I mean, I get it. The slob + nagging wife dynamic is cliche and annoying. But generally, if it's one or two sock jokes, I'll let it go. Ilya is clearly not a slob in the show. His place is spotless, just like Shane's. But even a generally neat person can slip up sometimes.

And also, Ilya's a troll at heart. If he knows that leaving a sock out of a hamper will annoy Shane, then he would absolutely deliberately leave a sock out to annoy Shane. (One sock, whichever color or pattern is the most irritating.) ESPECIALLY if ends up with him getting "bribed" with blowjobs.

Whereas the career thing is very infantilizing, in my opinion. Ilya's been a hockey star for almost ten years by the time he and Shane are officially a couple. He may not be decoratively selling Rolex on a television screen, but we know he does have endorsements. HE had the idea to bring Shane into the CCM commercial after all. HE is the one on the cover of the game.

We've seen his summers. While Shane was working on all those commercials, Ilya had his own shit going on back in Russia. He was taking care of his dad. He was going to clubs. There is no indication that he wants Shane's second career.

And he is financially fine. Not at first, sure. In his first year, with Alexei snorting his bonus up his nose, Ilya was clearly struggling. But we see a pretty major change in lifestyle after that point. His home in Boston is beautiful. It sounds like he owns his apartment in Russia, if he can just give it to Alexei in that fight after the funeral. He's got the penthouse suite in Vegas. He's wearing designer clothes. If we take the books into account, he owns multiple sports cars.

Now, we can wonder about what he's doing to prepare for retirement. But given that he tells Alexei that he'll be making a trust for his niece, it seems like he has some access to financial planners and advisors. So, certainly if he wants to make preparations for retirement, he absolutely can.

It's one thing if Ilya decides one day that he'd like to know more about what financial options are specifically available in Canada, and he decides to ASK Shane about his. Or if Ilya decides he does want to branch out into more general brand deal and gets Yuna's advice. But I feel like it's important that this be Ilya's choice and Ilya's inclination, not a case of either Shane or Yuna going "Oh, you poor boy, let us clean up your mess!"

Bless the Telephone

Forbidding the iranian team coaches from entering the country and forcing them to direct the game from MEXICO through a tv

Players from non european countries being stopped and searched like criminals with dogs

Deporting african referees just because of their nationality

Forbidding interviews from being spoken i'm languages other than English and forbidding journalists and players from speaking their native languages

It does let you know that something has gone on in the world. But it's such a short format that it could never even pretend to give you all the relevant information about that thing. It usually provides less detail than the average headline, so it's not actually reporting, it's more like shouting a head's up across a crowded room. Still lets you know that something has happened though.

The very fact that it's a goofy and irreverent fandom meme also serves as a perpetual reminder that using social media to get news is a bad idea. Now that you know something has occurred, go read an actual article from a real source to verify it and get the details. It's an alert system with a format that never lets you forget that alerts are not articles, and that this website is not beholden to any kind of journalistic integrity.

ilya rozanov appreciation week: day two favorite look: black on black

Heated Rivalry (2025-) dir. Jacob Tierney