I was all set to update you on stuff I missed this week, which was a lot by the way, when I opened my email and found this pile of shit. I really don’t even know what to say. Maybe if we stopped shielding kids from everything bad in the world they might actually have coping skills like the rest of us. Instead we tell kids that when a man stands up for another man because they believe in the same cause, he’s going to kill someone and must be stopped. The scary thing is, this guy’s kid could be running this country some day and he’ll have no idea what it’s like to fight to defend himself. Dennis Bonvie, we here at Goonblog love what you do, and we know why you do it. Thanks for the memories!
Let’s go Bruins! (Insert cricket sound here)
OK, listen I got married, went on my honeymoon, and when I got back started my new job. See, I got promoted, and I couldn’t tell anyone. I’ve been busy as hell trying to figure out exactly what it is I am supposed to be doing. I apologize for the delay. I think I got shit under control.or at least as under control as it’s getting.
The Bruins kick off their season tonight, and I will be the only person in New England watching, as the Sox are also playing. I’ve been drinking, so I’ll do semi live updates. Here is my preview of the B’s this year. They are going to suck. I say 15th in the conference, and if they were smart, they’d try to deal Chara to San Jose (15 million below the cap) and start all over. I am excited hey have Shawn Thornton, Jeremy Reich, and the new kid, Milan Lucic in the show. Hopefully they will be able to fight this season, as Disney Dave Lewis apparently had the cuffs on them last year. That’s typical of this organization though, look like a fool, then blame the old regime for failing, all while hiring some old school person to be the new face. Cam Neely, welcome. 35 minutes till puck drops. I’m going to get stinkin shitfaced on the bus.
1ST PERIOD
I love the Bruins new jerseys.
MOL and I are POUNDING Miller Liteand cookies.
I may get a Thornton jersey. I wore 22 for a while. Does that make me a meat slapper?
Did you know Chara lead the Bruins last season in PIM with 100? As an aside, he had 0 fighting majors. He’s the captain. Unacceptable.
Brick just said box.
I might be drunk.
Holy Shit! Chara hit someone!
Who knew Milan Lucic spoke English? Not MOL. Or me.
Sorry. I got distracted by wedding pics sent by Dave. Hilarious doesn’t even cover it.
Man on Man porking. That’s all I will say about Dave’s captions.
Back to hockey. Is this a preseason game? This is as exciting as paint drying.
1-0 Dallas. What the fuck Ward? Any chance you want to pick him up? No? OK fair enough.
Can we get a ruling on the puck over the glass penalty? Serious. Is it too hard to asses 2 minutes for on purpose, and no penalty for not on purpose?
OK, so the first period of the year is in the books. Per usual, the Bruins look terrible, and I am slightly drunk. Sox are up 2-0. I need to pee, and get some brew.
2nd Period
I like NESN’s clock until puck drop. This way I can watch the Indians and Yankees for 3 more minutes. It’s 2007 and we can’t figure out regional coverage?
Indians win. Go to the Sox.
Angels scored at the same time the Indians did. Weird.
Fuck it. Back to hockey.
Suddenly, it’s 3-2 Angels.
Back to hockey. For real this time.
5 count them 5 Bruins just watched Dallas score.
FIGHT!! Good time for it too. Bruins just go down by 2, and the Fridge and Shawn Thornton have a go off the face off.
Thornton’s first fight as a Bruin.pretty uneventful.
Another! Milan Lucic makes his debut against Brad Winchester!! Not bad by the rookie. Some hard punches thrown, and landed by Lucic. Nice balance. Good work. I am impressed.
Quick recap of the game after the fights. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Just texted Killer. He’s at the Sox.
You know, the Bruins lead the game in Shots on Goal, but I really do not think they’ve had any real scoring chances.
Killer’s reply: I’m drunk.
Me too.
FUUUUUUCK. 3-0 Dallas. Did you know the Bruins were 8-24 in 3 plus goal games? That means of the 41 games they lost last year, half of them were by more than 3 goals.
Mike Modano has never had a 100 point season? That is hard to believe.
I missed Andy Brickley.
