sidearm delivery

I'm a fag! I'm a fag! I quit the blog!

2007-10-11T16:36:00.001-04:00

Originally posted Aug. 17, 2007

I'm bumping this back up to the top again. I ended up posting a couple of frivolous posts after this one, but then I got sick of looking at them.

For a number of reasons, most of them about as small and pissy as you could imagine, I've decided to pull the sheet over this blog for now. I'm not planning on going away for good; I'll still keep reading all of the other blogs that I like, and it's a pretty good bet that I'll return with a different project (note: new project is now up) a few months down the road.

I'm going to keep this site like it is now indefinitely-- mostly for the sake of the archives and the outgoing links, so that people's Google searches and Technorati ratings don't get screwed up ('cuz Lord knows that's so damn important).

If you came here looking in particular for a story or a photo, like of a Russian player or some stupid band or some shit like that, just enter the search words you're looking for in the box next to the orange "B" up top, and whatever posts contain those words should pop up. Just no more "Sidney Crosby is gay" searches, or I'm gonna start crackin' skulls.

If you're new around here and want to get a look at what all the lack of fuss was about, I've compiled a sample mix of 20 or posts from the last few months of the blog, which you can browse by clicking here.

The March '07 archive is particularly awesome (that's dry humor, bub-- see what you missed?), so you can check that out if you want, also.

UPDATE - Can't Stop The Bleeding and Jerseys and Hockey Love had some nice words regarding my demise, and for that I thank them.

A note of explanation for our Canadian readers: Sometimes in Sick Teen, if Norb used a band photo after one of the guys in the band had quit, he'd draw a word balloon above that guy's head reading "I'm a fag! I'm a fag! I quit the band!" The above is not an original Norb word balloon, but my own slavish imitation.

EDIT 1/29/10 - And now Photobucket made me take it down! Ha ha!

this will be a ten well spent

2007-09-23T11:17:00.000-04:00

Photos from the Wolf Pack Blue-White scrimmage, 9/22/07

Matt Zaba: This kid could be good

Alex Bourret: Watching the tide roll away

Mitch Fritz: Who let the dog in?

Fedor Fedorov on pace to score 162 goals

2007-09-05T19:23:00.000-04:00

Fedor Fedorov (81) scoring one of his three goals against Omsk

When the news is this good, there's no way I can keep the blog shut down.

Fedor Fedorov made a sucessful return to the Russian Super League yesterday, scoring all three of his team's goals in Dynamo Moscow's 3-1 win over Avangard Omsk in their RSL season opener.

By maintaining his current three-goals-a-game pace over the rest of the RSL's 54-game regular season, Fedorov would end up scoring 162 goals. This would not only be a world record, but would also be way more than any damn Canadian ever scored, tough guy.

In the meantime, while we all wait for Fedor to score his next goal (most likely 20 games from now), check out Dynamo's fresh retro-look jerseys for this year:

Showing Johnny Kanook how it's done!

Flashbulb Nation

2007-09-02T17:24:00.000-04:00

Clay Buchholz' no-hitter at Fenway Park last night? Amazingly enough, I was there.

I've been close to seeing a no-hitter in person two times before, both in the minors: Mike Bertolli's late-season bid for the Waterbury Spirit against Elmira or somebody on a cold night in 2000, broken up in the 8th inning, and then some Orioles prospect throwing a near no-no for the Bowie Bay Sox against the New Haven Ravens one season, the details of which escape me entirely.

This was probably my sixth trip to Fenway, the last time being Game Three of the 2003 ALCS, when all hell broke loose and Pedro Martinez olé-d Don Zimmer face-first into the ground. The Fenway crowd has become a bit less baseball-savvy since then, unfortunately, not the least annoying of which is the literally hundreds of camera flashes popping off everytime the pitcher releases a pitch to David Ortiz-- as if the average camera flash is effective for more than 15 freakin' feet anyway, much less the distance between the outfield bleachers and home plate.

Then there was the playing of the God-forsaken Ass Bonanza over the stadium PA after Mike Lowell's RBI double in the sixth, but I'm willing to let choking dogs lie with that one.

Buchholz benefitted from a handful of checked-swing punchouts that could've gone the other way, but Baltimore has such a miserable team this year that after the crowd picked up on the no-hit bid in the fifth and sixth innings, it only seemed like a matter of time.

Yes, I took a picture of my tickets. What about it?

Connecticut's Eastern League teams were represented well in this game, with Coco Crisp (New Haven Ravens, '02) picking up the game-winning RBI, and Bobby Kielty (New Britain Rock Cats, '00) going 2-for-4.

One final note-- it seems a shame that Taxachussets drivers get the benefit of gas prices that are 20 cents per gallon cheaper than in Connecticut, since practically every car on the Mass Pike is a piece of crap anyway.

We now return you to our regularly-scheduled blog shutdown, already in progress.

Fedor Fedorov not Russian enough for some people

2007-08-16T20:22:00.000-04:00

There's been barely enough interesting Fedor Fedorov news lately-- except, that is, for a recent interview posted by sports.ru that in its introduction chides Fedor for not behaving Russian enough.

Complaining that Fedorov only gave brief and generic answers, "like an American athlete", the writer went on to say, "Both in his hairstyle and his manner of dress, as well as his accent, Fedor Fedorov more resembles an American than a Russian."*

Indeed, Fedorov spends most of the interview dodging any of the questions about his checkered past and his reputation as being difficult to work with, though he does say that (at the tender age 26) he's been reduced to fielding only two-way contract offers from NHL teams now, saying that in the past two years the NHL has become a league of well-paid star players and cheaply-paid prospects, with not much being left for the median veteran players in between.

Still no close-ups of Jamie Lundmark in a Dynamo jersey, though judging by the old jerseys the team was re-using at a recent scrimmage, I'm guessing that the '07-'08 models aren't in yet. Either that, or the team's been raiding Tapeleg's closet.

*Although some people would say that's a good thing

Swiss Lit

2007-08-14T21:30:00.000-04:00

Avoiding pink elephants, Darius Kasparaitis gets
hassled by pink balloons instead
With the opening of NHL training camps still a month away, the NY Rangers' Darius Kasparaitis and Artem Anisimov have been training with Swiss team Thurgau, according to the team's web site, as well as an item in Sport Express.

The Thurgau web site is a bit clumsy to navigate and doesn't seem to have individual links for their news stories, so I made record of the items using screen shots instead:

As you can see if you look closely enough, Thurgau was just routed by Avangard Omsk in an exhibition game, 9-2.

Also, if you scroll all the way down to the bottom of this article (from a Lithuanian site, dated Aug. 9th), you'll find a two-minute video clip of an interview with Kasparaitis in his native Lithuanian. Not very useful, I suppose, but I still found it interesting to watch, as it shows Kasparaitis (in a "Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers" jersey and Rangers hockey pants) skating at what appears to be a hockey clinic in his home country.

On The Outs

2007-08-13T22:15:00.000-04:00

Frankie O'Malley, The Safes (Photos: Brushback)
Sometimes a band isn't much more than the sum of their influences, and while The Safes tread dangerously close to that point, I'm willing to give them a pass on it for now. I'm thinking the titles they pick out for their CDs are pretty stupid, too, but I'm not sure that stupid CD titles are anything that anybody really cares about (lots of people still buy Bon Jovi records, right?).

From reading the press they get, you'd think The Safes are awash in British Invasion influences-- the band itself owns up to this to some degree-- but if there's a breadcrumb trail back to the likes of The Beatles and The Kinks, it probably owes itself more to the glossy production on their most recent album, "Well Well Well", than anything else. "Bad Blood" sounds like nothing if not T. Rex, sure, and the cleverly layered vocals on "Only In Your Mind" blow away anything the Posies ever tried; but like most of the songs on the record, I'm reminded more of stuff like Cobra Verde, or a bunch of other bands like the Figgs that seemingly only Mike Faloon likes.

The Switch: Patrick singing, Frankie on drums
Like the drumming duties, which the band covers during live shows by having Frankie and Patrick switch instruments mid-set, The Safes switch styles from album to album and even song to song as effortlessly as any other band since, well, maybe the Replacements. "Family Jewels", written pretty much entirely by Frankie, kicks off with one of the best snotty punk scorchers ever, "Not To Keep", before bouncing around like a modern-day "Hootenanny" or "Let It Be". "Boogie Woogie Rumble", the 2004 5-song EP released on both CD and red 10" vinyl and penned mostly by Michael, wouldn't sound at all out of place next to the Estrus or Crypt catalog, as far as I'm concerned (The Safes even contributed a credible version of "Annalisa" to the Devil Dogs tribute compilation
a few years back).

Trying to spot a "progression" in
the band's sound is probably
missing the point, anyway, since
the band claims they usually have
two or three albums' worth of
material written at any given time
and when it comes time to put
another record together, they just
pick whichever songs happen to
sound best alongside each other.
Patrick, who wrote and produced
"Well Well Well", was quoted
years ago in an interview
as saying, "I love the Beatles
as much as the Dead Kennedys
and I admire Motorhead as much
as I do the Bee Gees", and while
I can't give him any credit for
the first two, the last two
make The Safes more than fitting
for the upcoming Crooked
Hook/Names For Pebbles reunion
tour that I keep hearing about.

From "Family Jewels" (2003)

Not To Keep (listen)
Hook (listen)
Do You Apply (listen)

From "Boogie Woogie Rumble" (2004)

Mind Meltdown (listen)
Mental Wheelchair (listen)

From "Well Well Well" (2006)

Bad Blood (listen)
Phone Book Full Of Phonies (listen)
Only In Your Mind (listen)
Since Trust Went Bust (listen)

The back cover to "Boogie Woogie Rumble"
Click here to see a slideshow of some of my other Safes photos

Songs have reverted to listen-only files

Khimik Adds Ekman

2007-08-12T15:31:00.000-04:00

Nils Ekman

Russian Super League team Khimik Mytische announced today that they have signed Swedish forward Nils Ekman to a one-year deal. Ekman has already joined the team's training camp in Switzerland, skating with the team yesterday.

Ekman, twice a 20-goal scorer for the San Jose Sharks ('05-'06, '03-'04) who also scored 30 goals for the Hartford Wolf Pack in '02-'03, played in Pittsburgh last season, posting 15 points (6g, 9a) in 34 games.

UPDATE 8/14/07 11:15am - Now Sport Express is reporting that the LA Kings' Jamie Heward has signed with SKA-St. Petersburg. I'm tacking this onto a two-day-old post instead of making a whole new post about it because basically, I just don't feel like it, plus I'm kinda bored.

The Ten Highest-Paid Russian Super League Players

2007-08-12T13:32:00.000-04:00

Alexei Morozov, Ak Bars

Sport Daily recently posted an unofficial list of the top player salaries in the Russian Super League, including some interesting details along the way.

Kazan's top forward line of Morozov, Zinovjev, and Zaripov grabs the first three spots on the list, of course, with their salaries having nearly doubled over what they earned the previous season. Note that all three players together will "unoficially" earn a combined $10.5 million in '07-'08, even though the Russian Super League has a salary cap said to be in the neighborhood of $11 million per team. Obviously players in Russia are still being paid under the table some, and the Sports Daily article even makes mention of the Russian oil giant, Tatneft, pitching in with "additional financing" to support all three players' contracts.

For some reason, Oleg Tverdovsky and Stanislav Chistov are left off the list, even though both players recently signed with Salavat Yulayev Ufa for a reported $1.7 million each (the same dollar figure as teammates Perezhogin and Koltsov).

The Sport Daily article also notes that the first million dollar player in the Russian Super League was Maxim Sushinsky, back when he played for Avangard Omsk, and the contract that Evgeni Malkin left on the table when he bolted Magnitogorsk for Pittsburgh was worth $2.5 million.

The list:

Alexei Morozov, Ak Bars $4.0 million
Sergei Zinovjev, Ak Bars $3.5 million
Danis Zaripov, Ak Bars $3.0 million
Alexei Yashin, Lokomotiv $2.7 million
Alexander Perezhogin, Salavat Yulayev $1.7 million
Kiril Koltsov, Salavat Yulayev $1.7 million
Nikolai Kulemin, Metallurg Mg $1.3 million
Alexei Kalyuzhny, Avangard $1.2 million
Maxim Sushinsky, SKA-St. Petersburg $1.1 million
Vadim Yepanchintsev, CSKA-Moscow $1.0 million

Enter The Talisman

2007-08-10T23:22:00.000-04:00

From a long, long line of bearded nipple-headed freaks
The Russian Super League team Dynamo Moscow is holding a vote among its fans to select the next team talisman (a sort of mascot-type thingy, apparently), with the above heroic-looking gladiator dude being one of the candidates. Here are the other scintillating choices:

Tiger--

Wolf--

To participate in the voting, which is taking place from now until August 20th, go to the Dynamo home page and scroll down to this ballot, which is in the left-hand sidebar:

Bonk, Turd, or Borat?
Myself, I'm voting for the wolf that looks like Brett Hull. That fat-assed tiger needs to get himself into shape before stepping into the ring against this type of tough competition.

The biggest Dynamo news of the day-- broken here first hours ago, of course-- is that Jamie Lundmark's jersey number for Dynamo is going to be 71. The number is said to have absolutely no significance, much like Jamie's hockey career.

Alexei Lookin' Sexy

2007-08-08T20:46:00.000-04:00

Alexei Cherepanov
With the Russian Super League pre-season in full swing (opening date for the regular season is September 4th), I figured I'd post a few photos from some of the training camp activities so far.

That's not Alexei Cherepanov at the senior prom in the above photo, by the way; the photo was taken at Avangard Omsk's post-season awards banquet from a few weeks ago, where the Avangard players received their third-place medals for the 2006-07 season.

Alexei Cherepanov signing autographs

Avangard's RSL bronze medals

Maxim Sokolov arrives at Avangard's first practice in a driving rainstorm

Pavel Rosa: You can feel the love in this room

Alexei Cherepanov trying to bulk up, to no avail

If you want to turn into a pretzel, Cherepanov will spot you

The 'Return of The Century' sits on his butt at practice

Love those Lokomotiv practice jerseys...

'Coach says we all gotta carry Yashin's jock for him'

Alexei Yashin hits the ice
No photos of Jamie Lundmark in a Dynamo uniform yet, but believe me, as soon as I find one, I'm posting it.

Tverdovsky Digs Ufa

2007-08-06T23:31:00.000-04:00

Oleg Tverdovsky. Maybe he's building a house?

Salavat Yulayev Ufa team president Nikolai Kurapov told Sport Express earlier today that defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky has signed a contract with the team and will probably begin playing for Salavat Yulayev at an upcoming pre-season tournament in Togliatti. Kurapov declined to reveal any details of the deal, but hinted that it was for one season.

In two earlier interviews with Tverdovsky over the weekend-- one just as Tverdovsky was arriving at the airport in Russia, carrying all of his hockey equipment with him-- Tverdovsky told Sport Express that he hoped he and the Los Angeles Kings could terminate his contract "by mutual agreement."

Motioning to his equipment bags, Tverdovsky said, "As you can see, I have come here to play and to negotiate a contract." Tverdovsky then openly questioned the time he spent with the Kings organization, saying that he could find no common ground with the team and that he was better off playing in Russia.

UPDATE 8/7/07 - In an interview with Russian radio station Маяк, Sergei Isakov (Tverdovsky's agent) said Tverdovsky signed deal for "a minumum of three years." Tverdovsky himself, in another interview with Sport Express, says the term is for five years.

Top Five Songs, All-Time

2007-08-05T20:45:00.000-04:00

D-Lee of Red and Black Hockey has tagged me into putting up a "Five Favorite Songs" post. As Dave already points out in his own post (as well as listing a couple of gems, "God Only Knows" and "I Am The Cosmos"), taking every great song I've ever liked and whittling them down to just the five best is a near-impossible task. So, I'll try to do this with at least some sort of criteria: nothing too obvious, like AC/DC or Cheap Trick or anything like that, and no bands that had only one good song to begin with (which leaves out Busted Statues).

You can also click on the links to play the songs...

The Replacements, "Customer"
When I first started buying records, up through '82-'83, I had a lot of metal bands in my collection-- bands that sang about fighting demons and warlocks and banging chicks 'til the break of dawn and crap like that... shit that nobody does when they're 17. Then I heard The Replacements for the first time, and their songs were about hangin' around downtown, not having a car, or walking into the same store over and over because you had a crush on the girl that worked there-- you know, stuff that was happening to me everyday. It all changed for the better after that.

Big Star, "I Got Kinda Lost"
For some reason, I've never minded recordings that sounded crappy, as long as they still kicked. This is a demo track that has a fuck-up at the beginning, still has the studio separation (with the vocals on one side and the rest of the band on the other) that makes it almost unlistenable except through headphones, and at the end you can hear the engineer resignedly say, "It'll do." Still, instead of all of the beautiful recordings that Big Star has released, I think this grimed-up one's my favorite.

