342...Hockey, Champagne And Burritos

I know, it is less than a week before St. Jean Baptiste Day, 30 degrees in the shade and then quickly comes Canada Day and the 4th of July followed by the Glorious 12th and I am writing about hockey.

An' I don't even like hockey.

But I am Canuckistanian and I do like burritos so, here goes.

From thecheapseats.ca comes a piece that states that "...Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma had a routine he followed...stopping by his local Qdoba Mexican Grill...for a BBQ pork burrito...Qdoba was smart enough to cash in on the craze to the tune of a 20 percent sales increase...a Facebook page was created...local news crews were covering the coach's ritual. There were even Twitter Tweet-ups, where fans would go watch Bylsma and his burrito in-person."

To keep the mojo going Qdoba had a burrito packed on ice and shipped to Detroit for Game 7.

Lord Stanley subsequently moved back to Pittsburgh.

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313...Gary Bettman Doesn't Need Viagra

Coz the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs provided him with enough to keep him going for a long, long, long time.

Not just the fact that it was a superb seven game series between Pitts and Detroit, no, it was the fact that last Friday's game seven drew 3.529 million viewers on average during the entire game on CBC and around 8 million on NBC.

That was the biggest audience since 1973; were you alive in '73?

The fact that the NHL is equal to its numbers from 36 years ago should make Commissioner Bettman very happy.

The fact that the NHL is equal to its numbers from 36 years ago should make Commissioner Bettman very concerned.

It is a sword that cuts both ways.

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280...I Hope He Kept The Dress

The bridesmaid's dress.

For the second year in a row, Marian Hossa, erstwhile Pittsburgh Penguin [Stanley Cup losers, 2008] and current Detroit Red Wing [Stanley Cup losers, 2009] has lost the last game of the season, the one that decided who would get their names engraved on Lord Stanley's Cup.

Tough luck.

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277...Last Hockey Bit Today

I will tell you who is going through a special kind of mental anguish today.

Marian Hossa.

Mr. Hossa, former Ottawa Senator and a bit of a star, free agented away from the Pittsburgh Penguins after last season and signed with the Detroit Red Wings. Those of you who follow these sorts of things may recall that Pittsburgh lost to Detroit in the Stanley Cup Finals last season.

This year, it is down to game seven, with Mr. Hossa playing for Detroit this time against his old team.

Boy, you gotta figure if anyone is going to be tight going into the game, it is Marian Hossa.

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276...More On Hockey

Could you ask for more?

It comes down to this, game 7, Stanley Cup Finals in the city that bills itself as Hockeytown, Detroit.

It is the Windsor Red Wings, favourites, against the Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins.

8 o'clock tonite, CBC's Hockey Night In Canada if you are a true hockey fan and NBC's coverage for the more casual fan.

I will explain my reasoning re CBC/NBC. The NBC broadcast offers more background on the teams, players and leagues; CBC, which caters to those of us in The Great White North, assumes that you know the game.

Different styles, both excellent broadcasts.

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249...Get Your Drink On Tonight

In Ottawa, that is.

Carleton Tavern, Parkdale and Armstrong, across from the Parkdale Market.

The Hintonburg Economic Development Committee is having a welcome home party for Cheryl Parrott, a true pillar of the Hintonburg community who was involved in a horrific car accident in Saskatchewan and has just made her return to her home in Ottawa. The party, which includes fried food and beaucoup de beer, will be this Thursday night starting at six at the Carleton Tavern.

I will be wearing my Pittsburgh Penguins sombrero, black, and, of course, will have my Sharpie with me.

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247...Big Opportunity For CBC/HNIC

That's a big opportunity for Hockey Night In Canada. Seems that the American rights holder to the NHL Stanley Cup Final telecasts, NBC, is none too happy with the fact that both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings have been holding viewing parties in and around their respective arenas when their teams are on the road.

Here is a cut and paste from the Detroit News morning edition:

There will be no Joe Vision broadcast of Tuesday night's Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals because NBC would not rescind its exclusive rights to the telecast.The game will not be shown at Pittsburgh's outdoor plaza either. At issue is television ratings, and a large crowd at Joe Louis Arena could be hundreds -- if not thousands -- of television sets not tuned in to NBC. "It is certainly something we wanted to show but were unable to secure the rights," said Steve Violetta, Senior Vice President of Business Affairs for the Wings. NBC representative Brian Walker did not immediately return a phone message for comment, but NHL media relations vice president Frank Brown confirmed the situation while expressing sympathy to Red Wings fans. "We are very much in tune and very sensitive to the great experience that fans have by coming to a great venue and watching a great hockey game," Brown said. "That said we need to be sensitive to the business end of things and that business is ratings driven."

Shortsighted, very, on the part of NBC but this is where CBC could and should step up to the plate, probably won't, but should. The Windsor station, channel 9 CBET, comes in nicely both over the air and on cable in the [former] Motor City so, iffen they wanted to, Joe Vision [referring to the Joe Louis Arena] could still come off.

A bit tricky dicky for certain but it could happen.

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