Habs icon Jean Beliveau passed away this week at the age of 83. Guy did an interview with TSN Radio in which he talks about Beliveau's influence on his career. You can find it here.
Here is a strange little video from RDS. It's in French so I can't make heads or tails of what's going on, but Guy is dressed as a judge so it's certainly odd. (If any of my Francophone readers would like to clue me in on what the video is about, it would be much appreciated.)
And finally, here is something I meant to post long ago and just recently found again. The recipe for Guy's favorite banana bread (from his wife Line) has surfaced on the Internet. Here it is!
That's all for now -- but as one final note that has nothing to do with Carbo, this Sens fan would like to congratulate Daniel Alfredsson on a spectacular career and also to wish him a very happy retirement. Thank you for your years of hockey and for your service to our community. You're the best!
Mike Keenan was originally slated to coach the Maccabi Canada men's hockey team, but has been forced to bow out due to family medical issues. Guy will be replacing him at the Maccabi Games in Metula, Israel which take place from July 16 to July 31. We wish him and the team the best of luck! (link)
And in a stunning turn of events, the longtime captain of my team, the Ottawa Senators -- Daniel Alfredsson -- has left us for Detroit, hoping for the chance to win a Stanley Cup before he retires. Can't say as I blame him, but I'm left once again reaching into my Byrds/Gene Clark fandom to find words for what I can't express. Probably silly, but here it is.
(Clark, with slight lyric modifications by yours truly)
"Tried So Hard"
Stopped awhile this morning on our way back home We had to realize this time that we'd be all alone Cause he is moving somewhere far away not slow And though we tried so hard to please him He said he really had to go Even though this time it really hurts us bad We've been through similarities It's not the first break we've had And we just can't let it bring us down too low And though we tried so hard to please him There must be something more to know Never thought that we would find our end this way It seemed that everything was going fine Still with all the things that we can do or say It won't change the fate we know so well is ours
So we'll stop again and look right past the pain Cause we've been in love before and we can love again While he is moving somewhere far away not slow And though we tried so hard to please him He said he really had to go...
And the original:
Finally, to coincide with my previous post about Super Dave, I have found a "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" style connection between Guy and the Super One. Featured in a 1990 episode of Super Dave was renowned Quebec impressionist Andre Philippe Gagnon, whose music video for "La Canada" featured...Guy! (look for him at around the 1:28 mark) And that's only 3 degrees!
If you've been a regular visitor to this blog, you will know that occasionally I take these off-topic detours. This will be one of them. (Although it is periperally on-topic since it does somewhat involve hockey.)
It might be surprising, but I do fangirl things other than Carbo. In fact, I seem to have made being a fangirl an unpaid profession throughout my life. One of my heroes since childhood has been the fictional stuntman Super Dave Osborne (real name: Bob Einstein).
The Super One with CBC (now CNN) host George Strombolopoulos in 2008. (photo source)
He has been a fixture on televisions in both Canada and the United States since the 1980's (first becoming popular on the John Byner sketch comedy show Bizarre). If you're familiar with the Super One, you will know that his stunts, well...never quite work. Here is one of his most famous ones:
Bob Einstein, however, comes from a phenomenal showbiz family. His parents were Harry "Parkayarkus" Einstein, a radio comedian, and Thelma Leeds, an actress, who met on the set of the film New Faces of 1937. They married that same year and had three children: Clifford Einstein, a retired ad executive and sometime actor; Bob; and someone who you may have heard of, Albert (who uses the last name Brooks professionally for obvious reasons). Bob and his younger brother Albert Brooks appeared together in the 1981 film Modern Romance:
Then, on November 24, 1958, at the Friars Club roast of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, their father Harry Einstein delivered a testimonial that by all accounts brought the house down, sat down, and collapsed on the shoulder of Milton Berle. The Friars membership included several doctors that came to his aid, but they were unable to save him. He died of a massive heart attack on the dais. And last month I was reading about that on Wikipedia and well, it resonated with me. Because my own father basically died the same way. Well, not on the dais at the Friars Club of course, but it was a massive heart attack as well and it was sudden. And there was also a huge, unsuccessful medical effort to save him.
My father figures into this story in another way as well: it was him who introduced me to Super Dave. We'd watch his show together, and my dad loved all the silly stunts that always backfired. So, for all the reasons above, I decided to write Bob Einstein a letter. I included a small gift which I hoped symbolized how he touched lives here in the Ottawa Valley with his comedy:
It kind of fits, too, because in a 2008 interview Bob ripped on the Leafs a little.
