This is from L.A. Kings Insider. If any of the Kings visiting the Pasadena rink want to serve as a ringer -- I'm talking to you Jack Johnson -- my team plays at 5 pm. I bet we can find an extra red jersey....
Kings rink tour
The Kings will hold their annual “rink tour” on Sunday, with players, coaches and broadcasters appearing at six rinks throughout Southern California for on-ice clinics with local youth players and autograph sessions with fans. The event will take place from 2:30-4 p.m. at each rink, and this year’s selected rinks are in Aliso Viejo, Simi Valley, Valencia, Anaheim, Pasadena and Palos Verdes. Click below for a full list of the rinks and the Kings scheduled to be at each rink…
ALISO VIEJO ICE PALACE (9 Journey, 949-643-9648): Jonathan Bernier, Davis Drewiske, Scott Parse, Kevin Westgarth, Daryl Evans.
ICEOPLEX SIMI VALLEY (131 West East St., 805-520-7465): Trevor Lewis, Andrei Loktionov, Brad Richardson, Jarret Stoll, Bob Miller.
ICE STATION VALENCIA (27745 N. Smyth Drive, 661-775-8686): Drew Doughty, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Jamie Kompon, Nick Nickson.
KHS ICE ARENA, ANAHEIM (1000 East Cerritos Ave., 714-422-1236): Kyle Clifford, Anze Kopitar, Jake Muzzin, Ryan Smyth, Jim Fox.
PASADENA ICE SKATING RINK (300 E. Green St., 626-578-0801): Matt Greene, Peter Harrold, Jack Johnson, Willie Mitchell, Jonathan Quick, Terry Murray.
ICE CHALET, PALOS VERDES (550 Deep Valley Drive, Rolling Hills Estates, 310-541-6630): Dustin Brown, Michal Handzus, Rob Scuderi, Justin Williams, John Stevens.
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Showing posts with label Jack Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jack Johnson. Show all posts
Friday, October 15, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
How can anyone ever watch baseball again after that?
The final score of the Winter Olympics' gold medal hockey game on Sunday may be disappointing to those of us who badly wanted to witness Canada get whooped on their home ice.
Yet, it was such a thrilling game hat it's hard to be too bummed that the Frozen People of the North got the medal they needed to validate their when-will-my-balls-thaw existence.
At least you weren't stuck on the subway in Vancouver yesterday; check out the above video to see how that went.
My observations on the game:
1. There should not even be a discussion over whether the NHL should send its players to the Winter Games in Sochi in 2014. The past week earned more publicity for the sport than the NHL can ever generate on its own with less-than-brilliant marketing techniques such as ice girls and strobe lights.
2. As my friend Scott pointed out in an extremely caffeinated phone call before the third period, did you happen to notice that the game was really exciting despite there being no fighting? Fighting isn't permitted in the international game and I didn't hear one person say they missed it. As I've written before, fighting may be fun sometimes, but it likely turns off more people than it turns on and gives a beautiful sport (which is plenty violent without fighting) a bad image. As long as fighting is allowed and encouraged by the NHL, the NHL will be treated as a minor league sport on par with tractor pulls, pig races and funnel cake eating contests.
3. Which, of course, is a shame. Can anyone who watched today's game imagine sitting in front of a TV for 2 1/2 hours watching a baseball game? Or golf? I think the only sport that comes close on excitement level is pro football and let's face it, today's game was at least 37.3 more times exciting than the Super Bowl -- which featured about 10 minutes of game action and three hours of nut-scratching (albeit nut-scratching in high def!).
4. I'm not so sure that Team Canada is better than Team USA. After two games plus part of an OT period, the U.S. had scored seven goals to Canada's six. The Canadians seemed to have a little more offensive flash throughout the Olympic tournament, but I don't think anyone can argue they were a dominant team. Yes, they slayed Russia. But Russia's goaltender had a mental meltdown that in the old says would have earned him hard time on the Siberian outpost.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Three Kings to play for U.S. in Olympics
I'm just catching up on news from the past few days. So you may have heard by now that three members of the Kings made the American squad that will go to Vancouver next month: goalie Jonathan Quick, defenseman Jack Johnson and winger and Kings captain Dustin Brown.
It doesn't sound as if Quick will get much playing time, but Johnson and Brown certainly will. I'm a big fan of Johnson and think he may be the Kings' best overall player -- not only can he remove man from puck, but he also has the skating and stickhandling chops to take the puck up the ice. And his shot is a rifle.
Here's a USA Today analysis of the U.S. men's roster. Sounds like the writer is a Johnson fan, too.
While it's fun to see the Kings compete for a playoff spot this season, I'm more stoked for the Olympic tournament at this point. Unlike the regular NHL season, the Olympic hockey tournament is short and sweet and every second of every game will count.
