Reason #846 why you shouldn't riot: A flash-bang to the balls

Really, Canada?

Frankly, I expected more from our friendly, Molson-loving neighbors to the north.  But, following the Canucks' 4-0 to the Boston Bruins, fans went on a rampage in downtown Vancouver.

Now, besides it being wrong, illegal, dangerous, yada, yada, yada, you really shouldn't riot because, well, you just might catch a flash-bang to your nutsack.  Like this guy...



Actually, that was the best save made by a Canuck all night. Had that been Luongo, it would have gone right through his legs.

But hey, if you don't get your genitals blasted off by police projectiles, you really want to try to capture the moment of your Canadian white-trashiness with a good picture.

Check out the guy trying to get his girl to take a pic of him in front of the flaming car starting at the :10 second mark in the vid below.  When she gets the shot, she jumps in for a couples photo.  Ah, memories.  Boy, there's one for the wedding video!

And I never knew it, but Canadians sure must hate port-o-pots.



But why on earth would you be on top of one. Like this poor sap...



This last one is horrible as rioters attack a man trying to stop people from looting (3:06 mark)

(HT The Big Lead for last two vids)

Michigan vs. Minnesota-Duluth National Championship Open Thread

HEARTBREAK

OT FINAL: Michigan - 2, Minnesota-Duluth - 3

GO BLUE!

Wallpaper Wednesday: 2011 Frozen Four

#6 Michigan vs. #1 North Dakota -- NCAA Frozen Four Semifinal

Thursday, April 7: 6:30 p.m. EST

Xcel Energy Center • St. Paul, Minn.

Hello Frozen Four

Michigan 2

Colorado College 1

Our first Frozen Four since 2008.

HAIL!

Wallpaper Wednesday: Carl Hagelin

28 Years Ago Today

This happened.

For my money, the Miracle on Ice is the greatest sporting event to ever happen. By now we've all heard the story, and most of us have seen the movie Miracle, based off the team in which a maverick coach from Minnesota named Herb Brooks picked who he felt was the best team, but not necessarily the best players, and molded them into a gold medal winner.

The Soviets featured such players as Boris Mikhailov, one of the greatest Russian players ever, and Vadislav Tretiak, the best goaltender in the world at the time.

The United States meanwhile, were led by a group of college kids. Some of them were very good, as they would sign with professional teams soon after the 1980 Olympics, but definitely not on par with the Soviets talent wise.

I won't bore you with the details, but we all know Mike Eruzione, the United States captain, scored the game winning goal with exactly 10 minutes left in the game to give the US the win and set the stage for Al Michaels's famous call, and an eventual gold medal, which they earned by defeating Finland.

13 US players played in the NHL. Neal Broten, who won an NCAA title with Minnesota, scored 923 career points in over 1000 NHL games. Mark Johnson is now the women's hockey coach at Wisconsin, and his son plays for the mens team. Eruzione and goalie Jim Craig, two of the stars of the semifinal game, totaled just 30 NHL games between them, all by Craig. Coach Herb Brooks tragically died in a car accident at the age of 66.

Let me preface this next point by saying that I think an Olympic Gold Medal is the best "trophy" to win in sports. If you gave me a choice between a gold medal and a superbowl, I would take a gold medal without hesitation. I usually come down somewhere between disapproving and apathetic when ESPN does dumb stuff like Who's Now, but if the Miracle on Ice doesn't win the Greatest Highlight, people need to hand in their citizenship. While I get tired of the 1972 Dolphins, I will never tire of hearing about the 1980 Olympic team that shocked the world and united a nation.