Snark break ... that was quite Ruud of him ...

No word of a lie. For years, the Ottawa 67's had the slogan "Hockey With Bite." Their NHL counterparts have co-opted it; that it also Jarkko Ruutu was doing, plus a Finn would never miss a chance to parody something a Swedish player was accused of doing.

The Senators players are beyond mocking, although did you see Eugene Melnyk out on the ice celebrating with the world junior team after it won the gold medal on Monday? Granted, it was a proud moment for Canadians from Barbados to Vancouver Island.

The topic to turn your nose up at today: Tonya Harding is scheduled for a mixed martial arts fight in Detroit. Spare the wisecracks. It was 15 years ago and God forbid there ever would be a woman in figure skating who didn't conform to the stereotypes. She should be thanked for actually making Nancy Kerrigan relevant for three months back in 1994.

Julián de Guzmán has never been shy about criticizing the Canadian Soccer Assocation. Calling it "a cancer" in an interview with The Canadian Stretford End has some serious damn factor, though. (Our senior men's national team should have a score like the one Sam had with that inteview.)

The Globe & Mail has its sweeping take on hockey violence.

As Jason Giambi returns to Oakland, six words that make neck hairs stand on end: "Jack Cust as an everyday outfielder."

Today is the 15th anniversary of the release of Cabin Boy. Count yourself lucky that is not being broken out for a full post, although the day is young.

This post is worth nothing, but this is worth noting:

• Is anyone up for taking bets that John Tavares ends up playing the season out with the Oshawa Generals?
• Wish former Niagara IceDogs star Stefan Legein well in his return to hockey. Have a heart.
• Ottawa native Tyler Holmes did his part to help the Tulsa Golden Hurricane win their bowl game -- they rushed for 439 yards vs. Ball State in a blowout win in the GMAC Bowl.

Kid Taylor is Hall on wheels...

It's almost as if Taylor Hall is to John Tavares as Miley Cyrus is to Hilary Duff.

The Calgary Kingston hockey phenom has been tapped as the the next teenage wunderkind whom the Canadian media will build up, then obsess over whether they're obsessing over him too much and too soon, then try to build a case that he's not such a big deal and that they were forced into overhyping him.

(Seriously, anything you read about Tavares not being the NHL's No. 1 overall draft choice should slide off like water off a duck's back.)

This is mostly a smartass way of saying Kid Taylor got some love from TSN's Sportscentre last night during a feature on the Canadian under-18 hockey team that's headed over to Piestany, Slovakia, for next week's Ivan Hlinka tourney. (Frontenacs defenceman Taylor Doherty is also going -- score two for young men with unisex names.)

This means some overconcerned type on a message board has already expressed concern that "at this rate he's going to become the Peyton Manning of the OHL in terms of being a little overexposed." That's the Canadian way, like crabs, pulling down on the ones who try to swim to the top? For shame.

For lack of anything less cliche, it's going to be a gas to watch Hall tear up the OHL for the next two seasons.

(Now, to totally torture the hockey/pop music analogy, does this mean Sidney Crosby is Avril Lavigne? Short answer: No, Avril has outgrown her whiny phase. It's good to know at least one person from Napanee has, huh?)

While we're here, four nits to pick:

1. For the love of peat, can reporters on the Hockey Canada beat stop using that phrase "Canadian soil" once and for all? Everyone does it, sure, but that's no logic at all. "Canadian soil" is an annoying bit of faux-gravitas that has the added irritant of being wrong, since hockey is played on ice.
2. Can TSN once and for all retire the Making Boys Into Men trope that it rolls out every time it covers a Hockey Canada team? Believe it or not, there are ways to grow into a man that don't involve laying the body on a Finland defenceman.
3. Is anyone else put off when teenaged hockey players talk about their peers using hockeyspeak? The quote Ryan Ellis from the Windsor Spitfires gave TSN's Jermain Franklin about Hall...

   "(The) 2010 draft just can't come fast enough for the kid. He's unbelievable -- speed, size, skill, talent, he's got it all, the whole package. He's a really reat player, a really a great kid."

   ... just as easily could have come from a 45-year-old coach.
   
   You have to credit Ellis, though -- he's doing a service for the reporters on the junior hockey beat by being a quote-machine security blanket. Far too many have had to deal with teens who are too shy to give more than one- or two-word answers and ended up so bummed out that they went home and wondered if they should just give up and go work at Best Buy.
4. Why doesn't TSN's website allow readers to embed video clips on a website, the way that almost every major American media website does now?

Related:
Hall among hockey's young guns to watch for (TSN.ca)

Movin' On Up: Rich Ricci joins the Generals, reunites with DiPiero

The Oshawa Generals are looking to take the next step in the upcoming OHL season after bowing out in the Eastern Conference final this past spring to the Belleville Bulls. 

A new face behind the bench for the Generals will be former St. Mike’s Buzzers coach Rich Ricci. He will be entrusted to guide the team along with old friend and current head coach Chris DiPiero.

Ricci joins the team as an associate coach and assistant GM. “I am very excited about the upcoming year. I have been afforded a tremendous opportunity along with tremendous responsibility,” says Ricci.

DiPiero and Ricci have a long history together that can be traced back to their days as teammates, playing at St. Michael’s College School Arena in Toronto. “Chris DiPiero and I have known each other since about the age of 9-10. We played hockey together at St Mike's, attended the high school together, went to U of T together, coached the Buzzers together for 7 yrs and have been the best of friends for 30 plus years.”

The Buzzers are coming off a year in which they lost only 4 games in regulation time in a 49 game regular season. The Buzzers were highly touted to make a long playoff run but fell short in the second round against their heated rivals, the Markham Waxers. The Waxers are coached by Rich Cornacchia, who led the Generals to a Memorial Cup title in 1990.

Although there may have been some banter between Ricci and the Generals in early spring, he indicates the talks did not begin in earnest until well after the Buzzers season ended and the ownership situation in Oshawa was shored up. “There were some casual talks over a period of time but they heated up quickly when the ownership changed in Oshawa recently.”

The ownership group, as it stands, consists of current Florida Panthers bench boss, Peter DeBoer, Rocco Tulio, and two time Stanley Cup Winner Adam Graves. “I am extremely excited about our 3 owners and what they bring to the table,” says Ricci.
Meanwhile back at SMCS arena, Ricci believes the Buzzers couldn’t be in more capable hands as former head of scouting

Carmen Cogliano takes over as GM.

“Carmen Cogliano was the only person I interviewed as I was confident that he was the right person, the only person. His contacts in hockey at all levels is an asset and being a parent here previously will undoubtedly assist him in his recruiting of players “ Cogliano is the father of Edmonton Oiler Andrew Cogliano, a Buzzers grad.

The Buzzers announced this past week that Greg Kelly will be their new coach.