They're putting a Montreal Canadiens logo on the canadian dollar.

You heard me.

Jesus.

Talk about devaluing the currency.

Goddamnit, I'm sorry.

I mean it- I'm really, really sorry.

But for fuck's sake, look at this:


Watch CBS Videos Online

You know, despite how stupid this looks, it might help her with her base. No matter how terribly this interview was going, she did not abort it. Still, it looks like rather than educating Palin about how to do interviews, the McCain camp would prefer she'd just abstain.

Well, I got a sad email today from Jes Golbez, one of the first and finest hockey bloggers out there.

He has announced that after 4+ years of hockey blogging, first on his great site Hockey Rants, as well as on The Sidney Crosby Show and as an excellent antagonizer of Americans on the AOL Fanhouse, he will be stepping away from hockey blogging to just enjoy the hockey season as a fan.

By way of tribute, I'll say that Jes was the first person I emailed when I considered starting this hockey blog, and I'll reprint the first email I sent him along with his detailed response.

From Ritch Duncan
to golbez
date Wed, May 3, 2006 at 1:44 PM

Hi Jes, my name is Ritch Duncan, and I'm a New York based,
Massachusetts raised comedian and writer that started my own hockey
blog a couple of weeks ago-

http://americanhockeyfan.blogspot.com

The focus of my thing is generally to write knowledgeably about
hockey, but being entertaining and funny is more important to me than
being taken seriously as a hockey journalist. Anyway, I've been
exploring the world of hockey blogging, and as I'm sure you know, it's
a pretty dense jungle.

Still, as I've been clicking around, It seems like you are one of the
best on the scene in terms of regular updates, a sense of humor, an
alternative perspective and actual chops in terms of knowing the game
and the people in it.

So I guess what I'm saying is, could you give the site a look, and if
you like it, maybe give a brother a tip or two?

Are there sites that I should be linking?
Are there places to register it?
Are there people out there who are doing the same thing as me, and am
I stepping on toes?

I mean, I know it's the internet and I can do whatever I want, but it
seems to me to make good sense to at least check in with those who I
perceive to be doing it right.

Any response at all would be much appreciated, and if I'm out of line
in asking, I truly apologize- I really don't know the etiquette here-

Keep up the good work and enjoy the rest of the playoffs,

Ritch

Now keep in mind, I don't know this guy, and less than two hours later, he sends me back this line by line response:

5/3/06
Jes Gölbez
to me

Ritch,

See my comments *** Inserted below


Anyway, I've been exploring the world of hockey blogging, and as I'm sure you know, it's
a pretty dense jungle.

** I wouldn't say that. Hockey blogging is nothing compared to the other major American sports. There is a lot of room out there for other blogs. **

Are there people out there who are doing the same thing as me, and am
I stepping on toes?

** A blog is a personal space. You can write whatever you want about whomever you want. As long as you aren't plagiarizing or failing to give credit, you'll be fine. Don't be afraid of toe-stepping or pissing people off.

It's a very good idea to exchange links with other sites. If you add your link and they add yours, you'll get cross-traffic, etc etc...most of my traffic comes through word-of-mouth or from other hockey blogs. Send some emails to other blog owners and try to get link exchanges. Most bloggers are pretty good with it. I can add your link to my sidebar if you do the same. Also, please add my Sidney Crosby site ( sidcrosby.blogspot.com) since that's my 'brother' site.

The biggest sites among hockey bloggers are Off Wing (www.offwing.com) and James Mirtle's site ( mirtle.blogspot.com). The Acid Queen is cool, and she'll do a link exchange if you ask. bergmanscores.blogspot.com is also a great site run by an Evil Swede.**

** Registering... it's a great idea to register your blog on www.hockeyblogs.org, plus a few other blogsites and directories like blogwise, yahoo, etc...I've done very little self promotion since I started the blog out. Trust me...anything you can register on to get a few more links here or there isn't a bad thing.
Also, comment on other people's blogs. Don't advertise your site in the actual comment, but just comment and a few people are bound to click your webpage (which is usually given in the comment section when you give your name, email, etc) and you'll get your name about. **

