All Hail Kazakhstan
January 30th, 2007 by Tom
Kazakhstan defeated Thailand 52 to 1 in hockey in the Asian Games. WTF? The victory followed the Kazakhs’ 38-0 drubbing of the United Arab Emirates. Kazakhstan outshot Thailand 97 to 7. I need to see some highlights. Seriously. It’s crazy. The Thai coach, an American, tried to put a positive spin on the drubbing, according to the Toronto Star.
“They are just an outstanding team,” Thailand’s American coach Michael Rolanti said of Kazakhstan, which competed in the Turin Winter Olympics. “I think it was a good game for us because we did not give up.”
I need to hire Rolanti as my official spokesman. He’d be great to have around when I come home at 4 am, down a few hundred and smelling of bourbon and strippers. I can just hear him telling my old lady “I think Tom did a great job by finishing the night and refusing to get in a cab.”
But seriously, props to Thailand for fielding a team and giving it a go. Rolanti told the Star there are only two ice rinks in all of Thailand and he had to pick a team from a pool of just 40 athletes.
The hero was forward Arthit Thamwongsin, who jumped on a rebound off the boards to slam a shot past Kazakhstan goaltender Sergey Ogureshnikov.
