A pink carrot...I'll explain shortly

I'm not lovin it...

You've all heard of the Madden curse on NFL players right? the same might be said for NHL goalies. Look at this years picks by the golden arches for their hockey promotion.











Vesa Toskala: Did the best he could with a lackluster defence in front of him, Leafs miss the playoffs.

Ray Emery: Never regained last season's form, couldn't make it to work on time and most likely done as a Senator, "well I don’t take responsibility for the team losing in the playoffs, I’ll tell you that much", Sens out in first round

Cristobal Huet: Traded by the Habs to the Capitals, out in the first round.

Roberto Luongo: Rumblings out of Vancouver that he wants out, Canucks miss the playoffs.

Martin Brodeur: A future hall of famer for sure but let a clown like Sean Avery throw him off his game, Devils out in the first round.

Marc-Andre Fleury: The Jury is still out on him, but for McDonald's sake they must be hoping the Penguins win the cup.

So to the other 105 NHL goalies out there, if Ronald McDonald comes knocking next year looking to get your face out there, pass it off to the backup and take a Big Mac with fries instead.

Sitting wayyyy up top...

Made the trek into Montreal last night for the Habs/Flyers game. This is what the view looks like from the Molson EX Zone, 10 rows from the rafters. It's non stop insanity and there were no cop cars burned after the game (The 10 cops for every 2 fans on the street might have had something to do with that).

What to do now that the Sens are out...

Now that the Sens season is over I've got all kinds of free time to wonder about useless crap during the playoffs.

Speaking of which, why does NHL hockey on TSN in HD look better then CBC? You would think the public broadcaster would spare no expense....maybe its all going to pay Don Cherry's salary so we can hear about how Canadian kids should go to bed with their sticks at night. It doesn't matter if it's on a plasma or LCD, TSN always looks smoother. The set design with Ron MacLean beats out the desk James Duthie sits behind (sorry JD, and you're a lousy golfer to play behind as well...see a post from last July for more on that!)

Is it just me or has anyone else's head exploded watching Kelly Hrudey doing his diagrams with all the arrows alongside Maclean? I've got quick thumbs on my blackberry but Hrudey looks like my neighbours kid playing his Wii when in front of that screen!

I hope the Habs beat the Bruins because I did grow up in Montreal and it would be cool (now that the Sens are out) to see them raise a Stanley Cup banner when they launch their 100th anniversary next fall. Then next June the cup can travel down the 417 (it's birthplace) providing the Senators:

1. Find a GM who hasn't opened a newspaper all year and takes Ray Emery...
2. Find a way to clone Volchenkov and Alfredsson!
3. Send Spezza and Heatley to one of those summer hockey camps where they learn how to put the little black round thing in the big wide open net...(how hard can it be from my laptop? says 33 year old Stu who scored 6 goals in 8 years of houseleague)
4. Hire a ball busting coach who isn't afraid of being a hard ass when needed (Pat Burns...)

PS - Win your way to see the Police at Scotiabank Place...keep listening to TGOR for details!

Stop blaming us, Lord Stanley and a new door..

What eats me most during the Sens struggles is hearing a few fans who "blame the media" when things are going bad. In today's Ottawa Citizen there was an article where a local blamed the media "If they had of been a little more positive on the radio, I feel it might have gotten the fans up a little bit."

Pardon me?

Did the media show up late for practise several times this season?
Did the media start the year 15-2 only to make it into the playoffs thanks to a Florida win?
Did the media cause the inconsistent breakdown on defense?

No, the media does it's job reporting those issues because fans want to know what's going on with their team. It's been an interesting season for the Senators and regardless how it ends there will be changes. There are some positives as well (see the media, does that too..) Brian Lee will most likely be a full time Senator come training camp along with fellow baby Sen, Nick Foligno who made the most of his opportunity last night. Despite a losing record Martin Gerber has been the Sens best player who has changed some opinions. I enjoy watching Spezza and Heatley in the regular season but when it matters most they haven't come through..yet. (sorry, was that too negative??)

Fans are fans and the same one's who rip Spezza one night for a bad giveaway are nominating him for the Hart trophy the next. Live and die with your team, through the good times and bad.

I'm still praying for a miracle and hope they can rally back from a 3-0 deficit. Based on the first period last night I would have put money on it. The problem is, hockey is a 60 minute game and the Sens have yet to play a one so far in this years playoffs.


This was our winner of tickets behind the Penguins bench.





This extreme hallway makeover is what the Sens players see when leaving the dressing room before hitting the ice.

The logo on the right is a new door that slides open.

