Have a GET REAL Holiday!!... and Drink Responsibly

Tis the season to spend time with friends and family and this is exactly what we at GET REAL will be doing this holiday season. Our team will spend their holiday resting up and preparing themselves for a hot new year in 2011!

We will be back with more of the GET REAL attitude- along with our opinionated sports articles on GetRealHammered.com - we will be bringing along some new friends like GetRealTickets, GetRealNutrition, GetRealTraining , GetRealSmashed and GetRealHotties

Check us out in early January!

See you in 2011

Happy New Year and Happy Holidays to all!!

Get Real Management

Thrashers' Mascot Found Guilty of Grand Theft Zamboni

Well, not really. But you have to admire the Atlanta Thrashers' ambitious attempt to sell tickets, even if it does come across as a little desperate (but, admittedly, a lot creative).

According to the storyline of the team's latest marketing campaign, "Thrash" stole the team's zamboni in the hopes of getting more fans to pay attention to the team, which is now in fifth place in the Eastern conference with a 17-11-3 record. He was then apprehended, and, in part two of the saga, found guilty of grand theft zamboni, which at first sound just makes me want to play a new hockey-themed video game by Rockstar rather than attend a Thrashers game. Maybe a slight miscalculation on the Thrashers' part to try and be cute.

Unfortunately for Thrash, the only way to free him is to get Atlantans to purchase 5000 additional tickets to the remaining home games in December, which superficially seems about as likely as the Futurama episode where Atlanta was said to have sunk into the Atlantic Ocean. Of course, while Atlanta is 28th in the league in attendance in averaging 11,929 fans each game, that also means it is very possible for the team to squeeze in 1000 more fans in each of the remaining five home games left this year (with a tilt against the New Jersey Devils this Saturday). Hence the admirable attempt at viral marketing. Let's just hope that is indeed 5000 total tickets and not 5000 tickets each game. If not, Thrash had better get comfortable. However, judging by his testosterone-heavy appearance, he should do alright in prison.

Oilers Debut NHL's First Canadian Jeerleading Team as Leafs Make Hall Eat His Words

"Hold on, girls. This could get ugly."

In theory, the Edmonton Oilers picked the perfect night to debut their new Octane cheerleading squad, that is if they had been listening to anything star-in-the-making Taylor Hall was saying in the media in the lead-up to their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

"Hopefully we can compete a lot harder [than on Sunday], because [Toronto] is a team that, if we do, it's there for the taking," Hall said on Monday, one day prior to the Oilers' 4-1 loss to the Leafs. Put simply, he should have known better.

Now, I think most sane hockey fans will be able to agree that the P.K. Subban and Linus Omark situations of the recent past were much ado about nothing in terms of having to do with the lack of respect going around in the NHL among the game's younger players, especially in a day and age where another player seems to be taken off the ice on a stretcher every week thanks to a hit from behind. From that perspective, talk of a 360-degree spin in a shootout and some extra mouthing-off on the ice seems somewhat irrelevant. However, look no further than Hall's comments for a true example of a hockey faux pas. You don't give the opposing team any reason to get up for a game against you. It's just plain stupid, and, yes, disrespectful.

Forget what Hall meant to say, because one has to believe he's not that stupid to openly and blatantly call out a struggling team. The fact is he made it so the usually laclustre Leafs were given added motivation on Tuesday to play better than their usual waiting-for-springtime-to-bloom-again selves.

As such, the Oilers' new cheerleading team, the first employed by a Canadian team, was forced to make its first appearance under relatively harsh circumstances, with the opposition having good reason not to be distracted by anything other than the task at hand yesterday night. Perhaps no one was more focused than Phil Kessel, but that doesn't necessarily have much at all to do with his current scoring slump (read into that however way you like).

Kessel actually had two points on the night, including a goal, as the Leafs proved that either they're much better than the team that lost 5-0 to the Oilers a few weeks ago, or the Oilers aren't as good as their hot streak of 5-1-1 heading into last night would indicate. Considering they are the Leafs after all, it's likely option "B".