Scratch Acid, "She Said"
I interviewed David Yow when "Beserker" came out in 1987, and when I handed him a copy of my fanzine he just put it aside, saying that he didn't know how to read. I don't know if he was pulling my leg or not, but in any case, Scratch Acid is one of the top three bands that I saw multiple times back in the '80s (Government Issue and Breaking Circus are the other two), and this song wails.

The Modern Lovers, "She Cracked"
Not only is this a direct ancestor to Spoon, but I like how Jonathan Richman sings like he's mental sometimes: "I know these very nice girls from where I come... from, but theyyyyyyy get toughtotalk TO".

Weirdos, "We Got The Neutron Bomb"
The three best American punk singles of all time are this one b/w "Solitary Confinement", Gang Green's "Alcohol"/"Skate To Hell", and Last Rights' "Chunks"/"So Ends Our Night". It amazes me how thick and heavy the Weirdos sound on this one, compared to all of their other counterparts (Fear, DOA, etc) who were turning the guitars down in the studio and putting out flimsy records that sounded like crap.

Tagging: Greg from The Post-Pessimist Association, and Ingmar Bergman Shoots and Scores.

Gettin' It Up With Physics

2007-08-04T17:45:00.001-04:00

M.O.T.O. (Paul Caporino, r)

Besides the fact that Paul Caporino (M.O.T.O.) has been making brilliant little power-pop home recordings for more than a couple of decades now, besides the fact that I almost pressed a M.O.T.O. record once (the title of which I'm keeping to myself, since I plan to re-use it again someday), besides the fact that there just aren't enough lyrical references to the Steve Miller Band's lame '80s hit "Abracadabra" in today's music anymore-- it's practically a shame that M.O.T.O. isn't a household ~~word~~ acronym right now.

For one thing, whenever I play Paul's stuff for someone for the first time, they're usually like, "Holy crap, what the fuck is this?!? This is awesome!!" For another thing, M.O.T.O.'s probably the only band that I can say I first heard about through Bill Callahan of Smog (back when he was doing a fanzine called "Willpower"), and lent one of their tapes to Damian Pratt once. If that's not a ticket to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, then someone's counting the ballots wrong, which probably explains why shit like The Police and The Clash are already in there.

If you've never heard M.O.T.O. (aka Masters of the Obvious) before, think of a punked-out Cheap Trick, or try imagining what Spector-era Ramones could've sounded like if the production hadn't made the songs so underpowered. Or, you could kinda just download some of the songs I've posted here, which are from 2005's "Raw Power" CD.

The back cover to "Raw Power"

I'm going to skip over the first two songs, which aren't bad but aren't remarkable (at least by M.O.T.O. standards), and go straight to the Oi!-metal brilliance of "Metal Man". If the double kick drum solo at the end doesn't slay you, then it's not my fault your record collection sucks.

2-4-6-8 Rock 'n' Roll
Gonna Get Drunk Tonight
Metal Man (listen)
Getting It Up For Physics (listen)
Piano Jazz Radio
Primeval (listen)
All-Night Vivarin Jag
Deliver Deliver Deliver (listen)
I Can't Wait'll It's Over (listen)
Flipping You Off With Every Finger Of My Hand (listen)
Meet Me By The Flagpole
Let's Nail It To The Moon
Spent The Night On Me (listen)
Girl Girl Inhale

Home taping is killing the music industry

As a bonus, here's a couple of smash hits, both of which are also on the rockin' M.O.T.O. web site:

It Tastes Just Like A Milkshake (from "Jacuzzi For The Dead") (listen)
The Chicks Can Tell (from "Kill M.O.T.O.") (listen)

Red Wings' Markov negotiating with Salavat Yulayev

2007-08-03T13:37:00.000-04:00

Danny Markov

Having reportedly spurned a $2.5 million offer from the Detroit Red Wings, free agent defenseman Danny Markov is said to be weighing a hefty contract offer from Salavat Yulayev of the Russian Super League, according to the Russian site Sports Daily.

Salavat Yulayev's offer to Markov is said to be the same contract the team gave to Alexander Perezhogin and Kiril Koltsov-- $1.7 million, which as pre-tax dollars would equate to more than the $3 million Markov is said to be seeking from the Red Wings.

Stanislav Chistov Russian-Bound?

2007-08-01T21:19:00.000-04:00

Stanislav Chistov

Earlier today, Sport Express posted an item reporting that Boston Bruins forward Stanislav Chistov has all but signed with Salavat Yulayev Ufa.

The report says that, pending Chistov passing his physical, it is possible that the Russian Super League team will have Chistov signed as early as Thursday.

The Sport Express story notes that Salavat Yulayev managment has declined so far to comment on the potential signing, but quotes Chistov (picked 5th overall by Anaheim in 2001) as saying that he has been encouraged to sign with the team by Salavat Yulayev defenseman Kiril Koltsov, a friend of Chistov's and a former teammate with Avangard Omsk.

Down Here With The Rest of Us

2007-08-01T20:29:00.000-04:00

Social Distortion back in the old days

Saturday night was spent hanging out in Poughkeepsie, New York, a town that time forgot, and so did everyone else, apparently. The only reason I was there was to see Social Distortion at a club called The Chance with G12, who's a big Social D fan from way back (plus they were his tickets).

Poughkeepsie was weird, in that we were right on downtown Main Street at 6:30 on a Saturday (just a left and a right away from Malcolm X Park-- bonus points!), and there was no traffic to speak of and nothing was open. G12 and I had to walk almost 3 blocks just to find a deli open to get something to eat, and the owner told us that he usually doesn't even bother staying past 3:00 in the afternoon unless there's something going on downtown (like a cheese rolling, or a witch burning ceremony, or a sale on horse shoes, or whatever).

The Chance used to be called
Frivolous Sal's Last Chance Saloon,
but that was too many words to make
a decent-looking sign, I guess, so
the name got whittled down to The
Chance somewhere along the way
(check out the fancy sign now).
The entrance to the club is tucked
inside an alleyway between two
brick buildings, in that typical
tattered and run-down fashion that
almost always says, "Live music played here" (that, or "Hey, good place to leave that old mattress"). The joykilling fascists, man, that made up club security were taking away any cameras, otherwise I could've had a bunch of photos of the bands and the inside of the 95-year-old theater; because of that, none of the photos here are mine, by the way.

The band that opened up the show, The Heart Attacks, were awful; in fact, it's been so long since I've seen an opening band this shitty that I forgot all about the Knockout Drops. I mean, how did I know The Heart Attacks were going to do a Dead Boys cover, and it was going to be "Sonic Reducer"? (Doesn't anyone know any other Dead Boys songs?)

These guys really suck

Even funnier is when bands like this try to look like retro punk rockers, and they end up looking like a cross between HR Pufnstuff and Poison's "biker" phase instead.

The second band on the bill, The Hangmen, maybe weren't as awful, though they were no Live Skull, either. The only reason for anyone to come out on stage in a trucker hat and a cowboy shirt, singing a song called "Loners, Junkies, and Liquor Stores", is to make people laugh, and even if it didn't look it, I was laughing on the inside.

Mike Ness, Social Distortion

As for Social Distortion, they were way better than I expected they were gonna be, and I don't usually go for all-out rockstar bombast in a club setting unless Damien Pratt's involved (Rye Coalition excepted). It was after I discovered Flipside zine that I first started going to punk rock shows back in the '80s, so it was kinda cool to have a part of that early L.A. scene right in front of me, all of these years later. It's interesting to contrast the first band on the bill, with their Stiv Bators wanna-be thrift store look being the most punk thing about them, and Mike Ness, who has actual punk roots (distant as they might be) but plays dressed-down along with the rest of his band while decorating the stage like an Applebee's.

From the first and only Social Distortion record that I ever bought, 22 years ago:
Social Distortion, "1945"
Social Distortion, "Under My Thumb"

Pikkarainen Goes To Finland

2007-07-30T20:09:00.000-04:00

Hannu Pick-your-anus

Hannu Pikkarainen has returned to HIFK Helsinki, the Finnish team he's spent most of his pro career with (thanks to Pack Attack for the tip).

The question now is, how with the Wolf Pack replace this huge hole in their defense?

Fear The Dynamo

2007-07-29T20:43:00.000-04:00

To offset the shock of Dynamo's recent signing of world-class sissy Jamie Lundmark, which is enough to make anyone disavow themselves from anything Dynamo-related through the near future, I've decided to trot out mine and Mrs. Brushback's collection of Dynamo (pronounced dee-NAH-mo) Moscow game-worn hockey jerseys, and hopefully make myself feel a little bit better that way.

I bought most of these from the exceptionally honorable Alexander Brokhman ("abrom" on eBay), except for the '04-'05 jerseys and my '02-'03 Yeremeyev, which came from other sources.

Denis Kartsev (D) '04-'05 home jersey
Notes: Spent eleven seasons with Dynamo before moving on to Lada Togliatti

Andrei Skopintsev (F) '04-'05 home jersey
Notes: Skopintsev spent parts of three seasons in the NHL, most recently for the Atlanta Thrashers in '00-'01

Vitali Yeremeyev (G) '03-'04 away jersey
Notes: A former Wolf Pack/Rangers prospect, and currently one of the best goalies in the RSL

Vladislav Boulin (D) '03-'04 away jersey
Notes: Played in the AHL with Philadelphia and Hershey between '94-'97

Vitali Yeremeyev (G) '02-'03 away jersey
Notes: G12 has pointed out to me that this one's a little too short in the hem to be a gamer, and I can see what he means, but it does have the sponsors patches sewn onto it (which are applied only by the team), and the tell-tale scuffing on the left sleeve from the catching glove. I didn't get this direct from Alexander Brokhman, but from another dealer who sent along a Brokhman certificate of authenticity

Yuri Babenko (F) '02-'03 away jersey
Notes: Played for Hershey, AHL, '98-'02; appeared in 3 games for the Colorado Avalanche, '01-'02.

Vladimir Vorobiev (F) '03-'04 home jersey
Notes: Scored 132 points in 136 games over two seasons for the Wolf Pack, '97-'99

You'll notice that Dynamo used two jersey styles in '03-'04; they first tried to re-use their jersey design from the season before, with the slight change of adding sponsors logos on the back numbers; but in the interim, the Russian National Insurance Agency became the team's primary sponsor. The insurance company didn't think their winged logo (up near the collarbone) was displayed prominently enough, so the team had to change the design of the jersey to make the "Rosgosstrakh" logo front and center.

Oddly enough, Tapeleg of Jerseys and Hockey Love has the replacement version of Yuri Babenko's jersey from '03-'04, while I own Babenko's '02-'03 jersey.

Here's one more jersey that's not game-worn:

Vitali Yeremeyev '99-'00 replica home jersey

And, lastly, to keep up the Dynamo good cheer-- little Alexander Ovechkin and Vitali Yeremeyev Dynamo figurines (not mine, unfortunately):

Jamie Lundmark signs with Dynamo Moscow

2007-07-27T17:07:00.000-04:00

Jamie Lundmark

Link to announcement on Dynamo web site.

This is not a joke, though I almost wish it was.

Meanwhile, whomever guessed Jeff O'Neill should stay away from the dogtrack...

UPDATE 7:40pm -

G12's next jersey purchase
Through an incredible set of circumstances, I've managed to get ahold of this sound bite from Jamie Lundmark, at the press conference announcing his signing:

Click here to hear Lundmark's words

Closet Morneau

2007-07-26T23:38:00.000-04:00

Type 'new russian jersey' into eBay and you get a Bon Jovi CD

For my first post about the mysterious Brushback jersey closet, you'd probably expect me to pick out one of the Russian jerseys to talk about, or any of the Wolf Pack/Rangers jerseys, but I'm not. Just to be different (stupid, some might say), I'm going to post about the minor league baseball gameworns that I own.

New Britain Rock Cats ’97-’99 #35 Alan Mahaffey jersey
Alan Mahaffey was a left-handed starter who pitched in New Britain for three seasons, including the fabled '98 season when the Rock Cats made their first trip to the Eastern League finals. I bought this jersey at the New Britain Stadium team store, and like almost all minor league jerseys from that time, it was used for more than one season.

I don't know if they're still there now, but there used to be a bunch of old-timers who'd sit in the front row of the first base side bleachers at every Rock Cats game, and they knew the number of every player from the '98 team by heart. Whenever I'd walk past them with this jersey on, even three or four seasons later, one of them would invariably croak, "Hey, Alan!" or "Hey, Mahaffey!"

Two seasons after I bought it, current AL MVP Justin Morneau played his first full season in New Britain, wearing #35. Since home jerseys don't have names on their backs*, it made my #35 Mahaffey jersey look like a game-worn Morneau jersey, and I was able to walk around like a big shot.

Waterbury Spirit ’97-’00 #10 Mike Church jersey
Pitching coach Rich Gale also wore this jersey, as well as an outfielder whose name I've forgotten, but catcher Mike Church (from Cheshire, Ct.) was the last player who wore it, and he was also one of the better players in the team's short history.

When the Spirit closed up shop after the 2000 season, they put all of their jerseys up for sale for pretty cheap, so I was able to get this for only $50. I still remember the day I went to pick up the jersey at the team office inside Municipal Stadium, mostly because I felt kinda sad that the team wasn't going to be around anymore.

Bridgeport Bluefish ’00-’01 #29 Dave Swanson jersey

I bid on this jersey at a post-game silent auction, not actually thinking I'd win it. Apparently there weren't a lot of bids, so here it is-- a testament to my incredible bidding luck.

Another lefty pitcher, Dave Swanson's main claim to fame is that he was a throw-in in to trade that sent Bret Saberhagen from the Mets to the Colorado Rockies. Besides that, he's also a Ct. native and a former Waterbury Spirit player, which means he should practically be on the Municipal Stadium Wall of Fame right now, if it hasn't already been flooded by the Naugatuck River or plowed under to make room for another Dunkin' Donuts.

*Baseball jerseys are also 100% polyester-- there's no cotton on a baseball diamond!-- so remember that the next time you're tempted to buy one of those cotton t-shirts that only looks like a jersey.

J Skidmark

2007-07-24T21:18:00.000-04:00

This is it, folks: the oft-mentioned, but heretofore unseen, Jamie Lundmark-signed Wolf Pack souvenir Zamboni.

How much do you think this baby's worth on the open market? $10? $100? $1 million??

To be honest, I couldn't even begin to think of parting with such a precious artifact.

Oleg Saprykin close to signing with Salavat Yulayev

2007-07-24T14:41:00.000-04:00

Oleg Saprykin

Having rejected the Ottawa Senators' $1.064 million qualifying offer, Oleg Saprykin is close to signing with Salavat Yulayev of the Russian Super League, according to a quote from Saprykin's father that was posted by Soviet Sport earlier today.

Said father Dimitri, "My son has received a number of offers, from Florida and other NHL teams, but he has not signed a contract with any of them, and it is most likely that he will continue his career in Russia. We'll have a clearer picture by Friday, I think. Oleg is now training in Moscow. I will catch up with him by the end of the week, and possibly by then we will know what his new team will be."

According to the Soviet Sport article, Salavat confirmed that they are interested in Saprykin, but also said that an official announcement wouldn't come before Friday.

Saprykin, who tallied a career-high 15 goals last season, joined the Senators after a late-season trade with Phoenix. Saprykin scored the game-winning goal for Ottawa in Game One of the Eastern Conference finals against Buffalo.

UPDATE 7/25/07 - A report from Sport Express today says that Saprykin received interest from Dynamo and Salavat Yulayev, but he is going to sign with CSKA-Moscow, whom he played for during the '04-'05 lockout season.

UPDATE 7/26/07 - AllHockey.ru, referencing Sports Daily as a source, says that Salavat Yuleyev's offer to Saprykin is $1.3 million, while CSKA Moscow's offer is $1 million. However, Saprykin has already been skating informally with CSKA, and will probably sign with the team today after he meets with CSKA head coach Vyacheslav Bykov.

The report also says that Saprykin plans to only play in Russia for one season, and then return to the NHL.

Saprykin

UPDATE 7/30/07 - Saprykin signs with CSKA-- a three-year deal, surprisingly enough. In an interview with Soviet Sport, Saprykin claims he had contact with four NHL clubs, including Florida and the Rangers, but said in the end he was tired of the income tax structure and his decreased playing time ("9-10 minutes per game") in the NHL.

Bobcat Tailgate

2007-07-22T19:11:00.000-04:00

Two Cow Garage

Folks who're looking around for the next Replacements can keep on looking, but Columbus, OH's Two Cow Garage could already be the next Buckpets, though I'd be surprised if anyone's looking around for the next Buckpets.

