A Tremendously Tremendous Millercle On Ice

Here is the USA game-clinching goal empty net goal scored by Phil Kesler, along with Doc Emrick's inhuman scream that shortly followed.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/assetid=e51ac19b-50fb-4853-8bfa-37a60b767cc1.html#kesler+seals+game+with+empty+goal

I feel bad for those that did not or could not see that game as in my mind, that was bar none the game of the year thus far this year. A back and forth instant classic that ended with the good guys winning and Sidney Crosby, despite scoring a goal in the 3rd, going -3 with an early 1st period USA goal bouncing off his stick and into the net. LOL Crosby. Enough laughing at Crosby and onto praising the star of the game: Ryan Miller. He was fantastic and if it was not for him, Canada could have easily had 5, 6, or even 7 goals that game. And on the other side, Marty Brodeur was not up to the task of outshining Miller. He struggled throughout the game.

And if Eddie Olczyk saying "tremendously tremendous" ever winds up on YouTube and I get wind of it, you can bet your bottom dollar it will be on here as frankly, in the game of the year, Edzo gave us the announcer quote of the year.

2010 Winter Olympics Day 10 Men's Ice Hockey Live Blog

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

Group B: Russia vs. Czech Republic 3:00 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire)
Group A: Canada vs. United States 7:40 (MSNBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk)
Group C: Sweden vs. Finland 12:00 AM (MSNBC - Kenny Albert and Joe Micheletti)

Why Putting USA Vs. Canada On MSNBC May Just Be For The Best For Hockey Fans

The argument has been going on for some time now back and forth. The USA and Canada game is going to be on MSNBC while NBC decides to air ice dancing, which believe it or not, is the name of a figure skating event. James Craven feels that this is wrong, and while I can't blame him or any other hockey fan for feeling that way, sometimes the less-appealing option on the surface may be the better option for all involved.

Now I assume that everyone reading this gets MSNBC (if you don't then you have every reason to be as pissed off and irate as you have ever been in your life), and in making this argument, I am making it with the knowledge that I get MSNBC.

The fact of the matter is, as much as hockey fans are upset that hockey is being put down, things could be worse. Let's look at the positives of the game being on MSNBC: It will be live coast-to-coast without interruptions. Why do I say that? Because put this game over-the-air on NBC and that would not happen. From Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune

Christopher McCloskey, an NBC Universal Sports and Olympics vice president, said one benefit of putting the hockey game on MSNBC is that it can run there without being cut up into segments to accommodate other sports as NBC customarily does in prime time to cover as much ground and as many viewer interests as possible.

"The incorporation of cable platforms into Olympic programming allows for the avid sport fan to watch games the way they are used to watching them — with long-form coverage," McCloskey said.

TV by the numbers also points out what I stated above that this game would be on tape delay on the west coast if it were to be aired on NBC.

Now as a hockey fan, I would much rather watch a fully live, uninterrupted hockey game on a cable channel then watch it over the air on NBC with Bob Costas giving us ice dancing updates unbeknownst to the fact that just Patrick Kane scored a goal and we missed it because Costas was talking about the top ranked ice dancing team just wiped out. Now as a hockey fan who gets MSNBC, I can live with this just fine. Would I want to see hockey reach a broader audience? Sure. But at the same time, do I want to only see segments of the game with long, non-intermission interruptions by Bob Costas during the game? Heck no.

And is there anyone out on the West Coast that would not know the result of the game by the time it "started" if they were to air it on tape delay?

I know that putting this game on MSNBC is not the kindest thing that NBC Universal has ever done to hockey, but given the alternative of what putting this game on NBC would mean, isn't putting the game on MSNBC really the better deal in the end for fans that just want to watch the game?

2010 Winter Olympics Day 9 Men's Ice Hockey Open Thread

Group A: Norway vs. Switzerland 3:00 (MSNBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, SR: Pierre McGuire)
Group B: Latvia vs. Slovakia 7:30 (MSNBC - Kenny Albert and Joe Micheletti)
Group C: Germany vs. Belarus 12:00 AM (MSNBC - Kenny Albert and Joe Micheletti)

Here are the standings thus far from 1-12 (points are next to the team; goal differential where needed is the number in parentheses).

Finland - 6 (+9)
United States - 6 (+7)
Czech Republic - 6 (+5)
Sweden - 6 (+4)
Canada - 5
Russia - 4
Slovakia - 2
Switzerland - 1
Belarus - 0 (-6)
Germany - 0 (-7)
Latvia - 0 (-9)
Norway - 0 (-13)

Thus if there were not to be a 3rd round of games, the schedule for the elimination would look like this:

Finland, United States, Czech Republic, and Sweden all get byes to the quarterfinals.

In the secondary round quarterfinal qualification games to be held on Tuesday February 23, Canada would play Norway, Russia would play Latvia, Slovakia would play Germany, and Switzerland would battle Belarus.

But as we all know there is a 3rd round with today being the real seedings placer for the lesser teams and tomorrow being the big rivalry day that could give us a few shake-ups in the standings. It should be a fun couple days of hockey especially seeing as once again, Latvia is going to be featured in primetime against Slovakia.

Oh Noes! The Heroes Voted Out Stephenie!

Here is the end of last night's episode and the subsequent downfall of Kyle Kendrick's fiancee Philadelphia's favorite Survivor, Stephenie LaGrossa. Get your hankies ready.



I can't make it through that video with crying and bawling my eyes out. Really. I just can't. Stephenie!!! NO! We'll miss you.

Moving on, though, on the plus side of things, Kyle Kendrick has a new idol. I like Kyle Kendrick and unless the Phillies bring in a free agent, I would like to see him get back in the starting rotation and try to prove himself. He's really re-dedicated himself over this off-season and while his past results have never been something to cheer and write home about, I think if given one more chance, Kendrick may just show us a little thing or 2 that Doc taught him.

2010 Winter Olympics Day 8 Men's Ice Hockey Open Thread

Group C: Belarus vs. Sweden 3:00 (MSNBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire)
Group B: Czech Republic vs. Latvia 7:30 (CNBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk)
Group C: Finland vs. Germany 12:00 AM (MSNBC)

For Everyone That Fell Asleep Last Night

Seeing as aside from me and kt, I have not encountered a person that was able to stay awake to see the fantastic end of last night's game Russia-Slovakia game, here is the link to the video of the entire shootout at NBCOlympics.com. (NBCOlympics does not allow embeddable video and any video that may be up on YouTube now will be down in 5.3 seconds).

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the epic 7-round shootout (with the CTV/TSN announcers) that saw Slovakia stun the Russians for the first upset win of the tournament.