Back...

It's been a while... clean bill of health, a little time away and a renewed enthusiasm for this whole blog/podcast thing we do here. Quite the interesting summer for us fans of the Blue n Green. The new GM, departing players like Naslund and Morrison, Trev's retirement, some interesting new faces, the draft and of course the tragic death of Luc Bourdon. The latest is the Mats Sundin saga, being played out (ad nauseum...) as we await his decision a month since the free agency date of July 1st. There have been a million opinions on whether bringing in Mats Sundin is a good idea, from the press and the fans since it was first made public the Canucks were interested in bringing the former Leaf captain to Vancouver. There are some who decry the amount of the offer ($10 million a year for 2 years) while others are dragging out comparisons to Mark Messier. I suppose the thing that leaves me shaking my head (as any level-headed Canucks fan often finds themself doing) is the people who are already calling new GM Mike Gillis a failure, some because he didn't bring certain players to town, some for letting Naslund and Morrison go, some for the new talent he has acquired, and some still simply because he has no experience, so he is destined to fail. Why oh why must we have a fanbase so chock-full of morons??? For dawg's sakes people: Let the damn team he is trying to put together hit the ice and play some bloody hockey before pronouncing them D.O.A. And as for the pundits getting a jump on the myraid of predictions, placing the Canucks in last and destined to finish well out of a playoff spot, good. Keep it coming. This team will thrive as underdogs, and your press clippings will no doubt fuel them...

A bit of a buzz here in Victoria as the Tampa bay Lightning held their prospects camp in town, and it included the signing of #1 draft pick Steve Stamkos. The Lightning, with new co-owner Len Barrie have done a major overhaul, and it will be interesting to see if they've made the changes necessary to fix all the problems they had last year.

We will be updating the blog (watch for a facelift coming soon) and will be rolling out the first podcast after training camp begins. Watch for that and news on the return of Nucks Talk radio as well...

An announcement

I was hoping to have made a more rational comment on the season and the way it ended, but things have changed over the last few days, so... here we go. These two posts were made on another site, but I am mirroring them here:

07 Apr 2008

what am I supposed to say? Current mood: nauseated Hey. Remember me? Yeah, it’s been a long time. It seems like I hit a wall, and really struggled just to get through day to day life, let alone keep this podcast up and running. And it had been doing really well a year ago. Interviews, steady listenership. Couldn’t ask for much else. But it seemed like once the time between the last episode and what I had started for 18 grew, it became harder and harder to get back to it. Weeks passed, and I began feel like staying up past 9 pm was a challenge. Some days I felt fine, but others, well... I wondered if something was wrong. A cold that normally took a day or 2 to pass hung around longer. My asthma has become harder to control. December arrives, and we are preparing to return to Kamloops for Xmas. It’s very exciting, as we haven’t spent the holidays with family since moving to Victoria. The 21st is the day before we leave, and I am preparing to go out for my company Xmas party when my Dad calls. In mere minutes, my happiness is sent spiraling down a hole. He has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The doctors say they have caught it early, and expect him to make a complete recovery. But still, the word elicits such fear, that I was a wreck that night at the party, choosing not to drink, as I would quite easily lose control in the state I was in. Anyways, Dad is doing well, and currently on hormone therapy to prepare for radioactive implants. These tiny ’seeds’ will pinpoint the cancerous cells and treat them. It is far less invasive, and the side effects are far less troublesome. Since that day, he has been asking for me to go get tested. I turn 40 this year, so it’s something I should have probably already done anyways. Sure most sufferers are in their later years, but it is something you probably should for no other reason than piece of mind. I ha dcome down with another virus, so I requested the bloodwork to test my PSA (an indicator of trouble with the prostate), while I was there. This was Friday. Saturday I went to the bank, and upon my return, Laurie was waiting for me, pale and obviously upset about something. "The doctor’s office called," she said, "They want you to go in right away". The blood was pounding in my ears, as the realization of what I had suspected for a while now hit me. I have cancer. The doctor was, well blunt. Normal PSA levels are 2.5. Mine is 18. "This is more than likely an indicator that you have prostate cancer". Now there are things that can create a false positive. An enlarged prostate. Even not ejaculating in over 48 hours can skew the results. But even the most optimistic person in the world cannot look at 18 and go... "oh, you just didnt have sex for a couple days, that’s all." So now I wait. They have told me it could be at least 2 weeks until I can see the urologist. At that time I will undergo an ultrasound (to look at the small bump the doctor "thinks" he felt during his examination) and a biopsy. Then they will either deny or confirm that I do indeed have cancer. To say I am scared, even with the knowledge of how treatable this form of cancer is, is an understatement. I have just felt numb for the last couple days. Until I can see the urologist, I think that fear will remain. After that, the fight begins. I have far too much unfinished business in this life to check out early. Thank god (or whatever) for Laurie. She has been utterly heroic in trying not to let me see how scared she actually is. I know she is terrified, and having already lost her father, step-grandfather and a niece to the disease, she is prepared to help me beat this. oh, and guys? Go get checked. It’s utterly stupid not to.

