One Year Later ............



Trevor Linden - Forever a Canuck

Hockey Moments

Marty McSorley assaults Donald Brashear

Years before Chris Simon used Ryan Hollweg's head as a piñata, Boston Bruins enforcer Marty McSorley became the symbol of NHL violent irresponsibility when he swung his stick at the head of Donald Brashear of the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 21, 2000. Brashear was knocked out when his head hit the ice. McSorely was suspended by the NHL for the rest of the season, but that was the least of his worries.

McSorely was charged with assault, a rare intrusion by law enforcement into the rink with which the NHL understandably disagreed. McSorley was found guilty of assault with a weapon and served 18 months of probation. His NHL career was over; Brashear ended the decade playing for the New York Rangers.

The incident was a significant moment for the NHL, which had escaped the legal ramifications of its players' actions since Dino Ciccarelli's stick incident in 1988. But it would find one of his players back in court a few years later, as you'll see in a few spots down the ranking.

Death of Dan Snyder

Snyder was a 25-year-old center for the Atlanta Thrashers who was just starting his NHL career when his life tragically ended in a sad, horrific moment for hockey. From Sports Illustrated in 2003:

Dany Heatley(notes), 22, the star right winger, was driving from an evening meet-and-greet with season ticket holders in his black Ferrari 360 Modena with Dan Snyder, the Thrashers' 25-year-old fourth-line center who was staying at his house. Suddenly, on a curvy road in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood, Heatley lost control and the car, going 80 mph, skidded into a brick pillar and iron fence. Snyder was thrown from the vehicle and fractured his skull. After six days in a coma he died on Sunday night.

Heatley, at the time one of the League's brightest young stars, was also injured in the crash but was charged with a felony count of vehicular homicide, which carried a maximum sentence of 15 years. Snyder's family offered forgiveness and didn't want Heatley to go to jail; the judge took that into account when Heatley pled guilty to four of six charges and received three years probation -- with the felony charge dropped.

The incident has remained a permanent part of Heatley's career and subsequent stardom, including a move by EA Sports to drop him from a video game cover after the incident. Snyder's memory has been honored through awards and an arena name in his hometown.

The Todd Bertuzzi(notes) Incident

How infamous was Todd Bertuzzi's blindside punch that ended the career of Colorado Avalanche winger Steve Moore? NBC's "The Today Show" had a segment about it after the March 8, 2004 legendary moment of brutality, and they cover hockey about as often as Haley's Comet does a flyby.

So that's what mainstream America knew about the NHL in 2004. Tragic.

It began a few weeks earlier in Feb. 2004, when Moore gave Vancouver Canucks star Markus Naslund(notes) a hit to the head that drew the ire of the Canucks. From CBC Sports:

The Canucks were unsympathetic, and their threats of retribution came to a head during the third period of a game later that season in Vancouver. Unsuccessful in his attempts to goad Moore into a fight, the six-foot-three, 242-pound Bertuzzi skated up behind his smaller adversary, grabbed a handful of jersey and used his free hand to knock Moore unconscious before piling atop the fallen player.

When the ensuing melee finally ceased, Moore was being carted off on a stretcher and Bertuzzi was on his way to receiving a lengthy suspension from the NHL.

Lengthy as in 17 months, which carried through the lockout and kept Bertuzzi ineligible to play in international events. Moore was hospitalized with three broken vertebrae and a concussion that ended his hockey career.

Bertuzzi pled guilty to criminal charges filed in Vancouver, getting probation. Moore has had multiple lawsuits against Bertuzzi and Canucks coaches and management, some of which are still pending. Bertuzzi himself brought former Coach Marc Crawford, now with the Dallas Stars, into the legal entanglement by allegedly claiming that Moore "pay the price" for his actions.

Simply put: One of the blackest of black eyes for hockey, both in the severity of the injury and the damage the time-honored "Code" suffered as a hockey institution.

When Hockey goal celebrations go wrong ....

Henrik Andersen the 18-year old winger was celebrating his first goal of the season for Swedish Tier 2 team Leksand when he attempted to channel his inner Ovechkin and things went terribly wrong:

Here are a few of my favorite Hockey moments ...

