Sporting Madness

Rick Rypien's death at 27 is a tragic story, and one that's resonated with a lot of people. Hundreds headed to Rogers Arena for an impromptu memorial Wednesday , while his teammates in Winnipeg mourned treatment programs and the role of fighting came to the surface. Information on what exactly happened to Rypien is still scanty, but for many of us, his death brought back memories of athletes who battled depression and wound up taking their own lives, such as Kenny McKinley and Dave Duerson . We don't know yet if depression led to Rypien's death, but it's played a major role in the deaths of others. Before Rypien's death, Sports Illustrated 's Pablo S. Torre wrote an excellent piece in this week's magazine on the suicides of Duerson, former San Jose Shark Tom Cavanaugh, former New York Yankee Hideki Irabu, American Olympic skier Speedy Peterson, former Duke basketball captain Thomas Emma and Austrian Olympic judoka Claudia Heill, and how they raise ...

Here's the conclusion of this point/counterpoint setting up the Stanley Cup Finals. Earlier, my old Queen's Journal colleague Mike Woods made the case for the Bruins. Here's my take on why I think the Canucks will win. The NHL playoffs are a funny thing, and the best team doesn't always win. In fact, as I've written before, contrary to the demands of narrative , the best team probably wins about 55 per cent of the time. That leaves 45 per cent of the time where upsets happen, and the odds may be even higher in a series like this that looks like it should be close. Thus, anything could happen here. If you're a betting man or someone making predictions, though, you want that 55 per cent chance over a 45 per cent one, and that's why I'm going with the Canucks. What Vancouver accomplished this regular season was nothing short of historic. They finished first in the NHL with 117 points, 10 ahead of their nearest competitor (Washington) and 14 ahead of...

The last one of these was a lot of fun, so we're doing it again! Join me and a cast of Internet types for a live blog of tonight's Vancouver - Chicago game. Will the Canucks sweep the series, or will the Blackhawks live to fight another day? Find out in the live blog below, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Pacific). All are welcome to join! Canucks - Blackhawks Game IV

I'll be live-blogging tonight's Canucks - Blackhawks clash with an assortment of interweb friends, including Beau Brace and Josh Koebert . Vancouver's up 1-0 in the series after a 2-0 win Wednesday night, but Chicago certainly can't be written off yet.  Everyone's welcome; drop in and give us your thoughts on the game, the series and the rest of the playoffs so far. The puck drops in Vancouver at 7 p.m. local (10 p.m. Eastern), so swing by and join us then! Canucks - Blackhawks Game II

The NHL playoffs get rolling tonight , with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins going head-to-head in one early game, the Phoenix Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings facing off in another clash and the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals in a third. There are also a pair of late games, featuring the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators and Anaheim Ducks. There should be some excellent hockey on display tonight, and hopefully for much of the rest of the playoffs as well. Here's a preview of each first-round matchup, organized by game time (broadcast info from The 506 ): (4) Pittsburgh Penguins - (5) Tampa Bay Lightning First game: Wednesday, 7 p.m. Eastern, CBC (Ontario east, except Windsor) This is an interesting one. The Penguins have a stronger defence and better goaltending (I'll happily take Marc-Andre Fleury over Dwayne Roloson ), but their offence doesn't look as promising without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (a...

It was a big day for the Canucks, with Henrik Sedin taking home the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. I've got some thoughts on the matter and how the voting broke down over at Canuck Puck ; check them out !

The Montreal Canadiens are in tough against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first-ever NHL conference final between a #7 seed (Philly) and an #8 seed (Montreal). They're down 2-0 in the series, they've given up nine goals and they haven't yet been able to beat Flyers' goaltender Michael Leighton . As Bruce Arthur wrote in his column in today's National Post , Philadelphia's rounding into form nicely and Montreal hasn't been impressive. If that continues, it seems likely the Canadiens' Cinderella run will end here. Yet, there are several factors that have me thinking this one isn't over yet. For one, Philadelphia's lineup doesn't overly impress me, especially without the injured Jeff Carter . They have talented players like Mike Richards , Danny Briere , Simon Gagne and, as much as it pains me to say it, Chris Pronger , but much of their roster is filled with guys who are most known for their thuggery. Montreal wasn't any better during...

