My Bible Finally Arrived!

Not to be sacrilegious or anything like that , but when I came home from work Monday evening (in my sleekly delicious new car car), I opened the mailbox to see what had arrived.  Anticipation for someone my age is kinda like having the “little boy” still inside of us that we never out grow.  Thankfully!  As I reached inside to pull out the assortment of junk, bills and Chinese take out menu’s, a very wide smile came across my face.  It’s here!  A simple fist pump may have been seen by any neighbor that was watching.  Everyone has a Mrs. Kravitz on their street right?  I think I may be showing my age there, but Mrs. Kravitz was the nosey neighbor on “Bewitched”.

The Hockey News had finally showed up!  The Bible as I call it.  It was nice, fresh and glossy.  I had been a bit worried that our mailman might have been reading it over the past few days since there aren’t many hockey fans in our neighborhood, and I was most likely the only one with a Hockey News subscription.

I later skimmed through it as I usually do when it first arrives, looking over the many sections and stories that I’d enjoy reading over the next few days and months.  Stats.  Love stats, especially the minor league ones.  Also, looking at the predictions, the top 50 players, potential lines for the teams, and of course the prediction of the Stanley Cup Winner for the 2010-2011 season.

I was also pleased to see Captain Serious (or Marvel) Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks on the cover.  Well deserved and a much better photo to look at all season long, as last season’s issue with Cindy Crosby on the cover consisently layed faced down! A few things were a bit surprising, and a few things made me say, yea, I can see that.  However the one thing that made me think that this issue was made while the writers and editors where in a drunken stupor, was the prediction of the Stanley Cup winner.

Last season, the Hockey news predicted that the Philadelphia Flyers would win the Cup.  Not a bad choice I had said at the time.  The recent acquisition of Chris Pronger to bolster the defence and add some additional toughness made sense.  The only question mark I felt that that Flyer team had was in goal.  Which ultimately came to prove true, although Michael Leighton did have himself a nice run, let’s face it, if he were the starter from the beginning of the season, I don’t think they would have been in the Finals.

Anyway, that takes us to this years prediction.  I still can’t see it, and I still find it hard to believe, but the Hockey News has chosen the Vancouver Canucks as this season’s Stanley Cup winner.  HUH?  WHAT?  REALLY?  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Why do I feel that way? There is one reason that will prevent the Vancouver Canucks from winning the Cup this year.  It’s the same reason that has haunted the Flyers for years, and could haunt Vancouver as well. Yes, there are some issues that they might be able to overcome, but the most glaring and obvious one is goaltending.  Roberto SoLongo.  Bobby Lose.  Roberta, Mr. Seven.  Etc. etc.  Solongo and his 10 million dollar contract and the captaincy or non-captaincy drama, amongst his inability to win the “Big One” will keep the Canucks from being victorious.

Canuck fans may feel that Luongo is the chosen one, however I feel he is the “overrated one”.  Never before have I seen an athlete so drastically shoved down our throats as “The Man”.  He hasn’t won anything. He’s had three chances in the playoffs, and each time has come up short, twice by giving up seven goals in a game, and once for taking his eye off the play.  As an ex-Panther, it’s not that I don’t wish him well.  He was good while he was here, but he played with average to below average defenses in front of him.  In Vancouver he’s had better units, and still can’t get it done.  And trust me, the only reason he has a gold medal is because of the all-star team that played in front of him.  Canada won inspite of him, not because of him.

Get used to this  Canuckleheads:

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Cheers