Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Hockey PSA: WEAR A FULL FACESHIELD

Here’s a little public service announcement for all of you that play hockey or know someone who plays hockey.
Lecavalier could have used a half shield.

Last summer, June 14th 2011 to be exact, I was stretching for an inline hockey game at the Bladerunners in Harmarville.  As I was stretching, one of my teammates asked me how I felt about wearing a half shield.  I told him it was a great idea and he should go for it.  I had worn a half shield  and a mouth guard for quite a few years and loved it since it still protected my face while allowing me to breathe easily.  I could also see a puck down at my feet without a problem, so it was helpful.  As a defenseman (who prides himself on shot blocking), I had taken my share of high sticks to the visor or pucks glancing off my helmet, but the half shield caught everything….until June 14th.

With less than 10 seconds to go in the 2nd period, an opposing forward was bearing down on me into the zone and I was in poke check range.  He pulled back to shoot; I went for the poke check.  He got the shot off; I deflected it with my poke check.  I knew what was happening and tried to turn my head, but it was too late - I deflected it right into my face.

As I dropped to my knees, well aware that my mouth was bleeding significantly, I had no clue what damage was done.  The refs wanted me to get off of the floor ASAP to minimize the blood and I quickly noticed something as I got up.  A tooth, a very long tooth, was laying on the ground where it didn’t belong.  As I skated off, I yelled for a teammate to pick up my tooth and bring it along as everyone tried to figure out what to do with me.

Upon examination, one of my bottom front teeth had been knocked out completely, broken straight off of my jaw (thus looking absurdly long).  I still had my mouthguard on though (which only covered the top half).  As I took my mouthguard off, we realized there was more damage as half of one of my front top teeth came out with it, along with a small sheath from my other front top tooth.


As I was in full panic mode about what to do with my teeth (attorneys missing teeth probably don’t get many clients), we all tried to remember what we should do with the ones that were broken/had come out.  What were all those old commercials from when we were little….oh, milk!  There was no milk at Bladerunners though.  My friend who had grabbed the tooth then proceeded to skate out the door, through a couple parking lots, and through Target where he grabbed milk.  I can only imagine how baffled the workers were to see him skating frantically through the store.  In the meantime, another teammate put me on the phone with his aunt, who was a dentist.

The dentist said she would be willing to see me right away to try and save my teeth and we should get them in milk ASAP.  The game was a 10pm game, so this is all around 11pm and she was out by the airport, a 45 minute drive.  We got to her office around 11:45pm, and she fixed my top teeth (bonded the broken half to what was remaining of the one tooth, bonded the sheath back to the other tooth, and added a filling on the back to hold them together).  She then went to work on the bottom one, essentially shoving it back into place until it clicked in with my jaw and then putting a splint on the back of it so it was bonded with 2 other teeth and immobile.  No Novocain or anesthesia at all for any of this…it felt lovely, let me tell you.

Not a comfortable moment.
Her work likely saved my teeth, but there has been a lot of dental work since that day.  The following day, I met with my regular dentist and he sanded a little bit off my top and bottom teeth so they wouldn't hit much and cause more damage.  He also warned me that I was going to have to pay attention for nerve damage on my teeth.

My body did not appreciate the hour and a half that my full bottom tooth was out, so it proceeded to eat away at the root and tooth over the next few months.  I had to get a root canal on that one and get treatments every month for a while to basically shut down the cells in the area that were eating at the tooth.  Last week, I finally got that root canal completely filled with inert material as it appears the tooth is no longer in danger.  Today, over a year later, I finally had a filling placed on the back of that bottom tooth so no more work should be necessary on it.  The splint remains on the back of my front bottom teeth though since no one knows how firmly implanted that tooth is.  It will remain like that for at least another 6 months.  Meanwhile, if I look closely in a mirror, I can still see the fractured lines in my top two front teeth - about 3 or 4 horizontal lines in each.

So here’s your lesson…wear a full face shield.  No adult hockey league is worth the damage that a puck to the face can cause.  I don’t have dental insurance, so this has been a nice hit to the bank account for the past year+ as well.  On top of it, I’m never allowed to bite into apples with my front teeth again, and I’m supposed to avoid anything that will pull too hard on my front teeth (wings, thick sandwiches, etc.).

Wear a full face shield or cage.  It’s worth it.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Updated Information: Hockey Kicks Cancer

The Pittsburgh sports blogging community will be holding a charity kickball tournament on October 6th to celebrate Hockey Fights Cancer Month. Proceeds will be donated to our local chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which Hockey Fights Cancer benefits. We are working directly with a coordinator for LLS and they will be present at the event to help us distribute information on the work that they do and how the community can help.