TSN's Gino Reda tweeted an interesting question following the Flyers' improbable 4-3 comeback victory [ Broad Street Hockey ] over the Bruins [ Jon Bois , SB Nation ] tonight; was this the greatest comeback in NHL history? I'm tempted to say yes. To start with, coming back from a 3-0 series deficit in a best-of-seven in any sport is incredibly rare. It's never been done in the NBA, it's been accomplished exactly once in Major League Baseball and it's happened three times now in hockey. The other two occasions were the Toronto Maple Leafs' comeback against Detroit in 1942 and the New York Islanders' comeback against Pittsburgh in 1975 . Let's take a look at them and see how they stack up. First, the Maple Leafs' comeback in 1942. This was in the Stanley Cup Finals, so they get bonus points for that, and it was also the first Cup Finals to go seven games, so that's worth even more points. That was a tremendous Maple Leafs' team, f...

The Canucks came through in the crunch last time on the road, but can they pull it off again at home? They're still down 3-2 in the series, even if they may be buoyed by the return of Sami Salo . Will the Canucks continue their run, or will the Blackhawks close out the series? Find out in the live blog below! Canucks - Blackhawks Game Six

With their backs against the wall, this is what it all comes down to for the Vancouver Canucks. Down three games to one, in hostile territory on the road, they need to get a win here. If they can't pull it off, the dream of lifting the Stanley Cup will die for another year. Can they do it? Find out in the live blog below: Canucks - Blackhawks Game Five

A short preview and a collection of links for tonight's Canucks-Blackhawks game is posted over at Canuck Puck . Join me there or here at 9:30 Eastern/6:30 Pacific for tonight's live blog! Canucks - Blackhawks Game Four

The Canucks take on the Chicago Blackhawks tonight in what should be an excellent Game Two. My game preview is up over at Canuck Puck , and I'll again be live-blogging the game both here and there. All are welcome to come join in. The puck drops at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific: hope to see you then! Canucks - Blackhawks Game Two

So, the Canucks finally knocked off the Los Angeles Kings for good. My thoughts on the game and the series are up over at Canuck Puck , along with some excellent topical videos, but if you don't want to read that, here's another video for you. What can we take from this series? Sum it up, please, Dennis. "Listen -- strange league executives lying about icy ponds and distributing video-review judgements is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical bureaucratic ceremony!" Well, Dennis comes on a little strong, but he's right about one thing. For now, it's time to say goodbye to the Kings.

I live in Surrey, B.C., and I'm not exactly rich enough to afford Canucks tickets, so most of the hockey I see live is at Abbotsford Heat (AHL) games. It's a good brand of hockey, and there's always potential for some entertaining moments. Unfortunately, I wasn't there in person for what's quite possibly the highlight of the Heat's tenure in Abbotsford so far, head coach Jim Playfair (the former head coach of the Calgary Flames, Abbotsford's parent team) melting down after referee Jamie Koharski (son of former NHL ref Don Koharski , who's of course famous for being involved in another legendary meltdown ) tossed Heat winger J.D. Watt . Here's the video; skip ahead to 2:30 for the start of the play, or 3:20 for the start of the fireworks. This is pretty impressive. Playfair yells at the ref, breaks a stick, takes off his jacket and then breaks another stick before leaving, probably enough to get this up into the pantheon of the top coaching rant...

