RIP Brad McCrimmon

Goodbye and farewell, Brad McCrimmon.  Flames Captain and key member of the greatest Calgary Flames squad in franchise history.  Thanks for the memories and, in particular, for being such a big part of that magical year.

Everyone seems to be calling him "Beast," but I remember all the players calling him "Sarge" in the Calgary Herald post-game interviews I'd read voraciously back in the day.  Never got the same glimpse of the personality that we did players like Jim Peplinski, Joe Nieuwendyk, Theo Fleury or Lanny McDonald, but it was clear that Brad McCrimmon was a player whose presence made a difference.  So glad to have been a fan, and so very sorry to see you go before your time.

A ring-a-ding-dong-dandy

Anyone else out there missing Ed Whalen? Man, there was a sportscaster with personality. Don't get me wrong...I love Peter Maher, but he's the radio guy and that's different.

As for the boys at Sportsnet, their cookie-cutter looks and Armani suits will never evoke the same kind of nostalgia as good old Ed. And I'll bet you'll never hear them refer to "a little fisticuffing in the corner" and offer such sage words of advice as "it's 2-1 Oilers, and if the Flames don't score, they're not going to win this hockey game."

Dear Ed: We miss ya, man.

A Win, A Win...

Whew. About last night. Not as good as we'd hoped, but not nearly as bad as we'd feared. Seems Iggy and the boys have it in them after all. Which we knew, but wondered how they'd gotten so good at hiding it so well.

Welcome to FlamesNation

Welcome to FlamesNation.com! What is this blog? Truth is, I'm not really sure yet, other than the musings of a long-time, die-hard fan of the Calgary Flames. True, 1989 is a long time ago, and 2004 was a cruel tease (unless you believe, as I do, that our boys were robbed in Game 6). So hey, let's see where this goes, shall we?