Taking Note Of Taking Note, Hockey In Swenglish

I want you to take note of a blog called Taking Note.

It is a blog by Gregg Drinnan, a veteran sports journalist in Western Canada with a keen eye on the Western Hockey League.

What caught my eye was his amazingly detailed year-by-year Memorial Cup histories. He started way back with 1919 and is now in the mid 1990s. Soon he will be right up to 2008. It is a tremendous online resource for the great history of the Memorial Cup, Canada's junior hockey championship.

Check out this quote from 1953, the year Don Cherry's Barrie Flyers won the Memorial Cup:

"For the record, Cherry had one assist in Game 1, was kept off the scoresheet in Game 2, picked up one minor penalty in Game 3, had a goal in Game 4 (one report said he was "a standout“), and scored once in Game 5 during which he also picked up a fighting major and a minor.

"The Cherry legend includes -- or doesn't include, depending upon to whom you are speaking -- an incident from Game 5 that included Blaine, a St. Boniface defenceman of immense potential whose career would fall victim to the demon rum, and Cherry. Legend has it that Blaine actually chased Cherry around the Amphitheatre in an attempt to get him to fight. "

Wow. Don Cherry never mentions that one on Coach's Corner, now does he?!

Be sure to check out Taking Note's lengthy Memorial Cup histories.

One more blog I've added to my blog roll (see right side column, towards the end) is Hockey In Swenglish. Mattias from Malmo, Sweden writes about Swedish hockey, but in English, hence the site's name. There's not a lot of history there folks, but I have been impressed with the content Mattias has produced so far. Keep up the good work Mattias.