La Copa Mundial ... de Hockey!

It's the World Cup! It only comes along once every four years! It's a call for pride amongst the sporting nations!

Yeah, ok, so it's hockey. But given the fact that there may not be an NHL season for a while, it's likely to be a hockey wonk's final call for some great ice action for a while.

They're playing many of the games here in the Twin Cities, at the Xcel Center, up until one of the semifinals. The other semi, and the championship game, is at the Air Canada Center in Toronto. Can you ask for two better places to watch a hockey game?

Yes, I know it's early September. I can't help it, it's ALWAYS hockey time. Don't you people understand that?

ESPN has brought out their best announcing team for the event. Gary Thorne is the best play-by-play man in sports (apologies to Al Michaels, but he is). Bill Clement you'll know as that hunk from the Deep Woods Off commercial. *pauses* ... Haha, I joke, I jest. (But you may recognize him from that commercial). Seriously though, Clement is a great low-key counterpoint to Thorne, and he's very insightful. For the Cup, though, they've added a wild-card to the booth... one JR, Jeremy Roenick, NHL Superstar. JR's maybe a little too much of a homer for the USA team... but at the same time he adds a lot of interesting comments, that you know come from experience. For example, they show a replay in slo-motion of a crosscheck to the back (one that broke the stick, by the way), and you hear Roenick say: Oh! He snapped the twig! ... That HURTS! He's gonna feel that in the morning. It's good stuff.

It's good hockey, too. Many of the players are from the NHL, and the rest are no slouches. Even the Slovakian team has a fair amount of star power, including the Minnesota Wild's own Marian Gaborik (shown below). The US and Canadian teams are, of course, all NHL players, but all the teams are fun to watch. If you like hockey, you're really missing out if you're not watching. The quarterfinal that I'm watching more than I'm writing this has already had a penalty shot, and a ton of great plays and saves, and a hat trick by Mr. Tkachuk of the USA. It's fun to say "Tkachuck". Try it! (Did I say three goals? Add an empty netter to that tally... how often do you get to see a guy score four goals in a game? The last guy to do it in a Canada Cup was named Lemieux.) (The World Cup used to be called the Canada Cup, by the way... I'm sure you wanted to know that.) (Last parenthetical, I swear... by the way, on the Russian team... Mr. Kasparitis. "Kasparitis" is fun to say, too.)

To blithely steal from a Jamaican beer commercial... in the end... It's Hockey! Hooray Hockey!

So... it looks like the USA will be playing Finland in the semifinal on Friday night. Finland's the top seed in the European Bracket, and if you like crazy hockey names, Finland is without a doubt your team. Kimmo Timonen... Teemu Selanne... Saku Koivu... Ossi Vaananen... Teppo Numminen (Hello, Teppo.)... Janne Niinimaa... Ville Nieminen... Antti Laaksonen... AND... Jarkko and Tuomo Ruutu. I should note that I spelled exactly none of those names from memory.

In any case... does Sue Bird have my number yet? She should call me and take me out on a date to that game. I mean it's not like she'll be doing anything like playing in her own professional sports game or anything. *pauses* ... oh, wait. *checks schedule*. Heeey, they're in Minnesota on Friday. Changing course, she should take me out after her game! Haha...

In other news...

Switching gears briefly to football... I read that the Minnesota Vikings signed placekicker Morten Andersen today. Wanna see something funny? Watch as I give all Vikings fans a simultaneous stroke. You all remember Morten Andersen, don't you? Here:

Remember that? Do ya?

I just heard wadE curse me out from here. Haha! I'm outta here. See ya!

P.S. Hooray Hockey!

9/7/2004