camcanuck’s profile

Don't get me wrong; what Lezak did was amazing. However the ONLY reason he swam such a fast leg is because Bernard allowed him to do so. Bernard broke a cardinal rule in competitive swimming. He swam right up again the lane divider between him and Lezak for almost the entire final 50m. Lezak was smart enough to notice this and drafted off him. Allowing him to easily close the gap while still saving his energy for the final push. Bernard swims in the middle of his lane or on the other side and the French win. I was absolutely astonished to see a swimmer of Bernard's caliber make such a rookie mistake.

posted at 05:12 PM on August 12

NYR in 6 - I think the Rangers are under rated OTT in 6 - This only goes 6 if Broduer plays really, really well. SJ in 7 - Talk about the worst travel schedule ever for a conference semi. Good grief. VAN in 6 - my upset special. Best PK: San Jose at 89%

posted at 12:54 PM on April 25

The series isn't over yet, but Edmonton is reeling. I thought Markkanen was okay, but Edmonton looks very much like the Oilers team that played the first 3/4s of the season. It's all about confidence in your teammates. No matter what they all say in the interviews I don't think the players have a 10th of the confidence in either of their available goalies as they had with Rollie. On a positive note for Edmonton Stall has been invisible during the first 2 games. During the first 3 series he was flying... my guess is he is playing hurt. If Carolina is going to win they have to do it right now (ie. in 4 or 5 games). If it goes longer I think they will get worn down and Edmonton will be able to pull out a victory.

posted at 11:59 AM on June 08

Technically there is no problem recording times down to thousandths of a second. Not only do they do it in swimming, but they also use thousands in bobsled. My understanding is that some sports have not gone to more accurate clocks because there are too many external factors that can effect times to plus or minus thousandths of a second. Differences that small are not repeatable and are chalked up to luck. Especially in the 100m since they try to account for wind which is difficult to measure precisely and it's effect on the runners can vary by size, lane position, venue architecture etc. etc.

posted at 02:01 PM on May 17

rcade: I've had the unfortunate pleasure of actually having to use one of these and they are truly as about idiot proof as you could make them. In fact the one thing I remember the most from my experience is that I wanted it to give the instructions more quickly. I would argue zero training is required, but I was a lifeguard at the time and had been trained on the device so I might be a little biased. That being said CPR works very well in conjunction with a defib. While CPR will help keep you alive it will almost never 're-start' / 'restore' your hearts normal rhythm. A defib however is designed to do just that. Put the two together and you can really make a huge difference. bperk/Weedy: You should see how many joules a friggin' cockroach can take before it bites the dust.

posted at 03:50 PM on March 13

What the heck happened in the 3rd period? The one stat that really stands out is the US only had 4 shots during the entire 3rd period in which they also had 2 power plays. The shot totals don't add up so I'm thinking this is a typo... anyone confirm? Either way while I feel bad for the US team this is the best thing that could happen for womens hockey as a whole.

posted at 12:59 PM on February 17

grum... it's actually called the Pengrowth Saddledome and I'll be there in a couple hours from now. Cheers

posted at 03:54 PM on February 03

Dudedykstra, I agree people often refer to dirty hits on QB's (see Carson Palmer this weekend for an exmaple of what you said about super slow-mo replays). While you say a receiver is legal to hit why is a puck carrier not a legal hit as well? The hit that Marchment attempted on Allision was while he had the puck. Hockey rules say Allision is completely fair game. I'll conceed the speed issue, but it's pretty rare to see a hockey player getting hit while he is 2 feet or 3 feet up in the air. I'd say that more than makes up for the speed difference. I still don't see much of a difference other fan / player opinion.

posted at 05:41 PM on January 09

Garfied, yes it was classic Marchment. No doubt about that. I'm torn on the subject though (pardon the pun) because the only way to remove the kneeing issue it to make the big open ice hits illegal. I also find it someone hypcritcal that many people don't see the comparisions to wide receivers in football. No one complains a bit when those guys go up for a pass and end up with a trip in an ambulance to the local hospital. It's part of the game. How is cutting down a wide receiver when he's up the air (and totally defenseless) any different than laying the huge hit on forward with his head down? Both plays could result in nothing more than an muscle ache the next morning, but both plays could also result in serious injury. Yet no one ever complains about how it was a dirty hit in football. The safety doesn't end up with a bad reputation. I've never really understood why in hockey it's different. Chalk it up to the whole 'honor' mentality in hockey which perhaps isn't there in football. BTW, Regehr's got quite the backhand, eh? Yeah for all the time they spent trying the feed Dion Phaneuf for the big shot it's somewhat ironic don't you think? Yet another great game that didn't feature a bunch of goals. It's a shame we won't see the buds here again for 2 or 3 years.

posted at 03:32 PM on January 09

Full Disclosure: I'm a Flames fan. Marchment has a well deserved reputation. After having watched him play many games this year he always reminds me of a rookie who is far to focused on making the big hit rather than playing sound defense. That said I'll take issue with Garfield's posting. He was not trying to knee Allision. Watching replays it was clear. Allision tried to get out of the way and they hit knee on knee. No doubt it's a dangerous move on Merchant's part, but it was a poor call by the ref which was probably more based on the name on the back of the jersey than what actually happened on the ice. The exact same thing could happen to anyone trying the big open ice hit when the intended targets steps out of the way at the last minute. My guess is that Marchant will have the surgery and then will announce his retirement during the off season. Perhaps I'll still bitter about the absurd officiating during the last Flames game, but I sincerely doubt any player actually tries to knee another. Even Marchment.

posted at 02:44 PM on January 09

Here is a link to the actual roster. My $0.02... there is no way that Bertuzzi should be on this squad. He hasn't played well at all this year, and isn't well suited to the large ice surface. Big Bert over Spezza or Staal? Are you freakin' kidding me?

posted at 04:55 PM on December 21

This was a really scary incident. I was watching the Edmonton / San Jose game and I saw the ticker show the Detroit game as 'postponed'. So I started flipping channels to see why, and saw the highlights. It should be noted that what prevented his death (or severe brain damage) was the automated defibrillator. Fisher's heart almost certainly didn't stop. He probably 'arrested' and was in v-fib. His heart was quivering instead of actually pumping. Contrary to what you may see on TV, CPR will almost never 'reset' the heart to get it pumping again. Even though the paramedics have defibrillators the delay in getting them to Fisher would have made a big, big difference. This incident is a prime example of why automated defibrillators are worth their weight in gold.

posted at 01:43 PM on November 22

Weedy, a) Terry was first. While Terry was first to attempt he unfortunately wasn't able to complete his trip. To contrast I have no idea who the first person was to attempt to climb Mt. Everest, but I think just about everyone knows that Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to make to the top and back down. b) He freaking died - practically in the attempt. He died as a result of his cancer, not because he ran. While I'm sure you could make a good case that his run didn't help his condition, it's not what killed him. I hate to say this, but in fact his death helped solidify his legacy more because he wasn't around to tarnish it (like Steve & Rick have). Not to say he would have, by all accounts he was a great guy, but the opportunity wasn't there. ...It just gives it more of the underdog feel. This makes the most sense I guess. If there is one thing Canadian's love it's an a guy who works hard, doesn't jump up and down for attention and is an underdog. He just let his actions speak for him. Still in my mind given that he was trying to raise awareness and funds generating attention in any way possible would seem to make more sense. Hence the way Steve and Rick went about their projects. I mind all 3 of those guys are amazing indiviuals. I just think that 2 out of the 3 don't get the respect they deserve.

posted at 11:47 AM on September 16

There is no doubt in my mind that Terry Fox is probably one of the greatest Canadians, but I've always wondered why Terry gets far, far more press than other equally deserving (based on their physical challenges & fund raising efforts) people. Two that always immediate come to mind are Steve Fonyo & Rick Hansen. They each received their fair share of press at the time, but it quickly disappeared. I predict you'll start to hear more about Rick Hansen as the 2010 Vancouver Olympics get closer, but neither of these guys get anywhere near the adoration from the public that Terry Fox gets. I'm aware that both Steve and Rick had some personal problems (some substance abuse issues & run ins with the law) after their accomplishments, but in my mind that doesn't discount what they were able to do. Just a my 2 cents.

posted at 10:18 AM on September 16

I don't know if they will actually be able to call that many penalties. Fans will revolt. Which is a shame, because the game will be better because of it. I found it interesting that St Louis's goal against the islanders, which was on the highlight reels for a long time, was used as an example. I don't recall ANYONE ever saying that St. Louis got away with one when he scored that goal. In fact if a ref would have called that a penalty 2 years ago you would have heard the complaining for months. Secondly the no tolerance of cross-checking just lowered Chris Pronger's worth significantly.

posted at 04:33 PM on September 08