ville Niemenen, Florida's Steve Montador.

Most notable from this group is Washington's Chris Clark (I often refer to him on IM as "Chris! Clark!") He was a character guy from Calgary who I watched develop from a raw youngster to becoming a mainstay on the team. Not a flashy player, but definitely a solid heart-and-soul-guy. I'm incredibly thrilled that he's now Washington's captain, even with older, more experienced players, and even younger, incredibly talented ones. And I'm glad that on Washington he's got a chance to rack up some points by playing a fair bit with Ovechkin.

I know other fans who've been much more upset by players coming and going recently...for the most part, I've seen far too many guys become exes for me to really be crushed. And so many exes, so little time...

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Groupthink

I'm going to start my blogging career here with a bit of a serious post - down the line I'll get sillier. I don't know if somebody's written about this before, but barely a month into blogging about hockey, I think I've got some questions to ask...

Our hockey blog started as a way to compress the many, many instant messages my friend Dave and I would throw at each other in the course of the day, every day. There was a real dearth of Flames blogs which weren't just gameday summaries, so naturally we plunked ourselves down there.

But something weird happened along the way. Other Flames blogs started appearing about the same time we got started. I've been privileged to watch a small but quite genuine community come into being, nurtured by vets such as our own Hockeygirl and Five-Hole Fanatics' Metrognome.

And it gets weirder. I don't know how many of you have noticed lately just how disappointing the Flames have been on the road - but rather than being able to shrug it off and just detach myself from the game, I'm getting more emotional, more frustrated, more engaged. And the coolest thing (depressing at present, but cool) is I'm finding that we're pushing each other into having similar opinions about the state of things.

I don't know whether it's HG's assessment that

I think you will soon see that we (your fellow Flames bloggers) have a way of balancing each other out; some serious, some humourous, some long-winded, some direct, but all awesome!

...so that our discussions end up weirdly generating some aggregate opinion distilled from our collective minds, or whether some of us are just better at convincing others to think about things differently. Or maybe just that now when somebody brings up an interesting point, we've got enough people that somebody else will have the time/energy/inspiration to take it up and run with it.

I've rarely had the chance to see a group of fans coming from so many different backgrounds come together and really talk about hockey. Formerly, I enjoyed hockey as pretty much a solo activity. Didn't know a lot of Flames fans out here, and at home, I'd watch games with family who weren't all that opinionated about the game. There were the good guys, and the bad guys, and the good guys were supposed to win. And that was it.

At present, I'm just trying to sort it all out. All new to me!

I guess I'll end this with some questions for those of you who've hung on long enough to get to the bottom of this post:

Am I hallucinating, or did any of you find the same thing when you started blogging?
How do you maintain your own distinct voice and perspective within your particular community? (Community's so stolid-sounding. Your tribe. Your peeps. You know who I mean)
What are things you did to help your community and fellow bloggers grow and become more interesting? (Not that they aren't right now...I'm just looking for an angle to call mine, all mine!)

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