Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Random Sports Talk in the Third Week of July...



by Lisa Ovens

To begin, I'd like to share a very pleasant email I received late last week. It made my day that day, and isn't it a sweet surprise to have something make your day? Consider this a reminder: during the dog days of summer, take some time to make someone's day; with a compliment, greet stranger with a smile and a hello, or let someone know you think what they are doing is great...

Lisa and the staff at Hockey and High Heels have created a great atmosphere for women interested in hockey and hockey fans in general. I am a huge fan of what you guys are doing for the sport. Keep it up!” - Mike Turtur, Hockey Director, mysportsdreams.com

Thank you Mike!



I heart pools...

And now for the Random...

ESPY Awards

For the first time in my life I caught the ESPY Awards, and what a slick affair. Sure makes the televised NHL Awards Show look a little on the hokey side. To put it into Entourage terms: the ESPY's get Ari Gold and the NHL Awards got "E". That pretty much says it all right there.

I still will give some props to the NHL for honoring its stars with a 1.5 hour telecast every June, unlike the other big, pro sports leagues. The NHL just needs to tighten up it's production. With two more kicks at the can hosting the event in Las Vegas, the NHL really needs to get it right in order to bolster it's image in the United States market. Get the tape for review...and get Samuel L. Jackson...y'all know that mother ****** likes the hockey!!

Shaq Attacks other Athletes

Okay, not literally, but he's taking on some the biggest and brightest sports stars...on their turf, playing their game. Beginning August 18th, 2009, B-Ball star Shaquille O'Neal will compete against pro's from the NFL, MLB, Volley Ball, Tennis, Boxing and Swimming. Shaq Vs. will air on ABC. Mark your calendars to see just how much game Shaq's got.

Brush with Shaq...many moons ago, I saw Shaq buy a carry case for his camcorder. We passed each other in the store. He's tall and I am small, so I'm pretty sure he doesn't speak about a brush with me :o(

Roller Derby Movie


I am a big fan of Drew Barrymore, and she’s directed her first movie. The film is titled Whip It and it’s about Roller Derby. This sport has been around since the early 1900’s, but as of the year 2000, women are ruling the Oval.

The film stars Ellen Page, and according to the
Women and Hollywood blog...”think Juno on skates and without the pregnancy.” The release date is October 9th, so we can expect some members of the male sports media to reduce the movie to whatever their sexual fantasies might be at the time.

On Air Feud in Vancouver Lights up the Message Boards

It was a typical Monday afternoon in Vancouver. Sports fans were tuned into the Team 1040 for the Pratt and Taylor Show. During Dave Pratt's High Five segment, Pratt spoke about and praised older athlete's competing against the almighty youth (Golf's Tom Watson at the British Open was mentioned, along with a 79 year old poker player, Doyle Brunson and others) and wound up saying winning a poker tournament is one of the toughest prizes in sports". Don Taylor really took exception to Pratt labeling poker a sport.

Their sentences ran into each other's, their voices became louder, sarcasm spewed, leading to a "fumbling sound" from the microphone and Pratt leaving the studio. (Time for a really long commercial break) a little while later, Pratt is back and finished the show without Don Taylor. Neither host showed up for work on Tuesday.

Can you hear that? That's the sound of diehard sports fans around cyberspace arguing about what is a sport and what is not, courtesy of the Pratt and Taylor feud. Some of the arguments are histerical, debating what some people perceive to be gray areas like race car driving, curling, hot dog eating, chess, video games and more!

And can you hear this? This is the sound of media savvy diehards claiming the whole fight was staged. Yes, just like everything seems to be these days...


Big Ben Roethlisberger

The Pittsburgh Steeler's quarterback has a little situation on his hands: he's been accused of sexually assaulting a Nevada hotel concierge employee. I am not going to get into any the legalities of this lawsuit, but I would like to remind all people staying in hotels, especially you guys, and only because this case is similar to the Kobe Bryant situation a few years back: If you have a problem with any of the amenities/ features in your room, you are supposed to call the front desk first, who will then send a maintainnance worker to your suite.

And if you are a woman working in a hotel, and a guest asks you to enter their suite to fix something and you are not a maintainance worker, politely decline and call the front desk to arrange a maintainance worker to fix the problem. Please save yourselves from suffering though potential situations like this, people...don't give the world any more news to gossip about than it already has.
End random.


thank you for reading...BTW, you are fabulous...look at you there...fabulous you!
- Lisa


Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Joe Sakic


By Lisa Ovens



Last week one of the greats retired. Colorado Avalanche fans are saying good bye to long time center and Captain, "Burnaby Joe" Sakic.

Here at my house, I am placing my Joe Sakic Celebriduck into the "retired" hockey swag bin. It's bittersweet.