Enter Oilers Octane, who will surely give that extra boost to the line-up and the crowd alike needed to get this team into the playoffs. I mean, just looking at their pictures, it's clear that they're beasts on the ice, tough as nails, who clearly know how to take a bodycheck or two... wait, what's that? You mean the cheerleaders won't actually directly contribute to the games' outcomes? They won't be playing and replacing the likes of Andrew Cogliano and Jason Strudwick? Bollocks. Then what's the point of hiring a bunch of average-looking women (with admittedly great bodies) just to get the crowd going? Good question.

All due respect to the cheerleaders, who aren't really all that bad-looking (I was just making a point that the only help the Oilers need is with the actual playing of hockey), all their addition does is pave the way for other Canadian teams to buy into the gimmick that has already befallen 23 American teams. As mentioned in the previous post detailing the initial announcement (link here), the Oilers don't need sex to sell tickets. They do alright on their own, and with the team bound to improve drastically in the years to come with all the young talent being infused into the line-up, it makes little sense for Edmonton to be the first Canadian team to take the ill-advised leap. Now, Toronto, that makes more sense.

Perhaps the clearly overly hormonal Hall, who may still be going through the stages of puberty judging by the babyface look of his, learnt his latest life lesson as a result of maybe trying too hard to impress the team's new "players". Whatever the case, he likely did learn it, which is good news for the Oilers' future. The cheerleaders? Just one more sign hockey in Canada as a whole is going to hell in a handbasket, punctuated by Matthew Hulsizer being one step closer to keeping the Coyotes in Phoenix well into the foreseeable future, with the city of Glendale approving a lease for the team on Wednesday.

"Tik Tok" Was the Sound of Carey Price's Career Ticking away... Now It's the Premise of a Hilarious Parody

Here's a parody of Kesha's "Tik Tok" for you to enjoy. While the lyrics are factually incorrect - Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price actually had a pretty good rookie season - they do make for much hilarity in making fun of the once-criticized, now-beloved, always-hyped goalie, who has proven that he's quite the capable superstar goalie when he puts his extracurricular activities on the back burner... that, or he's just getting better at hiding his bottles of Jack.

Avs Beat Hawks... then Butcher Rhythm to Death

Amazing, isn't it, how a team can look so impressive in scoring seven goals against the defending Stanley Cup champion-Chicago Blackhawks and then... not so much? For the record, Paul Stastny had one goal and two assists in the game while Matt Duchene, ever Stastny's mirror image (not really, but for the sake of this sentence, why not?), had two goals and one assist in the Colorado Avalanche's 7-5 win Monday night. Cause for celebration? No doubt. Cause to loosen up a little and have fun? Count me in. Cause to act like a couple of obnoxious teenage buddies straight out of a 90s sitcom on their way to a kegger, thinking that they might get lucky? I don't think anyone could pull that off and look cool.

No, the Avs should be celebrating the fact that despite numerous injuries to key players, the team has won its last three games and are now in fifth place in the tough Western conference. Good for them. And, while everyone could use a good laugh at their expense, pulling out a choreographed celebration routine is akin to playing with fire. They should be humble and grateful for their success lately, not flaunt it for everyone including the hockey gods to sit and take notice. Although, if they did notice, they admittedly could potentially enjoy it for what it was: a few steps away from being a clear-cut homage to Alfonso Ribeiro's Carlton Banks.

Just One of Jonathan Quick's 51 Saves Against the Red Wings, but the Best of Them All

You read that right. On Monday night, Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick not only shut out the Detroit Red Wings, but he did so in making 51 saves, a new career-high. One has to think that this game amounts to his, pun very much intended, crowning achievement as a number-one goalie in the NHL. He not only posted 51 saves, but he did so against the Red Wings, which is like soon-to-be King David (again, the "King" very much written on purpose) defeating Goliath not with a slingshot, but with his glove. And, I gotta tell you, it's very hard to beat someone to death with a glove instead of a rock... or so I've heard. Kudos to Quick, who now ranks second only to the oddity that is Boston Bruin Tim Thomas in goals-against average (1.51 to 1.83). His 15 wins (third in the league) and .933 save percentage (fourth) aren't too bad either.

