Monday, May 07, 2007

Pucks & Politics


I've got to hand it to Hugh McFadyen - he may just have found a winning issue in the Manitoba election:


Bring pro hockey back to Winnipeg: Manitoba Tories

WINNIPEG — Manitoba's provincial election campaign has turned its attention to hockey with the Conservatives promising to bring the NHL back to Winnipeg.

Standing alongside former Winnipeg Jet Thomas Steen, Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen said he'll work with the private sector to bring back the team, who left Manitoba a decade ago.


Yeah, I know, I know. It's got that NDP "more vacations, axe ATM fees" feeling to it, but it's sure a lot more fun to talk about than taxes or the environment.

Between this and the Shane Doan insanity, I got to thinking about other times when the national pastime...and the other national pastime have intersected. Off the top of my head:


-Stephen Harper as a guest commentator on TSN last fall and his oft talked about but rarely worked on hockey history book.

-Gilles Duceppe promises Quebecers their own hockey team at international events during the last election campaign. No doubt the thought of Patrice Brisebois coughing up the puck in a key game scared voters away.

-John Manley's ill-fated NHL bail-out to help Canadian teams deal with the sinking dollar.

-The cross-over stars, such as Ken Dryden who have taken up a seat in the House.

-The Richard riot, which had a ton of political causes and consequences.

-Countless photo opps, bets, tortured analogies, etc...


That's all I got without cheating; a quick google search led me to this article with several anecdotes, including the time Brian Mulroney told off Eric Lindros.

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6 Comments:

  • My favourite Winnipeg Jet was Jim Kyte. Man, could that deaf phucker ever fight.

    By Blogger Raymaker, at 10:25 p.m.  

  • If Winnipeg gets a pro hockey team, won't Calgary want one too?

    (I was going to say Toronto, but that would have been too easy.)

    By Blogger C4SR, at 11:29 p.m.  

  • what a tard! how do you spell "reaks of desperation"??? if that isn't nanny state economic interventionism, i don't know what is. other "brilliant" proposals: no legal aid for convicted criminals, the justicve dept is to focus on "getting convictions"...among other patently absurd proposals. the scary thought is that there is actually a demographic out there that is dumb enough to buy into this crap.

    By Blogger canuckistanian, at 1:09 p.m.  

  • Stephen Harper a) isn't writing the hockey book, he's having people write it for him, as most people in his position do and b) is sitting on the hockey history book until right before the next election.

    By Blogger dru, at 5:56 p.m.  

  • Calgary
    I am with you brother ..in 95 it swung the 14 urban ridings the Libs were counting on ...the NHL may well do the same 12 years later ..bad economics but good politics and looking forward to our Federal Liberal Candidate John Loewen who led the charge and his position ....a little boost to a mundane campaign ...

    By Blogger Browners Blog, at 8:24 p.m.  

  • If Winnipeg gets a pro hockey team, won't Calgary want one too?

    You've got your Alberta cities mixed up. It's Edmonton that is in need of a hockey team.

    By Blogger Brian in Calgary, at 12:37 p.m.  

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