OT: Around the NHL: Mac is the best player in the NHL, his contract says so
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HandshakeLine
A real jerk thing
Buddy Bizarre
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I think this is kinda shitty.
www.espn.com
Czech govt. to NHL: Don't bring Russian players
The Predators and Sharks, who are set to play in the Czech capital of Prague next month, have been told their Russian players are not welcome in the country.
Gurglesons
Registered User
I think this is kinda shitty.
Czech govt. to NHL: Don't bring Russian players
The Predators and Sharks, who are set to play in the Czech capital of Prague next month, have been told their Russian players are not welcome in the country.
Yeah Czech’s have no reason to not want militant Russians in their country …… no reason at all. Why would Jagr wear 68?
HandshakeLine
A real jerk thing
Lol, yeah, why would we want a country that invaded us (twice if we count '45), shot and tortured thousands of us, and keeps blowing up shit here illegally? We're so mean.I think this is kinda shitty.
Czech govt. to NHL: Don't bring Russian players
The Predators and Sharks, who are set to play in the Czech capital of Prague next month, have been told their Russian players are not welcome in the country.
Russia can go f*** ooooooooff. '45, '48, '68, '89 tend to sour a people.
I realize that NHL players are in a hard position and are often apolitical, but man, tensions are high for a reason, and this country has been brutally f***ed by Russia (sorry, Russian-led USSR!) often before. People here do not like Russia unless said people happen to be neo-nazis. Or they can denounce the current offensive, but that's putting Russian players at risk.
Frankly, it's an unwinnable situation in a lot of ways, but this is probably the best outcome all around unless we have some Russian players who can take some principled stances and have dual citizenship.
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Yeah, it's not surprising. I also wonder if it might be a bit of a relief for those players given what Putin's currently getting up to. Whatever their personal stances are, they have to know they won't be received with open arms.
What *is* surprising is taking this long to make this announcement, but I suppose they didn't want to give the NHL much in the way of lead time to try and negotiate.
HandshakeLine
A real jerk thing
The last 24 hours have brought back lots of memories of 1956 and 1968 so I'm not surprised. If Putin had been ratcheting things back (and wasn't basically torturing and murdering entire swaths of the Ukrainian countryside) things would probably be status quo.
But y'know, this isn't some border skirmish.
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BlindWillyMcHurt
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I mean... on one hand I think it's a little silly to get upset that a guy like Evgeni Malkin doesn't make some grandiose statement in his second language only to likely get torched by the media.
But uh... Czechia and Russia have KIND OF a history so...
But uh... Czechia and Russia have KIND OF a history so...
HandshakeLine
A real jerk thing
People should really look up the 1968 Olympic hockey games if they don’t get it.
I mean, it’s sort of like that dumb meme about My Little Pony in Schindler’s List but some people need that.
I mean, it’s sort of like that dumb meme about My Little Pony in Schindler’s List but some people need that.
Zirakzigil
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Stop trying to suck up to the mods!
I agree with you though. As a Calgarian Im more worried about the 2nd round and the Oilers though. Markstrom has brutal numbers against them and no coach is going to start their backup (Vlader) deliberately in the playoffs. I think the Flames are a much better rounded team this year than last. Way better depth at center and defense at the cost of a slightly worse off 1st line.
Zirakzigil
Global Moderator
*** Mod Warning: ***
Going to allow the Czech news about no Russian players to continue. Just remember there is a very fine line about not diving into the political topics, thats against forum rules. Dont abuse the leniency and dont be shocked to see it swiftly revoked.
*****
Going to allow the Czech news about no Russian players to continue. Just remember there is a very fine line about not diving into the political topics, thats against forum rules. Dont abuse the leniency and dont be shocked to see it swiftly revoked.
*****
I personally can understand where they are coming from due to past histories with Russia/USSR. I can also see the personal dilemma Russian players have about speaking about war, its really a no win situation for them. Case and point is Panarin when he recently spoke out against Putin and had to get his family out or Russia before retaliation happened against them.
Also, and no offense to our local posters, but the whole Czechia/Czech thing is stupid. Czechia just does not have a nice ring to it in my opinion.
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Gurglesons
Registered User
I mean this is pretty much the point without any discussion needed.
I’ve yet to hear anyone that is not part of Russian politics support the invasion. So I doubt hockey players want to be involved and if you can’t understand the Czech standpoint you simply haven’t been paying attention.
I think we should focus more on how Igor is going to be Steve Mason 2.0 right?
HandshakeLine
A real jerk thing
TBH nobody really likes the Czechia thing except a certain subsection of homegrown Czech idiot who got mad that Slovaks had Slovakia. I hate it, plus it has weird connotations.
Buddy Bizarre
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I have Czech heritage so I get the history and everything that goes with it.
But I feel this punishes the current Russian players who have no say in what their idiot Prez is doing. We talk about understanding and not painting with a broad brush and not discriminating. Well this is exactly it.
