[MissTeeks]

Fun Eric Francis article talking to Ward about his prediction

http://www.calgarysun.com/2015/03/28...-man-in-canada

Aaron Ward may just be the smartest man in Canada.
Strike that.
He may just be the smartest man in hockey.
After all, he was the only one in mainstream media to predict the Flames would finish top eight in the NHL’s Western Conference this year.
OK, so they’re not there yet. But with seven games remaining in the regular season and facing the host Nashville Predators on Sunday (3 p.m., Sportsnet West/Sportsnet Fan 960), the Flames are deep in the hunt to make the post-season, making Ward look pretty good

Predictably, the abuse didn’t end there.
“You can only imagine that after the words came out of my mouth — not just Canada but especially Oilers Nation was telling me I was the dumbest man in the history of TV,” said Ward, with a chuckle, looking back at what he calls “a year-long journey of abuse.”
“I’ve had so many people give it to me in the worst way. I will tell you that the feedback on Twitter was a 97% absolute massacre of my intelligence.”

“The Edmonton people took it personally,” said the sharp-dressed former defenceman, one of the best new additions to the Canadian sports broadcasting scene in the last five years.
“The amount of abuse — it was like I did something to their family. ‘You chose Calgary over us? First, you ‘Iginla’ it. Then, you pick them to make the playoffs.’ That was the basis of every e-mail.”

“I believe it was actually a brilliant ploy by Wardo to suck up to Calgary fans after the whole Iginla-to-Boston thing a couple of years ago,” said Duthie, with a chuckle when asked to look back at Ward’s prognostication.
“He’s an evil genius really. But he deserves credit. He saw something the rest of us didn’t. And if they make it, he’ll never have to buy a drink at Cowboys again, which was also likely a big part of his motivation to pick them. Either way, he’s basically the new ‘Maggie The Monkey.’ ”

“NostraWardo’s prescient ways on the Flames may be enough to erase the memory of him trading Iggy to the Bruins,” said McKenzie, the nation’s pre-eminent source on all things hockey, who soundly refuses to make pre-season predictions.
“Either that, or his buddy, Dennis Wideman, just told him to say the Flames would make the playoffs. Or maybe he was planning a trip to Cowboys and just didn’t want to pay for drinks. I don’t think he’s overly popular in Edmonton.”
The Cowboys references stem from the fact the legendary bar has been a hockey player hangout dating back to Ward’s days in the league, as well as the fact several viewers made the promise to keep him well-watered there if his forecast came to pass.
“A number of people in Calgary told me that if that comes to fruition I drink for free at Cowboys for life,” said Ward, 42, who is clearly well-versed in the art of smack.
“I favourited all those and kept those names. That’s my reward for all the abuse I took.”