“Red Sox all summer but the Winter is…Black and Yellow”

This song = tioght.  *gets gangsta*

Also awesome is the fight at the 2:08 mark, featuring former Bruin PJ Stock. He straight messes that guy up!

(Thanks to Chocolate Iced, for sending it to me.  He is a true friend.)

We’re Calling It

It’s our favorite time of year –  time for wild predictions that will make you a chump in April.  We have consulted the shine of Barry Melrose’s hair and cast leaves in a bowl of Jeremy Roenick’s tears.  And now WUYS brings you…

Conference and Stanley Cup Champ predictions, 2010-2011

Politically incorrect to lift him over your head.

Chocolate Iced predicts:
Eastern Conf. Champs – Capitals
Western Conf. Champs – Blackhawks
Stanley Cup Champions – Capitals

CI – Faith in the Capitals may finally be rewarded.  After an early exit in ’09 and an absolute implosion last year, could this be the year they deliver on all that promise?  Ovi called their loss “embarrassing” – this from a man who dances on a boat in a pair of Dawn’s underwear.  He knows no shame except defeat.

Dawn predicts:
Eastern Conf. Champs – Capitals
Western Conf. Champs – Canucks
Stanley Cup Champions – Capitals

Dawn can’t believe she wrote Vancouver, but she’s hoping for a battle of the coasts.  Not least of all because it’s the closest hockey to her house and she’d happily evade the Mountie border patrol for the chance to see Ovi in action.  He’s is undoubtedly the Beast of the East.

Chuck predicts:
Eastern Conf. Champs – Capitals
Western Conf. Champs – Blackhawks
Stanley Cup Champions – Blackhawks

Chuck going out on a limb with the repeat – could turn out to be a very safe bet.  With lots of off-season changes, everyone’s anxious to see how the Hawks gel.  If Turco can get it done in net, we expect to see them well into next summer.

Pants predicts:
Eastern Conf. Champs – Penguins
Western Conf. Champs – Blackhawks
Stanley Cup Champions – Penguins

Pants has cast Mike Comrie as the guest star in How Malkin Got His Groove Back. They have a lot of young talent that knows how to win. And you can bet their first early summer in 3 years (a lifetime when you’re 22!) stung like a bitch. Hunger and expectation should put the Pens right back in it.

What Pants would look like during a Pens/Hawks Cup final:

And there’s a really good chance that Jonathan Toews would just make out with Sidney Crosby.  JT’s totally crushing on Sid – the blushing, giggling, teenage girl kind.  (Warning: This video is squee-tastic.  Tazer says “ass.”  Girls will die.)

(Video via a couple of sites, originating with sheesusnat and k diddy on LiveJournal.  We don’t know them, but we really love them.)

A special WUYS message to the San Jose Sharks:

Chuck: Dear Joe Thornton, I wanted to pick you vs. the Bruins for sentimental reasons (Bruins for the Cup, natch).  But you have toyed with my emotions.  You do all your post-game interviews shirtless then you never show up in the playoffs or remember my birthday.  I’ve been doing the walk of shame for you since ’97 and this year… well, this year is your last chance.  I mean it.

Pants: San Jose, let’s talk.  On a tin can phone since you’re right down the street.  ’09 was the pits – President’s Cup and punked by the Ducks in the first round.  Alas, the Pens won, so I don’t give a crap about you.  Last year was better… being swept sucks, but at least the Hawks went on to win the Cup.  This year, if you pull it together, we promise to do the “Fins” dance in your honor.

2010-2011 College Hockey Preview: Part One

Fall is upon us.  The leaves are turning.  The air is crisp.  It can mean only one thing…it’s time for another glorious season of college hockey!

Even the smart kids are crazy about college hockey!

Over the next two weeks, I’ll break down each conference and tell you who to watch throughout the country this year en route to the national title game in Minnesota.  We’ll also make some predictions with the WUYS staff and see who can pick this season’s national champ.  Today in part one we’re going west young man, and looking at the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

The WCHA has an impressive history when you consider that since 1951, teams from the WCHA have earned 36 NCAA national championships and finished as the runner-up another 27 times.  That’s a lot of hardware (see below).

Cash for Gold?

Last season, four teams from the WCHA went to the national tournament: Denver, Wisconsin, North Dakota and St. Cloud State, with Wisconsin the eventual runner-up to Boston College (I hate the Eagles!) for the national title.

Look for North Dakota to be strong out of the gate.  With a great defensive unit anchored by  Captain Chay Genoway, the Fighting Sioux will be tough to beat.  It’s not an accident that ND is ranked No. 2 in the national preseason polls.   This team has the potential to dominate the conference and will be a serious contender in Minnesota come Frozen Four time.

Minnesota-Duluth has great scoring ability and should do well this year also.   Ranked No. 9 in the preseason polls, the Bulldogs return 20 letter-men, including five of their six top scorers from last year. The  star of that group, All-American center Jack Connolly (18G-31A-49P) is poised to take the Bulldogs to new heights this year.

UMD Standout Jack Connolly

St. Cloud State will sport solid  goal tending in their Lee-Dunn tandem.  However, with the loss of Ryan Lasch (20G-29A-49P), the Huskies could struggle to find enough offense this season.  The Huskies do return a large crop of upperclassmen and that experience should make them one of the teams to beat in the conference.

If Jaden Schwartz is everything he’s advertised as, Colorado College could have a very good year.  Schwartz, the WCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year, was also selected in the first round of the NHL draft by the St. Louis Blues.

Jaden Schwartz - The Answer?

The Tigers are loaded with forwards, some proven, some raw recruits.  That being said, defense could be an issue with so many talented offensive teams in the conference.

