Taped this one to do this CCC and then lost it amongst my stack of vids - but finally found it!
Anyway, they start off talking about the Fleury deal (Fleury got dealt to Colorado for those of you who have been in a coma for the last week). Don claims the Flames had to make the deal and it was a good deal, or at least as good as it gets. This was the subject of hockey talk for quite some time - Do you deal Fleury and get something (you pretty much knew he wasn't going to re-sign with the Flames) or keep him for the playoffs. Last year Edmonton kept Cujo for the playoffs but then lost him to the Leafs via Free Agency in the summer and got NOTHING. Since there was no guarantee that the Flames would make the playoffs, I agree with Don and think it was a good deal. I'm surprised Coates (Flames GM) managed to get as much as he did - nice job.
Don plugs Goderich, Ontario..... Yaaaaaaaawnnnn..... ;)
Okay, they show a clip of Berezin scoring. Valk drops the puck to Berezin and just slightly takes the defender and Don says that is a good idea - as opposed to always going around him and waiting for the pass. Yep, a little advocacy of interference on CC makes the night so much more enjoyable :)
Now - an actual clip of a fight - but they don't show much. It was Domi vs. Odie - ummmm not sure if it was round one or round two from that game (yes, they fought twice). The clip shows Odie getting the jersey pulled over his head and whacked by Domi a couple of times and in the process Domi's elbow pad goes flying. They show a clip of Domi in the penalty box putting on the elbow pad - which looks like something Robocop would wear. Don's point - oversized elbow pads - you can swing your arms and get them off quick to enhance you chances in a fight. Ron's point - those elbow pads cause more injuries via elbows because they're gigantic.
I can see some liberals :) being upset with this segment but I thought it was good. I wasn't really aware of the elbow pad trick which is much more subtle than past tricks. For instance I remember that McSorely would wear a goalie jersey (oversize) so that in a fight when the guy grabbed his jersey it would still be loose enough for him to move his arm an subsequently punch his opponent - the NHL ruled that out. The late John Kordic had a great trick / strategy in fights - he cut the sleeves of his jersey - from the cuff - way up the arm. Then he had velcro put in to attach it. It looks like a normal jersey but when he got in a fight the velcro would give and he'd have a free arm(s) to hammer a guy with - the NHL ruled that out. Will they rule out huge elbow pads? - it's a much more subtle cheat / strategy.
Ron mentions that it (big elbow pads) can cause injuries. Don goes on about bone chips in the elbows but in only bothers him leaning on a bar (hahhahhah) and is well worth it as a fighting tool. Ron (being quite smart) says "I have the feeling you were leaning on a bar a week ago when your Ice Dogs lost..." Cherry looks like he's really going to go (and he does later) but Ron moves on to a clip.
They show Cujo getting beat in the NJ game by Arnott. Grapes says he had no chance.....I disagree on this one - I've seen Cujo much better than that game! He looked real weak on the long shots but came back to look real good vs. St. Louis in the next - including long shot blasts from MacInnis. And...speaking of....they show the two-on-one in St. Louis - Korolev and Valk. Don says the defender has to take the pass away - well he didn't and Valk was wide open - real open, very open - and scored. Although as Don points out there should have been a penalty on the play - for those that saw the game know what I mean.
Ron brings up the Ice Dogs losing again - 15-0 or something like that. Well Don (who has been good about not ranting on about the Ice Dogs despite Ron's quips all year) kinda loses it :-) Don accuses the opposing team and coach of running up the score. (Barrie???) This was awesome - not that I agree or disagree with his statement but Don's rampage started a huge debate amongst sports fans through the week. It's simple - if your team is dominating do you let up in the latter stages of the game and not totally embarass the team? OR Do you continue to press, score as much as possible and pad personal stats - BRILLIANT (I love debates like this). I could argue either way - this arguement will never go away. Remember Bonds (Baseball we're talking now) stole second base when the Giants were up by a tonne? That eventually resulted in some beanball and a subsequent brawl. Bonds "If there not going to hold me on I'll take the base". The opposition obviously felt he shouldn't bother stealing when up 7 runs or so....
See - even I'm talking about other circumstances in sports that relate to this. Don pissed off a good portion of the OHL and lots of fans and pleased others. Lets just say this sparked the odd conversation at many watering holes across Canada - and that is good. :-)
To be honest I don't think Cherry would have mentioned it but Ron brought it up and really got a reaction this time. Unfortunately it is a non-NHL issue (or as discussed it was) so the CC doesn't get a huge rating from me this week. I'll give it 6.75 out of 10 - pretty good.
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Kevin
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E-mail Comments:kevin.messervey@sympatico.ca