Gratuitous Tuesday

The Flames could use some serious cheerleading after going 0-1-1 in their first two games under new coach "Iron" Mike Keenan. Even worse, both games were at home, where Calgary is usually very strong. Scott Burnside lays it out for us in the final paragraph of this article.

On the opposite end of the luck spectrum, enjoying some of the best of his life, Mike Comrie continues to have a big impact on his New York Islanders team. In the first two games of the season, Comrie scored two goals, including two game-winners. Things must be going really well for him these days. Though he didn't get a goal against the Capitals last night, Mikie Poo is still playing really well. I bet there's something (or someone) to blame for all of his strong play lately.

Finally, it's been known for a week now that former American Idol cast member Kellie Pickler has broken it off with Predators douche bag enforcer Jordin Tootoo. But her luck as a single girl isn't turning out like she probably planned. She's getting some action, sure, but in all the wrong places. Hang in there, Kellie, hang in there.

My door is always open, except when Elisha is over.

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ESPN Columnist George Johnson Loves Mike Keenan, Too

The hockey writers at ESPN.com aren't too keen on the hiring of Mike Keenan to coach the Calgary Flames. Yesterday, Scott Burnside dissed him. Today, aloof and mustachioed columnist George Johnson chimes in with words that are slightly south of supportive:

Yes, "Iron Mike" Keenan is back. Harder to get rid of than a zit a day before the prom. His authoritarian jackboots traded in for a pair of cow-pie clogged cowboy kickers, bringing his blunt, uncompromising, signature style to Calgary.

Zits and jackboots. Now those are some lovely images to invoke, George. But Johnson isn't done, not hardly:

Historically, his abrasive style has the shelf life of a wheel of unrefrigerated cave-aged Gruyere. He hasn't had success of any kind since commandeering the Rangers to that 1994 championship (a Cup that really belonged to Mark Messier , anyway). In subsequent pit stops in St. Louis, Boston, Vancouver and Miami, he got no closer to the Stanley Cup than during his days in charge at the University of Toronto.

Only one Keenan team in the past 13 years has advanced past the first round of the playoffs. Hmmm, see a pattern developing?

So, to recap, George Johnson thinks the whole Keenan thing in Calgary is likely to end very badly. So does Scott Burnside. So does Allan Maki at the Globe And Mail. The list could go on.

My only hope is that they're right, and Jerome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff, Dion Phaneuf and former Av Alex Tanguay are all driven out of town by Iron Mike. The fewer strong teams in the Northwest Division, the better.

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Everybody Loves Mike Keenan

photo courtesy Eliot Schectner/Getty Images
Today's big hockey story is the hiring of "Iron" Mike Keenan as the new head coach of the Calgary Flames, replacing the fan-maligned Jim Playfair who has been demoted to assistant. Keenan, if you didn't know, won a Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994 and then proceeded to destroy every good relationship he's ever had in the NHL with each subsequent coaching job he took. The Rangers hate him. The Canucks and the Panthers hate him. The Blues hate him. He's not exactly best friends with Boston, either.

The reaction in hockey mediaville hasn't been all that favorable, either. Scott Burnside posted an article whose title should have been, "Mike Keenan? WTF?" Teebz at Hockey Blog In Canada is also not a big fan. And Jes Golbez at Hockey Rants sees the whole thing going south for the Flames real quick.

Oh, and Jim Rome just dissed Keenan on today's episode of "Jim Rome Is Burning" on ESPN and predicted a relatively quick dismissal or otherwise a speedy exodus of the team's talented players.

I'm completely in favor of Keenan being hired as Flames coach if it means the team ends up struggling to make the playoffs and all the best players are driven out. Nothing could be better for that organization, in my totally non-biased-toward-division-rival-Colorado-Avalanche opinion.

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