On the other hand, if hoarse-shouted rockers, "heartfelt" ballads, and songs about drinking and "being tired of this town where all the faces look the same" all seem new to you, then you probably haven't already heard any of Two Cow Garage's obvious influences (Uncle Tupelo, early Soul Asylum, "Sticky Fingers" even). If that's the case, then having a condensed/Cliff Notes version of "indie rock" on your way to becoming a jaded motherfucker like the rest of us probably wouldn't be a bad thing, which means Two Cow Garage should be your next favorite band.

Despite any of their material's shortcomings, Two Cow Garage present a kick-ass live show, with bassist Shane Sweeney's between-songs wisecracks and Micah Schnabel's constant thrashing around and guitar-hero poses. On stage, Schnabel's a dead ringer for Dave Pirner, too, if Pirner sang like Bryan Adams, or Ryan Adams, or Jesse Malin, or any of those guys. Heck, I'll even bet that if someone shouted out "Summer of '69", Schnabel would even try to play it, instead of being a dick about it.

From "Please Turn The Gas Back On" (2002)

River (listen)
Found (listen)
Forget You (Try To) (listen)
Youngstown, The City Of (listen)

From "The Wall Against Our Back" (2004)

My Concern (listen)
Make It Out Alive (listen)
Burn In Hell (listen)

From "III" (2007)

Come Back To Shelby (listen)
Epitaph (listen)
Mediocre (listen)
Should've California (listen)

Songs have reverted to listen-only files

Ovechkin, Malkin might play in Russian pre-season tournament

2007-07-22T15:35:00.000-04:00

Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin at the 2007 WC in May

According to a report posted yesterday by the Russian site Sports Daily, Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Sergei Gonchar may chose to play together for SKA-St. Petersburg at a pre-season tournament in Russia next month.

The tournament, which is to take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, between August 1st - 6th, is being played in the memory of Russian Hockey Hall of Famer Nikolai Puchkov. Six Russian Super League teams are participating in the tournament this year: Ak Bars Kazan, Dynamo Moscow, Severstal Cherepovets, SKA-St. Petersburg, Sibir Novosibirsk, and HC MVD Moscow.

Ovechkin, Malkin, and Gonchar have already been skating together with SKA-St. Petersburg, as part of their training for the upcoming NHL season.

Flames' McLennan signs with Metallurg

2007-07-21T15:38:00.000-04:00

Jamie McLennan

Soviet Sport is reporting that Calgary Flames goalie Jamie McLennan has an agreement in principle on a one-year deal with Metallurg Magnitorgorsk of the Russian Super League, and will be finalizing the contract and joining Metallurg at their training camp in Germany within the next few days.

McLennan, who appeared in only 9 games as the Flames' back-up goalie last season, still has 4 games left to serve on a 5-game suspension that he was given for his slash of Red Wings forward Johan Frazen during the playoffs.

Oddly enough, last season's starting goalie for Metallurg, Travis Scott, was fined during the Russian Super League playoffs last season after taking a wack at Ak Bars forward Alexander Stepanov and then getting into a fight with Ak Bars goalie Mika Noronen.

UPDATE 7/25/07 - Metallurg officially announced the signing on their web site today.

Palffy Returns To The Ice, Signs With Skalica

2007-07-21T00:58:00.000-04:00

It was a couple of months ago that I first posted the news of Ziggy Palffy's plans to come out of retirement here, based on a Russian report; the report turned out to be correct (how about that?), and so now, thanks to the IIHF forums, I can pass along a link to Skalica's official announcement of Palffy's signing, as well as these photos from the press conference.

Well To Be Gone Once Too Often

2007-07-20T23:49:00.000-04:00

Craig Weller (Chris Rutsch photo)

Cleaning up on some Wolf Pack transactions from this week:

Team captain Craig Weller was given a one-year deal by the Phoenix Coyotes, where the general manager, Don Maloney, is the former Wolf Pack GM/Rangers assistant GM.

Hitchin' a ride in Colton Orr's eye

Also, ten-thousand-year-old defenseman Dale Purinton was signed by the Colorado Avalanche, and will probably end up playing for the Lake Erie Monsters, where he can sit around swapping old-age stories with the lake.

Dynamo might sign Jeff O'Neill, or somebody

2007-07-20T22:51:00.000-04:00

Not something I spent more than a few seconds on, obviously

According to allhockey.ru, Moscow Dynamo president Mikhail Golovkov recently had a heated back-and-forth exchange with some Canadian journalists from Radio Canada, who are touring Russia to do some filming for some upcoming Super Series/Winter Olympics broadcasts.

When pestered by the arrogant visiting Canadians (that's a joke, son) about the nearly-unchecked loss of Russian prospects to the NHL, in particular Dynamo's Alexander Ovechkin, Golovkov is said to have responded (in part):

"Furthermore, I know that many NHL players have received generous offers from Super League teams this season. Not all of them have agreed to come over, but the exodus has begun. I will say that as soon as next week, if the deal doesn't fall apart, we will sign one of the better players in your league to a contract."

Based on a set of clues Golovkov gave as to which NHL player it is that Dynamo might be negotiating with-- a forward, currently a free agent, drafted in the first round, not young but a veteran, not a superstar "like Crosby" but a decent enough player-- Soviet Sport is guessing that it's Jeff O'Neill.

Wow-- Fedor Fedorov and Jeff O'Neill on the same Dynamo team? I think my jersey closet's going to need a few more hangers...

We're Number Two or Three But We Don't Try Any Harder

2007-07-20T20:47:00.000-04:00

Male models Boris The Sprinkler

A few things that are fairly useless to know, but I'm putting 'em out there anyway:

1) Sick Teen was the greatest 'zine of the '80s, if not ever.
2) "Saucer To Saturn" is just about my favorite punk rock CD of the '90s.
3) If I'm not the only hockey blogger who owned an original copy of the Suburban Mutilation LP, then I feel sorry for that other guy.

I tried making a scan of the "Saucer to Saturn" lyric sheet, since it's always best to listen to Boris the Sprinkler when you can figure out the hysterical stuff that Rev. Norb is singing about, but CD booklets are a bit small and all I got was this somewhat unreadable blob. Tough luck, Schleprock.

The only other thing I have to offer is the review that ran in Brushback of "Saucer to Saturn", written in 1995:

This one's got more hits than the "Flashdance" soundtrack, plus it's almost twice as long*... Delivers the goods faster than Steve Howe serves up three-run homers. Includes the famous line, "My phone never rings and my life is a drag, I'm into punk rock and I throw like a fag," which has become somewhat of a motto around Brushback headquarters. Even funnier than that Bob and Doug McKenzie album that sold millions, but with three more actual songs.

Speaking of which-- I still have an original '95-vintage Boris The Sprinkler t-shirt, and here's a photo to prove it:

Now that's a shirt that gets chicks alright.

Ah, yes-- the CD (crank it up):

No I Don't Care About You Yeah (listen)
Worm (listen)
I Wanna Get To Third Base With You
Sidewalk Sidewalk Yeah Yeah Yeah
(Do You Wanna) Grilled Cheese? (listen)
(She Must Not Suspect) I Dig Her
Ejector Seat
Destination Saturn
4-Money
Screamin' Demon Martians Ridin' Go-Karts In My Head (listen)
I Object
Superball Eyes
Weird Tattoo
Goddamn Rollerbladers (listen)

*The fifteenth track on "Saucer to Saturn" is the entire 28-minute CD replayed again all the way through. Funny, ha ha.

Actually, one other thing I have is an interview that I did with Rev. Norb on the day after Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's record. Maybe someday I'll post it here...

Songs have reverted to listen-only files

Yashin Takes Hometown Discount

2007-07-20T19:35:00.000-04:00

Yashin only hopes that Judd Hirsch will stop stalking him now

Alexei Yashin settled for less money by signing with Lokomotiv Yaroslav, according to an interview posted only hours ago by Sport Express.

In the interview, Yashin revealed that every other offer he received was for more money, but said that he chose to sign with Lokomotiv for what Sport Express calls "a modest salary" because of family reasons, as well as his familiarity with the team and the area.

Yashin played for Lokomotiv during the 2004-05 lockout and considers Yaroslavl to be his second hockey home, mentioning by name several friends and former teammates (Ivan Tkachenko, Igor Ulanov, Dimitri Krastokin, and Dimitri Vlasenkov) that he looks forward to catching up with, adding that he's also looking forward to playing alongside goalie Semen Varlamov, "whom I've heard a lot about."

I'll Take That As A 'No'

2007-07-16T22:08:00.000-04:00

Semen Varlamov

Newly-signed Washington Caps goalie Semen "Simeon" Varlamov, in Soviet Sport on Friday:

"I have a contract with Lokomotiv for three more years, and I will play one more year in Yaroslavl. That is the agreement with Washington. My contract in the Super League allows me to leave for overseas after the following season, if I want. But first, I should have a good year with Lokomotiv." (Russian Prospects provides a translation of the full interview here.)

In a companion article to the Varlamov interview, Soviet Sport then spoke with Capitals' GM George McPhee, who said, "We'll agree if he wants to play for Lokomotiv this year. The Super League is a better place for Varlamov to work on his skills."

According to the article, McPhee then reacted "as if in shock" when the Soviet Sport reporter told him that Varlamov has three years to go on his contract with Lokomotiv.

McPhee said something to the effect of, "Is that true? That can't be true," then added, "From what we know from the press, most in Washington thought that Varlamov was a free agent after next year."

Soviet Sport also included the quote from Lokomotiv Yaroslavl GM Yuri Lukin, who said, "We agreed for next year that Semen will decide where he wants to continue his career. If he wants to play in the NHL, how are we to stop him? He'll just leave, as Malkin did."

UPDATE - Off-Wing Opinion covers all of this, including video, here.

Bob Scrotum Loves New Jersey

2007-07-15T21:58:00.000-04:00

Since nobody asked, but I'm feeling very helpful today, I'll mention that I just got back from a weekend trip to New Jersey. Some of the highlights of the trip were, as usual--

1) Driving past the big neon Dykes Lumber sign that's visible from the Saw Mill Parkway (I'm sure there's a very reasonable explanation for the name, it's just a funny thing to see at night while you're driving).

2) Visiting the nearby White Castle, where I set a new personal best of nine White Castles in one sitting. Not as if that's a lot, mind you, just that it's a lot for me.

3) Waiting at the light next to "Nu-Wave Kitchens" in Toms River and thinking of Yo La Tengo.

One of the other high points came while I was at the beach, and spotted a plane flying overhead towing one of those infamous "Bob Schroeder Loves New Jersey" banners (which explains the stupid title of this post).

Also, the Gin Blossoms were playing a couple of blocks away from where I was staying on the exact night I got there, but even if I had known about it beforehand, I still wouldn't have gone because I hate crowds. Especially big crowds that are running away from whatever shitty club the Gin Blossoms are playing at.

Anyway, it turns out while I was gone that I was getting bitched out for not keeping the blog up to date, I'll quickly note a few things that I might've covered at the end of the week and over the weekend had I not been away:

Ken Gernander becomes head coach of the Wolf Pack.
This is because Jim Schoenfeld is being moved to the Rangers assistant GM position, though he'll still be the Wolf Pack GM.

Dave Liffiton signs contract with Rangers?
Wolf Pack free-agent defenseman Dave Liffiton is listed on NHLSCAP.com as having a $495,000 contract with the Rangers for 2007-08.

The Minnesota Wild sign Metallurg Magnitogorsk goalie Anton Khudobin.
Khudobin once made 80 saves in a WHL playoff game. This makes two good young goalies that Russia could be losing to North America this year, on the heels of the Capitals signing Semen Varlamov-- who, as Greg of PPA first pointed out to me, is now being referred to as "Simeon" instead of his given name. Does this make Varlamov a "player to be named later"?

Alexandre Giroux moves on. Lawrence Nycholat stays put.
Two former Wolf Pack players, both deserving of an honest shot at cracking an NHL lineup on a regular basis. At least they didn't go to Europe.

AC/DC - Shot Down In Flames

2007-07-13T18:33:00.000-04:00

Fuck that weak hippie shit. For my money, AC/DC invented ROCK.

That's Such Great News

2007-07-13T16:15:00.000-04:00

News of Fedor Fedorov's arrival (only a few days late) at Dynamo Moscow training camp today was so big, it earned its own headline in Sport Express.

Meanwhile, I've only just now stumbled onto sometime-reader Wisp666's Fedor Fedorov page, which includes (among other things) a pictorial showing how he turned a Sergei Fedorov McFarlane into his own custom Fedor Fedorov Syracuse Crunch figure, right down to the same color gloves that Fedor wears and the sponsors' patches on the jersey:

I applaud his dedication, as well as his attention to detail.

Europe, NHL ratify new transfer agreement without Russia

2007-07-13T09:36:00.000-04:00

From the Associated Press this morning (via San Jose Mercury News):

ZURICH, Switzerland—The Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Slovakia, and Switzerland ratified a four-year transfer agreement between the International Ice Hockey Federation member associations and the NHL on Thursday.

As with the last four-year agreement, Russia refused to sign.

Highlights of the new agreement include:

—The deadline for signing players under contract is June 15.

—The NHL pays $200,000 per player, along with a basic development fee of $9 million.

—Players selected in the NHL draft can be signed until July 15, or until Aug. 15 in the year they are drafted. The NHL pays an additional fee of $100,000 for signing players in the later window between July 16 and Aug. 15.

By refusing to sign, the Russian federation risks losing its players for nothing.

NHL clubs are forbidden from acquiring players already under contract in Russia, but can take free agents without paying compensation.

Current labor laws in Russia allow players such as Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin to give their club little notice before terminating a contract, freeing them to sign with an NHL team. But a new amendment to the law is expected to be implemented soon, preventing players from escaping so quickly.*

*See: Russia Closes Two-Week Loophole, July 11

Atlanta's Mike Garnett signs with Khimik

2007-07-12T21:12:00.000-04:00

Mike Garnett

Sport Express is reporting that Atlanta Thrashers/Chicago Wolves goalie Mike Garnett has signed a one-year deal with Khimik of the Russian Super League.

The 24-year-old Garnett, a free agent who was not given a qualifying offer by Atlanta, spent all of last season with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, posting a 23-15-1 record with 2 shutouts in 42 games. Garnett's record in 24 games for Atlanta in '05-'06 was 10-7-4, with 2 shutouts.

Fog Bowl Revisited

2007-07-11T20:18:00.000-04:00

I bagged on going to see the Eastern League (Double-A) All-Star Game tonight in favor of watching it on TV, and that turns out to be a good thing, I guess-- it's raining steadily now where I live (about 30 miles west of Dodd Stadium), and the stadium itself is covered in a heavy fog that has already turned a first-inning ground ball back to the pitcher into a triple.

By the way, that heavy vertical line in the screen shot, above, isn't my TV; it's the upright for the netting behind home plate. Plus, I didn't bother switching the camera over from the monochrome setting I was using the night before.

Hey, it's "live blogging" at its finest!

UPDATE 9:05pm:

Russia Closes Two-Week Loophole

2007-07-11T19:21:00.000-04:00

Sergei Artyunian, Russian Hockey Federation

The Russian Hockey Federation is pushing through an amendment to the Russian Labor Code that will close the "two-week loophole" allowing an athlete (in this case, a hockey player) to terminate their contractural obligation to their team by giving two weeks' notice.

In an interview that was posted today by Soviet Sport and the Russian Hockey Federation web site, Sergei Arutyunian of the RHF explains that under the new law, which has been adopted as a first draft and will likely be voted on in its final form by October or November, any player who wishes to prematurely end their contract will have to reimburse the club up to 2/3rds of their income (including insurance and other compensation) from the previous 12 months. The amount of the settlement will likely be negotiable, and will apply the other way (early termination by teams of a player's contract, since Russia currently does not have a "buyout" system like the NHL does) as well.

According to Arutyunian, the new law, which also sets a 5-year limit to the length of any contract, is intended protect the rights of both the employees and the employers by "defining a clear legal framework for the relationship of sports organizations, clubs, and the employers on the one hand, and the athletes and coaches on the other."

Better Fedor Late Than Never

2007-07-10T23:19:00.000-04:00

Fedor Fedorov: Thanks to Alexei Yashin, I just saved a bundle on my car insurance

There was actually a bit Fedor Fedorov news that came out of Russia this week, although it was nothing major; just a couple of lines in Sport Express yesterday, explaining that visa problems have been holding Fedorov up, causing him to miss the first couple of days of training camp with Dynamo Moscow.

"Fedor is already in excellent shape and should be able to leave North America for Moscow on Wednesday (the 11th)," assures father Victor Fedorov.

Those seeking more substantial Fedor Fedorov news, despair not; since Fedor played in Sweden last season, I did some checking around on a couple of Swedish sites and found some previously undiscovered (by me, at least) news of some of Fedor's exploits with the Malmo Redhawks.

