Meet the Muppets: Brought to You by the Letter B

Hello hello, hockey fans. Jack “Guy Smiley” Edwards—New England’s favorite hockey host—here. How are ya? Great, good to have you here in the Sesame Street Studio for another segment of Meet the Muppets, er, Boston Bruins. We’ve got a half dozen of them for you. But first, here’s Rene Rancourt to sing the “Sesame Street Anthem”. Take it away, Rene.

“Sunny day, sweepin’ the clouds away...A-OK…where the air is sweet…can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?”

Merci Rene. Our guests are eager to get started, so away we go. Up first is Shawn “Cookie Monster” Thornton. You may all know him as the fist-flailing forward, but he likes to shoot that puck too, eh? Scoring goals is more fun than a box of chocolate chip cookies, right Shawnie?

Everyone wants to get their cookies, Guy.

Ok, folks. Next up is Marc “Elmo” Savard. He’s cute and cuddly and likes to pass the puck on the power play. Unfortunately, he has a broken foot, so we won’t see him on the ice for another month. He has been, well not his usual chipper self because his misses his teammate. How are you feeling today, Elmo?

Elmo needs a hug.

Good luck with that, Elmo. So, moving right along to Andrew “Kermit” Ference, who sometimes goes by Andrew “Inter” Ference. Hi ho, a little two-minute, sin-bin humor for you folks. But seriously, Andy is a dependable defenseman who rarely makes a bad pass and who loves to hop up into the play. Hey Andy, we also really appreciate how you love the environment.

Well, you know, it’s not easy being green.

Well said. Thank you, Andrew. Alright then, our next guest comes all the way from Transylvania, er, I mean Trencin, Slovakia. He is none other then Zdeno “Count” Chara. Nice goal last night against the Sabres. By the way, how tall are you?

One, two, three, four, five, six feet and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine inches tall. Ah. Ah. Chara!

Thanks a million, Count. Okay then, time to introduce our next guest, who is not happy to be here and has refused to answer any questions. Milan “the Grouch” Lucic. His right index finger is, uh, trashed, so he’s a little surly. But come to think of it, that’s the way he plays. We wouldn’t want him any other way now, would we?

So on to our last guest, Tim “Grover” Thomas. Mr. Vezina. Mr. Happy-go-lucky. Mr. Go-with-the flow. He’s all over the place—from near…or far—he stretches and slides, he flops with flair to pull pucks from the air. Save by Thomas! Oh, Super Grover!

Well, we’re just about out of time folks—and my limo is waiting for me—so thanks for joining me on this special anniversary show. Wow, forty years of Sesame Street. And I still look great! But boy oh boy, before we go, a special shout out to Big Bird, who was stuck on Broad Street and couldn’t join the audience. And special thanks to the fans who did make it and to our sponsors: Matt Hunwick and the letter B.

On the Shelf, Part IX: Living the Hockey Dream

(Continued from Part VIII)

I haven’t retired (as one faithful reader has suggested), but this unyielding injury has kept me off the ice and on the shelf. So here’s another review of a hockey book (one of about five dozen on my bookshelf.)

The beguiling beauty in Brian Kennedy’s Living the Hockey Dream is the diversity of stories. Amidst the unique insights into the Gretzkys and Granatos and Hulls and Howes, Kennedy presents profiles of unheralded hockey people such as an animated arbiter, meandering minor leaguers, and a hoarder of hockey sweaters. Whether his subjects are male or female, professional or amateur, North American or European, Kennedy demonstrates a rare flair for encapsulating the abundant joys of hockey.

The Hockey Show(s)

Thanks, the callers say to 98.5’s The Hockey Show hosts, for finally bringing hockey talk to Boston radio.

I’m glad that the Sports Hub has Dave “Left to Right Across Your Radio” Goucher and Bob “Blueliner” Beers—the B’s announcers since 2000—to dispense their vast and intimate knowledge to a wider audience. B’s fans deserve it.

But hockey talk on the radio is not new to Boston.