09 Apr 2008

Irrational Fear, or How a 6 letter word can make you shit your pants... Perhaps this post won’t make much sense to you if you haven’t read the last one. So I will give you some time to go back and read it. It’s Ok. I’ll wait. Ok. It’s been an emotional time as you can imagine. You spend most of your time listening to people tell you about the cure rate, and how everything is going to be ok. And you can look at the numbers. It’s true, the number of cases of prostate cancer that make a full recovery are astounding. Very high 90’s for sure. But no matter how much data you look at. No matter how many friends and family send their love and support. No matter how positive you try to be, you cannot escape it. Cancer. What is it about the word that instills such fear. Well obviously there are other forms of cancer that are truly dreadful. My step-Grandfather passed from cancer of the spine a few years back. No symptoms, one night he felt something was wrong, got out of bed and collapsed. He was gone 3 weeks later, in agonizing pain for the remainder of his time here. It was devastating to the family. And yet, even though I know that what the doctors think they have found in me is like a paper cut compared to what he went through, I still cannot get the fear out of my head. I went to the store on Monday, thinking some fresh air would help. When I got there, I felt like everyone was looking at me. It was as though I could hear their thoughts, like that book the Chrysalids. Poor bastard... he has cancer. I know they weren’t looking at me. That’s crazy. But I felt like it, to the point of almost breaking down right in the middle of Fairways. It’s not right. Sure, the fear of cancer is justified. It doesn’t discriminate. It takes the young and the old. The rich and the poor. It takes people you love and admire. It never seems to take the truly evil, mind you... but that is for another blog i suppose. I do think part of it though is the media and the way it portrays cancer. Lumping it all into one pot, instead of looking at it from an individual basis. Prostate cancer is not the same as lung cancer. But it’s that 6 letter word that makes both seem so terrifying. Thank you to everyone who has contacted me with your thoughts and wishes. I truly appreciate it, and assure I will beat this. More to come...

So what does this mean? Hard to say yet. But I am not going to let this beat me... I will have some playoff comments soon, and keep you all up to date on any news with this.

That's a wrap...

I will have more to say about this in the coming days, I know I haven't been here much lately, I guess my enthusiasm waned a little bit. How could you not see this coming? I mean, I believe in this team, but at the same time this year they simply haven't gotten the big game performances from people they needed. I do want to touch on one thing. It's gonna make me unpopular I know, but I think Roberto Luongo was the biggest disappointment this year. Forget the defense. Forget Markus, or the Twins. When was the last time Roberto Luongo stole a game for the Canucks. I mean really absolutely stole it? So this means I also have lost the bet with my Flyers fan co-worker, and being the good sport I am, I will post the pics here as soon as I endure this brutal humiliation... oh and walk around town with a Flyers jersey on. The blog will continue throughout the playoffs, but the podcast is done for another season. Thank you to all of you who took the time to listen, and the Canucks.com people for linking us on the site. We truly appreciate you take 5 minutes out of your day to listen to what I have to say. When's the World Championships, anyways?

