I Watched This Game: Canucks at Predators, March 29, 2011

Canucks 3 - 1 Predators

The two of us have differing views on goaltender's duels. Keep in mind: Harrison enjoys basketball; Skeeter enjoys soccer. Our opinions regarding tight-checking, low-scoring affairs echo these tastes. This is also why, during games, Skeeter often screams more slide tackles! and Harrison often screams more black people! But we digress. [We] watched this game:

• With tonight's victory, the Canucks improved their record against the Predators to two wins and two losses, sewing up the Western Conference in the process. With five games yet to play, this leaves plenty of time to finish up other, neglected sewing projects. Henrik promised Daniel that he would sew Anna a new pair of booties. Mikael Samuelsson's lucky underwear needs patching. Alex Burrows is making a snood.

• It's official. Aaron Rome has his first goal as a Canuck (above), which could either be used as evidence that he doesn't deserve the icetime he's been getting, or maybe as an explanation for why he's been getting it: Alain Vigneault's been determined to get him that goal all season. Apart from Rome, nobody was more excited to see him score than Keith Ballard, whose minutes will finally skyrocket to seventeen.

• It's been awhile since Alex Burrows took it upon himself to win da turd. Tonight, he scored two goals in the final frame, doing just that. Like Seth Rogen in Knocked Up, Burrows only has one move. That's the umpteenth time he's gone backhand on the breakaway. Burrows is predictable, yes, but goalies can't afford to predict and shade left. He sucks at skating, so they have to respect the possibility that he might fall down and have the puck roll to the opposite post.

• The game-tying goal--Burrows' first goal of the night--comes on some positively Wizardous Sedinerie. For the unobservant, this is a no-look bank pass to a one-timed no-look backhand saucer pass to a mid-air one-timer. Nothing but net. This is Bird/Jordan stuff; Burrows wins the Big Mac. Mind you, in Örnsköldsvik, they learn this in peewee.

• Like Mason Raymond and Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows and Shane O'Brien are clearly besties. In a previous version of the plan, O'Brien and Burrows moved to London together and shared a flat. Instead, the plan changed, and they were separated by forces beyond their control. They spent the whole night fighting hat-wearing agents to retake control of their own destiny. (This is the movie we're referencing. Yeah, we don't recommend it.)

• To explain: Burrows and O'Brien engaged multiple times in post-whistle scrums. The most entertaining moment was the time they were separated by both linesmen, and still waved at each other, smiling and chirping like the birds that circle Uncle Remus in Song of the South, the most racist Disney movie ever. Having seen Pocahontas and Aladdin, that's saying a lot.

• In the first period, the Sportsnet crew showed a graphic with pictures of Alain Vigneault and Barry Trotz, their impressive win/loss records, and the caption, "Hottest in the NHL". That is not a caption that goes above pictures of those two guys, for what should be obvious reasons.

• Roberto Luongo was really good, huh? He's been doing that lately. Despite having to make only 16 saves, Luongo earned third star honours, because a lot of them were tough saves, like Alice Cooper or Brian "Head" Welch. Of note: Head Joins the Body is the greatest headline ever.

• 5 of Nashville's 17 shots came from Jordin Tootoo. So really, they took 12 shots. Ha, just kidding, Tootoo's not too, too bad. Zing. Anyway, Daniel wants everyone to know he's ashamed of this bullet point.

• Despite looking absolutely dominant at several stages of the game, Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond were the only minus players on the Canucks. The line of Kesler, Raymond, and Chris Higgins gave the Nashville defenders fits with their speed, board play, and rugged manliness, but couldn't generate a goal. They did, however, combine for 13 shots. They took more shots than Roy "Speedy" Harper.

• Frankly, a lot of their excellent work died on the stick of Aaron Rome, who can only hit the net when shooting from the opposite end of the ice, but he scored a goal tonight, so we'll save our grumbling for another night.

• Shocking stat of the night: Ryan Suter and Shea Weber both finished the game minus-3. Not so shocking stat: they both played over twenty-seven minutes. I guess when you're on the ice all night, there's a large chance you'll be on the ice for the opponent's goals.

• Upon seeing Sami Salo on the powerplay, Harrison commented that the Canucks weren't really missing Mikael Samuelsson. Then Victor Oreskovich jumped the boards with the Sedins.

