Last night the NHL’s 2008-9 Season really kicked off. Those games in Europe counted for the teams who played there but c’mon, the NHL is a North American league despite all the Europeans on the various 30 teams. Rumors abound about plans to have the NHL expand into Europe which would be a mistake. Why? The NFL did this sporadically for 16 years. You don’t remember? Then I’ve made my point. I say let the Europeans have their own stuff because they’re not as homogenous as Americans and Canadians. The best compromise would be to have a new trophy awarded to the winner of a match between the Stanley Cup champ and whatever the Europeans work out. Personally, I think the World Cup was cooler since hockey will be eliminated from the Olympics after Vancouver’s 2010 hosting duties. What? I don’t recall where I read that but hopefully I’m wrong. Who knows? We probably won’t know for sure until 2010.
The bigger musing (or gripe) I have is over my team’s opener tomorrow. Originally, I was only peeved about Umberger being traded to the pathetic Blue Jackets. Then I realized he was the last active American player. What a bummer! I used to feel a tad of pride in my team having so much American talent: LeClair, Amonte, Roenick, Esche, Umberger, so on. Now all the forwards are Canadian. I know Mike Knuble is a US citizen and plays for America in the Olympics; he grew up in Canada due to his father’s job. Trust me, it’s the same slippery slope to classify Brett Hull as an American player by ignoring his upbringing in Winnipeg.
There is some excitement on the blue line. Philly signed Luca Sbisa, an Italian! Sure the city’s ethnicity has been changing for decades yet the Italian immigrants’ personality remains part of Philly’s character. It’s about time they signed an Italian player who may make it big in the NHL. Germany’s Dennis Seidenberg is hanging in there on the Hurricanes and France’s Cristobal Huet is Chicago’s starting goalie. I think my sport is big enough to include Europeans other than Scandanavians and ex-Soviet Bloc citizens. Next stop, real Brits and Irishmen in the NHL.
I got off track on what was really ticking me off. My team’s “ethnic” roster wasn’t such a serious concern. More of a disappointment. Then nhl.com announced Sarah Palin being invited to drop the ceremonial puck at the Flyers’ season opener. I just about screamed. My political leanings are no secret, especially how much I dislike this Republican toady (she’s Dan Quayle in drag). However, I prefer sports to be apolitical. What was Bettman thinking? Philly is a Democratic stronghold and if she thinks this stunt will win the rest of PA for McCain, she would’ve been better off doing the same at an NHL game in Raleigh or Atlanta, cities in states which will side with the McCain ticket. Even if Biden were doing this, I’d be against it. Sports are supposed to be recreational. Sticking in desperate PR moves for politicians ruins it. This better not be the beginning of an ugly trend.
Will I watch the game at D&B again? Probably. I had a good time last year.
I’ll save the predictions for later. I need to see how well the opener goes for my Flyers. Then I’ll know if I’m going to win $150 in June.