Any response at all would be much appreciated, and if I'm out of line
in asking, I truly apologize- I really don't know the ettiquette here-

** Well, there really isn't a general etiquette but you aren't telling me to Fuck off or asking me for money, so that's a start J. Asking questions is not a bad thing. The most import ant thing is to link/footnote anything you take/quote from another site. **

*One last tip: Try and participate in the HOCKEY BLOG CARNIVALS. It's a semi-regular event where one site hosts a 'carnival' and has links to other blogs pertaining to a theme. I don't know when the next one is, but it's usually advertised on Off Wing's site. Send in a post you think fits the carnival and it helps you get noticed *

--
Best Regards,

Jes Gölbez

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a goddamn class act, a good guy, a passionate hockey fan, and one of the founding fathers of hockey blogging as we know it today.

There may have been several who came before him, but damn few who did it better.

All of here at American Hockey Fan are on our feet and banging the boards with our online sticks in salute of him today.

Good on ya, Jes- thanks for everything.

Saw this on The Fanhouse today:

Pretty funny stuff-

Well, it looks like I've milked just about as much off-season hi-jinx out of the Sarah Palin thing as humanly possible, so I'm going to take this opportunity to step away from hockey for a moment and let you know what I've been up to this summer.

As it happens, I've been kind of busy.

The big news is, along with my co-author, the tremendously talented Bob Powers, I have sold a book to Random House called "Living with Lycanthropy: A lifestyle guide for the modern werewolf." There's not much of an online presence as yet, but then again, we haven't, you know, written it yet. The manuscript is due by the end of the year, so with any luck, it'll be on bookshelves before the puck drops on the 2009 playoffs. Stay tuned.

I also recently sat in on a taping of the very funny Podcast "The Flophouse," an online radio show devoted to the mockery of bad movies. It's run by one of the finest writers from my old Jest Magazine days, Mr Dan McCoy. I checked the website recently, and the podcast I was in isn't up yet, but since I've already mentioned my werewolf book, and don't have a damn thing to show for it, I heartily recommend listening to their hilarious installment based on the classic 80's Michael J. Fox film Teen Wolf. It's about 10 minutes long, and well worth your time, you know, if you're the kind of person who might enjoy a podcast about the film "Teen Wolf." You know who you are.

Also, I have a humor piece in the October issue of Maxim magazine, which is on newsstands now. It's a comic flow chart called "The Decider" and it's designed to help George W. Bush decide who (if anybody) he would like to invade last, now that his presidency is winding down. I wrote it along with the uber-talented Scott Jacobson, who won a boatload of emmy awards writing for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and wrote most of the funnier jokes.

Seeing as that link sends you to his Wikipedia entry, I encourage any and all of you to edit it so that it says he was a member of the 1972 Stanley Cup winning Boston Bruins. We'll see how long it lasts up there. I'd do it, but I don't know how.

I am cataloging this list of my summer achievements, in small part because my copy of NHL 09 is currently en route to my apartment thanks to Amazon.com, and when that thing shows up, there is a good chance that any and all productivity will come to a standstill.

Wish me luck.

Here's an interesting blog post by a guy who claims that Sarah Palin isn't a hockey mom, she's a hockey agitator.

So if Sarah Palin is the Sean Avery of the political landscape, who are the other major players in this year's election?

John McCain: Marcus Naslund

Once unquestionably great, both McCain and Naslund have gotten old and less interesting than they were eight years ago, so they rolled the dice. McCain took a chance on a longshot VP pick, and Naslund is heading to the Rangers, where old hockey players go to die. But will their gambles pay off? We should know by November.

Barack Obama: Jarome Iginla.

Multiethnic background, killer charisma, screwy name, has gotten to the finals, but has yet to win it all. Does he have what it takes to silence the critics?

Joe Biden: Don Cherry

Unquestionable blue collar experience and knowledge, but tends to shoot off his mouth from time to time in a way that makes his bosses nervous.

