So I just got home from a disappointing evening watching the Canucks lose yet another game. Tonight was especially painful because we are now officially eliminated from the playoffs. I had such high hopes at the beginning of the season but as games were played and injuries were compiled, my high hopes began to fade. Still, I had faith in my boys pulling it out at the end of the season. Even when we lost those three games in a row, a little part of me still thought that our last four games of the season would be the saving grace. Afterall, we were at home and we were awesome. The first game bolstered my confidence in the Canucks, when we laid the smackdown on Calgary. But then two nights later, we got owned by Colorado. But still, we had two games left against Edmonton and Calgary. Surely, we could win those.

Nope.

Edmonton, already out of the playoffs, played better than us tonight and they looked like the team trying to make it into the playoffs (even though it was really us). I guess we don’t deserve to be in the playoffs; during that last stretch, we just didn’t look like we wanted it enough. Hopefully this will give the Canucks a kick in the ass and they do much better next year. Although seriously, that won’t happen unless we do some major moves in the off-season. Nonis, I’m looking at you.

The only silver lining I see in tonight’s loss (and the elimination from the playoffs) is that hopefully I move up quite a bit on the waiting list for season tickets. The Canucks might not play like they want it, but I’ll still support the home team because “we are all Canucks”.

Much like the Canucks this off-season, I’ll be playing a lot of golf (of the virtual variety).

Just a quick one about the Canucks Superskills, which I went to see yesterday afternoon. It was a great event where everyone, from the fans to the players and everyone in between, having fun. We got some pretty sweet seats in row 11 at the end of the rink where most of the action was and a good time was had all-around. We were watching the gold medal game for the World Juniors just prior to getting to GM Place and I thought Canada had the gold in the bag. That is, until I was paying for my new Canucks jersey (yay!) and Sweden scored with 38 seconds left to tie the game, forcing overtime. Then the Superskills began. We didn’t know what the outcome was and I was just mentioning to my friend that they should have dedicated one of the screens on the scoreboard to the game when right after the first event they flashed Canada’s winning goal on the screen. The place erupted (although I’m sure some of the Canucks weren’t as excited, seeing as how a good lot of them are Swedes). That was definitely one of the better moments of the afternoon. Other good moments were the breakaway event (Naslund against Luongo! Linden against Luongo!), Daniel Sedin going 100% in the accuracy event, Alex Edler de-throning Sami Salo’s 4-year reign with the hardest shot, Team White winning the overall Superskills (hurrah, I bought the white jersey!) and Mason Raymond’s pie-to-the-face from Burrows after winning the fastest skater event. Welcome to the team, Mason!

I’d definitely go again next year. For $20, it’s was a great way to spend the afternoon. Now, on to the pictures:

Ryan Kesler making his way on to the ice.

Back-up goalie Curtis Sanford warming up.

Sedin vs. Sedin.

Canada defeats Sweden at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.

Pyatt, Kesler, and Jaffray in a heated discussion with the ref.

Mason Raymond gets a pie for his efforts.

Is there any doubt his number will be retired once he hangs up his skates?

When the Vancouver Canucks introduced their new jerseys this season, my first reaction was that it was ugly and had too much happening. I looked at it and thought the designer must not have been able to decide what to include and just threw everything into the mixing bowl to produce this thing. It had the orca logo, the vintage hockey stick logo, and it had “Vancouver” plastered right across the top (which I thought was hideous). However, after having a few months to digest the new jersey and having seen the players wear them on the ice, I’ve grown fond of it (yes, even the “Vancouver” part). Now the time has come to retire my old jersey and buy a new one. I’ve been thinking about which one I want, either home or away, and I’ve decided that I like the away jersey better. Which brought to mind another question: what about all the other jerseys in the league? If not Vancouver, which other jersey could I see myself getting? So I present to you now my thoughts of all the new 2007/08 NHL RBK EDGE jerseys, starting with the home team (with the rest following in alphabetically order, by city name).

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Today is Raise a Reader Day, in case you haven’t left your house and not seen the countless number of volunteers and their newspapers, soliciting donations. They are on practically every corner downtown and it’s hard to avoid them. No really, they are everywhere. Here’s an excerpt I read in the newspaper:

Tip: when you donate, make sure you get a sticker to wear that shows you’ve donated, so you don’t get stopped at the next corner, and the next one, and maybe even two or three after that.)

I didn’t encounter any members of the Canucks selling papers this morning; I guess because I didn’t go anywhere named Granville, Robson, or Burrard. I would have quite enjoyed seeing our savior (a.k.a. Roberto Luongo), though. Soon enough, I’ll get to see the man live in action. I’ve got tickets for the game on October 15 vs. San Jose.

One of the observations I made this morning, while I was in a deli waiting for my bagel to be toasted, was that some of the volunteers were quite aggressive. I observed one woman (apparently, a “team captain”) chase down someone on the street, asking for donations. Now, I’m not against making donations to something I support; in fact, I made a healthy donation today to the campaign. But I just didn’t like the tactics some people employed. A donation is optional. If someone chooses not to donate, smile, say thanks, and move on. DO NOT chase someone down the street and make them feel guilty. Other than that little incident, I hope the Raise-A-Reader is a smashing success again this year.