Part 2, 2005-10-26

Brook: 27 minutes after 12. Instigating with Lee Powell. Mr. Powell. How are you doing?

Lee: I'm fine and Happy Halloween Brook. Brook: Thank you buddy.

They know, how's Amanda? Little 8 year old Amanda, back in school this week?

Lee: She's very happy to be back and I bet that is shared by about 600,000 kids around the province. Brook: Parents.

Lee: And parents too.

Brook: It's about 1.2 million parents are happy. Lee: Absolutely.

Brook: So, meanwhile and back just in time by the way, a big Halloween thing on Monday, Halloween and this week in elementary school and unfortunately in my case, in grade 12 I was playing dress up too Lee, but it was a different kind of a wardrobe by then, but the kids in elementary school, it's a big week for them right because they are having little Halloween things and so it's a good time to go back. Lee: Well, it's huge. I like giving out the candy too. That's fun. Amanda's going to be Harry Potter this year. Brook: Is she?

Lee: Yeah.

Brook: How are you going to do that?

Lee: She's got some glasses, she's got a cloak and she's going to have a little wizard star on her forehead. Brook: What's the girl's name? Harmony?

Lee: Harminey.

Brook: Ok, is that going to be you? You should go as, because you'll walk Amanda. Lee: Yeah, she didn't want to be Harminey, she wants to be Harry so she's a little confused gender wise. Brook: You'll be her, well I'm not surprised given the, you know, where she's growing up but I mean you and you can go as Harminey then. Lee: I'm going to go as a veteran part time sports caster. Brook: Wow. Wear a wooden barrel, no clothes and you know, look for handouts?

Lee: Something like that.

Brook: That a boy. Dave Dickenson on the second unit today is taking snaps for the Lions. It appears he's been medically cleared to play or at least go. I guess that means play so who are you starting at Edmonton?

Lee: Didn't I say a while ago that this thing could turn right around with an injury when everybody said Dickenson's ensconced in the job and Printers didn't want to play or was out with a sore shoulder? And, then all of a sudden he plays and plays well. I would start Printers which means they'll probably start Dickenson. Brook: Yeah, you know what? By the way, I'm with you. When Casey was sitting out unhappy, whatever, sore shoulder, whatever, months ago too I thought, you know what? The way it works Dickenson will, Printers could come in and win a Grey Cup this year, it could work the opposite way this year.

Lee: Well he played very well against the bombers. There's just no way around it. He's apparently healthy, he's coming off a big game, I mean why would you sit him? This goes back to the Grey Cup game last year when there were questions about deployment of the quarterbacks but that seems to be something Wally wants to avoid but as long as both of them are here this is going to go on and on.

Brooks: Yeah, I think you, this week, Dickenson doesn't want to dress and just back up too but let's face it, hey from a team standpoint if you're healthy enough to play I think I want Dickenson as a back up rather than Buck Pierce with no disrespect. I'm starting Printers, hopefully you get a win. Next week against Saskatchewan, once you've lock up top spot you could play them both. Then you get a week off. The western final and you might need them both.

Lee: Yeah and this is as big as it's going to get. I mean they shouldn't be in the situation. Except for the four straight losses they'd have it all nailed down but I think Printers gives them the best chance to clinch the first place spot. That's in my opinion anyway. Brook: In particular this week because Dickenson's been off and again, if you can clinch it this week you can see who's rusty or not the following week in Saskatchewan in what might be a mean nothing game. Your Vancouver Canucks Mr. Powell, your Canucks 3-1 last night.

Lee: My Canucks?

Brook: Your Canucks are 3-1.

Lee: What, have I switched stations?

