Scarlet Pimple

Some comment before about his tendencies simulatingthos of Lionel. From what I have read I think he may be a bit less mercurial than Lionel --more stable like. Eh?

Alistair hails from Victoria on Vancouver Island in Canada. But not from Australia.

I am sure the Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto could do with the money. Big crowds here and lots of dough from crowds as large as 24,000. Why not..nice for the players to see how the other half lives too.

And will Management give Calderwood the money? The likes of Miller , who was excellent, speedy, direct and a bit of heart and push, will be missed. Rebuilding can be a bitter and slow process but it's really sad to see the decline of Hibs up to this point. I watched them for 6 years in the 'sixties' and they always had a bit of success and were an entertaining team to watch--Pat stanton and all.

Well with Fansey Tansey ( no slight intended) in midfield does that infer that Duff will not be back? Anyway let's hope he turns out to be as good as touted and is not a duffer. No pun intended, but was Duff not a much better player in midfield than as a back? Be good,now..no duff gen please. I remain, as always, at your service and the backward Elmer FFud.

Yes, folks, the North American ice hockey playoff cup final, the Stanley Cup, is scheduled to start the final series of 7 games here in Vancouver tonight at 5p.m. Pacific Standard Time. That's 1 a.m. in Inverness, tomorrow. Vancouver has had a fabulous season and won everything in sight. The North American Hockey League overall title, the Western Conference Final, and individual player's National trophies and so on.. They have been to the Final twice in their 47 year history but never won it. This year's team has been honed to perfection and has just about everything, skill, physical power,the best two players in N.A. hockey, the best power play teams and a very intelligent coach who seems to have done the trick in making trades to strengthen and balance the team to make it the the best ever. 30,000 people showed up in the streets of the city to view the Western Final on big screens set up in streets which had been blocked off for vehicles. All games are on National T.V. And the city and fans have been going crazy. The pubs, bars and hotels have been buzzing with activity. With hockey being the National Game of Canada, this is the BIG game. It's impossible to not be part of it, to not have a wee tremble in the knees and a gripping of the stomach as the start of the first game draws closer. We all know what's coming--frenetic pace, spills, thrills, brutal body checks, guys playing with broken noses , maybe a broken toe, dislocated shoulder and one player got a puck in the eye the other night and may be playing even having had eye surgeries recently. The fastest speed of a puck from a stationary position has been clocked at 109 miles per hour!. Imagine getting hit anywhere with that hard rubber , yet the guys will be trhowing themselves in front of goal to stop these missiles any way they can in order to win at all costs. Each line change will be made about every tweny to 30 seconds so that the players don't burn out too quickly. There are three twenty-minute periods with small stoppages for TV advertising and a break of about 15 minutes between each period. Total Time about 3 hours. And that is assuming the game is not tied at the end of three periods, in which case another one or two overtime periods will have to be added on to get a result. Then there are the goals; when you know that every one counts triple in importance than anything that has gone before in the entire season just finished it is a thrill when it happens and no mistake.For some players --most really--a shot at the Stanley Cup Final medal is something that is the apex of their career and a lifetime dream, rarely achieved. And, of course we must not forget the noise..more like pandemonium with 24,000 people inside the stadium all waving something and cheering every play to the rafters. Their opponents, the Boston Bruins, are not touted as favourites nor are they as skilled and fast as the Canucks but certainly know how to play blue-collar hockey; rough and tough and flat out, desperate , like. The home team, however, are blistering fast with great inherent skills and great player depth where every player on all the four lines (of five players each line) can be called upon to insert himself into the game at any time and do a job. Now I am off to get a cuppa before the two National Anthems are blared out by the singers standing on the ice. Wish us luck..... C,mon Scotty, tune in I know you will enjoy it --an American team versus a Canajin one. Man, it will be like the fInal at last year's Olympics and you know what a great game thta was. Cheers, you all S.P.

But will ICT not be awarded costs to come out of Marius' pocket? Their lawyers' fees will not be a small sum of money since they had hired "the leading sports lawyers in Scotland" did they not? Loser generally pays. Timje to move on.

Doofers Dad That wee Japanese fella--good ball control , cool under pressure and has a low centre of gravity. Perfect as a future prospect but wouldn't his mum have to come too? Thinks--perfect, she probably is an expert in Shiatsu and the boys would be energised like you would not believe. His pants would have to be shortened though--they are dragging a bit and image is important these days.

