Nolan vs. Bollig, 3/25/13

 

A hard check thrown by Nolan on Bollig’s team mate was all was needed for these two to square off at the United Center on Monday night. Nolan was a gent and removed his visor as he took to the worthy opponent, Bollig.

From what I thought was going to be an immediate grapple/love hug fest, it soon became a slug out with Bollig throwing some good solid punches early. Nolan came back in the middle landing a few good ones. And Bollig caught Nolan who almost seemed to have a bad fall, and even kept the youngster in his cross hairs, still throwing and landing good solid hits with a resurgence at the end.

I give the edge to Bollig even though Nolan answered well with the two punches landed on Bollig’s jaw near the end of the fight. Great to see the respect at the end by Bollig to Nolan with the pats on the head. Good fight!

What’s your call? Was it a draw? Who won?

Nolan takes on Bollig, 3/25/13

A hard check thrown by Nolan on Bollig’s team mate was all was needed for these two to square off at the United Center on Monday night. Nolan was a gent and removed his visor as he took to the worthy opponent, Bollig.

From what I thought was going to be an immediate grapple/love hug fest, it soon became a slug out with Bollig throwing some good solid punches early. Nolan came back in the middle landing a few good ones. And Bollig caught Nolan who almost seemed to have a bad fall, and even kept the youngster in his cross hairs, still throwing and landing good solid hits with a resurgence at the end.

I give the edge to Bollig even though Nolan answered well with the two punches landed on Bollig’s jaw near the end of the fight. Great to see the respect at the end by Bollig to Nolan with the pats on the head. Good fight!

What’s your call? Was it a draw? Who won?

Clifford Stands Tall against Murray

After an embarrassing loss up at the big ol’ Pepsi Can in San Jose, the Kings were hosting the Sharks at Staples Center on Saturday, March 16. Seems Kyle Clifford waited to punch a dance card with Douglas Murray of the Sharks, as they squared off after a face off. At first, Murray threw an airball at Clifford who skated about a dozen yards towards him. As a fighter, you must protect yourself at all times. In this fight, Clifford forced Murray’s hand, as he used poor technique and position, essentially making Murray’s only option the back of his head, which of course Murray definitely took advantage of. Murray got in a few decent hits to th back of Clifford’s head. But for some freak-of-nature reason, Clifford was unphased and wasn’t knocked out. If you aren’t tall enough to face your opponent, make them work for what they want. Good fight to both players. Clifford could only manage a couple of good hits to Murray, while Murray got the decision, even being taken down.

The Kings play the Coyotes not once, but twice Monday & Tuesday. And you think you’re sick of them, now…?

Souray vs. Nolan, February 25, 2013

Nolan’s victory over Souray of the Ducks.

Mystery with the Avs; Insert Victory over the Ducks cliche, here

The fights that were in the game vs. the Avs were so baffling to me, I was dumbfounded when I reviewed the game, over and over. I attended the game and I saw, well… both. The first scrap wasn’t really a fight… but the officials on the ice claimed it was. Then the second bout that was called as roughing… wasn’t really roughing, as it was a fight. Are you as confused as I am? Good! Same here. I was as queasy as Hollywood, having to take a Morning After pill thanks to the late post-Oscar parties. But… Let’s forget about that game and continue. Shall we?

Which leads us to Monday, the game at Staples vs. the Anaheim Ducks. After a carefully played first period, the intensity between both teams continued to grow with each play. The Ducks scored under a minute in the 2nd and tempers were about to blow.
It was inevitable that Jordan Nolan from the Kings decided to drop the gloves with Sheldon Souray from the Ducks. Souray baited his younger opponent with a few taps and that’s all it took for Nolan to grapple quickly with Souray. Much to Souray’s surprise, he tried to get off a few quick love taps to Nolan’s head, which I doubt Nolan was aware that even landed. Nolan answered back with a good series of huge blows to Souray’s melon, as poor Sheldon didn’t realize his younger opponent of 13 years was a Southpaw. Huge props to Nolan, as when Souray was slipping on the ice, he stopped hitting him and waited for him to recover. However when both players went down, Souray gave Nolan a slug to the face while Nolan was laying on the ice in front of him. With that, I really hope Souray gets what he deserves this season, as it’s obvious he’s become not only a crappy player, but a cheap-shot bum. It’s that unwritten rule that you DO NOT HIT YOUR OPPONENT WHEN THEY ARE DOWN. PERIOD. Enjoy your next meal at a gas station. Jerk.

Clear victory to Nolan. First Nation strikes again.

Next game on tap: The Red Wings visit the Kings at Staples Center on Wednesday, February 27th at 7pm, local.

(photo courtesy of Eileen Esperago)

A BJ for Gordie Howe, please…

(photo by Getty Images)

When the Kings skated into Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday night, there was a sense of anger from the team.  They had just had their asses handed to them in a huge way in front of the Ducks’ home crowd at Honda Center the previous Saturday night.  Not many positives going their way, not a whole lot to smile about if you were a Kings fan or player.  Players lines are switched, stars looking tarnished when they should be bright.  An entire cloud of gloom hovering over the Black Parade.  Just by looking at the team during the pre-game warm up, it was as if everyone in white jerseys had just spent the day reading the Wall Street Journal, followed by War and Peace.  The mood was shitty.  Period. 