Brook: No man. This ain't house radio baby. Ok, their Vancouver Canucks 3-1 winners. What are they 8-1-1 now? It's pretty good looking team in this era of fast skating National Hockey League club. Lee: Well it's highly impressive and I think Brook, they have better personnel than these teams they're beating. You can say what you want about the Minnesota Wild, but without Gaborick and without Filip Kuba Vancouver's just a better hockey club and they showed it again last night. You mentioned the discrepancy in the power plays. Again, that's a personnel thing. I think the Canucks have more speed, they're playing smarter than a lot of these teams, they're getting a few breaks from the officiating but that's because of the way they play and when you're averaging 8 power plays per game and you're power play's clicking along fairly well you're going to win a lot of hockey games. They don't seem to have a lot of weaknesses at this point. I mean, if you wanted to knit pick you could say they were a little weak in the face off circle some nights. 5 on 5 they are not dominant and maybe Steve McCarthy doesn't look like the best 6 defenseman in the NHL although he's been getting a little bit better in recent games but other than that, I mean, there's just not much to complain about their performance. I mean, they're one of the very best teams in they NHL for the first ten games. Brook: Stay healthy and you should be, it's like your hockey pool, really, I mean seriously, you stay healthy in your hockey pool, you usually if you have a decent team you're going to be around. You get nailed with injuries and that's a problem and same way for the hockey club here. Lee: Well they look built for this type of hockey. I mean, Markus Naslund does the wrap around but for about 45 seconds or a minute last night and dazzling and as impressive as it was, wouldn't it have occurred to a Minnesota player to try and maybe bump into him at some point? That never took place. There were apparently 22 hits in that game last night. I counted about 5 of any significance and most of them were by the visiting team, The Canucks. What limited hitting there is, Vancouver's doing the initiating. Usually Mattius Ohlund or Ed Jovanovski or Bryan Allen or up front occasionally Matt Cook and Jarkko Ruutu. I didn't see a Minnesota player that stepped into a Vancouver player with a significant hit all night last night. Brook: This is better hockey than we've seen a couple of years ago Lee but do you miss the physical play and do you expect it to come back in and maybe the Canucks aren't even built for it anyway. Maybe you just wouldn't see it in their building but do you miss that and do you think it's gone for a while. Lee: Well I don't think it should be such a picnic in front of the net and I've been saying that since the opener. A lot of people are climbing on board now, hockey night in Canada people, etc., and I think they are right.

Brook: They've been listening to the show here obviously. Lee: You should have to have some sort of battle in front of the net. I don't think you should have lumber all over you but… Brook: Well is it the fact that…. Lee: You should be able to make sandwiches there.

Brook: But do you think, like I don't look, I see some of these defensemen playing poor positionally and they've been doing it for ten years but getting it away with the whole thing. Like aren't you supposed to, you can still get behind the forward who's in the slot and push him around a little bit. You just can't grab him. Lee: So, what you can do is you can box out and where would that term come from? The NBA. You know, you can get position. Well, you also should be able to bump the guy a little bit.

Brook: Oh yeah.

Lee: And grapple with him.

Brook: Can you? They are not all getting called if they bump the guy in front are they?

Lee: Well, quite a few of them are. There's not much you can do down low to defend right now. I think it's pretty tough on the defensemen. Look at the gag order too. They've already fined… Brook: Pat Quinn probably…. Lee: Yeah, they've fined a couple of coaches who dared to speak out about the quality of the game and the power plays last night. Brook, Chicago went 1 for 13, still managed to lose to the National Predators. Pittsburgh went 2 for 12 and they managed to lose in TO to Florida but anytime you're getting double figures in power plays it's just too many. There's no reason for that to be as common as it is and I do think that they are going to have to slack it a little bit. Brook: I am looking by the way, the front of the net Lee, and I'm watching guys who do get pushed around a bit and the games I'm watching I'm not seeing that arm go up every time. I'm going to continue to focus on it because I …. Lee: Because they're afraid to do anything that goes over the line. Brook: But when they do push around a little bit I don't see that always being called. That's why I'm going to really start focusing in but I've been watching for this and I'm not seeing every time you push somebody around or get behind them with some body, I don't see that called every time. I'm suggesting these guys will get away with that. Lee: Well it's pretty gentle pushing that's going on. It's much, much easier to stand in front of the net. Brook: True.

Lee: You could ask any of the 30 coaches I think.

Brook: True.

I'll give you that but you are still able to play defense. Lee: Yeah, it's all about positioning and the Canucks do these things better than the teams they're playing and that's why they're being rewarded and so successful in the first ten games. Brook: Instigating Lee Powell, here at Team 1040 every Wednesday and I did want to ask on the Quinn front by the way, if it's Quinn that did get fined and they haven't named coaches but a couple have, I don't, there are coaches who have been critical of the shoot out and say they don't like it and I'm wondering if that's the fine. Lee: I don't know why they would fine them for that. Brook: But it's just you know, not allowed to say anything bad about the game. Lee: That's literally the case then. If you can't… Brook: That's what I'm suggesting. I mean I'm not suggesting it's all talk about, I remember Quinn in particular going to shoot out, I don't like it, this and that and was it Hitchcock or somebody, I can't remember, and I don't know for sure…. Lee: Well ? said a few things too.