Do or Die: Canucks vs. Wild Gameday

To say that the last 3 games were a nightmare for the Vancouver Canucks is oversimplifying it. First they have a chance to move into 1st in the division, and outplay the Wild, but lose. Then, they have a 2-1 lead in the 3rd, take a bunch of dumb penalties and lose 3-2 to the Flames. And I am still not able to talk about the collapse we witnessed in the Colorado game. So now, once again without Brendan Morrison and now without Roberto Luongo, the Canucks head into Minnesota with a simple problem. Lose, and they can pretty much rule out a playoff berth. Win, and there is still hope. They had the situation fairly well in hand, controlling their own destiny. Now they are floundering, and may need help just to get in, to take on Detroit in the first round. Sometimes you have to wonder if it wouldnt be better to miss them than face the Wings. Gametime is at 5, and we will have a new podcast up soon with post game wrap up and a preview of Sunday's rematch against the Flames.

Minnesota 2 Canucks 1

Remember last year, when the losses came in games where we outplayed the opponent and deserved to win, but just didn't? Deja-vu eh? They outshot and outhit the Wild last night, but apart from Sami Salo's beauty point shot on a 3rd period power play, the Canucks didn't get the bounces last night, while the Wild did, especially on the opening goal. The thing that struck me last night was the lack of flow and emotion in the game. Very few scrums after the whistles, no fights. It was like they were playing a team from the East or something. Those of you "you can't blame the refs" people need to chill now. The calls in that game were mind boggling. Chris Simon initiates contact with Luongo twice, no call. Alex Burrows is steered into Backstrom, into the box. And when you add in that finishing your check is now a penalty, except when Derek Boogaard does it, well there's your lack of flow. Seriously, you could use a sundial to time how late Boogaard's hits were, yet no penalty time was given to that missing link on skates. Overall though, it was not a bad game from a hockey standpoint, just frustrating we didn't get a point out of it, and in the process dropped to 7th as the Flames now have the game in hand. I had promised pictures, but as is the case with every road trip we take, something always gets forgotten. The babysitter for our fabulous dog Ed (remind me to post a pic of his Canucks colored dog bed lol) bailed on us just as we were about to leave, pissing me off and making me forget to grab the camera. Sigh. But it was the only blemish on an otherwise awesome trip to the big city. Laurie's first Canucks game was memorable (though a certain Alex Burrows owes her a goal lol), and a trip to Scrape Records to pick up the re-release of Iron Maiden's Live After Death dvd will wrap it up nicely. New podcast coming when we get home, as well as a new Mass Hypnosis podcast...

Gameday: Canucks vs. Oilers

Game 74 for the Canucks sees them travelling to Edmonton to take on the Oilers, and it will be the first time the 2 teams have met since that fight-filled contest in February. The Oilers have quietly snuck up the standings to get within striking distance of the 9th place Nashville Predators, and are 5 behind the Canucks, Flames and Avalanche. Worst case scenario for the Oilers? Regulation loss to the Canucks and OT in the game between the Flames and Avs. Let's face it, that the Oilers clawed their way back to get this close is admirable. They have suffered through injuries as much as anyone in the league, and with hot & cold goaltending and a slew of youngsters the Oilers somehow have managed to not yet be eliminated from playoff contention. But they have about as much chance of making it as the Leafs do, it would take a big time hot streak and a lot of help. The Canucks are coming off big wins over Dallas and Phoenix, and would love to take another person off the long scoring drought list tonight. Henrik Sedin had a pair and Taylor Pyatt got his first in 20 games in the 3-1 win over the Coyotes. Only Daniel now remains on the list, but a couple assists against Phoenix shows he and his brother may be coming out of that funk at just the right time. As always, Roberto Luongo will start for the Canucks tonight, while considering his recent good play, Dwayne Roloson should get the nod for Edmonton. The Oilers have won 3 in a row and are 10-0-2 in their last 12, it makes for a good test for the Canucks. Expect Ryan Shannon back in the lineup tonight as Mason Raymond will be gone a minimum of 4 weeks after a 2nd degree MCL sprain in that knee on knee hit by Phoenix's Keith Ballard Monday night.

It's good to be back... and the podcasts will be returning on the weekend with post-game wrapup of the Friday night tilt against the Wild. We're gonna be at the game, and hope to have some good pics to post when we return.