Imagine one of these in your basement?

Poor Steven Tyler...

He had one too many Fenway Franks prior to the Red Sox home opener and threw up all over his jeans.

Cutting out of work for free stubs...

I'm pretty sure those that took part in the today's Sens car rally called in sick, but the playoffs are officially here and if your boss is a hockey fan they'll understand. (Easy for me to say, I work for a sports radio station) Now without much thought or analysis (Surprise, surprise!) I'm taking the Sens to win in 7 over the Penguins. There's enough expert opinions out there already on why the Sens won't make it past this round, so my prediction was made while wearing my Sens "homer hat".

Here's the top 3 winning entries from today's rally.



A tribute to Alfie...(come back soon!)

















Ever wonder what your kids do with all those Sens stickers?
















That's one bitchin Harley...

With honorable mention to this Ranchero.

Exactly how many drugs were involved in desigining this?

Never mind...It was from the 70's

Ottawa Senators 2008 playoff run....

The Senators car rally is back this Wed, we'll have tix to win behind the Penguins bench (1 hour prior to game time in the red zone) and just to remind you what last year was like, here's a 40 second snapshot from last year's run. (FYI - win playoff tix on TGOR as well)

Some new clubs...

In the previous post I wrote about the car show, this one is about the golf show at the OAC. The main reason you go to this is to:

1. Try new clubs (that you're wife won't let you buy) "What's wrong with the one's you have in the garage???" - says typical better half. Yah, and you need another purse!

2. Check out the golf resorts outside Ottawa that have set up a booth. These places really give you the song and dance about how good their greens are when all they really have to do is tell you the price and you're going to sign up with the fellas. Guys don't need details.

3. And the third reason to go to a golf show is to get out of the house.

Speaking of which, if you live in Ottawa you know about the 8000 tournaments in the city of every year. The Canadian Golf and Country Club hosts their fair share. New this year is the chance to drive the greens in style and support charity at the same time . Contact the course for more info. (I'm told by the owners of the Canadian that flipping this cart will cost slightly more then the usual $500)

Now, at first I thought this was a gag but the folks at Titleist have these new ball marker hats with your favorite NHL logo on the side. For some reason there were pleeeeenty of these available...

Yes...I shamelessly put my name in the photo so when it gets passed around the globe 2 million times some guy in Norway is going to say "Who the hell is Stuntman Stu?"

Speaking of shameless: Senators playoff tix coming to TGOR, stay tuned.

Some new cars....

Took in the car show at the Congress Centre this weekend and I can't wait for the new one to open up in a few years. The current location is cramped and while the names Honda, Volvo, and Toyota are nowhere to be found because of a lack of space, I'm told the show will move to Landsdowne for the next 2 years while the Congress Centre is torn down and rebuilt.

That said, walking around this years show with a 2 year old didn't give me a chance to put together a full report but here are a few that stood out for me:

I've never given the GRAND CHEROKEE a second look and thought, what the heck I'm here so why not sit inside. This SUV has the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in! It feels like you're sitting in a racecar and while I think the exterior styling is a little dated, it's obvious it was designed around the driver. Granted the model I sat in was 60k which is way too much for a trip to Farm Boy.















This is the Pontiac G8 which replaces the Grand Prix. Why do car execs always mess with what works. The Grand Prix has a long tradition and the G8 name badge might as well be on a Mazda. I wanted to sit inside the car and get a better look but the doors were locked! Hello car companies, the point of going to the show is to sit IN the vehicle. The car people will tell you that this is clever marketing because you'll want to go to the dealership for more information....















Remember the car company that gave us the Pony and Stellar back in the 80's?










Well Hyundai has grown up and has produced some decent vehicles in the last few years. The latest creation is the Genesis which might as well have a BMW or Lexus badge on the front but at much less. The only question is will a luxury car buyer go for one of these given the
name Hyundai on the front grill?















The folks at Volkswagen have entered the mid range crossover market with the Tiguan and if your wife won't drive a minivan (like mine) this could be an option. Look for prices in the 27-35k range.















Finally the one car I really wanted to see was the new Jaguar XF which (in my opinion) beats all of the North American cars when it comes to styling (with exception to the Cadillac CTS). Sadly the Jag was nowhere to be found. That said, if you're a car buff regardless if you're in the market for a new vehicle head down with the digital camera and dare to dream.

Fisher or Vermette

Senators, new daddy and other random thoughts..

Been off for a week getting used to having another little one around the house as my wife and I are parents for a second time. We had a baby girl last week and she takes after daddy in only one way.....She can out fart both me and her brother.

