Yvan Cournoyer...

He was my first favorite hockey player...

I just loved saying his name...

eee-VONN...

Corn...

Y...

A...

It just rolls off the tongue...

He was speedy...

They called him...

The Roadrunner...

And because of...

eee-VONN...

Corn...

Y...

A...

The Montreal Canadiens were my favorite...

This was pre-Kings, mind you...

Just six teams from which to choose...

They were the Yankees of the NHL...

But I liked ‘em anyway...

Thanks to...

eee-VONN...

Corn...

Y...

A...

Say it again, dvt...

eee-VONN...

Corn...

Y...

A...

I could say it a million times...

However...

You have to be very careful...

When you Google...

eee-VONN...

Corn...

Y...

A...

There is an asterisk, I think...

Because you might get this....

eee-VONN...

Corn...

Y...

A...

When you mean to get this...

eee-VONN...

Corn...

Y...

A...

So be careful...

You might see sumthin’...

You didn’t intend to see...

If you get my drift...

Anyways...

I loved, loved, loved the Montreal Canadiens...

So it was kinda challenging...

Back in ‘93...

When the Kings met them...

In the Stanley Cup Final...

But I was a full-fledged Kings fan by then...

Parents had season tix...

I got to go to Game 3...

Cool...

Except for the outcome...

But the game that turned the series...

Was infamous Game Two...

The “Stick” game...

McSorley...

The momentum moment...

Kings had a one game lead...

And winning late in Game Two...

But like The Supremes used to sing...

“And then it happened...”

McSorley’s stick was declared illegal...

The Kings get a penalty...

The Canadiens get a power play goal...

And then another to win the game...

And never looked back...

Winning the Cup...

Four games to one...

Now it’s hard to write this...

Without sounding like sour grapes...

But...

If Roger Maris is worthy of an asterisk...

So are the Canadiens in this instance...

It’s one thing to see the suspicious stick on the ice...

But completely another to hijack the Kings’ sticks...

And measure them...

During the intermission...

That’s right...

The truth is out...

According to Curtis Zupke at nhl.com, “McSorley said that the Canadiens knew he had an illegal stick because they wheeled the Kings' stick rack into their locker room.

" ‘I think that [former Kings coach] Barry Melrose, [former player] Luc Robitaille, [former trainer] Peter Demers, different guys, have basically said what happened: We all know that they pulled the stick rack into their locker room,’ McSorley said.

" ’That's honest and that's frank. Am I sitting here complaining? No. But that is what happened.’ " (http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=632920)

Canadiens???

You’re a bunch of vacuum cleaners...

You sssssuhhh....

Well...

You know what I mean...

You do what vacuum cleaners do...

That’s dirty, Montreal...

I thought you were better than that...

Apparently not...

And...

In an interview on KSPN 710 in Los Angeles...

McSorley revealed...

That the Canadiens' staff...

Shooed away a Montreal police officer...

In order to perform the heist...

The officer said he had a tough time sleeping that night...

'Cus he knew what they did was wrong...

True that Montreal still had to win that game...

And three more...

Which had nothing to do with the stick...

But now they had the momentum...

Are you proud of yourselves, Montreal???

So...

I’m still an...

eee-VONN...

Corn...

Y...

A...

fan...

But as far as I'm concerned, Montreal...

You’re a classless organization...

And...

I am done with you...

dvt

http://www.heritagehockey.com/Portals/0/Players/Yvan%20Cournoyer/YvanCournoyer.jpg

http://yvancournoyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/cournoyer_crw_model_shots_252.jpg

​http://www.playerschoicesports.com/images/web/2006-06-21-yvon-cournoyer-the-roadrunner-4030.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrajELQjXpA

​http://bestvacuumcleanerreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/vacuum-cleaners.jpg

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/lisafx/lisafx0809/lisafx080900084/3611735-police-officer-sitting-in-his-squad-car-with-a-box-of-donuts.jpg

Hello Gabbers Happy Thursday.

