Yesterday (Language warning)

Take a good look at the picture to your left because that will likely be the calmest this post gets.  There are two things that I would like to address: France getting bounced out of the World Cup and the Hockey Hall of Fame naming its new inductees.  Before I get into either one, I would like to also say that the NHL Awards ceremony is tonight, so that should be fun.  Friday is the NHL draft, which save for the top three picks, rarely ever sees players make the direct jump to the senior circuit.

Now, on to the subjects for today.  Before I begin, if you happen to dislike salty language, please stop reading now or skip to the second subject, as the first subject is full of it.  Still here?  Okay.  Fuck you, France!  You didn't deserve to be in the World Cup and you damn sure acted like you didn't want to be there.  The 2010 version is a fucking disgrace and puts Zinedine "headbutt" Zidane to shame.  How bad was it?  Well, if the president of your country is calling the national football team a disgrace, that should say everything you want to know.  Throw in the poor sportsmanship after the game against South Africa, the soap opera before that, and the fact that the team got shitty flying arrangements back home, and it is easy to see why there isn't enough expletives for France.  And I didn't even mention that they screwed Ireland out of a spot that they rightfully deserved.  France, this is justice for your shit and you should have known that karma is a bitch.  Now, you are going home with your tail between your legs and a lesson in respect, you arrogant pricks!

Second thing I'd like to talk about: the Hockey Hall of Fame naming its inductees.  I am not surprised that most of the names up for induction weren't named, as very few, if any, really stood out.  No Steve Yzerman, no Brett Hull, no Luc Robitaille, and no Grant Fuhr, which was last year's class.  This year, it was Dino Ciccarelli, Cammi Granato, and Angela James.  It says something about the induction class when the two easiest inductions are women, and don't think of me as being chauvanist because both Granato and James did a lot to put women's hockey on the map in both the United States and Canada, respectively.  However, the fact that Ciccarelli is in, after a few years, speaks of how little most of the nominees were thought of for this year.  And even Ciccarelli was pretty much a pity selection, as even with the 600-goal career, he never won a Stanley Cup, wasn't necessarily recognized as a spectacular player, and wasn't all that great off the ice, all of which explains his exclusion from the HHOF for a few years since he was eligible for induction.  I guess the only real surprise here was Joe Nieuwendyk not making it, as it would have seemed that he had enough on the resume to make it.  Not spectacular, mind you, but enough to be included this year.  Everyone else, you could make a good argument as to why they shouldn't be inducted this year.