Monday, June 19, 2006

 

Oh Mercy -- Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals (foreign dispatch edition)


At the risk of developing Keith Jackson/SRL Syndrome, I thought I'd better check in given that this is an historic evening.

I managed to stretch out my business in Sheffield just long enough to allow the Oil to mount their heroic comeback; but I'll be back in the air shortly after tonight's game so, win or lose, this is my one and only foreign dispatch. I sure hope that somebody in Old Strathcona humps a mailbox for me or something. Actually, what I'd really love is for somebody to do something with that Molson "Now for the Other Hand" mural outside of Rexall. Marks will be given for creativity and artistic merit.

I missed Game 5 completely since I was somewhere over the Atlantic. No doubt if I had been on Air Canada they would have announced the scores; Alas, I was on United. But oh the elation when I found that internet cafe.

Game 6 was -- as you can see from the photo evidence below -- a total fiasco. My B&B is right above a pub, so I convinced the manager to let me sit in there from 1:00-4:00 am to watch the game. Here's the story as it unfolded:




Here I am at 12:50 am gearing up with every other ice hockey fan in Sheffield. We were a rowdy bunch I tell ya.

Wow! Skysports UK kicks ass! They're actually showing the game! And it's the CBC feed -- Hey, There's Ron and Don. And is that Cole back in the lineup?

Say What? They gave me 5 minutes of playing time before they pull this little "You need a Subscription--Please Call us in the Morning" trick. Wow! Skysports UK really sucks. I honestly think it would have been better if I had just gone to Siberia when planned. What a kick in the orbs.

Unable to sleep from the excitement, anger, and depression, I did what any one of you would have done -- I watched 'Mean Girls' featuring Lindsay Lohan until I fell asleep in my chair. Good times, good times.

At 8:00 am on Sunday morning I woke up and ran out of the B&B to find an internet cafe (the newspapers don't have anything). And . . . none of them open until 11:30 on the Sabbath! 11:30! But then, oh the elation.

I've been promised that the subsciption is all fixed for tonight, so like you, I'll be watching it all happen (knock on wood).

This is the night, my friends. This is the night. It is Dvorak's turn to shine. Predictions of scores are meaningless -- only one prediction is required: Champagne out of a huge silver cup.

GO OIL!


Comments:

Wow, that's worse than me, and I had to quietly cheer in my girlfriend's living room in Birmingham... at least Sheffield has a hockey team.
Also, should the subscription not work, the games are broadcast on Channel 5, which is terrestrial. Ad-free too, so you get these hilarious little updates from the guys at the desk several times a period.
 


Good to see you check in. What a day, how they expect to get any work out of me is a mystery.

btw, I checked the Russian top 40 for you and the #1 hit there now is some girl named Olga singing "I hurt Myself Picking up Heavy Things."

Sounds like a toe-tapper.
 


I'll be at the game tonight in Raleigh... so there will be at least a couple oilers jersies on hand.

Any superstitious requests to ensure victory?
 


I'm with ya on missing Game 6, Sac, though it was just for a wedding Stupid family...who has a wedding during Game 6 of the finals? I need to have a talk with that branch of the family :P

GOILERS!!!
 


If your landlord hasn't sorted out his NASN subscription tonight don't worry. Channel five (105 on the sky digibox) shows the games live as well. No CBC feed sadly. Roll on 1am.

Colm, the only guy in Belfast in a Pronger t-shirt today.
 


You're all so lucky!
I missed everything, here in Italy there's no way you can buy even a subscribtion into the games.
So I will get up early in the morning,
loggin in as usual, and discover ...

Go Oilers go !
 


That's a pub? It looks more like a classroom that was hastily repurposed after a school shooting.
 


I fondly recall watching games 4-7 of the Flames/Lightning series on good ol' Channel 5 when I was traveling in the UK in 2004.

The best part is that the two hosts read viewer e-mails during the game: "Terry from Bath writes that he's cheering for Calgary because his sister used to live in Toronto. Go Calgary Go. Thanks for the e-mail Terry."

It's hilarious. Plus the one guy is Canadian and is an "expert" because he used to play some semi-pro hockey.

Still it was great to watch live NHL games while traveling in the UK.

Best of luck watching the game tonight!
 


You know, we were winning when you were letting Matt do all the posting for you. It was black magic, sure, but it was glorious. I'm just saying...
 


I kinda like watching the Channel 5 guys. They underline the essential strangeness of watching the NHL at 4 AM in England. Plus they cover all these odd little British hockey angles, like finding Lord Stanley and asking if he's ever been to a hockey game (no).

Does anyone know what feed I'm getting here, btw? I think they use the OLN one...

GOILERS!
 


This story and those pics are priceless Sacomano... yes let's hope that you can watch the game and that the subscription doesn't run out. Wow I never seen so many European posts on any hockey site in all my life. Cool stuff. Glad we have fans overseas... as for me I'll be watching at a buddy's off Jasper with the boys and the beers.

I really think we have a physical and mental advantage going in. they always say that game7 is a coin-toss and I agree, but at the same time the last game proved again that the canes D is old and is full of holes. And losing Dougie is devastating for them. Cole coming in is pure desperation imo. Let's remember that these are the Canes that barely beat a Buffalo team minus 3 top defenceman in 7 games.

C'mon D-Vo YOU CAN DO IT!!! He was simply flying more than usual last game and he's totally due. And oh yea...

GOILERS!!!
 


it's not oln, nbc is showing the final in america. i think it's just a generic nhl in-house production. i quite like the channel five guys as well. very folksy and down to earth. two and a half hours to go. goilers!

Colm in the Belfizzle
 


Aren't those basically Cherry's qualifications?

Actually, Cherry's qualifications are pretty damn good. Just ten or fifteen years out of date. Like Bob & Harry's, really.
 


Boy, can I sympathize. I am a huge Canes fan and live less than 30 minutes from the stadium. I had been to almost all of the playoffs games and all three home finals games through Game 5. Then, they lost... and my wife and I left on a long-planned cruise two days before Game 7. I sold my ticket to a friend and had to watch the last game in a Puerto Rican bar without sound. Boy, was that anti-climatic. I may not ever recover from missing that game live. At least the team won.
 

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