Ethel The Frog

  • Water Usage in Edmonton During Olympic Hockey Final

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    March 10th, 2010EthelCanada, Sports
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    I just received this from a good friend of mine who lives in Alberta.

    This chart from the utility company EPCOR contrasts water consumption in Edmonton, Alberta on two different days. February 27th is charted to show a normal day.  February 28th was the day Canada won the Olympic gold medal hockey game.  As you can see, a huge percentage of their customers waited for breaks in the game to “go”.

    This chart demonstrates how passionate Canadians are about hockey!

    Water usage during the Olympic Gold Medal hockey game

    My friend commented, “I am surprised by the spike after the third period because I thought everyone just peed themselves at 19:38 of the third period and wouldn’t have to go anymore.”

    _______________________________________________________________________

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      • Brian Williams’ Thank-You Note To Canada and Stephen Brunt’s Video Essay

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        March 3rd, 2010EthelCanada, Current Affairs
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        Brian Williams

        Brian Williams

        Brian Williams, the anchor of the NBC Nightly News, wrote the following on his blog, The Daily Nightly, prior to his final broadcast from the Vancouver Winter Olympics:

        After tonight’s broadcast and after looting our hotel mini-bars, we’re going to try to brave the blizzard and fly east to home and hearth, and to do laundry well into next week.  Before we leave this thoroughly polite country, the polite thing to do is leave behind a thank-you note.

        Thank you, Canada:

        For being such good hosts.

        For your unfailing courtesy.

        For your (mostly) beautiful weather.

        For scheduling no more than 60 percent of your float plane departures at the exact moment when I was trying to say something on television.

        For not seeming to mind the occasional (or constant) good-natured mimicry of your accents.

        For your unique TV commercials — for companies like Tim Hortons — which made us laugh and cry.

        For securing this massive event without choking security, and without publicly displaying a single automatic weapon.

        For having the best garment design and logo-wear of the games — you’ve made wearing your name a cool thing to do.

        For the sportsmanship we saw most of your athletes display.

        For not honking your horns. I didn’t hear one car horn in 15 days — which also means none of my fellow New Yorkers rented cars while visiting.

        For making us aware of how many of you have been watching NBC all these years.

        For having the good taste to have an anchorman named Brian Williams on your CTV network, who turns out to be such a nice guy.

        For the body scans at the airport which make pat-downs and cavity searches unnecessary.

        For designing those really cool LED Olympic rings in the harbor, which turned to gold when your athletes won one.

        For always saying nice things about the United States…when you know we’re listening.

        For sharing Joannie Rochette with us.

        For reminding some of us we used to be a more civil society.

        Mostly, for welcoming the world with such ease and making lasting friends with all of us.

        Below is a video essay put together by Stephen Brunt, a Canadian sportswriter and commentator) on what the Olympics meant to Canada. (It’s introduced by the Canadian Brian Williams, the main studio host for CTV.)

        It’s beautiful and moving, and, amazingly, it was done before Canada’s historic gold-medal hockey win on Sunday, the singular triumph that really brought the country together.

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      • Stick a Fork in the Fat Lady – Canada Wins in Overtime!

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        February 28th, 2010EthelCanada, Sports
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        What a nail-biter!

        Congratulations to Team USA for putting up a heck of a fight and forcing the game to overtime.

        These two teams were so evenly matched that they both deserve gold medals.

        That said . . . WAY TO GO TEAM CANADA ! . . And Sidney Crosby – you are a Canadian hero!  . . . And Jerome Iginla – Crosby couldn’t have scored without your great pass!

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      • Wow!

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        February 25th, 2010EthelCanada, Sports
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        Okay, let’s recap.

        I told you that Team USA would beat Switzerland . . . but I sure didn’t think they’d have to “squeak out” the win by one goal. (I’m not counting the open-net goal).

        I predicted that Canada would beat Russia . . . but I anticipated a very close game.  Canada “spanked” Russia, 7 to 3.

        After that, my predictions fell apart.

        Finland beat the Czech Republic!

        Slovakia beat the (former gold-medal-winner) Sweden!

        These were minor surprises . . . but they don’t affect my ultimate predictions:

        USA should beat Finland to move on to the final . . . and

        Canada should beat Slovakia to meet Team USA . . . and

        Canada will win the gold medal in a whopper of a game against the USA, on Sunday.