Hey! It’s the Bruins first too many men on the ice penalty!! It’s finally hockey season!
OOOPS. That’s Dallas too many men. I forgot the Bruins got a new coach.
NICE!!!!!! Bergie!!! Excellent PP by Boston. Right spot there by Bergeron to put the rebound home. Nice goal.
Glen Metropolit sucks by the way.
Nice wrister by Kessel. You know he uses a Kid’s stick? Me neither. I guess he likes the whip, and its hairless ass.
End of 2. The Bruins played very well for 5 minutes. In the new NHL 2 goals is nothing. If you are good. We’ll see what the Bruins do here.
3rd Period
Nice piece on Mike Modano between periods. He went first overall in ’88. The Stars took Link Gaetz after him, to protect Mike Modano. They should have taken a lawyer after Gaetz to protect him.
Marc Savard has a rifle of a shot. He almost killed Marty Turco.
Manny Fernandez sucks. 4-1 Dallas. Trade him. Play Thomas, bring up Rask.
I’m so bored, I might switch to baseball.
If you dig whiskey, or bourbon, try Woodford Reserve.
10:00 minutes left. This is horrible.
I just got invited to Canada to help Dave bury prostitutes. Weird right?
Beloved Penguins got hammered 4-1 tonight.
7 minutes left in this snooze fest.
This seems like a good time to tell everyone, I am now a Manager. Scary right? Like, I have to motivate people now. I’m scared too.
I think I’d like to party with Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley.
Um. Milk in a bag? How are you supposed to look for missing kids eh?
That was awful, and boring with the exception of the 2 fights. Bruins picked up where they left off. Just terrible. See you in Phoenix tomorrow.
Weekly Wrap up Volume I
Here’s the idea I had. I think it’d be cool if Sunday evening before the late games start, I can do a Goonblog weekly wrap up. I’m thinking it can be some odds and ends stuff we on staff may have missed, or just some things on my mind. This week will be a little different because there aren’t any late games, but MOL is watching Desperate Housewives, so I pretty much have nothing better to do anyway.
The NHL regular season got underway with all the fanfare of a new Dunkin Donuts opening in Massachusetts. One day there was no Dunkin Donuts, the next, there was. They pop up so often around here no one notices anymore. My point being, the new season started and I bet if you asked 100 people, I’d say maybe 5 would know the season is underway. I have Center Ice once again, so I got Saturday’s game, and I found it to be a sloppy, Special Teams affair. I love the new NHL! Not. This just in NHL, in order to grow your product, you need to advertise, and make sure what you are selling doesn’t suck. Negative on both.
Saturday night I got my first live game of the season. MOL and I had a prior engagement. When our plans changed, I went to the Devils and Soundtigers pre season tilt in Lowell. It was a fairly decent game actually. We had decided we were not going to the Bruins on Sunday due to Thank You cards, and a visit with my mother, so I was especially happy to be in the building. There was even a fight which was a pretty good tilt. Does anyone know what is up with Gordie Dwyer and the Islanders? I saw he didn’t play today, or yesterday for them. I don’t think he played Friday night either. Was he released? Sent to Bridgeport? I didn’t see him in Lowell with the scratches, or on the ice. Any info would be appreciated.
Sunday I watched the nationally televised (if you can call VS. national) debut of NHL ’08. This game was equally sloppy, but at least we saw some even strength goals, and hey, there was even a fight. George Parros and Scott Thornton got into it in the second with the Ducks up big and Thornton trying to spark his Kings. Thornton I think won the battle, landing some very good punches. Parros landed a few of his own, and got the takedown, but I scored it for Thornton for more thrown and landed. Alas, the Ducks won the war winning 4-1. They are back on VS. Wednesday against the Red Wings, while the Kings are off until Saturday. I like the Kings. They have some young talent worth watching. They will be a West Coast favorite I feel. I also love the Ducks in your face style. I will keep tabs on them as well.