I just had to post this song ...... Do The BearCat



Enjoy

"MICHAEL JACKSON THIS IS IT" TO BE PRESENTED EXCLUSIVELY FOR TWO-WEEK LIMITED ENGAGEMENT AROUND THE WORLD


TICKETS TO GO ON SALE SEPTEMBER 27. INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF MICHAEL JACKSON AS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN HIM BEFORE TO HIT THEATERS WORLDWIDE OCTOBER 28

CULVER CITY, Ca., August 20, 2009 - Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment announced today that Michael Jackson THIS IS IT will be released exclusively for a special, limited, two-week engagement worldwide, with the studio pushing up the debut of the film by two days, to Wednesday, October 28th. Due to the anticipated demand for this film, tickets for the two-week presentation will go on sale in most cities beginning on Sunday, September 27th.
Separately, the producers of Michael Jackson THIS IS IT announced that Kenny Ortega has been set to direct the motion picture. The film is being produced with the full support of The Estate of Michael Jackson.

Commenting on the announcement, Ortega, director of and Jackson's creative partner on the THIS IS IT concert, said, "This film is a gift to Michael's fans. As we began assembling the footage for the motion picture we realized we captured something extraordinary, unique and very special. It's a very private, exclusive look into a creative genius's world. For the first time ever, fans will see Michael as they have never seen him before – this great artist at work. It is raw, emotional, moving and powerful footage that captures his interactions with the THIS IS IT collaborators that he had personally assembled for this once in a lifetime project. This film shows a consummate performer working with and guiding singers, dancers, band members, choreographers, special effects creators and countless other creative members of the team as we all assemble this historic concert. I can think of many words to describe Michael as he rehearses for and creates THIS IS IT– inspirational, dynamic, generous, dedicated, loving and the guiding force—you see him as the true architect and driving force of this project – a true master of his craft, the Entertainer of Entertainers. I'm proud of the many years of friendship and creative association I shared with Michael and I'm happy that people will get a chance to see his spirit and drive in action. THIS IS IT may go down as the greatest concert that no one got a chance to see, but with this film, we get a rare portrait of Michael as he prepares for his final curtain call and what I believe was going to be his master work."

Michael Jackson THIS IS IT will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London's O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from April through June, 2009, the film is drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, and genius as he creates and perfects his final show.
"I have never been partners with a more creative, innovative or groundbreaking entertainer than Michael Jackson," said Randy Phillips, President & CEO, AEG LIVE and producer of Michael Jackson THIS IS IT. "While the concerts would have been the greatest shows in the history of music, our film will provide a historic event for Michael's fans to see for themselves the genius that he was and the creativity, talent and imagination that the entire cast devoted to create the ‘greatest concert that never happened'."

In the coming weeks, additional information about the film will be available at www.michaeljackson.com.
Dubbed the Billion Dollar Maestro by Daily Variety, Kenny Ortega has conquered Feature Films, Television, Stage, Concerts and massive Live Events such as The Olympics with equal excellence. As Michael Jackson's director and creative partner on THIS IS IT as well as the previous Jackson concert tours DANGEROUS and HISTORY, Mr. Ortega has been a friend, trusted colleague and collaborator of Michael Jackson's for over 20 years.
Kenny will segue from directing the film version of THIS IS IT to directing the Paramount feature film Footloose this fall. The multiple Emmy Award winner famously directed and visualized Disney's billion-dollar High School Musical franchise of films both for Television and as a Feature Film. Kenny directed the fastest selling concert tour in history, the Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus "Best of Both Worlds Tour" featuring The Jonas Bros. This tour broke numerous records and extended its sell out tour by more than 20 shows. He also directed to tremendous praise the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Glambert

Adam Lambert's first post-American Idol single, the grandiose and Aerosmithian 2012 power-ballad "Time For Miracles," has been blowing up all week long--first on some international iTunes sites, then as a leak on YouTube, and then (after its official American release date was quickly moved up from October 27 to October 20 to accommodate Glambert demand) on both U.S. Amazon and iTunes.

So with all this blowing-up going on, it makes sense that the just-premiered video for the cranked-to-11 track is an epic and explosive affair, sort of like a mini-movie version of 2012 itself. In the doomsday clip, the leading man (matinee Idol?) is in full-on trenchcoated Mad Max

outlaw mode, fearlessly traipsing miraculously unscathed through a post-apocalyptic cityscape of looters, nosediving airplanes, freefalling great balls of fire, and imploding skyscrapers. And all the while, the camera basically makes love to him from every angle as he draws on his many years of theatrical training (not to mention braving the fiery elements of the Burning Man desert) to deliver an appropriately OTT performance.

Time For Miracles

Adam Lambert | MySpace Video