        ___________________________________________________________________________________

        Here’s Episode 22 of Pilot Season:

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      • Olympic Hockey Update

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        February 24th, 2010EthelCanada, Sports
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        Well, on the women’s side, there are certainly no surprises . . . Canada will face Team USA for the gold medal.  Sweden and Finland will play for the silver.

        I predict that the Canadian women will emerge victorious when they play, tomorrow.

        Hayley Wickenheiser

        Hayley Wickenheiser

        A small digression: Canada’s women are led by Hayley Wickenheiser, from Shaunavon, Saskatchewan.  In 2003, she became the first woman to score a goal playing in a men’s professional league. Wickenheiser was named one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in Hockey” by The Hockey News, one of the “25 Toughest Athletes” by Sport Illustrated and one of the “Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Canada” by the Globe and Mail.

        Hayley’s cousin, Doug Wickenheiser, from Regina, Saskatchewan, was a superstar in Major Junior hockey with the Regina Pats, he led the Western Hockey League in goal scoring (89) during the 1979–80 WHL season, captained the Pats to a berth in the Memorial Cup, and was the CHL Player of the Year. Wickenheiser was rated by The Hockey News as the top draft prospect in 1980 and was subsequently selected first overall by the Montreal Canadiens.

        Doug Wickenheiser

        Doug Wickenheiser

        His NHL career was not so stellar.  During his NHL career, Wickenheiser also played for the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and Washington Capitals.  In 556 games, he scored 111 goals and 165 assists.

        In August 1994, Wickenheiser had a malignant cyst removed from his wrist – which he had first noticed four years earlier in 1990. Three years later, in October 1997, he was diagnosed with an inoperable form of cancer in his lung. Wickenheiser was only 37 when he died from lung and brain cancer on January 12, 1999, in St. Louis, Missouri.

        While the St. Louis Blues did not retire his number 14, Blues’ players wore a special helmet decal with the wick of a candle and the number 14 during parts of the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons. In 1999 a banner with that logo, which became the symbol of The Fourteen Fund, the official Blues charity established in his memory, was permanently placed in the rafters at the Blues home rink. The emblem was worn by all NHL players in the 1999 All-Star Game, and was also sold to the public for a small donation and became a popular trend among youth hockey players in St. Louis.

        It was unfortunate that Wickenheiser was unable to live up to his high expectations, and it is tragic that he died at such a young age, leaving behind a wife and three daughters.

        On to the men’s Olympic hockey bracket:

        Men's Olympic Hockey Bracket

        As expected, Canada breezed by the Germans . . . but now have to face the mighty Russians tonight at 6:00 p.m. (Costa Rica time).  The game is to be televised on CNBC.  (Check your local listings).

        Many people predicted that Canada and Russian would be showcased in the gold medal game . . . but, that prediction was dashed when the USA beat Canada in the opening round, giving Team USA a free ride into the quarterfinals and forcing Canada to skate against Germany to earn their birth in the same.

        Now, in what may be the most exciting game of the Olympics, Canada will meet Russian (not in the gold medal game, but in the quarterfinals).  Here is what From The Rink says about this upcoming battle:

        Going into these Olympics, I think everyone wanted to see a game between Canada and Russia. No one expected it to happen in the quarterfinal, but you work with what you got. In terms of pure hockey brilliance, I’d rather the game happen early than not at all.

        International rivalries, Crosby vs. Ovechkin, Crosby vs. Malkin…you could write hundreds of different storylines going into the Canada-Russia game on Wednesday night. That being said, here are the five things that intrigue/excite me the most about this match-up.

        5. Team Canada’s defense. The Swiss proved that speed and grit could catch the Canadian defense off guard. In fact, the physical game probably gave the underdog Swiss team its best chance in what turned out to be an incredibly close contest. Against the Americans, some of Team USA’s goals were the result of failure to box players out of the crease or pushing to get that extra step. Canada’s defense has the speed and skill, but they’ve shown cracks in the armor. Now, against their biggest challenge, will they hunker down and rise to the occasion or will the blistering Russian forwards push Canada’s defense onto their heels?