Mind you, this stuff is in Swedish, so I'm not 100% sure what all of it is about. The only person I even remotely know who is fluent in Swedish is Ingmar, and he seems a bit tied up right now.

First, I found a short little story about Fedor. Again, in Swedish, so I don't know what it contains, though I can figure out that "Superstjärnan Sergei Fedorovs lillebror" probably means "Superstar Sergei Fedorov's little brother", and "bra" probably does not mean "bra".

Uppvisning av Fedorov – skrämde kvalmotståndare
Next, here's a picture of Fedor being mobbed by his teammates (Fedor's wearing #81, all the way to the left), and they all seem happy to see him, so he must've done something good. Maybe he just happened to pass the puck for the first time, who knows.

Last, and this one's the biggie: it seems that Fedor's teammates are mobbing him in the photo above because Fedor just scored an amazing goal in a big post-season game-- I don't know how I missed this one. In any case, I found an article that describes all of Fedor's moves as he ~~puck-hogged~~ stick-handled his way the length of the ice to score the goal (click here to see the article). The article even includes a huge diagram to illustrate just how Fedor pulled it off:

Even better, here's the goal on YouTube:

Федор Федоров правила!!

German Team Withdraws Yashin Offer

2007-07-10T20:36:00.000-04:00

Alexei Yashin will have the roast duck with the mango salsa

An item was posted earlier today by the Russian site Sports Daily, citing "German press" sources, saying that the Hamburg Freezers (DEL) have withdrawn their contract offer to Alexei Yashin.

The contract offered by the German team is said to have been $8 million over three years, according to the Sports Daily report.

I briefly tried searching German news articles on my own and came up lacking, save for a seemingly farcical article posted on hockeyweb.de, dated a month ago, that scoffs at the Yashin-to-Freezers story as a prank ("Joke finds its way into press"): "That a player earning millions of dollars in the NHL would play for the Freezers... is the equivalent of a village football association announcing that they have acquired Ronaldo."

With yet another job opportunity apparently falling by the wayside, I think I have what could be the next career move for Alexei Yashin: spokesperson for GEICO.

So easy, even this guy can do it

After all, if he can get the Islanders to pick up two-thirds of the tab spread out over the next eight years, he can certainly figure out a way to save you money on your car insurance.

Yashin Knows Best

2007-07-09T23:04:00.000-04:00

Alexei Yashin and his hobby, ping pong (Photo: SportGuide.ru)

Despite James Mirtle's hilarious assertion to the contrary, Alexei Yashin seems to have a number of suitors for his services, though God only knows why.

The main item that seems to be driving all of the Yashin rumors lately is a Detroit News column from this past weekend. The article casually floats the names of several forwards that the Wings might be interested in, saying of Yashin, "The key is price. The Wings don't want to pay him more than $4 million."

Interestingly enough, if the Wings or any other team were to pay Yashin $4 million, I'm pretty sure that amount plus the installments the Islanders are paying him would just about equal his pre-buyout salary.

Mark Gandler, Yashin's agent, isn't spilling the beans; earlier today, he told Soviet Sport (careful with those racy photo ads, now), "All the rumors you have read about Yashin in the press are absolutely not true. There are only two people who can talk about the specifics of this situation: Yashin, and myself. We have not made any statements. I can only say now that we have some proposals we are discussing. I can also say that we are negotiating only with NHL teams right now."

Yashin, while not revealing his hand completely, is being a bit more forthright, judging by these answers that he gave in an interview that was posted today by Sport Express:

"It's not in the interests of myself or my agent to comment on this right now. However, since the Russian fans are interested in my situation, I will answer some questions briefly.

"I will say this: there are a large number of teams interested in my services. Detroit is certainly one of them. Until a contract is signed, though, I can give no details.

Not all of the teams are NHL clubs; a couple of interesting proposals, if not more, have come from Russian teams. There is interest from Germany, and from other Western European teams as well.

"The claim that I do not want to play for any Canadian teams (because of his holdout in Ottawa) is incorrect information. I do not have a problem in my relationship with any Canadian teams."

Ovechkin to start training in St. Petersburg

Alexander Ovechkin
Meanwhile, allhockey.ru passes along word that Alexander Ovechkin will begin training for the upcoming season in St. Petersburg, Russia-- "along with (Sergei) Gonchar, (Evgeni) Malkin, and (Victor) Kozlov," Ovechkin is quoted as saying.

When asked if he has yet to begin negotiations with the Capitals on a new contract, Ovechkin avoided the question by laughing and saying, "That's a small secret."

a carefully thought out bad idea

2007-07-09T19:59:00.000-04:00

Some just-goofin'-around photos I took last night of Cry Havoc!, a local Connecticut band:

It's been a while since I've brought a camera to a show, so take that into consideration...

Here are a couple of songs from Cry Havoc's EP, which is coming out soon, or just came out, or something.

Cry Havoc!, "Cry Havoc"
Cry Havoc!, "Dead Dead Dead Dead"

Anisimov: I would play for farm club

2007-07-08T17:13:00.000-04:00

Artem Anisimov (#12) skating in on Avangard goalie Alexander Fomichev

Artem Anisomov, who impressed Ken Gernander at the Rangers prospect camp a week ago ("Anisimov definitely has a nose for the net. With his skills, handwise and puckwise, he was a legitimate first round pick last year"), has signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the Rangers, according to some reports-- a transaction that has yet to be confirmed.

However, the Russian site Чемпионат.ру posted their preview today of this year's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team (the RSL team that Anisimov plays for), and the article includes an encouraging quote from Anisimov.

If and when Anismov does sign a contract with the Rangers, it seems like there'll be no problems with getting Anismov to come over right away:

Part of Anisimov's quote, in Russian

"I've dreamt about the NHL since childhood, and now I will try my hardest to get there. I expect to be able to show myself in the exhibition matches. It's my hope to make at least the third or fourth lines, but if not, I will accept playing for the farm team.

"In the meantime, I will spend the summer training with Lokomotiv, so I'll be able to return here to play if need be."

Calvin Griffith Can Kiss My Indiepunk Whiteboy Ass

2007-07-08T15:57:00.000-04:00

Someone on YouTube recently put up a ridiculously funny interview with the Replacements from 1984, taken from a low-budget public access-type TV show in Albany, NY, called "Real George's Back Room." I've transcribed some of the funnier parts, though you should also watch the video, which is a complete shambles.

Besides compiling their interviews onto video tapes and selling them through ads in Flipside, "Real George's" also had a crappy newsprint 'zine that you could pick up for free at various places around Albany. I never considered the TV show as being anything more than a joke back then (sorta like a more clueless version of "120 Minutes", yet even harder to watch), and after watching it again now, I'm reminded why.

Bob: Stop this mess-- they're fired, and I quit!
Paul: Dat is all the people need to know!
- -
Paul: If you'll notice, Bob hasn't shaved lately-- he's taken on the "rustler" look (Bob literally had shaved only one side of his face). Prince started it originally. The patch (of hair) on the right side of Bob's face, Sheila E. has on her left side, some.
- -
Interviewer: Minneapolis now seems to be taking the place of Athens and Akron as the big new American music cities...
Paul: You read that too, huh?
Interviewer: No, I made that up.
Paul: Oh, you're the one!
Bob: (pointing at interviewer's face) Can I pop that?
- -
Paul: There's a lot of good bands in Minneapolis-- Husker Du, Suburbs, Soul Asylum, and, um, Tickler... Tickler's real good.
- -
Interviewer: Even before Minneapolis became a big city-- (corrects himself) for music, it's been a big city for quite a while...
Paul: That was when Calvin Griffith moved, huh? (dead silence) Never mind...
- -
Paul: I can't mention any names, I can't remember any.
- -
Bob: I wanna be famous, but I'll enjoy being a star.

Cherepanov Spruces Up

2007-07-07T14:20:00.000-04:00

NY Rangers draft pick Alexei Cherepanov

The Russian site Sports Daily ran a short interview with Alexei Cherepanov today, during which Cherepanov discussed preparations for the upcoming Russian Super League season (Avangard's training camp opens in a few days, on July 10th). He also talked about settling into his new apartment, which his Russian team has just given him-- "I'm trying to fix it up nice. It's my first apartment, and I want to do things right." (Remember, Cherepanov is only 18 years old.)

Here's the rest of what Cherepanov had to say:

"I was very happy with the United States. New York is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I went to many places, including the team's training facility. I was very impressed. As for the results of the draft, basically, I'm satisfied. I'm figuring 17th isn't so bad.

"I'll be in Omsk at least another year anyway, so I wouldn't be going anywhere even if I were drafted higher. It's important that I get physically stronger, and help Avangard win the gold medal (1st place) in the Russian Super League. Last season we were eliminated by the eventual champion, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, but this year we'll try to bring the gold back to Omsk.

"I'm also looking forward to playing for the junior team at the World Junior Championships. We won the silver in January (the Russians have finished second at the U20 Worlds for three straight years), so next time we want to win gold. It's also a very strong desire of mine to make my debut on the Russian national team."

When asked about the 2014 Winter Olympics, to be hosted by Russia when Cherepanov is 25-- "the perfect age for a hockey player"-- Cherepanov replied, "You're right, and I certainly wouldn't like to miss out on playing in the Olympic Games in my home country. But it's a little early to think about that. I have seven years in front of me. But I have no doubt that the fact that the Olympics will be in Russia will mean that our national team will be playing only to win."

About Jaromir Jagr, Cherepanov says, "I followed him that season, when he came to Omsk to play during the lockout. To watch him play is a total pleasure. I hope someday to play at his level.

"I have already considered that my second season in the Russian Super League will be more difficult than the first, and I think I'm prepared for that. I realize that the other teams will defend against me differently now. To score 20 goals this year will be difficult, but I will try to get at least that many."

Don't Eat That It's Poison

2007-07-07T10:54:00.000-04:00

Kurt Bloch, Fastbacks

At one time I made it a point to own just about every Fastbacks record, but oddly enough, their short-burst CD EP, 1993's "Gone To The Moon", is one of the ones that sticks with me the most. The first three songs on this are all killer no filler, so that's what I'm including here.

Gone To The Moon (listen)
Go All The Way (Raspberries cover) (listen)
The Right Thing (listen)
Fanfare

Since three songs isn't much, here's another one of my favorites--

Space Station No. 5 (Montrose cover) (listen)

And, some original Montrose ("I Got The Fire") from 1974, which will seriously kick your ass:

All of which reminds me that I've gotta post some Bad Wizard here sometime soon...

Songs have reverted to listen-only files

Wolf Pack's Helminen Signs With Finnish Team That Has Funny Socks

2007-07-07T00:35:00.000-04:00

Check out the AHL Boards if you want more details...

Weed-B-Gone

2007-07-05T22:39:00.000-04:00

Degon, Urquhart, and Plekanec make a plethora of signings for Les Habitants

In news that should be of some interest to Wolf Pack fans, if not much for anyone else, the Montreal Canadiens today announced that they have signed former Pack defenseman Marvin "Gumby Legs" Degon to a one-year deal. The deal is said to be a two-way contract, a step up from the AHL deal that Degon had the year before.

With that, the Canadiens (read: Hamilton) get one of the Pack's more useful defensemen, who showed a booming shot and a knack for timely goals in his season-and-a-half in Hartford.

In other news, one of the Pack's less useful defenseman (last season, anyway), Bryce Lampman, was traded yesterday to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Mitch Fritz, who is quite possibly the most useless player on skates.

Lampman had already signed a deal to play in Finland a month ago, though the contract reportedly does have an out clause.

Fritz, meanwhile, complained to Tampa Bay management when receiving his qualifying offer recently that he wasn't being given a shot at the NHL. This is a player who can barely move on the ice, and was literally being given 3 or 4 shifts a night this past season playing for a last-place Springfield Falcons team that has been one of the worst teams in the AHL's recent history.

Mitch Fritz checking out his own underwear
Feaster went on to give this ringing endorsement:

"We tendered the QO to Fritz because he is an organizational asset and we were not prepared to release him without some form of compensation."

Pray we don't ever see Mitch Fritz play even one game in a Wolf Pack uniform, much less in the Rangers sweater that some HockeyTurds seem to think he's ready for, because it will be awful.

Tverdovsky wants to stay

2007-07-04T12:09:00.000-04:00

Oleg Tverdovsky

Oleg Tverdovsky has told Soviet Sport that he wants to finish off the remaining year of his contract with the Los Angeles Kings, with Tverdovsky's Russian agent, Sergei Isakov, saying that there is "only a two to three percent chance" of Tverdosky playing in the Russian Super League next season.

Tverdovsky has spent the past few days in Moscow negotiating with several Russian Super League teams, including Salavat Yulayev and SKA St. Petersburg, but has not been able to come up with a deal that is to his liking. Tverdovsky stands to make $2.5 million from the Kings next season.

Tverdovsky cleared waivers last February and was sent to the AHL and the Manchester Monarchs, where he was very productive, putting up 24 points (7g, 17a) in 28 games between the regular season and the playoffs.

Coyotes' Fischer being lured to Russia

2007-07-03T23:11:00.000-04:00

Phoenix Coyotes winger Patrick Fischer

Former Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Barry Smith, now the head coach and director of hockey operations for SKA-St. Petersburg in the Russian Super League, was quoted in Soviet Sport today as saying that he expects to sign Coyotes winger Patrick Fischer soon, in time for Fischer to join the team during their pre-season preparations in Finland taking place on July 12 - 23.

The 31-year old Fischer, an icon in his native Switzerland, played his rookie season in the NHL last year after signing a multi-year deal with Phoenix. As far as I can gather, his contract this season is a two-way deal in the neighborhood of $675,000. If what Barry Smith says is true, then presumably if Fischer doesn't think he'll make the Coyotes' NHL roster this season and will instead be sent to the minors, he would walk away from his North American contract and take SKA-St. Petersburgh's offer to play in Russia.

Smith went on to say in the Soviet Sport article that he is working on having a number of his former players in Phoenix join him in St. Petersburg. Presumably this won't include Enver Lisin, the former Coyotes prospect who yesterday signed with Khimik of the RSL. Lisin, who the Coyotes drafted in the second round of '04, was suspended by Phoenix last season after he refused an assignment to the AHL.

UPDATE 7/5/07 There are some additional comments from Smith in Sport Express today, regarding Fischer.

Says Smith:

"If it happens that Fischer doesn't make the Coyotes' NHL roster, then he would come over to Russia to play for SKA. It's possible that Fischer would join the team (SKA) even before NHL training camps open in September. At the very least, whether or not he'll be on our team could be decided before the end of the summer."

Pitch In For Pat

2007-07-02T20:09:00.000-04:00

Pat Neshek, Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins reliever Pat Neshek, the Official Pitcher of "Sidearm Delivery", is making a bid to be on the American League All-Star Team through Final Vote, which allows the fans to pick the last player chosen for each All-Star team.

Even though he's up against a bunch of bums from some crappy other teams, and thus should win easily, it still would be nice if everyone cast a vote for Pat using this ballot right here.

Seeing as how probably none of you voted for Lokomotiv's new bear mascot when I asked you to, I believe you all owe me one.

Thar She Blows

2007-07-02T19:45:00.000-04:00

The above is from TSN, "Canada's Sports Leader"...

As I've mentioned before, it's not like hockey is really all that big in Canada, anyway-- especially with those team names being so darn hard to remember.

(A tip of the cap to CalderCup0 for pointing this one out on the AHL Boards)

Disappointing Childhood Toy: The Pitchback

2007-07-01T20:47:00.000-04:00

Stupid piece of shit
Back when I was in Little League, like most kids around that age, I really wanted a pitchback. I'd see ads for them on TV, and they'd look pretty cool: Hey, you can play catch by yourself! You can work on new pitches and stuff, and build up your arm strength! You can throw pretend line drives to yourself, and dive to catch 'em like you're Graig Nettles or Rico Petrocelli! It looks awesome just sitting on your lawn!

What a sorry-ass hunk of crap it turned out to be, though. First of all, they cost about 30 bucks back then, so you knew once your parents bought you one, you weren't getting another toy for a very long time. On top of that, the netting was so soft that it had no action at all, meaning that if you threw at it from a pitching-rubber-to-the-plate type of distance, the ball would plop to the ground thirty feet in front of you. You had to stand right on top of the thing and wind the ball at it as hard as possible just to get a tepid little pop-up back in your direction.

Worst of all were the gaps between the netting and the frame, which were big enough for a baseball to pass through easily. Any off-center pitches would sail through the gaps, with the ball skipping away for you to run after it. Wasn't the reason you got the pitchback in the first place was so you wouldn't have to fetch the ball afterwards?

Then, half the time, the pitchback would just fall over, since it was made with all the stability of a window envelope. Who designed this pile of junk, anyway?

