The Fireside

With hockey finished, another one of the world's most popular sports has begun - football. More specifically, The FIFA World Cup. It began on June 12 and closes July 13.  I usually don't watch the sport except for tournaments, championships etc... so I'll be trying to catch as much of the FIFA as I can.   Here are the countries I'm cheering for, round by round: Brazil, Croatia, Netherlands, Spain, Ivory Coast, Uruguay, England, Switzerland, Honduras, Argentina, Nigeria, Germany, Ghana, Belgium and Russia. Those are the countires I'd love to see do well and advance. Enjoy! And depending on where in the world you are, be careful.

..and that's it! The LA Kings have won the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. What an interesting season and playoffs it's been for all the teams. I wished I could have posted about it, especially during the playoffs, but alas.... I'm looking forward to the fall (but I will enjoy the rest of spring, and summer, mind) because that means new hockey season,as well as a trip to the UK. If you're feeling the hockey blues at any time before the season starts, I suggest playing Blades of Steel . 

    Well, what a year for hockey, and for the Ottawa Senators. They had a few great games here and there, but what a shitty season. So shitty I barely bothered to blog about the games. I wasn't surprised that they didn't make the playoffs, though I always wanted them to.   Since they didn't make it through, I went for the St Louis Blues as my playoff hopeful. Now they're gone.   Speaking of playoffs and hockey, The Rivalry will happen again this year: Montreal vs Boston. And I say, go Boston.   Pittsburgh will most likely play New York (go Pitts), Chicago will play either Colorado or Minnesota (the playoff underdog), and Anaheim will play either LA or San Jose.   From here on out till the Cup, we should have some interesting hockey games.

Next Thursday (the 28), The Ottawa Senators will reveal a new heritage jersey to be worn against the Vancouver Canucks in B.C on March 2. I'll post again once the jersey has been "officially unveiled". Full release: http://senators.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=691910

Lately the Ottawa Senators have been struggling. We haven't been winning a lot of games. We played the West Coast a lot, and had a late home opener. I'm not sure what it is, but we've got to start winning some more games. It's still early in the season, so the gang has still room to catch up and improve....though hopefully with more wins than losses. The next game will be tomorrow night vs Chicago.

Team: St Louis   Elliott Kane Spezza Kunitz Nash (Daniel) Sedin Hosa Sharp Seguin Karlsson Weber   You have to pick:     HOCKEY POOLS SCORING 1 Goalie    - 2 pts by win - 4 pts by shutouts  1 Team     - 2 pts by win - 1 pts by lost in OT 8 Forward    - 1 pts by goal - 1 pts by assist 2 Defence    - 1 pts by goal - 1 pts by assist

Ahh the St Louis Blues.... Make no mistake, I am first and foremost an Ottawa Senators fan..but that's in the East. After seeing St Louis' sports highlights during last season, especially during the playoffs, they are now my favorite team in the West .  They are the only team from the expansion yet to win a Stanley Cup. And this may be their year.  Before I go further, I should add that at work I entered a hockey pool (separate, next post). I chose the Blues as my team (basically, 'what if Ottawa doesn't go all the way?' I'd love them bu they aren't really a 'playoff team'. And besides, they are in the East, Blues in the West so I don't feel guilty following another team too) and Brian Elliott as my goalie.  Now, back to my post. About * 2-3 * days after my post, I saw this little dandy: "NHL 14 picks Blues to win Stanley Cup" EA games ran a simulator that had the Blues beat the Penguins in Game 6 of the Sta...

I'm pretty sure most of the NHL teams have had their first game, at lest. Hockey season has now begun! The Ottawa Senators beat the Buffalo Sabres 1-0 in their opener, but lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4. Very close, very tense game. Toronto's lineup is improving. Should be a good season; as well as hopefully goo standings in my hockey pool [more on that later]. 

  Tonight the football season kicks off. My team, the Baltimore Ravens (been a fan since the '11 playoffs) take on the Denver Broncos in the opener. Looks like a great game, looks like a great season. Before the game, check your sports channel listings and there may be a season preview special, helpful for newcomers to the game. 

....that was interesting. We all thought game 7 was going to happen. And then Chicago bounced back hard in a legendary comeback. Throughout this final round, both teams have been playing amazingly well, and all games were super close. Now, let's see Ottawa get a cup next year....

Go go, black and gold! Boston plays tonight, and they best win!

It has been decided. The Boston Bruins will square off against the Chicago Blackhawks June 12 to begin the Stanley Cup Final. And which team am I cheering for this round?

