Saturday Discoveries

I'm busy with a hockey game today, so I am just going to post some more updates and rumours heard 'round the blogosphere. There are actually a few things that could change the look of hockey, and I am prepared to speak about this after one writer brought it to the forefront. I had heard a little bit about this during the Christmas season, but I couldn't confirm anything with my contacts and felt that it might just be a rumour. Instead, Paul Lukas of Uni Watch Blog emailed me and asked me if I had heard the same thing. Apparently, there is some truth to the rumour, or it is simply a wildfire burning out of control right now. Either way, it's worth a look since it could change how hockey looks as we know it.

• Reebok, as everyone is aware, is the official jersey manufacturer of the NHL and the Champions League. They have pretty much slapped the Rbk Hockey logo where ever they can put it, but it apparently isn't enough. A contact has told me that Reebok is considering removing the logo and replacing it with the Reebok wordmark on the back of the jerseys where the logo currently resides in order to increase brand recognition. Instead, they want the jerseys to look a little more distracting by making everyone's first name "Reebok". No matter how hard I try to ignore that new wordmark location, it sticks out more than the player's name does. Perhaps it's time for Reebok to go back to the old way of doing things like CCM used to do in putting the manufacturer's logo on the hemline. Thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Let me know what you think.
• Puck Daddy showed a glaring error the other day from the Mainstream Media, proving they're just as human as we are. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure the Lemieux pictured here isn't Claude. The San Jose-Mercury News might want to be sure they get the correct Lemieux in their news story. If Mario was suiting up for San Jose, they would be my Stanley Cup winner right now. And I'm almost certain Gary Bettman would have something to say about Mario's conflict of interest, considering he owns the Pittsburgh Penguins.
• I happened to be reading my email on my Hotmail account the other day when I logged out and noticed a slight mistake on the MSN Sympatico site. For a player who has been hyped since he was drafted, you would expect that MSN could get Sidney Crosby's name spelled right. It's not like they aren't connected to the Internet for fact-checking or anything. Instead, we find that the article has his name right, but the link does not. Well done, MSN. Nothing like relying on big-name corporations for misinformation and misspellings.
• Last Saturday's Coach's Corner on CBC's Hockey Night In Canada saw Donald S. Cherry go into a long diatribe about how Josh Gorge's skate guards would make someone a millionaire had they patented the design. The carbon-fiber skate guards are lightweight yet strong, making them a perfect design for preventing a broken or severely-bruised foot or ankle if Gorges blocks a shot with his skate. Saku Koivu is also wearing a pair of guards to protect his feet. The company that makes them? After Hours Composite Works of San Pedro, California. The only setback? The full guards cost $600 per pair of skates! That's a heavy price to pay, but, if you're interested in acquiring a pair, please contact them here.
• The KHL recently released their findings in response to the prosecutors' findings in the Alexei Cherepanov investigation. In the press release, the KHL stated that "kordiamin, a drug used to treat cardiovascular disease and to stimulate the cardiovascular and respiratory systems was found in Cherepanov’s blood". According to the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, former Avangard team doctor Sergei Belkin said that he had never administered banned substances, but did state that "the idea that hockey players may without my consent be taking medications — most likely, they do". The KHL report found that "Cherepanov had been injected with kordiamin three hours before the start of the match between Vityaz and Avangard on 13 October 2008". So what is kordiamin? According to this page,
  
  "Kordiamin – also known as Cordiaminum or Nikethamide – is a central nervous system stimulant. That is, taking it can increase someone’s pulse, among other effects. Kordiamin is an injectable, clear or yellowish liquid usually sold in 1 ml ampoules in many pharmacies in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and has long been used as a ‘street’ method in treating drug overdose. There is no doubt that kordiamin has been given to people who have survived overdose. But just like injecting salt water, there is no true evidence showing kordiamin to have any positive effect on overdose. One possible explanation is that if kordiamin is injected into a muscle or subcutaneously (under the skin), it can cause a great deal of pain – potentially causing someone to wake up if they are not totally unconscious. At best, giving it to someone suffering from overdose is unlikely to help. On the other hand, it could make the situation worse by making the heart use more oxygen when someone isn’t breathing enough, or by wasting time when other interventions would work better. Instead, it’s always best to stick with the tried-and-true methods described in this manual."
  Not breathing enough could make the situation worse? Let's see here: extreme physical exertion in a physically-demanding sport would equal heavy breathing and possible loss of breath, correct? This is starting to look very bad on the doctors in Russia. The KHL Disciplinary Committee will release more info on January 15. Stay tuned. This is becoming a very scary situation.

Ok, I'm off. More KHL stuff coming up as they prepare to play outdoors for their All-Star Game. I hope to have an in-depth look at that game tomorrow, as well as update everyone on the KHL standings as the inaugural season nears to a close in the MotherLand.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!