CANADA VS. CANADA VS. RYAN MILLER

What a game last night. It had it all - quick goals, diving blocks, a diving open net goal, big hits, screened shots, no-rebounds, big rebounds, no-touch icing, untimely penalties, unlikely heroes, a goalie on his head, a goalie out of his head, major hustle, pressure-packed sequences, seriously-good chances, a hushed/nervous/and rambunctious red and white crowd and one defining loss - all played at lighting speed and in such patriotic intensity that I was drawn from my seat towards the action like a red and white mosquito to a striped star in net. What I mean is - that white fluffy stuff that's been falling outside non-stop since last night around ten isn't snow. No, it's Canada's tears.


"It was a lot of pressure knowing that everyone around the country was watching this game," he said. "Tomorrow it's going to be a really sad day, but it's what we needed. It's going to be a wake up call." - Thanks, Bob from Newmarket. Really? I thought the wake up call was that already-way-too-close-and-hard-to-watch-narrow-shoot-out-victory against the neutral zone trappings of the always neutral Swiss. I thought we would have been awake and out of bed since then and last night everyone seemed to be mostly alert - accept Babe Ruth - I mean, free-swingin' Marty "Baseball Bat" Brodeur and his called shot heard 'round the world - and a few other slightly bone-headed moves. He seemed so alert that it became a problem. C'mon Marty, you ain't no Ron Hextall and that wasn't no exhibition game against the Springfield Falcons of the AHL. Nope. This was Canada vs. the USA. A game that will be talked about for years to come - and on American sports talk stations I pick up at my home. A fairly big game if you are from either country (the most northern of the south one), are a hockey fan, or both - so yeah, a lot of people were probably watching this one on their TV's, big & small, HD or not, with their friends & family, at a bar, on a scoreboard, while on a chair, standing up or laying down. But how could you fall asleep during that one? Whatever position you were in, if you are Canadian, you were excited, then confused 41 seconds later, then anxious, excited, confused, anxious, super-excited, mad, nervous, happy, and then confused again. Put these emotions on repeat for 2 and some odd hours and you have how most of us probably felt. I'm not so much sad Bob, like I said, I'm mostly confused at this point.

"Canada played hard, they just about had it, but all in all, the Americans, they were the better team," said Brandon Hill of Ladysmith, B.C., who soon led his friends through a "Lu-on-go!" chant. Very true Brandon. Except that by Americans do you mean Brian Rafalski and Ryan Miller? Canada out shot the Americans two to one. And out chanced them by much more. Canada didn't lose. Miller won - with a little help from tricky Martin Brodeur and an amazing empty net goal by Ryan Kessler, who before the game said he, "hates, 'em" [the Canadian team]. Miller is known as a 'hybrid' goalie (stand-up & butterfly tendencies) and the scouting report on him says to go high. He's the kind of goalie that wins games. Steals them on occasion as well. Sure, Canada had a kazillion chances, (especially that 45 second flurry at the end of the game - I thought they had pulled their goalie, but the US was just really tired) yet they couldn't get it up and in. Almost all of their shots were blocked by Miller's chest, or his glove, his pads, stick and even his face once. Their inability to bury the puck testifies to the speed of the game, when even a superstar hockey player doesn't have enough time to do what he wants to and knows he can do - especially when the goalie is a thief from East Lansing, Michigan.

"That's exactly what I'm thinking - that they're going to be out way before they should be out." - Brenda from Moose Jaw. They now have a little longer road to the Gold that starts with Germany and should lead them to the quarters against Russia - a much earlier than anticipated (and wanted) match-up versus the dreaded Reds. Ovechkin, Malkin, Datsuk and the rest of the boys from the Federation are waiting to pounce on and roll over the Canadians. One thing is for sure - Russia always seems loose, determined and focused - three attributes Brodeur (and a few other veteran Canadian players) lacked last night. And you can't win when you're down a man (as Canada was much of the first half of the third period) - even against the Springfield Falcons of the AHL, and especially against a team as equally talented as your own - on the world' biggest hockey stage to boot. The younger guys seemed to step up for Canada, as did the entire US team, which is young. (avg player is 25) Canada has a huge bulls-eye on their back, painted on in red and white and for teams like Germany, Norway and the Swiss, their game against a team like Canada is treated with the same intensity and respect as a gold medal game. Who knows, the defensive minded Germany might get lucky and send Canada home - well, at least they don't have far to go. Perhaps Germany and its famous engineering could engineer an amazingly crazy upset over Canada and put them to bed even earlier than even Brenda thought they would.

"It's obviously disappointing on home soil, but I think in the end, we're going to prevail," said Chris Jackson, a 27-year-old from Toronto who was wearing a Canadian flag as a cape. "I think you're going to see Canada in the gold medal (game)." I sure as shit hope you are right Chris Jackson from Toronto, because so far, these insanely anticipated and enthusiastically produced Vancouver games haven't been as illustrious and lucrative as hoped for - in terms of Canadian medal count, that is. (9 total medals to US's leading 24) So, we're riding on the wave that is the crashing Canadian hockey team. I believe they can overcome this, because I have to and want to - but will they? Team Canada head coach Mike Babcock (the only coach to win a Stanley Cup and World Junior/World Championship/and Olympic Gold) said that he will review the tapes "without emotion" and make a decision on the goal tending situation. I think it's a pretty safe bet that Mr. Luongo will make the next start. Things should be fine, unless they skate into another head-standing, goal-robbing net-minder. Maybe "Lu-on-go!" can be that guy.