That's why I love Canadians

 Obviously if you love hockey, you love Canada, at least it works for me, besides I had a Canadian girlfriend, she was not a French Canadian though... :-) Maybe she reads my blog and I even don't know about it or vise versa. :-)

Don Cherry is a good entertainment, but a lot of Canadians disagree with his views... And the best compliment, at least for me, is what some unidentified GM said about Ovechkin, "He is as Canadian as Gordie Howe."

WaPo, Jan. 25, 2009:

Ovechkin had a lengthy conversation with Gordie Howe on Friday night after bumping into the Hall of Famer in the lobby of the players' hotel. Then before the game, Ovechkin met Canadiens greats Dickie Moore, Guy Lafleur and Jean Béliveau.

"I ask [Howe] everything what I can ask him," Ovechkin said. "Lots of legends were here and I shake hands with them. It's history; they play before in us in the NHL. It's funny how they are getting older and the same is going to be with us."

By Bruce Arthur, Canada's National Post, Mar. 2, 2009 "Cherry's act beginning to show its age":

Early last month, Maclean's magazine brilliantly exposed Cherry's distortion of the position of Michael Sanderson, father of Don Sanderson, the senior league player who died after hitting his head on the ice in a fight. After attending the funeral, Cherry made it sound like Michael Sanderson was a staunch supporter of fighting, because he was "a hockey guy."

In the magazine, Sanderson said he would love to see fighting banned, and of Cherry said, "He said we sat there like we were buddies [at the funeral]. I'm like, ‘No we didn't.' "

Cherry has done a lot of good for hockey, and for charity, and for the CBC's bottom line. But popularity aside, Don Cherry has almost become the George W. Bush of hockey: Ignorant, ideological, dismissive of the facts, governed by his gut. The crotchety grandfather act can still be fun, but overall, the CBC looks worse every year for his presence.

"Don't act like this goof; this is goofy stuff," boomed Cherry, on Ovechkin. "And the same guys that think this is entertainment, last year thought [Sean] Avery was entertainment. You know what? It's the same church, different pew. It's the same junk."

Bless Don Cherry for all his good deeds, but he could have been talking about himself. It has become a sad act, this one, in its old age. Earlier in the segment, Cherry proclaimed that "what I try to do is to teach the kids the Canadian way." What a depressing thought.

I really should start to ignore Cherry for now. Whatever he said, who cares? A grumpy old man who set a bounty on Ovechkin. So what? We are not scared, Don. Take care.

And here's a piece about Ovechkin's favorite player he grew up admiring, Owen Nolan. Oh, wait, I had no idea, he was born in Ireland, Owen Nolan is a Euro! A soccer player! (Grew up playing baseball and soccer and didn't start skating until his mother bought a pair of second-hand skates when he was 9 years old for $10) That's where Ovechkin's goal celebrations come from. My Gawd! :-)

And some about the other Backstrom, my only problem is how Backstrom twins will be identified....

By Michael Russo, Russo's Rants, StarTribune.com, March 2nd, 2009, "Irish machine never break":

– Owen Nolan hopped on a 9 a.m. flight out of Minny this morning and came right to GM Place from Vancouver customs to join the Wild for today’s practice.

He made quite clear what his intentions are for tomorrow night’s game against the Canucks: “I’m here to play.”

Nolan, who’s missed the past three games with a broken toe, has a plastic toe guard on his left skate. He’s in a walking boot, which all his teammates were making fun of. Quipped Nik Backstrom, “Hey, you’re overdressed today.” Lots of “old mans” tossed Nolan’s direction, too.

Andrew Brunette, who is playing through a serious knee injury, didn’t practice today but will play tomorrow, according to coach Jacques Lemaire. Brunette received hours of treatment today, which included physical therapy from a pro.

These guys are a dying breed.

“I’m not here to watch games or milk an injury,” Nolan said.

...

2. Niklas Backstrom referred me to his agent, Don Baizley, on negotations, but Baizley hasn’t called back all week. Backstrom said he honestly doesn’t know how close the two sides are. I asked if he was worried about getting traded and he said, “No. Whatever happens happens.”

Hey, playing behind Alex Ovechkin would soften the pain, eh? (I’m saying that, not him).

Hey, great idea, include Nick Schultz in a package! We would have two Backstroms and two Schultz'es... hmmm... and then there's another Kozlov in Atlanta. I am asking too much from GMGM... :-)

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