Finally we have the Steve Don’t Call Me Gord Downie issue. Frequent reader, poster, and Goonblog friend, Todd St. Louis sees it as a guy in the show trying to finish a check. I agree with him to a certain degree. Downie is a young guy trying to make a team, and to do so, he needs to finish checks. On the other hand, I feel he did a little more than finish a check there. He left his feet to do it, and hit a guy in the head hard enough to bounce him off the boards. I am 1000% sure he didn’t mean to hurt McAmmond, and has called to apologize, but it doesn’t change the fact he could have very seriously hurt Dean McAmmond.
Steve Downie has had a very rocky road to the NHL. The kid has a shit load of talent, and I see him as a Sean Avery type player. The type of guy that gets under your skin in a big way. Right now, he’s just trying to make the club and is doing whatever he thinks he needs to do to get on the NHL roster. When looking at it over and over, I think what he did was cheap, and is the wrong way to go about making the Team. There is finishing a check, and there is a cheap shot, and I think Downie laid a big cheap shot on Dean McAmmond. If and when he gets up to the NHL, I suggest he have his head on a swivel when facing the Senators. They will most assuredly be after this youngster.
So that’s the week that was. Off to the office tomorrow for my first day back in a week. I’m pumped. I hope you are picking up my sarcasm. Lots of games this week. Killer, bring the wings Friday for the Bruins, I got plenty of beer. We’ll need it for this edition of the Bruins.
Thanks Everyone
I would like to personally thank everyone for the well wishes, and words of support and encouragement you have given MOL and I. Saturday was a very emotional day for the both of us, and it means so much to us that everyone could be there and share the day with us. To the Goonsquad in attendance. Thanks for being there. We really could not have asked for a better day eh? I hope you boys got enough to eat and drink. Judging from the two posts while I was away, I’m guessing you did.
MOL and I had a fantastic time on our Honeymoon. We did the same thing every day. Wake up. Go to the beach. Eat lunch. Take a nap. Eat dinner. Go to Sharky’s. Go home. It was a great time just sitting on the beach reading the Hockey News, and doing nothing. I had never been to the Vineyard, but I will most assuredly be going back. The people are super friendly, and they all seem genuinely interested in making sure you are enjoying yourself. Excellent times to say the least.
So, now I am back with many wedding thank you cards to write. I am refreshed, and am looking forward to the puck dropping on Saturday at noon for the Ducks and Kings. I love the Ducks in your face game, and I think the Kings have some very entertaining youngsters on their roster. Plus, it’ll be awesome to see two West Coast teams play in East Coast time. I am also trying to get MOL to go to the Bruins game on Sunday against the Isles. My boy Gordie Dwyer has been scoring goals, and dropping the mitts so I’d love to see him in action.provided he doesn’t get sent downor releasedAnyway, good to be back boys! Killer and I have some stuff coming up for the season that will be fun and entertaining, and The Ref is always lurking, ready to chip in his two cents. Hell, we may even get Hammer to write something again?
No, Really, I’m Alive
Ok, so like, this is long overdue eh? To answer your question Red Thunder, I have not repeat, NOT kicked my Goon buddies to the curb. I promised an update on where the hell I’ve been at the end of August, and I have not delivered. For that, I apologize. Here’s a quick recap of why I haven’t.
For starters, my Sony piece of shit notebook decided that the copy of Vista Business that is loaded is not genuine. Well, considering I won it from the PC Reseller I work for, and I won it for selling a lot of Microsoft, from the Microsoft rep, I’m pretty fucking sure the copy of Vista is Genuine. As such the little fucker doesn’t work properly and I have been on the phone with Sony so many times, I know all about my support rep’s life. I finally got it straight, and here I am typing away on my piece of shit Sony Vaio. Quick tip. If you are looking at a notebook, stick with Lenovo. I miss my T60, and I am thinking of a way to get it back from MOL. I’m thinking jewelry and a straight up trade for this POS.
So, that’s the reason for the hold up. For once it’s not me being on a bender. Maybe I’m growing up? I know, I know. I couldn’t even type that with a straight face. Considering my absence hasn’t been entirely non bender, and crappy PC related, it was impossible to type with a straight face.