• In truth, Oreskovich has been playing solid hockey since his call-up, and his turn on the first line while Alex Burrows rested, post penalty-kill, was a nice reward. While he only finished with 9:55 of icetime, that's almost three minutes more than Jeff Tambellini. When Tanner Glass returns, Oreskovich may be pleased to learn that he's earned a playoff roster spot. Pleased, that is, unless he thinks top line duty will be a regular occurrence.

• And finally, we've already mentioned Aaron Rome's goal, but we left out the best part: watch Henrik Sedin show true leadership by stretching out his arms to ensure nobody derails Rome's 200-footer. Granted, there's no one around him, but Kevin Love would be proud of this boxout. It's been said that the Canucks have nothing left to play for, but look how excited everyone is when this puck goes in. Other motivations aside, this team simply enjoys playing together.

I Watched This Game: Canucks vs Predators, January 26, 2011

Canucks 2 - 1 Predators

With a win versus Nashville last night, the Canucks go into All-Star weekend having collected at least one point in 27 of their last 30 games. Yes, that's the stat Don Taylor reported postgame on Sportsnet Connected, and I want to take a moment to marvel at it. Consider that this stat--this very positive stat--incorporates the points from the amazing mini-slump that now seems so long ago, and ignores the fact those games were eventually lost. Remember when they were cause for concern? Now they're just part of an extremely positive stat. You'd think the Canucks had been rolling, uninterrupted, for months.

It's incredible to me what shootouts and overtime points do to perception. A four-game losing streak can be a four-game point streak at the same time. Typically, only one side is reported, and the fires of the fanbase are stoked by a few well-placed omissions. It's silly, and maybe a little dishonest, too. Well, I'm here to tell you that, if we at PITB stand for anything, it's hardcore honesty. For example: truth be told, I watched this game:

• Roberto Luongo was rightly named the game's first star tonight. He made 26 saves, several of the category spectacular, and one of the category wowie zowie. For those that have forgotten the transformative power of new goaltending coach Rollie Melanson, consider how deep Luongo is in his crease for the Joel Ward kick save. Last year, that gets past Funny Bob before he has time to react. In fact, there were a few tonight that might have. Instead, Luongo was in the right place at the right time all night (except on the goal against, when he accidentally went swimming at a nearby leisure center).
  

• Jeff Paterson is absolutely correct, too. You hear a lot about Luongo when he plays badly, and very little when he plays well. This speaks to how expectations warp our satisfaction. The moral of the story? Never try. Keep expectations low and you're more likely to impress.

• Of course, the real question about Luongo isn't whether or not he's going to stellar. It's whether or not he's going to come out and give away his goalie stick. After singlehandedly keeping his team in the game, he owes us that much. If you'll recall, he skipped the last two star twirls to be privately upset, but he made up for it tonight, giving away three goalie sticks. Why not four, I say? Why couldn't he make it seven? I think Luongo should give away a Sportchek.

• Your game-winning goal scorer? Lee Sweatt, the defensive call-up so comically undertall that teammates were chanting "Rudy! Rudy!" as he was suiting up. Frankly, though, after scoring on his first shot in his first NHL game, Lucky might have been a better moniker. Brad Lukowich and Wade Brookbank can attest to being the fortunate son that gets to receive a pass from the Sedins, too, especially one as pretty as Daniel's. Give Sweatt credit for the shot, though. He couldn't have picked a better spot. Into the net is always the best spot to pick. I also loved his goal celebration. What's the old saying? Act like you've been there before. Lady Gaga is jealous of that poker face. James Bond, too. Sweatt played a grand total of 8:49 in this game. In that time, he was on the ice for both Canucks goals and none against. He was bouncing off checks a little bit, but that's to be expected. You can't expect a much better effort in a guy's first NHL game.

• That said, sometimes it's a bit of a shame that scoring the game-winner automatically means a three star selection. Sweatt was in the right place at the right time, but he definitely didn't have a better overall game than Alex Burrows. Burrows scored the crucial game-tying goal with a tip and a rebound, nearly identical to the game-winner he scored in San Jose at the beginning of the month. Furthermore, while he didn't get an assist on the game-winner, that was him causing the turnover to Daniel Sedin when he knocked Joel Ward off the puck.

