Szymon Szemberg Profile picture
Long-time and studious watcher of the game. Conceptual father of the Triple Gold Club. Reporter turned hockey executive. Formerly of IIHF, CHL & E.H.C. Alliance
Dec 4 17 tweets 2 min read
1/16 🧵A thread on the issue of Olympic ice size in Milano. > 2/16 The least of the problems regarding the Olympic ice size in Milano is the length-discrepancy of 3.15 ft = 96 cm. The real issue is whether the arena will be ready for Feb 5 for the opener of the women’s tournament. >
May 23 10 tweets 3 min read
🧵Tråd: Termen ”Recency bias” betyder att vi har en tendens att lägga större vikt vid det som hänt nyligen, snarare än att se händelser i ett längre perspektiv. > Då jag i morgonradion hörde att Danmarks seger mot Kanada var den största skrällen någonsin i internationell hockey, tänkte jag sätta in Danmarks seger mot Kanada i ett historiskt perspektiv och ranka in den i en top-5-lista. >
Jan 6 14 tweets 2 min read
🧵Reflections from the 49th World Juniors: 1. Some comments from Canadian media, other observers, explain the Canadian failure on “that other countries are playing too”.
That was news in September 1972.
Jan 3 10 tweets 2 min read
🧵Thread on Team Canada’s failure at the WJC: 1. Tommy Boustedt, the former Swedish chief of hockey development, said: “Canada has ten times more players, ten times more rinks, ten times more coaches and ten times more money. Still, we can compete.”>
Jul 26, 2024 11 tweets 2 min read
Five-ringed 🧵
1. Let the game begin. The games that on average cost three times more than what they take in (economist A. Zimbalist). Games that have the most amazing “business model” – IOC gets the income, someone else is paying the bill. > 2. Every Olympics since 1960 has run over budget, at an average of 172 percent in inflation-adjusted terms, according to an analysis by researchers at Oxford University. >
Jan 6, 2024 14 tweets 2 min read
A post-WJC🧵As it’s mostly about Swedish hockey, it’s in Swedish but you can hit the translate function if interested, as other nations are mentioned too.> 1. Med ett dygns distans – USA var bättre i allt. Sverige gjorde så gott de kunde. Det finns inget att klaga på, mer än att vi inte räckte till. Killarna kan vara stolta. Och här kunde tråden ta slut.>
Dec 19, 2022 18 tweets 4 min read
1. A thread 🧵about a game which is global and about a game which is provincial: 2. If you for a moment try not to think about Qatar and human rights issues and forget about the megalomaniac Infantino and his morally, and otherwise, corrupt FIFA. The sportive entertainment of the World Cup final was amazing and an estimated 1,5 billion watched on TV.
Mar 6, 2022 22 tweets 5 min read
1. Following the🧵which showed the connections between the KHL and the Kremlin, Putin and his cronies, this one will explain how the KHL became a tool for Putin’s expansionist plans in the soft-power area of hockey. 2. The KHL had just started in 2008 when Zurich crushed KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5-0 in the 2009 Champions Hockey League final. In the VIP-section, KHL-boss Alexander Medvedev ripped off his Metallurg jersey in disgust after the Swiss’ 3-0 goal.
Mar 4, 2022 12 tweets 3 min read
1. Hockey is not important today, but it’s important to show the connections between the KHL and the Kremlin, Putin and his cronies. (Picture: CSKA Moscow vow loyalty, "Putin - our President" on second day of invasion of Ukraine.) > 2. There has probably never been a league that has been more of a geopolitical project than a sports organization, than the case is with the KHL. This is why the sanctions against Russian hockey are even more valid than in other sports. >
Feb 25, 2022 19 tweets 5 min read
1. Min mor var 25 år när Hitlers flyg 1941 anföll den ukrainska staden Lviv (då polska Lwów) och bland det knapphändiga hon berättade från kriget var när hon skräckslagen sprang från husport till husport genom Lvivs gator för ta skydd från bomber. > 2. Idag är det Putin som anfaller Lviv, Kyiv och andra städer, det första överfallet på de städer sedan 1941. >
Feb 24, 2022 11 tweets 3 min read
Historians and politicians agree that we have to go back to September 1939 to find anything similar to Putin’s large-scale aggression against Ukraine. > Those who have closely followed Putin’s actions and rhetoric, know that this has been in the making for many years. > Image