George W. Bush: Todd Bertuzzi

Steve Moore's neck is the war in Iraq. Bert's no show stint with the Panthers after being traded for Roberto Luongo is the failed response to Katrina. Everything since then hasn't been THAT bad, but it's been a far cry from good, that's for sure.

Dick Cheney: Kevin Lowe.

Kind of an asshole, and runs a team called the Oilers.

Well, despite the shitstorm that the always great New York Times hockey blog has gotten itself into this week by mentioning politics, I'm gonna stick to it, at least until Mats Sundin shits or gets off the pot.

Whatever your politics are, I think I can safely say that hockey mom Sarah Palin is not fit to lead on the issue of naming children. I mean, Jesus.

Her kids have the Alaska themed names, Track, Piper, Bristol, Willow, and newborn Trig.

Trig?

I guess I owe Hakan Loob's parents an apology.

Seriously, hurricanes are named better.

Now that 17 year old Bristol Palin is knocked up, we need to step in. Seeing as Bristol's hubby to be Levi is a hockey player for the Wasilla Warriors who plays hurt and scores goals, I think we need to offer some hockey themed names for this kid, if just to save it from Grandma stepping in and naming it something like Wigwam, or Brushfire.

Here's some humble suggestions:

-Saucer Pass Palin
-Five Hole Palin
-Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla Palin
-Oglethorpe Palin
-Warrior Palin

(vote for your favorite or add your own in the comments!)

Well, we've had some fun with the news that the presumptive Republican Vice Presidential nominee is a hockey mom, and former sports reporter, and I gotta tell you, this story just keeps getting better and better.

The McCain campaign has released a statement that Governor Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter Bristol is pregnant, and will be not only having the baby, but marrying the father. And here he is:

Courtesy of the New York Post, meet the soon to be happily married 17 year old Levi Johnston, who scored 24 goals in 24 games with the Wasilla High School Warriors despite suffering a cracked bone in his shin during that season.

Enjoy the quotes from his MySpace page (which has now been removed:)

"I'm a f - - -in' redneck" who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes.

"But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s- - - and just f - - -in' chillin' I guess."

"Ya f - - - with me I'll kick [your] ass," he added.

He also claims to be "in a relationship," but states, "I don't want kids."

Oops.

Still, seeing as Levi has been pretty clear about his intention to kick the asses of people who fuck with him, let me be clear here-

I'm OK with you, dude. You seem like a little bit of a redneck, but I'm only getting that impression because you, well- called yourself a redneck. It doesn't really take a Jeff Foxworthy to make that leap. But, still, since it's a self imposed title, I'm gonna go ahead and assume that you don't think that's a bad thing. Also, you're 17, and not only scored a goal per game, but also scored with, you know, Bristol, which is no small achievement. She's a fox, no doubt, and while I've never personally had sex with the teenage daughter of an evangelical Christian, I bet it's super fucking hot. I mean, I've seen Footloose, and there's some serious forbidden fruit action going on there.

So on those fronts, good on ya, dude. The no rubber thing is a bummer, but hey, man- you don't need me to tell you that.

Also, and this has nothing to do with you, but I'm really enjoying watching these stuffed shirt right wing pricks choking on their words as they attempt to explain that McCain knew all about how Bristol was pregnant and was OK with it. I'm sure that McCain really wanted to open his convention with a hurricane in New Orleans and a story about an unwanted teenage pregnancy. I mean, family planning arguments aside, nothing puts a bump in the whole "we're making the ticket younger" argument than discovering your injection of youth is about to be a grandmother. I'm guessing that John McCain was just about as pleased to hear about this pregnancy as you were.

Barack Obama has taken the high road with all this, and reminded voters that he was born to an 18 year old mother, but it's not the official Democratic reaction to this that matters. It's the hand wringing for the the Republican family values crowd, and I'm loving watching it unfold. I'm terribly sorry that you're caught in the middle of it, seeing as you had no way of knowing that your girlfriend's mom was going to be potentially a heartbeat away from the Presidency of the United States. I mean, I don't think anybody did.

For Christ's sake- while she was mayor of Wasilla, wasn't this where she worked?