World Championships schmampionships.

Did anyone else not give two flying who-haws about the IIHF World Hockey Championships this year?

I mean, really, It's not something I make an effort to make sure I'm in front of the television for in any year. It was fun when it was in Halifax, but when Canada lost, well, I wasn't heartbroken. The tournament is just not something I can get into. I can't be alone here. It's sort of this odd collection of semi-good players whose teams didn't make the playoffs. Also, I'd rather watch the playoffs. The World Championships is kind of like the Spengler Cup at World Junior time. It's sorta just there in the background.


I'm especially blah about the tournament in an Olympic year. It's too soon. The women don't play a world championship in Olympic years. Why do the men? It just seems bizarre.


Who was Canada's goaltender this year anyway? (No seriously, I'm asking.) Google tells me: Chris Mason. Good lord. 


So you see where I'm going with this. This isn't the collection of the best players in the world. There are definitely some of the best players. But it just can't compare to the Olympics or the World Juniors, where it's the best players facing the best players - and there's no doubt over who the true champions are.


This is why I was truly baffled by the IIHF scolding players who don't answer the call to play at the World Championships. 

"Why is a 22-year-old Sidney Crosby tired when a 34-year-old Ryan Smyth is answering the bell for his country despite having represented Canada at the Worlds already on eight occasions?" wrote Szymon Szemberg, the IIHF's director of communications in an article titled 'Saying no to your country'.

Okay I don't even know where to start. 

First of all, 22-year-old Sidney Crosby has played the most hockey probably out of anyone in the NHL in the past years. He's been to the Stanley Cup Finals two years in a row, he played in the Olympics and then he went two rounds this year. 

Secondly, what a spectacularly bad example to use. Ryan Smyth? Ryan Smyth broke his foot playing in the tournament. Ryan Smyth consistently plays for a team that doesn't go very far in the NHL playoffs. Great. Let's spend the off-season nursing a broken foot. Injuries happen. Steven Stamkos suffered a head injury. And for what? If Canada won, we'd all be like, meh? We wouldn't be partying in the streets. Partying in the streets happens after Olympic wins. Because the tournament means something. You know the winner is truly the champion because it's the best against the best.

Okay. Let's keep going. 

"Players who say no to representing their country at the World Championship without a legitimate reason turn their backs not only on the team and its fans but also to the system which developed them and made them rich and famous," wrote Szemberg. "They should pay back, but they don't."

Pay back eh. And they owe the IIHF what? These players thrilled the world at the Olympics just months ago. Boo hoo your tournament isn't very good. Don't take it out on your players.

**ring ring**


"Oh hey, IIHF President Rene Fasel? Yah. Gary Bettman here. Whatsup. Listen. Bud. I just wanted to point out that our players' contracts don't end until June 30. Yup that's right they're still under NHL contract until June 30. We could tell them they can't play in the tournament. Just saying."


I'm a fan. I don't feel unpaid because Sidney Crosby wants some time off. As a fan I would rather him rest up, and stay healthy so I can see him for 82 games next NHL season with a long playoffs.

Besides, the kid scored the golden goal.

Championships schmampionships.

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

Does it really bother you that much?

Why has road hockey suddenly become a national debate?

Last week, some nutter in Enfield called in the big bad RCMP on a bunch of 12-year-olds playing road hockey. Apparently people have nothing better to do then scoff at children out their window.

Great -- let's encourage kids to stay inside and play computer games, become overweight, and wait until their health care bills become a burden on society until we complain that kids don't exercise enough.

Sound dumb to you?

Or perhaps you'd prefer them to use their free time to be spray painting grafitti on your fence.

Enfield resident Debbie Jefferies says her 12-year-old son Ryan and his friends had been out playing road hockey any chance they got.

But a neighbour called police and under the Motor Vehicle Act in Nova Scotia the games now have to stop. The kids were given the option to play at a dead end street, but the 10 minute strut would be difficult to haul all the gear to.