Eventually, you found out that you were better off going behind the school or any other concrete building that had empty parking lot, and throwing a baseball (or even a tennis ball) against the wall that way. In the meantime, the store that sold you the pitchback still had your parents' thirty bucks, and you were out on getting the Coleco Head-to-Head Football game or whatever else it was that you really wanted.

Darn it.
Life sucks, kid.

Suglobov: If you're not Ovechkin or Malkin, don't bother

2007-07-01T13:29:00.000-04:00

Aleksander Suglobov

Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Aleksander Suglobov (3 goals in 46 games between the AHL and NHL last season) thinks the odds of making it in the NHL were stacked against him, according to an interview he gave that was just posted on the Russian site Sports Daily.

Said Suglobov, "The reality is that if you're not a Malkin or an Ovechkin, it's going to be very hard to make the roster in the NHL. You have to go over there already being a well-known, coveted player.

"I remember my first year, when I didn't make the team in New Jersey. The next year they had already given the one open roster spot to Zach Parise, who had been drafted in the first round. It's pretty simple; if you're drafted in the first round, you'll be given a much better chance.

"It's possible that there is a bias towards foreigners, but I wouldn't say that they're out to get us. I was treated very well. I hadn't even gotten to Toronto, and the press was already going crazy. They knew me on the street before I had even played in my first game."

Suglobov says that his struggles this past season in Toronto started when he injured his back in November, and that by the time he was able to make it back to the ice, there were other younger players on the team who had moved ahead of him. Suglobov also said that he had a good relationship with Maple Leafs head coach Paul Maurice, who he had worked with the season before when Maurice was coaching the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs' affiliate in the AHL.

Suglobov added that "Canadians are much more fun than Americans", although he complained about one Canadian player (not mentioned by name) who came over for dinner, and "began to wander around the house without warning, opening the refrigerator, walking in and out of the rooms... Russians are brought up to know better. Canadians, for some reason, think that just because they're your contemporary, they can be rude like this."

I guess it's a good thing that I've never visited Suglobov's house, cuz that's kinda what I do, too.

You're Soaking In It

2007-06-30T21:04:00.000-04:00

Clifton Mann and Ron Liberti of Pipe

Pipe are one of those bands that maybe the rest of the world didn't get around to appreciating as much as I thought they should've, but that's okay. Coming out of the prolific Chapel Hill, NC, scene of the 90's that saw them swapping members with Superchunk and Small 23 (among others), Pipe hammered out a legacy through their coupla handfuls of singles and albums-- including one of the greatest punk rock singles of all time (with a baseball picture sleeve and a Replacements cover on the flip; how can you beat that?)-- that's tough to overlook.

On the short list of bands (along with the New Bomb Turks, Kepone, etc) whose songs could be tight and well-crafted and still sound sloppy and punk rock at the same time, Pipe's most memorable attribute seems to be the paint-scraping vocals of Ron Liberti (see also: The Ghost of Rock). It isn't too hard to imagine these guys kicking up a hell of a racket live, something that I never got the chance to check out for myself, unfortunately (though I did get stuck seeing Polvo once, so figure that one out).

Anyway, here's a few from Pipe's first LP, 1994's 6 Days Till Bellus:

Bowling For Fuckers (listen)
Breakfast In Veronica (listen)
Glide
Captain Jack (Crunch) (listen)
El Camino (listen)
You're Soaking In It (listen)
New Chop
Broken Hips
All Eyes
Scabby
Andrews
Hammer God
The Metal Bus

Tracks have reverted to listen-only files

Semen Varlamov to remain in Russia another year

2007-06-29T22:22:00.000-04:00

Semen Varlamov, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

Semen Varlamov was quoted today in Sport Express as having "received an invitation to play in North America"-- most likely, with the Washington Capitals' affiliate in either the ECHL or AHL-- and, despite that, is choosing to play in the Russian Super League with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl for one more year.

The 19-year-old Varlamov was drafted as the Capitals' first round pick (23rd overall) in 2006, and is generally regarded as the #1 Russian goaltending prospect, as well as the top rookie goaltender in the Russian Super League last season.

Boguniecki to Germany

Eric Boguniecki (Photo: Rich Stieglitz/BST)
Also, good news for Wolf Pack fans: Connecticut native Eric Boguniecki today signed a one-year deal to play in Germany next season with ERC Ingolstadt (click here for the announcement on the team web site; click here for an interview with Boguniecki from the team site , in German).

Boguniecki had 54 points (22g, 32a) in 48 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers last season, as well as appearing in 11 games (no points) with the NY Islanders.

His decision to go to Europe is hardly suprising, since Boguniecki forced his trade from the Syracuse Crunch (Columbus Blue Jackets) to the Islanders last October after claiming he was disenchanted with playing in the AHL.

This Suit Is Black Not

2007-06-28T22:17:00.000-04:00

Wichita Thunder (CHL) '06-'07 "Metal Blade" warmup jersey

From the "Garth, I was not aware of that" Dept.: Metal Blade Records is Central Hockey League sponsor, and the Wichita Thunder wear special "Metal Blade" jerseys during warm-ups (that's one pictured above, obviously).

Here are a few more goofy-looking hockey jerseys, some of which I found on my own, others that I found through forums that linked back to me along the way, like calgarypuck.com.

Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) alternate jersey

A few Amarillo Gorillas (CHL) jerseys from last season-- these photos are all by Jim Peak Photography:

Another one from the CHL:

Corpus Christi Rayz (CHL) '06 "Harley Davidson" jersey

And, an old NHL one, from the California Golden Seals-- this guy is mackin':

I've got one more, from the same guy who took the photo of the infamous Quad City Mallards Sherriff jersey. Since his web site has a big disclaimer on it, I'm just going to link to the photo here, but trust me-- it's worth seeing:

Quad City Mallards "Pirate" jersey
If the link ever goes bad, you can also see the jersey here.

Darcy Verot signs with Vityaz

2007-06-27T21:47:00.000-04:00

Darcy Verot

Former Syracuse Crunch (AHL) winger Darcy Verot has signed to play with Vityaz Chekhov of the Russian Super League, according to an announcement posted earlier today by Sport Express as well as the player roster listing on the Vityaz web site.

Verot, a veteran of 37 NHL games with the Washington Capitals in '03-'04, has spent the past three seasons in the AHL, most recently with the Syracuse Crunch, the Columbus Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate. In 68 games for Syracuse last season, Verot posted 23 points (9g, 14a) and 227 penalty minutes.

The same Sport Express article announces that Vityaz has re-signed former NHL'ers Oleg Kvasha and Alexander Korolyuk.

Andrei Nazarov
In somewhat less exciting transaction news: in an interview with the Russian site Sport Daily, Traktor Chelyabinsk head coach Andrei Nazarov announced that the team had signed defenseman Nikita Korovokin, a former Philadelphia Flyers draft pick (6th round, '02) who split last season between the Phoenix Roadrunners and the Pensacola Ice Pilots of the ECHL.

Failure To Thrive

2007-06-27T20:23:00.000-04:00

Fedor Fedorov hobbles off

Everyones's favorite ex-Hartford Wolf Pack/New York Rangers forward, Fedor Fedorov, has made his way back from his Swedish hiatus and is returning to the Russian Super League to play for Dynamo Moscow this season, in a transaction that I inexplicably overlooked from about a month ago.

Still having a keen eye for these things on occasion, I did notice a couple of weeks ago that Dynamo posted a nice birthday greeting on their web site, to mark Fedor's 26th birthday on June 11th. Cute (or pretty fey, actually), but I didn't take it as meaning that he'd actually signed with Dynamo or anything.

Then, only today, I saw that Fedorov is now listed on Dynamo's roster page. Alerted, I quickly tracked down the lone Russian article (on kommersant.ru) that had the barest of mentions of Fedor's return to Moscow (and a pretty neat picture of Alexei Cherepanov, to boot-- thanks!), as well as the month-old listing on Eurohockey.net that I had failed to notice the first time through:

In any case, Fedorov enjoyed a moderate amount of success while in Sweden, posting 20 points (6g, 14a) in 18 games-- as well as a combined +5 and 106 penalty minutes-- for Malmö between the regular season and the HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden's post-season relegation tournament). This is according to Fedor's player profile on Eurohockey.net, one of the only profile pages I've seen that actually has a sponsor-- BeKingOfPoker.com.

I probably should've had Sidearm Delivery sponsor his page when I still had the chance, but, you know, ten bucks is ten bucks.

Khimik offers Peter Bondra a contract

2007-06-26T20:16:00.000-04:00

Peter Bondra (#12)

In what is being billed by the Russian media as a possible "farewell tour" for the faded Slovak superstar, the Russian site Чемпионат.ру, citing "Slovak sources", announced earlier today that Russian Super League team Khimik Mytische (Moscow region) has offered Peter Bondra a one-year contract. The story has since been picked up by allhockey.ru and football-hockey.ru.

Born in Ukraine, U.S.S.R., but a Slovak in heritage and in citizenship, the 39-year-old Bondra played in 37 games for the Chicago Blackhawks this past season, collecting 14 points (5g, 9a). A nine-time 30-goal scorer with the Washington Capitals, Bondra has scored 503 goals in his 17-year NHL career.

Phoenix wanted Rangers' second round pick

2007-06-25T22:27:00.000-04:00

Rangers head amateur scout Gordie Clark

Slava Malamud, the U.S. correspondent for Sport Express, filed this report from the 2007 NHL Entry Draft:

The Rangers really wanted to take Alexei Cherepanov earlier in the round, by trading up for one of the first five picks. Phoenix was a possibility, but the Coyotes wanted the Rangers' second round pick, which the Rangers couldn't agree to-- they have too old a team to be squandering picks.

Malamud then relayed these comments from the New York Rangers head of amateur scouting, Gordie Clark, responding to reporters minutes after the Rangers selected Cherepanov:

"When we couldn't trade up to a higher spot, we started to examine our other options. This draft was rich with defenseman, but we wanted to take a forward. It's my job to look into the future, in the post-Jagr era, and we need to replace our aging stars.

"I'm not considering that Cherepanov will be able to replace Jagr, just that Jagr and Straka won't last forever, and they will stop playing soon. And, we should be ready for this. Our first two forward lines are based on these players, so we need to find players with the potential to play on the first and second lines, which is precisely what Cherepanov is.

"My point of view was that we weren't afraid of the absence of an agreement with Russia, and that was the point of view of my boss, also. Glen Sather only asked me what I thought of his hockey talents, and wasn't interested in the relationship with Russia. Sooner or later we will have to address this, but this player has special talent. We don't have any forwards on this level in our youth system.

"He played in all of the international tournaments, and scored more decisive goals in the important games than any other player in my memory prior to the draft. The winning goal against Team USA in Switzerland, which saved his team from elimination... again, this is a special player.

"Some of the other NHL teams perhaps made up a different opinion of him based on the pre-draft interviews in Toronto, but we had interviewd him long before that, and always considered him to be a smart player, with a sincere desire to play in the best league in the world.

"We didn't even think about his two-year contract with Avangard. I think he can be in the NHL in a year. He already plays against adults, and not just sitting at the end of the bench picking his teeth-- he broke the rookie scoring record of Pavel Bure! Yes, he doesn't have Pavel's speed, but he is ready to play the game as best he could. It doesn't bother us that he wants to play one more season in Russia-- the Super League is an outstanding league, not a 'beer league'. He will continue to progress there.

"I would compare him to Frolov of Los Angeles. Cherepanov is an exceptional talent, like Ovechkin and Malkin, though certainly not at their level as a sniper and a leader. Nevertheless, I am sure he will play well here.

"My philosophy since the lock-out is to take the natural talents as much as possible. Not all of them will come through, we know this, but now you cannot get by without the technical (skill) and speed players."

Cherepanov: My contract will not keep me from playing in the NHL

2007-06-25T17:17:00.000-04:00

Alexei Cherepanov

Here's a post-draft interview with Alexei Cherepanov that was sent in from Columbus by Slava Malamud, the U.S. correspondent for Sport Express, and posted on the Sport Express web site earlier today (a somewhat-convenient English version can be found here):

Cherepanov starts off by saying, "I was happy that the Rangers drafted me. They were the team that gave me the most attention, and I had a very productive interview with them (at the pre-draft testing). I even said to my agent that if I couldn't be picked first or second, then hopefully I'll be the 17th."

The New York reporters will be on your heels, analyzing your every move.

I've already been through that today. Obviously, the interest of the press is very high, and there's been a lot of discussion-- which is a good thing.

The Rangers are projecting you for the first or second line, after Jagr and Straka retire. Do their expectations make you nervous?

No, I will do the best I can.

I saw Jagr play when he was in Omsk, and I am happy for the chance to play on the same team with him. It's only recently that I started to root for the Rangers, though; before that, Colorado was the team that I liked the most.

You've made up your mind to join the NHL in 2008?

When I'm ready, I'll be there.

Many say that you are ready now.

In a year, I'll be even better. I'll be even better if I come in as one of the leading players in the Russian Super League.

How are you with English?

That hasn't a problem so far. I will look for a tutor in Omsk.

Is there a possibility that in the end you will say, 'What is the NHL to me? I'm doing fine in Omsk, perhaps it's better for me to play at home?'

No, it's more desirable for me to play here. It is important that I prove myself in the best league, against the best players.

What if you could make more money in the Super League?

I'm not thinking about the money. The important thing is to play against the best.

What if you go over there and they send you to the farm club?

If that's beneficial to me, then I will go there. Why stand in place? I want to play wherever the level is higher, that to me is better.

What happens in another year when, still under contract, you tell the management of Avangard that you're leaving?

I hope that they understand, and let me go.

And if they say, 'Alexei, give us another year, or at least we must get compensation"?

I'm sure that's what they'll say, but I'm also pretty sure I'll be able to convince them. Once I'm ready for the NHL, no contract is going to stop me. In no way do I want to be held back by the team. I hope that by then everything will fall into place.

How will you know when you'll be ready for the NHL?

If I make the Russian first team, that will be a good indication.

Cherepanov (#7) playing for Avangard against Dynamo
Today's Sport Express also quotes Ilya Moliver, who works with Jay Grossman as one of Cherepanov's Russian agents, as saying about the way that Cherepanov tumbled in the draft: "Los Angeles angered me most of all-- (GM Dean) Lombardi, who we've worked with before. They had all sorts of praise for Alexei, and they take someone else? This to me is incomprehensible. The same with Boston. We had several interviews with them. They said Alexei was an ideal hockey player, and how they'd love to have him on their team. Then, oh well, sorry! But it all worked out in the end."

Anisimov to attend Rangers Prospect Camp

2007-06-24T21:25:00.000-04:00

Artem Anisimov (#12), Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

Since I'm pretty sure that the person who asked about Artem Anisimov the other day doesn't read a filthy rag like the New York Post, I'm going to pass along what Crazy Uncle Larry wrote today:

Tom Renney will not only get his first look on the ice Tuesday morning at Alexei Cherepanov, but the Russian first-round selection will be joined at the Rangers' prospect camp by countryman Artem Anisimov, last year's second-round pick whom the club is close to signing to a contract.

Cherepanov, who visited Brighton Beach yesterday, and Anisimov, a two-way center who turned 19 last month after completing his second season with Yaroslavl of the Russian Super League and whom the Rangers hope to bring to North America this season, will be among a select group of prospects who will report tonight, undergo physicals tomorrow, and skate at the Blueshirts' training facility from Tuesday through Friday.

Anisimov didn't put up huge numbers for Lokomotiv this past season (11 points in 49 regular-season games), but he fared much better when it counted most in the two playoff rounds against Dynamo and Avangard (3 goals and 2 assists in 7 games), plus he was only 18 years old.

There isn't much out there as far as Russian Super League video of Anisimov, but I recently downloaded this clip of a goal he scored against Avangard this past January:

Alexei Kudashov, who played in 25 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs years ago, gets the nice assist that sets up the goal.

Waiting On The Guns

2007-06-24T18:13:00.000-04:00

The Rock Cats' Matt Moses (7) and Luke Hughes (20) warming up

If you're borderline anti-social (like me most of the time) and the standing-room-only crowds that pack New Britain Stadium on the weekends aren't your thing, the next best option for catching the Rock Cats is to drive another 30 miles to the east, when they play the Defenders in Norwich.

The Rock Cats' 5-4 win over the Defenders on Saturday night took 12 innings, but with the nighttime temperatures dipping into the 50's and the game time pushing 3-1/2 hours, I didn't bother to hang around past the 10th. A three-run homer from Pat Dobson helped the Defenders build a 4-0 lead in the second inning, but New Britain came back with three in the eighth to tie it at 4-4.

The Defenders had a solid chance to end the game in the bottom of the ninth, putting runners on second and third with two outs. But banjo-hitting second baseman Trey Webb (.211, 8 RBI in 48 games, though he hit a little bit better in Single-A for Potomac the year before) grounded out, and the game went into extra innings. Garret Guzman then singled home the winning run for the Rock Cats in the top of the 12th.