Please join Crosby FTW, High Heels & Hockey, The Pensblog, PensNation, Faceoff Factor, and Slewfooters for a day of kickball, raffles, prizes, and more!

The tournament will be divided into teams of 10. When signing up, be sure to talk to your friends and family so that you are able to get onto the same teams. We will update the form when teams fill up.

If you want to represent a blog team, but it is indicated that the team is full, please let us know and we will create a B team for our blogs. Also, you are more than welcome to form your own team of 10 for the event. Please contact Stevie (heelsandhockey@gmail.com) and we will add your team to the registration form.

If you do not wish to play but would like to come out and support the teams, you may sign up to attend as a spectator. Per request, we are now accepting donations in order to receive a t-shirt via mail for those whom are unable to attend.  The option is now on the sign up form.

Location: South Hills Dek Hockey
1551 Worthington Avenue
Jefferson Hills, PA 15025

Date: Saturday, October 6, 2012
Time: 1:00pm – 8:00pm
A schedule of games will be posted prior to the event.

Admission: $20/person
Cost includes a Hockey Kicks Cancer t-shirt and a plate of food (We will have hamburgers, hot dogs, hot sausage, kilbasa, potato salad, fruit salad, corn on the cob, chips and drinks. Catered by the Interchange Lounge)

Other:
50/50 raffles
Prize Baskets from local businesses
Other activities and booths TBA

If you wish to donate to the event and do NOT want to receive a t-shirt, please click the link below to send your donation via PayPal.  Furthermore, if your blog or business would like to help sponsor teams or a booth, please contact Stevie Watson at heelsandhockey@gmail.com for information on how you can be a part of making this day a great success!

Please click here to sign up if you want to pick a team and play, or at least receive a shirt.
If you only wish to donate to the cause, then click here instead.

The last day to sign up is September 16! 

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter (@HKicksCancer) and please spread the word about this event!!  Thank you all for your help, donations, and participation!!

————————
PayPal Instructions

If you do not have a PayPal account, please choose the option “Don’t Have a PayPal Account” in order to pay via debit or credit card. Applications cannot be completed without payment. Thank you for your generosity and we can’t wait to see you at the event!



Monday, August 27, 2012

Offseason Podcast #9: As the Calendar Turns

As the hockey world prepares to turn their calendars from August (Zbynek Michalek) to September (Paul Martin), Meesh (@HockeyMeesh) and Adam (@PolishHMR) return with yet another time-killing podcast.  The dog days of summer have clearly gotten to their heads as Adam frequently loses his mind in this episode.  Hockey topics include: NHL jersey rankings, the latest in CBA talks, recent signings and rumors, and a "Where Are They Now?" segment that will take you back to the late 90's.  Adam's personal topics include: the types of people he attracts and his grasp of the English language.

Tune in now to get the details!  Listen below or find us on iTunes by clicking here.



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As always, feedback is appreciated and thank you for listening!!  Please see my last post for more details on the Hockey Kicks Cancer Charity Kickball Tournament and how you can participate!  Finally, contact me on here or via Twitter if you are interested in either the CrosbyFTW Fantasy Hockey League or the NHL '13 GM Connected league.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Hockey Kicks Cancer Charity Kickball Tournament

The Pittsburgh sports blogging community will be holding a charity kickball tournament on October 6th to celebrate Hockey Fights Cancer Month. Proceeds will be donated to our local chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which Hockey Fights Cancer benefits.



Please join Crosby FTWHigh Heels & Hockey,  The PensblogPensNationFaceoff Factorand Slewfooters for a day of kickball, raffles, prizes, and more!

The tournament will be divided into teams of 10. When signing up, be sure to talk to your friends and family so that you are able to get onto the same teams. If you want to represent a blog team, but it is indicated that the team is full, please let us know and we will create a B team for our blogs. If you do not wish to play but would like to come out and support the teams, you may sign up to attend as a spectator.

Location: South Hills Dek Hockey
1551 Worthington Avenue
Jefferson Hills, PA 15025
Time: 1:00pm - 8:00pm - A schedule of games will be posted prior to the event.
Admission: $20 per player/spectator
Cost includes a Hockey Kicks Cancer t-shirt and a plate of food
Other:
50/50 raffles
Prize Baskets

Please sign up here and choose your team!

Bring your cash and your check book for games, snacks, and contests! All proceeds will directly benefit the local chapter of LLS.

If you cannot attend, but wish to donate to the event, please click the link below to send your donation to PayPal.


