The Rant: NHL - Top 5 Things that SUCK

The Rant: NHL - Top 5 Things that SUCK

Before you begin to compose your hate-mail, please keep in mind that this is an opinion-based hit piece. Once in a while it is nice to just purge all of the annoying things in one’s mind. Thus “The Rant.”

      5.   Rene Rancourt

     On this one, let us just cut to the chase… Rene YOU SUCK! Please, for God’s sake, retire and head off to a raisin ranch, where you belong! And, what is with the fist-pump while you are singing…??? Do you think you are Elvis…??? Does is make you feel like a tough-guy…??? Hang it up! With few exceptions, your rendition of the National Anthem is the worst I have ever had the displeasure of enduring. I do not care that you have been doing it since the early 1800’s… YOU SUCK! TAKE A HIKE!

 

      4.     Alex Ovechkin’s mug

     Ovie, Ovie, Ovie… For the love of God, you are a multimillionaire, do something about the nasty under-bite! Take some of your vast fortune and get your grill fixed, it is offensive! There is an off-season for a reason… So guys like you can take care of crap like that! Now GO DO IT!

 

3.     Matt Cooke

     Has there ever been a dirtier player in the history of the NHL…??? I’m not sure. In my opinion, Matt Cooke makes old-time goons like Marty McSorley look like a sugarplum fairy… I realize the Pens are doing their very best to BUY a Stanley Cup Championship (See this season’s acquisitions – Morrow, Iggy, etc.), but why would you want a cheap-shot artist like Cooke on your team? BTW, how is that whole trying to buy a cup thing working out for you, Bylsma…??? That’s what I thought…

 

2.     Allowing icing during a power play

     Hey’ NHL rules committee, here’s an idea for you… If you really want to make the game more exciting, increase scoring, decrease penalties, and make the Power Play a TRUE Power Play, then do away with allowing the short-handed team to ice the puck! That’s right, MAKE THEM PLAY HOCKEY! Give the Power Play some teeth! Make it a TRUE disadvantage for the short-handed team! Then, teams will be forced to become more disciplined and commit fewer penalties. However, when they do have to send a player to the sin bin, their team will be forced to play without the luxury of icing the puck. Hockey is supposed to be tough! I realize that there are those who like a weak sport with weak rules, but they are called baseball fans, NOT hockey fans!

 

    

1.     Fans that do not remove their hats for the National Anthem

As someone who spent 20+ years in the United States Air Force, this one really torques my jaws! I’ll make this one short… Have some respect for the flag and your country, and TAKE YOUR HATS OFF! You’re not at home in the trailer park! Get with the program! Even someone from Iowa knows better than to leave their hat on during the National Anthem! C’mon people…

 

Expect the Unexpected

Expect the Unexpected

     If there is one thing I have learned about the NHL over the years when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs, it is to expect the unexpected. Just when you think you have the outcomes of all the matchups figured out, an underdog rises from the ashes to pull off a miracle. That is what makes the NHL great! Pull up your breezers folks; it’s time for another trip down memory lane…    

     At the risk of publically exposing myself for the Devils homer that I am, I want to revisit the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals, featuring NJ and Detroit. It was widely speculated that the juggernaut Red Wings would sweep the Devils. However, the exact opposite happened. Detroit ultimately had no answer for New Jersey’s trap game, and as a result, NJ took Detroit out behind the wood shed, destroying the Wings and sweeping the series.

     In yet another shameless homer example, I would also like to remind Flyers fans of their team’s monumental collapse in the 2000 NHL playoffs against New Jersey. The Devils were down 3 games to 1 in the series, that is, until Scott Stevens delivered a devastating open-ice check which left Eric Lindros unconscious and slobbering on the ice. That hit changed the series. New Jersey dominated from that point on and went on the win the series, and ultimately the Stanley Cup. However, things have not always worked to the Devils’ favor in the playoffs…

     In the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, New Jersey was leading the Carolina Hurricanes in game 7, by a score of 3 to 2, and then the seemingly impossible happened. With just 1:20 remaining in period 3, Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal each scored goals in a span of just 48 seconds to stun the Devils and win the game in regulation. Even the Canes were shocked by Marty “The Sieve” Brodeur’s collapse, allowing back-to-back SOFT goals that handed them the series on a silver platter.    

