Stay Classy Vancouver

First of all I want to send a Congrats to the Boston Bruins for winning the Stanley Cup! Tim Thomas is a native from Flint, Michigan and he played amazing and deserved the Conn Smythe trophy! After Game 7 which was played in Vancouver, the Canucks fans were rioting and burning police cars. Words cannot express how upsetting this was. The fans should be respectful and shows some sportsmanship. The Vancouver Canucks have never won the Stanley Cup that doesn’t give them any reason to riot. Not only is it an embarrassment to the fans, it makes the National Hockey League look bad. In 2005 the NHL had a lockout because of dispute between the Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA. In the United States NFL, NBA, and MLB are the more popular sports. The NHL has had to work on marketing to get a greater fan base. Now everyone knows hockey is my favorite sport, the NHL doesn’t need fans rioting or other unsportsmanlike activities. This was unacceptable what the Canucks fans did!

Rainn Wilson made a comment, “Vancouver is now the Detroit of Canada.” This is a horrible analogy. Why compare the two cities? Detroit isn’t the only city that has had riots. I did graduate from Michigan State and will use the city of East Lansing as an example. When Michigan State won the national championship for basketball the students rioted around campus. My senior year of college in the spring Cedar Village celebrates CedarFest. That year students set fireworks on police cars and rioted. I actually went home that weekend because I knew the party would get broken up by the police anyway. If you look at past history many cities have had riots or other major incidents than just Detroit. I hate that people have this stereotype of Detroit being the most dangerous city in the world. Most recently, the most dangerous cities were polled in the United States and Camden, NJ was #1 on the list. Detroit was on the list. There are some parts of the city of Detroit that are not safe to walk around alone, it should be common sense that people should be aware of their surroundings at all times.

In 2008 the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins. Like most fans, I will always dislike Sidney Crosby. My reasons would take a whole blog entry on it’s own. In 2009, the Detroit Red Wings made it to the Stanley Cup finals and met a familiar foe, the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins won the cup that year and Detroit did NOT riot because they lost in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Detroit Red Wings fans would never do that ever!

I’m not happy with what Kilpatrick did to the city and I know in the 1960s there were riots but for different reasons. (that would just open another can of worms if I talked about that) I’m not excusing the city for that, but it wasn’t for losing in a sports event. In the 1980s the Detroit Tigers won the championship and fans did overly celebrate.

I have worked in Detroit since 2009 and haven’t had any problems. I’m still careful when I work there. The city of Detroit has a lot to offer. For the sports lovers: The Detroit Red Wings play at Joe Louis Arena, the Detroit Tigers play at Comerica Park, the Detroit Lions play at Ford Field, and Joe Louis fist historical landmark. Every year the North American International Auto Show is at Cobo Hall. For the gamblers there are a few casinos: Greektown, Motorcity, and MGM. For a good cultural experience there are plays at Detroit Opera House, The Second City, and Fox Theatre. For country music fans in May there is the Downtown Hoedown at Hart Plaza, it’s a three day concert that is free to the public. If someone just wanted to take a nice walk there is the Belle Isle Nature Zoo and Detroit RiverFrontWalk. There are a ton of places to explore and now that its summer I plan to hit the town. They have some great bars too. They have yoga in the park on Saturdays, I might head down a few times. I will always support Detroit.

Sports are entertainment and it’s for people to watch not take so seriously. To burn down a police car, destroy property, or hurt other fans because your team lost is pathetic. It’s not the end of the world if a team loses. There is always next season they can get another chance to win the championship.

It’s terrible to compare Detroit to Vancouver, they are different in so many ways. I know Detroit has it’s problems it will get better!

2011 SCF

The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup was 2003 (Montreal Canadiens won). This season Vancouver and Boston are facing off in the finals. Right now the Vancouver Canucks are leading the series 3-2 over the Boston Bruins. The Canucks are on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup. Vancouver has made it to the Stanley Cup finals before but have never won. Both teams have a Michigan born teammate: Ryan Kessler (VAN)from Livonia, MI and Tim Thomas (BOS) from Flint, MI. Ryan Kessler played collegiate hockey for The Ohio State University. Tim Thomas played for the University of Vermont during his collegiate years.

Game 1 and 2 went to Vancouver with a nail bitter ending. In Game 3, Rome did a dirty hit on Nathan Horton, he was taken off the ice by a stretcher. Horton will be out for the rest of the series, the NHL did suspend Rome for four games. This propelled the Bruins to an 8-1 win. Game 4 was 4-0 win and the Bruins tied the series 2-2. Game 5, the Canucks took the game 1-0.

Game 6 is on Monday June 13th at 8pm on NBC, CBC and RDS.

Stanley Cup Finals, History will be made!

After I finished finals I started putting in full time hours in again so I didn't have time to make a blog entry for Round 3. Vancouver beat San Jose 4-1 series. Boston and Tampa Bay will be playing Game 7 tonight at 8pm on versus. History will be made. Since the Red Wings are out of the playoffs I was hoping for Vancouver vs Tampa Bay Stanley Cup finals series. Vancouver beat San Jose so I can rest easier because the Sharks eliminated the Wings in Round 2. The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup was 1993 Montreal Canadiens. I'm rooting for Tampa Bay Lightning since former Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman is the GM for them. I'm just happy the Sharks will not win Stanley this year since they ousted the Wings in game 7. This year has been a great set of series, Game 7's, amazing goals, and great plays.