The Canada-U.S. game is Feb. 21 at 4:40 p.m., by the way. That's just as the Sunday stick time session at the Pasadena rink is ending. If the game is shown live -- and if it's not, someone should throw the president of NBC to the wolves in San Quentin -- I look forward to plopping down at the bar in the adjacent Sheraton hotel, stinky and sweaty, and quaffing a few while watching the game.
Here's the link to the press release about the U.S. team from USA Hockey.
One other sidenote: the Kings' Michael Handzus will be playing for Slovakia at the Winter games. If you're wondering why Anze Kopitar won't be going to Vancouver it's because he's from Slovenia and Slovenia doesn't have a team going to the games.
It doesn't sound as if Quick will get much playing time, but Johnson and Brown certainly will. I'm a big fan of Johnson and think he may be the Kings' best overall player -- not only can he remove man from puck, but he also has the skating and stickhandling chops to take the puck up the ice. And his shot is a rifle.
Here's a USA Today analysis of the U.S. men's roster. Sounds like the writer is a Johnson fan, too.
While it's fun to see the Kings compete for a playoff spot this season, I'm more stoked for the Olympic tournament at this point. Unlike the regular NHL season, the Olympic hockey tournament is short and sweet and every second of every game will count.
The Canada-U.S. game is Feb. 21 at 4:40 p.m., by the way. That's just as the Sunday stick time session at the Pasadena rink is ending. If the game is shown live -- and if it's not, someone should throw the president of NBC to the wolves in San Quentin -- I look forward to plopping down at the bar in the adjacent Sheraton hotel, stinky and sweaty, and quaffing a few while watching the game.
Here's the link to the press release about the U.S. team from USA Hockey.
One other sidenote: the Kings' Michael Handzus will be playing for Slovakia at the Winter games. If you're wondering why Anze Kopitar won't be going to Vancouver it's because he's from Slovenia and Slovenia doesn't have a team going to the games.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Doughty makes Canadian Olympic team
The big hockey news of the day was the naming of the Canadian men's hockey team that will be trying to bring home the gold medal for the home squad in Vancouver in February. And, to boot, it's a great day for local hockey -- Kings defenseman Drew Doughty made the cut, as did a trio from the Anaheim Ducks -- defenseman Scott Niedermayer and forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.
Here's the full roster. The Sharks also placed four players: forwards Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton and defenseman Dan Boyle.
Sadly, the Kings' Ryan Smyth didn't make the team -- likely because he's coming off an injury that forced him to miss more than a month of play.
Former Ducks player and current Flyer Chris Pronger got the nod and a goalie that both the Ducks and Kings know well -- the Canucks' Roberto Luongo -- will get to mind the net on his home ice in Vancouver. In other words, the West Coast will be well represented on Team Canada.
The U.S. team will be named during the Winter Classic on Friday in Boston. Three members of the Kings are said to be under consideration: foward and team captain Dustin Brown, defenseman Jack Johnson and goalie Jonathan Quick. Brown, by the way, his Doughty's teammate on the road.
Good coverage of the Doughty selection can be found at LAKingsInsider.
My completely uninformed opinion about this: I thought Doughty played better last year than this season. There's no doubt he is very skilled, but he also seems badly out of position at times. About this, I know a little something: I'm often several country miles out of position.
In any event, all of this extremely excites Puck Boy. As cynical as we all sometimes can be about politics and such, there's still something to be said about playing for your country and the Olympic hockey tournament is the game's best chance to make a case for itself to millions of people around the world. And, if it ignites more interest in hockey locally, all the better.
--Steve Hymon
Here's the full roster. The Sharks also placed four players: forwards Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton and defenseman Dan Boyle.
Sadly, the Kings' Ryan Smyth didn't make the team -- likely because he's coming off an injury that forced him to miss more than a month of play.
Former Ducks player and current Flyer Chris Pronger got the nod and a goalie that both the Ducks and Kings know well -- the Canucks' Roberto Luongo -- will get to mind the net on his home ice in Vancouver. In other words, the West Coast will be well represented on Team Canada.
The U.S. team will be named during the Winter Classic on Friday in Boston. Three members of the Kings are said to be under consideration: foward and team captain Dustin Brown, defenseman Jack Johnson and goalie Jonathan Quick. Brown, by the way, his Doughty's teammate on the road.
Good coverage of the Doughty selection can be found at LAKingsInsider.
My completely uninformed opinion about this: I thought Doughty played better last year than this season. There's no doubt he is very skilled, but he also seems badly out of position at times. About this, I know a little something: I'm often several country miles out of position.
In any event, all of this extremely excites Puck Boy. As cynical as we all sometimes can be about politics and such, there's still something to be said about playing for your country and the Olympic hockey tournament is the game's best chance to make a case for itself to millions of people around the world. And, if it ignites more interest in hockey locally, all the better.
--Steve Hymon
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