Brook: Wouldn't surprise me that that's what they got fined for. I'll wait and see but and if that's it, boy that is weak. It's just like censorship; it's like the Bush administration. You got to be for that war or else the Dixie Chicks, there's your trouble. Lee: Well I guarantee you there are some NHL coaches that want to say more than they're saying. Brook: Yeah. Well, if you can't say… Lee: And that will certainly discourage them. Brook: If you can't say I don't like the shoot out, I'm living with it but I don't like it, I don't like that way to decide a game you get fined for that, I mean. Lee: Not very democratic is it?

Brook: But that's the thing, in the league too, in the last, ever since they signed the CVA everybody before the season started until right now has been gushing so much about oh, it's going to be so awesome and I'm not seeing it. Lee: And it mostly has.

Brook: Oh, I agree, but it's just that the company propaganda that was being pushed out thought nobody can say oh that shoot out concerns me a little bit. Everyone was saying isn't this great. Lee: There is some information control going on but we should say 75%-80% of it does look really good.

Brook: Well it's better than it was, but …. Lee: Oh no doubt it's better than it was. Brook: But I don't need Greg Milan telling me on the weekend some of these guys who were drinking the Kool-aid and it happens oh thank you Gary Betman and the NHL for doing this. I'm like, Gary where were you 5 years ago when you were trying to force this lockout to get your salary cap with lousy hockey? You could have fixed it; you didn't want to. Lee: We're getting a lot of the hard sell, there's no doubt about that. Since the game has come back as good as some of these things look, we're being told everything is great and not everything is exactly great. Brook: Oh no, I admit man. I don't like the way you decide. I don't find the shootouts all that exciting to tell you the truth so far. And I don't like it deciding a game in any way but whatever. Lee: There's too much advantage to the goalies. I mean, you just bet on the goalies most of the time. We're not seeing a lot of great goals on the shoot outs. I thought we'd see some terrific moves but either the ice conditions, even though they have put that little lane in with the scrape, we're not seeing a lot of the great shoot out goals unless they are scored by Paul Kariya and the National Predators I guess. Brook: Again, maybe you need Canucks involved in more of them an don home ice so the crowd gets into it, actually winning some of them. We'll see. Hey, I thought it was interesting when Crawford took Naslund, Bertuzzi, then Richard Park was his third pick in that one game in Edmonton.

Lee: Yeah, the Canucks have only been in the one and they didn't win it. I think you're right. It's local experience and I think that's part of the reason people are so enamored with the new NHLs because the Canucks are thriving in it but there are a lot of good things to be said about it. I'm not a huge fan on the shoot out but I haven't seen all that many because the Canucks have only been in one. Brook: They are over before they start too. Mister Powell, Monday, Halloween. If I am coming by in my costume as the French Maid outfit, I'm just pulling it out of the closet. On that night I was going to do the Airline Stewardess but that one is being used. But Lee, when I come to the Powell house what am I going to get? What are you giving away?

Lee: You're going to get some smarties, Brook: Oh. Lee: And some Arrow bars, Brook: Oh. Lee: And maybe a hot Toddy.

Brook: Oh.

Cheese nips?

Lee: Yeah, we're giving hot Toddy's out. Brook: How about cheese nips? Just get a box of cheese nips and give one away to every contestant.

Lee: I'll go out and buy some for you. I think Bobby Jinx has got the market cornered on cheese nips right now.

Brook: Oh really? He's had a meal or two hasn't he? Lee: He makes David Wells look like Mic Jagger.

Brook: And that other guy. Who's that other guy with Jagger, the smoker? Lee: Keith Richards.

Brook: Thank you buddy, I'm supposed to know that but sports in my life. Lee: Hey that's a good guess for Romy to have Paul Konerko on during the series of the game they have. Brook: Yeah, I wish I was allowed to rerun that interview but I'm not. Lee: You're not? Brook: Thank you buddy.

Lee: Ok, Brook.

Brook: Nothing changes. Lee Powell. The French Maid outfit. I'll be wearing that. Stewardess outfit is being used. Brittany Spears school girl outfit, if all goes well that will get used. Hey it's time for a sport update with Mr. Jeff Layla, a little traffic update for you too. When we come back we're going to Vegas. We're going to talk about the baseball series that could end tonight for Johnny Sandler our baseball expert. Stay with us on the Team 1040.