• Plus, Burrows was the star of the night's most hilarious story: his ongoing battle to get into Shane O'Brien kitchen. O'Brien had a game-high seven hits tonight, and I'm pretty sure six and a half were on Burrows. The camera crew caught them chirping back and forth all night, and they were having a whale of a time doing it. Burrows: f*** you, Shane! Ha ha, but seriously, can I get a ride home? In the night's finest moment, Shane O'Brien dragged Burrows to the ice, then trampled him a little for sport. Burrows went for his instinctual shot to the groin, but upon remembering he and Shane O'Brien were pals, he relented, giving SOB's jollies a kindly pat instead. Graeme Horton snapped a pic. Kudos to Burrows for being considerate enough to remember there's a lot less to do at the Roxy when your testicles are bruised.

• That said, Burrows missed an empty net in the game's final minute. Unacceptable. Do we really want him?
  

• With an assist on the Lee Sweatt goal, Daniel Sedin is now three points up on his brother for the team scoring lead. Out for blood. Even Beatrix Kiddo is alarmed at his need for retribution.

• Get this: Keith Ballard led the Canucks in icetime. It's true. Ballard was on the ice for a team-high 23:53. How did this happen? Originally, he remained paired with Tanev and seemed again headed for bottom-pairing minutes, but Christian Ehrhoff (who Vigneault played for over nine minutes in the first and clearly wanted to ride), was running around like crazy. It was a tad irresponsible; there were shifts where it looked like Ehrhoff though he was playing right wing, and you can't do that when you're paired with a guy playing his first NHL game. I don't think Vigneault was comfortable with Sweatt as the lone man back when Ehrhoff jumped, so Ballard was reassigned to keep an eye on things. That's right. Between his initial pairing with Tanev and his new job keeping Ehrhoff honest, Keith Ballard has become this team's babysitter. He's the Canucks' answer to Rosalyn.

• Dan "Community Man" Hamhuis also stepped in to fill a need, as he often does. He had some first unit powerplay time, he attempted a game-high 9 shots, and he played a team-high 30 shifts. He also had 2 hits, two takeaways, and 3 blocked shots. As usual, you hardly noticed anything he did. Two of his shifts were at the nearby children's hospital.

• Give the Canucks credit for winning da turd tonight. After allowing an early goal, they took over the final frame. They had discipline: after 3 penalties in first and 2 in the second, the team avoided taking any penalties in the third. They applied pressure, outshooting the Predators 17 to 7. In fact, after being outshot 12-4 in first, the Canucks responded well by outshooting Nashville 31-15 through the rest of the game.

• That's even more impressive when you consider Nashville blocked 19 shots tonight. Give them credit, but make sure you give a ton to Shane O'Brien, who gives his teammates shot-blocking practice at nightclubs: Shane, I think you've had enough.

• Chris Tanev played 11:26 tonight, including 1:47 of shorthanded time on ice. He has earned Vigneault's trust remarkably quickly. Good for him. Let's hope he doesn't make like M. Night Shyamalan and coast on that early goodwill until it becomes apparent we'll have to kill him to get rid of him.
  

• And finally: you've gotta feel bad for the Nashville line of Jarred Smithson, Nick Spaling, and Joel Ward. They were on the ice for both Canuck goals, and they came on back-to-back shifts. Impressively, they got two more after that, and more impressively, they didn't give up goals during either of them.

Quotes Taken Out of Context: SOB Edition Three

"Burr can't get into my kitchen - he can never get in my kitchen."

- Shane O'Brien, January 26, 2011

Saying Goodbye to the Pain Lion

When I first heard the Canucks had placed Shane O'Brien on waivers, I got sad. Not sad because I ever particularly liked his play. Sad because I particularly liked Shane O'Brien. I thought about writing this post a couple days ago, but my frown turned upside-down when I heard he had gone unclaimed on the waiver wire. Ever fond of the Pain Lion, I was ecstatic to learn he would remain Canucks property. Sadly, it appears Mike Gillis was never quite as fond of the guy as I was, and he deemed Manitoba too close. Especially in his proximity to the newest overweight whipping-boy Sergei Shirokov.

I suspect that having party boy Shane O'Brien in the same dressing room as all the Canucks prospects was a little like putting a Hershey's vending machine near the snack table of a Weight Watchers meeting. So, Gillis traded Shane O'Brien to Nashville, and I think Shane O'Brien's okay with that. There are lots of cowboy hats at the Roxy. He'll feel at home.

O'Brien joins the Predators organization, along with afterthought Dan Gendur, recently sent to the ECHL by the Moose. In exchange, the Canucks acquire Ryan "Suddenly a Journeyman" Parent and Swedish forward Jonas "Who?" Andersson. But whatever about those guys. Today is about Shane O'Brien. It's time to say goodbye.