Two rounds, 4 teams. The race for the Stanley Cup is getting closer.   In the east, we have Boston vs Pittsburg. So far Boston has been running Pittsburg's show, and are ahead in the series. I'm sure Crosby is crying about something. The Ottawa Senators are getting their revenge through Boston.   In the West we have LA vs Chicago. I'd like to see the Kings move onto the Final, but it seems like Chicago might advance instead. They are a head, but will they win?   So far it's looking like the Final Round will be between Boston and Chicago. But we'll have to see.....

My team, the Ottawa Senators, have been defeated by the Pittsburg Penguins.  The Penguins were possibly the best team in the East going into the playoffs, and I feared if Ottawa should play them. It would have been nice to see Ottawa smack Crosby, Malkin, Cooke, and LeTang around the boards...oh well. Looks like that job will have to go Boston! Now that Ottawa is out, Boston is my team I want to see do well in the playoffs; hopefully taking out Cros- I mean Pittsburg - in the process.  The west looks to be Detroit vs LA.  I'm hoping that the cup final will be between Boston and Detroit, as that would be some good hockey.  Playoff bracket as of posting this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_stanley_cup_playoffs#Playoff_bracket

Wow. Just wow. What a game. Not only did the Ottawa Senators defeat Montreal a second time (game 3) but we destroyed them 6-1. Pageau got a hat trick. It was definitely a great night for Ottawa, made even greater when Ottawa fans were smearing Montreal's 'Ole' song right in their faces. I can't wait for game 4 to see how it will all turn out (or even the end of the first round). Speaking of, curious to see who Ottawa will face in round 2. But let's not jump the gun. With the other teams, Pittsburg is a head which isn't good for Ottawa. The Capitals are head 2-0. Boston and toronto are tied. In the West, the Blues are ahead and so is San Jose. One final hockey note before I end this post. Over the weekend, we celebrated my girlfriend's sister's boyfriend's birthday, and he is a fan of another NHL team. He has some merchandise and got an 'old time' hoodie. This has renewed my interest in hockey gear. Here are some of the S...

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 old Hockey Game. Oh, the good old hockey game, is the best game you can name. And the best game you can name, is the good old hockey game. Second period. Where players dash, with skates aflash, 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 bumble bees, they travel like a burning flame. We see them slide, the puck inside, it's a 1-1 hockey game. Oh, the good old hockey game, is the best game you can name. And the best game you can name, is the good old hockey game. Third Period. Last game of the playoff too. Oh take me where, the hockey players, face off down the rink. A...

My team has won the SuperBowl!! What a tense game. This is why I like sports. The Ravens were ahead for the first half of the game, but SanFran caught up. Both teams were in top form and playing well, but it was Baltimore that came up on top. Flacco and Lewis were amazing, as well as the D when SanFran kept surging forward. Well played, both of you. You both won championships. An extra round to the Baltimore Ravens for winning. In celebration, keep your eyes on my blog this week....    Oh, and if anyone is feeling generous, I have my eye on :  http://www. baltimoreravensstore.com/ ravens-super-bowl-xlvii- champions-new-era-39thirty- locker-room-hat/detail.php?p= 442450&v=ravens_super-bowl- XLVII   And :  http://www. baltimoreravensstore.com/ ravens-2012-afc-champions- locker-room-t-shirt/detail. php?p=442036&v=ravens_ collections_2012_conference_ champs   Finally, when it comes to jerseys, I would LOVE to have the red Sen...

Things have been good in sports lately. I've fallen behind on my sports updates for the blog, so this post will encompass both hockey and football.

My Baltimore Ravens have recently won 10 games in a row. This is terrific news. The NYG are having an on-and-off season overall, but the Ravens seem to be faring quite well.  10 in a row is quite an achievement no matter what football, or sports team for that matter, you follow. They play next against Oakland, and I'm sure that'll be an interesting match-up. The only two teams in NFL Football I really like or follow are the Giants and the Ravens. They came close to playing each other last SuperBowl. i'll continue to watch and cheer them both on, but if they play each other.....

There's an NHL lockout. The above photo is a 'spoof' (though it's no laughing matter) of the logo for 'Hockey Night in Canada'. Sad, bad news for Canadian hockey watchers and lovers. Suffice to say, there's a void. But I plan to (attempt to) fill my void with.... I'll be watching Ravens, Giants and Jets games. I usually only watch NFL football games during playoffs or the SuperBowl itself, or if there's one on in a pub or something. Turns out I'll be watching more regular season games, due to no NHL and a more passive TV schedule, excluding Netflix, (I still watch my shows and all, but Dexter is the only one I'll be tuning in to watch RIGHT away...Boardwalk, Walking Dead and anything else (Big Bang and Fringe)) that has a returning season I'll watch whenever.