Tuesday's Thoughts

You may be wondering what the image to the left is, and why is it on a hockey blog. I can tell you that it is the representation of the Aztec sun god known as Tonatiuh, and the Aztecs considered him the leader of "Tollan", their heaven. Legend has it that only human sacrifices were made to appease Tonatiuh, and failure to do so would prevent Tonatiuh from moving through the sky. Tonatiuh carries all of the brave warriors who died in battle and all of the women who died during childbirth across the heavens each day. The bravest men and women would be carried to the highest point each day where they would be honoured. And with that, HBIC closes its Aztec history lesson for today.

So why am I talking about past civilizations and gods and fallen warriors? It seems to me that the city of Boston just celebrated their hockey gods' return. Through the playoffs, the Bruins and their fans sacrificed four teams to arrive at the pinnacle of the hockey world. And with the sun being at the highest point in its travel today as the summer solstice is upon us, it sort of ties everything together in a convoluted way. We'll just go with that. It's the only way I can justify reading about Aztec culture.

In any case, here are some stories from around the hockey world that caught my attention for a few moments when I wasn't looking up Aztec gods and how they were interpreted:

• As we approach the draft, an interesting observation was made by Robin Short of The Telegram in St. John's, Newfoundland. Russian players were outscored by Newfoundland-born players in this year's playoffs. Pavel Datsyuk was the highest-scoring Russian player with 15 points whereas both Teddy Purcell and Stanley Cup champion Michael Ryder finished the playoffs with 17 points apiece. It might just be something to remember as GMs step to the podium this weekend.
• I always spend a few moments looking over the jobs posted on the NHL job board, but one caught my attention simply due to the factors surrounding the job. As you're probably aware from this year's Stanley Cup Final, the Vancouver Canucks play in Rogers Arena which was formerly GM Place. They placed a job on the job board for a Digital Media Technician that requires the technician to service and program the Shaw set top boxes found in the arena. If you're not aware, Shaw and Rogers are two of the largest media companies in Canada that provide television to Canadians, and are fierce business competitors. Looks like Rogers Arena is a Rogers property in name only!
• With the news that the Atlanta Thrashers are officially dead, I thought it might be relevant to post the letter written by the Atlanta Spirit Group to the fans of Atlanta. The letter, posted on May 31, 2011, was written by Bruce Levenson and Michael Gearon of the Atlanta Thrashers ownership group. I'm not posting it to be cruel to the people of Atlanta, but rather as a reminder of how these men let you down. If you feel like you were betrayed by these men, remember this letter the next time you visit one of their businesses. It seems only fair to take something away from them, no?
• Moving forward, the Atlanta Thrashers website is now a Winnipeg website. The Atlanta page, when selected on the "Teams" menu on NHL.com, takes you to this splash page that is owned by Philips Arena. Seems to me that the NHL cut ties pretty quickly with the Thrashers upon the unanimous vote by the Board of Governors.

When Cabral Richards - aka "Cabbie" - was working for The Score TV station, he often sung a little tune about Dion Phaneuf when a highlight of Phaneuf was played, and he often tried to get Dion to sing along.

Pretty hilarious if you ask me! The tune was made famous through a sketch on The Muppet Show that I'm sure a large number of you have heard and of which you are aware (time to get onboard, Dion).

Finally, someone put the two together to actually get the Muppets to sing about Toronto's Dion Phaneuf! The creator, "Ryanzmyther" on YouTube, puts Phaneuf into The Muppet Show!

Not bad, right? It made me chuckle. Very impressive effort, "Ryanzmyther"!

That's all for today. Enjoy your Tuesday, and have some fun this summer, kids. School's almost out, there will be no more lessons on Aztec civilization on this blog as far as I can tell, but there will be some reading happening. Enjoy the first day of summer, and mahna mahna!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!