April 30, 2006
Live Hockey Blogging
I just watched Tim Connolly score the opening goal against Philly in Buffalo, and I can't quite believe what I just saw.
On a Buffalo power play, Connolly took a breakout pass in the slot in the Sabres defensive zone. Then, skating at about three-quarters speed, Connolly casually made his way up the ice, with the Flyers backing up all the way, essentially leaving Connolly completely untouched.
Connolly, not looking a gift horse in the mouth, just kept skating straight up the center of the ice. Just inside the blue line, Sami Kapanen tried a weak stick check, which forced Connolly to do some nice stickhandling, but nothing that would ever make a highlight video.
Eventually getting around Kapanen, Connolly eventually got below the face off dots without before lifting a wrister over Robert Esche's glove hand. 1-0 Sabres.
Not. Touched. Once. Ken Hitchcock must be throwing a clot right now.
UPDATE: With it being 3-0 in Buffalo with the Sabres leading, NBC has switched to Dallas-Colorado, now tied 2-2 midway through the 3rd period.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Say good-bye to Dallas, the third team to exit this year's playoff. And after another playoff disappointment, how long will Dallas hang onto Marty Turco?
YET ANOTHER UPDATE: Carolina takes a 3-2 lead in the series with a 3-2 victory at home. Boy, has this turned around right quick.
BTW -- I wasn't paying very close attention to the commercials during the Carolina-Montreal game, that was until this ad came on.
It looks like I'm about a month behind the curve, and a lot of folks simply can't stand this ad:
While I’m not in the market to buy a car right now, I flat-out refuse to buy a Ford anything until they pull this commercial. They should probably offer a public apology as well. The maniac who decided that the song would make a good commercial (and somehow sell cars by annoying people) should be fired on the spot. Someone should take the guitars/microphones/drums/etc away from that band.
(snip)
Dear Ford Marketing,
I wanted to notify you of a horrific situation in case you were unaware. Many prime time TV programs, including American Idol and the NCAA Basketball tournament, are showing the most annoying commercial in the history of the universe. This “Beep-Beep” commerical is the worst combination of music, lyrics, and lip-synching that the public has ever been exposed to. I can’t beleive that Ford was actually responsible for this marketing, so maybe it was GM or Chrysler trying to sabotage your recent strides in public image. The reason I write you is that I’m hoping you can help get this nonsense off of my TV in time for this weekend’s basketball games. If you cannot, then I will simply change the channel immediately and NEVER BUY A FORD FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE! Literally, I won’t buy a Ford ever if I have to see this thing again. Please help us.
Sincerely,
JB
One look at the lyrics to the song, however, seems to indicate to me that Ford corporate wasn't paying very close attention when they approved the ad.
As for me, well, take a look at the lead singer. Beep, beep indeed. Click here to listen some more.
AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR... Say goodbye to Nashville, in a series that was an uphill battle for Nashville ever since word got out that Predators goalie Tom Vokoun was lost for the playoffs to a blood infection. And while Nashville used emotion to grab Game One, it was all downhill after that.
Don't worry Predators fans, Nashville will be back in 2006-07.
Was nice seeing ex-Caps head coach Ron Wilson taking part in the postgame handshake, and sharing a moment with ex-Caps defenseman Brendan Witt. Has it really been eight years since the run to the Finals? Come to think of it, the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals was the last time I saw a team I was rooting for win a playoff series.
OT UPDATE: 850 and 620 The Blog had a BEEP BEEP reference a few days back.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ericmcerlain.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/6052
Wow, Brunette with the OT winner. Remember when he did that to eliminate the Avs?
Posted by:
at April 30, 2006 05:43 PM
Stars fans, be grateful, we were finally put out of our misery by Brunette's OT goal this afternoon. We all went into the playoffs with high hopes for our team, only to witness some of worst hockey, goaltending, short-handed goals, blown leads, OT and, at times, puck handling, we could have imagined from our 2-seed team. I think it would have been more painful to drag the series on and win a game or two more only to go down at the end anyway. I wasn't a fan of Turco going in, and this certainly hasn't helped my opinion.
Posted by:
at April 30, 2006 07:26 PM
BTW, your thoughts on April 19, re: Stars in the playoffs, turned out to be quite prophetic.
Posted by:
at April 30, 2006 07:42 PM
The real question might be who wants Turco considering the huge deal Armstrong signed him to this year. Ugly.
Posted by:
at April 30, 2006 09:34 PM
Re: the Ford commercial and 13 Stories - I know that crew! That band has been around Atlanta forever and seemingly change their sound to mirror whatever the popular taste of moment is. Or maybe I'm just jealous that they landed a song on a major commercial and one of my bands didn't.
My position on Ford has always been summed up by the following: my immigrant grandfather worked at the plant in Dearborn for a while after he finished high school and owned Ford stock, but he never drove a Ford a day in his life.
Posted by:
at April 30, 2006 11:55 PM
As a Caniac, I've been tolerating that commercial for at least the past month. What I can't stand is how, vocally, the lead singer scoops the crap out of the "Beep-beep" notes -- if she's punching the horn, the pitch shouldn't be sliding all over the damn place unless the car's sick. (Which, being a Ford, it might be.) (Sorry, minor music nerdery over now.)
Spectacular goaltending at both ends in Carolina-Montreal -- either team could have put up a 4- or 5-spot in this game without much effort if not for Huet and Wardo. Not Carolina's best game, but we'll sure take it.
Posted by:
at May 1, 2006 09:09 AM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in,
.
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
02:31 PM
![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.ericmcerlain.com/offwingopinion/nav-commenters.gif)