Photo: Lisa Ovens

Ask any Canuck fan, and they would tell you that they had always hoped, somehow, some way, Joe Sakic would find his way onto the Vancouver Canucks roster and play in his hometown (and make the team that much better!).

Does life begin at 40 years old for a retired hockey player like Joe Sakic? Whatever Joe's plans are, I am sure he won't have any trouble scoring tickets to the Men's Hockey Tournament during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Thinking back to 2002 in Salt Lake City (I remember it like it was just yesterday), I thought it was pretty cool to see Sakic selected as Team Canada's MVP after they won gold. Considering all of the talent in that Olympic locker room, he probably thought that too. That tournament is my favorite memory of Burnaby Joe, because, well, from a Canuck fan perspective, in NHL and Northwest Division terms, he was playing for the enemy, and man, he always played great against the Canucks.



Photo: Lisa Ovens

Hockey fans visiting Vancouver can find Joe Sakic Way, a roadway that takes people to the Burnaby Lakes Sports Complex, in Burnaby. The street used to be called Laurel Street. (I know what you thinking...what an upgrade in names!) Joe Sakic Way is a short drive from Canlan Ice Sports- Burnaby Eight Rinks, a regular practice facility for the Vancouver Canucks and visiting NHL teams.


Joe Sakic Stats:

1987 Drafted by the Quebec Nordiques 15th overall
2 Stanley Cups
1 Con Smythe Award (MVP, Playoffs 2006)
1 Hart Trophy ( 2001)
13 times voted All-Star
1378 NHL games played
1641 Points
20 NHL seasons played

In other news...

Twelve new Tim Horton stores were opened in Manhattan. The locations were formerly Dunkin Donuts. I know hockeyand highheels.com welcomes readers from the New York area, so I will now share a column I wrote a few years back, when I reviewed the Tim Horton's breakfast sandwich. It was a Valentine's Day column as well, so feel the love, people...
click here for more

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

More July 1st News



by Lisa Ovens

One of the coolest names in hockey has re-signed with their southern based NHL team: Radek Dvorak has signed a two year deal with the Florida Panthers. Those folks out there who are jealous of Dvorak's wicked name might also be envious of the approximate $1.7 million he will earn over each year.

We've just received an official quote from Jan Snyder,our Southern USA based Hockey writer. Snyder comments on the day so far...


Jan Snyder

"Hey, Happy Canada Day ! I think it's so great that everyone in Canada has a day off to celebrate Free Agency! Glad to see you are keeping the Twins." - Jan Snyder, Houston Texas

-thank you Jan...have a great day :o)

Well so far the big news of the day is the Vancouver Canucks and the Sedin Twins managing to see eye to eye on a new five year deal. All of this took place less than one hour before free agency began this morning at 9am Pacific Time. Here is a photo of the wondertwins, relaxing during an interview. Please note the use of special effects....

Henrik and Daniel Sedin

Happy Canada Day!


by Lisa Ovens

Happy Canada Day, everybody! Now...do you know where your favorite players are? Today is NHL free agency day, too, and it's always a day of mixed emotions. A day a fan can officially say good- bye to a player, or say cautious hellos as General Managers do their off season roster tinkering.


The first thing I did today was wake up to the Team 1040 Sports Talk radio. It was about 45 minutes before free agency opened. Within minutes I heard the big Canuck news....

The Vancouver Canucks re-signed the Sedin twins - woohooo!!! Wonder Twin powers re-activated in Vancouver: five years at $6.1 million a year. Who wouldn't want to keep these guys around. Point per game players, between the two of them only missed one game in the last four years, good family boys well liked in the room. Plus they danced like hot "Swedish Twins" in an NHL TV commerical.

I celebrated Daniel and Henrik Sedin with the hotcake Happy Meal (Sid from Ice Age was the toy.)

This is my attempt at live blogging....

Uh oh...Ohlund... former Canuck, Mattias Ohlund signs a seven year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning worth 24.5 million. He was the Canucks highest scoring defenseman with 93 goals and 232 assists (352 points). After 12 years in Vancouver, (his entire NHL career) I sadly say good bye to Ohlund. You and your fabulous shoulders now belong to the guy who brought us the Saw movie franchise. Enjoy Florida, Ohlie....my friend, Lana lives there and after 16 years, she still likes it.

Daniel Sedin is on the radio right now. He mentioned how much Mattias Ohlund has done for them over the years, as they developed as NHL players in Canada. I hope Lightning fans are happy with their new blueliner.

oooh...I just heard Marion Hossa is heading to Chicago. Does that automatically mean the Blackhawks won't win the Stanley Cup??