GAME ON - Hockey starts tonight

[yvr girl]

Can y'all hear the cheering in Canada?

[StopTheMorans]

1. where, and what, pray tell, is "Canada"?

:shrug:

[yvr girl]

5. The Utopian country north of Bush Land

:hi:

[JohnnyBoots]

2. Let's Go Flyers!

[matcom]

3. Hockey?

that's like the WWE only really cold right? :shrug:

[yvr girl]

6. Bite me

Vancouver has finesse players.

[matcom]

9. they have HHH right?

i hear he is awesome

[yvr girl]

14. Colour me confused

BTW, number 99 is making his coaching debut here tonight.

[matcom]

15. Stone Cold Steve Austin?

really?

[HEyHEY]

39. No, that's my sex life

[bamacrat]

4. Who cares???????

[underpants]

11. Team putting

you could make a joke about how it resembles some sort of contained energy release excercise for the retarded....but that might be pushing it a bit too far.....plus most ICE hockey fans wouldn't get it or would lose interest about half way through

RED LIGHT!!!

[HEyHEY]

42. And slamming into each other doesn't?

[HEyHEY]

40. PRetty well one half of Canada will be watchign tonight... that's who

[HEyHEY]

41. Go Canucks go!

[Canadian Socialist]

7. Go Flames go! n/t

[GOPisEvil]

8. Too bad I can't watch. Who the hell has the Outdoor Life Network?

Maybe we'll get some games on Fox Sports SW. :shrug:

[underpants]

12. OLN? it is relegated to OLN?

Oh sweet jesus is that sport done for.

[matcom]

13. no. its also on BET

RIIIIIIIGGGGHHHTTTTT

[underpants]

23. Cool beans man! I can flip between BET and Univision

Bienvenido a hiela el entusiasmo del hockey

[yvr girl]

18. The contract with (Fox?) expired during the lock out

I can see two games here tonight, and it's not even Hockey Night in Canada.

[GOPisEvil]

21. Hockey was on ESPN and ABC (mostly ESPN).

Now...OLN...:(

[matcom]

22. you Canuks have 'Hockey Night'?

:rofl:

are sleds forbidden on the roads during this timeframe?

[yvr girl]

29. An explanation about HNIC

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:v1aPwJ0oTCQJ:www.courier-tribune.com/bobcolumn/B060802.html+%22hockey+night+in+Canada%22+thanksgiving&hl=en

(Not sure if the link will work - the article is in my cache.)

'Hockey Night': Must-see TV we never saw


OK, I admit that, like a lot of other hockey-impaired Tarheels I've lately, and sort of by necessity, been trying to learn more about the sport.

Because, of course, the Carolina Hurricanes are currently competing for the Stanley Cup, which, I'm told, is the equivalent of baseball's World Series or NASCAR's Winston Cup - only colder.

So, I turned to the only native Canadian I know - Michele Dyck, a friend and co-worker here at The Courier-Tribune - and asked her to help me understand some of the nuances of hockey.

Not so much the rules of the game - "icing," to me, is always going to be what you put on a cake ... not a hockey rule violation.

No, I hoped Michele could clue me in a bit on why, as she put it, hockey is more a "lifestyle" than a game throughout Canada and parts of the northern U.S.

Which was when Michele mentioned something called "Hockey Night In Canada."

Which, I was to learn, is, on one level, simply a long-running Saturday night broadcast on Canadian TV of professional hockey Department of Motor Vehicles.

But is apparently much more than that - a true hockey-based Canadian "national institution" that dates back, on TV, to 1952, and, even earlier, beginning on radio in 1933.

Now, first you need to understand - as Michele tried to help me understand - that hockey truly permeates every facet of Canadian culture.

"The top players are bigger than actors or rock stars or politicians," Michele said.

And kids start playing the game as tots.

In Michele's case, growing up in Asquith, Saskatchewan, she played hockey in a league. So did her brothers. So did her dad.

And, unlike baseball here, you played - or were getting ready to play - all year round.

In other words, hockey competition was a constant among Canadians.

Except, of course, on Saturday nights ... when no games were scheduled.

Because everybody gathered around the TV "at the house of the person who had the biggest TV."

Or, maybe it was simply the one night of the week when entire families got together in front of the set at home.

To watch that week's match on "Hockey Night In Canada."

And I'm thinking that it must have given new meaning to the phrase "Must-See TV."

The opening theme song to "Hockey Night In Canada" is sort of a second Canadian national anthem, I'm told.

And, I learned by reading a "Hockey Night In Canada" web page on the Internet, the show's announcers also became national institutions. Names like Foster Hewitt, Ward Cornell, Dave Hodge and Ron MacLean might not register with many Carolinians.

But, in Canada, Michele tells me, some of those names are as recognizable as, if not more so than, say, Dan Rather's here in the states.

Then, there's Don Cherry, whose "Coach's Corner" segments became the highest-rated spot on Canadian TV.

Now, I'd never heard of Don Cherry.