The game began, and immediately the Kings were right back into that dark aura that they couldn’t shake.  A goal had been called back due to an interference infraction.  A technicality.  During the first period break, the Kings notified O’Neal from Fox Sports West that a team meeting would be conducted instead of sending a player out for an interview.  During this break, a slight transformation was apparent.  When the puck dropped at the second period, the Kings we knew from last season magically appeared.  Panic and irritation began to rule the Nationwide Arena.  Goals came from not only the usual royal suspects, but the team seemed to put it all together and played 40 minutes of hockey.

The boos that came from the jilted crowd were not only for former Blue Jacket member Jeff Carter, but also for the play of the Jackets, themselves.  in between the indigestion for the home crowd and a Kings victory, a couple of scraps happened:

Derek Dorsett vs. Colin Fraser: It’s tough to say when these two decided to drop the gloves and make a feeble attempt at fighting.  It looked as if someone made up a voodoo dolls of said players and just directed them to one another.  Both players also reacted by hugging each other and not really landing any solid hits.  Regardless of the outcome, there wasn’t much there to begin with.  Perhaps someone calling out one’s ex-girlfriend?  Wife? Stanley Cup envy?  Does anyone really care?
Things were going the Kings way until Brandon Dubinsky gave Rob Scuderi a questionable hard check into the boards, trapping Scuderi’s head against the glass with his body on the hit.  From this stemmed:

Brandon Dubinsky vs. Mike Richards
(photo by Getty images)

Now mind you precious reader, this isn’t the first time these two have met.  In fact, this fight stems from one of the biggest rivalries in hockey and goes back a few years.  When Mike Richards wore the C for the Flyers and Dubinsky was a hard hitting defenseman for the Rangers, these two showed no love loss for one another.  They have crazed scraps dating back to 2008, a few fights between them.  Tonight was not exception, as Dubinsky was quickly reminded that he was playing against an old rival who showed how much he still hated him.
After the hit on Scuderi, Dubinsky was approached by the smaller Richards who immediately began standing up for his teammate by throwing quick punches to Dubinsky’s head and face.  Dubinsky tried to free his hands, despite having a longer reach.  Richard’s ferocity sent a message to Dubisnky who had his memory knocked back into his head, courtesy of the former Philly Captain.  Props to Richards as he later on achieved his first Gordie Howe hat trick of the season as had an assist on Carter’s goal previous to the fight, and a goal to seal the humiliation factor for the win later on in the third period.  Congrats, Richie!

Next game is on Thursday February 7 at 5pm local Pacific time when the Kings are in Nashville to take on the Predators.

Until then, keep your fists up and your feet moving.  Stay tough, Kings fans.

A Glimmer of hope from a First Nation King

With the anemic situation happening to the defending Stanley Cup champs, the inevitable is truly happening: “Cup hangover.” It’s an expression that I despise, as it’s overused easily by lazy, armchair “experts” out there in hockeyland. If it is something that is true, then the Kings are experiencing it something bad, as the Ducks took it to the Kings in a crazed match that ended 7-4.

The Kings’ traveling horror show starts in Anaheim. We can only hope they burn the circus tents and kill the midgets that are causing all the bad juju with negative demons that are infesting a decent team. Aside from the crappy defense, the fact that that the Kings handed over 5 goals on silver platters to the Ducks, and the team relying on a goaltender who seems to have his head anywhere but in a professional hockey game, the Kings had a glimmer of hope with the strong play of Jordan Nolan who also took on the Ducks’ Bryan Allen in an even match.

All hell broke loose as you see in the video. According to the announcers for the Ducks (who really should go back to describing tractor pulls), Jarret Stoll from the Kings runs into Cam Fowler of the Ducks. Now, before you question my sanity, take a look at the hit before the fight. In my opinion, this was not a cheap shot as Brian Hayward whines and cries about quite unprofessionally. Again – watch the play!
Stoll seemed as if he couldn’t stop on his skates due to Fowler hitting his toe pick suddenly and had to follow through with his check. Sure, it wasn’t the best hit. But I don’t see it being something that was done on purpose. I won’t always blast announcers as they have a tough job to do. But Hayward needs to go fuck himself and get his feelings into check if he thinks he’s someone who deserves to be on the air for a professional sports team.

Back to the fight at hand!
There was something obviously brewing between Nolan and Allen during the first part of the game. There was no hard hit, no check, nothing to have seemed to spark this, other than Allen turning to Nolan when both dropped their gloves and started to scrap. With as many hits that Nolan landed on the unprepared Allen, I couldn’t tell you if Nolan is a righty or a lefty as to how he took it to Allen’s temples in a quick, frenzied manner. You can bet that Allen is feeling the dozen haymakers and bombs that rattled the grey matter in his head this morning. The fight was swift and quick, as Nolan beat Allen like a rented mule and busting his nose. It’s just a shame that the Ducks beat the Kings in the same manner by scoring goals. But, hey… I still think the game was entertaining as all hell, looking at it from the outside as a hockey fan. Gotta give props to the Ducks on this 11 goal game.

The Kings travel to Columbus on Tuesday, the 5th and take on the Blue Jackets with Jack MF Johnson. Game time is 5pm locally.

Until then, keep your fists up and your feet moving.