     There are many examples in which the NHL playoffs have yielded big surprises year after year. The 2006 NHL post season had the Edmonton Oilers, an 8 seed, make it all of the way to the finals. The L.A. Kings were also an 8 seed last year, and ended up winning the cup over the 6 seed Devils. And lastly, in one of the biggest shockers of recent memory, the 2010 NHL playoffs had the Flyers leading the Bruins 3 games to 0, and by a score of 3-0 in game 4, only to choke and lose the series. The moral of the story here is, a team is NEVR out of it until the series is over! Just because your team may be at elimination’s door, do not give up on them! There is always hope! If the fat lady starts warning up her pipes, tell her to sit down and shut up!

Where have all the Goon-Times Gone?

Cue-up the Van Halen, and put on your favorite old-time hockey fights DVD, it’s time to talk goons! Is it just me, or are present-day NHL enforcers just watered down, knockoff versions of the real deal…??? Think back to the 1990’s when fights and outright bench-clearing brawls were commonplace in the NHL. That environment virtually made mandatory the signing of at least one enforcer (or as I like to call them, goons) on each team. Imagine for a minute the physical punishment that would have been endured by snipers like Yzerman and Fedorov without big Bob Probert around. What kind of real success would Brett Hull have had with St. Louis without Tony Twist watching his back? Would Jeremy Roenick have been able to enjoy the success he had in helping the Blackhawks get to the Stanley Cup Finals without Stu Grimson patrolling the ice? In those scenarios, messing with one of the star players would certainly mean risking your health, and ending up spitting out a mouthful of Chiclets would be the least of your worries. Remember when Tony Twist crushed Rob Ray’s eye socket…??? Ah yes, those were the good old days…

     When I watch the enforcers of today, they just don’t seem (in my opinion) to have that same presence about them that the goons of the 1990’s had. Fights occur far less often in today’s NHL than in the 1990’s, and when they do, with rare exception, there is more dancing and wrestling than the throwing of haymaker bombs. That has to make Marty McSorley and the enforcers of his day embarrassed for this new breed of wannabe enforcers. At least when Chris Nilan and other true enforcers of 1980’s handed over the reins to the next generation, they had to have taken heart in knowing there was a more than capable crew waiting in the wings to carry on the role. I dread the thought of what “enforcers” will be like in another 10 or 15 years… Will they be reduced to using harsh language and face washing against one another…??? I hope not…

     While the role of the enforcer is clearly not what it once was, there are still those of us who will always be huge fans of the old school goons. I practice what I preach. Everything hockey that I associate myself with is connected in some way to old-time goon hockey. I loved the role of the old-time enforcer, and will always do my best to keep those memories alive. My Twitter ID is Goon24, my NHL jersey sales (Goon-Gear Rare and Vintage NHL Hockey Jerseys), for which I am the sole proprietor (specializing in goons to a large extent), is http://webstore.com/~goongear and my hockey jersey blog is http://goon-gear.blogspot.com/ are you seeing the theme here? As long as I am able to draw breath, I will always be a fan of the old-school NHL enforcer culture. Hopefully, some of the old-school will begin to rub off on to the new-school… NOW, DROP THE GLOVES!!!  

A Snapshot in Time

           A Snapshot in Time

     As an avid collector of NHL jerseys (sweaters for our friends to the north), I have always wondered why fans tend to be more than willing to part with, or outright dispose of  jerseys crested with players who are no longer with that team. I have always looked at each individual jersey as a snapshot in time. Out of the 200+ NHL jerseys in my personal collection, I would be hard-pressed to find even one crested with a player who is still with that team. Each jersey in my collection reminds me of exciting NHL seasons past. For example, as a huge New Jerseys Devils fan, I cannot imagine willingly parting with my Jason Arnott jersey. While Arnott has not been with the Devils for quite some time, that jerseys will always remind me of the Devils’ cup win against Dallas following the 99/00 season. I remember Arnott’s cup clinching-goal in the second OT of game six like it was yesterday. See what I mean? If you let them, your jerseys will serve as time markers in NHL history. In my humble opinion, this is particularly true for jerseys crested with retired or deceased players, as well as NHL All Star games.  

     I would like to urge my fellow NHL jersey collectors, and NHL fans to reconsider before discarding or selling their “outdated” jerseys. If you look at them as memorabilia, and let them live on as reminders of exciting plays, games, and seasons past, you will be glad you kept them. However, if all of my attempts to convince you to keep your old NHL jerseys have failed, please know that I am always happy to make room for your soon-to-be homeless Burger King, and Wild Wing jerseys, as well as several of others, LOL! My friends, the days of CCM, KOHO, Starter, Bauer, and Pro Player NHL jerseys are long gone. If for no other reasons, hold on to them for their future value. Some of the aforementioned jerseys had only a brief life in the NHL, and as a result are highly sought after, and many are very hard to find. If you do not want to keep your jerseys for sentimental reasons, at least do your homework to see if they hold any monetary value. You might be surprised to find that old closet full of jerseys in the spare room is actually worth something. NHL jersey research can be fun, as well as educational. Happy hunting!   