Thankfully my wife doesn't take part.

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS....FIRST ON THE SENATORS:
They blank the Canadiens only to follow it up with a stinker in Raleigh. After the Habs game Jason Spezza talked about how jacked up he gets playing in Montreal and how exciting it is. Memo to #19 and the rest of cast:

When heading into an arena against 2 former mates who have had the date circled on their calendar since they were shipped out of town, could you find it within you to get somewhat pumped for the game?

Now to be fair, I didn't see 2 seconds of Sunday's game but after listening to the show (TGOR) and reading the papers (in between diaper changing and early morning feedings) it seems that Corvo did most of the damage. I don't remember #7 getting any hat tricks as a Senator and if he's happy being anonymous in a non traditional hockey market well congrats Joe, you stuck it to Bryan Murray. I think it was Buzz this morning who said "Let's wait until the playoffs before we decide who got the better end of that deal" and he's right. Ask the New England Patriots now if losing a few in the regular season would have taken the sting out of losing the one that really matters.

PRONGER
So let me get this straight...first he gets nothing, then the league has another VHS copy of the game and then he gets 8 games? How does Colin Campbell do the math on this stuff. I've heard a few expert opinions on the issue and I'm still confused.

Chris Simon has been suspended 8 times gets 30 games
Chris Pronger has been suspended 8 times gets 8 games

The most common argument I hear is "You would take him on your team in a second" Sorry No, I wouldn't. I'll find a way to clone Chris Phillps 6 times before I ever take a selfish "star" player like Pronger.

YANKEES
As much as I despise the pin stripes (for no other reason but to antagonize Buzz) I think it was cool to see them give Billy Crystal a 60th birthday present and let him get one at bat at a spring training game. Baseball purists were crying foul how the Yankees should be taking spring training more seriously. Spring training highlights only make the network sportscast so you'll have something to get excited about when there's snow outside your window.

THE QUEENSWAY-CARLETON HOSPITAL
This was our second child born at the QCH and even though we went through it 2 years ago it was right back to square one for my wife and I. The nursing staff are truly amazing and do everything possible to make sure mom and baby are doing okay. If I could make one suggestion from the dad point of view, put up some LCD's in the rooms so we can watch TSN in HD while holding our new bundle of joy and watching hockey.

I'm kidding.
Go with Plasmas instead.

Happy St. Patrick's Day and if your co-worker shows up hungover, go get a tuna sandwich from the vending machine and put it on their desk. It will be the best $4 you ever spent.

Give me a break...

Interesting topic on the show this morning, no not about the Sens losing to the WORST team in the NHL, but about putting your own name on a hockey jersey. When I bought my Sens jersey I put “Stuntman” on the back with number 39. As I expected, the response was typical “that’s gay, only a loser puts his name on the back, what are you twelve?”.

Ask anyone with a Yashin Jersey if they still wear it? The way players are moved around in sports today what’s the point of spending the $$$ only to leave it in your closet after the player has left for more money somewhere else (#33 Chara).

Look around the rink next time and you’ll see plenty of Sens jerseys with a variety of names on the back. Wear your jersey, put whatever the heck you want on the back and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Screw you Steve Warne!

This is what happens when our webmaster is bored on a Friday:

Men vs Women

The main difference? We find this stuff funny and will email it to all our buddies:

Senators and Summer lovin, Shawville style....

Like you, I'm tired about talking about the Senators goaltending issue. The city is clearly divided on which one they like and our daily emails resemble the old "North Side vs South Side sucks" from Roughrider days. Everyone has a theory, has heard a rumor, has a story, seems to know what's going on inside the locker room and seen Emery get pulled over 9 times per day.

Enough, please.

All we can hope now is that Bryan Murray takes this team to the playoffs and attempt to regain last year's form. What they do in the post season is anybody's guess and while heavily favoured teams can crumble, teams like the Senators (regardless of all the drama this year) can somehow pull it together in time.

John Paddock is a good guy who made some mistakes, (dealing with the goaltenders, probably his biggest blunder) and while he never made for a good soundbite he deserves a polite thank you from Sens fans as opposed to the nasty kick in the ass that I've read on some emails. We all know coaches are hired to be fired, my only hope this time is that Bryan Murray announces the next one in mid July with a smile on his face because he just brought the Cup home to Shawville.

Remember William Hung from American Idol?

He had a little boy and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree:

NHL Trades 2008

After spending a good portion of family day reading the 27,356 blogs from every armchair GM on the net, I was going to throw in my opinion on what the Senators should do come NHL trade deadline day, until it hit me like a puck in the face.

