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  evan

  May 27 2007 12:31

  "Come out to the Coast, we'll have a few laughs. . ."

   The nhl.com crew is about to wrap up our first day of action at the Stanley Cup Finals. Today started with a breakfast meeting at 8:30, California time. Coming from the Eastern Time Zone, we have an advantage, in that we’re still three hours ahead of everyone here. Except, of course, the people who drive hyper-speed on the freeways.

   

  Our body clocks are still in New York. For example, I woke up at 4:00 this morning (7:00 back home) and basically waited for my alarm to ring for four hours. It would rule if getting up for work back east was that easy.

   

  Anaheim skated at 10:30 and I continue to be amazed at just how large some of those guys are. Seriously. I think George Parros’ mustache is bigger than some members of the media. That’s one big dude. Nice guy too. But I never went into the corner with him.

   

  Following the skate, we interviewed just about every single player on the team, GM Brian Burke and head coach Randy Carlyle. Next up were the Senators, and as striking as the Ducks size was in the early skate, what stood out about Ottawa was how loose they were. They were laughing and smiling and oohing and aahing some of the goals their teammates scored. It was interesting how different the personalities of these teams are. It will be even more interesting to see how their dueling personalities collide on the ice in Game 1.

   

  Ottawa has yet to face any real adversity in the playoffs. They make no secret of their confidence in each other and they do not deny having a good time in their room. This is, after all, the team that dared goalie Ray Emery to eat a cockroach earlier in the season.

   

  They are also a team that carries the attention of an entire nation with Canada pulling hard for the Cup to come home for the first time sine 1993. They may have a lot of pressure on them, but to their credit, the Senators aren’t freaking out. Not at all.

   

  Not yet, at least.

   

  California is new for a lot of us. But it looks a lot like Florida. Until you turn a corner and are suddenly at the top of one of those cliffs, staring down at the city like you see in the movies.

   

  I’m dying to try a Del Taco.

   

  Went to Newport Beach last night, home of one of my favorite shows (“The O.C.”). Try the fish tacos next time you’re there. Also be sure to check out the famous pier. And bring your skateboard.

   

  There’s that scene in Pulp Fiction when they talk about “the little differences” between the United States and Europe. Like they don’t call a Quarter Pounder a Quarter Pounder there because of the metric system. Well, here in California, too, there are a lot of little differences. Like how you’re allowed to make bonfires on the beach here and they’ll arrest you for setting one back home.

   

  But so far the biggest difference – and we haven’t been here that long – is what they have on the television at the bars. Back home, we have ballgames and hockey games on TV. Pop into a beach bar in California, and you’ll end up watching surfing.

   

  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

   

   

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  sens_fan

  Mar 16 2007 15:11

  P.S

  thanks for taking that * yashin of our hands. after he left alfie’s stats went up and up

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  sens_fan

  Mar 16 2007 15:07

  RECORD BREAKING

  man did u see the game on thursday against us. u know when we broke the record of scoring three goals in 76 SECONDS. now thats showing our true colours

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  pigeau77

  Feb 26 2007 07:15

  THANK YOU!

  the best blog i have read …all about ROBERTS! yes he is a great athlete and from all his injuries…hes come back like never before!...wish he neve left toronto…hopefully he comes back today or tomorrow!

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  evan

  Feb 26 2007 05:59

  You smell that?

  The Gary Roberts rumors persist. And why not? If you’re a buyer (a playoff team looking for a later-season addition to help out in the tournament) then Roberts, even if he is 40 years old, is exactly what any team could use. Sure, he’s had some injury problems and he’s not getting any younger, but I have seen, first-hand, just what a player like Roberts can mean to a team in the playoffs. I saw with my own eyes just what he brought to the Leafs in the 2002 first-round series against the Islanders. He was the toughest man on the ice in that seven-game series, and was a vital part of the Maple Leafs advancing. If anything put Toronto over the top in that classic series, it was the grit and playoff passion Roberts brought to the rink – something the Islanders had no answer for after losing Michael Peca and Kenny Jonsson (thanks to Roberts’ crushing hit) in Game 5. The Islanders were out-toughed so much in that series that they spent the next year and a half signing tough guys like Jason Wiemer to balance that area, to no avail. They never did find the right fit.

   

  The rumors have Roberts heading anywhere from

  Pittsburgh to Buffalo. Every rumor this week generally also involves all the top teams in the Western Conference. We should know soon where Roberts is heading, and who the lucky team is to retain his services for the stretch run and the playoffs. Also coming out of the rumor mill this afternoon are whispers Pittsburgh (they could be a major player in the next 24 hours) might also be interested in a guy like Todd Bertuzzi. Also, Detroit may have set their sights on a tough guy like Brad May.

   

  Interesting that teams are using buzzwords like “grit” and “toughness” approaching this year’s deadline, isn’t it? It sounds like a fashion trend or a pop culture fad, doesn’t it? What ever happened to teams looking for “speed” and “skating” like they were a year ago???

   

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  evan

  Jan 22 2007 05:28

  Show me the money!

  Kid in a candy store? Nonsense. Since I landed here in

  Dallas, I’ve been like a kid in a hockey supply superstore. As I’ve said, this is my first All Star experience and so far, less than 24 hours on the ground, just being around the entire show has lived up to the hype I created in my mind.
   

  Basically got to the hotel Sunday night around 8. I was especially pumped up for the concert to benefit the Denis Leary Firefighters at a place called Gilley’s. Making like Superman, I checked in, changed my shirt at the speed of light and less than a half hour after arriving, I was negotiating my way through the crowd at the concert, which was awesome by the way. Everyone from the league was there. The commissioner. The players. Coaches. Bloggers. Producers. Basically, anyone and everyone was at this joint and the place was hopping.

   

  I was prepared for an occasional brush with celebrity, but there is no way I could have prepared myself for what happened at the concert. Basically, I’m waiting at the bar for a cold one and an arm comes across my shoulders. I look over expecting it to be connected to one of my co-workers or at least someone I know.

   

  It wasn’t. It belonged to Cuba Gooding Jr.

   

  Of course, my immediate reaction, was, “Show me the money!”

   

  He must have thought I was someone else. Or maybe he reads NHL.com a lot. At any rate, Cuba’s got a lot of fans it turns out. Lots of fans with cell phone cameras. There were probably 20 people surrounding us, taking our picture. They, too, must have thought I was someone else, like a member of his entourage or something. I’m not sure what took over me, but the next thing I know, I’m shouting out, “OK ladies, we have time for one more and then we must be leaving!”

   

  I told Cuba I had special VIP tickets, which I did, and I grabbed him and took him back to meet all the people from the office. And as quickly as my incredible brush with celebrity started, that’s how fast it ended. Not sure where Cuba ended up after meeting the crew, but it made for some great conversation at the breakfast table this morning.

   

  I can only imagine what the rest of the week has in store for us.

   

   

   

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  rocky3370

  Nov 29 2006 07:38

  Photo

  Has your family and friends seen this photo, too?

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