I just don’t have a lot today. We could always talk about officiating in an NBA game and ho it seems the league tries to micro manage their product. I really believe the NBA turns so hard to show it does have an image problem they are so concerned about worrying about perception that they have micro managed it to the point that they are killing their on product.

It’s everything from officials and what they want called to the perception of wanting the games best player in the finals. The league needs to let the games play out without trying to influence anything. What they are doing is creating  a bad image of the officials and a bad image of the league. Let lebron play basketball without helping him out. He is good enough without the league trying to make him the better because he is their signature player. Kind of like a golf course puts their most picturesque hole on  any advertising it might do.

The difference between the NFL and The NBA and yes the NFL tries to micro manage as well but the difference is  when it’s the product on the field they take a step back and allow the games to happen . If they need adjusting like the popular concussion safety rules they adjust. The NBA seems to do this on the fly. We can’t have LeBron foul out on National TV why not. It’s like saying it’s a Sunday Night game and we can’t have Brady get hurt.

I think these are accepted practices by the people in the league and have been long before Lebron. The joke back in the 80’s was Greg Kite or Kurt Rambis would come off the bench for the Celtics and or the Lakers respectfully. As soon as either guy would step on the floor he would have two fouls automatically. It’s like driving a new car off the lot as soon as the front tire touches the street the value dropped by $3,000. This has been a stars league for a long time and continues to be. It needs to change that everybody is equal but it’s about image and will always be.

The NHL Stanley Cup Finals kicked off last night with a nice overtime win by the Los Angeles Kings in Jersey. This was just a well played Hockey game with the intensity that we love in the nHL playoffs. You have to give the NHL credit. They put hell of a product out their during playoff time. The on Ice officials seem to have it down to a science when to let the boys play and when to tighten the reins. I’m looking forward to the rest of this series.  A little  interest in both teams. I think the Kings have been an awesome story throughout the playoffs. I also have some interest in the Devils for years going to their AHL affilate games until they packed up and left Massachusetts this past season. So basically I like both teams and don’t care who wins as long as I get to see some quality hockey.

The Tigers got screwed Monday when Mike Aviles  should have been out on a thrid strike foul tip. The first base umpire said it hit the ground to allow Aviles at bat to continue resulting in a bas hit and driving in a run which sparked a Red Sox rally.early in the game and the Tigers couldn’t bounce back. The Jim Leyland press conference was a classic afterwards. He didn’t call out the umpire that would have been a heavy fine. He called out the press told them to have some balls and write with the saw. He makes a good point. I’ll use Boston for an example. The media here use to be brutal on the Red sox if they didn’t perform now it’s too almost apologetic when the team is going well. But they are playing well finally got over 500 but are still in last place in the east which I find fascinating.

The AL east has become a very tough division with both Baltimore and Toronto playing competitive are no easy divisional games. That is making this baseball season a lot of fun,

That’s all for Today

No Starbuck here?? Hockey’s greatest save ever?? The perfect jersey?? All this and more in this weeks edition of….

Chad Ochocinco had a bad day when his car was broken into. It wasn’t that his wallet, iPod, and other contents of his wallet were missing. Oh no, that wasn’t as important as his starbuck card being stolen too. He was freakin out over his starbuck card. Well, I might have too if I was a Gold Card member. This is what he said, "You know how many coffees I've had to drink and lemon loafs I've had to purchase to get to that gold card? I had $220 left on my Starbucks card. Not just any Starbucks card, but a gold Starbucks card."

For the record, his wallet was found, the only thing missing was his money (credit cards were in the wallet) and his star bucks card.

The story does have a happy ending, however. Starbucks reached out to him via Twitter and agreed to replace his gold card.