What the heck is the Rogers Sportsnet logo supposed to be?

I know the cynics reading this are going to rush to the comment section of this blog and take the easy route of "another useless blog entry" but until someone can tell me what it means I remain forever confused.

Okay, back to my original thought about the Sens, and I have the answer on what they need.

Yes, the PA announcer knows all my friends....(or thinks he knows)

Here goes: Bryan Murray comes down (no....not to replace Paddock) and replays game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals complete with commercials (No PVR here) At the end of the game when Anaheim is going around the ice with Lord Stanley, Murray asks each player who was on the roster (which is pretty much the whole team) how they felt that night and what they would do to get back and win the darn thing. Then he turns the room over to Commodore and Stillman for their 2 cents, seeing how they've won 3 cups between them.

Think I'm crazy?

This team rolled out of the gate at the beginning of the season and thankfully put up amazing numbers or they would be fighting just to make the playoffs. The longtime veterans deserve to win the Cup if they're ready to sacrifice in the post season. Alfie, Phillips and Redden need to prove once and for all that this team not only has talent but can finally silence all the negative nillies who said it can't be done. If this is Wade's last year in Bytown, don't you think he'd want to go out in style with a Cup? He's worked his tail off his entire career, been the fans forever whipping boy and regardless of what you think about his current contract I know every single one of you would be loving the fact if "Reds" was holding a Cup over his head in early June.

Boys, fix it and bring Lord Stanley home.

The NHL draft is in Ottawa this year and how sweet would it be for the Sens to be Stanley Cup champs while the Leafs take the first overall pick?

Sens beat the Habs..6-1

Here's a behind the scenes look from Saturday's game...

Patriots and Giants....

I'm still in a state of shock....but full credit to the NY Giants for playing a heck of a game and winning Superbowl 42 against my Pats. Yes, Tom Brady has 3 rings but I bet when his career is over this will be what he remembers most. Then again, what the heck to do I know, I don't have any Superbowl rings.

For those of you who were stuck watching promos for the network I work for, here are the spots you missed ( http://www.myspace.com/superbowlads )

This was one of my favorites:

Another week in the books..

What a week on TGOR.

Looking back through my notes this week most of the conversation, no...all of the conversation was about Ray Emery. It wasn't a good week for Razor and we can only hope that he goes into Toronto tonight and beat the Leafs, otherwise Monday's show is going to be another "trade him, get rid of him, send him to the minors" all over again. In a true and perfect world the Sens will beat the Leafs 10-2 and the Patriots will win on Sunday and cover the spread.

Still on the Sens, Emery donated his $15,000 fine to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario on Friday. A PR move for sure, but I don't see the folks at CHEO complaining. Maybe every time Spezza turns the puck over he donates an XBOX with his NHL 2K8 game?

What confuses me and many Sens fans is how this team can go head to head with the Red Wings a few weeks ago and play a stinker like they did the other night against Boston. Give the Bruins credit, the played a good game and it's got to be difficult for the Sens to be without Alfie and Heatley but what happens if they both go down in the playoffs? Then again where would most teams be without their top 2 guys.

ON another topic, if you listen to us on a regular basis:

A. You already have a good sense of humor
B. You're probably missing late night TV
C. Like Dean Brown, your radio is broken and Team 1200 is the only station coming through

If you answered A and B, enjoy this clip from the Jimmy Kimmel show:

Pound of Flesh...

There seemed to be some debate after today’s show on why none of the Sens went after Steve Downie for his pre-season hit on Dean McAmmond. Buzz was the lone supporter of the “getting your pound of flesh” theory while Steve and I shared the opposite opinion. If you’ve ever played sports, regardless of the level there’s an animal instinct in all of us that wants payback for a dirty hit. I’ve been guilty of it in pick up hockey where a guy cross checked me and I wanted to hit him back just as hard on the next play. You know the deal, as you make your way back to the bench all you're thinking is “number 22 is mine next shift”. There’s 2 ways you deal with the Downie incident as an Ottawa Senator; Go out and play the game and try to win or spend 60 minutes on one kid who’s trying to make his mark in the NHL. I was just as mad as many Sens fans when I saw the Downie hit and that instinct in me wanted him to pay the price, but the guy got smacked with a 20 game suspension and life moves on. Some emailers this morning have questioned the Sens toughness and a few even said they would be first round exits from the playoffs. Really? I should get you to pick my Super 7 numbers from now on. There’s lots of passion in Sens country on this issue, but we're not that far removed from a similar “pound of flesh” story a few years ago and it reads “Bertuzzi on Moore”. I don’t really want to see Chris Neil on his way to court for a revenge attack anymore then you do. The Sens are without 2 main keys to their offense right now and trying to salvage what they can. Imagine going to your favorite restaurant for dinner where the head chef is sick and your regular server is off for the night. Chances are pretty good the experience won’t be as good as it was a few weeks ago. It’s a long season and what really matters is what happens in April, not mid January.