So, where have I been? Well, I had my bachelor party a couple of weeks ago. I’m told it was a lovely time. We went to the Paw Sox, and a couple of peelers. I remember being at the game, and I remember one of the peelers. The other? Not so much. I have been hearing all the stories about how I could not stand under my own power, and the second anyone took a hand off my shoulder, I started falling forward. I guess the boys made a game of it.as they should have. I do know I woke up in a bed by myself, and was hungover for two days. Great times. I really appreciate all the boys coming, and taking care of me when I was hammered.
MOL and I have been looking for a house too. So, on top of planning a wedding, working, and my general lack of sobriety, we are trying to find a place to live. We had an offer in on a place, but it fell through. We had another offer in on a place, and that fell through as well. For now, we will pull back until October 1 when we get back from the honeymoon.
Speaking of MOL, her bachelorette party was a couple of weeks ago. I dropped her off, and Rich and I went to a bar. We drank several pictures of Miller Lite, and watched a Red Sox no-no. Then we met up with a bunch of drunken girls in the city. He needed to get a lift back with his wife, and I was supposed to get MOL. Trouble is, they weren’t exactly ready to leave, so I ended up in the mix. Luckily one of the girls wasn’t drinking and was able to drive us all home. Good times.
We also managed a weekend up at the lake with Bobby. We went for a couple of boat rides, and drank a bunch of brew. Then we hit the town, and slept in a tent in the back of Bob’s truck. It was a great weekend too. So, that’s where I’ve been. I hope everyone had a great summer. I for one am psyched Camps open this week, because I need some hockey real bad. 13 days until I go pro boys. Wish me luck!
Alive
Dudes. I am alive. Very busy. I have much to share. Most of it non Goon related. I am going to the Lake to drink and fish this weekend, but I’ll be back Sunday. I will post some stuff then. I hope all is well. Hockey is almost here!
Farewell to a Favorite
For all you Lowell Devils fans out there (Insert Cricket Sound Here) I implore you all to circle January 23, 2008 on your calendars right now. When checking the AHL site today at 10:50 because they told us yesterday the schedule was coming out at 11, what can I say, I’m impatient, I saw Mr. Dennis Bonvie has decided to hang up the blades, and retire the axe after this season. I am not sure if anyone else gets as fired up for AHL schedule day as I do. But for me the summer looks like this.
1. Stanley Cup Awarded.
2. Depression.
3. Free Agency Begins.
4. Depression because the Bruins do nothing. Although they did sign Shawn Thornton this year. Then did nothing else. So, elation, then depression.
5. NHL Schedules come out. Glimmer of hope.
6. Starting to watch old game tapes.
7. Really need to see a fight.
8. AHL Schedules come out.
9. Training Camp.
10. Opening Night. All is right with the world.
Usually I pour over the schedule to see about Opening Night, and any possible road trips. This year, I was only looking for if and when WB Scranton was in the house. So, mark your calendars. January 23.
For me, Bones is the type of guy I want at every position. Dennis stands up for anyone, and everyone on the ice that is wearing the same color as him. Whether it’s a fight to get the boys and the crowd going, or a big hit in the corner. He does what is needed. He’ll keep you honest, and a lot of the times, he’ll keep you in stitches too. The man’s mouth is always running. I guess its part of what he does best. From him barking like a dog at Craig MacDonald, to asking if Jan Vodrazka had ever fought before, to telling Eric Staal he’d have gotten a bigger contract if he’d been able to finish, he’s always going. I haven’t seen Bones since he’s been in WB Scranton, and I am glad he’ll be making a final swing through the Paul this season.
Bonvie is a fan favorite wherever he goes. I am sure the Penguins fans will be out in force all over the AHL barns to see old number 27 off proper. I know that they have several special nights planned for Dennis in the home arena throughout the season, and I am planning on a trip down there. He definitely represents the old guard here in the American League as he’s been playing pro hockey for quite a few years now. The man is a one of a kind type of guy, and a sure Goonblog first ballot hall of famer. The Goonsquad would like to wish Dennis Bonvie all the best on the upcoming season, and success in whatever he decides to do after retiring from hockey. Good luck Dennis. We’ll see you on the 23rd.
