Thought Bubble: A Formal Introduction To My New ''Series''

Keep in mind, this is pretty much just me talking and ranting about random stuff, but bear with me, you're pretty much the only ones I can share this with and I love talking about this stuff. Feel free to skip to some more interesting posts on HW if you wish to, I just need to share, I need an outlet.

Make the jump with me if all this intrigues you!

Opening panel: Minnesota, Canada?I only realized quite recently how close Minnesota is to Canada on the globe. Right under Manitoba and Ontario as a matter of fact. My US geography isn't good because I never saw it in class, and I never really needed it. That means I'm much closer to Minny than I thought I was. Permit me to be bold and say that I believe Minnesota's the most Canadian state in the U.S.

Let me explain: Minnesota is the State of Hockey. While other sports are also very popular thanks in large part to the success of the Twins and Vikings, hockey's the way of life in Minnesota. All the best hockey programs are in Minnesotan schools and colleges, outdoor hockey's also pretty big, and while the Wild hasn't had as much success as we would like them, they're the only team that can claim 100% of their games were sold out and to me, that says Minny loves hockey. In Canada, there's pretty much no other sport that comes even close to hockey. Football has grown, yes, but for every football player, there are about 4-5, for every baseball player, 6-7 hockey players, and so on and so forth, and the same goes for fans. Also, from what I've heard, Canadians and Minnesotans have some other things in common (although they may be nothing more than stereotypes): They love beer, and they're mostly calm and polite (Habs fans excluded). Maybe that's why I relate to Wild fans so much, we're very much alike. 

Middle panel: James Sheppard out for 3-4 months

Yes, we talked about this yesterday, but I have something to add: While reading the comments on Russo's blog, I came across some... rather mean comments. Sure we've been saying Fuck James Sheppard for about 8 months, but we're not supposed to be happy he's hurt. We're also not supposed to find it funny. Shep may have had a rough year to say the least, but he's a human being. Put yourself in his gigantic shoes, or in the shoes of his friends or family. Imagine yourself in his situation: he basically had one last chance to prove he wasn't a flop, and an unlucky event will hinder any progress he may have been able to muster this year. When he is cleared to play, odds are he won't be setting the league on fire. A lot of people were pissed the Wild re-signed him, but it was a low risk, potential reward situation, it would have been dumb to give up on him. Now however, Shep may have to settle for an AHL career or even retirement if his knee never fully recovers. Some think he shouldn't have been on an ATV so close to training camp, but you can't really expect you're going to have an accident all the time, this was exactly it: an ACCIDENT, stuff happens. He could've had an accident driving to the hockey rink in his car and suffer a simliar injury, so I think him being on an ATV before training camp isn't really an issue. It's a damn shame and to anyone thinking this was good news hockey-wise, maybe it was, but it probably wasn't. To anyone thinking it was good news just because you don't like him, you disgust me. 

Final panel: NHL11...AMAZING

Another thing that's great about NHL11 is the inclusion of the OHL, QMJHL and WHL, a first in the series, and I know he won't be reading this, but Drummondville Voltigeurs d-man Remi Blanchard in the QMJHL is from Bas-Caraquet, 20 minutes from my hometown. He was my sisters' classmate and he's featured in the game. It's awesome for him and it's damn weird to see him in the game! I believe the only other player from my region of Northeast New-Brunswick to be featured in NHL games was Luc Bourdon (R.I.P.). Anyhoo, congrats to Remi!

Punchline: Hope you enjoyed the first official Thought Bubble! :) Get well soon Shep!