Sgt. Slaughter's turnin' green,
Someone pissed in his canteen
A crowd of 6,028 stuffed the seats on Saturday, no doubt in part due to an appearance by the WWF's Sgt. Slaughter, who was charging five bucks an autograph, or so I heard; I think he should be giving five bucks to anyone who can still remember his name. Last night's game marked the first time Dodd Stadium had seen three straight crowds of 5000 or more since about seven seasons ago.

Third baseman Matt Moses, the Twins' first round pick in 2003, went 0-for-5 in his second game back with the Rock Cats since being sent down from the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings a couple of days earlier.

Rangers steal Alexei Cherepanov

2007-06-23T11:44:00.000-04:00

Alexei Cherepanov

By him sliding all the way down to the bottom half of the first round-- most likely because of transfer agreement issues-- the Rangers were able to make Alexei Cherepanov, the #1-ranked European skater, their top pick at last night's NHL Entry Draft.

Rangers GM Glen Sather is said to have attempted two draft-day trades to try to move up and secure Cherepanov, after making four separate trips to Russia to specifically scout him.

Cherepanov's Russian agent says that Cherepanov will stay to play in Russia with Avangard Omsk for two more years; Cherepanov's North American agent, Jay Grossman, says one more year, in what amounts to an argument over which lawyer gets to cash the checks.

Cherepanov himself told NHL.com that he'd like to play in Russia for at least one more year:

"I like physical play. I'm not afraid of it. But I might not be mature enough physically right now to play in the NHL. I think that if I play one more year in the Russian Super League I will be ready the next year for the NHL."

Cherepanov, born 1/15/89, won't leave his teens until midway through the 2008-09 season.

By the grace of the newly re-designed packattack.org, here's the Rangers making Cherepanov their pick:

NHLPA backs Russia on transfer agreement

2007-06-22T21:01:00.000-04:00

The NHL Players Association is siding with Russia in opposing the 2007-08 transfer agreement between the NHL and IIHF, according to an announcement posted today on the official Russian Hockey Federation web site.

The 2006-07 transfer agreement, which has lapsed, provided that any European team must let any of their players go to the NHL at any time for a return fee of $200,000.

The 2007-08 agreement has the support of all of the European federations (save for Russia, which has refused to sign off on the agreement since the 2005-06 season), but the NHL cannot sign off on the agreement without the support of the NHLPA.

The NHLPA's stated reason for not signing is that the agreement "is not in the best interests of the players of the NHL." Negotiations for a new agreement, which would have to be resubmitted to the European federations, are on-going.

A.Y. Movin' Out?

2007-06-22T14:36:00.000-04:00

Yashin (Lokomotiv) and Jagr (Avangard) during '04-'05 season

In what could be a sign of good news to come for hockey fans throughout North America, the Russian site Sports Daily (all the way at the bottom of this article here) is alleging that Alexei Yashin's girlfriend, Carol Alt, has bought a house in Hamburg, Germany.

The Hamburg Freezers of the DEL (German league) are said to be one of the teams bidding for Yashin's services, having reportedly offered Yashin a three-year, $7 million deal.

Mallards Ain't Shittin'

2007-06-21T20:31:00.000-04:00

Beware the enraged Mallards catcher and his lethal bat-thingy

The hard-workin' folk(s) at Ballpark Digest recently drew my attention to the web site of the Madison Mallards, a team that plays in the Northwoods League, which is a wooden bat summer league for college players (much like the NECBL and Cape Cod League that we have in New England).

The Mallards are only a .500 ballclub on the field so far this season, but they come out looking like champs in the promotions department. Check out the "Ducks Unlimited" jersey that catcher Jordan Wolf is wearing, above; while most teams are wearing sissy-looking pink jerseys and giving away little souvenir bats and other tacky crap, the Mallards are wearing combat camo and giving away freakin' double-barreled Winchesters!* Top that, Connecticut Defenders!

Mallards Hockey Night jersey
And unlike one team I could mention, it looks like the Mallards did their "Hockey Night" promotion the right way, including a fairly sharp hockey-type jersey that the players wore on the field and which apparently right after the game were donated to the Frolunda Indians.

Among the other bits and pieces you'll find on the web site-- such as video downloads of game highlights and the semi-rockin' (in a gay John Fogerty "Centerfield"-kinda way) "Go Go Mallards" theme song-- are some 30-second radio spots. A couple of them could pass for amusing, so I'll post them here:

Mallards "Bike Shorts" radio commercial

Mallards "Bass Fishing" radio commercial
Ballpark Digest has already posted a couple of Mallards TV commercials (here and here)-- basically about how baseball is the national pasttime instead of opera and stamp collecting, voiced by Morgan Freeman** no less-- so I'll offer this clip from my own YouTube account, a 2007 promotional video.

That "Go Go Mallards" theme song might be kinda corny, but at least it's not as bad as this:

The Hold Steady, "Take Me Out To The Ballgame"
(I know I've posted this song as a punchline before, but since no angry mobs have come after me with knives lately, it must've not worked. So I'm posting it again.)

*not really
**apparently this is wrong also

Blackhawks' St. Pierre signs with Khimik

2007-06-20T22:06:00.000-04:00

Martin St. Pierre

Chicago Blackhawks/Norfolk Admirals center Martin St. Pierre, a two-time AHL All-Star, has signed to play with Khimik Mytische of the Russian Super League, as announced today on the Khimik team web site (assist to Sport Express, which incorrectly lists the Ontario-born St. Pierre as being 33 years old-- ten years older than his actual age. Perhaps they meant 33 inches tall).

St. Pierre notched four points (1g, 3a) and 8 penalty minutes in 14 games with the Blackhawks last season. He finished second overall in the AHL in scoring last season, with 99 points (27g, 72a) in 65 games.

Alexander Svitov would go back to Russia

2007-06-20T17:38:00.000-04:00

Alexander Svitov (#15) with Avangard

Columbus Blue Jackets free-agent forward Alexander Svitov, who played in the Russian Super League for Avangard Omsk in '05-'06 before signing a one-year deal with Columbus last year, tells allhockey.ru that a return to Russia is not out of the question:

"I do have some desire to play in Russia, though it's not something that I'm planning for at the moment. No teams from the Super League have offered a specific proposal yet, and we have not been in contact with the management of Avangard about this. My agent is not yet finished negotiating with Columbus. I'm not against the thought of playing for Avangard, though."

As an added bonus, here's a video from my YouTube account (the original file of which I'd linked to last year) of the 6'-4", 220-lb. Svitov getting leg-whipped in a game for Avangard a year-and-a-half ago:

Of such things fond memories are made, I guess.

UPDATE 8/17/07 -Avangard announced today that they have signed Svitov to a three-year deal.

Agent: Cherepanov will play in Omsk for two more years

2007-06-19T21:19:00.000-04:00

Alexei Cherepanov (#7, in white)

Sergey Paremuzov-- the president of Global Sports Consulting who is also Alexei Cherepanov's Russian agent-- says, "No matter where Cherepanov is drafted, he will spend two more years in the Russian Super League with Omsk", according to an interview with Paremuzov that was posted a few hours ago by Sport Express.

Regarding Cherepanov's relationship with his Russian team, Avangard Omsk, Paremuzov said, "Of course, Alexei is going to continue his career in North America, and the president of Avangard, Constantine Potapov, completely understands this. But the contractural obligations which tie Alexei to Avangard for the next two years will undoubtedly be carried out. The agreement has already been formulated, and is not subject to revision."

About the first two teams to pick in this year's draft, Chicago and Philadelphia, Paremuzov said, "There's no reason to deny that those two teams are not the most appropriate teams for Alexei's style of play. The Coyotes and the Oilers (the next two teams to pick) are better options."

Paremuzov was then asked if he would prefer Cherepanov not be drafted first by the Blackhawks, because of the poor reputation that the team's ownership has. He replied, "Those are details that we haven't discussed with Alexei; but, if a player doesn't want to sign a contract with a team, he won't sign it. And no one can force him to. You'll recall the well-known incident with Lindros, whom Quebec eventually traded to Philadelphia. We will face these problems as they arise."

Cherepanov Baffles Scouts

2007-06-19T17:11:00.000-04:00

Alexei Cherepanov

From today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Describing Russian hockey players as enigmatic has become a cliche and might say more about how little most North Americans understand them than it does about the Russians themselves.

But Alexei Cherepanov, by far the top European prospect in this weekend's NHL entry draft, really does seem to embody the concept.

Some scouts look at Cherepanov, a right winger, and see a good skater with a nice goal-scoring touch and the potential to be an impact player in the NHL. Others see an underachiever who is prone to losing his focus, has no interest in playing defense and suffers from something akin to an attitude pointer.

Both perspectives are rooted in reality.

Jarmo Kekalainen, director of amateur scouting for St. Louis, has watched Cherepanov play numerous times in a variety of settings and offers this assessment: "He's a very talented player, with a lot of skill and ability to put the puck in the net and create offense."

Goran Stubb, who heads NHL Central Scouting's operations in Europe, volunteered that "people say he has an attitude problem," and, even though he was noncommittal on that issue, agreed that Cherepanov has a tendency to lose interest if he's not impressed by the quality of the opposition.

"The funny thing about Cherepanov is that he always plays better when he's playing with older guys," Stubb said. "He had an excellent season in the Russian Super League, and at the [under-20] World Juniors, he played as a 17-year-old and had an absolutely fantastic tournament, except for the final game.

"Then again, when he plays with his own age group, he didn't do very well in a tournament in February, and he didn't do all that well at the under-18 World Juniors, either."

Phoenix general manager Don Maloney, whose team has the third choice in the opening round, made a similar observation.

"He actually played better in the Super League a lot of the time," Maloney said. "It's interesting.

"A young player like that who plays up with men and plays well, sometimes comes back to his own age group and, I don't want to say he's bored, but maybe he eases off on the gas pedal a little bit and looks a little bit nonchalant at times. But talent is talent, and he has an abundance of it."

Cherepanov proved that by putting up 18 goals and 11 assists in 46 games with Omsk in the Super League in the 2006-07 season; his 29 points as a rookie were more than Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Ovechkin or Ilya Kovalchuk got their first year there.

Cherepanov can work on upgrading his strength, and even can try to convince team executives that concerns about his attitude are unfounded, but one factor he can't control could have a major impact on when he is drafted: Russia's refusal to accept the transfer agreement negotiated by the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation.

Atlanta general manager Don Waddell allowed that "it's on everybody's mind," but added that he isn't convinced it will hurt Cherepanov much.

"The way we look at it ... when we're getting ready to pick -- if it's 1A and 1B, we may go to 1B and stay away from a Russian prospect," Waddell said. "But if he's clearly the best player, we would take him and say, 'We have a few years to work this out.' "

UPDATE 6/20/07 - NHL.com put up a good article today about Cherepanov, in which Cherepanov tells a bit about himself in his own words. Within the scouting reports in article's sidebar is a link to a 5 minute "scouting video" that appears to be a chunk of a game between Russia and Switzerland at the U-20 World Juniors, presented without play-by-play or commentary.

Alexei Emelin spurns Canadiens for Ak Bars

2007-06-18T21:57:00.000-04:00

Alexei Emelin

Alexei Emelin, a member of Team Russia at the '07 World Championships and the Montreal Canadiens' third-round draft pick in '04, has turned down a contract offer from the Canadiens to sign a two-year deal with Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Super League, as announced earlier today on the Ak Bars web site, as well as by Soviet Sport.

The Soviet Sport article quotes the 21-year-old defenseman as saying that by the time the Canadiens had offered him a contract, he already had an agreement in place with Ak Bars, and that the negotiations with Ak Bars had been on-going since prior to the World Championships (in late May). When asked if his contract with Ak Bars included an out clause if he were to sign an NHL deal, Emelin either seemed unaware of such a provision, or refused to discuss it, saying, "I play for Ak Bars now, and I will only think about this team."

Vasily Koshechkin
Within the same announcement as for the Emelin signing, Ak Bars also announced that they have signed Lada goaltender Vasily Koshechkin. Less than a month ago, the 6'-6" Koshechkin said that was planning to attend the Tampa Bay Lightning training camp, with the hopes of being signed by the Lightning.

Bruins: Zinovjev Not Worth Asking Price

2007-06-17T21:41:00.000-04:00

Ak Bars' Sergei Zinovjev (#42)

From today's Worcester Telegram & Gazette, about the Bruins' on-going flirtation with Russian superstar Sergei Zinovjev:

The Bruins still own the NHL rights to the 27-year-old center, who has become a bona fide star for Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Super League, and just finished playing a starring role in Russia’s bronze-medal finish at the World Championships.

A third-round pick by Boston in the 2000 draft, Zinovjev now rakes in a cool tax-free $2.5 million in a country where the average schmuck earns about 50 bucks (U.S.) a week. According to Zinovjev’s North American agent, Rollie Hedges, that salary works out to roughly $5 million a year over here.

So, the questions are threefold: (a) Can the Bruins afford him? (b) Is Zinovjev worth that kind of money? And, the biggie: (c) Can the 27-year-old forward be persuaded to leave his native country and return to the NHL, which he left with a bitter taste in his mouth back in 2003, shortly after the Bruins signed him to a two-year contract?

The answers, according to Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli, are no, no, and probably no.

"He can play in the NHL," Chiarelli added, "but circumstances dictate that he probably won’t."

At least not now, because even Chiarelli — a lawyer who rarely rules out anything — insists that Zinovjev, despite his rock-star status in Russia, isn’t worth $5 million in the NHL right now.

"No, he’s not, because he’s unproven," Chiarelli said. "He’s proven himself over there and makes a lot of money, but he’s unproven over here."

Assuming they can’t sign Zinovjev, the Bruins still would like to get something in return before their NHL rights to him expire on July 1, 2008. That could mean packaging the rights with an established player — goalie Hannu Toivonen comes to mind, especially if the B’s are as certain as everyone else about the bright future of 20-year-old Finnish sensation Tuukka Rask — and get a proven NHL talent in return from a rival team.

Or, they could take the rights to Zinovjev, add their No. 8 pick in Friday’s NHL Draft, and move up to one of the top three spots and get a sure-fire contributor to add to their ever-growing stable of impressive youngsters. As it stands now, Chicago, Philadelphia and Phoenix own picks No. 1, 2 and 3.

Chiarelli said, "In addition to talking to Rollie Hedges, we’ve talked to every team in the NHL. There has been some interest at some level, but his salary in Russia is a deterrent."

NHL scouts who have seen a lot of Zinovjev think he could step in and be the third-line center for the Bruins right now, behind Marc Savard and Patrice Bergergon. And that’s as a relatively raw commodity.

If, as expected, he grows in size, strength and ability during his interaction with the NHL’s best players, who knows how good he could become?

Unfortunately, in terms of popularity right now in Russia, he’s a 21st-century Yuri Gagarin. And he doesn’t sound like he plans to leave orbit anytime soon.

The Bruins don’t have a lot of time to make a decision here. Russian teams begin their training camps on July 1, according to Hedges, and are making preparations even as this column is being written. Something would have to happen in a matter of days, perhaps even hours, and given the gulf between Zinovjev’s Russian salary and what he’d be offered in North America, that’s way too much territory to cover in that short a time.

Click here to read the rest of the article, which goes into a good amount of detail about Zinovjev's stint with the Bruins from a few years back, both in Boston and in Providence (Zinovjev: "There may be only five or six players in the AHL capable of making a good pass"), as well as his history of marijuana troubles.

Cherepanov: I Love LA (NY, Too)

2007-06-17T16:13:00.000-04:00

Alexei Cherepanov

Although he won't really have much of a choice as to where he ends up after the NHL Entry Draft on June 22nd, in an interview with the Russian site Чемпионат.ру, 18-year-old hotshot prospect Alexei Cherepanov said that the Kings and the Rangers made the best impression on him during his recent trip to Toronto for pre-draft testing:

"The first three days were interviews, then a day of testing, and then more inteviews", said Cherepanov. "There were two kinds of tests: the first, phychological, where we sat at the computer and answered questions. The second tests were for checking physical fitness.

"The interviews were with 20 teams, five per day. Each interview was 20 minutes. They'd ask about literally everything in the world-- your life, your parents, certainly about hockey... in great detail. 'Why did you play well at one tournament, but worse at another?' 'Which is your best side?' 'Do you prefer to score, or to set up with a pass?' 'How do you think you can help our team?' And so on.

"I would ask questions, too, like how do they relate to the young players on their team. All of them had the same answer-- 'just fine'.

"It might cost me later, if I were to say now where I would like to play, and where I wouldn't. I will say that, for who I talked to, the best was with the New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings."

Cherepanov, with Omsk last season
Meanwhile, Crazy Uncle Larry in the NY Post is floating the rumor that the Rangers may trade up to the third spot with old pal Don Maloney and the Phoenix Coyotes, in order to get Cherepanov.

