i need to say something, because if i ever become capable of keeping my opinions to myself y'all can be sure i've been replaced with a pod person: i think the four nations face off is fun. it's a little silly but i don't think it's any sillier than the all-star game and frankly it's annoying me less than last year when they replaced the skills comp with cmcd's personal saw trap where only a handful of players got to participate. a real world cup of hockey with more countries that allowed more players to participate would be more fun but it's clear from watching the games that the players and teams that are involved are taking this seriously, and that's fun to watch. i wouldn't want to do it every year, both because of the injury risks and because i do think that would cheapen the whole thing. but it's fun, and i like watching good players play each other in games they care about, and i hope the next version in four years has more teams but quite frankly i think it'll still be a lot of fun if they can't swing that somehow.
