A Large Regular

Many a truth is said in jest.

- Well done!

- I feel seen

- Shouldn't laugh at the irony but the Hurricanes vs Lightning game got postponed because of hurricanes and lightning

- I'm an awful person for laughing at this

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Yet Florida in the south has 4 Stanley Cups in the same time Canada has zero.

- From the archive: How much could Batman bench press?

- Supreme Court rules on SEC vs Jarkesy: a win for the separation of powers and the right to a civil jury trial. This could be a very big deal.

- CNN could be forced to pay about $1 billion in defamation suit against Jake Tapper's show.

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Four Nations Minus One. Agree I'll probably watch anyway but starting to dislike the idea of a hockey tourney that doesn't include the Russians or some of the games best players.

- VDH on 20 precedents the Left has created.

- The Daily Coach on mastering the art of team engagement and retention.

- Tucker Carlson Episode 76 on Julian Assange. 

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Another reason Hockey fans are the best.

- Shane Parrish on Writing to Think

- Never trust the CDC

- Was China behind Sam Altman's firing? If you read one this this week - make it this article.

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Tucker Carlson Episode 26 with Bill O'Reilly. Less than 10 million views as I type this.

- Paul Graham's essay on Cities and Ambition. From 2008 but new to me. Remember there's a difference between a "great" city and a "shithole."

- Morgan Housel on the Written Word. Good writing advice.

- The NHL has returned. To be honest I haven't watched a second of Bruins preseason action.

A day after his birthday Patrice Bergeron announces his retirement after 20-years with the Bruins in the NHL. He'll always be pure class and the Captain in my mind. Here's hoping he enjoys his well earned retirement. I'll be sure to watch the game where his number is retired.

Guessing one reason why Patrice Bergeron went out the way he did is because he had a front row seat to how Zdano Chara's career ended elsewhere. Boston picked Bergeron with the 45th pick overall - a pick they got from the NHL for losing Bill Guerin to free agency. I'd call that a good trade any day. 

I'd also 100% support renaming the Selkie Award after Bergeron. May the road rise to meet you. Thanks for the memories!

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Before you go see the movie Flamin' Hot - read the article about the janitor at Frito-Lay who "invented" Flamin' Hot Cheetos.

- Speaking of - Bridget Phetasy on Why Pride lost the public.

-  How to light and smoke a cigar. From the archives.

- Final Pride related article of the day - NHL cancels all remaining Pride nights for rest of the season. People are just growing weary of the distraction.

It's been more than two weeks since the Boston Bruins lost the deciding game 7 against the Florida Panthers. To say that the series loss shocked and depressed Boston fans would be an understatement (myself included). You have to understand that any Bruins season that ends before the anniversary of Bobby Orr's iconic goal (May 10, 1970) is considered a failure. This season even more so because Boston had set the NHL record for success in the regular season and were the top ranked team in the playoffs. 

It should be remembered, though, that great things were not expected of this team before the season started. They were a 25-1 long shot to win the Stanley Cup before the first puck was dropped in the season. They were a long shot for a reason. New coach, and big questions on both the goaltending and blue line fronts. These expected deficiencies did not rear their heads during the regular season. In fact the Bruins had the best goaltending in the league. It was in the first round of the playoffs that these deficiencies made their presence known and now hockey fans in Boston are forced to watch other cities strive for the cup.

What saddens me the most is that this was no way for Captain Patrice Bergeron to end his Hall of Fame career. If he does retire, he'll do so as the reigning Selke Award winner as the top defensive forward in the NHL. Basically still at the top of his game. Bergeron is one of the nicest people in all of sports and I'll be sad to see him go if he does decide to hang up his skates.

 

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Are there benefits to statins?

- Why Penn Entertainment bought Barstool Sports for $551 million. Good for Dave Portnoy - he built the company from nothing. 

- Love Brad Marchand's candor. And the way he didn't back down. Edmonton and Alberta aren't exactly dream winter travel destinations.

- China's manual for defeating America - weaponize everything including lawyers and balloons. Don't trust China - China is asshole!

