It Is Not Over Yet...Right Hazel?

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae.

We've got nothing good to report on the NHL today, at least not from our perspective. The Maple Leafs lost in a shootout to the stinking Islanders last night; to make matters worse, the Canadiens and Hurricanes both won as well. Apparently, in the new NHL, being crossed checked into the opposition goalie's crease and having said goalie hold your stick between his legs while defencemen keep cross checking you, will will cause any goal scored by your team to be disallowed. The Leafs found this out the hard way last night as Mats Sundin had a goal disallowed last night because Alexei Ponikarovsky was pushed into the net. The referees somehow saw enough to disallow Sundin's goal, which would have made it 3-1, but the didn't see enough to call a goaltender interference penalty on Poni. Explain that to me? The idiots in the "NHL War Room" (get a goddamned clue NHL and change the name of your video room - call it mom's basement or something) saw nothing wrong with the play. It should come as no surprise that the referree in the middle of this was none other than that stinking little drama queen Kerry Fraser - this guy has a flare for the dramatics.

Toronto now sits in 10th place, two points behind the Hurricanes, and in desperate need of some good Hazel Karma as they head into Philadelphia on Saturday. The Leafs HAVE to win their next two if they are going to get into the playoffs - Philadelphia on Saturday and Montreal on Monday - Hazel, Leaf Nation is calling on you for some help.

I don't want to dwell on the NHL, but there were two lasting images from last night:

• SenaTards goalie Ray Emery smiling like an idiot while trying to duck punches from Andrew Peters; Emery dropped the gloves with the Sabres thug and held on for dear life as Peters was swinging - Peters caught the idiot once, but he should have dropped him. Saturday night is must see tv.

This all started as a result of a borderline hit thrown by Ottawa (semi-tough guy) Chris Neil, who wiped out Chris Drury. The Sabres claimed the hit was thrown late against a defenceless player (but if you watch Ottawa SenaTards hockey, you'd know that's Chris Neil's game) and they sought to take action into their own hands. The Sabres went after the SenaTards on the ensuing faceoff - and a brawl ensued, down came that idiot Emery with a Mike Tyson-like demented grin on his face to fight the Sabres goalie. It was a "jooohke", a damn "jooohke" (that's an imitation of Lindy Ruff).

• What must the 12 fans of the Nashville Predators be thinking after last night? The Predators give up a late goal to send the game into overtime and miss three good chances to win it. With Nashville trailing 2-1 in the shootout and needing a goal to prolong the shootout, coach Barry Trotz sends out star acquisition Peter Forsberg to take the shot. Forsberg responds by falling on his ass while he is going in for the deke. Trotz should have known that Forsberg doesn't like shootouts. Way to go Forsberg...

We'll end on a good note. The second leg of the UEFA Cup Round of 32 was played yesterday - both Portuguese teams advanced with wins. Benfica of Lisbon travelled to Romania and beat Dinamo Bucharest by a score of 2-1; Braga travelled to Italy and stunned Parma with a 1-0 win. We still have hope for a Portuguese double in European play, with Porto alive and fighting in Champions League.


HAZEL'S THREE STARS
Since you know how we feel about the NHL last night - today's picks are editor's choice picks.

Benfica defender Anderson scored in the 50th minute to tie yesterday's game at one and effectively eliminate the Romanians (away goal rule).

Braga midfielder Diego scored in the 89th minute to eliminate Parma and break Italian hearts - we like that.

Buffalo Sabres RW Andrew Peters gets the nod today for connecting with Ray Emery's big stupid melon.


FRIDAY THREE PLAY
We wound on on the wrong end of the balance sheet last night - thanks to Nashville laying an egg; our total for the week stands at +$115. We'll be back later to post our suggested plays.


That's about it for today gang. Have a great one peeps!

KEEPING HAZEL UP ON WHAT'S WHAT IN TORONTO
Recap from Islanders game

Cox' Spin on things

No Rest

Razor's a cool customer

Leafs quick hits

Hillenbrand looks back fondly on his time in Toronto

Greg Zaun wishes he wouldn't

Griffin's mailbag


HAZEL'S FRIDAY HOROSCOPE
Remember that not everyone is as speedy as you are. Take a jaunt to a place that will bring you knowledge, inspiration or a feeling of belonging. You will be able to understand the situation you face much more clearly. 3 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world - enjoy your weekend.

Song of the day on Hazelspeeps - wake up song

Get A Job - The Offspring

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!