You take the good, you take the bad, take em both, and there you have. I got this news today. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great news, and like the song says, you take the good with the bad. I think it really ushers in a new era for the Bruins, but why can’t we just let the old guard ride off into the sunset? Hopefully Harry gets the same role as Tom Johnson, i.e., drinking and playing golf on the Cape.
Be GoonBlog’s Friend. Pretty Please?
Hello kids – Ref here to let you all know we’ve set up a GoonBlog MySpace profile. Now I know what some of you are thinking – “I’m not a 13 year old girl, so what the heck do I want with MySpace?” Since you asked, I’ll tell you. It’s the most popular of the social networking tools, and lots of real live celebrities and hockey players have their own profiles. As podcasts and interviews are going to be a focus for us in 2007, we figured we’d get on to the old bandwagon. So deal with it, buddies.
If you have a MySpace profile, please add us as a friend and we’ll do the same. There’s now a link to GoonBlog‘s in the top left navigation menu. Come on – We’ll be your best friend…
State of the Blog
The season is almost here boys. I have been putting on the foil, and I am ready to go. The Ref and I got pints last night, and came up with some beauty ideas for the site eh?
We are adding a countdown to opening night if we can figure out how the hell to add it.
We talked about doing a Podcast a month. The Ref comes from a nerdery so he got a little nerdy when explaining the popularity of podcasts, but it sounded like a cool idea.
We’d like to do some tough guy interviews. Here’s the tricky part. I have the ability to get close to some tough guys that I think would be willing to sit down with us and talk. Having said that, there are some guys I’d love to talk with that I have no idea how to contact. Anyone that could help steer us in the right direction, that would be cool for us and the site.
Finally. The T shirt update. These are coming. The Ref promised me last night they’d be ready for opening night. When we get them going, we’ll let you know. Hope everyone is having a great summer so far. Luckily, winter is just around the corner!
CHAMP Car Rumble
The fight in the pits between Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani in the CHAMP Car race in San Jose is the last straw. I need hockey season to start, and I need it now. I feel like Joel Goodsen in class right now. The clock is going backwards. There wasn’t much to the Tracy/Tagliani scrap, but you know you need it to be hockey season when you jump off the couch and yell, “Here they go!” Both guys are Canadian. I wonder if they can skate. Anyway, what are the rest of you guys doing to get over the Jones? I guess I could watch my Best of Boston fight tape again, but I am pretty sure MOL would leave. Can we please skip August, and go right to September? Please? Would anyone really miss August? No?
Speaking of Old School
The Ref’s post got me to looking around for some old school fight videos. Naturally, I went to You Tube. Any fight fan should be very familiar with this site by now. I found a dandy out there. The Grim Reaper is in there, as is Bob Probert. There is a great tilt where GB favorite Gordie Dwyer gets knocked senseless (win some lose some eh?) This video features an all time great one punch from Aaron Downey on Jesse Boulerice. Enjoy boys. Opening night is almost here.
A Time Capsule Full of Goons.
During the off-season it’s tough to sit down and find something to write about every day. Come to think of it, that’s a challenge for us even in the middle of the schedule – so now we’re really fucked. I found a prehistoric (1993) University of Chicago student goon site that I’m shocked is still live. With Domi’s recent retirement, and the tough-guy’s future threatened by new hockey rules, I thought the list would present a nostalgic look back at the state of thuggery in the NHL 13 years ago. How sweet it was:
1. Bob Probert– LW, Detroit Red Wings. “Probert, Probert, what a man; We see him, it’s slam-bam. Let’s go.” -D. Cherry Amassing 292 penalty minutes over the course of 80 games last year, Probert took on all challengers and usually stood tall at the end.
2. Marty McSorley– D, Pittsburgh Penguins. Although Probert is the better fighter, Marty has protected the biggest names in hockey (Wayne Gretzky last year, and Mario Lemieux this year) and led the league in penalty minutes last year with 399.
3. Tie (The Albanian Aggressor) Domi– RW, Winnipeg Jets. While his primary job is to protect teammate Teemu Selanne (Tay-MOO SEH-lahn-nay) from cheap shot artists, Domi finds time to play with his fellow goons, including a legendary bout with Probert last year (won by Probert needless to say), score 15 points, and rack up 344 penalty minutes in a mere 61 games.
4. Gino Odjick– LW, Vancouver Canucks. Pavel Bure doesn¹t need to worry about getting abused as long the 6¹3², 220-pound Odjick is around. Odjick had 370 penalty minutes in 75 games last season, and managed to up his offensive output to 17 points.
