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Someone snuck in during the night on New Year's Eve and kidnapped my Nashville Predators. I didn't realize it right away. Coming off a six game skid one or two wins went unnoticed. Now that we're at the end of January and Nashville hold the best record for the first month of 2011 and sits just four points behind Division-leading Detroit I'm taking notice. And I'm not the only one. No matter how hard they fight it, the national hockey media is having a difficult time ignoring the surging Predators.
Sunday and Monday's games notwithstanding, not only are the Preds managing to win games, they are managing to do so with multiple goals which is a new trend in Smashville. Luckily, the trend isn't just taking hold in Smashville, as the Preds are winning on this two week long road trip and now also possess the 2nd best road record for the season, just one road win behind the league-leading Flyers. So...who are these players and what did they do with my Predators?
Tonight the answer became clear. About the same time the Preds began to climb, the Caps started sliding off their huge New Year's Day win against the Penguins in the Winter Classic. The team I saw suit up in red that day was most definitely my Caps. The team I've watched play since is most definitely not. They are playing more like the Preds. Not scoring. Not even really getting any decent scoring chances. Never having a guy there for the rebound. Lacking speed and confidence. Suffering from goalie woes. Dropping games late in the 3rd, blowing an overtime and losing pitifully in the shootout. Alright guys! I figured it out! Time to switch back, mmmkay?
I had faith in December, when the Caps lost eight in a row. I knew Coach B was trying a new defensive system. I understood it was "necessary" to win in the playoffs. I wasn't upset in Sasha's lack of goals--I saw him contributing to the overall production of the team like a good Captain should. Maybe it makes me a bad fan, but two months in I'm finding it hard to have faith in a "new system" that's supposed to produce wins in the playoffs when it's not producing wins against some of the worst teams in the league...and threatening to keep the team out of the playoffs entirely. How can you prove the system worked in the playoffs if you never get there? Riddle me that.
To be fair, the Caps are suffering from some critical injuries. Their scoring leader is out and BOTH goalies are also hurt. But I'm more than a little disappointed in the Caps 3rd string goalie. Really? That's the best Hershey or Leonsis' wheeling and dealing could do? Why didn't the nab Nabi off waivers on Saturday? He said he wanted to help a team "win in the playoffs." Sure, he was talking about Detroit--and NOT the Islanders--but don't the Caps fit that description, too? What would his excuse been then to not report?
The Caps aren't the only team suffering from injuries, though. The Preds are, too. They lost some star veterans and some new up and comers. One of their most important grinders is out indefinitely for substance abuse problems. If any team had a reason to whine and cry--and lose--over injuries right now, it would be Nashville. Detroit has more major players out, and we can't forget the Pens' woes without Crosby and now Malkin. But both of those teams are strong and deep, and can still compete at a high level without a handful of good players. The Preds were a lean, stripped-to-the-bone team to begin with. Remove a couple key players and what do you have left? No one would even bat an eye if the Preds were losing night after night. But they aren't. They are winning. And winning big.
We are just a few days away from the All-Star break. What the last two months of the season holds for any team is still a crap shoot. This season has been full of ups and downs by just about every team out there, more than I can remember since I've been following hockey. Just when you think you can count a team out they are back. I've always said November is the most critical month of the season, and come March and April everyone's looking back at the points they left on the table in the fall. I'm getting a feeling that this season will be different and January will be the month all the borderline teams look back on in their rear view mirrors.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Hockey Thoughts: Waiving Your Rights
One of the main reasons I think hockey doesn't gain a larger fan base in America are some of the harder to understand, complicated, and seemingly irrational rules of the game. The most timely, and probably least comparable to any other popular American sport, are waivers. Hockey fans and media have their panties all in a bunch over waivers lately, since St. Louis just lost two players on waivers a few weeks ago, and now the darling Red Wings just lost goalie Nabokov to the Islanders on waivers today. Even though the particulars of waivers are complicated, and they have been around for quite some time, they don't usually garner much attention until a well-known player or team "falls victim" to the waiver process. Then everyone gets up in arms.
So...what exactly are waivers? Without getting into all the technicalities of when a player is subject to them or not, I'll try and explain the process. There are three types (entry, re-entry and unconditional) and each type has it's own rules and qualifications. The purpose of the process is to prevent teams from subverting the salary cap process by abusing the AHL affiliate roster and transferring players back and forth in an excessive manner to avoid cap issues. Those are re-entry waivers. Unconditional and entry waivers exist to prevent teams from using "dirty tricks" in the late-season acquisition of players prior to the trade deadline, and also as those players' salaries relate to the cap. Basically, since the NHL has multiple sources from which to harvest players (unlike other American professional sports) some additional procedures are required to keep things fair. The NHL is also more apt to using their minor-league affiliates for filling in roster holes left by injury, or for conditioning stints for injured players, more so than any other American professional sport. The only other sport that uses their minor league affiliates in such a way is MLB--but even over the course of the long professional baseball season, the MLB rosters tend to stay more static than a typical NHL roster.
