MattKatsaros.Posterous.com

For my money, there isn't a finer dance crew on the planet than the Jabbawockeez.  From the first time I saw them on America's Best Dance Crew, to seeing them live opening for NKOTB, I knew this crew was special.  They have their own show in Las Vegas now, that I would pay a lot of money to see.  Especially if they keep up these kind of routines. 

Point is, every member in this group is just as good as the next.  They are unbelievably in sync, extraordinarily talented, and their creativity of how to move a group of bodies to music is unparalleled.  This just goes to show how creative and unique people can be when given (essentially) unlimited resources to work with.

Enjoy.

~MK

~MK

Wonderful work, ladies.

~MK

Thanks to Chris D. for finding this at http://warmingglow.uproxx.com/2010/06/greatest-weather-man-ever for this clip...

~MK

For now, let this hype you up for the World Cup (kicking off in 20 days), and enjoy the cameo's from R-Fed, Kobe, and The Simpson's...

Write The Future...

~MK

~MK

Other than the pie chart in the top left confusing me, this actually brings some pretty interesting facts...

1) The Pace

No other sport demands such rapt attention as hockey.  Take your eyes off the game for just a second and you'll miss a lot.  A big hit, a turnover in the neutral zone, a drop pass for a one-timer shot.  Suddenly the puck is between the pipes and you're left wondering what just happened.  Hockey is fast paced anyway, but the playoffs make the regular season seem like they are in slow motion.  Outside of cars going 200 mph, hockey is one of the few sports where the whole game can change in a matter of seconds. 

2) Goalies

Probably my favorite position to watch perform in all of sports.  You have (for the most part) all of the northern hemisphere to hand pick the top thirty goaltenders on the planet, so it’s no surprise these guys have game.  The surprise is how much game they actually have!  Think about all the action that is going on in front of a goalie for the majority game.  There is always at least one person from the opposing team (and a defender or two from your team) standing in your way to shield your vision; the puck is always on the move from side-to-side, front-to-back, and guys are loading up 80 mph rockets to fire past you.  As a goalie, you’re expected to absorb an ice cold rubber puck lasered at you from 40 feet, no rebounds.  Goalies flop and flail, spin and dive, and rarely ever let a puck past them.  Granted, a purist would argue that goalie’s are too padded up these days, as opposed to 40 years ago when pads were to protect the person rather than the goal; but that doesn’t take away from the athleticism and pure instincts shown by these net-minders on a night-to-night basis.

3) Mike 'Doc" Emrick

This guy is the best in the business.  And I don’t mean just hockey; I mean that Doc Emrick is the best play-by-play announcer walking the face of the Earth, any sport.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some fantastic play-by-play guys in other sports (I’m not talking to you, Jim Nance), but Doc makes the game come alive.  You cannot help but sit on the edge of your seat as Doc calls a game and the action builds.

 Next time you watch a hockey game, put the tele on mute and try your hand at announcing for 30 seconds.  The first thing you notice is, if you can even pronounce the name of the player, that it’s almost impossible to keep track of where and who someone is with non-stop movement, constant line changing, and the fast pace of the game.  On top of that, you run out of adjectives in about fifteen seconds to describe what’s actually happening.  Once you’ve embarrassed yourself, sit back and enjoy the bliss of Emrick and his seemingly endless vocabulary.  Emrick has a perfect pronunciation of every name (he is, after all, founding member and President of the NHL Pronunciation Guide; a guide for NHL announcers of how to correctly pronounce the most difficult names), and seamless transitions into personal relics and tales about every player when there’s a quick break in the action.  Wanna know where Zach Parise went to high school and what his math teacher thought of his skills?  Tune into a Devils game that Doc is calling.  What was Evgeni Malkin like as a seven year old in Russia?  Doc’ll tell you.  If you are not a fan of the game of hockey (punch yourself, right now), you should at least tune in to hear a living legend in his prime.  The excitement, the inflection, and the love that Doc clearly has for the game of hockey is infectious and will keep you more than entertained any time he steps into a booth.  Thanks, Doc.

4) The Stanley Cup

Named after Governor General of Canada Lord Stanley of Preston, of the four major American sports, this is the greatest trophy in existence (only falls short to the World Cup internationally, for my money).  To reach it, you have to win four best-of-seven game series (that means if every series goes to seven games, you will play 28 games!).  Lord Stanley’s Cup is the only trophy of the major four sports that is not created anew every year; it's the same cup from the previous year, handed to a new champion.  If your team wins the cup, you first get to drink the traditional champagne out of the cup; next, it is inscribed with the names of the winning players, coaches, management and club staff (another rarity in major sports); finally, over the summer, each person in the organization gets a day to do whatever they want with the Cup.  One player baptized his child with holy water out of the Cup.  Many players have taken it on a boat ride, or on vacation.  Some players have shared with our troops serving overseas.  No matter the tradition, where the cup goes, or how it gets there, Lord Stanley’s Cup remains one of the top trophy’s in all of sports today.

5) The Names, Beards, and Hair

Miroslav Satan, Jarkko Ruutu, LaFontaine (The Fountain, of points), Messier (The Savior), Jussi Joken, Zigmund Palffy, Nicklas Lidstrom (Nicky Lids), Johnathan Toews (looks like Toes or Tews, but it's Tays), Pavel Datysuk, just explore the tip of the iceberg. 
   
Not only is there such variety of great names, but come playoff time, each one of these guys begins sporting a gorgeous beard.  Hockey also has the long tradition of 'Hockey Hair'.  I'm sure many would simply refer to this particular 'do as a mullet, but that simply does not do the style justice.  Hockey players have turned the mullet into an art form.  Sure, European soccer players have made a run at the mullet, even jazzed it up by reversing the front to the back.  NASCAR faithful and IROC-Z aficionados have done their best to make the mullet cool.  But, none keep it simpler or rock it harder than the guys in the rink.  Come playoff time, the locks combine with the traditional playoff beard to create a gorgeous, flowing mane (I’m talking to you, Scott Hartnell).

Yup, even the Great One rocked the Wisconsin Waterfall at one point...No one escapes the mullet..

6)  Power Plays

 I love the elementary discipline applied in hockey; you were bad, now go sit in timeout for two minutes.  It creates some of the best sporting in the world!  You would think it would be easy to get a puck out of your end of the ice.  Take it, and flick it out of the zone so the offense has to reset.  But these players are so talented that the simple job of a defensive squad trying to clear the puck becomes near impossible at times.  Batting the puck out of midair with a stick; snuggling up with the boards and glass to knock a puck down; having your stick magically lose the puck when an opponent sneaks up on you; these are all ways hockey players have perfected keeping a puck in the offensive zone, and create scoring chances when the defensive team is struggling to simply put a puck out of their zone.  If you can survive for two minutes of playing one man down, that’s a pretty significant accomplishment.   

7) The Crowd

Perhaps it is because Hockey is played in an arena.  Maybe it's because true hockey fans are utterly devoted to their teams.  Then again it could all just be microphone placement.  No sport viewed on a television is as visceral as hockey.  One moment the home crowd is deafeningly loud, the next silent after a visitor goal.  Nothing is as captivating as a late goal scored by the home team to take the lead.  Pure pandemonium and utter joy sweeps through the crowd conveying a sense of belonging to the viewer.  I feel like I am witnessing a momentous event during a truly great hockey game.  Watching the games on TV, you cannot help but be swept up in the frenzy.  Just pick a team to cheer for and see what happens.                                                                                        

Now, go do yourself a favor and dig into your channel guide and find the NHL playoffs.  You will not be disappointed. 

~MK & Patty B.