That said, keep listening to TGOR to win your way to the next home game, Jan 31^st against Boston.

Leafs...

This has found it's way into our email inbox a few hundred times, so it's my pleasure to pass it on....

Yzerman...

10:19.

That's the time on the scoreboard when the NHL off ice officials call up to the pressbox with the Senators starting lineup. I'm writing all the names down, rehearsing how I'm going to announce Schubert which is a great name to say because you can go long on the Schuuuuuuubert....

Then Nicklebacks Saturday Night's Alright for fighting is blasted through the rink and the anticipation of the night's matchup has the whole building pumped, including this PA announcer.

We just got word that Steve Yzerman is in fact waiting in the Wings (sorry, bad pun) and I'm about to introduce him to drop the puck for the ceremonial faceoff. Yzerman was inducted the night before along with Mike Nevesvary and Bob Rathwell at the Ottawa Sports Hall of fame dinner, which by the way started at 7 and was done at 9:15! A feat in itself, considering most events in the city that involve any type of speeches and a full meal end closer to 10. Yzerman stayed right till the end making sure every jersey was signed and every photo was taken.

Back to the game, and with three minutes to go, the familiar chunka, chunka, chunka is played which means the Sens starting lineup is coming up. I get through the names and my heart is practically pounding through my chest when I realize CBC is carrying the Yzerman tribute across the network, which means some hockey fan is Fort McMurray is going to hear my big yap. Why am I nervous? After all, I worked the Stanley Cup finals last year and this is a game in January.

Its Steve Yzerman that's why.

The crowd is going crazy during the video montage right before he's introduced and for a second it didn't feel like Ottawa. Watching his number 19 raised to the rafters in Detroit on TV last season I would have killed for the opportunity to announce something special like that. Tonight, I simply had a few lines about Steve and like the other 20,000 fans in the rink was thrilled to be apart of the ceremony.

Here's the clip, (fast forward to the 3:25 mark to watch)



The game lived up to the hype, and reminded Sens fans who have had their doubts (including me) that this hockey club can get it done against a Western equivalent. Now if they could only beat the Capitals!

More Sens tix this week on TGOR and a few chances to win your way into our Superbowl party - the big prize is a trip to Superbowl 42 in Arizona.

Thank you Ray...

Most of today's show was devoted to the Ray Emery fight at practice and the only thing that bothers me the most is the timing of the scrap. Ray, could you do this stuff during the last week of July when the topics on TGOR are a little lean? It's another chapter in the Emery soap opera and I don't have a problem with it as long as they win. The Sens play nine games before the All Star game, so if you need to punch me in the head to get motivated, well that's fine too. Sadly, Ray beating up the PA announcer won't get front page. Not that I'm looking past the Sabres game on Thursday, but Saturday's home game against Detroit should be a good one. If you are looking for something to do on Friday night and want to see Nepean's Steve Yzerman inducted in the Ottawa sports hall of fame, there's a handful of tickets left for the dinner Friday night at Scotiabank Place. (www.ottawasportshalloffame.com)

On another note, keep listening to win your way into our Superbowl party and Gold medal winner Claude Giroux joins us Wednesday morning at 8:30 (Jan 9th).

Farewell 2007...

When I look back at 2007 in about 30 years my biggest memory will most likely be the Senators Stanley Cup run. Not for the play of Daniel Alfredsson and company who stepped up their game, but for the way it captured the hearts of Sens fans from one end of the region to another. Now it wasn't the fairy tale ending we had hoped for, but for a few weeks this city finally broke the stereotype that the "boring government town" couldn't rise up to the challenge. If you experienced Sens mile, sat around a tv in your garage with neighbors or were one of the lucky ones who had tickets for games 3 and 4, you'll be able to share those memories for years to come. In a true and perfect world the Sens will make their way back to the finals this season (regardless which goaltender gets it done) and win it all. I can picture the interview with Ron Mclean and Alfie minutes after the win, something along the lines of "Daniel, you came so close last year and have spent your entire career as a Senator, can you describe what this must mean to you"....

Ahhh, dare to dream.

All the best in 2008. Well have even more Sens tickets to win every morning on TGOR. Hopefully that will be until June.