It's unnecessary retribution and the only people it hurts are those that have no control over the situation. No different than a kid caught between 2 divorced parents...
HandshakeLine
A real jerk thing
I hear you. A bunch of my relatives got out in 1968 and the unlucky ones got f***ed in 1969 by USSR-led Normalization (lost jobs, beaten, forbidden from going to school, tortured and interrogated) so it's not abstract to me or vague heritage. I still have to listen to the last surviving ones complain about it.
But look at it this way-- A) these Russian players need non-Russian citizenship to play in the EU. Those borders for Schengen-visa free travel are closing fast. It creates a legal hassle and a potential international incident for them to come. We've also had huge problems with Russians starting fights with Ukrainian refugees here, including some really heinous crimes of late. It's an insanely touchy topic.
B) Forcing Russians to disavow their government is not easy, even if they're rich because of the fact that doing so puts a target on them, their relatives and friends, businesses and people that can't get out. Czechs on all sides of the political divide will force this issue, especially because of Vrbětice and energy prices, Slovaks are still mad about the Russian mob and politicians having journalists in Bratislava murdered a few years ago and the FSB getting caught trying to bribe border guards this year. There's just no way around it.
I sympathize with Russian players who don't support the war, and who feel they can't speak out about it, but at the same time, well, you either take that risk or you keep your head down and play it safe and playing a game in Prague isn't really either of those things at the moment.
But what do I know? I just live here and speak this dumb Czech language.
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HandshakeLine
A real jerk thing
Also an explainer as to why the Czechia thing is so f***ing dumb.
Legal name of the countries: Česká republika, Slovenská republika. Colloquial names in CZ and SK for our countries are of course Česko and Slovensko, which basically include all of the territories, but have some philological baggage.
The historical Kingdom of Bohemia, in Czech= Čechy, which is separate from the Margraviate of Moravia (Morava), and Silesia. Moravians are not Bohemians, and nobody can understand Silesians, because historically they extended into Poland. Lots of different cultural and religious and linguistic values between the three. Slovakia never had a kingdom, so whatever. We also have like 6 dialects because living as farmers in the mountains means that you have a pretty wide linguistic spread and dialects hold on the way they don't elsewhere.
So why change the name from Czech Republic to Czechia? Simply because a certain group of Czechs thought it was insulting that Slovakia, the home of poor shepherds and Zdeno Chara, had its own special name in English and the Czech Republic did not. Of course, Czechia implies that everything in the country is Bohemia and that's not true, of course. So people in Brno and Ostrava were kind of offended when we did it.
It's soooo stupid.
Legal name of the countries: Česká republika, Slovenská republika. Colloquial names in CZ and SK for our countries are of course Česko and Slovensko, which basically include all of the territories, but have some philological baggage.
The historical Kingdom of Bohemia, in Czech= Čechy, which is separate from the Margraviate of Moravia (Morava), and Silesia. Moravians are not Bohemians, and nobody can understand Silesians, because historically they extended into Poland. Lots of different cultural and religious and linguistic values between the three. Slovakia never had a kingdom, so whatever. We also have like 6 dialects because living as farmers in the mountains means that you have a pretty wide linguistic spread and dialects hold on the way they don't elsewhere.
So why change the name from Czech Republic to Czechia? Simply because a certain group of Czechs thought it was insulting that Slovakia, the home of poor shepherds and Zdeno Chara, had its own special name in English and the Czech Republic did not. Of course, Czechia implies that everything in the country is Bohemia and that's not true, of course. So people in Brno and Ostrava were kind of offended when we did it.
It's soooo stupid.
BlindWillyMcHurt
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I've always said "Czech Republic." But I've noticed a ton of people opting for the Czechia thing in recent years so I figured I missed a memo or something and didn't want to look like a dork.
HandshakeLine
A real jerk thing
The previous government officially changed it (as much as you can insist anyone call you by a certain name in a different language). It's still really dumb because a) nobody can actually make English speakers call the Czech Republic "Czechia" b) English does not have some sort of central authority able to make that decision, and c) who cares what some foreigners call your country in not your own language?
Just massive dumb insecurity by a group of weird Czech idiots.
vodeni
Registered User
where is Havel when you need him?The previous government officially changed it (as much as you can insist anyone call you by a certain name in a different language). It's still really dumb because a) nobody can actually make English speakers call the Czech Republic "Czechia" b) English does not have some sort of central authority able to make that decision, and c) who cares what some foreigners call your country in not your own language?
Just massive dumb insecurity by a group of weird Czech idiots.
HandshakeLine
A real jerk thing
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BlindWillyMcHurt
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Torts already opting for decimation, I see.
Add another one to LTIR.
Add another one to LTIR.
Zirakzigil
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Oooooo please tell me thats pronounced chechy! Cause we English speakers could bastardize it into cheeky and that would be an awesome abbreviation for your nation.
Zirakzigil
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