Of course, that Cherepanov may fall in the draft anyway-- because of the lack of a player transfer agreement in place between Russia and the NHL-- is a real possibility.

Denis Grebeshkov Vowing To Play Nice

2007-06-16T17:23:00.000-04:00

Denis Grebeshkov

A year ago, seemingly no longer willing to play in the AHL, then 22-year-old Russian defenseman Denis Grebeshkov turned down the New York Islanders' qualifying offer in 2006 and headed to his native Yaroslavl to play for Lokomotiv in the Russian Super League.

Now armed with a new one-way contract from the Edmonton Oilers, the soft-spoken, offensively-gifted Grebeshkov is saying that he wants to build on his past experiences in North America with his mind set on succeeding in the NHL this time, in an interview that was posted yesterday by the Russian site Sports Daily.

You're planning to make your career in Edmonton?
Those are my thoughts, yes.

Are you bringing any family with you?
Well, since I'm not married, I have no family to bring with me. (When Alexei Mikhnov tried to make the Oilers in training camp last season, he brought his wife with him to help adjust to life in a new country.)

What have you seen about your new team?
As far as I know, the team has been nothing special in recent years-- the days when Edmonton had players like Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, defeating all others-- are long gone. Now, they're a fairly average NHL team.

How have you learned about your new club?
Last year, I played on Lokomotiv with (former Oilers) Igor Ulanov and Alexei Mikhnov. They told me about the city, and about the team. Judging from that, Edmonton is a good working town, with a lot of oil industry workers. The winters are cold, with the snow not leaving until May, but the team is good. The people who work with the team are very friendly, and the ice in Edmonton is said to be the best ice in the NHL.

To be honest, (for Russian players) it's not very desirable to live in America. They only go there to play hockey. There's a completely different mentality. Although, in general, Americans are very decent and helpful, perhaps because life has been easier on them.

When you first left to try the NHL, the best league in the world, you were young-- only 19 years old. Apparently it wasn't easy for you.
Like many, I ran into a language barrier. I couldn't understand what I was being told. Only after a year was I able to answer clearly. However, the other players were very supportive. There was one Frenchman, especially, with whose help I rented an apartment.

As far as a way of life is concerned, there weren't any major problems. Certainly, though, it was impossible to avoid making mistakes. For example, when I first came to America, I figured that the NHL teams would prepare for the season just like in Russia: after you arrive in camp, you train gradually, and slowly bring yourself up. It turns out that, for NHL training camp, you're supposed to arrive completely prepared. I didn't know this, so I missed out on that. Now, I will show up and be ready immediately to show my best.

A lot of young Russian players, upon arriving in the NHL, return home quickly. Why is that?
Probably, there's an unwillingness to play for the farm team. But I don't see anything terrible about this. For me to play in the minors was for my own good. Last season I could've willingly played on the farm team, but I made the decision to play instead in the Super League.

Russian players are often criticized for not playing within the team.
I think that all players can get caught up in the individual game, regardless of nationality. There isn't a player who as a youngster didn't dream of taking the puck and rushing to the net, skating through all the other players. On the other hand, Russian players are well-known for being good passers.

So then, all the talk that Russian defenseman in the NHL play without hard contact, is that mostly false?
This problem does exist. Russian defenseman are more technical, thinking defenseman. However, in my case, I also enjoy playing with strength.

And what about fighting?
Not my style. I've never had a reason to drop the gloves in the NHL, but the rugged play and the hard checks, that's what I want to see.

The new rules, which are very strict, are not to your liking?
The new rules aren't good for our type of hockey. We saw this at the World Championships.

In the semi-final match with Finland, when they were mowing down our players as if by machine gun (sending off Andrei Markov), is it worthwhile to respond in kind-- to take out a couple of the key players on Finland's team?
There may have been thoughts, but you have to chase them away. It's important to send a message, of course, but it must be done within the rules, in order to not be penalized. To take your stick against someone's head has no benefit. I think that injuring another player is low. This would not have helped us in the game against Finland, anyway. We still didn't beat them.

Winding up for a slap shot vs. Dynamo
In the post-script to the interview, the writer for Sports Daily floats a couple of interesting rumors. In discussing Grebeshkov's past history in North America (going back-and-forth between the NHL and the minors) and his current contract with Edmonton, which is said to be a one-way, NHL-only deal, the writer adds: "This is the opposite case for Kiril Koltsov, Grebeshkov's teammate on numerous Russian junior national teams. Vancouver offered a million dollars and an NHL roster spot, but Ufa (Salavat Yulayev) gave him twice as much. So, America can forget about Koltsov, at least for one more season.

"The same decision is also involved with Ilya Nikulin, who will try in Atlanta, but does not intend to be sent to the farm club. If he isn't sucessful overseas, he will return to Russia, most likely with Kazan or Ufa."

Fedor Tyutin interview in SportsDaily.ru

2007-06-13T22:44:00.000-04:00

#51 Fedor Tyutin

The other day, the ever-diligent Blueshirt Bulletin pointed out a Fedor Tyutin interview that appeared on hokej.cz, although they declined to pass along a translation, saying that sometimes it's just not worth all the nit-picking that it invites.

In any case, Hokej.cz actually picked up the Tyutin article from its original Russian source, sportsdaily.ru. Since I'm not above posting nit-pick-worthy translations of Russian hockey articles-- especially when they involve former Wolf Pack players (and one of my favorite Rangers players, to boot)-- I figured I'd throw this one up, too, in-depth or not.

"...The next season will be Tyutin's fourth in the NHL. A call from our reporter found Fedor with his parents in Izhevsk (Tyutin's home town), where Tyutin was playing football and spending time with his friends-- in other words, resting up from work. Towards the end of the summer, he plans to visit the city on the Neva (St. Petersburg, where Tyutin began his pro career)."

Why weren't you able to get to the World Championships, even though you would've been on time for the decisive games?
Because of my knee, which I injured back in March. Then, in the fifth game against Buffalo, I took a hit on that same knee.

Since you're playing football now, does that mean your knee is no longer bothering you?
Yes, it's fine.

Did you talk to (Team Russia coach) Vyacheslav Bykov before the game against the Czechs?
Yes. He left me a message, and then we talked, and I explained everything to him. It seemed like he understood.

Whenever a player refuses to join the national team, whether it's because of an injury or a family matter, many look at it as just a convenient excuse...
I've always wanted to play for the national team. From the very beginning of the season I stayed in touch with Sergei Nemchinov (Team Russia assistant coach). I said right away that if I wasn't injured and the Rangers were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, that I would join the team. I even made sure that I had no other plans during the World Championships.

I got a very positive impression of Bykov. Judging by both the World Championships and the environment within the team, it seems to me that he is worthy of remaining the coach of the national team for a long time.

The Rangers beat Atlanta easily in the first round. What impression did you have of Kovalchuk and his team?
I had the opportunity to stay on during Ilya's shifts. I wouldn't say that he played badly. Even Kozlov, Tkachuk, and Hossa played up to their levels. It seems to me that Atlanta played more as individuals than as a team.

In the next round you lost to Buffalo. Were the Sabres actually that good?
They were strong for the entire season, and stayed in first place the whole way. They're helped by the fact that all four components can play at a high speed. We didn't have enough to stop them.

If SKA-St.Petersburg were to offer you an equivalent contract, would you return to St. Petersburg?
It's not about the money. First, it's been my dream since childhood to play in the NHL, and second, I am now at the age where it is time for me to show what I am capable of. In any case, I have a contract with the Rangers for next season, so why even talk about this?

Many young Russian hockey players come to the NHL but then don't find success with their team and return home. Why is this?
It's too complicated for me to say. It could depend upon a lot of factors: the situation and the timing, the team, the coaches... or even other things, like injuries.

On the whole, how was this season for you?
I'll always think that I could've played better, but I can't call it an unsuccessful season. I got a lot out of this season, very much so.

Vladimir Denisov signs AHL deal with Colorado

2007-06-12T22:02:00.000-04:00

Vladimir Denisov (in red) at the '07 World Championships

22-year-old Belarusian defenseman Vladimir Denisov, who played for Lada Togliatti of the Russian Super League last season, has signed an AHL contract with the Lake Erie Monsters, the AHL affilate of the Colorado Avalanche.

The transaction has not been reported as of yet by either the Monsters or the Avalanche, or by Eurohockey.net, but was announced several days ago on the Belarus Ice Hockey Association web site. Since then, the signing has been reported by a number of Russian and Belarusian sites (link link link), including an interview with Denisov in Pressball.

Denisov was a member of the Belarus national team at both the 2006 and 2007 IIHF World Championships, and gives credit to U.S.-born Team Belarus head coach Curt Fraser for the improvements that will now see him playing in North America.

The news of Denisov's signing has obviously earned added interest in his home country, which has seen only a handful of Belarusians play in the NHL recently (Ruslan Salei, Andrei Kostityn, Konstantin Koltsov, and Mikhail Grabovsky are the few that I know of).

I don't have any Belarusian hockey songs handy to celebrate the occasion, so the best I can offer now is this one, from Denisov's RSL team:
Hey, Hey Lada
Sucks, I know.

Kasparaitis to be bought out by Rangers

2007-06-10T19:47:00.000-04:00

Darius Kasparaitis

Earlier today, Sport Express posted an interview with Alexei Yashin and Mark Gandler, Yashin's agent, with the main topic of discussion being the recent buy-out of Yashin's contract by the NY Islanders.

During the course of the interview, Gandler revealed that another one of his clients, NY Rangers defenseman Darius Kaspariatis, was about to have his contract bought out, also.

The conversation went as follows (question by Sport Express, answer given by Gandler):

How did you react to the news about the Islanders breaking their agreement with Yashin?

This is a normal business procedure, as provided by the NHL by-laws. In America, anything can be bought and sold, including contracts bound by signature.

As it just so happens, I already know of one other player that I represent who will be having his contract bought out soon, also-- Darius Kasparaitis, who still has one year to go on his contract with the Rangers.

Sparrin' With The Varmint

2007-06-10T18:03:00.000-04:00

Freemasonry

When I took a flier and bought the then-unknown-to-me Freemasonry's "Kitty Come Home"/"Acacia" single back in 1995, it was mostly because it was under 2 bucks, and it had Howie Gano's name on the back of it (Louisville studio engineer who had worked with Slint, Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Bitch Magnet, among others). It turned out to be well worth the two dollars; Freemasonry not only had similarities to stuff like Jawbox and Drive Like Jehu, but also harkened back to a lot of the 80's Homestead/Touch and Go-type action that I dearly loved, like Phantom Tollbooth and Scratch Acid.

I liked the single so much that I called the record label's phone number that was listed on the back, to see if I could set up an interview or something. It turned out that there wasn't much going on in that department, but the band had just put a brand new CD out, "Sparrin' With The Varmint", which the label was decent enough to send to me.

It wasn't long afterwards that most of the Freemasonry guys went on to form Galanas:Cerdd and shed themselves from Freemasonry entirely, to the point of giving away the CD for free at shows (which, I figure, explains all of the copies that you can buy for pennies each on Amazon).

Regardless, I still think the CD is pretty good, which you can judge for yourself from the tracks that I've posted here. If anyone's feeling industrious and wants to download every song, they seem to be available on this funny-looking page over here.

In addition, someone very recently set up a MySpace page for Freemasonry, and there's a page for the semi-regarded Fiddlehead (which was Bruce Bohannon's band prior to Freemasonry), also.

Lick Clean Method (listen)
Sensible (listen)
Kitty Come Home (listen)
Every Day
Barrel
When The Dope's Around
Templar Fightin' Monk (listen)
Mystical Union
If It Isn't One Thing
Alive With Pleasure
Mrs. E. Coli
Shitjack
Einahpets (listen)
Nnfy
De Molay

(Generic Sports Blog Disclaimer, for G12: Rock, it's what we're all about, it's what we live for, come on shout it out)

Songs have reverted to listen-only files

Elmira Jackals Move To New Jersey, But Won't Actually Be Moving To New Jersey

2007-06-10T10:49:00.000-04:00

This is not what happened

As Michael Fornabaio points out, "Jackals Move To New Jersey!" is a potentially messy headline if all it is you're announcing is that your hockey team is switching to a new uniform, and not actually moving to New Jersey.

The headline from the Jackals' web site

If you're interested, click here to see the full-on layout of the Jackals' new threads.

Evil In League With Satan

2007-06-09T20:36:00.000-04:00

Nasty Disaster

In a continuous effort to shed some light on big, dumb metal bands that are also ridiculously funny, I bring you what might be the biggest, dumbest metal band of all (certainly "The World's Heaviest Metal Band", as they refer to themselves on their own web site)-- East Haven, Connecticut's own Nasty Disaster.

With band member names like Ian McRok, Ron Zombie, and Nikki Stixxx, and with song titles like "Heavy Metal Rules The World" and "Play Some Fucking Metal" (off their Screaming For Metal Like a Bat Out of Hell LP), you'd pretty much figure Nasty Disaster to be nothing more than a local joke band (well-- that, plus there's the wigs, too). However, they're legit enough to be listed in Encyclopaedia Metallum, the Metal ~~Bible~~ ~~Encyclopedia~~ Encyclopaedia, and they're also included on the 13 Bands Who Think You're Gay compilation alongside legendary underground acts like EYEHATEGOD, Anal C*nt, Thor, the almighty Seige, and the near-mythical Kilslug. I mean, that's a major-league
track record right there, or at least enough to put Sioux Savage to shame.

Anyway, just for you, here's a sound file of "Filthy Drunken Metal Bastards" (lyrics: "I drink alone or with my band/Bitches love the sting of my backhand"). I don't know if Nasty Disaster would cop to listening to The Mentors all that much, but after reading the lyrics to songs like Sluts of Metal and Satan Is Cuming, it sure does seem like it.

Nasty Disaster, "Filthy Drunken Metal Bastards"
Here's Nasty Disaster live at the Continental Club in New York City, rockin' their classic anthem, "Play Some Fucking Metal":

For anyone who wants to check out the Nasty Disaster show up close and personal (which I have yet to do, unfortunately), they'll be playing at Cafe Nine in a couple of weeks (6/26), and also somewhere in Wallingford in mid-July.

Some last bits of wisdom, from "We Live For Heavy Metal":

We like our metal heavy
More steel than a fuckin’ Chevy
We don’t rock for those who pose
We wear leather not pantyhose

Glam fags better run fast
We’re coming to kick your fuckin’ ass
Spinal Tap thought 11 was plenty
Fuck them, we play on 20
Words to live by, you bet.

(Herman VonRohl photo from ginamartini.com)

Tyler Moss Asked To Become a Russian

2007-06-09T15:24:00.000-04:00

Tyler Moss in net for Amur Tigers

Veteran AHL/NHL goaltender Tyler Moss, who has spent the past two seasons playing in Russia (first with Spartak Moscow and now Amur Tigers Khabarovsk), is about to apply for Russian citizenship, according to a story posted today by allhockey.ru.

The details of the situation seem rather complicated, if not bizzare. It appears that the team has asked the Ottawa, Ontario-born goaltender to first obtain Russian citizenship (through the Russian Federation Ministry of Internal Affairs and the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs), after which only then will the team offer him a new three-year deal.

Amur Tigers apparently hopes to use Tyler Moss as a test case, in an attempt to challenge the Russian Super League's tax on foreign goaltenders. The tax was put in place with the intent of strengthening the Russian national team, by encouraging RSL teams to develop home-grown goalies. The penalty that Amur Tigers hopes to avoid would amount to about $300,000.

Even though Moss apparently meets some of the lesser of the requirements involved to obtain citizenship (which include, but are not limited to, having a legal means of support financially; refusal of any other citizenships; mastery of the Russian language; and then requirements that Moss definitely does not meet, such as having been born, or having parents who were born, or lived in the former Soviet Union; marriage to a Russian citizen; obtaining a higher-education degree in Russia), the decision to grant citizenship could take up to 6 months, with another one-year waiting period after that.

Less than two weeks ago, Amur Tigers already added U.S.-born goaltender Alex Westlund to their roster.

Ilya Bryzgalov Expects To Be Gone

2007-06-08T16:01:00.000-04:00

Ilya Bryzgalov

Ilya Bryzgalov, the sole Russian player (and only the second Russian goaltender ever, after Nikolai Khabibulin) to put his name on the Stanley Cup this year, expects to be working elsewhere next season, according to an interview he gave to Sport Express (convenient English version here):

"I am sure that either I or Giguere will be leaving the club soon, since Anaheim have signed a strong Swiss keeper, Jonas Hiller," said Bryzgalov. "Giguere had a nice season, and I think Anaheim can sign him.