Last week, I spoke with Chicago Blackhawks' defenceman Brent Seabrook for a South Delta Leader piece about what it was like for him to compete in the Olympics at home, so I figured I'd spotlight that here. Let's take a look at what he had to say, consider why Olympic hockey is special and think about if there's a way to use those lessons to make the NHL more exciting. One of the most interesting comments I thought Seabrook made was about how Olympic competition is in some ways even more intense than the NHL playoffs, thanks to the single-elimination format and the national, not city-wide, focus on the games. "There was so much at stake in such a short time after the round-robin," Seabrook said. "The qualification and the medal round, it's one game and you're out. Everybody was putting it on the line and making every shift count." That single-elimination format also makes it tougher to recover from a bad shift or a bad game. "I...

"A modern-day warrior, mean, mean stride/Today's Tom Sawyer, mean, mean pride" - Rush, "Tom Sawyer" Today's gold-medal hockey game between Canada and the U.S. is pretty much a perfect way to end the Olympics. The U.S. leads the medal count, while Canada leads all countries in gold medals. Moreover, hockey's "Canada's sport", but one the Americans have taken up in ever-increasing numbers, and the talent gap between the two countries has increasingly diminished in recent years. It should be a fantastic display of hockey. One of the questions is if Canada can keep its pride under control, though. For so long, there's been the attitude that all the Canadians need to do to win is just show up. That doesn't cut it anymore. Canada might still have the best roster on paper, but it's very close at the top, as their loss to the Americans in the round-robin and their close match against Slovakia in the semifinal proved. Anyone can w...

Everyone's favourite hitman contractor Mike Danton is supposedly joining [ Neate Sager , The CIS Blog ] the Saint Mary's Huskies to play Canadian Interuniversity Sport hockey. It's not clear yet [ Noah Love , National Post ] if he'll be able to play later this season or if he'll have to wait until next year, but he has already enrolled in the university. Danton during his days with the St. Louis Blues From a strict on-ice perspective, this is probably a good thing for the Huskies. Regardless of his legal issues and prison time, Danton at one point has the skills to play in the NHL. It may take a while for him to regain that form, and he may never be back at where he was, but he'll probably still be one of the most talented players in the league. Most guys in CIS are former major junior players who couldn't make it to the AHL or the NHL; some of the top CIS talents in recent years (such as UNB's Rob Hennigar ) have gone on to pro deals. Danton wa...

(This is the first part of a three-part, three-day series on concussions. See a list of links to some of my previous writing on concussions here .) Concussions have been getting a lot of attention in the media lately, which is great to see. For far too long, they've been the dirty little secret of sports. As fans, we love to sit in arenas or stadiums and watch violent hits, but we don't often like to think about the consequences of such entertainment. There's a good reason Toronto neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Tator called out Don Cherry last week; Cherry's certainly not the only one to blame, but he has promoted hard-hitting hockey and fights for years, has consistently taken stands against any kind of headshot ban, and makes plenty of money from his "Rock Em, Sock Em" video line, featuring the most violent hockey moments and plenty of head shots. Of course, Cherry completely missed the point in his Coach's Corner , saying he had nothing to say to Tator a...

I'll be discussing the Canucks' season so far over at Canucks Hockey Blog this evening with Richard Loat , Hosea Cheung and Guts McTavish . We'll kick it off at 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific. Feel free to stop on by and check it out!

I've spent the past several days in Wisconsin hanging out with some of my colleagues over at The Rookies , which has been a lot of fun. However, it hasn't exactly led to a lot of bloggging time. There have been several longer pieces I've been working on for a while, though, and the extra time has probably been helpful with that, allowing me to mull over and refine them a bit. Thus, expect to see plenty of more philosophical posts over the next little while. Until then, to hold you over, I leave you with the excellent World Series performance of "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys above, and links to a couple of pieces I did manage to get up over at Canuck Puck , one on how the Canucks should heed Jim Zorn 's advice and stay medium , and another one on how their recent struggles might actually bring the team together . (Of course, following that piece yesterday, the Canucks went out to beat the Western Conference-leading Avalanche . Maybe I shou...