Despite Posting Mediocre Numbers in Russia, Nabokov Clearly Needed in NHL

"Aaaaahhh! Something's pulling me! Aaaaahhh! I don't want to go back. It's cold there!"

Evgeni Nabokov’s inevitable return to the NHL should be met with cheers, especially from out of Tampa Bay, where it’s no big secret the Lightning are in desperate need of a goalie that can stop a puck, even if it’s only a regular-season puck.

Right now, the Lightning are in such dire straits goaltending-wise that head-coach Guy Boucher has the unenviable decision of trying to decide every night between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Dee being the goalie that was sent packing out of “Big D” and has crumpled under the pressure of having to be a starter in the hockey hotbed that is Florida, and Dum being the one that can’t keep it together for 140 characters at a time, let alone 60 minutes.

In Mike Smith’s defense, there aren’t many goalies out there that can competently replace a Johan Holmqvist, at least not at the ECHL level. In Dan Ellis’s defense, I don’t think commenting on Twitter about Edmonton Oiler Linus Omark’s shootout winner against him would have been the way to go, even if he still had his account, considering what he had to say in person:

"It's embarrassing for him. You come into a league, a respectful league like this, and you try a little move like that. It's not a very classy thing. That's just the kind of person he is."

Since the shootout is a display of skill and constitutes attempt after attempt at trying to deke out and outsmart the opposing goalie, consider Omark’s pseudo spin-o-rama (because it really was just a wrist shot through the five-hole with some added flash) well within the rules of the game and proper NHL etiquette.

Honestly, he didn’t need to do it, but that’s only because he could have beaten Ellis with a straight-up wrister, since that’s just the kind of goalie he is (3.23 goals-against average, .876 save percentage). I don’t know where Ellis gets off saying “that’s just the kind of person he is” without ever being on the same team as the dude (wait, did Ellis ever play for the Lulea junior team in Sweden???), but his words say more about him than they do about Omark.

The bottom line is that Omark deserves props for pulling out that “little move”, because had he missed he would likely have heard it from the coaching staff afterwards for trying to show up an opponent and maybe have been sent down. That’s the risk he took, and it paid off for him. As it happens, Omark scored, showed huge balls in so doing, won the game, and helped to make the Lightning players look like quite the whiny bunch, because, let’s face it: they contributed a little themselves in that regard. And the Lightning is back to where it’s been every year since the start of the lockout, without a true number-one goalie.

Nabokov may not be the ideal choice for a starter, but he is most definitely better than either one of the two Tampa currently has on-roster. It’s like deciding between Taco Bell and Chinese food as take-out. The Taco Bell proves quite the bang for your buck, is relatively tasty, and satisfying as a meal in general. However, when it comes time for the “postmeal”, shall we say, you’re in for quite the unpleasant experience. Meanwhile, the Chinese looks good on paper, but just ends up leaving you more hungry 15 minutes after the fact. Individual periods are 20 minutes long, so you do the math.

There’s little disputing that other teams are in need of goalies as well (although you can strike the New York Islanders off that list, because their on-ice problems really begin and end with their defense), but consider the Lightning the most viable fit for Nabokov, who, should he decide to come back, would have to go through waivers, as the Collective Bargaining Agreement states in article 13.23: 

“In the event a professional or former professional Player plays in a league outside North America after the start of the NHL Regular Season, other than on Loan from his Club, he may thereafter play in the NHL, during that Playing Season... only if he has first either cleared or been obtained via waivers...”

"I'm getting the sneaking suspicion I'm not well-liked."

Tampa is pretty far down the priority list at 19^th, with the Islanders first. The Lightning has $10,859,459 in cap space. The Islanders have $16,751,920. The other teams ahead of Tampa Bay that may be construed as having goaltending issues to address are: the Ottawa Senators ($1,512,186) and the Chicago Blackhawks ($498,904).