Before a player can come back from the AHL affiliate team (if they are not exempt from waivers), or enter the league mid-season from a European professional league, or be released from their contract, they must "clear waivers." This is a period of time determined by the complex rules, which is usually somewhere between 24-48 hours where any other team can claim that player for themselves. By claiming the player, they agree to accept whatever contract the player and original team agreed upon, without any changes. There are additional rules governing any trades after a player is placed on waivers, which usually require the player to be placed back on waivers again before a trade can be completed. In my mind, it's kind of like a Dirty Santa game with professional athletes. If more than one team claim a player off waivers, the player is assigned to whichever team is sitting lowest in the standings as of that day. The player has the right to not report to the team who claimed him, but he is them prohibited from playing on any NHL team for the remainder of the season.
Sufficiently confused yet? I find that it helps to NOT really understand the how and why of the waiver process and just accept that it exists. Sometimes your team will benefit from it, and sometimes your team will get hurt by it. But everyone takes their turn in waiver roulette. It's just one of those things that, no matter how you feel about it, has to happen. You don't need to understand it, really, to know that it happens.
So, why the fuss right now? Well--apparently Nashville was really super mean and stole Marek Svatos from the St. Louis Blues a couple weeks back. The Sharks stole another player off waivers from the Blues around the same time. The Blues have been unfortunate in the injury department this season and desperately needed to replenish their roster. Typically that is what the AHL team would be for, but the Blues' injuries already tapped their resources in that regard and they felt the need to bring some players in from Europe. Detroit has also been plagued with injuries and needed to add a goalie in a hurry. It should have been no surprise that someone would have grabbed Nabokov off waivers, particularly at the low, low salary they had agreed on. Nabi wasn't willing to face his age or his real worth in the offseason, so he paid the price. He's said to be unwilling to report to New York, so his season is done--both in the NHL and KHL.
I didn't even know about waivers until Nashville lost an amazing young player a few years ago in the waiver process. It stings. It isn't pleasant. But, hey, it happens--just like the game itself, you win some and you lose some. There's no reason to get all worked up in a tizzy over it. Just because a few teams snagged much-needed players in a critical time of the season, there's no need to revisit the rules entirely. It's no different than the Crosby concussion issue--it's high profile so easy to pontificate about all the shoulda, coulda, woulda's. In the end, no one did anything wrong, and no one is going to die. It's just the game.
So...what exactly are waivers? Without getting into all the technicalities of when a player is subject to them or not, I'll try and explain the process. There are three types (entry, re-entry and unconditional) and each type has it's own rules and qualifications. The purpose of the process is to prevent teams from subverting the salary cap process by abusing the AHL affiliate roster and transferring players back and forth in an excessive manner to avoid cap issues. Those are re-entry waivers. Unconditional and entry waivers exist to prevent teams from using "dirty tricks" in the late-season acquisition of players prior to the trade deadline, and also as those players' salaries relate to the cap. Basically, since the NHL has multiple sources from which to harvest players (unlike other American professional sports) some additional procedures are required to keep things fair. The NHL is also more apt to using their minor-league affiliates for filling in roster holes left by injury, or for conditioning stints for injured players, more so than any other American professional sport. The only other sport that uses their minor league affiliates in such a way is MLB--but even over the course of the long professional baseball season, the MLB rosters tend to stay more static than a typical NHL roster.
Before a player can come back from the AHL affiliate team (if they are not exempt from waivers), or enter the league mid-season from a European professional league, or be released from their contract, they must "clear waivers." This is a period of time determined by the complex rules, which is usually somewhere between 24-48 hours where any other team can claim that player for themselves. By claiming the player, they agree to accept whatever contract the player and original team agreed upon, without any changes. There are additional rules governing any trades after a player is placed on waivers, which usually require the player to be placed back on waivers again before a trade can be completed. In my mind, it's kind of like a Dirty Santa game with professional athletes. If more than one team claim a player off waivers, the player is assigned to whichever team is sitting lowest in the standings as of that day. The player has the right to not report to the team who claimed him, but he is them prohibited from playing on any NHL team for the remainder of the season.