But after listening to Michele talk about him, I guess I really missed something.

Anyway I was trying to sort of sort this "Hockey Night In Canada" thing out in my mind.

What, exactly, would be the American equivalent?

Would it be like when my dad and I got together to watch "The Friday Night Fights" back during boxing's 1950s heyday?

Or like when a bunch of guys get together nowadays to watch "Monday Night Football?"

Or is it, perhaps, a bit more than that?

I was telling The Courier-Tribune sports editor Dennis Garcia about all this.

It turned out that, to my surprise, Dennis was very familiar with "Hockey Night In Canada."

Growing up in Michigan, he was able to tune in to the "Hockey Night" games because the Canadian Broadcast Channel's signal reached to the Detroit area.

Plus, Dennis couldn't believe I didn't know who Don Cherry is.

So I asked Dennis to give me an analogy.

To name something American that was the equivalent to a continuing Canadian TV broadcast that causes entire families to sit down together for a common event.

Dennis thought about it:

"Thanksgiving," he said.

[JimmyJazz]

10. *clears throat*

O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.


O Canada! Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux.
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter la croix.
Ton histoire est une épopée,
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

**********************************

Yep - I'm ready :D

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. My dear JimmyJazz.......

I didn't know you could sing!

You sound wonderful, BTW...

Have those lyrics memorized, do you? J/K......




:loveya: :pals:

[JimmyJazz]

26. Actually, I do know the words to Oh Canada. Most American

hockey fans do. :)

[ghostsofgiants]

19. We're talking about hockey here...

No one heard you over the cheering.

[yvr girl]

20. BRAVA

I was impressed with the English version and then I scrolled down. WOW!

[JimmyJazz]

27. Cut and Paste is our friend.

:P

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

25. Hello out there, we're on the air

It's hockey night tonight
Tension grows, the whistle blows
And the puck goes down the ice
The goalie jumps and the players bump
And the fans all go insane
Someone roars "Bobby scores!"
At the good ol' hockey game

(Chorus)
Oh, the good ol' hockey game
Is the best game you can name
And the best game you can name
Is the good ol' hockey game

Second period

The players dash with skates a-flash
The home team trails behind
But they grab the puck and go bursting up
And they're down across the line
They storm the crease like bumblebees
They travel like a burning flame
We see them slide the puck inside
It's a 1-1 hockey game!

(Chorus)

Third period
Last game of the playoffs, too

Oh, take me where the hockey players
Face off down the rink
And the Stanley Cup is all filled up
For the champs who win the drink
Now the final flick of a hockey stick
And one gigantic scream
The puck is in! The home team wins
The good ol' hockey game!

(Chorus x 3)

(c) Stompin' Tom Connors

[ghostsofgiants]

17. I think I might be the only Canadian who doesn't care...

My roommates are pretty excited though.

[Telly Savalas]

31. Call the Globe and Mail.

They'll do a story on you.

[ohiosmith]

24. Go HABS!

[Baclava]

28. Go Pens!!!

Lemieux, LeClair, Crosby, Palffy, Gonchar, T-Bo and Recchi...

Welcome to the Igloo Sidney!!! Kick ass.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

30. Opening night matchups:

(I originally posted this in its own thread, but it'll probably get more mileage here)

Montreal Canadiens @ Boston Bruins
New York Islanders @ Buffalo Sabres
New York Rangers @ Philadelphia Flyers
Columbus Blue Jackets @ Washington Capitals
Atlanta Thrashers @ Florida Panthers
Pittsburgh Penguins @ New Jersey Devils
Carolina Hurricanes @ Tampa Bay Lightning
St. Louis Blues @ Detroit Red Wings
Ottawa Senators @ Toronto Maple Leafs
San Jose Sharks @ Nashville Predators
Calgary Flames @ Minnesota Wild
Anaheim Mighty Ducks @ Chicago Blackhawks
Los Angeles Kings @ Dallas Stars
Colorado Avalanche @ Edmonton Oilers
Phoenix Coyotes @ Vancouver Canucks

Chill the beer and nuke the popcorn. It's gonna be one hell of a night.

[devilgrrl]

32. He shoots - he scores!!!!!!!!

Go Sabres!!!!!!

[Baclava]

33. UPDATE!!! DirecTv Free Preview October 5-12 on channels 764-774!

According to the DirecTV site - Watch the games FREE the first week of the season.

[Zomby Woof]

34. THANKS!

Go KINGS!!! :bounce:

[ellie]

35. Go Wings!

But they traded my beloved Cujo. I love Cujo! And they brought back Osgood. I can't stand Odgood.

[UrbScotty]

36. Well, at least they won!

5-1!

[KitchenWitch]

37. The Wild beat the Flames!

:woohoo::bounce::woohoo::bounce::woohoo::bounce::woohoo::bounce::woohoo::bounce:

[JimmyJazz]

38. My boys SUCKED EGGS! 4 unanswered goals!

:wtf: