Canada/USA: Live Blog.....1st period

2:30 pm AST - TSN beginning its coverage of the game....I'm jacked....mayhaps a beer to calm my nerves? done!
2:32 - Pierre McGuire has opened his mouth, souring my mood
2:35 - last year's shootout is mentioned 5 minutes later than I thought it would. Expect this to be talked about constantly....
2:52 - These fucking gatorade commercials that are made up to not seem like commercials that they show over and over and over need to stop.....or at least make more than one.....they show it every god damned intermission!
3:05 - Puck drop! 13 seconds in the states ring one off the post.....within the first 30 seconds they have 493 scoring chances. Canada might be a bit nervous
3:06 - Pierre said last year was Canada's first gold medal on foreign soil since 1997....which is pretty wrong (2005 North Dakota)....I wish I had a job where I could just make up facts....My uncle invented the colour grey!
3:10 - Tavares gets the games first penalty....killed off well
3:15 - US line change messed up.....almost a penalty but Canada got a good chance off it
3:20 - Mason is terrifying me....he does not look comfortable in the net in the least and seems to be losing his posts a lot
3:25 - HUGE scoring chance for Canada....Tavares in front.....I was out of my seat yelling folks....I know, I know....I'm usually so calm
3:29 - Canada playing really well in the US zone...probably out-chancing the US, but Mason is trying to keep it close by juggling every shot...Pierre seems to think that Marchand scoring the winner against the Finns might have given him confidence...a great hockey mind of our time? or the greatEST hockey mind of our time?
3:35 - end of the first; I'm satisfied. I thought the US would be tough but Canada is hanging in there. In other news, that crispy crunch commercial is creepy.....see ya in the second!

Canada/USA: Live Blog.....2nd period

3:44 - Jason Jones/Molson Canadian commercials are BRUTAL....like he's a funny guy but they're terrible spots....I expected more Jason......Anyone else notice whenever Bob McKenzie doesn't think he's on camera he's always checking his phone?

3:49 - god damn gatorade again

3:52 - great chance for canada....net came off though but I like where their heads are at

3:55 - GOAL CANADA!!!! Shawn Matthias coming from behind the net....loving it

3:59 - Pierre McGuire name-drops Pat Verbeek who he coached in Hartford.......the glamour is overwhelming

4:00 - Wayne Simmonds just drew a penalty. I swear I've never noticed him before this game....y'know he should, like, stand out though right?

4:05 - Pierre on a Canadian shot: "If that had hit the net it would be in"........pretty big "if" there buddy.....unbelievable

4:07 - Canada goes to the Power-play......stay tuned

4:07 - GOAL CANADA!!!!!!!....awesome power play (for about 10 seconds)...Karl Alzner from the point......2-0 for the good guys

4:11 - Is Pierre seriously talking about how he used to mess with Roger Neilson when he coached against him?!? what a name-dropping tool

4:18 - Giroux got high-sticked bad....eee....on the other hand, canada is going 5 on 3 for 41 seconds....so far the PP has been good

4:21 - US kills off the penalties but Canada had some chances. Anyone else notice that they announce over the P.A. system when a player comes out of the box?....US has their shot at a PP now

4:25 - End of the second, 2-0 Canada. Mason is looking a lot stronger but I think Canada is trying to get too fancy.....they're getting a lot of 1 on 1's and 2 on 1's that are getting disrupted because they keep trying to toe-drag the puck to the middle. That's right folks, I am a card-carrying level 1 coach ;)....see ya in the third!!

Canada/USA: Live Blog.....3rd period

4:41 - The US get a penalty for flipping it out over that tiny tiny glass....



4:44 - Canada is playing REALLY safe......they're definitely trying to just shut this game down



4:46 - Both Pierre and Gord are trying to out-yell each other about the US having 6 guys on the ice....I wish Gord would just smack him one day



4:48 - The worst things about the world jrs by far (besides Pierre of course) is how whenever any player makes a play the announcers have to tell us which team has them drafted and which player they're going to be like.....right now they're talking about how Josh Godfrey, drafted by washington is going to be Al MacInnis....can none of these players be their own type of player? And you would think Crosby must be pretty run-of-the-mill considering every player is compared to him



4:50 - GOAL CANADA!!!!!!!! 3-0 baby! Colton Gillies puts it in.....anyone wanna get drunk for tomorrow's game??



4:51 - GOAL CANADA!!!! 4-0! Brad Marchand off the steal....that guy is gonna look good in a mooseheads jersey!!....did one of the fans try to steal his stick??



4:53 - Did Pierre just blame Canadian fans for shitting on Steve Mason??? didn't TCP/IP tough guy already prove that Pierre did this???


5:00 - US just scored to make it 4-1. Six and a half minutes left and they have nothing to lose and are pouring it on



5:05 - The refs are letting EVERYTHING go



5:07 - The P.A. guy just let us know there's 2 minutes left in the third...Luke Schenn just got a penalty for Canada.....Pierre is wondering if the American should pull their goalie or call a timeout.....my only comment is why the fuck not?



5:10 - 39 seconds left and Canada is down 2 men...Pierre likes to bad-mouth the canadians. I think he secretly wants them to be scored on, so he can tell the country he told them so...



5:11 - 3....2....1......GOLD MEDAL GAME BABY!!!! Seriously though....let's get drunk!

We're not dead

"Pierre just before being shelled by 23 consecutive slapshots"

Apologies to our loyal readers (both of you) for our long hiatus over the holidays. Typing cuss words into your blog at your mom's house is liable to get you slapped. Pitiful excuse I know, but now that I'm home; fuck, hell, ass, damn, boobies!

What better way to get back on the horse than to rip on old Pierre McGuire? It's World Junior season again and slippery P is there to ruin it for all, like some bald hairless version of the Grinch.

If PMG isn't saying something blatently obvious, he's making 'predictions' that you could take either way. Consider the following gems.

-"If those young guys start to get engaged more and more, I think that will take some of the pressure off Claude Giroux, Kyle Turris and Brad Marchand"

Oh wow, thanks for that brilliant insight. If Canada gets more secondary scoring, their top guys won't have to score as much. In other news, water is wet.

-"Canada's toughest task in the semifinal will be shutting down the Americans' top line"

Which may account for it being their ... top line?

-"So I'd go with Bernier, but I stress this: Mason has got them into the semifinals and deserves a lot of respect."(Regarding the starting goalie)

Way to puss out there Pierre, now you get to come out at the end of the game yelling that you were right no matter what the score.

-"There's no good reason for a defenceman to be using a composite stick"

A buh?? I don't even know where to start on this one. Lidstrom, Souray, Pronger, Chara, Redden...

-".....and you can really see the Canadian bench react positively to that goal (that put them ahead of the Finns in the quarter-finals)"

God I hate that man.
.

JOKE TIME!!!1!! LOL

Boy, what do the Leafs of the last two games have in common with an incomplete paint project??

A: hsinif oN
(Step 1: hold this answer up to a mirror, Step 2: Laugh UPROARIOUSLY)

Congrats on the shutout Vesa

Sorry for the rush post guys but I have a thing I need to get to. There's only a 1:26 left in the 3rd period and it looks like the buds have this game sewed up. So I'll just write a quick celebratory note to the Toronto Maple Leafs and especially Vesa Toskala on their commanding victory and a sure shutout.

Wait, what? Are you kidding me?

Jesus, shave that nonsense **Update**

Now that McCabe is down, it's time to start kicking.

I'm not going to pick on his inflated salary, lack of points, his terrible penchant for giveaways, inability to hold his own in a fight, the multiple defensive breakdowns or even that time he scored on his own goalie.

Those things can happen when you're in a slump, albeit not all in one season usually, what's really getting me is that mustache.

It's looked foolish ever since he started wearing it, but I held off, giving it time to fill in properly, waiting perhaps to see if he'd consult George Parros for tips. No such luck.

Is there no-one on the Leafs that can take Bryan aside and explain the hard facts of life to him? Some men come out of the womb fully stached and others have to toil under the razor. Just kindly tell him to wait for the playoffs, when it's perfectly acceptable for even the most ridiculous scruff to go on show.

The playoffs Bryan, wait for the Leafs to make the playoffs... Better stock up on your Mach 3s, you could be shaving pretty regularly for a while.

(update from The Matt)
Boy, someone seems upset that he doesn't have to shave yet.....it's ok buddy....want a soda? But seriously, yeah McCabe why can't you be more like spezza or someone....y'know....a little more manly....maybe promote a jewellery store or something...you know....like spezza does.......in real life....I'm not making this up