Stanley Cup Finals Schedule

Hockey Hall of Fame

For my birthday this year my parents and I took a mini vacation to Toronto, Ontario. We realized we haven’t been on a family vacation since my senior year of high school. In elementary my parents and I went to Toronto to see “The Lion King” at the Princess of Wales theatre. The seats were phenomenal and I loved the show!
I started researching hotels in the area for a reasonable price. I found a good deal on Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) website, HHOF plan included four tickets to HHOF, hotel room at Westin, and valet spot for one car in the parking garage. When we got to Toronto the room had an lake view of the harbour. Once we got settled in we walked around the city. Instead of eating at the hotel for dinner there was a restaurant right next to the HHOF building, Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill. The dinner was delicious. After we got back to the hotel they had a bar there too. The next day we checked out and went to the HHOF. It is located in the ground floor of Brookfield Place. I wore my Red Wings shirt and winter classic jersey. The HHOF was amazing, any hockey fan’s fantasy. The HHOF is divided up in sections: trophy room with the Stanley Cup, hockey around the world, slap shot challenge, inducted players, historic hockey memorabilia, and replica of Montreal Canadiens locker room. The exit of HHOF led to Spirit of Hockey store. I bought a few souvenirs and of course I took a ton of photos! Before we left we walked to Air Canada Centre where the Toronto Maple Leafs play. It was an amazing trip and worth the drive!

I’ve included links to HHOF website and photos I took.

HHOF website promos

Photos of HHOF

History will be made!

For round 2 of the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, Tampa Bay, Boston, Vancouver are advancing to the conference finals and one last series remains: Detroit vs. San Jose. The Red Wings got into a bind by going down 0-3 deficit in the series. My finals for spring semester were finally over and as a reward for myself I went to Game 4 with my dad where the Wings won 4-3 (Helm got the game winning goal). Game 5, the Wings came from behind and took another win from the Sharks. My father is amazing, he took me to Game 6 too where the Wings came from behind once again winning 3-1 (Filppula got the game winner and Helm secured the win with an empty netter).

The theme of the playoff is “History will be made”. Only a few teams have won a series being behind 0-3. Game 7 is all or nothing, win or go home. The Sharks will be home, the Wings do have a lot of playoff experience on their side. Either team could win. This year for all the series it has shown everyone the drama and excitement anyone could ask for. I know I’m biased, this playoff run tops any sport going on right now!

LET’S GO RED WINGS *CLAP *CLAP *CLAP *CLAP *CLAP

I hope the Wings win Game 7.

I made a sign for yesterday’s game that actually got on Fox Sports Detroit!!!

Round 2

Since I have finals next week, I have to make this short and sweet. My team swept the Phoenix Coyotes in Round 1 and got a well deserved rest. Franzen and Zetterberg should be back. I watched some of the other series games and were exciting. The San Jose Sharks beat the L.A. Kings and in the Eastern Conference Washington beat the New York Rangers. Chicago Blackhawks forced a Game 7, Vancouver Canucks prevailed. Tampa Bay Lightning came back to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins and forced a Game 7 (1-0 Lightning). Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens had a Game 7 and Bruins won. Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers had a Game 7 and the Flyers eliminated the Sabres. Hopefully the rest of the Stanley Cup playoffs continues to excite the fans and get more people into hockey! I posted a link of the full schedule for the Conference semifinals at the bottom.

I have to add LET'S GO RED WINGS *clap *clap *clap *clap *clap!!!!

#2 San Jose vs. #3 Detroit
Friday, April 29 at San Jose, 10:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
Sunday, May 1 at San Jose, 3:00 p.m. NBC, TSN
Wednesday, May 4 at Detroit, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS (JIP), TSN
Friday, May 6 at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
*Sunday, May 8 at San Jose, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
*Tuesday, May 10 at Detroit, TBD VERSUS, TSN
*Thursday, May 12 at San Jose, TBD VERSUS, TSN

*if necessary

2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Semifinals

NHL Playoffs!

The regular season for the NHL consists of 82 games. The regular season is important to get at least the 8th seed, but the important part of season is during the playoffs where it really matters. Each round a team has to be the first to win four games or they are out and most players go golfing or go home while the determined teams are still taking a shot at winning the infamous Stanley Cup!!! There are four rounds in the playoffs and so the magic number to win the Cup is 16 games. The 2010-2011 season just finished yesterday and NHL.com released the playoff schedule. I put a link at the bottom for anyone. I admit I'm biased and will always be rooting for the Detroit Red Wings, I have lived in Michigan almost all my life and was raised to love the team. I don't know who will win the cup and if the Wings are inconsistent they will be out early. Anything can happen, a top seed can be eliminated by a number 8 seed. As the playoffs progresses teams get ranked by whoever is the highest seed left and will play the lowest seed left.

I can say I have attended two playoff games in my life. It was expensive but worth the money! In 2008 I took my mom to the game, In 2009 I went with a friend and we had a letsgowings meetup during the warmups :)

I hope this year the games will be exciting and series worth watching. I have to end with LET'S GO RED WINGS *clap *clap *clap *clap *clap.

#3 Red Wings vs. #6 Coyotes
Wednesday, April 13 at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS
Saturday, April 16 at Detroit, 1:00 p.m. NBC (HD), CBC (HD)
Monday, April 18 at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS
Wednesday, April 20 at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS
*Friday, April 22 at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS
*Sunday, April 24 at Phoenix, TBD CBC (HD)
*Wednesday, April 27 at Detroit, TBD CBC (HD)
*if necessary

2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs Schedule