The Flames Have A Six Game Road Trip After The Home Opener

For reals.

Submitted Without Comment

(http://www.newstalk770.com/2014/07/15/re-instate-rose/)

Charts

I was on the Flames website, looking at the roster when I see this guy named David Wolf. 6'3", 215 pounds.

Intriguing.

I've never heard of the cat. So click on the name and go scrolling through the news and wind up on this nice little chart that the people over at the Flames website have whipped up just in case curious people like myself want to find out a little more about David Wolf.

It's called "Numerology: David Wolf"

Here is what caught my eye:

It's pretty great. Two pieces of information on one cell, and of the two, the one of lesser importance is the one that they have chosen to lead with and highlight.

Excellently done.


Furthermore, I think Peter Loubardias should be fired. 

Yet Another Reason To Hate The Media

Ok the NHL draft is tonight and we are all super duper excited for it and everything and who are the Flames gonna pick it's such a wide open draft yada yada yada

So now that that is outta the way now...

The NBA draft was last night, and the Raptors, with the twentieth pick overall, picked a cat named Bruno 'The Brazilian Kevin Durant' Caboclo. Who? Exactly.

Now, whether you hate the pick or not is one thing. My personal opinion on the matter is that it is the twentieth pick in the NBA draft so it's a worthless pick anyways. The criticism that the team could have waited to draft the guy with a later pick is probably valid, but at the same time, who were they going to draft that had a better chance of becoming a consistent NBA player?

So I'm OK with the pick. But it is an interesting pick nonetheless, being that the kid is so unknown, that you can't help but try and find out some more information about the whole situation. And so that's how it was that I came across this story on TSN:

CASEY: ENNIS WAS INTIAL TARGET, BUT CABOCLO COULD BE SPECIAL

Which is basically what the Raptors are thinking, but it's not the headline I have a problem with.

In the article, it says the following:

The Raptors head coach joined TSN 1050 to shed some light on the team's surprise selection and defend the criticism of the pick by ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla who described Caboclo as being a player that was “two years away from being two years away.”

(Bolding is mine yo)

And why, DB, do you have a problem with that?

I have a problem with that because I was actually watching the draft on ESPN, and I was actually watching the Raptors draft Bruno. And because I was actually watching, I know that Fran Fraschilla was not really criticizing the pick, and was in fact one of the few people (apparently) who even know who Bruno was, and actually would say on the air that he liked the pick. He even went so far to say it was the "Ultimate home run swing of a pick."

Now, I don't have a TIVO so I can't prove it, but you're just going to have to believe your friend DB when he tells you this: the real reason I am so worked up over the above quote is that the very next thing out of Fraschilla's mouth after he said "two years away from being two years away," was: "That's not a criticism."

I mean for fuck sakes. And TSN aired the fucking draft, so they know. Now it's a little thing, a little story, but this damnable trait of our corporate media overlords where they go out of their way to create fake angles in stories is tiresome and ridiculous.

It's fucking stupid. And here I am, on a beautiful fucking day, writing about a made up beef between two guys who, in reality, share the exact same fucking opinion on a bloody long shot international NBA prospect.

Just draft a fucking centre, Flames.

Furthermore, I think Peter Loubardias should be fired

This Troy Ward Story Interests Me Considerably

So Troy Ward got fired.

Huh?

The guy the media was promoting to be the head coach of the team before the team hired Hartley was fired? For no reason? Huh?

Obviously there is a story here.

Some points, gang. How in the world was the team beefing with the head coach of the minor league team and nobody in the local media thought to mention it?

The team is rebuilding. It is going to be relying on young players. The young players that the team will be relying on are currently playing on the minor league team. It would seem to me, a simple person, that in this situation, a situation in which the team is going to be leaning on player development to move the organization forward, that if the big league team is feuding with the guy coaching the minor league team, that that would be newsworthy.

What makes the whole drama even more compelling is that not but a season and a half ago, Troy Ward was getting fluffed up pretty by inkstained everywhere as the top choice to replace Brent Sutter as head coach.

Remember?

Dinosaur media: Globe & Mail: "Flames Size Up Troy Ward For Head Coaching Job"

Even though this is only Ward’s first full season as a head coach in a decade, many around the organization believe he is the front-runner to coach the Flames next season. How a virtual unknown could beat out the field and secure a high-profile NHL job is a story of perseverance and dedication, because beyond the Heat’s 42-26-8 record and strong showing in the postseason, Ward’s work ethic and personality have won the hearts of the Flames’ brass.

Mom's Basement Media: Puck Daddy: "Is Troy Ward In Line To Be The Next Head Coach Of The Calgary Flames?"

The problem is, (Ward) may not be behind the bench for long. Eakins wasn't the only hockey mind to recognize how hard the Heat play; there are strong rumblings that Ward has done enough to make himself not just a candidate in the Calgary Flames' search for a new head coach, but the only publicly acknowledged candidate thus far.

