I'm watching the NHL. My team is the Minnesota Wild. Here are some Wild points of note:
1. Wait, why hockey? I know VERY little about hockey. Most of my experience with the game involves NHL '95ish on Sega Genesis. I played the bejesus out of that game. You'll note it's been 18 years since then, which means that the time I have not been following hockey is old enough to vote.
What brought me back? Well, I am really sour on the NBA for some reason. I mean, I was FURIOUS when the Supes left, but I still watched for the past five years. This year? I can't get into it for some reason.
The timing is especially weird considering Seattle is allegedly getting Sacramento's team for next season. The team I picked is especially weird considering the North Stars and Sonics have the same "left town; replaced a handful of years later" story arc. The point is, I have to watch SOMETHING. I love sports. I love watching sports. Hockey is a sport. Hockey happens to be a very entertaining sport. I hope Seattle gets a team. Until then, I love the Twin Cities also. My sort of people out there.
Oh, and you know what else? NHL.com has a bang-up every-game package for a bargain price. It's cheap and it works. The NBA on the other hand charges a small fortune for a clunky, poor-performing streaming video product. NBA League Pass is the worst. NHL Gametime is almost MLB.tv quality (with MLB.tv of course being the gold standard).
2. Zach Parise debut. On to the hockey. This past offseason, the Minnesota Wild signed arguably the two biggest available free agents: Zach Parise (forward) and Ryan Suter (defense). I'll get to Suter down the line, once I have a better understanding of blue line nuance. Until then, I understand what forwards do: they score goals. Zach Parise has played four games at this point with the Wild, in which Parise has scored three goals and assisted on three others. Those six points are currently good for 13th in the league. Star free agent has played like a star free agent.
3. Mikael Granlund debut. Of my numerous boring shades of white, I identify primarily as a Finn (a whopping 1/16th). Granlund is a 20 year old Finnish rookie with the Wild. His agent says he gets treated like Lennon and McCartney on the streets back home, where he is Finland's most-googled athlete. I don't know about all that, but this is pretty sweet:
And he scored a goal in his first NHL game. Give him the Calder!
4. Josh Harding shuts out Stars. It's great when the backup goalie gives the starter a break and pitches a shutout. It's inspirational when the backup goalie was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the offseason and pitches a shutout in his first game back. Good on that guy.
5. Konopka Bunny. Zenon Konopka took a stick to the face. He had to get 30 stitches. He took a picture of himself post-game. The picture included his pet bunny, Hoppy.
Oh, and this guy is a goon who has twice led the NHL in penalty minutes. Gotta love it!
No comments:
Post a Comment