Longtime readers of Pass it to Bulis (such as Skeeter, myself, and our wives) might know that we call Shane O'Brien The Pain Lion. Why? Well, it was far and away the worst suggestion for a new Shane O'Brien nickname following his fight with Wayne Simmonds and subsequent party last postseason. We at PiTB compiled all the terrible nicknames into one of our favourite posts of all time, Forum Fun! New Monikers For Shane O'Brien. Here are some highlights:

Shane "Double Guns" O'Brien
suggested by: rkoshack
Not sure if it's the most creative, but it does describe that time he flashed the double guns.

Shane "Pain Lion" O'Brien
suggested by: Godzilla Deuce
I am going to guess that a "pain lion" is a lion that is known to inflict pain. If such a thing existed, perhaps this nickname would make a little more sense. As it is, I, uh, don't know what to say. It's a bad suggestion, yet I feel strangely compelled to take it for myself.

Mean SOB
suggested by: Jester13
Jester13 added, "I mean seriously, am I the only one making the son of a you know what connection?" Is this guy new here?

Yes, a legend was born out of that fight. A legend at least one guy suggested be known as The Pain Lion. And we agreed. Ironically.

But there was more. Last season was Shane O'Brien's best from a personality standpoint. He was all over the place in the playoffs, which might not be good if you're a defenseman, but I digress. Terry Murray called him a clown. He briefly transmogrified into a blood unicorn. He was far and away the most visibly emotional Canuck during the playoffs--a time when players are unfairly expected to exhibit unreal calm.

We identified with Shane O'Brien because he was as bad at being robotic as Robin Williams in Bicentennial Man. He had a big mouth, which meant good quotes (especially out of context) and a huge smile (especially when he scored). He also partied hard--maybe half as hard as Andrew W.K, which is still quite hard. He struggled with his weight, he was late for practices, his actions often required apologies, and he was completely aware of his flaws. He was one of us.

Without Wellwood, Bernier, and especially O'Brien, this year's Canucks seem to lack a guy who can't seem to get his crap together. A guy with major character flaws. A normal guy. Yes, Shane O'Brien was a goofy slob, but that made him like me, and I'll miss that connection.

Shane O'Brien and Darcy Hordichuk on Waivers

As originally reported by Michael Russo and confirmed by Dan Murphy, Shane O'Brien and Darcy Hordichuk have been put on waivers by the Vancouver Canucks. According to Bruce Garrioch, Mike Gillis tried to deal SOB, but failed to find any takers.

As I said in yesterday's post on enforcers, I saw no need for Darcy Hordichuk in the lineup. He's been badly outplayed by other potential 4th-line players. Even Guillaume Desbiens has been better than Hordichuk. And while he's a great team guy, I made the argument that we don't need him if all he will do is fight other heavyweight enforcers around the league. There's no room on the team for someone who can't play hockey.

It's tough to hear that Shane "Pain Lion" O'Brien, because we honestly like the guy. I think he has far more skill than he was initially given credit for and he's great at protecting the puck in the defensive and offensive zone. He was, however, outplayed in the preseason by Andrew "Give Us Barrabas" Alberts. Alberts is cheaper, bigger, and won't give the Canucks the PR concerns that Shane "Meet Me at the Roxy" O'Brien did last season. Still, SOB is a solid 6th defenceman and will likely get picked up on waivers.

That gives the Canucks the following defencemen:

Hamhuis - Edler

Ballard - Ehrhoff

Bieksa - Alberts

Rome

LTIR: Salo

Every Goal, Defenseman Edition: All the Other Guys

Shane O'Brien only scored one goal last year, but it was a pretty one.

Last year's Canuck defense corps scored 42 of the team's 268 goals. These guys scored 11 of them, so I've lumped them all together. Earlier this week, we covered Christian Ehrhoff, Sami Salo, Alex Edler & Kevin Bieksa. Last weekend, we took a run at the Canucks' second line, covering Mason Raymond, Ryan Kesler, and Mikael Samuelsson. This weekend we'll be looking at Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Up today: Willie Mitchell (4 goals), Shane O'Brien (2), Mathieu Schneider (2), Andrew Alberts (1), Nolan Baumgartner (1), and Brad Lukowich (1).

