Note: As September rolls around and all this week we wanted to bring to your attention the Pass it Forward program which provides help to youth in Winnipeg who wish to play hockey but require aid in getting the necessary equipment. The program is in it’s 4th year, they have a brand new website, an active twitter feed @PassItForwardca, and they are giving away a team-signed picture of last season’s opening faceoff. Be sure to check it out.
Jets news:
Sportsnet: Own OndrejPavelec.com for 1.25M. Ever wanted to own the Jets #1 goalie? Well you couldn’t buy him but you can own his domain name for a cool 1.25 million dollars. At least one industrious ebay seller thinks there will be interest.
Winnipeg Free Press: Fans paying for NHL’s greed. Players and owners are banking on fans grumbling but not doing much else in the way of showing their displeasure. Reality is whenever NHL gets going in the Peg’, whether it is October 13th or later on, both sides know the MTS Centre will be packed.
The Coloradoan: Eagles sign Colorado native. The ECHL affiliate of Winnipeg added some local content to their roster.
CBA news:
Sportsnet: KHL braces for windfall, will welcome NHLers. If you are the KHL, I’m sure you would be happy to welcome back the Russian superstars (i.e. Ovechkin, Datsyuk, Malkin) but would you want your league overrun with NHL players? Players who may just be there for a very short period of time.
Globe and Mail: With NHL labour talks at impasse, players cast glance overseas. Of course they are looking overseas and with good reason as all this unity talk will quickly dissolve once players start missing a few pay periods.
ESPN: Amid uncertainty, GM focuses on season. Whenever this deal gets done, what scrambling teams like the Bruins will have to do in order to get their team in order.
Washington Times: Transcript of Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin talking NHL-NHLPA labor dispute. Aside from giving us ‘The Bettman” as a new cartoon character, reading the transcript of his interview makes you question if Ovechkin understands that the average fan cannot empathize with his situation?
CBC: No NHL lockout in 2012. Always interesting to read what the host of Hockey Night in Canada has to say and in this instance his gut appears to be that both sides will get a deal done. We are approximately 10 days away from finding out if he is right or not.
NHL news:
ESPN: Suitor secures financing. A deal for the Coyotes is not a deal until the Ice Edge Group has been mentioned. Good for Jamison & Company for potentially finally getting this done and just in time to sign Shane Doan before his September 15th deadline.
Denver Post: Gabriel Landeskog succeeds Milan Hejduk as Colorado Avalanche captain. A fairly significant achievement, considering he eclipsed the mark set by some Penguins captain named Crosby by 11 days.
The Province: How much longer will Luongo linger? Looks like he could be blowing in the wind for some time as the Canucks do not seem overly eager to get anything done with the options currently available. Or perhaps his monster contract continues to scare off potential buyers, especially given the CBA uncertainty. They also ask; How much is “too much” for Shane Doan?
CFL Report:
Illegal Procedure: Winnipeg Blue Bombers Papers. If you are a fan of CFL football, check out our other site, which gives you all the latest Bombers news.
Illegal Procedure: A Season on the Brink – Penalizing yourself into peril. The Bombers gave up more yards on penalties than were produced by the Bombers offence. In an effort to better understand the penalties, and in the spirit of this being the ‘back to school’ article, provided below is a grading scheme for conceptualizing new head coach Tim Burke’s focus on discipline (that has been the focus of the management and the media for the last week) having made any noticeable difference.