5. Stu Grimson– LW, Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Those opponents who sail into the pond this year and are tempted to make fowl comments about the Ducks, will think twice after Stu welcomes them with a brutal cross-check. While he Å’only¹ tallied 193 penalty minutes in 78 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Stu made up for it with an intense physical style of play, as well as a fiery temper which helped spark the team.
6. Jim McKenzie– LW, Hartford Whalers. As if frequent references to Bob and Doug McKenzie (beauty eh?) weren¹t enough, Jim is forced to play in one of the greatest pits of North America. This helps explain why Jim had 202 penalty minutes in only 64 games; while few of them were foolish penalties, he is obviously an angry young man.
7. Randy McKay– RW, New Jersey Devils. Randy has one of the better work ethics among the NHL¹s goons and it paid off last year, as he netted 11 goals and was the proud recipient of 206 penalty minutes.
8. Shane Churla– RW, Dallas Stars. It will be interesting to see if the warmer climate and supportive fans of Dallas will soften Shane, who has been used to playing in completely opposite conditions in Minnesota. Since the Stars have only changed cities, not divisions, Mr. Churla will still have to contend with Mr. Probert, and also gets a new rival in the form of one Tie Domi. Look for him to improve upon last year¹s totals of 286 penalty minutes in 73 games.
9. Mike Peluso– LW, New Jersey Devils. The Devils have one of the league¹s most fearsome goon lines, with Peluso (318 PM in 81 games) at left wing and McKay (see number 7) at right wing. Peluso scored 15 goals and dished out 10 assists last year, but these numbers may fall off, since he won¹t get the playing time in New Jersey that he got in Ottawa.
10. Paul Laus– D, Florida Panthers. This is Wango Wango¹s dark horse. Coming from the bowels of hockey (the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL), Paul has yet to play in the NHL but will surely rank among the goon elite. He racked up a whopping 427 penalty minutes in 76 games and 1,495 penalty minutes in his 6 years in the IHL.
So there you have it. Memory lane. How would this list look today, and are these sorts of players and positions truly becoming extinct? As the league heads into year 2 of the new NHL – is it going to get worse for our beloved goon?
Laraque Around the Clock.
MOL and I spent the past weekend up at her mother’s place on Little Sebago Lake in Maine. Not a shabby way to spend a weekend when it’s a frickin thousand out. As an added bonus, I have gone from her mom and I sizing each other up at center ice, to the Golden Boy. Seriously. I can do no wrong. It’s a new twist for me, and I dig it. We went on a couple of booze cruises, ate some steak, and enjoyed the water. A very nice weekend indeed.
After the cruise Friday night, we all sat down to watch the end of the shelling the Red Sox were taking at the hands of the Oakland A’s. They got killed, but the TV there is 103″ so it wasn’t all that bad. So during the 7th inning I think, up comes the Big Hurt himself. Mr. Frank Thomas. I always liked Frank Thomas. I am not sure why. He used to kill the ball, and seems like a decent enough guy. Back in his day, I can remember being terrified everytime he came up to the plate. This at bat was totally different though. There he was in his classic Frank Thomas stance, but it looked totally weird because of his uniform. For me, Frank Thomas was the White Sox. It was like living in bizarro world to see him in any other colors than black and white. It got me thinking about Georges Laraque.
This upcoming year it will be strange for me to see Laraque in a Coyotes uniform. I totally identify him as an Edmonton Oiler. It’s where he made his name, where he cut his teeth, and where he gained his reputation as the Heavyweight Champion of the NHL. From what I understand Laraque was willing to take less cash to stay in Edmonton but wanted a no trade clause in his contract. The Oil weren’t willing to give it to him, so he went to Phoenix. Let me say here, he would have looked awesome in the black and gold. Yet I digress. So let me ask you this. Is hockey going to become like baseball and football with players jumping all over the place due to the salary cap? I think it is inevitable. But with hockey players, it a bit different.
How does a guy like Laraque go from protecting the Oilers for years, to now protecting the Desert Dogs? I realize it’s his job and like any other job change you make adjustments. I am always curious about this kind of stuff. Is there a guy on the Oilers he always hated that he is going to absolutely run next year? Does he take it easy on friends? Does he fight friends just for fun? That is the part of the job these guys do that I find fascinating. I remember when Trevor Gillies fought Jeremy Yablonski in Worcester a couple of years ago. I missed it because I was at the bar, but I have heard several people say it was one of the best fights they have ever seen. I asked Trevor about it, and apparently he and Yabo are best friends. In fact, Trevor told me he called Yabo and told him they were fighting that night. Can you imagine that? It is one reason I love fights, and the enforcers of the world. They do what they can to help the team, and in this case, showcase what they can do to get to the next level. So I guess this October Georges Laraque will do what he always does. It’s just going to look strange to me him doing it in maroon and white. Did I mention he would have looked AWESOME in black and gold?