Game preview: Canucks vs. Predators

Welcome to the Most Important Game Of The Year, part 67. The Canucks have lost 4 straight, and another loss could potentially kill their hopes of making the post-season. Ok, let's cut to the chase here. This team has been absolutely baffling since the trade deadline. Maybe it's a letdown because GM Dave Nonis wasn't able to land that Top 6 forward. Maybe it's because Coach Alain Vigneault separated Markus Naslund and the Sedins. Either way, the Canucks need to go at least 10-6 the rest of the way in order to get enough points to make the playoffs. It's not easy, especially with the majority of those games against teams with a plus .500 record, and a good chunk against teams from their own division. As if that weren't enough, Mattias Ohlund has bone chips in his knee that will see him out the rest of the week for sure, and possibly the rest of the regular season. Once again, Luc Bourdon has been called up from Manitoba to fill in, and you can expect Byron Ritchie and Mason Raymond back in the lineup against Nashville. The Preds have won 2 straight, but the 2 previous games before that saw them get blown out 8-4 and 6-3 by Buffalo and Dallas. Their most recent win was a 5-1 romp over Edmonton, so expect a rested and confident Nashville team tonight at GM Place. They are now 2 points up on the Canucks and sitting above us in 8th, so do you really have to be told how important this game is?
I expect the Preds to start Dan Ellis tonight, who has won back to back starts and has played well against the Canucks this season, while Chris Mason is winless in 3 career starts against the Canucks. Roberto Luongo will be looking for a strong defensive effort tonight and a little puck luck, as he and the Canucks have been getting killed by bad bounce goals all season long. Shutting down Jason Arnott will be key for the Canucks, Arnott has 5 points against Vancouver this season and 9 points in his last 6 games. J.P. Dumont has also been hot lately, with 4 and 4 in his last six contests.
Primary scoring will be front and center as the Canucks need Markus, Henrik and Daniel to play like the stars they are. Ryan Shannon has been hot lately, and hopefully we will see more impressive play from the youngster. And yet in all this doom and gloom, some bright spots (yeah, you knew it was coming). Here's one for all your Canuck bashing friends: Ask them to name the only team in the NHL this season who haven't lost 3 straight in regulation? Yup.

I may do more live-blogging tonight, if I feel up to it. Been struggling with the ol' asthma lately (which is why there is no podcast today).

Didn't we already hit rock bottom?

Having had a chance to finally look at the game (I didn't watch it live) I am very, very dismayed at the poor performance shown by this team. They were out of it from the get-go, and showed absolutely no interest in getting back into this game. I am finding it really hard to keep from reaching for that panic button and thus, making myself into another of the 98% of the CDC users right now. The problem is, everything that most of the posters you think are bandwagoners seem to be happening. The Sedins do look soft. Markus doesn't seem to have any heart. Bieksa does seem to be overrated. This team doesn't look like it can compete. They had an awful October, but their play over the last 2 1/2 games has been worse than anything I have seen (save for the game against the Flyers). There is a chance for redemption Tuesday against the Avs, but this team must treat every remaining game like it's the one that gets them into the playoffs. For me, there is no such thing as a bandwagon. I bleed blue & green. But being a fan sometimes means you have to accept things you don't want to happen. New podcast up tomorrow.

Pregame Blackhawks

Given the other results in the last 48 hours, the Canucks need a win to put some separation between themselves, Colorado and Nashville... Perhaps a nooner with the Blackhawks can jolt them into being a little more responsible in the final frame...
Canucks/Blackhawks gameday on WAACH

listen here

Are you kidding me???????

Those of you who have followed the podcasts, or the 11 of you that read my blog know that I am a pretty positive guy when it comes to this team. I don't overlook bad stuff, but I can always find a positive. Last night's collapse (the 2nd straight, I would add) is of the kind that can shake my faith in this team. This team's inability to clear the zone right now is gonna give me an ulcer. A night that should have seen us going "yeah, the D is intact and now we're ready to rock!" instead finds us wondering where the hell the Sedins have gone, why Willie Mitchell is unable to get the puck an extra 15 feet away from him and ultimately, is this team ready for the playoffs? The boys are in Chicago tomorrow at Noon pacific, check back for more on last night's disaster and the pregame show. Just a note, Dave-o from the Crazy Canucks and Canucks Outsider podcasts has a new episode up, with more about his unfortunate run-in with yours truly :)