I'm so psyched for the NHL Winter Classic it's not even funny. Obviously, the reason for this is because the Rangers are playing in it for the first time. (I just wish they were hosting, but they can't play it at Yankee Stadium because of the stupid Pinstripe Bowl.) I was in the NHL Store the other day, and I'm very proud of myself for showing great restraint. Even though I wanted everything, all I got was a puck with the two logos on it. That's not to say Winter Classic apparel won't be added to my wardrobe. I'm just going to wait for Christmas before I go and buy it myself.
Anyway, I thoroughly soaking up all of the hype surrounding the game. MSG is going to show a marathon of each of the first four Winter Classics, as well as the first outdoor game the Rangers ever played, a preseason game against the Kings on the Las Vegas Strip in 1993. Then there's the alumni game, which will be on both MSG and Versus on New Year's Eve (yes, that's how I'll be spending my New Year's Eve).
But perhaps the best Winter Classic-related programming is HBO's acclaimed 24/7. I knew it was good after watching it last year, when the Penguins and Capitals were featured, so I knew it was going to be good again. Going in, I knew that I'd like 24/7 better this year simply because the Rangers are one of the teams they're following around, but it's also a lot cooler to get the behind-the-scenes look at games I actually watched live. Case in point: watching John Tortorella rip into the Rangers after their 1-0 loss to Dallas at the Garden last week. You knew that game was bad just from what HBO showed, but having watched the game, I know how bad it actually was.
We're only two episodes into the four-episode series, but we've already learned a lot about both teams. Specifically, we've learned that the f-word is very prevalent in hockey, and it can be used in any number of situations. It can be a noun, a verb or an adjective. You'd think it's the most common word in the English language. I'm not sure I've heard a John Tortorella sentence without it in two episodes. But there have been plenty of other highlights, too, all with the Rangers' and Flyers' upcoming games as the backdrop.
The star of episode one was without question Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. He has, shall we say, a "unique" view of the world. A discussion of vodka in the trainers' room led to something about killing tigers being a crime in Russia. In tonight's episode, they showed the Flyers at a team breakfast in Montreal last Thursday talking about the previous night's episode, and nobody wanted to sit at Bryzgalov's table. Jaromir Jagr even got up and moved, then complained about sitting alone! As breakfast ended, he left us with a final thought comparing his Siberian husky to a woman. I'm not sure I get all of his analogies, but Bryzgalov is hilarious.
They also showed Wayne Simmons heading out to teach hockey to some inner-city Philadelphia kids in the first episode, as well as devoting a good amount of time to the concussions suffered by Chris Pronger and, most recently, Claude Giroux.
My Flyers MVPs of episode two had to be the rookies. My favorite scene was in the Montreal hotel room when they were talking to Harry Zolnierczyk and Zac Rinaldo about what it's like to be Jagr's teammate, and Rinaldo starts explaining how he used to be the video game Jagr when he was growing up playing SEGA Genesis. Then there's Sean Couturier, who rents a room from Danny Briere, which comes in handy when Briere's three sons need someone to hang out with. Of course, it's no laughing matter when Couturier gets knocked out off a shot by teammate Kimmo Timonen in a loss to the Bruins.
As for the Rangers, Tortorella's F-bombs are prevalent in the first episode. They also dwell on Artem Anisimov getting a ridiculous unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for "excessive celebration" after a goal, and the guys ragging him pretty hard for it in the locker room before practice the next day. I also enjoyed credit card roulette during the team dinner at the Buffalo Chop House (I've been there, it isn't cheap), where the "winners" were Henrik Lundqvist, who can certainly afford it, and rookie Jeff Woywitka, who makes nowhere near the money Lundqvist does.
But the Rangers' first star of episode one had to be Ryan Callahan's grandma. They talked to Callahan about the responsibility of being the captain, and showed him at his parents' house in Rochester on the Rangers' trip to Buffalo. His whole family came to the game the next night, when Callahan drew a questionable cross-checking penalty. He greeted his family after the game, and his 95-year-old grandma was quick to point out that it "wasn't a penalty" and she'd tell that to the referee if she got the chance. Not as good as Bryzgalov, but close.
In episode two, the Rangers highlight had to be that kid with cerebral palsy that got to meet the team through the "Garden of Dreams" Foundation a couple years ago and has been their biggest fan ever since. He and Tortorella talk all the time, and the Rangers surprised him with tickets to the Winter Classic. Great stuff. And it was so cute when they showed the kid decked out in his jersey and helmet to watch the game in Phoenix on Saturday night. Dan Girardi's son ranks a close second as best Ranger of episode two, which also included a surprise appearance by John McEnroe. He and Lundqvist jammed together during a practice session for a charity event they're doing in February. (While they were doing that segment on the wide array of things you can do in New York, I was shocked NOT to see Sean Avery modeling. Maybe that'll be in next week's show.)
If you haven't seen 24/7 yet, you've still got time. It's on HBO, so they repeat it about 30 times a week. And there are still two episodes left. The last one airs two days after the Winter Classic. The entire series consists of four hours. To paraphrase the Icelandic guy from the Mighty Ducks 2, "It's four hours well worth it."
No comments:
Post a Comment