Habs Hockey Heaven & Bolts - Bruins

So once again because of this stupid schedule I worked until Saturday morning and at 8 am Mom picked me up so we could cruise the yard sales. Because of the incessant Halifax rain (over 5 weeks and counting) I've forgotten what the sun looks like. It didn't come out yesterday morning, but it did hold off long enough for us to grab a few treasures.

Chief among them was an antique chair for $10. It needs refinishing and upholstery, but it IS an antique and matches quite well with the Ponderosa style furniture I have in my bedroom.

Last night was the first time in awhile Mom and I sat down to watch a game together, and of course we had little choice. We caught the Bruins and Bolts going at it, and as usual I was unimpressed with Boston. This is a talented team that reverts to Thugs On Ice when they lose.

It's totally predictable, repulsive and needless. Horton and Lucic were the culprits, with Horton throwing a punch at Dominic Moore and Lurch clocking Hedman. In real life when they get frustrated, is their first instinct to throw a haymaker too? I have to wonder sometimes. I don't mind a legitimate fight. I do mind bullying, even on the ice.

And if PK Subban ever shows such little maturity and frustration as Brad Marchand did, smashing his stick to pieces in frustration on the bench, will CBC call that being engaged in the game too? My two year old nephew proved more of an adult when he got frustrated with his toy truck, walked away from it, then asked for help and came back to it later. How pathetic is that?

I don't get how Boston is continually lauded for this stuff by hockey writers the world over, but if Montreal does it then it shows how juvenile and classless we are. What I truly find galling is that CBC - a Canadian publicly funded network - is so full of Boston homers that nothing the Bruins ever do is wrong or inexcusable in their eyes.

Meanwhile Subban is an affront to the sport. Yeah, go soak your heads and I'm talking to you Millbury, Healy and the "I'm not a homer" Grapes, who blamed the refs for costing Boston last's night game. Cause the 3 goal deficit was all on the zebras I guess.

This is why I prefer twitter. More insightful commentary, even from the so-called "homers". While I'm on the subject of twitter, I do tend to ignore a lot of trolls that like to engage me mostly because they seriously lack for originality. Why is an original thought too much to ask? People, at least show some creativity, and if you don't follow the Habs don't even think about trying to educate me about my fave team.

Today I crawled out of bed after finally sleeping, something I didn't do the day before, and Mom wants to go to the flea market. The week before we had spotted a Saku Koivu Canadiens game jersey, complete with certificate of authenticity, for $100. We just didn't have the money at the time.

I figured it would be gone this weekend but we went anyway, supposedly in search of some books and a new coat for my grandmother, who is particular beyond belief about what she will wear. We struck out on the books and coat, but the jersey was still there.

Of course, I had to have it. And I just got paid on Thursday.

"Can't believe it's still here," says Mom, but you have to remember that Halifax is largely comprised of Pens and Leafs fans more than Habs fans, and in order to sell this sweater the dealer had to run across a rabid Habs fan walking around a flea market first thing Sunday morning sporting a wad of cash.

Enter yours truly.

He wouldn't come down on the price and it's hard to blame him. It's a beautiful sweater, never worn with the tags still on and in mint condition so it's really a steal if you ask me. It's a game jersey with the tie downs and everything, and after doing a quick internet check I confirmed the sweater is legit. I forked over the dough.

"It's a good deal," he told me. "I sold the Jose Theodore one for $200 and I've got a Marc-Andre Fleury one for $250 I'm going to try to sell next." He's thinning out his collection. He has quite a lot of nice stuff, including a Bobby Orr autographed photo. He's also got collector plates he's offloading for $20 a pop, well worth the price.

But it's the sweater that was the best piece and now I have a Habs jersey finally. Of course I'm never ever wearing it. We got it home and realized there was a dilemma. How were we going to display it? Prices for cases peg near the $300 mark, and there's just no way I'm dropping that for a case.

Bro did an internet search and got advice from a guy who converted an old bookshelf to house his memorabilia. So we did the same. I just need to get some glass to front the sweater this week and it's all set!

Naturally this necessitated an entire re-arrangement of the Shrine, but now that it's done I think the room and my collectibles look so much better. What do you think?

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