So this week, I received a package in the mail. The return name on the box was "S.D. Osborne" which made me laugh so hard. Inside was this:
With this written inside:
In case you can't read it, it says: "To Lisa-Marie, my next stunt is dedicated to you! Best wishes, your pal Super Dave." (Lisa-Marie is my full first name, and no, my parents weren't Elvis fans.)
Also this:
Bob as the great character Officer Judy from the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, which Bob wrote for (and received an Emmy with the writing team after the show's abrupt cancellation in 1969). It reads: "To Lisa-Marie, Your letter was a joy to read -- thank you! Best wishes, Officer Judy, Super Dave, Marty Funkhouser -- Bob Einstein."
Yes, you may have also seen Bob on the Larry David show Curb Your Enthusiasm as Marty Funkhouser:
This post may have nothing to do with Carbo, but basically, Bob Einstein rules. Additionally, a huge thanks to Bob's web people, Melissa and Christopher, for their help and friendship.
Scary injury to the Rangers' Marc Staal last night -- he took a slapshot right to the eye. He is expected to make a full recovery, but his lack of a visor has once again ignited the debate about whether the NHL should make visors mandatory. Here's what Carbo had to say about it: when asked about it in 2000, he was against it, and said that it should be up to the players. I'd be interested to know if his stance on the issue has changed any in the 13 years since then. (link)
ETA: On RDS Hockey 360 this evening, Guy commented that at the age of 18 years, a player can decide whether he wishes to wear a visor or not. And there you have it -- no change in his opinion.
Also taking another small off-topic detour:
Stompin' Tom Connors, Canadian folk/country singer best known for "The Hockey Song" which is played in hockey arenas around the world, passed away today at the age of 77. I'm an enormous fan -- my father and I were actually going to go see him live, but never got around to it. Hard to believe that both Stompin' Tom and my father are now both gone. He will be sorely missed.
Here's Stompin' Tom's performance of "The Hockey Song" at the NHL Awards in 2008. This was the last year the awards were held in Toronto before the move to Las Vegas, and also the same year that Guy was nominated for the Jack Adams Award as best NHL head coach.
Those of you who have been following the blog for some time know that I am an Ottawa Senators fan.
Tonight, our star defenceman, Erik Karlsson, was injured during a hit from Matt Cooke in which Cooke's skate cut his Achilles tendon. He requires surgery and will be out indefinitely, if not for the season. I'm not going to get into a debate on Cooke and whether the play was dirty, but I just wanted to say that Karlsson will be sorely missed on the ice and I hope he is feeling better and able to play again as soon as possible.
I hope the readership will forgive me for doing this, but I'm going to do an off-topic blog post. Well, maybe it's sort of on-topic because it is about hockey.
There are very few current players that have managed to capture my imagination and my loyalty the way Guy has. That is not to say that I don't love the current NHL (lockout aside), but I guess I just like the old guys. One of the exceptions to this rule has been goaltender Pascal Leclaire. Regulars to this blog will know that I am an Ottawa Senators fan, and Leclaire came to our team in 2009 when he was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Antoine Vermette. At the time I was furious -- Vermette was one of my favorites (and a player who I believe has a lot of parallels with Carbo). But in time I warmed to the goalie. I was struck by his personality and humility. Those who have played with him have said that he's a great teammate.
Unfortunately, Leclaire battled injuries throughout his career and the expectations when he came to Ottawa were high. The injury bug hit him again with the Senators and he never did live up to those expectations. But I was still a fan anyway. Being a goalie fan is tough -- goaltenders have so much responsibility and often are the first to get blamed after a loss. I'll admit that I got into a few Twitter fights defending Leclaire.
Tonight on L'Antichambre, Leclaire announced his retirement from hockey at the tender age of 30. It's very sad -- he had such great potential, drafted 8th overall in 2001 by Columbus, but again, in the end the injuries were just too much. As of last season (while rehabbing from hip surgery) he was working as a hockey analyst with Radio-Canada, the French language arm of the CBC. I hope that he can continue his TV career, or perhaps even become a goaltending coach at some point. (Edit: per RDS, he is working as an agent, consulting with young players.)
Best of luck in your retirement, Pascal. I'll miss you on the ice.