FOR SALE: 1995-96 CCM Pro Authentic Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Teemu Selanne, 3rd / Alt Wild Wing Jersey, Size 56

I recently had the good fortune to happen upon a most rare find. As the title indicates, I now have in my possession a Teemu Selanne Wild Wing Authentic. Now, this is no regular authentic… This one happens to be far rarer than the game / team issued sweaters everyone else has in their collections. Based upon the research I have conducted, and through discussions with the original owner, it seems that my Wild Wing jersey was one of the original prototypes introduced for initial approval by the Ducks organization.   

       While all of the Ducks Wild Wing game issued sweaters have a teal, teal, teal segmented CCM logo on the hem, this one has a black, black, teal segmented CCM logo. In addition, game issued Wild Wing jerseys had a rather triangular-shaped primary logo patch stitched inside of them which said “1995-96 Secondary Jersey” on it. This prototype has the same primary logo patch inside, minus the wording. Obviously, because it had not yet been accepted as a "secondary jersey." The final difference is that my Wild Wing Selanne sweater has no size fly tag in it. However, the jersey does in fact measure to a size 56 as was claimed by the original owner.

       With regard to history, per the original owner, this prototype  jersey (sweater) was purchased by him “locally” (although he did not say where, or from whom). I strongly suspect the jersey was at one time in the possession of the Ducks equipment manager, or some other staff member who eventually found little use for it and subsequently sold it. I have left several e-mails with the Ducks organization in an attempt to validate my findings. However, I have yet to hear from them.

       Now for the news all of you collectors reading this post wanted to hear. I will be posting this sweater for sale in my Web store within the next day or so. Please find a link to my Web store at the top of the right margin, or simply Google goon-gear. There you will find the Wild Wing Selanne listing as well as many others. I will also be posting several pictures of the sweater here in the right margin. If you have any questions, please post a question through the listing, and I will respond promptly.

2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

     In a momentary departure from my usual rant against bogus hockey sweaters, I would like to acknowledge that I may have been wrong about a certain NHL coach… In some rather pointed tweets I unleashed regarding my perceived ineptness of New Jersey Devils coach Peter DeBoer, I specifically called into question his previous record with the Florida Panthers, and on that basis wondered how Lou could have possibly made such a foolish choice, especially on the heels of the John MacLean debacle.  It seems that at the very least I will have to rethink my opinion of coach DeBoer, and at worst (for my ego) issue a tweet recanting my previous tweets…

     While a certain level of luck (good or bad) is almost always present for some teams in the NHL playoffs, I feel that there are other forces at work where the Devils are concerned. No, I don’t mean otherworldly; no Devil-Worshiping cult e-mails, please! I mean, I think the Florida Panthers were a far better team than many in the media gave them credit for, and that seven-game series served to prepare the Devils for what was to follow, a date with the high-powered Flyers. I also think that the Flyers thought they had the series with the Devils won as soon as they put skate-blades on the ice for game one. In other words, the Flyers thought that because they defeated the Pens with relative ease, they would dominate the Devils.

     With the Devils now leading the series with the Flyers three games to one, and given it is the second round of the playoffs, I may have to start thinking of the wording I will use in my apology tweet to coach DeBoer. If Coach Pete can get the Devils into the conference finals, I will have to eat crow, and call it a successful season. However, as a life-long Devils fan, I hope New Jersey has a story-book ending that sends Marty out on top with a fourth Stanley Cup! GO DEVILS!  

Are you a REAL NHL fan, or just another bandwagon-jumper…???

Are you a REAL NHL fan, or just another bandwagon-jumper…???

     With the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs fast approaching, hockey sweaters will be flying off of the shelves like never before! Unless you want to be stuck sifting through the already picked-over stock of most stores, or other suppliers, you might want to get a jump on the other fans. With that in mind, here is something to consider…

     The vast majority of people who wait until the last minute to buy the sweaters they are going to be sporting for the playoffs are bandwagon-jumpers, period! So, it is important for TRUE die-hard NHL fans to be distinguishable from the posers. One way you can do that is to NOT buy a cheesy, Asian-sweatshop quality Reebok rag! RBK sweaters are for bandwagon-jumpers and children, PERIOD! Any self-respecting fan worth his or her salt would not be caught dead wearing a pathetic Reebok rag!