Here is the clip of an upset Ochocinco:

Martin Brodeur made, what I think, is the greatest save ever by a goalie against the Rangers. For those that didn’t see it, here it is, it’s a beauty:

On October 8, 1956 he was perfect. So perfect that no one on the opposing team reached base. So perfect, in fact, only 2 players in the 19^th century, and 19 players in the modern era have done do.

Now the perfect uniform is for sale. That’s right Don Larsen is giving his uniform for auction to help pay for the cost of his grandchildren’s college education. Yogi Berra‘s uniform sold for $565,000 in an auction. Bidding will begin on October 8^th, and end on December 2^nd.

Congratulations to Kasey Kahne who won this third Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

For those that are interested Dana Patrick finished 30^th.

There must be something with three’s this week, as Dario Franchitti won his 3^rd Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Congrats to Dario.

Johnny Tapia, the five-time boxing champion whose turbulent career was marked by cocaine addiction, alcohol, depression and run-ins with the law, was found dead at his Albuquerque home. He was 45.

As mentioned by other’s at YouGabSports, none of the top $$$ teams are in first place right now. I don’t think the Dodgers are a surprise team as they have the talent. To me Baltimore is the surprise team to-date. Buck has got his team headed in the right direction.

I’ leave you with this thought:

Til next time

Scott

Randy Orton is suspended for 60 days for second violation of the company’s Talent Wellness program.

Hello and welcome to another Wednesday of deep thoughts. Beeze made a comment on Monday that found a place in the back of my grey matter. If Memorial Day is a day to acknowledge those that have sacrificed for our country, why do we say have a happy Memorial Day? How many that fired up the grill this weekend gave a thought to why they were not at work on Monday? There is no doubt that those that have lost loved ones in service spend this day celebrating their memories. In reality, it does not work too well to wish someone a memorial Memorial Day. Truly, there is no adjective that fits the purpose for this holiday. Of course, when you really get down to it…if you think of the reason for Christmas, wishing someone a merry Christmas is not exactly an appropriate greeting either, right? I guess the best we can do is to enjoy the time off and raise our glass to thank those that paid the ultimate sacrifice.

I saw this on Yahoo on Tuesday and felt compelled to share:

Hannah Hobbs, an employee of Bennigan's in Borger, recently served a guest who ordered a beer for his friend who was a fallen comrade.
The beer was intended to be a memorial to Navy Lt. J.G. Francis Toner IV. The guest left a note with the beer that read “In memory of Lt. J.G. Francis Toner, USN. Killed in action 27 March 2009, Balkh Province, Afghanistan. ‘Non sibi said patriae’ NOT FORGOTTEN!”
Without wanting to empty the beer, Hobbs finally took a photo of the memorial at the end of the night and posted it to her personal Facebook page so the image could live forever. In her post above the photo she stated, “This guy came in and asked if it was ok if he left this on the bar.. I cried :( I left it there until like 11:30 ... I didn’t want to pour it out but I had to. So I’m posting this pic so it can stay forever!! So can I get some likes people??”
To her surprise, the post went viral, attracting 1,071,335 “likes” and was shared more than 96,047 times on the social networking site. Hobbs has received recognition and praise from past and present military service members, as well as from the public. Hobbs also received an award from Bennigan's called a ABCD (Above and Beyond Call of Duty) Award. Well done Hannah!

Last week, I discussed how the Big East and ACC missed the boat with regards to a four team playoff. I made the observation that 6 did not go into 4, but perhaps my math was a bit faulty. I read today that SEC coaches want the best 4 teams in the playoff, not just teams that have won their conference. I guess that figures... but I would be very surprised if the Big 10 and Pac 12 went along with this. Just as the Big East and ACC will be huge losers with a 4 team playoff, so potentially would the Big 10 and Pac 12. As a fan, I prefer the best 4 teams to be included, but then again…I don’t have riches to consider. How much control has the SEC gained? The SEC commish has been pushing for a playoff and is determined to make it happen this summer. But, what if the best four teams happen to be in the SEC as Florida’s Will Muschamp suggested? The Big 10 wants conference champs. Steve Spurrier continues to believe that an 8 team playoff would benefit college football. He used the recent late season runs of the Packers and Giants as a reason to have additional teams included. Perhaps the SEC is too good for only a four team playoff. If the rest of college football understands the significance of this outcome, they will check their math and realize that 8 is larger than 4.

