One, as my friends may know I’m getting into collecting hockey jerseys - and I really wanted this Red Wings one on eBay that was ending at around 8:10 AM. I ended up missing it because I got a whole 40 minutes of sleep…no biggie, but it only went for $18 after shipping and I really wanted to slap some Howe lettering on it and do my best Cameron Frye impression in Toronto. Whatever.

The other reason was because of this “Major Leafs Announcement”. For those who don’t know, an email containing a video of Matt Stajan basically going “OMGZ!!!111 BIG NEWS COMING FROM THE LEAFZ! LEGENDZ TO BE THERE!!11 WILL BE REVOLUTIONARY SO COME TO WATCH IT!” was sent out to Leafs fans everywhere. Word quickly spread, and hype began… some of the topics that were speculated ranged from yet another new jersey design (either as a 3rd or a total redesign), to getting a nearby NHL all-star game, and even a few surrounding our teams spokesman, with rumors of either him getting the captaincy or him reliquishing his number as a further testament to the announcement of Dave Keon’s number being honored. None of those things happened.

So what did we get?

We got a free preseason game. Well, sort of.

Basically whats happening is the Leafs are going to play one extra preseason game this year on September 22nd against everyones favourite team to rape for cheap away seats, the Buffalo Sabres. And tickets will kind of, sort of be free. The 750 people who showed up each got a pair of tickets, which would leave approximately 17,300 tickets left (maybe more if they didn’t even get 750 people). This free game, how are they going to do it? Pull people out of a hat? Do a simple first come first serve? Either way, its great for the people who can’t afford to go to a leafs game! Right?

WRONG.

Its actually quite worse.

The game is sponsored by Coca-Cola Zero, who will be dispensing these tickets in promotions and contests that will make people spend more money trying to get free tickets than they would buying them in the first place.

For those who don’t know, your normal pre-season ticket goes for about $25-30. So, how is Coke going to make it back?

• SMS Contests - You know those “send GIMMEURTICKETZ to 123456″ contests that company’s have? I guarentee Coke does this. everyone pays about $2 for that text message, and the entry ratio will be much higher than 15:1.
• iCoke.ca - iCoke is a rewards program by Coca-Cola where you get points to buy items, or raffle tickets. 591ML bottles of coke are getting double the reward points until the years end in Canada…this was announced…yesterday. So a 591ml bottle gets you 1000 points. Watch out for people buying tons of Coke as they spend tons of iCoke points getting raffle tickets, probably spending $25-30 on coke.
• Instant wins - Same approach, less fuss.
• Advertising - They’ll have one of those ads that tell you to enter a code on the site to be entered in for a ticket. No profit there, right? Well, until they whore the three things above me.

Now, the Leafs are hyping up this game as a great fan night, so tickets WILL be in demand, meaning that people will be spending tons of money on these coke contests and in the end will likely spend more on the contests than the price of a normal ticket in HOPES of getting to a meaningless game we’ll probably lose.

Now, in the subconcious - someone would think after spending the $40 on winning these tickets that they’re still free, right? So this is where they “give back” to the leafs, spending more money on concessions and merchendise then usual.

So, is MLSE giving back to the fans? Nope. They’re just taking in more money and laughing. This was never about giving to the fans - this was about finding a way to maximize revenue and hype for the pre-season, building a stronger corporate relation with Coca-Cola, and suckering us in to watching a team fail miserably in a game that doesn’t even count.

We wanted something interesting, something that would leave a legacy on the Leafs even in the slightest. Heck, even something to give us a slight hope in what’s gunning to be a miserable year.

What did we get?

I think they’re selling our crushed hopes in the pro-shop for $9.99. I hear they’re in the shape of coke bottles and have an SMS number on them.