Orr, Purinton 2
Great tilt on Deadwood this week. Dority had no choice but to go with Captain Turner. Ask Georges Laraque, or Colton Orr if they would have backed down after being called out like Dan Dority was by Captain Turner. This scrap has been brewing for a long time. I am not sure if they ever fought in Junior or anything, but it was a heck of a fight.
It all started when Captain Turner called out Dority to Adams. It was like Brantt Myhres calling out Georges Laraque in preseason last year. Myhres went to the press about Laraque, and Laraque answered the bell. This time around, Dority had to get permission from Coach Swearengen before he could fight. Once he got the tap on the back from Coach, he hopped over the boards looking for his man.
After sizing each other up in the thoroughfare, the boys met in the middle. After an early lock up, Captain Turner got in a nice hard right hand. Dority tried to battle back, but Captain Turner played the fight well, and used Dority’s size against him. By keeping Dority off balance, and on the ice er, ground, Turner kept Dority from unleashing any hard punches. Dority did land a few, but I feel the early stages, and most of the fight was Captain Turner’s. When Captain Turner landed the headbutt, it then became an all bets are off tilt. Turner got Dority on the ground, and that’s when Dority went all Dale Purinton on his ass. With the most vicious eye gouge in the history of eye gouges, Dority turned the tide of the fight in his favor. While in the NHL, AHL, and any other league for that matter the eye gouge is a dishonest thing, in the 1800’s in the lawless Dakota Territory its fair game. Dority did what he had to do after being called out, and won the fight on some late round tricks. I’d like to see fights as spirited as this one was in the upcoming hockey season. Well, without the brutal murder at the end….
Free Agent Palooza ’06
Well, it’s been free agent signing period for a little over three hours, and the Bruins have yet to do anything stupid. We got that going for us, which is nice. I saw Tie Domi got bought out up in TO. I wonder if that is a commentary on enforcers being phased out in general, or are we talking about a veteran guy who has had the game pass him by? I think in Domi’s case it’s a little from Colum A, and a little from Colum B. In looking at the list of UFA’s out there, I see many a tough guy. Names like Trevor Gillies. Stephen Peat. Derek Boogard. Mitch Fritz. Normally in the past those four guys probably wouldn’t need to wait by the phone for offers. They are role players, and would be signed later on in the summer. Now, I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were any of them. It’s a pretty sad state of affairs if you think about it. We are seeing a dying breed of animal right before our eyes.
In matters unrelated, I am drinking an Orange Coolatta wit Tito’s vodka in it as I type this. Later, MOL and I are off to a BBQ, and beer pong party. Tomorrow, I am off to Portland for a couple of days, and back to work Thursday. I’ll pretty much be away from a computer, but will be keeping an eye on signings. If anything Earth shattering happens, I’ll be posting. Have a happy and safe 4th of July everyone. Please don’t let the Bruins sign Ed Belfour while I am away.
Bouchard Battles Jonathan, Buddy.
"EvanMLips" writes on YouTube: "Stan Jonathan gave away close to a foot in height to Pierre Bouchard – a mountain of a man from northern Quebec… It is quintessential Boston Bruins late-1970s hockey. Before Gary Bettman ruined the NHL, the Bruins/Canadiens rivalry was arguably on par with Red Sox/Yankees. I mean these two teams HATED each other. That’s what makes this clip great – it’s basically a microcosm of the rivalry."
I couldn’t have said it better myself. And while we’re quoting people from the comments on this clip, I found this one particularly precious: "NorthDino": "I am not a hockey fan, I am from the Hip Hop generation (where fists fights are common). One Word WOW. Someone please give me the background on this. All I know is dude in yellow/white is good w/both hands. Somebody help me out here." I’ll help you out, pal. Bouchard, in his prime, could have made the whole of the Wu Tang Clan piss themselves with one hand tied behind his back. But I should quit while I’m ahead, as I don’t want to offend your obviously terrifying generation. The best part is, this kid probably lives in Wisconson and up until a year ago was listening to Genesis.