Follow us on Twitter for updates! @HKicksCancer

If your blog or business would like to help sponsor teams or a booth, please contact Stevie Watson at heelsandhockey@gmail.com for information on how you can be a part of making this day a great success!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Offseason Podcast #8: The CBA Debate Continues

Welcome back for Offseason Podcast #8!  As the NHLPA has now presented their "counteroffer" to the owners, the bulk of the podcast is devoted to that topic.  Adam and Meesh attempt a 15 minute simulated debate as Donald Fehr vs. Gary Bettman, respectively.  The debate begins at the 21:30 mark FYI.

Also on this week's podcast: A reference to the Big Bang Theory, signings and injuries around the NHL, a statement to Meesh's music tastes, some discussion about Eric Tangradi, and a "Where Are They Now?" segment that leads us to wonder...wait, where are they now, we're a little worried about them.

While we were recording, Wayne Simmonds signed a 6 year deal with the Flyers. The deal is worth roughly $4 million per year.  Ummm, too much money.

Listen below or get it on iTunes!



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Can't find a Staal shirt at the Pens store?  Try Haiti.



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Who is this Gary Bettman Scapegoa...errr Guy?

Gary Bettman.  The name itself causes a sharp (99% negative) reaction from fans.  It’s almost as if people enjoy booing the NHL’s commissioner.


Oh wait, they do.

Why though?  Why do hockey fans love to hate this man?  Reasons vary all over the place, and I suspect many do it without reason just to join the crowd.  Here are some reasons that people hate Bettman:

  • Two lockouts so far, with a 3rd possibly on the horizon. (I’m sure that’s completely his fault)
  • Receiving a salary in excess of $8 million. (He certainly does less than Wade Redden making over $6 million in the AHL, right?)
  • Expanding the NHL from 26 to 30 teams (How dare you grow the sport!)
  • Allowing franchises to leave Minnesota, Quebec, Winnipeg, Hartford and Atlanta. (Why don’t you buy the franchises and keep them there!?  You’re making $8 million!!)
  • Adding teams in Nashville, Atlanta, Minnesota, and Columbus. (Okay, Atlanta was a failure, clearly Bettman is a failure.)
  • I’m sure plenty of other reasons that I don’t know or care to list. (comment below if you feel necessary)
Not pictured: 30+ management people above Bettman.

Here’s the question I would love to ask those that hate Gary Bettman: What do you know about him and his position?

Did you know Gary Bettman is the only commissioner in the history of the NHL? In 1993, the NHL shifted from the idea of a president and created the position of commissioner, for which they hired Gary Bettman. According to the NHL Constitution:

“The League shall employ a Commissioner selected by the Board of Governors. The Commissioner shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the League and is charged with protecting the integrity of the game of professional hockey and preserving public confidence in the League. The Board of Governors shall determine the term of office and compensation of the Commissioner. The Commissioner shall be elected a majority of the Governors present and voting at a League meeting at which a quorum was present when it was convened.“

As you can see, Bettman’s appointment came from the Board of Governors. At this point, a lesson in the league structure is necessary.

The NHL itself is led by a Board of Governors. This Board consists of representatives from all 30 NHL teams. Each team appoints a governor and two alternates, with the governor usually being the team owner. One of the governors also acts as chairperson for the Board (currently Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs). Among the duties of the Board of Governors: 1) review and approve the purchase, sale, or relocation of member clubs, 2) hire and fire the NHL commissioner, 3) there’s a bunch more, but it’s unnecessary for this post.

Take note of the previous few paragraphs. Gary Bettman is an employee of the NHL, and his boss is the Board of Governors, which is essentially the NHL’s 30 team owners and their friends. So let’s address some issues here.

LOL Gary, I'm not even gonna be in the league for that lockout talk.
Wanna grab some Chik-Fil-A tomorrow?

Bettman is the reason for these lockouts.



Do you know what would make Gary Bettman’s job incredibly easy? If both sides agreed to terms. The terms do not even matter to him personally; he is just doing his job. His job is to represent the owners and their wishes at the negotiating table. It’s not Bettman that wants 57% revenue, shorter term contracts, and a rollback of salaries; it’s the 30 NHL owners.

Bettman makes $8+ million.


Are you unhappy that he makes too much money? Maybe you should start questioning his employer(s) instead of him about that. I know it’s crazy, but he doesn’t just decide what he wants to make. As stated in the NHL Constitution paragraph I quoted above, “The Board of Governors shall determine the term of office and compensation of the Commissioner.” The NHL owners are paying him that money, and they have a good reason to do so. Not only does he represent them and pursue their wishes, but he is also the ultimate scapegoat for the public to throw under a bus while the owners take very little flak. It’s much easier to attack one name than an organization, and that one name is worth $8 million to the owners. Especially when you almost never see those 30 owner names (see below!).