 And…the Spurs win again. B.O.B mentioned that he was pulling for the Spurs so that Laker fan would suffer. In my mind, the Lakers have more important things to worry about than the Spurs winning another championship…like being the best team in LA. The Spurs have a very impressive winning streak going, but I would be very surprised if they swept OKC. I also think that the Spurs should cherish the wins over Durant and crew, as I suspect that this will be the last year that it happens. All great teams seem to have to pay their dues before they realize the brass ring. The dues paying are just about over for the talented youngsters in Oklahoma City. Do you think that San Antonio can run the table? It would historic, but I doubt it will happen. Of course, the Spurs have their own way of doing things…so who knows.

Do you remember when TO was doing sit ups in the drive way while giving an interview? Do you remember when TO was cut from the Wranglers arena team? Yep…TO is done in Allen. Although TO was a part owner, he was released on Wednesday for missing a team appearance at a local hospital. Here is a statement issued by the team on Tuesday:

"Our fans are amongst the best in the league, and it is impossible to maintain a player when even our fans notice and comment on a player's lack of effort both on and off the field," Frankel said in a statement released to ESPNDallas.com. "We need to do what is best for this team, our fans and this community."

TO’s people issued a statement indicating that he wished the Wranglers well, but that he would remain focused on returning to the NFL. Yeah…good luck with that Terrell. When you can’t keep a job with an arena team, I don’t think that the NFL will have much interest in your future. It always seems to end badly when Owens is involved…

I had to add this...

Here is a picture of a very good friend and his grandson. My buddy is a manager at a restaurant in the Austin area. We worked together  at this same restaurant 30 years ago. Saturday night he was managing and it was a typical crazy holiday weekend. He got a complaint from a customer about a screaming baby. Apparently there were two different tables with screaming babies. A table nearby was at their wits end and made a complaint. I have raised three kids and when we went out to eat, I would pick up my kid and walk around until the crying ceased. My buddy very politely approached the table and said, folks I hate to mention this, but I have received a complaint about the noise. If there is anything you can do to quiet your child, I would really appreciate it. Not a fun task, but part of the gig...the parents acted as if he had reached down, grabbed a rib and struck the child. They became enraged and stormed out of the restaurant. Bad deal...but it was made worse when the guy that complained about the noise went on facebook to gloat about "getting the crying baby evicted". Now, of course this was not what happened but it did not matter. A shit storm erupted with a mother's group going crazy. Several folks went to the restaurant facebook to tell the real story, but mother's across the country did not care. They wanted my buddy fired and they were going to never eat at this restaurant again. I commented to one of the women in DC and it turns out she is a chef. I did not say this, but I suppose there are not too many crying babies in the kitchen. I loved the comment from one dad, " I have two children under 5 and they know how to act in public." Amen! Do parents just not think that they have any responsibility for the behavior of their kids in public? I am a parent and remember what it was like to have a young child. Perhaps because I worked in a restaurant, I was more aware? 

What I don't understand is how a decision to boycott a restaurant can be made based on a facebook thread. It is a crazy world we live in...

That’s all I have today, but here is a bit of Jack Handey for you:

It makes me mad when I go to all the trouble of cooking up about a hundred drumsticks and the guy at Marineland says, "You can't throw chicken to the dolphins. They eat fish." Sure they eat fish . . . if that's all you give them! Man, wise up.

Children need encouragement. If a kid gets an answer right, tell him it was a lucky guess. That way he develops a good, lucky feeling.

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a few deep thoughts of your own…