(more…)

1. To Watch Bryan McCabe Confuse Leaf Fans Everywhere by being Awful at the beginning of the year.
   YouTube - Bryan McCabe Tribute
2. Rediculously stupid Crispy Crunch Commercials Played during the World Juniors
   YouTube - Weird new Crispy Crunch commercial (Hypnosis)
3. The 2008 Winter Classic, in Buffalo (NOT BOSTON, guy at the end on NBC)
   YouTube - CBC’s Video Summary of the Winter Classic
   YouTube - Crosby Explodes after Scoring The SO Winner
   YouTube - Winter Classic
4. The World Junior Championships were awesome, with Canada Winning Their 4th in a Row
   YouTube - WJC 2007 Gold Medal Game - Overtime
   YouTube - WJC 2007 Gold Medal Game - Legein is a Legend
5. Darian Hatcher Being an Utter Moron and Injuring his own Player:
   YouTube - Hatcher Misses Steen, Hits Lupul
6. Steve Downie being moron during the Regular Season (we all know the preseason hit)
   YouTube - Downie Sucker-Punches Blake
7. Andrei Kostitsyn, nuff said.
   YouTube - Andrei Kostitsyn Owns Washington
8. Andrew Raycroft’s Career was Summarized in 5 seconds this year:
   YouTube - Andrew Raycroft’s Career in 5 Seconds
9. Watching Analysts Bitch at Each Other (Leaf fans are waiting down the seconds till they’re gone)
   YouTube - Kypreos and Watters Go At It
10. The Rivalry of Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin
    YouTube - Ovechkin and Malkin almost fight after Ovy blows hit
11. Andrei Kostitsyn…again
    YouTube - Andrei Kostitsyn Owns Atlanta
12. Rick Nash with the goal of the year
    YouTube - Rick Nash scores the Goal of the Year!
13. Guaranteed 1st overall pick Steve Stamkos
    YouTube - Steve Stamkos Predicts The Skills Comp Moves!
14. Huet’s save is…
    YouTube - Huet Makes an AWESOME Blue Line Save!
15. …Almost as good as Haseks save that might as well be hit of the year too.
    YouTube - Hasek Flips Gaborik
16. We found out that the Toronto Maple Leafs Crank Dat Soulja Boy…
    YouTube - Crank Dat Toronto Maple Leafs
17. The amazing 5 goal comeback of the Montreal Canadiens
    YouTube - The Biggest Comeback in Habs History | 5-0 to 6-5
18. Brawlin’ Night in Canada - Vancouver/Edmonton take 9 minutes to finish the final 40 seconds
    YouTube - Vancouver/Edmonton ends in a FIGHT FEST
19. Ryan Smyth being hit…by the Divider. Knocked the fuck out, too.
    YouTube - Ryan Smyth Hurt Bad by Jack Johnson
20. Andrei Kostitsyn…AGAIN!
    YouTube - Andrei Kostitsyn Goal
21. Darwin Head winning $1,000,000 at GM place during a Canucks Game:
    YouTube - Darwin Head wins $1,000,000 at GM Place!
22. Whats a shootout without Rob Schremp? He does it again!
    YouTube - Rob Schremp brings his dangles to the 2008 AHL All Star Game
23. If you thought McCabe’s own goal was bad…Niklas Backstrom almost cost Washington a playoff spot!
    YouTube - Backstrom Scores on His Own Net!
24. Vesa Toskala letting in a 197 foot shot:
    YouTube - Toskala lets in.. The Worst Goal Ever?
25. Patrick Thoresen Nearly Losing His Nuts:
    YouTube - Patrick Thoreson Blocks A Shot…With His Nuts
26. The Avery/Brodeur Situation
    YouTube - Sean Avery’s Stick-Wavin’ Mind Games
    YouTube - Avery Co Make Fun of New Rule in Practice
    YouTube - Avery
27. Dan Ellis Letting in a Half Ice Slapper
    YouTube - Dan Ellis Lets In A Goal From Center Ice
28. Riots in Montreal after winning in the first round:
    YouTube - Habs fans already going crazy in Montreal
    YouTube - News Story on Habs Game 7 Riots
    YouTube - Montreal Riot Cam Footage
29. Carey Price Temporarily has the Save of the Year…
    YouTube - Carey Price with the save of the year!
30. …until Nabokov shuts him up
    YouTube - Evgeni Nabokov with the Save of the Year, Possibly Decade?
31. And Turco, for that matter
    YouTube - Marty Turco Can Make An Awesome Save Too
32. In the same game, Brendan Morrow submitted his entry for hit of the year:
    YouTube - Morrow with one of the best hits of the year!
33. Go back a few days, and see Zetterberg’s submission for goal of the year:
    YouTube - Zetterberg’s Awesome Goal
34. Now on to Mike Ribeiro and Chris Osgood being douchebags:
    YouTube - Mike Ribeiro’s Cheap Slash on Osgood
35. And if you thought the last two own goals were bad…this one is the worst.
    YouTube - The Worst Own Goal EVER (Russia/Switzerland)
36. And three more championships. First, Russia won the World Senior Hockey Championship:
    YouTube - Russia wins World Hockey Championship [Part 1/2]
37. Then Spokane won (but more importantly, broke) the Memorial Cup
    YouTube - Spokane BREAKS the Memorial Cup
38. And, as most know, Detroit won the Stanley Cup.
    YouTube - Detroit Red Wings Win The Cup! 1/3
    YouTube - Detroit Red Wings Win The Cup! 2/3
    YouTube - Detroit Red Wings Win The Cup! 3/3