So I mean, I think there is a there, there.

(I wrote some stupid shit about Ward in May of 2012. And Hartley too! Bonus!)

You go from hot new thang to yesterday's garbage and nobody says why?

Why? What's the story? I bet it's interesting.

Shitz I Findz Interestingz:

Craig Conroy was Head f Hockey Operations for the AHL Heat a lil while back. More recently, Craig Conroy was promoted to Assistant General Manager of the Calgary Flames. His first move was to fire Troy Ward. Ruthless.

Why the beef? Was Ward, on a personal level, a clownish buffoon who was an asshole and hard to deal with? Was he coaching the team in a way the team didn't approve of?

It's gotta be something like that, right? What else could it be?

Stat from Flamesnation:

Under Ward, the Heat went 119-83-12-14 and made the playoffs twice but winning just one playoff round.

So you can't even point to a losing record as a reason. Again, it's gotta be personal drama of some sort, and other people's personal drama is interesting.

Do you think he fucked a babysitter?

Furthermore, I think Peter Loubardias should be fired.

“I shot and it went in,”

Marie-Philip Poulin, on her goal to win the Gold Medal for Canada at Sochi Olympics.

***

I loved watching that victory. Come from behind with time ticking away, against the rival to force overtime. If we had not even won, dayenu.

It is what sport is about, and it is what myth making is about. In the book 'Plucky, Never-Give-Up, Eternally Underdog Canadians', another chapter is written. It is wonderful and glorious and it is the very best of jingoism. I had a better day today because Canada won. I feel better about myself because Canada won. I feel better about the people around me because Canada won. The food tastes better and the water is sweeter because Canada won.

And while it would be a nice victory in a vacuum, it elicits the response it does in me because of the fashion in which Canada won. We won like good ol' Canadians should. Coming from behind, fighting against adversity, back against the walls, as the underdog. Like the myth demands.

For a Gold Medal, a symbol of the Champion originating from the very land of the gods of Olympus.

It is so perfect as to be unbelievable. Surely this was scripted?

Sports are magic. Sometimes I get to thinking that Sports are just a way to punish oneself. You need some displeasure in your life, and may you blessed that it only comes from something as jovial as Sport. You follow a team and, for most, it doesn't win. Most fans have their hopes raised only to be dashed to pieces on the sharp, cold rocks of reality. But then you win, and in such a way. It is magic. Your soul soars. You are inspired. You can't help but be.

And you get to have these emotions, you have a right to at least a small sliver of the joy of the women in red and white who had to play the game and shoulder the actual responsibility to deliver victory, because you are Canadian.

Hey! Why Don't We Ask Brian Burke About The Shutdown Of The United States Government?

As you all know, the United States Government was recently shutdown due to partisan bickering. You may have heard about it. It is making a lot of news down south.

We don't really understand it though. I mean, all poli-tricks look the same to us. And it is especially difficult to read the political climate and cultural undertones surrounding an event that takes place in a foreign country.

It is for that reason that we here at Dome Beers decided that we should probably ask somebody with some knowledge about these things if they would be willing to clarify the issues for us. So with that said, who better to ask than Brian Burke? I mean, America!

Dome Beers: Brian, the United States government has recently shutdown. What do you make of President Barack Obama's performance during this situation?

Burke: All I’ve seen are flashes of brilliance. And flashes of brilliance are fine if you’re working at a university but they’re not much good to people in an NHL building.

Dome Beers: Hmm. Interesting. The Congress in America is playing a much larger role in this than the President, though, right? What do you think of how Harry Reid is handling the strategy of the shutdown?

Burke: He’s got to learn there’s three zones on the ice surface in this league. I don’t see that he’s learned to play or compete in two of them.

Dome Beers: Very insightful. Switching angles, Brian, what are your thoughts on John Boehner's leadership of the House? Do you think he is being responsible here with his tactics?

Burke: He’s gotta learn there’s a clock in this league, so many minutes in the game, and you’ve got to compete through all of them. And all I see this is a guy focusing on one area, then only sporadically.

Dome Beers: Wise words. As you know, a foreshadow to this event was Senator Cruz and his mini-filibuster. What do you think of the Senator of Texas by way of Calgary?

Burke: I’m not ready to quit on a young kid, not ready to throw him under bus here today. I’m not going to rip him. I think you can tell from my comments that I see big holes and a lack of commitment that’s not going to get him anywhere in my books.

Dome Beers: Thank you for your time, Brian. Greatly appreciate it. You really helped clear things up for us.

Burke: Truculence.

Furthermore, I think Peter Loubardias should be fired.

**
Quotes stolen from Johnson of the Calgary Herald.