Willie Mitchell

1. Oct. 5 vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets (3)

Mitchell's first goal of a career-high four last season comes off some excellent work by Mikael Samuelsson, who draws three defenders to himself and protects the puck before dishing off to Mitchell for an uncontested slapshot from the point. Mitchell's shot doesn't seem particularly hard, but it's precise, and you can hear it ping off the post before it hits the back of the net.

2. Oct. 11 vs. the Dallas Stars (4)

Here, Mitchell picks up a rebound in front of the net after Henrik Sedin's centering pass misses its mark. Early in the season, this was a nice sign: Canucks defenseman were encouraged to come in from the blue line for passes from behind the net and rebound opportunities. Even reliable ol' Bill Pickle found the blue ice from time to time.

3. Dec. 3 vs. the Philadelphia Flyers (15)

Tanner Glass does much of the legwork in this one, bringing the puck to the net hard, and narrowly avoiding bowling over Brian "The Mighty Boosh" Boucher. Boucher still feels he's interfered with, but Glass also sells his efforts to avoid interference. Mitchell drifts in from the point, again, and picks up the rebound on his backhand, shoveling it home.

4. Jan. 16 vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins (23)

I forgot that, in the last game Willie Mitchell played in a Canucks uniform, the game in which Evgeni Malkin cut his season short with a cheap hit from behind, Mitchell also scored his prettiest goal of the season. It's a shame he had to get hurt because he reached a career-high in goals in just 48 games. He might have scored more. Anyway, here, he sneaks in from the point to be the recipient of a beautiful back-door pass from Henrik Sedin, and he finishes the play with a nifty little move to the backhand. Here's hoping he can continue to do stuff like this in LA (just not against us).

Mathieu Schneider

1. Oct. 27 vs. the Red Wings (7)

Schneider's first of two goals as a Canuck comes in exactly the way we thought he'd score a bunch last season. Playing the left point on the power play, he takes the pass, and absolutely rips a slap shot past Jimmy Howard. It was Schneider's 100th career power play goal, but the only one he scored as a Canuck.

2. Nov. 14 vs. the Avalanche (8)

Schneider's second goal as a Canuck is identical to his first, except that it comes on even-strength. Kyle Wellwood and Alex Burrows provide screens, and Schneider shows nice patience waiting for them to get there and a lane to open up. He looked like he was going to be money from the left point, but sadly, this is all she wrote, and he never netted another one for us.

Shane O'Brien

1. Dec. 20 vs. the St. Louis Blues (18)

Okay, wait, what? This goal is incredible and I absolutely forgot about it. This is no fluke, as O'Brien sees the defense floating away from the net, and gets in behind them. Raymond and Samuelsson work well together here, and Samuelsson's pass is a downright magical piece of vision. The fanfare after the goal is nice too, as this is O'Brien's first score in 166 games. It shows: as beautiful as this goal is, O'Brien only just barely gets it past Mason.

2. Mar. 20 vs. the Detroit Red Wings (36)

Shane O'Brien's 2nd goal of the season comes after some excellent board works by Kyle Wellwood. He's getting the crap kicked out of him, but he still manages to maintain control and get the puck to Mason Raymond. Raymond makes a nice pass to O'Brien, who wrists it past Howard. Not a chance Howard sees that puck, as Jannik Hansen's body is opaque.

Nolan Baumgartner

1. Feb. 12 vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets (29)

Baumgartner, an all-star AHL defenseman with pretty good vision and offensive awareness, sneaks in from the point and receives a beautiful cross-ice pass from Alex Burrows, who I have already taken great pains through this series to laud for his underrated passing abilities. Burrows is more than just a lucky grinder who gets to work with the Sedins. He creates goals with his vision as well. In this case, Baumgartner is the benefactor of Burrows' gem of a feed.

Andrew Alberts

1. Apr. 8 vs. the San Jose Sharks (40)

Alberts' first and only goal as a Canuck comes on a point shot from a Mason Raymond feed. Alberts does well to receive the pass and put the puck on net quickly, although I've seen Kyle Wellwood shoot harder than that. The puck goes off Douglas Murray's skate and past Nabokov. It's a goal, though it does little to elucidate A Minor's gifts, which, apart from his general enormity (pictured here) are somewhat still TBA. I hope my wife eventually gives me a 6'6" son. I'll get him into hockey, where he'll get paid solely for being gigantic, talented or otherwise. Note: since my wife and I are about the size of the last two nesting dolls in a set, this is unlikely.