 Here’s what TSN says:

He is without question the best defensive defenceman available in the draft, a big, physical presence with an edge who perfectly understands his role as a shutdown defender. The bonus is that he makes a great first pass, doesn’t try to play outside of his ability and is as mentally tough as he is physically tough. 

Here’s what Kevin Allen at USA Today said in his mock draft:

  … a similar kind of player (To Adam Foote). He’s the third player who might be able to play next season in the NHL.

And here is what the ISS says:

He’ll join Eric Johnson, TJ Oshie and Patrick Berglund on a team with a great young core.

Here is what TSN said:

A big, mobile puck mover who makes doing things with the puck appear easy. Scouts believe his upside is huge because he’s only just started to tap into his physical presence and as he matures they believe he could be a dominant force at both ends of the ice, although some scouts say he’s only paid cursory attention thus far to the game without puck.

This from the Sportsnet.ca mock draft

  He’s a bit more of a project then some of the others above, but he has size, scoring ability, can quarterback the power play and a taste for the physical game.

And here’s what the ISS said:

Here’s what TSN said:

 A physical specimen who plays every shift with unbridled passion and aggression, Bogosian likes to make things happen. He has a cannon for a shot, gets physically involved at every opportunity and is a natural born leader, not unlike his father Ike, who was a co-captain of the Syracuse University football team.

And Sportsnet’s mock draft:

 He might not be as ready now as Doughty given that he’s barely 18, but he might also project to be bigger and better down the road. His junior GM calls him a budding Chris Pronger. Normally we dismiss that, but his junior GM also had Pronger in Peterborough and may well know of what he speaks.:

Here’s what ISS said about his strengths and weaknesses:

Strengths

1. Very Competitive

2. Skating / Mobility

3. Offensive skill

Areas For Improvement

1. At times gets caught up ice

2. Needs to fill out and add muscle

Here’s how he;s described by TSN:

  His hockey I.Q. is off the chart and he has an innate understanding of when he needs to step up offensively and create offence for his team, either by doing it himself or making those around him better. As good –- no, make that as great -– as he is, there may still be a huge upside because he has only recently shown any interest in training like a pro.

So, Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson back on the blueline a few years from now? Yikes

Here’s what the TSN said about Stamkos:

Dynamic speed, with and without the puck, there’s not much to say about Stamkos that hasn’t already been said. He does everything at top speed and is equally adept at making plays and scoring goals, though finishing is his strong suit. His defensive game is vastly underrated because of his offensive prowess. He consistently exhibits commitment and character

And the ISS:

NHL Potential: 1st line Centre, and if he continues to progress, he will become a star. Style compares to: Joe Sakic Year Team