The Denver Pioneers look to be in a bit of a rebuilding season as they lost many players from last year.  Picked 11th nationally in preseason polls, DU will look to build around a solid defensive corps that includes sophomore Matt Donovan.  The Pioneers will be tested early as they open their home schedule against defending NCAA champion Boston College (did I mention I hate BC?) with a pair of games October 15-16.

Bimidji State is new to the conference this season, but this is the team that shocked the hockey establishment a couple of years ago by advancing to the Frozen Four.  With a 23-10-4 record  overall last season in the CHA, the WCHA coaches poll has BS finishing in the bottom tier of the conference in 9th place.  I have to agree.

Nebraska-Omaha is the other new team this year and are a bit of an unknown.  They will retain most of their offensive firepower from last year, but defensively they could struggle.  Don’t expect them to finish any higher than 7th this season.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers, once a feared team and in the national consciousness has lost a bit of its bite int he last few years.  The coaches poll has them finishing squarely int he middle of the pack in 5th place.  Minnesota’s Nick Bjugstad did receive a vote for preseason rookie of the year.  Coach Don Lucia could surprise some folks this year out west and the Gophers could find themselves in the mix come playoff time.

Wisconsin will surprise me if they spend any time in the top half of the conference.  The national runners-up lost seven of their best players last year and you just can’t replace that kind of talent overnight.

This badger looks tough...

Minnesota State will struggle to put the puck in the net as they lose almost all of their top scorers from last season.  They will stay toward the bottom this year.  the same can be said of Michigan Tech, which was very thin at the blue line last season.

Finally, Alaska-Anchorage will again struggle to fight its way out of the basement as there are holes all over the ice for them this year.

Well, there you have it folks.  The west will (likely) be won this year by North Dakota.  I think this conference can legitimately send several teams to the NCAAs that will contend for a title.

Here’s how the WUYS staff picks the WCHA this year:

CI – North Dakota…they have too many weapons

Pants – North Dakota…” I don’t know enough to argue with those numbers.  That’s some seriously heavy favoritism.”

Chuck – Chuck, Chuck are you there?

DawnCherrie – TBD

Next time we’ll have a look at the CCHA.  Until next time.

From Chuck
Hey all.  I’m here!  So I’m going to have to go with CI and Pants on this one.  I pick the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota to win the WCHA.  They are stacked like Jenga.

Ed’s Note: Apparently DawnCherrie is picking Wisconsin to win this conference.  I know that Badger looks cute in the photo, but I don’t think the fellas on the ice will have it this year.

Bio: CI

Favorite Team(s): Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, Boston University Terriers

Home Team: New York Islanders

Favorite Players: Alexander Ovechkin; Jarome Iginla

Team(s) I hate: Montreal Canadiens, Boston College Eagles

Player I hate: Sean Avery (What a jerk)

Hockey Wife: Christine Simpson, Versus reporter ( I always thought she was hot in a Stiffler’s Mom kinda way.)

Stiffler's Mom?

Hockey Girlfriend(s): Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux (They are hot. See photo.  Gotta support the stars and stripes!)

The Twins

Favorite Hockey Memory: Watching the Terriers win a national championship.

Black People Like Hockey. No, really. They do.

Hey Ya’ll!

Please welcome our new WUYS contributing blogger, Mr. Chocolate Iced! *cue cheers and whistles*  As a dude, hockey fan, and African-American male, CI will offer his insight, manly wisdom, and unique perspective about this sport that we all love.  He’s also a real life lawyer, so he can explain all that pesky arbitration/collective bargaining/contract type stuff.  ‘Cuz Pants and Chuck don’t do no math.

~ Pants and Chuck

---

I know what you’re thinking, “a black guy that has been a hockey fan since he was about twelve years-old, plays ice hockey now, and occasionally writes for a hockey blog…really?”  Yes, really.  Allow me to re-introduce myself, my name is Chocolate Iced, your male contributing blogger on “What’s Up Ya Sieve?” and a puck head who happens to share skin color with the President.  I grew up playing a lot of street hockey in Long Island, New York and rooting on my hometown team, the New York Islanders.  (Yes, I hate the Rangers, thanks for asking.)

Not me…but we are out there…

I don’t remember how I became a hockey fan, but I always remember hockey being lots of fun to watch.  There was (and is) something so great about the speed of the game, the physical nature, the skill, the ice, everything.  Once I got to BU as a college freshman in 1997, that was it, I was really hooked.  I didn’t start playing ice hockey until a few years ago, but it’s the thing I look forward to most each week.

It’s a fact: the vast majority of the players in the NHL (and in every other hockey league in North America) are white.  However, black players, although still rare in hockey, have made a significant and lasting contribution to the game.  The very first black player to play in the NHL was New Brunswick’s own Willie O’Ree, who skated for the Boston Bruins on and off from 1958 through 1961.

O’Ree also won a couple of scoring titles in the WHL, scoring 38 goals in both the ’64-’65 and ’68-69 seasons.

Another past great, and the first black player inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame, is goaltending legend Grant Fuhr.  Fuhr won four Stanley Cups with the Oilers in the 1980s.  He also had a sweet ‘fro back in the day.

Right now there are more than 25 black players in the NHL, including Mike Grier (Go Terriers!), Wayne Simmonds, Jarome Iginla, P.K. Subban, Ray Emery,  and Stanley Cup Champion Dustin Byfuglien.

One of my favorite players in the league right now is Evander Kane, who was named after Evander “Real Deal” Holyfield.  You remember Kane, he’s the guy that did what the Bruins should have done by beating the crap out of Matt Cooke last season.  Suffice it to say that I wouldn’t want to drop the gloves with Mr. Kane anytime soon.

Well, that’s it for now kids.  Until next time remember, “Hockey is for everyone.”  (Cue lame record scratching and “rap” music.)