Manfer...be nice now!

Adam will have been,or very shortly will be, offered a contract and a wage that he will be unable to turn down. The duration of the contract will not be for more than a year or two years but accepting it and leaving ICT will strengthen his financial position greatly. Wish him well. He deserves it. My fear is...... where will ICT get a player of his developing calibre to quickly replace him. No doubt terry and Mo have something up their sleeve. Time will .......TEL.

How long to go now?

No punch. Just a handbags retaliatory chest push. The other player went down awfully easy. Nearly a dive if anything. Such a *****. Farce if ever I saw one. Disgraceful, actually. Russell Duncan--Terry sign him for another season , if only to give the finger to the SFA. Gadzooks.

Phew!! I,m so glad that's over. Still, pneumatic tires can't last forever and they always burst eventually. Caley D --I am going to be nice to you from now on. YOU ARE SOO BIG AND HANDSOME, bUT....How do you get into yer bus, man?

Split--no but Money--yes. Which do you want? Personally speaking I think the money should be split according to the points total , not the place.

Yeovil Here in Vancouver I watch all the MLS games involving the Vancouver Whitecaps on the TV --best seat in the house. So I get to see all of the MLS(Major League Soccer) teams here in North America for free. There are now only two Canadain teams in this league, Toronto and Vancouver the latter having their first season in the MLS. They started with a bang beating Toronto in Vancouver but frankly have been struggling a bit since then . No bad beatings but having a hard time winning.Early days, however. Otherwise, I can view EPL on the T.V. also but currently we are all glued to the National Hockey League (ice hockey, that is) play-offs where Vancouver is the favourite to win the Stanley cup. If they beat the Nashville Predators this evening at home here in Vancouver, they advance to the Western Conference Final and the glittering prize becomes even closer. For each round it's the best of 7 games and, man, is it exciting with all the players playing as hard and as fast as they can.In the play-offs most of the shifts are about 30 seconds and then off to the bench to be instantly replaced by the next line (4 lines available for each team with the top players being in the first line.The 4th line for each team is often the tough guys who can skate and hit but are not necessarily extremely skilled--the grafters, like). Anyway that's a wee insight into the National sport here in Canada. The Olympics Final last year , Canada versus the U.S.A. was the best game I have ever seen. WOW! I must say , hoewever, some of the games featuring Vancouver in the play-offs this year(eg. versus Chicago Blackhawks) have been on a par and you either pick your nails to the quick or you are almost limo at the end. Smile. Gates at the Whitecaps at home have been very good since they entered the MLS --about 20,000 fans. Keep posting Yeovil--always glad to hear from you.

And from what country did the aforementioned "foreign" ref(s) hail? They must surely be in a bigger league than the SPL? Was it Englandterre then?

Nice one Cyril

Scotty Yeah that's all true but I guess I was a wee bit lazy this morgen. I did open the match report from the front page but all it said was --report to follow here so I didn't search farther because I was anxious to get to the thread expecting a few more posters et c. Must have missed the other link. But thanks for your helpful reply. Next season......

And the final scorline is 1-0 ?

Russell probably had a wee flare up due to an accumulated stress build-up from events recently Let's just forget it and wish him the best if he is not staying.

Not too many posts today . Better late than never entr by Scarlet Pimple though,from a very wet and very cold Western Canada. And that is why we have so many huge old growth trees in this area. Fish too--only some 32 million in the run up the Fraser River last year. This year it is expected to be only about 5 million. The spawning fish return about every four years and well...things change from year to year.The Adams river tributary in Northern British Columbia has the largest salmon spawning areas in the world I take it that the game is still tied at 0-0. Sorryfor the mini diversion but, well, we are at the end of the season and there aint no game info available to digest so...

He's only a young shaver is he not and so if we don't lego of him then he may progress to being a fine and gay blade, methinks.

Yeovil Were you watching the Caley V Celtic match on T.V.? If so, you mean Scottish games are actually broadcast in England. especially down South? Forgive me but I live in Canada and am just asking.

Wiull Celtic sign Rooney in admiration of his play today. Or will Rangers, in appreciation for it.

Thank you fromRFC Thank you for a gracious comment. In all certainly well meant and well apprciated.If there was more of this type of appreciation and civility we would all enjoy the SPL more. Have a great post season and look over your shoulder for us next season.