"Though I have an existing contract with the Ducks ($1.8 million for '07-'08), and I have proven I deserve to be on the team, I am not the one who will decide. It all depends on our general manager, Brian Burke."

The Orange County Register explains the reasons behind Bryzgalov's concern:

In a May 25 move intentionally flown under the radar as they began preparations for the Stanley Cup Finals, the Ducks announced the signing of coveted Swiss-born goalie Jonas Hiller to a one-year, entry-level contract heavily laced with performance-bonus clauses.

At 25, Hiller is not a prospect in need of years of seasoning. A star in the Swiss national league the past three seasons, the scouting report on Hiller is that he is NHL-ready.

The acquisition of Hiller, who has worked with Ducks goaltending consultant Francois Allaire in the past, probably means the club's netminding tandem of Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov will be no more.

If Giguere re-signs — undoubtedly at a hefty increase over this season's $3.99 million salary — the Ducks likely would not be able to afford Bryzgalov, whose salary-cap figure next season will be $1.181 million.

For more on Bryzgalov's playoff run with Stanley Cup winners Anaheim this season, click here.

Update 5:10pm - Bryzgalov goofing around during an interview on YouTube, and the Ilya Bryzgalov "Knob Hockey" clip.

Sushinsky re-ups with SKA-St. Petersburg

2007-06-07T23:26:00.000-04:00

Sport Express reported earlier today that Maxim Sushinsky has re-signed with his hometown SKA-St. Petersburg club for the upcoming '07-'08 season.

Sushinsky, a former Russian national team captain, spent part of one season ('00-'01) in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild. He was considered to be in the running for an NHL job prior to last season, but he elected to stay in Russia with SKA-St. Petersburg instead, where he was by far the team's leading scorer with 44 points (15g, 29a) in 57 games last season.

A couple of recent Russian reports (from allhockey.ru and gazeta.ru), while in their usual habit of just tossing some names around, have rumored that SKA-St. Petersburg may also be where Philadelphia Flyers forward Dmitry Afanasenkov and LA Kings defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky end up playing next season.

Also in the rumor mill is Detroit Red Wings defenseman Danny Markov, an unrestricted free agent who is said to be fielding offers from several Russian teams, with one of the teams being Vityaz Chekhov.

SKA starting goaltender Maxim Sokolov signed with Avangard Omsk, while former Avangard goalie Norm Maracle went off to play in some European league or other, hopefully one that has a good salad bar.

As a side note, one of the Russian reports reveals that the dominant Ak Bars Kazan line of Sergei Zinovjev, Alexei Morozov, and Danis Zaripov will earn a combined wage of more than $10 million next season ("Zinovjev - about four million dollars per year, Morozov - more than three, Zaripov - more than three").

Lampman to Finland

2007-06-05T23:19:00.000-04:00

Bryce Lampman (Heather Rutsch photo)

Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman Bryce Lampman (amerikkalaispuolustaja Bryce Lampmanin) has signed with TPS (HC TPS Turku Oy) of the Finnish league (SM-Liiga), as reported by both the TPS web site and the league web site.

Lampman's Wiki page has already been updated with the news, including a quote from TPS's head coach Hannu Virta extolling Lampman as a "great asset for the team, well-rounded player who has been the powerplay motor for the Hartford Wolf Pack's." There's no mention of what the guys in the "Bryce Is Right" t-shirts think about this, however.

Lampman had been with the Wolf Pack for the past four seasons, appearing in ten NHL games with the New York Rangers during that span. In 60 games in Hartford last season, Lampman registered 25 points (6g, 19a) and 62 penalty minutes.

Also, the Wolf Pack have apparently signed goalie Miika Wiikman. Also, the Wolf Pack have apparently signed goalie Miika Wiikman.

Much thanks to the good folks over at AHL Boards for keeping most of this straight.

Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia

2007-06-05T21:49:00.001-04:00

Wheee! We're the Who!

A handful of my favorite Guided By Voices songs, for no particular reason other than I like 'em.

Underground Initiations (listen)
Motor Away (live) (listen)
I Am A Tree (listen)
Not Behind The Fighter Jet (listen)
Tractor Rape Chain (listen)
Over The Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox (listen)
Expecting Brainchild (listen)
Don't Stop Now (listen)
I'll Get Over It (listen)
Huffman Prairie Flying Field (listen)

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Denis Arkhipov Signs With Ak Bars

2007-06-05T12:25:00.000-04:00

Chicago Blackhawks forward Denis Arkhipov has signed to play next season with Ak Bars Kazan, according to a report posted on Sport Express and the Ak Bars Kazan web site.

Arkhipov, a 20-goal scorer with Nashville in '01-'02, posted 27 points (10g, 17a) in 79 games for the Blackhawks this past season. Arkhipov has spent two previous stints with Ak Bars-- for four seasons between '96-'00, and during the '04-'05 lockout season.

Indications were that it was unlikely the Blackhawks were going to re-sign Arkhipov, an unrestricted free agent who made $900,000 last season. For one, the Blackhawks had already given Arkhipov's #19 to Jonathan Toews, Chicago's first round pick in '06, who signed a three-year deal last week.

Will Columbus Trade Zherdev?

2007-06-04T15:59:00.000-04:00

#13 Nikolai Zherdev

A member of Nikolai Zherdev's camp is requesting a trade, according to a story in yesterday's Columbus Dispatch:

An adviser to Blue Jackets right winger Nikolai Zherdev said "it maybe would be good for both sides" if Zherdev were traded before the start of the 2007-08 season.

But, Sasha Tyjnych said, Zherdev is spending this summer with the mind-set that he'll remain with the Blue Jackets.

"Columbus is what he's thinking about," Tyjnych said. "He wants to be in great shape coming into training camp. He's working out three times a week right now. On Aug. 15, he's coming to Ottawa to work with a fitness coach and get some ice time. He'll stay there until training camp."

Zherdev's first season under coach Ken Hitchcock did not go well.

Zherdev dipped from 27 goals in 2005-06 to 10 last season, and his work ethic was questioned by coaches and teammates. It's only fair to wonder if Zherdev will ever fit into Hitchcock's style of play, which emphasizes body checking and two-way play.

"Nikolai is a hockey player. He'll play for Hitch," Tyjnych said. "Hitch has his style of game. Nikolai thinks the game from a different perspective, like hockey players are to be creative. He is a forward. He wants to score goals. He wants to put the puck in the net."

Two Russian sites, Sport Express and NHL.ru, in pointing to the Columbus Dispatch story, are already suggesting that the Anaheim Ducks are vying for Zherdev's services. No justification for the Anaheim rumor is given by either site, though NHL.ru does note that Anaheim VP of Hockey Operations Bob Murray is the front-runner for the vacant Columbus GM position, by way of saying that the Zherdev issue is one that will have to be adressed by the new GM.

Defenders Have Amazing Rapport With Their Fans

2007-06-03T20:51:00.000-04:00

A poll that's currently up on the Connecticut Defenders web site, re: Defenders relief pitcher Brian Anderson.

(To view the actual poll, which is still pretty stupid, go here or here)

Looking For A Kiss

2007-06-01T23:13:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted about using the satellite images on sites like Mapquest in order to zoom around the U.S., looking at overhead shots of everything.

Well, that's practically retro now, because Google Maps has added Street View, which allows you to go to cities like New York and San Francisco and actually see close-ups of the various neighborhoods (including traffic and people's faces), block-by-block.

That's the Kiss "Destroyer" mural in NYC, above, on E. Houston Street, across from the Mercury Lounge (click on the image for a larger view).

Street View only works for a few cities, though, so you can't use it to zoom in on the Harry Dick Building in Danbury just yet.

(Building photo swiped from Brand Flakes For Breakfast)

In The Daytime, I'm Mr. Natural

2007-05-30T21:51:00.000-04:00

If you're a granola-crunching, tree-hugging dirt worshipper, meet what could be your new favorite baseball team: the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the soon-to-be Double-A Texas League affiliate (née the Wichita Wranglers) of the Kansas City Royals (link via the ever-lovin' Ballpark Digest).

Representatives of the team, which will play in Springdale, Arkansas starting in 2008, say, "The team’s logo is designed around a theme of natural waterfalls in the area." Sounds like cowpies to me.

As bad as the name "Naturals" is, I guess I can be thankful that some other similar-but-different alternatives weren't considered-- like the "Au Naturels", or the "Natural Lights", for instance.

"Gimme a Natch'al Light, Mac, and
step on it!"
Meanwhile, the Springdale, Ark., mayor's name is Jerre Van Hoose, but (thankfully for the rest of you) I'm going to leave that one alone for now.

Under The Influence of Liquor Giants

2007-05-29T23:31:00.000-04:00

Ward Dotson and Mike McNally, Liquor Giants

Not being a Gun Club aficianado, I first heard of Ward Dotson (ex-Gun Club) through a Pontiac Brothers interview in Conflict, where Dotson cracked, "We probably should've just given ourselves some dipshit name, like the Rave-Ups or something."

After the Pontiac Brothers came Dotson's next project, the Liquor Giants, who were (to paraphrase one wag) "the perfect mix of craft and thuggery". I'm not going to bother making up a list of artists whose recent output seems to owe a debt to the Liquor Giants, but Tommy Stinson, Ken Stringfellow, and Jon Auer should all be checking their messages right about now.

In any case, here are the Liquor Giants' first four records; "You're Always Welcome" was released overseas as "America's #1 Recording Artists". After these four came "Something Special for the Kids" (an album of all covers), and two other albums-- "Up With People" and a best-of package called "Back In A Flash"-- that were Australian-only.

Liquor Giants - You're Always Welcome (1992)

Over The Hill (listen)
Mrs. Griffith
Greatest Hit
Paint The Whole Town Blue (listen)
Middle Of Nowhere
Just Might Cry (listen)
(I Wanna) Get Drunk With You
The Little Song
Lost On Mars
My Teeth and Tongue
The Jokes On You
Fine Line (listen)
My World hidden track "Movin' On" (Bad Co.) (listen)

Liquor Giants - Here (1994)

67 East 2nd Street (listen)
An Arm Around You Too
Stick Around
Now That
Disgusted (listen)
This Paper Cup
Something's Always on Fire (listen)
Everybody's a Genius
I Don't Mind
Play Along
Here's to You (listen)
Hold My Hand
Wanna Belong
Happy New Year

Liquor Giants - Liquor Giants (1996)

Chocolate Clown (listen)
Fake Love
Copycat
Cranium (listen)
100 Dollar Car (listen)
Bastanchury Park (listen)
Awful Good
Hideous Pleasure
Hey You
Here
Jerked Around (listen)
All I Get (listen)
Thanksgiving in Zuma (listen)
Hold Tight Dave Dee - hidden track

Liquor Giants - Every Other Day At A Time (1998)

It's Raining Butterflies (listen)
Beautiful Flo
What's the New Mofo
Dearest Darling (listen)
Kentucky Lounge
I'll Never Mind
Medicine Ball Game
Multicoloured Hipshake
Meaningless (listen)
It Only Hurts When I Smile
Riverdale High (listen)
Caroline
I Know I'm Wrong (listen)
Summer School
Fire Brigade The Move - hidden track
I Don't Know Why Sons of Thunder - hidden track

Generic Sports Blog Disclaimer: Hockey season blah blah blah, a few of my favorite records here and there blah blah blah. Enjoy.

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Wolf Pack Sign On For Six More Years

2007-05-29T21:31:00.000-04:00

"This hockey shirt is wonderful. I wonder which one of these
guys is Wayne Gretzky?" (Chris Rutsch photo)

The future of the Wolf Pack in Hartford-- put into serious jeopardy when Madison Square Garden was dumped as the managers of the Hartford Civic Center in favor of AEG/Northland two months ago-- was given a breath of life today when the Rangers signed a multi-year affiliation deal (said to be for six years) for the Wolf Pack with AEG/Northland.

Per the agreement, AEG/Northland will assume responsibility for the day-to-day business operations of the Wolf Pack (marketing, sponsorship and ticket sales), while MSG and the Rangers will retain ownership of the Wolf Pack and continue to be responsible for on-ice team decisions, including coaching and player movement.

The deal is rumored to include a provision that terminates the agreement if an NHL team is ever brought to Hartford. Information about similar provisions involving the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and Thomas Pöck's checking ability remains as yet not leaked to the public.

Alex Westlund Signs With Amur

2007-05-27T21:36:00.000-04:00

Alex Westlund (Chris Rutsch photo)

Hartford Wolf Pack/Charlotte Checkers goaltender Alex Westlund has signed to play with Amur Tigers (Khabarovsk) of the Russian Super League, according to a report that was posted earlier today by Sport Express.

In seven games for the Wolf Pack last season, Westlund went 1-2-0-1, with a 2.39 GAA and .912 save percentage. Westlund also played 25 games with Charlotte, posting a 16-7-1 record with 3 shutouts.

This will be Westlund's second go-round in Khabarovsk, having played for the Amur Tigers between '02-'04 during a previous stint in Russia.

The CFL Is Even Meaner Than It Looks

2007-05-27T20:57:00.000-04:00

Russ Jackson, QB, Ottawa Rough Riders '58-'69

The CFL's B.C. Lions, winner of the Grey Cup in 2006, are about to unveil a season ticket ad campaign with the following tagline:

Since the BC Lions had such amazing season in 2006, we thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at all those dedicated opposition fans who made the long trek out to BC Place only to watch their team get slaughtered.

Each separate ad goes on to show a fan from one of the seven other CFL teams, watching in general agony as the terrifying 13-5 B.C. Lions rip their team to shreds-- only, each "fan" is pictured in presumably the worst stereotypical light possible.

So I ask the good-natured people of Canada-- inventors of hockey, shitty-tasting Carling Black Label, and bacon that is round-- do the fans from each of these cities actually look like this? (Except for the fruity-looking Montreal Alouettes fan; that one seems believable to me, for whatever reason.)

Calgary Stampeders

Edmonton Eskimos

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Montreal Alouettes

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Toronto Argonauts

Winnipeg Blue Bombers
My only other question is, Hey, Winnipeg guy-- are friggin' Blue Bombers shirts (never mind pants with legs) really all that expensive where you live?

Bykov Gets His Bike Out

2007-05-27T14:32:00.000-04:00

Vyacheslav Bykov

With the loquacious Andrei Nazarov now the head coach of Traktor Chelyabinsk, you'd think he'd have a corner on the market for controversy as far as Russian Super League coaches are concerned-- but I guess not...

Гаишники оштрафовали Быкова на 500 рублей

Revered Russian national team and CSKA-Moscow (Central Army) head coach Vyacheslav Bykov was pulled over in Moscow on Tuesday and cited for improperly operating his Mercedes, according to a story in the Russian paper Комсомольская правда (that's their fancy interactive headline widget-thingy above this paragraph).

The violation, of which I haven't specifically figured out yet, is said to usually involve the loss of driving privileges for two to four months; however, the next day Bykov settled out of court by merely paying a fine of only 500 rubles (less than $20).

Ziggy Palffy Returns

2007-05-26T20:15:00.000-04:00

Ziggy Palffy, retired now from the NHL for a season-and-a-half, is returning to the ice in his native Slovakia, according to a report that was posted earlier today on Sport Express and Sportbox.ru.

The report says that the 35-year-old Palffy, no longer bothered by the injuries that caused him to retire back in January of 2006, is preparing to play for the Slovakian club Skalica for the upcoming regular season, with the hopes of playing for the Slovak national team at the '08 World Championships.

In the article, Palffy is quoted as saying, "I was going crazy from boredom without hockey. When I returned to the ice for the first time, I was excited. If all goes well this season, look for me in Canada at the World Championships."

Andrei Markov goal for Dynamo Moscow, 1999

2007-05-26T17:53:00.000-04:00

Before Andrei Markov came over to play in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens, he started his pro career with Khimik and then Dynamo Moscow in the Russia Super League, where he was voted the league's top defenseman for the '99-'00 season.

This video (which I've also put on my YouTube account) is a goal that Markov scored for Dynamo in Feb. 1999-- sending the puck the full length of the ice and through the pads of the stunned Metallurg goalie with 9 seconds left. Assist to Maxim Afinogenov!

Here's a description I found of Markov's goal:

In the final of the prestigious Euroleague tournament, Markov scored against Metallurg Magnitogorsk the most curious and astonishing goal ever seen in the world of hockey.

Metallurg led 1-0 with only eight seconds left in the third period. The Dynamo goalie was pulled and Markov, who was behind the net, took a pass from Maxim Afinogenov. Markov fired a tremendous slap shot, which crossed all the lines and squeezed into the net past the glove of goalie Boris Tortunov, forcing the game into overtime. The fans went into hysterics for several minutes.

Markov commented on his shot, "I never thought of scoring from such a tremendous distance. I got the puck and thought just of shooting it into the rival’s zone and then to fight for it there. Of course I aimed the puck for the goaltender simply not to allow icing."