It’s that time of year again. Along with the Christmas holidays brings the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. That means Canadians across the country get together and watch the hockey tournament that Canada is expected to win gold, year after year. For those of us without TSN or stuck in our offices during the tournament, the question is how to watch it online. This year, once again, TSN will be streaming the games live on their Web site at tsn.ca. The full schedule of games being streamed online includes every game for Team Canada as well as every playoff game. The schedule this year is quite good, with games shown on weekends, holidays or during prime time in the Eastern time zone. That means a more productive office place, or so one would think. The first game shown online is Canada’s first: Boxing Day at 3:30pm Eastern. The opponent is Latvia. That one could get messy. See you online!

Oh, wait, before I go, here’s one of the more memorable moments in World Junior Hockey. I remember watching this as a kid: The short story is that the Soviets had nothing to lose (but Canada did) so when a skirmish occurred on the ice Soviet players left the bench to join in. The Canadians followed, as to not be outnumbered, and mayhem began. They even turned out the lights for lack of any better way to restore order. Crazy stuff. Oh, and Don Cherry had more than a few things to say as well. See that in the second clip, below. (Aside: I love those old CBC jackets!)

Looks like you can watch the entire 1987 ‘brawl’ game online starting with this clip (1 of 26).

For those interested in watching the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and other Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) events streamed live online to your computer, there are a number of options from justin.tv and other websites. The problem is you have to deal with signals dropping suddenly, poor choppy feeds and sometimes lots of popups.

Here at sportaholik.com, we’ve found from first hand experience a better solution that is more stable and reliable. Just follow these simple steps and get ready for the next event!

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The Post had a front page article today about the new unofficial Toronto Maple Leafs anthem ‘Free To Be’ (the Leaf’s Song) by former Glass Tiger front man Alan Frew. It seems to be ruffling feathers across Canada as it declares the Maple Leafs to be ‘Canada’s Team’. Catchy tune, sure, but I think fans of the rest of Canada’s NHL teams may have something to say about the lyrics. Judge for yourself, below.

I was just checking out the turf indoor soccer registration options for the next season over on the Toronto Sport and Social Club site. This season they included links to view a video. I was thinking ‘great idea!’. What a great way to check out the indoor venues before you sign up (as, lets face it, there was always a big difference between Soccerworld and, lets say, Waterside). Click the video aaaaaaaaaaaand it’s just a generic indoor soccer video. Click the video for the next registration venue - same video. So, a great idea with poor execution. They’ve got some new-ish Toronto indoor soccer fields listed this year (Varsity, Lamport w/ a bubble, etc.) and it would have been great to see how they are. Maybe next year?

Ever heard of the ‘World Masters Games’? I hadn’t either, until we received an email from Paul down in Australia (yes, Australia). Apparently the first World Masters Games was held in Toronto. So, what are the World Master Games? It’s for those ‘a bit older’ (’To compete at the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games people need only satisfy their sport’s minimum age criterion, which is as low as 25 for diving and swimming and does not rise above 35 for any of the 28 sports.‘) And, you’ve got to be some sort of amazing athlete right? Not quite: ‘Anyone who meets the minimum age criterion for their sport can compete in the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games. Many sports competitions will be graded so as to provide competitors with the choice of participating seriously or socially.‘. Like the Olympics, it’s held every four years. In fact, many retired Olympic and professional athletes participate in the World Masters Games. So, sportaholiks, this could be something of interest to all of you. Paul put together these great videos from the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games. Enjoy:

Pumped? Check out the International Masters Games Association Web site and the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games Web site for more information.

Hockey goalie masks have changed dramatically over time. Fifty years ago tomorrow was when the first goalie mask was worn in the NHL. It was Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens, after taking yet another bruising puck to the head. Red Fisher describes that night:

“What happened was that 3:06 into the game, Plante had been struck in the face by a short shot from Rangers right-winger Andy Bathgate, opening a deep, seven-stitch cut running from the corner of the goaltender’s lips through his nostril. Then, after a delay of 21 minutes, he returned to the ice wearing a full-face mask - the first goaltender in NHL history to do so.”

To me the best goalie masks are still the ones from the older days. Most had scarier looks and more simple paint jobs. Flipping through the retro goalie masks shown on hockeymasks.com (where, yes, you can order your own replicas!) and found some great ones. Clicking the link will take you to an image of the mask.

Top favourites:

• Dan Bouchard with the Atlanta Flames
• Wayne Stephenson with the Philadelphia Flyers
• Murray Bannerman with the Chicago Blackhawks
• John Garrett with the Vancouver Canucks
• Yves Belanger with the Atlanta Flames
• Dan Bouchard with the Atlanta Flames
• Richard Sevigny with the Montreal Canadiens
• Richard Brodeur with the Quebec Nordiques
• Billy Smith with the New York Islanders

Other notable goalie masks:

• Ken Dryden with the Montreal Canadiens
• Gerry Cheevers (of course!) with the Boston Bruins
• Gilles Gratton with the New York Rangers
• Mike Palmateer with the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Bernie Parent with the Philadelphia Blaze
• Gary Bromley with the Vancouver Canucks (happy halloween?)
• Doug Favell with the Colorado Rockies
• Doug Favell with the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Grant Fuhr with the Edmonton Oilers
• Bernie Wolf with the Washington Capitals
• Gary Innes with the Washington Capitals
• Curt Ridley with the Vancouver Canucks
• Gary Smith with the Winnipeg Jets

Mostly simple white masks, but still awesome:

• Ed Giacomin with the New York Rangers
• Mike Luit with the St. Louis Blues
• Pelle Lindbergh with the Philadelphia Flyers
• Phil Myre with the Atlanta Flames
• Jim Rutherford with the Detroit Red Wings

The masks of today totally don’t compare to those above, in my opinion. Obviously goalie mask design had to change to keep up with harder shots and better sticks - for safety reasons. Unfortunately that took away from some of the sinister look and uniqueness of goalie masks being worn.

Below is the Jacques Plante story, as retold in a Canadian Heritage moment. He had to stand up to coach Toe Blake who wanted no part of him wearing a goalie mask due to reduced visibility.

Some interesting information on the history of the goalie mask, as told by a goalie mask historian.

The Hockey season has just begun and so have the highlight reel goals. Here’s one from the Boston Bruins “TD Bank Mini 1-on-1″ competition. One more thing, he’s 9 years old:

Via Stephen Taylor, Stephane Dion shows off his, ummm, ball hockey skills below in this classic YouTube capture. We’re not taking political sides here at sportaholik.com, but you must admit Dion could use a bit of help with his game. It’s not exactly the best image you want to portray when you’re running for Prime Minister. I counted 12 shots, 0 goals. Anyone know where he can find some buddies to practice with? I wonder if Stephane Dion’s display of ball hockey prowess will make it into Stephen Harper’s upcoming hockey book?

Awesomenisity writes ‘So my bike got stolen last week and I was devastated. I loved my bike. It got me through some hard times and great times were always had.‘ Here’s the vid:

Watch for a whack of biking links coming soon to the sportaholik.com blog.