Former Boston Bruins head coach has been hired to be the head coach of the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Congrats coach! Just 10-days out of a job. 

I'm of two minds on the Bruins firing Cassidy. First I strongly believe in the Scotty Bowman rule - that a head coach should never stay beyond 8-years with a team. Bowman was the greatest coach in NHL history and he never did despite the success in Montreal, Pittsburgh and Detroit. Although Cassidy was only coach for six seasons - he was an assistant in Boston before that. So maybe close enough to the 8-year rule?

However, I don't like that Cassidy seems to have been made the scapegoat for not going further this postseason. What about GM Don Sweeney or team President Cam Neeley? If you're placing blame - shouldn't they be sharing the blame equally? Hate to say it because Neeley was one of my favorite Bruins ever but he's starting to give off John Elway with the Denver Broncos type vibes. Maybe number 8 is in over his head as the team's top executive?

With Las Vegas now having former Boston coaches heading both the Raiders and Golden Knights I can see many New Englanders adopting Las Vegas teams as their second favorites to root for in the NHL and NFL. I know I already have.

Did you know that the Stanley Cup was the result of Arthur and Algy Stanley asking their father, Lord Stanley, for a trophy to award to the champions of the Amateur Hockey Association in Montreal? The silver cup only cost $48.67 and was first awarded in 1893.

The first “Stanley Cup” tournament was held in 1894. Lord Stanley never actually attended any of the Stanley Cup hockey games.

The latest COVID outbreak is the reason why logistically the NHL probably won't be having players participate.

I like to think once the decision is made some players will speak up about being morally conflicted about playing in China in the first place (although I won't hold my breath because realistically their countrymen will still be there and why cause issues for them).

No matter to me - I won't be watching.

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Micro Habits of High Impact Managers

- Evander Kane responds to allegations from his soon to be ex-wife that he bet on hockey games and may have thrown games. I'm giving Evander and the Sharks the benefit of the doubt in this case. I've seen too many divorces get beyond ugly to be surprised by the lengths some spouses will go to to hurt the other.

- How science lost the public's trust. An interview with Matt Ridley.

- Called it a year ago that disposable masks were going to be a huge environmental problem.

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Seeing the victorious team skate the Stanley Cup around the ice starting with the team captain is one of my favorite traditions in all of sports. The pure joy on the face of each player as they hoist the Cup always puts a smile on my face no matter the team. And keep in mind this only happens after the traditional handshake line against the vanquished foe - another of my favorite traditions... Interesting - how the NCAA v Alston ruling effects college athlete "loss of value" insurance. Big schools will now insure top players for millions giving additional incentive for players to stay in school. Which in turn with help that school's marketability... Just a thought but with the NCAA v Alston Supreme Court ruling and NIL payments happening left and right - what is the reason or justification for college sports remaining non-taxable? Think that should change... Hockey players are the best (no inner dialogue whatsoever)...  

The case of New York Rangers Artemi Panarin is worth watching. The timing is fishy. Last month Panarin publicly supports Alexi Navalny and now suddenly he's accused of something that supposedly happened 10-years ago? Panarin still has family in Russia and my guess his absence from the team has more to do with that than the accusations.

As far as I know there's no major TV contract  money flooding into the NHL from Russia (unlike the NBA and China) so potentially the league could take a stand here. No more Russian players in the NHL until Panarin's family are safe would be something I would support.

 

Miscellaneous thought and observation.

For many people a distrust in the media can be traced back to 2001 and Bernie Goldberg's book Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News. Back then there was a debate whether this was actually true. Now nobody debates that it's anything other than fact. We owe a debt of gratitude to Bernie Goldberg...  I knew it!... The NHL's TV contract with NBC expires at the end of this season. It will be very interesting to see how negotiations for a new TV contract go and how that will effect player contracts going forward... Haven't read the whole article (I'm not a subscriber) but I think the title says it all - Joe Biden's First Day Began the End of Girl's Sports. There's literally nothing to prevent a biological male from self-identify as a female but just during basketball season (for example) if they wish. Politically this is a self-own for the Biden Administration...  You rarely see snakes in the dead of winter. They all wait for a sunny day to make their presence known...