Brad Lukowich

1. Jan. 25 vs. the Buffalo Sabres (26)

By now, Lukowich's goal is legendary, as it might be considered one of the best Sedin plays of last year (I ranked it #2 in our inaugural post, the best of the Sedins, way back in April). It was an amazing piece of wizardous sedinerie, and I think we all agree that anybody could have scored it, even Jonathan Cheechoo. I am especially fond of Lukowich's tribute to TLC's "Waterfalls" after scoring the goal. It's a shame he spent so little time with the big club, because I liked him.

Arbitration May Be Good to Mason Raymond, Bad for Shane O'Brien

You might have already heard that the Canucks have qualified eight restricted free agents. Maybe you don't know exactly what that means. If so, you're not alone. But, as far as I understand, the qualifying offer is an 105% increase on what players made the previous year which, when tendered, retains their private negotiation rights. From there, the player and the team can bicker over what the actual contract will be.

And bicker they will. Few people care, I would imagine, what Tanner Glass will be paid. A lot more people care what Mason Raymond will make, because the arguments vary from between 2 million and 4 million. That is a massive disparity in dollars, especially considering that it's exactly the amount we just cleared off the books by jettisoning Steve Bernier. Wojtek Wolksi's recent signing, at 3.8 million per season, a possible comparable, does not bode well for the penny-pinchers among us like, say, Mike Gillis. So it's no surprise that this one's likely going to arbitration.

Arbitration is a scary word. Our friends on the radio often like to cite the Brendan Morrison arbitration hearing, in which he was compared to a mouse riding on the back of an elephant. Like a trip to the dentist, sensitive areas get poked all too often, and enemies for life can be made. In more recent history, however, Kyle Wellwood's arbitration hearing went pretty decently last year, so maybe it will be nice. I would imagine somebody will hit up Costco for a fruit platter, and everybody will, at the very least, get to share some fresh pineapple. Raymond will likely be told about his common tendency to overlook his linemates, or that his go-to move of squeaking past the defenseman along the boards, cycling the zone and giving it to the defenseman with nowhere to go is not impressive. But if he can handle those criticisms, he'll probably have a nice time.

It does not sound like a good time for Shane O'Brien, who, reports say, is much more hesitant to go to arbitration. In his own words:

“Hopefully I don’t have to go to arb and, from what I heard, it’s not a pleasant process [...] They’ve probably got a lot of material they can use against me so it probably wouldn’t work too well.”

Yes, they do. Notice here that Shane O'Brien is so scared of the word arbitration that he doesn't even say it. Arb could be anything from arboriculture to Arby's, both of which are intimidating, unpleasant institutions.

He's right to assume it will be unpleasant for him. Probably because he's better known for busting out the guns than toning and trimming fat from them. The case to be made against SOB in arbitration might be too true, too sobering. And sometimes SOB prefers not to be sober. That he's aware of this is a good thing, and he's likely to sign a favorable contract rather than be forced to confront the man in the mirror. If he can improve his play at all, he'll be a stellar sixth defenseman on a nice, low, short contract. I hope he does, because I like Shane O'Brien, and his intensity and emotion during playoff time will be missed if he goes elsewhere.

Shane O'Brien: Blood Unicorn

Nam Y. Huh - AP

And the award for the most bad-ass looking moment of the playoffs goes to...Shane O'Brien. With blood spurting from his forehead like he had tried to fight The Bride, SOB left the Canucks with only four defencemen. Briefly. He returned almost immediately and played a solid game, refusing to respond to the antics of the Blackhawks' bruisers, especially Andrew Ladd, who showed his "cowardice" by targeting the injury in a scrum.

During the game, I dubbed SOB the Blood Unicorn for the horn of blood spurting from his forehead. I suppose Blood Narwhal would also have worked, but there isn't a band named "Blood Narwhal" and there is one named "Blood Unicorn." From their myspace page:

hi. we love all of you. you complete me. we ride wolves in snow. we drink ice. our cars are airplanes. we swim in oceans. we swing at playgrounds. lets build a sandcastle. unicorns bleed blue. wake up, you're not sleeping.

Profound. Does SOB also love all of us? Does SOB ride wolves in snow? Does SOB bleed blue? Oh wait, he totally doesn't.

Quotes Taken Out of Context: SOB Edition Two

"They put their meat in."

- Shane O'Brien, May 5, 2010