     In order for the TRUE, LONG-TIME NHL fans among us to stand out, we must show that we are old-school fans by wearing REAL old-school gear! Not eBay counterfeits, not RBK rags, but REAL sweaters that were actually made back in the day. I’m talking HIGH QUALITY stuff! If you are a TRUE fan who dislikes being mistaken for a bandwagon-jumper, then do yourself a HUGE favor and visit my online store at, http://webstore.com/~goongear. There you will find all your heart desires in the way of True old-school NHL sweaters. I sell only out of production, hard to find gear that die-hard fans and collector’s want! And, there is something for every budget! CCM, KOHO, Pro Player, Starter, Bauer, and Nike have all been used by the NHL over the past 25 years, and many of them can still be found in my store! I search far and wide to bring you fully customized replica sweaters starting at just $59.99, and Authentic NHL On Ice Game sweaters starting at only $159.99! Don’t take my word for it, read my customer reviews!

     Please pay goon-gear a visit today! You will also find a link to my store conveniently located in the upper-right margin of this blog! If you don’t find what you are looking for in my store, simply use any one of the store’s listings to ask a question. Let me know what you are looking for, and I will try to find it for you! It is that simple! As always, thank you for reading my blog, and I hope to hear from you soon through my Webstore!

Liberals and hockey jerseys?

                                                              Liberals and hockey jerseys?

    As anyone who reads this blog with any regularity knows, I hate bogus hockey sweaters. Bogus, meaning: wrong font, wrong patches, wrong brand for the season, etc… Today, I was scanning eBay for various items, and ran across eBay item # 160734309450 (see pic below) which is “supposed to be” an Eric Cole, Carolina Hurricanes, 2006 Stanley Cup jersey. I sent the seller a polite message letting him / her know that there was a laundry list of things wrong with their item description, and that it was factually incorrect. For example, anyone with any knowledge of Canes jerseys can take one look at the jersey and tell that the font is incorrect. The name on the back is the correct font, but the numbers are WAY wrong. In addition, the Canes, and the entire NHL for that matter, have worn Reebok jerseys since the 2005-06 season. This person has a 2006 Cup patch on a CCM jersey… The seller then called me an idiot for "not knowing" that 2007-08 was the first NHL season for Reebok jerseys... WRONG!!! / LOL!!! If you will recall, the last season that the NHL wore CCM / KOHO brand sweaters was the 2003-04 season. The lockout season was 2004-05. When play resumed for the 2005-06 season, Reebok had purchased CCM / KOHO and began producing the Asian-sweatshop quality garbage that all NHL players are forced to wear to this day.

            

             In short, I tried nicely to present the aforementioned facts to the seller in question… However, I was met with more insults and more factually incorrect arguments. Even after I pointed the seller to various hockey, and hockey jersey data-bases, which would set him straight, he continued to spew factually incorrect BS in an attempt to validate his bogus sweater. Upon realizing that there was no convincing this seller of the truth, it hit me like a ton of bricks! I had a flash-back to a recent television interview with the obviously delusional and clearly mentally unstable Debbie Wasserman Schultz. At that moment, I realized that the illogic of the eBay seller could only mean one thing… He is a liberal! It will be fun though to see how many educated readers of this blog (most of you) will now go to that eBay jersey auction and call this person out for his bogus jersey. That would surely drive him nuts! HINT, HINT…   UPDATE: I just went back to the bogus jersey auction, and he has taken it down! LOL!!!

                                   

     

                   

Counterfeit is counterfeit! PERIOD!

Recently, I received a comment from someone (which I did not publish), stating that I was confused about what constitutes a counterfeit jersey on eBay. However, since that particular individual is clearly the one that is confused, please allow me to clarify.

     If someone handed you a twenty-dollar bill, and you could clearly see that the bill was not correct, i.e. the picture was wrong, the design was wrong, etc., you would not say that it was simply a “poorly made” or “poorly customized” twenty dollar bill! No, you would call it what it is, a COUNTERFEIT! Even if it were printed on the correct kind of paper, you would call it what it is, a COUNTERFEIT! The same goes for hockey jerseys!

