A Swan Song for Our National Anthems

 
An almost imperceptible breeze caresses Jacques Plante and Maurice Richard, sending a shiver along the stitching of Nos. 1 and 9, respectively, hung high above center ice at the Bell Center in Montreal. The breeze may have come from the building’s ventilation system or from the collective roar of more than 21,000 fans, celebrating in unison as Alex Kovalev buries one top shelf.  That same subtle wind also makes the stars and stripes and the red maple leaf shudder briefly, both flags sharing the same rafter space with the banners of former Canadiens greats.  It is those flags, and the countries they represent, that are honored in what has become an outdated ceremony prior to every first pitch, puck drop, jump-ball and kick-off in every arena, park and stadium across the professional sporting world of North America.  Nations adopt anthems as a way to celebrate, memorialize and eulogize the shared history of its peoples.  Emerging nations in the nineteenth and twentieth ... [link]

Tags:

Related Stories
1

Penguins Beat Rangers, Reclaim East

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers Sunday afternoon in the first game of a back-to-back, home-and-home series and reclaimed the top spot in the Eastern Conference from the Montreal Canadiens. The Penguins win completed a 7-0 unbeaten record at home for the month of March, and was their 10th win in the last 13 games. With 99-points the Penguins now lead the Eastern Conference, one
1

Handing Out The Hardware - Calder Trophy

The annual NHL Awards ceremony isn't until June 12th but that doesn't mean I can't wildly speculate and make predictions on who I think the awards will go to right now. In Part 1 of our 9 part series, let's see who should take home the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year...
6

Getting to Know Kris Joseph

Next year the Syracuse basketball team with have two guys named Kris on the squad - it's quite a dilemna, since fan favorite Kristof! the Belgian Waffle Ongenaet was here first, but there's an interesting article in the Daily Orange today about ...
1

Conference call with Mike Babcock

In each of his three seasons behind the bench Mike has recorded 50 wins and he has posted an overall record of 160-55-28. With their eighth consecutive 100 point season Detroit has tied the NHL record held by the Montreal Canadiens. With 17 consecutive season in the playoffs Detroit has the longest post season streak in pro sports.
1

Canadiens win first division title in 16 years

Visit ESPN.com for the complete story.
Related Blog Posts
Skate 2 StickLeafs clip Habs 4-2
Leafs down Canadiens TIM WHARNSBY VS. Toronto — Now that the pressure to keep winning no longer hovers over the heads of the Toronto Maple Leafs, they, of course, managed to win. Led by rookies Antron Stralman and Jiri Tlusty, who both scored ...
Skate 2 StickHabs trump Sabres 4-3 in OT
Canadiens pull one out of the fire Higgins is hero. Habs 4, Sabres 3. Caps CH comeback with overtime strike PAT HICKEY, The Gazette Christopher Higgins had a chance for atonement last night and he made the most of it. Higgins failed to score on a ...
Habs Inside/OutAudio: Koivu has break of small bone in foot
Dave Stubbs reports from the Bell Centre that Saku Koivu has a fracture of a "little" bone in his left foot. The captain left the building around 2:30 this afternoon on crutches with his injured foot in a walking brace. He will miss the ...
RumorMeThisKoivu Has Fracture!!
RDS is reporting that Montreal Canadiens forward Saku Koivu has indeed a fracture of a bone in his left foot, and will miss the final three games for the Habs this season. Koivu will be out for the remainder of the season, and coach Carbonneau ...
RumorMeThisKoivu Has A Fractured Foot
RDS is reporting that Montreal Canadiens forward Saku Koivu has indeed a fracture of a bone in his left foot, and will miss the final three games for the Habs this season. Koivu will be out for the remainder of the season, and coach Carbonneau ...
Related News Articles
Montreal Canadiens : Can They Handle It ?
Good news first : Mike Komisarek starts to skate today, at the Bell Center; and normally Guillaume Latendresse should go with the team to Ottawa tomorrow. Isn't that wonderful ? Lately, with all those injuries and the loss in Toronto, there ...
Habs' captain Koivu out for rest of regular season
Saku Koivu has a broken bone in his left foot and will miss the last three of the Canadiens' regular season games. His status for the playoffs is uncertain.
Koivu (broken foot) in doubt for playoffs
Saku Koivu has a broken bone in his left foot and will miss the last three of the Canadiens' regular season games. His status for the playoffs is uncertain. "He's someone with a lot of experience, he's a leader, he's our captain and he's played in ...
Saku Koivu injured, playoffs status uncertain
MONTREAL (AP) -- Saku Koivu has a broken bone in his left foot and will miss the last three of the C...
Canadiens' Koivu has broken bone in foot (AP)
Saku Koivu has a broken bone in his left foot and will miss the last three of the Canadiens' regular season games. His status for the playoffs is uncertain. "He's someone with a lot of experience, he's a leader, he's our captain and he's played in big ...