Jeffries says she doesn't know who complained, but says it's the first she's heard of the road hockey being a problem - and she wishes that person had come to her first.

Jeffries told the Chronicle Herald the ban on shinny games broke her heart.

Nova Scotia's transportation minister Bill Estabrooks called the complaint "frivolous" and says the RCMP have better things to worry about. Oh I don't know... maybe like all the recent SHOOTINGS in the city.
Many Canadian municipalities have by-laws banning street hockey, however they're rarely enforced.

But if you think the Halifax case is new, think again. One Montreal father is fighting a case in court. He says street hockey is part of Canadian culture.

During some of the fabulous weather we got in March, 42-year-old David Sasson was playing ball hockey with a group of neighbourhood kids that included his own children in the Montreal suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux. A neighbour called in the coppers.

Sasson told the Globe and Mail responding officers watched the game for 45 minutes and called the complaining woman twice to try to convince her to drop the matter. Apparently the complainer was tired of the noise -- so Sasson ended up with a $75 ticket. 

Again, the neighbour never bothered to complain directly.

“We live in Canada, we have the right to play hockey,” Sasson told the Globe and Mail.

Sasson even staged a protest game in the City Hall parking lot and local police and bylaw officers JOINED IN. What does that tell you?

The Wayne Gretzkys and Sidney Crosbys are born in street hockey games. Let's not let a few old bitties ruin a national pastime.

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

When a beer is just a beer.

Everyone needs to relax. Actually I think everyone needs a beer. Chill out, guys. I'm serious.

So the gold medal champions in Olympic women's hockey had a beer. WOOPdeEFFINdo.

One of the last things I saw before I went to bed last night was a twitter post from Greg Wyshynski, the editor of Puck Daddy hockey blog. "Marie-Philip Poulin, with Olympic gold and a Molson. Canadian bliss" (Accompanying the tweet was the the photo you see at the top of this blog post). 


I had a laugh and thought, 'well deserved, ladies'.

That tweet was followed up by "Hope all this 'Marie-Philip Poulin is underage!!!' stuff is in good fun. Otherwise, our world's been taken over by Debby Downers & Killjoys" 

I didn't think much would come of the underage stuff, but then CTVOlympics.ca reports that "Gilbert Felli, the IOC's executive director of the Olympic Games, said he wasn't aware of the celebration until informed by a reporter with The Associated Press"


Who is this douchebag reporter from AP who felt it necessary to be the Debby Downer? Haven't you given a glass of wine or champagne to your teenager at special events? She won a freaking gold medal... she scored the only two goals in the game. Let her have a freaking beer. I mean it wasn't even good beer. It was a Molson. 


But instead the IOC has to be all fatherly.

"If that's the case, that is not good," said Felli about the celebration. "It is not what we want to see. I don't think it's a good promotion of sport values. If they celebrate in the changing room, that's one thing, but not in public."

Hmm... okay.

What's the difference between what the girls did, and skeleton gold medalist Jon Montgomery chugging a pitcher of beer in front of a big crowd in Whistler on national television? I believe an open-liqour-in-public fine in Vancouver runs around $230. Beer chugging... sport values... right. But none of us cared, we all thought it was awesome and fun. Why? What's the difference? Why are people outraged about what the women did?

Is IOC members flying first class around the world, being wined dined and bribed a good promotion of sports values? Just sayin'.

Here's another one to chew on.

What's the difference between the girls having a beer on the ice after everyone's left. And the fans getting absolutely trashed in the stands? Did I mention that all the fans were gone?

Annnnd.

 Ironically this is a photo by the Associated Press.

Consistantly media are allowed in the dressing room after a big win. Stanley Cup, Super Bowl, World Series... shall I go on? When have you not seen shots of players popping champagne. What's the difference there?

These athletes are people. People drink. To say that because they are athletes means they should not drink is ludicrous.

This 'controversy' if you can call it that... is ridiculous! They had a beer. End of story.

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx