Vancouver Canucks forward Manny Malhotra was invited to join the Vancouver Whitecaps for practice Friday. He did. And he loved it.
And, because it’s Friday, and you are awesome, here’s a teaser video of Malhotra strutting his stuff with the Whitecaps.
You, the fans, have spoken.
The Green Men, Force and Sully, will be one of three inaugural inductees into ESPN’s Hall of Fans on September 19th in Bristol, Connecticut.
The ceremony will be emceed by SportsNation’s Charissa Thompson and includes remarks by ESPN president John Skipper.
Three vintage stadium chairs with individual plaques will be placed on the Bristol lawn and will immortalize the names of the inductees; Captain Dee-Fense (Larry H.) of the Baltimore Ravens and Emily of the University of Alabama (specifically softball) round out the winners.
“To be part of the inaugural class is something extra special,” said Adam Forsythe (Sully), told ESPN’s Kristen Hudak.
“There will be Hall of Fame classes beyond this one, but to be inducted on the first go-round is awesome. It’s pretty cool to think the small idea of two idiots in green suits attending a hockey game three years ago would turn into something so big. To be the only Canadian representative and only hockey representative makes it even better.”
Over the 10 day voting period nearly 50,000 votes were cast, many from you, many for the Green Men.
The Green Men will be immortalized, but they represent Vancouver Canucks fans the world over.
As always, thank you for your support.
As you heard from Dan Hamhuis and can see from the image below, @VanCanucks, the official Twitter account of the Vancouver Canucks, hit 300,000 followers this morning. If you’re a follower, thank you. If you’re not, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?!
Everyone has a crush on Kevin Bieksa. You included?
It’s time the Green Men were recognized for being more than green men.
It’s time to enshrine Force and Sully into ESPN’s Hall of Fans.
The new Hall of Fans is an institution committed to honoring greatness in sports fandom; according to ESPN, “The mission of the Hall of Fans is to discover, elevate, and celebrate greatness in sports fandom.”
In Vancouver, it doesn’t get any greater (or greener) than Force and Sully. The dynamic duo first attended a Canucks game enveloped from head to toe in skintight green nylon in 2009 and although they weren’t credited with any points in the 4-1 win over Nashville, the eccentric, menacing pair assisted the home team by getting under the skin of the opposition (see: Scatchard, Dave) with their antics.
That was the beginning and there’s no end in sight.
Force and Sully have been to more than 50 Canucks home and away games since, typically seated beside the visitor’s penalty box distracting all those who enter, while pumping up the crowd.
The Green Men (both under the name Sully O) are now part of the 10 finalists with a shot at being inducted into the Hall of Fans during its inaugural year. Only three finalists will be chosen, so the boys need your help.
CLICK HERE to cast your vote for Force and Sully – the men brave enough to don taut suits as thin as a slice of cheese, that provide about as much coverage as SPF 5 sunscreen, in order to give the Canucks an edge.
You can vote once a day from now until August 31st.
It’s not easy being green, it’s even harder getting into the Hall of Fans.
Dan Hamhuis is visiting the Canucks Hockey School today and this morning he took part in an intense Q&A session with the participants.
Best question of the day so far:
Kid: “Who’s your best friend on the team”
Hamhuis: “I like being friends with the goalies so they stop the puck if I make a mistake.”
I’m excited to meet Derek Joslin. I’m excited to meet all the new Canucks, naturally, but Joslin is already shaping up to be a special player based on his first name alone.
He’s a Derek, so he’s family.
Plus I want to get his take on being named Derek, since apparently it’s a name no one uses anymore and is “immune to rehabilitation,” according to our friends over at BBC.
Tim Hemming, the Canucks IT guru who keeps my phone running despite it not having legs, forwarded me THIS ARTICLE two days ago. Give it a glance. It’s hilarious. What I learned is that Derek is out as a name and, truth be told, it was never really in.
“It’s 1,158th on the baby name list, equal with Ace, Kofi and Om”
Ace, Kofi and Om? Unless we’re talking Ace Ventura, I have never met anyone with those names. I do, however, know a handful of Dereks, and yes, Derek Jeter is included as someone I “know.”
So I wrote in to the BBC to defend my good name, and that of Joslin and Jeter.
HERE’S THE FOLLOW UP ARTICLE, complete with a photo of me and my son I submitted for them to use. This is a hilarious article to read (and is worth reading all the way down for Bland’s comments alone), but I’m curious as to how the name Derek has served Joslin throughout his life.
Having signed with the Canucks this summer, it clearly isn’t hindering him.
DEREK’S UNITE!
Derek Bonus Quiz: Can you name the Dereks above? Some have the first name, others use it as a last name, some are real, some are fake.
Good luck and Derekspeed.
In memory of Rick Rypien, who died a year ago August 15th, the 2012 edition of the NHLPA’s Goals and Dreams Cup is taking place in his home town of Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, today.
As part of the festivities, a Rick Rypien Memorial Hockey Camp is being run from August 13-17th, and today Vancouver Canucks defenceman, and Rypien’s dear friend, Kevin Bieksa dropped by.
The above photo was taken by the Canucks crew in Alberta covering the event. This was part of a brief Q&A Bieksa did with the kids. On the very first question, Juice was thrown a curve ball: “my mom has a crush on you,” beamed the youngster. “That’s not a question, that’s a comment!” replied Bieksa, tongue-in-cheek.
Follow @VanCanucks Thursday for coverage of the event, with a feature video expected to be up on Canucks.com early next week.
The winner of the Canucks in the Summer deviantArt contest is: “Summer” by peanutjester
The voting as intense. It looked like a one horse race (which is technically just a horse running, I guess) at first, with “Canucks in the Summer” by Bleezer leading the way. The poll closed Tuesday at noon PST and somehow, peanutjester swooped in and captured the title and the Canucks team-signed stick with 30.64% of the votes.
Overall peanutjester collected 514 of 1,674 votes.
Thanks to everyone who arted and/or voted!
What do the Canucks do in the summer? According to the final five entries in the Canucks In The Summer deviantArt contest, they hit the links, sell lemonade, play volleyball and so much more.
Below are the final five entries, in random order, as voted by the members of the #VancouverCanucks page on deviantArt. To vote for your favourite and help determine the winner, go to Canucks.com and select the name that matches the photo below in the poll on the homepage. The winning piece of art earns its creator a team-signed Canucks stick and a spot in the Fort Nucks Art Hall Of Fame.
*Note - The winning entry was originally set to be chosen by a secret panel of Canucks Employee Judges, including myself, but since I wouldn’t know art if it hit me in the face, I’ll leave it up to you, loyal Canucks fans everywhere. Thanks for your help.
ENTRY #1
“Canucks in the Summer” by Bleezer
ENTRY #2
ENTRY #3
“Summer Sizzle - Wet Coast Style” by tony-p-power
ENTRY #4
“Canucks in the Summer” by bonsoirdebonsoir
ENTRY #5