     Anyone who has read my blog for any length of time knows that I hate the counterfeit market that eBay facilitates. At least 70% of the jerseys (All sports) on eBay are Asian-sweatshop counterfeits. So, in the past, when I have posted pictures of FAKE, or COUNTERFEIT jerseys, along with pictures of the CORRECT jersey next to them, it is to point out that there are people who are not experienced enough to tell the difference.

     Just because a legit blank CCM jersey was used as the platform for a customization, it can still be BOGUS! If some clown slaps the wrong patches on it, the wrong color or style of font on it etc., it becomes a BOGUS jersey. If you are some kind of overly-sensitive, PC, liberal nut-job who does not like the word “counterfeit” because it might hurt someone’s feelings, then find another word you are comfortable with… Either way, the jersey has become a counterfeit! PERIOD! Just look at some of the examples I have posted in previous entries! In addition, almost all of those sellers made outright statements in their eBay listings that their jerseys were legit, when in fact they were anything but! That just proves my point!

     Bogus, counterfeit, fake, call them what you want, but they are NOT simply “poorly customized jerseys!” That is like calling a burglar an uninvited houseguest, or a drug-dealer an unlicensed pharmacist… Call things what they are!

Contacting goon-gear

     Today, I received a message through my hockey sweater Web store http://webstore.com/~goongear

from one on my readers, asking how they are to get in touch with me. Unknown to the reader at that time, he did exactly what he should have done. He went to my Web store and posted a question through one of the existing listings. I do not list a direct e-mail address on my blog site for the simple reason that spammers and other clowns with bad intentions like to take advantage of such information. My Web store is all set up to alert me via e-mail immediately upon the receipt of a customer question, and I usually respond rather quickly, so please feel free to post questions through any existing listings, even if it is not regarding that particular item. In the case of the aforementioned reader who had a question, it was regarding one of the jersey photos in the right margin of this blog.

     Photos in the right margin of this blog are ALL of items that either are currently for sale in my Web store, or have been sold through my Web store. I list the photos to give readers a visual sampling of the collector-quality sweaters I sell. If you wish to view all current listings, please visit my store by clicking on the link for goon-gear’s Rare and Vintage NHL Hockey Jerseys in the upper-right corner of this blog. If you do not find what you are looking for, please feel free to contact me through any one of the existing listings. I network with many other collectors, and chances are that I can find virtually any authentic, or replica your heart may desire.

     I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!     

Tony "The Twister" Twist - Unleash the Demon

Stu "The Grim Reaper" Grimson

UPDATE: For Sale / Wanted List !!!

                                                    UPDATE: For Sale / Wanted List !!!

     As many of you know, I was on the hunt for a Burger King jersey for the longest time. I am pleased to report that my search has ended in success! I was fortunate enough to find a MINT specimen and am VERY happy about it! I was lucky enough (recently) to purchase a couple of Wild Wing replica jerseys, a replica TB Lightning 3rd Alt Storm jersey, and another 91-92 Blackhawks authentic Ultrafil Barber Pole jersey. The Barber pole jersey sold immediately on my Web site http://webstore.com/~goongear One of the Wild Wing jerseys (Paul Kariya), and a Darcy Tucker TB Lightning Alt Storm jersey has recently been posted. If you click on the picture of either jersey (in the right margin), it will take you directly to my Webstore. While there, please be sure to look at the other NHL sweaters currently for sale.

     Now, most of you know about my hatred for RBK hockey jerseys, but for those of you who do not, fasten your seatbelts. Anyone can walk into any cheesy sports shop in America and buy a paper-thin, cheaply constructed, Asian-Sweatshop quality, pathetic Reebok rag! If you plan on buying a hockey sweater for someone as a Christmas gift this year, please do not buy him or a lame RBK piece of crap! Show them that some real thought went into their gift by buying them a collector-quality authentic of replica from the pre-RBK days!

      In my store site http://webstore.com/~goongear , we do not sell Reebok rags and never will! If you want to impress someone, sport a high-quality CCM, KOHO, Starter, or Pro Player jersey from goongear! Stop in and pay us a visit! You will find jerseys (sweaters) in my Webstore that you will not find on eBay, and my customer service and fast shipping is second to none! If you want garage sale garbage at trailer park prices, shop on eBay. There you will find plenty of stained, torn, shrunk-up, faded, snag-fest jerseys to pick from. However, if you want hard to find, old-school, collector quality NHL sweaters, you want my store! And remember, you get what you pay for!

Dont forget to follow goongear on Twitter (Goon24) to see every new NHL jersey I post, live as it happens!