I miss the New England Hockey Journal Radio Show (NEHJRS) and hosts Mick “Doc5 Hole” Colageo and Kevin Paul “Hub of Hockey” Dupont. These lads lamented and lauded the local club on ESPN Boston 890, which recently signed off the airwaves. Mick and Dupes served as a lifeline to hardcore hockey fans not only here in the Hub but also to those listening, via the Internet, from far and wide.

I miss the other callers like "Michael from Brookline", “V”, and "Kevin from Melrose"; the great guests, Kirk Luedeke and “Cap” Raeder; and the trivia questions that Mick would concoct and that often had more than one correct answer (often one he hadn’t considered). Even the old school commercials—no frills, just Mick or Dupes reading the script—were entertaining (Mick touting the turkey tips at The Fours). And I’ll miss the end-to-end appreciation for music, including the song that ended the NEHJRS’s run: Bono belting out one of Dupes’s favorites, “Beautiful Day”.

You too? Do you miss it?

I hope the NEHJRS was a vital part of your Saturdays. But, if not, at least you know that the NEHJRS was a haven for some of us, a place that has been replaced (so far, so good boys) but not forgotten.

Loose Pucks: Pukka, Tuukka, and the Joys of Hockey (and Donuts)

A dozen recent observations:

Tired of the regular donut routine? Try the fresh apple cider donuts at Honey Pot Hill Orchard, where the AMHL Photographer and I stood in just the right place to savor these little beauties, their scent streaming out of the store/donut factory.

Last Sunday’s Boston Globe was fortified by irony: Vladimir Sobotka was the star not of the sports section but of Jan Freeman’s “The Word” in Ideas. In the Metro section was an ad for travel to places such as Quebec and Newfoundland. And below the “Here and there” heading in Globe West, Martin Pave mentions the Winnipeg Bombers of the Canadian Football League. (Also, not so much irony as happenstance: In the comics section, Darby Conley pokes fun at Canada.)

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day: Pukka is a first-class word. I like it because it reminds me of vulcanized rubber and rhymes Tuukka.

Tuukka Rask: Expect the youngster (looks like he’s about twelve years old, no?) to play twenty games this season. Timmy Thomas is still the man, though.

“Save by Thomas!” I’m glad Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley are back on the air, calling games for the Bruins, who last night beat the Hurricanes, 7–2.

Aaron Ward. I miss him. The former Bruin is not only a fierce competitor and supreme shot-blocker but also a goofball and a great interview. Pukka personified. Glad he got an assist on Scott Walker’s goal.

From NHL to AMHL, sort of. The Hurricanes, formerly the Hartford Whalers, are 0–2. The AMHL Whalers won their first game in their four-game history.

A free month of NHL Center Ice, which means Hockey Night in Canada is extended to Comcast viewers like me.

Don and Ron. Coach’s Corner. Bountiful banter. Cherry blasted the NHL Players Association for how it has handled the Paul Kelly situation and then cautioned youngsters to tape the tongues of their skates, lest they suffer an injury like Montreal’s Andrei Markov. Taping down the tongues: That’s what Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito did, and they never had their ankles sliced by another’s skate blade. MacLean wrapped up the segment by saying, “The moral of the story is that in the old days, Don had his tongue tied.”

From tongues to teeth. The next great hockey movie: Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson plays the part of a minor league hockey player who’s good at knocking out opponents’ teeth. And looks good in a tutu and wings. The Tooth Fairy will open in January 2010.

Living the donut dream. I hark back to Honey Pot Hill. Ah, the sweet cider-filled rings, sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar. And later in the week, I went back in time, to when my mom had left Hostess donuts, the little chocolate ones, in the refrigerator—not far from the orange juice. Make sure you refrigerate the little lovelies until the chocolate coating is crunchy. Then wash back a few with the citrus stuff. Then go read a hockey book.

Living the Hockey Dream: Brian Kennedy’s follow-up to Growing Up Hockey is fantastic. I’m only about halfway through it but have no problem recommending it now (full review coming soon). Kennedy has a rare flair for capturing, from unique angles, the joys of hockey.