        4. Evgeni Nabokov vs. his teammates. The San Jose Sharks trio of Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton, and Patrick Marleau has been one of the few consistent factors for Team Canada. No one knows them better than Russian goaltender Nabokov, and while Canada has all sorts of weapons, one has to think that the Russians feel a little better knowing that their netminder has the book on Canada’s best overall line. On the other hand, one has to wonder what the San Jose trio will say about Nabokov’s tendencies to their teammates and coaches — you know, the guys that Thornton, Heatley, and Marleau will be directly competing against in just a few days.

        3. Roberto Luongo’s true test. Was Martin Brodeur unfairly blamed for the loss against Team USA? Perhaps he took a bit too much of the blame, but the bottom line is that one of his brain-cramps turned into a goal and he let one other soft one in. In a short tournament, that’s a bit too much to gamble with, especially when the other two goalies came in playing better. While the victory against the Germans was a good confidence booster, the bottom line is that their best NHL scorer was two-way forward Marco Sturm — a far cry from, say, Patrick Kane, and a major difference from Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk. The last time Luongo played a game this big, he came out of on the wrong end of a 7-5 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. How will he fare under an even bigger spotlight?

        2. Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin. Has this rivalry been beaten to death yet? After the past few games between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, I don’t think so. Originally more of a marketing twist than anything else, the rivalry has developed into a thing of beauty. It’s well-documented that the two are as different as can be, but I think we’ve seen them grow into more complete players over the past two seasons, and you can’t question their compete level. On two teams filled with the world’s best players, this is one match-up to watch, even if there’s a tiny bit of network manufacturing with that spotlight.

        1. The two best teams. Forget the standings and forget history (that’s a lot easier for an American observer to say, huh?); in terms of pure explosive talent, these are the two most exciting teams in the tournament. In true best-on-best fashion, this will be an absolute treat to watch the amount of skill and speed out there. We know that Canada will be watching; will American sports fans appreciate this special event? Let’s hope so. And if NBC had actually marketed Crosby and Ovechkin to the masses, maybe more folks would tune in. This past week has already shown that they will, in fact, watch hockey.

        I refused to make a prediction as to the outcome of the Canada – USA team because I didn’t want to jinx Team Canada – it didn’t work . . . they lost anyway.  So, I’m going to throw caution to the wind and give you my predictions for the rest of the tournament.

        Canada will beat Russia tonight.  This is a toughie, but I’ve got faith and Team Canada has the roaring home-town crowd behind them.

        The United States will beat Switzerland. (A easy one).

        The Czechs will beat Finland.

        Sweden will beat Slovakia.

        The United States should beat the Czech Republic. (This is the one that could be an upset, if Team USA has a bad day and the Czechs have a good one).

        Canada will beat Sweden.

        Canada will meet the United States in the gold medal game . . . and they will get their redemption . . . and the gold medal.  Team USA beat Canada once in these games . . . but I don’t think it will happen again.

        (Back-up prediction:  If the Russians can beat Canada tonight, they will go on to beat the United States for the gold).

        Let the games begin!

        Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin


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      • Olympic Hockey Update

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        February 19th, 2010EthelCanada, Sports
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        Okay, I still maintain that the women’s hockey tournament is going to come down to Canada and USA . . . Yesterday, Canada spanked Sweden by a score of 13 to 1, and today the USA women beat Finland 6 to 0.

        However, I’m have some more concerns about Canada’s men’s team.  Today, Team Canada barely squeaked out a victory against Switzerland, in a shoot out, 3 to 2.  If Canada is going to win the gold medal, they should have “schooled” Switzerland, which is not considered to be a top contender.  3 to 2 in a shoot out!  (I should note that it was Sidney Crosby who scored the winning goal in the shoot out . . . but where was he during the rest of the game – not even an assist!)  Take a look at the Swiss line up . . . have you ever heard of any of these guys? (If I recall correctly, Switzerland beat Canada 2-0 in the last Olympics.  Why does Canada have a problem with Switzerland?)

        Congratulations to Switzerland for putting up a heck of a fight against Team Canada . . . but shame on you, Team Canada, for playing down to the level of Switzerland!  Switzerland!  What are you going to do when Ovechkin, Malkin and the rest of the Russian juggernaut is coming at you?

        The USA men’s team beat Norway by a score of 6 to 1.  (However, Team Canada beat the Norwegians 8 to zip).

        I’m really looking forward to the big game between Canada and USA on Sunday at 4:40 Pacific Time, which I guess is 6:40 in Costa Rica.

        Friends of the Old Furry Lobster

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