Despite all of these things, there is a trend amongst fans. People either make a statement about the players or Bettman. Here is the hierarchy though: Donald Fehr represents the players. Gary Bettman represents the owners. It’s either Fehr vs. Bettman or the players vs. the owners (and truthfully, it’s very much the latter since the former are just representatives). Somehow public perception is generally the players vs. Bettman though, why let facts get in the way of a good rant after all?

So with all of this, I say the following: Blame Bettman if you want, but know what you’re blaming him for and what he actually does. If you’re upset about a potential lockout though, your effort is wasted on blaming Bettman, the NHL as a league, or a myriad of other options. Take a look at the 30 NHL owners who have lined their pockets with your money. They hand that money to Bettman, they hand that money to players, and they hand it off to their bank accounts all over the world. Now after spending all of that money, they are complaining and throwing a hissy fit. Why?

(Credit to canucksarmy.com)


Here’s why.  Some of those owners (Nashville, Florida, Tampa, etc.) are not lining their pockets with money anymore.  Their accounts are dwindling while they pay players at an increasing rate.  They legitimately do need help to survive.  Meanwhile, other owners (Toronto, New York, Montreal) are laughing on their way to the bank because they don’t even need a Stanley Cup run to line their pockets with cash.  They don’t need help at all.  The initial proposal from the NHL is a wonderful idea for that first set of teams.  It helps them save money and brings them back into the game.  Oh, the second set of teams loves it too because they can make a second lining of cash in their pockets.  All of the owners win…just at a detriment to the players.

The players are aware of this and have suggested a different solution.  Hey Toronto, how about you help some of your board members out and give some money to Tampa, since, ya know, they actually make the playoffs every so often unlike you.  Hey Philly, how about you pay some of Shea Weber’s contract for Nashville after you tried to bully them with your big market money (Idea from Jeff Marek of Sportsnet). Etc.  Small market owners will love it, big market owners will hate it, but we’ll have to see how that dynamic turns out on the owners’ side.

So finally, to bring this full circle, do you know who will be indifferent to both offers?  Gary Bettman.  He will react and counteroffer with whatever the owners would like to do, because that’s his job.


By the way, here are 30 names that you have not seen enough media coverage on.  Some of them need help, some of them don’t.  I have a feeling you can figure out which ones fit into which category (hint: look at their team spending habits).  Here are the majority owners or chairperson for each team:

Anaheim – Henry Samueli
Boston – Jeremy Jacobs
Buffalo – Terrence Pegula
Calgary – N. Murray Edwards
Carolina – Peter Karmanos
Chicago – Rocky Wirtz
Colorado – Stan Kroenke
Columbus – John P. McConnell
Dallas – Tom Gaglardi
Detroit – Mike Ilitch
Edmonton – Daryl Katz
Florida – Cliff Viner
Los Angeles – Philip Anschutz and Edward Roski Jr.
Minnesota – Craig Leipold
Montreal – Geoff  Molson
Nashville – Predators Holdings LLC (Thomas Cigarran)
New Jersey – Jeffrey Vanderbeek
NY Islanders – Charles Wang
NY Rangers – James Dolan
Ottawa – Eugene Melnyk
Philadelphia – Comcast-Spector (Ed Snider)
Phoenix – The NHL
Pittsburgh – Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle
St. Louis – Sports Capital Partners (Tom Stillman)
San Jose – Sharks Entertainment Enterprises (Kevin Compton)
Tampa Bay – Jeff Vinik
Toronto – Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (Larry Tanenbaum)
Vancouver – Canucks Sports and Entertainment (Francesco Aquilini)
Washington – Ted Leonsis
Winnipeg – True North Sports and Entertainment (Mark Chipman)

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Offseason Podcast #7 - CBA? Anyone?

After an extra week off, Adam (@PolishHMR) and I (@HockeyMeesh) have returned with Offseason Podcast #7!  We catch up on 2 weeks of signings, including that of Jake Voracek, Alexander Semin, and not including Shane Doan.  We also take the time to reminisce about Sidney Crosby in honor of his recent 25th birthday.  After a frustrating discussion of the lack of CBA movement, we finish off with a "Where are they now" that includes our new favorite ECHL team (sorry Wheeling).

Search for CrosbyFTW on iTunes or listen below!  Feedback is welcome!  Thanks for listening!



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