LIVE Play-By-Play Coverage
of the 2010 AFHL Awards Show
Pre-show: Red Carpet Arrivals The red carpet is a go, the fans turned out in full force and we're now about 10 minutes from the start of the 2010 AFHL Awards ceremony at Hotel Le St. James in Montreal, Quebec. Hello everyone. This is Harry Beaver speaking to you from the gondola in my dining room in front of my modest home entertainment center. I'll be bringing you the action right here at theAFHL.com, award by award, via live blogging. There will be 14 handed out in all tonight. That said, the red carpet arrivals are about to begin. 6:00 PM: A red carpet is seen leading into the front of the hotel. The carpet is roped off and there’s a crowd a few people deep on each side who are screaming for the first arrival. 6:01 PM: Toronto Red Devils GM Jordan Carbone has arrived. 6:02 PM: Carbone is wearing a black tuxedo with a red bowtie. 6:04 PM: Jeremy Piven aka Ari Gold from Entourage is already inside the hotel, preparing as the Host of the show. He had a few drinks earlier in the day, to calm his nerves. 6:05 PM: Piven wants the show to feel spontaneous, like a party. 6:06 PM: Lexington Leg Hounds GM Garry Megibben has arrived. Megibben cheeses it up with a pair of supermodels during a photo ops. 6:09 PM: Vancouver Heroes GM Ben Rauscher and Washington Power GM Ray Irwin have arrived together. 6:10 PM: Rauscher and Irwin greet St. John's Red Wings GM Barry Hickey as he arrives. 6:12 PM: Carbone is talking to Garry Megibben about having both Tyler Seguin and Taylor Hall on his team. It's possible Hall and Seguin will play on the same line to start the season. 6:15 PM: Several players have arrived including Alex Ovechkin of the Leafs, Ryan Miller of the Heroes, and Evgeni Malkin of the Giants. 6:17 PM: Ryan Miller just proclaimed in an interview that he wants to purchase a home in Vancouver. 6:18 PM: Calgary Hitmen GM Grahame Booth has arrived. Booth greets his goaltender, Jonathan Quick. Booth acquired Quick in a trade earlier in the off-season. 6:22 PM: Goldsboro Rebels GM Rich Mauch has arrived. 6:23 PM: Mauch will be presenting one of the awards, but won't specify which one. 6:25 PM: Boston Giants GM Mike Phelan has arrived. 6:26 PM: Ottawa Knights GM Ryan Armstrong has arrived. 6:28 PM: Buffalo Phantoms GM Daryn Beckman, a nominee for GM of the year, has arrived. 6:29 PM: Several London Mustangs players have arrived with the AFHL Stanley Cup. 6:33 PM: Hollywood Stars GM Mike Basset has arrived. 6:34 PM: Bassett tells a reporter that Martin Brodeur should win the Vezina trophy. GM Rauscher overhears and shouts "What world are you living in!?". Rauscher believes Ryan Miller will win the Vezina. 6:37 PM: Deer Park Chiefs GM Mike Nellany has arrived. Nellany is a nominee for a surprise award tonight. 6:38 PM: Fort Drum Killers GM Steven Stryska has arrived. He's wearing a classic tuxedo T-shirt that says "Hey I'm formal but I'm also here to party." 6:40 PM: More players have arrived including Sidney Crosby of the Phantoms and Alex Ovechkin of the Leafs. 6:44 PM: Los Banos Wolves GM Andrew Fiorentino has arrived. 6:46 PM: Fiorentino says he's "thrilled to be here" in an interview with a news reporter. 6:49 PM: Stanley Cup winning GM Blake Wilson of the London Mustangs has arrived. Wilson shakes hands with GM Irwin and several others. 6:50 PM: Oshawa City Leafs GM Earl McNeill has arrived. 6:51 PM: Rauscher greets McNeill and offers him a trade for one of his prospects. McNeill responds with "Give me Ryan Miller." 6:53 PM: Victoria Vipers GM Chris Hartley-Romero has arrived. He greets Jack Campbell whom he drafted 3rd overall in the Entry Draft. 6:55 PM: Montreal Xtreme GM Keith Cancilla has arrived. 6:57 PM: North Bay Warriors GM Mike Brunetta has arrived. He greets his good friend Ryan Armstrong. 6:59 PM: Bartender shouts "Last call for borbet at the bar!" 7:00 PM: Manhattan Supermen GM / AFHL Commissioner Anthony Furino has arrived. 7:01 PM: Furino is acknowledging his fans and fellow GMs. He wants them to know how much they mean to him. He knows they are the backbone of the league and without them, he wouldn't be here. 7:03 PM: Furino is still shaking hands with several fans. The fans are appreciative. And now he is going to shake... woah... we've got... a fan is doing the Fake-Out Handshake... and, he's done it again. Two Fake-Out Handshakes. Not really the time or the place to see something like this. Oh, now they're going to hug... and apparently he is... no... he's Faking-Out with the Hug. A clearly rattled Anthony Furino, but wisely, he is moving on from that moment. 7:07 PM: All GMs and players have arrived. 7:08 PM: A man in a crowd of fans has just jumped over the guardrail and onto the red carpet. The man is identified as Don Vincent, former GM of the Hamilton Outlaws. Vincent was fired and kicked out of the league at the beginning of the offseason. 7:10 PM: Several police officers rush Vincent as Commissioner Furino explains to him that he was not invited to the Awards Show. 7:11 PM: Vincent is handcuffed and dragged off of the red carpet and into a police car. 7:15 PM: We see a sneak peak into the staging and seating for the big night. 7:30 PM: Red Carpet draws to a close. The Main Event - 2010 AFHL Awards Show 8:00 PM: The first ever AFHL Awards show has officially kicked off with a "rousing" performance by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. 8:05 PM: Host Jeremy Piven is introduced. 8:07 PM: Commissioner Furino takes the stage alongside Piven to honor the London Mustangs as Blake Wilson, Zach Parise, and Rick Nash carried the Stanley Cup to the stage. 8:08 PM: A video tribute to the Mustangs is shown on the Big Screen. The tribute includes their remarkable playoff run, defeating the Leafs in the 1st round, Phantoms in the 2nd round, and Heroes in the Finals. The tribute closes out with a re-created scene from the movie Slapshot and one of Jeremy Piven's famous funny lines from his show Entourage. 8:10 PM: Piven introduces hall of fame defenseman Scott Niedermayer, to present the first award of the night. ------ |