Friday Links: Eye of the Storm

It's the last day of the first month of 2014. Seems like New Year's was just yesterday, & I was waking up at noon with a mild hangover.

That's because it was yesterday - Wednesday was a piece of shit & I had Thursday off, so I had myself a Whiskey Wednesday. I recommend it every once in a while.

BLUES NEWS:

• From the "Well Fucking Duh" Department, the Blues want to be on top of the Central going into the Olympic Break. Taking a look at the schedule, the Blues have 5 games left - 4 of them at home - with the only seeming tough match-up being the Bruins next Thursday, while the Blackhawks have 4 road games against the California teams & the Phoenix Arizona Coyotes. It's not a given, but it's very much doable. [STLToday]
• T.J. Oshie does everything, and he does it brilliantly. Which is why I thought that Stan Bowman saying that Brandon Saad "just has more to his game" than Teej was the most ridiculous thing to come out of the Scott Burnside article. It's also why I named my cat Oshie, though I did that almost 4 years ago. [STLToday]
• On Monday February 3rd from 1-7, the Blues will be holding a Blood Drive in a number of locations across St. Louis to support the Red Cross. More information here: [Blues]
• Have you seen Jaroslav Halak's helmet for Slovakia yet? It's the Slovakian equivalent of Lee Greenwood's wet dream. Jaro, BTW, is slated to start tonight. [Frozen Notes]

KNOW YOUR ENEMY - THE CAROLINA HURRICANES:

• For all the hockey news & coverage of things out of The Triangle, check out Canes Country. (And will someone please go see the new Robocop so SBNation can take down these annoying front page ads?) [Canes Country]
• As of right now, the Hurricanes are 5th in the Metropolitan Division, but are only a point out of the top three, which proves that the only thing more ridiculous than Carolina being in the "Metropolitan" division is how terrible that division is. If the Penguins lose a single playoff game in the first two rounds they should fall on their own swords in shame. ...still, the Canes are looking for "breathing room" before Sochi. [Raleigh News & Observer]
  

HOCKEY NEWS:

• Last night there were 10 games, the biggest highlight being the Habs topping Boston. [NHL.com 1/30]
• Five games tonight, including the Rangers and the Islanders playing [checks game notes] INDOORS? *Yawn*... [NHL.com 1/31]
• Ben Bishop had to leave last night's Tampa loss to the Sens with an injury... [Raw Charge]
• ...which I personally blame entirely on Greg Wyshyski calling Big Ben the leader for the Vezina Trophy yesterday. [Puck Daddy]
• Plans for the Flames' new arena have possibly leaked...not to be confused with the leaks in the Saddledome. [Matchsticks & Gasoline]
• Semyon Varlamov has signed a new 5-year extension that will be worth $5.9 million per year, that the Avalanche will in no way come to regret ever at all - nope not them, not even a little, why would they? [Mile High Hockey]
• Johan Franzen will miss the Olympics due to "headaches." Which I'm assuming is Swedish for "concussion." Either that or "too many donkey punches." I learned all my Swedish watching cooking shows. [Red Wings]
  
• From CrossCheckRaise, a man was allowed to play some pond hockey at sunrise on the Capital Reflecting Pool. Not only that, but he took some video of his time from the perspective of the puck. I'd like to put my support behind holding next year's Winter Classic in that exact place and time. [Extra Mustard SI.com]
• At around noon today, USA Hockey will announce who will Captain the team in Sochi, so stay tuned to find out that it's obviously Ryan Suter if David Backes gets the assignment. [USA Hockey]
• As part of the run up to Sochi, Chris Peters names the 17 biggest goals in the history of USA Hockey. You already know what number one is, but among the first 16 are goals from men & women, the Worlds, the World Juniors (John Carlson only at #8? Seriously?), the World Cup of Hockey, & even sled hockey! [United States of Hockey]

OTHER SHIT & STUFF & THINGS & JUNK:

• To promote the Sydney International Food Festival, they've put together dishes from around the world modeled after their respective nations flags - for example, Italy's is a row of basil (green), pasta (white...ish), & tomatoes (red). Some really cool designs that now I want to eat because goddamnit that made me hungry. I could totally go for some of that Thailand flag! [This Is Marvelous]
• Remember my cat, Oshie? I don't know how, but I'm pretty sure he's the inspiration for these Texts From My Cat. [Sad And Useless]
• Did you know that Abraham Lincoln is in the Wrestling Hall of Fame? Or that there's a statue of George Washington in Britain, but to honor his wish of "never again setting foot on British soil," they shipped in actual Virginia soil to mount the statue on? Here's the skinny on those & 19 other insanely American facts you probably didn't know. A little Buzzfeed-y, but still worth the time, as America always is. [Huff Post]
  
• Ashley, aka, OrganicallyEvilData-from-Star-Trek-TNG, earns a stick-tap with this interview of her idol, film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who has edited every Martin Scorsese film since Raging Bull. I still haven't seen Wolf of Wall Street yet, BTW, so what say you GTers, is it worth my time? [Film.com]

VIDEOS:

Anna Kendrick, who's not only David Backes' biggest celebrity crush but mine too, was "going" to be in a Super Bowl commercial for Newcastle beer...so here's her talking about what might have "been."

Epic Lloyd, half of the genius behind the Epic Rap Battle of History, laid down a beat in praise of a different kind of beer - the cheap kind. This will probably end up being me on Sunday.

Do you have a video that's not beer related? Sounds sketchy, but send it to me anyways & I might toss it up. Also, other links.

• jasonmcadams1120 AT gmail DOT com
• @JMill1120

It's game day, so come back & read the game day updates & previews. Allons-y Blues!