SWE 2, GER 0; CZE 3, SVK 1

A few observations:

- There's no way I can stay up for the late games even though I really wanted to watch the Slovaks vs the Czechs.

- What happened to the Swedes wearing Jofa helmets?

- The Swedes didn't look sharp. Apparently the way things work is you get to town, get a win and have a good skate the next day. Unfortunately the Slovaks have to play Russia today.

- Forsberg looked pretty good despite the smaller ice sheet. That crafty passing ability must be the last thing to go.

- By accounts from what I read, Jagr started slow and played himself into form last night. He scored one on a semi break and set up another goal later in the game.

- I've said enough about Joe Micheletti on Twitter last night.

Today/Tonight we have
USA - NOR at 3PM EST
SUI - CAN at 7:30
SVK - RUS at 12AM

Norway is a roadapple so hopefully the US opens things up.
The Swiss should give Canada a better game than the Norwegians
Maybe the Slovaks can find some chinks in the Russian armor before they go down by 7 goals?

- Nemmy

An even more boring summer work day

But the news today is the official retirement announcement of Burnaby Joe. What can you say but raise your glass of Pinot, Jack, Gin or Juice in high praise of this once mighty super power. In my opinion Joe Sakic represents the land of America when factories were booming during World War II. He represents all that is a mid-stride toe tuck top shelf. He portaits me mashed up with Wendel, Nemy and Mac pounding Absolut to our faces. What a player!

625 goals 1,016 assists and up there on the all time list. Put up a hundo even in his 37th year on the planet. That is sick. I wish the snowblower didn't fully ruin last season because I would have liked to see a 60-70 pt. final Joe run. Hoisted the cup twice, got some lady Bing action and was 1000 at all times. Remember the Colorado team that never was. Sakic, Kariya, Selanne, Forsberg, Tanguay, Hejduk. I wish that team was healthy for a full season.

Last night on the opposing team we played there's this kid that I thought...don't quote me but I am pretty sure he has called me this and I thought he said this last night again. He called someone a 'tit.' Like a real serious pasty mean quiet person. Good defenseman but weird in a weird way. I actually heard from someone that he rode the bench for four years at Michigan on their D1 squad. That's fucked up dude. I met some of my best friends forever by playing and bonding with them over my college tenure. The point of the story is that I asked him last night if I could use the phrase 'Tit' because I liked it. He was confused...Nemy just kept laughing on the bench. I was serious. He's the complete opposite of Burnaby Joe and what he stood for.

Congrats to Sakic on his accomplished career as an athlete. His combination of skill, class and leadership are a rarity in sports today and will always be remembered on the ice.

- Barbone