04/20/24
January 21, 2003
After being taunted during last night's game, Edmonton Oilers Coach Craig MacTavish ripped the tongue out of Harvey the Hound, the Calgary Flames' mascot, tossing it into the crowd.
Strangely, the mascot has kept silent about the whole affair. But seriously...I'm not entirely keen on the idea of having mascots at hockey games...when they introduced Fin at Canucks games, it seemed like it was something the league had mandated. Just another thing to keep the kiddies entertained, I suppose (and that can be merchandised up the wazoo).
posted by filmgoerjuan at 10:38 AM on January 21, 2003
You'd think that the hockey bigwigs would learn to not have the mascots near the opposing team's bench or players. There have been NUMEROUS incidents of coaches or players taking a swing or assaulting an obnoxious mascot. Theo Fleury is the most obvious one, but there have been videos of minor league coaches popping the mascot in the face, or players squirting water on them. If you have to have a mascot for the kiddies, then just say "Don't go within 20 feet of the opposing team." By the way, I'll give $20 Canadian to whoever pushes Carlton the Bear down the stairs on national television. The Maple Leaf mascot doesn't even make sense because they don't play any more in the arena (Maple Leaf Gardens) that was on Carlton.
posted by grum@work at 10:50 AM on January 21, 2003
$20 Canadian!?!? That's hardly anything!
posted by jasonspaceman at 10:59 AM on January 21, 2003
Yeah, but Carlton is a better name than Bay... or York.
posted by mkn at 11:30 AM on January 21, 2003
According to Carlton's NHL.com page, "When he's not entertaining the fans, Carton likes to stay at home and take in Leafs' game, where he watches closely the play of his current favorite player, Tomas Ka"bear"le, while eating giant pretzels and arena nachos. The Bear also likes to listen to his favorite group, "Bear" Naked Ladies or watch his favorite movie, The Bad News Bears." That Ka"bear"le thing is enough to make me want to push him down the stairs for free. I'd do it, too, if he wasn't listed as 6'4", 260lbs. There's no way your friends would ever let you forget it if you got your ass kicked by a man in an animal costume.
posted by Samsonov14 at 11:50 AM on January 21, 2003
Mascots be damned. What the league needs to implement are mandatory 18-21 year old cheerleaders. The Canes' got 'em. I want them everywhere. The Isles have something similar, but they aren't visible enough. And this is the first contribution I can think of the South has offered to hockey that is worth a look. or two, or three....uh, can you tivo back for a second....I think I saw butt cheek.
posted by garfield at 03:50 PM on January 21, 2003
Ilya Kovalchuk on Craig MacTavish: "He was the last one in the NHL to play without the helmet, so he probably had the last brains knocked out a long time ago." (Source Scroll down to "Seen, heard and made up...") Colorful Ilya commented on MacTavish sending his goons after him in Edmonton-Atlanta's last meeting, where he "fought" Oilers young star Mike Comrie by pulling his hair. This feud actually started last season, around an illegal stick, and a taunt not forgotten by MacTavish: "There's a lot of hockey left to be played with him and it's something that will definitely be seeded in the back of my mind for a long time."
posted by qbert72 at 01:21 AM on January 22, 2003
Nice link. MacTavish has always been a hothead. I remembered that he was the last NHL player to play without a helmet, but I had no idea that he served time in jail. I was about nine at the time, so I guess that’s no surprise. Apparently he was sentenced to a year in jail after an alcohol-related vehicular homicide in Boston (he was a 9th round Bruins pick in 1978). He missed the whole ‘84-’85 season. When he got out, he was picked up by the Oilers, where he later won three of his four Stanley cup rings (the other was with the ’94 Rangers). So anyway, if this is the worst thing he’s doing these days then good for him.