Procrasti-Hockey

Instead of working on my Roman aqueducts paper (which - at least aqueducts are super cool) I'm trolling around the internet looking at hockey blogs and being greatly amused.

Here are some things that deserve sharing because of awesomeness. :)

The Sedin Twins are different people (sort of)
This is an article from before the All Star game that's talking about the Twins and how they've played together their entire lives. How they are still different people despite their identicalness. And asking the other Canucks how to tell them apart.

Best quotes (ie almost all of it):
[if they're drafted to different All Star Teams]the mirror image Swedes always could consider punishing their antagonists with a switcheroo. They're both certain the only ones that could tell would be teammates.
"No," Henrik said definitively when asked if anyone other than fellow Canucks All-Stars Alexander Edler and Cody Hodgson would notice. "You're right, we should do that."
...
Defenseman Kevin Bieksa figured out one difference when he lived in the same building as Henrik and often would spot Daniel waiting for his brother in the parking lot.
Despite being the Canucks' captain, Henrik has a bad habit of running late.
"Danny's always on time," Edler said. "Henrik is always a couple minutes late."
It drives his punctual younger brother (by minutes) crazy.
"He hates when people are late," Henrik said. "I'm usually late."
Within that dynamic, Bieksa said Daniel emerges as the more "responsible" of these road-trip roommates, dictating their schedule and keeping Henrik "in line."
"Hank is going to say he's the one in charge, for sure," Bieksa has said of the differences. "And Danny might even say nobody is just because he's a humble kind of guy. But we all know Danny is the one in charge. And Hank still wants to retain that older-brother status, too, so he tries to boss Danny around sometimes and Danny takes it, which is the funny thing. But Danny is usually the one in charge when push comes to shove."
Edler, who knows them as well as anyone after being taken under their collective wing when he made the move from Sweden to Vancouver, seemed to agree with Bieksa.
"Danny might be in charge. He makes the more smart decisions," Edler said with a mischievous grin. "They are twins, but they are still two different people."
...
As for which twin really us in charge, it may not matter. Daniel may arrive first, but if he's the one waiting around, isn't Henrik really dictating the schedule?
"Well, he thinks he's in charge," Henrik said of Daniel.
"I am in charge," said Daniel, "but he doesn't care."

I love them. :)


Also there's a new campaign going around to help end Homophobia in sports and Hockey in particular. There's a pretty comprehensive article over at Puck Daddy, and a shorter one in the Toronto Sun which features my guy Tanner Glass, who is a former Canuck, a current Winnipeg Jet and an all around awesome guy (if only he were better at hockey and could have stayed on my team - I miss ya Tanner!).

The Campaign is call "You Can Play" and it's being spearheaded by Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke and his son Patrick who is a scout for the Flyers. They're trying to make the league a safer space for gay athletes starting by reducing homophobic language to begin with. And it's in memory of Brendan Burke (son and brother) who died in a car accident. He was a hockey player, he wasn't in the NHL, but he came out in 2009, which is awesome.

Anyway they're trying to get a lot of NHL players to speak out about it and they've already got over 30 who are going to be in various TV spots. It's really awesome to see some of these guys speaking up about it. Especially since considering the number of Canadians and Europeans in the League I've been expecting hockey to be a more accepting place than some of the other major sports (still not easy - but yeah).

I'm super happy that some of them are even calling guys on homophobic language in Games! From the Toronto Sun article:

If Glass hears an opposing player use a gay slur during a game, he’ll let him know he’s crossed the line.
“The language has got to be the first thing to go,” Glass told the Winnipeg Sun, Monday. “You hear it all the time.”
The reaction he gets tells him there’s hope, but still a ways to go in educating the rank-and-file in the macho world of pro hockey.
“Some guys will be, ‘Yeah, well, f--- you,’ or whatever,” Glass said. “But some guys are like, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.’ ”

Tanner Glass, I love you! Please continue to be awesome!

Anyway here's a TV spot:

And sometimes looking at the comments section is not filled with sadness. Examples:
From the Puck Daddy Comments section

(It's still weird for me being in places on the internet where the assumed gender is male.)

More photos of attractive hockey players. Because it seemed like a good idea at the time. :)


Henrick Lundqvist - Goaltender, NY Rangers (also a Swedish twin, but his twin is not on the same team as him, and not a goalie)


Dreamy...


Swedes from the All Star Game! Lundqvist (Rangers), Henrik Sedin (Canucks), Eric Karlsson (Senators), Daniel Sedin (Canucks), Daniel Alfredsson (Senators - I love him too), Alex Edler (Canucks - my hockey boyfriend)


Jarome Iginla - Calgary Flames. When he smiles everything is right with the world.


Patrick Sharp - I should hate him because he's a Blackhawk... but look at that face!


Edler's spot for GQ...


I actually have this photo saved as "Cory Schneider looks into your soul.jpg" - Canucks, natch.


Harrison Mooney (Blogger, Pass it to Bulis) with trophy and Tanner Glass (then Canucks, now Jets) - okay, so Tanner's not actually that attractive, but I like his smile and I actually think that his mullet is kinda endearing. Plus it helps that he's an awesome person. :)


This is unrelated to attractiveness. I just have no idea what Alex Burrows is doing. But it's hilarious!