Shoot, Pass, Punch
Dennis Bonvie once asked a penalty box attendant in Lowell if Jan Vodrazka had ever fought before. The two had just had a little dust up, and Vodrazka lead with his head. Thankfully for Jan, it was quick. Bonvie isn’t a huge man, but he’s been in a fight or two. Had it gone on longer, he may have really hurt Vodrazka. Maybe if he had a fight camp like Derek Boogaard’s he might have been able to defend himself a bit.
A lot has been made about the camp. The Hockey News obviously didn’t like it, and most news outlets decry it. We here at Goonblog love it. I have been to several hockey camps. We learned positional play, shooting and passing, but never punching. I have been in a fight or two on the ice. I won some, and lost some. Had I been at the Boogeyman’s camp, I might have fared better. You see, Boogaard isn’t teaching kids how to fight, he’s teaching kids how to fight properly.
Fighting is part of hockey. Ask Todd Fedoruk what happens when a fight goes wrong. He’s a trained professional, and got smoked twice this year. The Boogaard camp is teaching kids how to defend themselves so they don’t get seriously hurt. Ask Derek how eating sandwiches through a straw was because he didn’t know how to defend himself.
I would think with the new rules in the NHL, anyone that might even have remote chances, or wants to play in the NHL should go to this camp. We are seeing a group of players that have to be able to play as well as fight. Let me ask you this, if you are a young rookie and someone like Billy Guerin, a pretty tough customer, comes after you, wouldn’t it be nice to know you have a Boogaard Fight Camp T-Shirt on? Boogeyman, if you are reading this, send me your address, I’ll send you a Goonblog T as a thank you for the camp. Keep up the good work, critics be damned.
And Now For Something Completely Different
Let’s take a break from the Bruins bashing, to talk about two things this off season that have me fired up for October. After all, this is supposed to be Goonblog, not, What the Hell is wrong with the Bruins Blog.
1. Trevor Gillies is going to be in Albany. It was very obvious this Goonblog favorite had fallen out of favor with Coach Dineen in Portland. He was barely playing, and anytime he did get on the ice, Coach tore him a new one on his way back to the bench. To be honest, I don’t even remember the last time I saw Trevor fight. He was a scratch in Worcester this year, and no one on Lowell’s roster wants any part of him. I think it’s a great move by Trevor getting back into Carolina’s fold, and more specifically, Tom Rowe’s fold. Tom always loved the kid and tried to resign him before he got the Ranger’s deal. Rowe will let him do his thing, and try to teach him to play a bit too. I will make the trip to Albany for sure this year, especially because.
2. Ryan Flinn signed with Edmonton. Meaning, there is a good chance he’ll be in Springfield. Flinner is one of the most intimidating people I have ever seen. Though he is often injured, he brings the kind of presence to the ice you want from an enforcer. I am not sure what his chances of playing in the NHL are as I haven’t seen him in two years, so I can’t speak to his skill level. LA gave him a lot of chances, and he was hurt in a fight in the NHL. Minnesota didn’t call him up last year, and he was in Houston for the season so again, I don’t know where his skill is at. What I can tell you is that he is a fan favorite wherever he goes, and can chuck em with the best of them.
As an aside, I won Sony Vaio at the Office, and it came with 2007 Pro Pre Loaded. The operating system is Vista Business, and to say this thing is bad ass is a gross understatement. If you are in the market for a notebook, I suggest it highly. Now, the Bruins suck.that’s better.
See if you can whip up a shocked Face
OK, what is more shocking? The coroner finding steroids in Chris Benoit’s body or the Bruins trading Shean Donovan, for Peter Schaefer? OK, trick question. How does that conversation even get started? I mean serious. Has there ever in the history of trades been a more meaningless trade? Who started the trade talks? Seriously, if the other team wasn’t Ottawa does this even happen? 30 GM’s were having lunch today when a fax came over saying Donovan was available. 29 of them continued ordering a tuna on rye, while one said, oh, we have Peter Schaefer. He’ll be good to deal. This Bruins club is maddening. But in Ottawa’s defense, does Shean Donovan make them better? Is this the piece that could have won them the cup? Didn’t think so.