Sid's Neighbor Troubles

I've got a few random stories for you today.

First up, the Saint doesn't just face battles on the ice. This summer, he's fighting to have the road to his new home in Nova Scotia paved. From The National Post:

A rutted dirt and gravel road near Enfield, 45 kilometres north of Halifax, peels off from a paved highway and curls through sparsely populated rural lots before ending on the banks of Shubenacadie Grand Lake. A move by residents to cover this dirt has unearthed deep acrimony, dividing neighbours and bringing accusations of vote-rigging and bully politicking.

The quarrel offers a strange blend of small-town politics, feisty homeowners and even a major celebrity.

Take a wild guess at who the celebrity is...

The politics comes from the prime opponents to the paving deal being the area's Member of the Legislative Assembly and his twin brother, the municipality's lawyer, both of whom live at the head of the road. The celebrity comes courtesy of Sidney Crosby, the young hockey star who recently bought a house near the foot of the road and who supports the push to pave.

Long story short: The residents wanted the road paved so badly that the majority have agreed to chip in and pay half of the cost. The twins oppose getting the road paved at the expense of the residents, so they pushed to get a vote for every PERSON listed on the deeds to the homes in the neighborhood. Then they "added 12 to 15 names to each of their six properties, hugely stacking their voting power."


Politicians never cease to amaze me. First of all, if they're living in the same neighborhood as Sidney freaking Crosby, there's a good chance they've got some serious cash, so they can more than afford the approximately $4,600 per resident it is expected to cost. Secondly, there was a vote, and the majority decided that this was the way to go. Although, I seem to remember there was an incident in the U.S. in 2000 where the majority vote didn't matter, either... :P

Moving on, this guy hates Sid. Okay, well maybe "hates" is too strong a word, but there's definitely some bitterness in his article. Methinks the author is an Ovechkin fan who's bending statistics to fit his view that Alex should be "the new face of the NHL." I was going to drop some knowledge on this matter, but why re-invent the wheel? The comment left by Stephen at the end of the article sums up exactly what I would have said quite nicely. The only thing I might add is that maybe Sid scored only 6 goals, but he had 21 assists. In 20 playoff games, Sid averaged 1.35 points per game, while Ovie averaged 1.29 points per game in his 7 playoff games.

Ovie's probably the best goal scorer in the league; there's no way I can deny that. But if you look at the overall package - on the ice and off - The Kid is the best, hands down.

And finally today, while a handful of people might think that Tampa Bay squandered an opportunity with their selection of David Carle in the 7^th round, Gare Joyce (and I) think it was an amazing way to honor Carle's achievements (from ESPN's Page 2):

Stick around for the happy ending. No miracle. No reprieve. No unforeseen plot twist.


Just hockey people stepping up to let Carle know that they weren't going to forget him. That he had to abandon the game, but the game wasn't going to abandon him.

And that's just one more reason to love this game.

Don't forget this is the last week to send in your Project photos!!! :) :) :) :) :) Show off your patriotism to your country and your team!

LATE EDIT: Friends of The Show Robbie and Daily Su have alerted me to the fact that Tampa Bay has signed ex-Pen Mark Recchi to a one year deal worth $1.25 million. SERIOUSLY! What is it with the Lightning snatching up all these Pens players, haha?!