It should be pointed out that Nabokov wasn’t exactly lights out in the KHL, where he had a 3.02 GAA and a .888 save percentage, numbers that are still better than those of Tampa’s goalies, so let’s assume the Lightning is game. But is Nabokov? That right there is the question of the week. Don’t expect an answer all that soon, because last week’s “if Omark’s goal is embarrassing for him, just what embarrasses Dan Ellis?” has yet to be answered.

Belfast Giants Do Their Best Imitations of Mariah Carey, Which Still Isn't very Good, but Clearly Wasn't Meant to Be

You may remember the Belfast Giants as the unfortunate team that served as a safe haven for Theoren Fleury a few years ago in 2005 when he was still trying to get his life back on track. After watching this video, that's likely all you would prefer to remember them as. But it's not like you'll have a choice. So, press play at your own discretion. You've been warned. And Merry Christmas, from the Belfast Giants apparently.

Poetic Justice Served as Ryan Scores Using Koivu's Stick

After Anaheim Duck Bobby Ryan scored on Sunday night, chances are good that he was holding up his stick in the air specifically for Minnesota Wild captain Mikko Koivu to see. He was likely trying to emphasize the fact that even though Koivu had stolen his stick earlier in the play, he had found one alright on his way to putting the game out of reach en route to a 6-2 Ducks victory.

The one good thing about this whole embarrassing incident for Koivu? He had the benefit of not committing such a blatantly illegal act in front of his older brother, Saku, who plays for the Ducks and was scratched due to the flu. Of course, the elder Koivu may have actually gotten sicker watching his younger brother behave as he did later on on SportsCenter. Way to go Mikko... weren't you taught that stealing is wrong growing up? I don't know how they do things in Finland, where customs may vary from our own, but, here, in North America, if we're going to render an opponent useless, we at least have the decency to do so the good old-fashioned way, by laying them out with a shot to the head. Then the stick is fair game. It's not like they'll be using it then.

Live and learn Mikko. Live and learn. Maybe next time, you can actually follow some of your brother's life lessons, you know, at least the ones after the nasty getting-injured-all-the-time and becoming-insanely- loyal-to-one-franchise-the-length-of-your-career-just-so-it-and-its-fanbase-can-turn-their-backs-on-you-in-the-hopes-that-career-underachiever-Alexei-Kovalev-is-signed instead bits.

Ovechkin Fights Dubinsky, Maybe Should Have Waited to Drop 'Em with Semin

Despite all the talk of Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin dropping the gloves with New York Ranger Brandon Dubinsky on Sunday night during the Rangers' 7-0 win, not many are mentioning the fact that it was Ovechkin's teammate, Alexander Semin, that actually took him out of the game in the third period with a shot off the knee.

While he didn't return, it's safe to say that Ovechkin is doing alright, seeing as, as mentioned before, no one is talking about the supposed injury today, but how he instigated a fight with Dubinsky. With his team down 4-0 at the time, Ovechkin delivered an impressive hip check to defenseman Dan Girardi, before looking for more trouble, apparently to be found on Dubinsky's face with his fists.

It was a clear-cut attempt at trying to get his team going and of his frustrations boiling over, especially with the Caps hitting two posts immediately beforehand on a night when little to nothing was going their way. Further proof of that came during the fight, when Ovechkin got taken down by a player he clearly had the initial upper hand on.

The Caps have now lost six in a row, the first time they have struggled this badly under head-coach Bruce Boudreau. Sadly, the promise of President Barack Obama to show up to a Caps game eventually now cannot be interpreted so much as a sign of hockey's increasing popularity in the ciry, but a gesture of goodwill, to help bail out another group of millionaires in these times of uncertainty, deflect attention off them and their underachieving ways if only for one night. As for Ovechkin, he could most certainly borrow the secret service to protect him from Semin from here on out. He's a killer, you know.