Sufficiently confused yet? I find that it helps to NOT really understand the how and why of the waiver process and just accept that it exists. Sometimes your team will benefit from it, and sometimes your team will get hurt by it. But everyone takes their turn in waiver roulette. It's just one of those things that, no matter how you feel about it, has to happen. You don't need to understand it, really, to know that it happens.
So, why the fuss right now? Well--apparently Nashville was really super mean and stole Marek Svatos from the St. Louis Blues a couple weeks back. The Sharks stole another player off waivers from the Blues around the same time. The Blues have been unfortunate in the injury department this season and desperately needed to replenish their roster. Typically that is what the AHL team would be for, but the Blues' injuries already tapped their resources in that regard and they felt the need to bring some players in from Europe. Detroit has also been plagued with injuries and needed to add a goalie in a hurry. It should have been no surprise that someone would have grabbed Nabokov off waivers, particularly at the low, low salary they had agreed on. Nabi wasn't willing to face his age or his real worth in the offseason, so he paid the price. He's said to be unwilling to report to New York, so his season is done--both in the NHL and KHL.
I didn't even know about waivers until Nashville lost an amazing young player a few years ago in the waiver process. It stings. It isn't pleasant. But, hey, it happens--just like the game itself, you win some and you lose some. There's no reason to get all worked up in a tizzy over it. Just because a few teams snagged much-needed players in a critical time of the season, there's no need to revisit the rules entirely. It's no different than the Crosby concussion issue--it's high profile so easy to pontificate about all the shoulda, coulda, woulda's. In the end, no one did anything wrong, and no one is going to die. It's just the game.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Product Review: Alkalol Nasal Wash
After our last bought with sinus infections back in October he asked that I order some, and since I had been in touch with Cat on a regular basis because we were working on her car I asked her to order some at work. He began using it daily. I avoided it because it smelled just awful--not like something I wanted up my nose--and it also has pine and cinnamon as ingredients, which are two things that can trigger my migraine headaches.
Last month I started waking up with sinus headaches, which had never been a problem for me before. Medicine didn't help, and the saline solution I typically used in my Neti pot only provided mild relief. One Saturday morning I was in excruciating pain from a sinus headache and decided to give the Alkalol a shot. I was desperate. The initial sensation was not pleasant and I thought the headache had subsided only because my sinuses were burning so badly that it overwhelmed the headache pain. Within 15 minutes, though, the burning was gone, my sinuses were open and the headache was eliminated!
I began using the Alkalol in my Neti pot every morning and occasionally before bed. Since starting that routine I've drastically reduced my use of other medications and nasal sprays and have had no more infections. Until yesterday. Without the usual warning signs I woke up Saturday morning with a raging sinus infection. I felt generally sick, was completely congested, my glands were swollen, my throat hurt, I was achy. I went straight to the Alkalol and thought, "This will be the test here." I used it 4 times yesterday at an increased strength and by the end of the day I was feeling mostly better, but my ears still hurt which indicated that I was still going to develop a sinus infection eventually.
I woke up this morning and while I didn't feel sick, I was still congested, my throat hurt and my ears were still killing me. I went straight to the Alkalol again and just an hour later all of the remaining symptoms had vanished! My nose is still running like crazy, but that's a good thing. It appears, for now anyway, that the Alkalol actually cured a full-fledged sinus infection in 24 hours. Even the strongest antibiotics I've been prescribed in the past took at least two to three days to get me to the point that I feel like now. I'm totally sold on this stuff and highly recommend to anyone who suffers from allergies or general sinus problems. It's a miracle drug!
Hockey Thoughts: Headaches
Also regardless of when it happened, the fact that no one can pinpoint exactly which hit was responsible is the key element of my position on the matter. No penalties were called for an illegal hit. Nothing fell under the purview of the new "hits to the head" rule when the league reviewed the games. If it had, a player would have been penalized retroactively no matter what the call or non-call was on the ice. Basically what we have is a situation were a player took one or more hard but legal hits and now he has a concussion. Period. As much as the league doesn't want it to be the case, players can and do sustain injuries on completely legal plays. Shit, Cal O'Reilly from the Predators broke his leg a couple weeks ago seemingly spontaneously. He was standing by the boards and next thing you know he was crawling on all fours to the bench and BAM! Broken fibula.
Before I go any further with my diatribe here let me just state that I know it's no secret that I don't like Crosby. It pains me none to have him off the ice, not scoring, so that someone else can win the scoring title this year. Even though I know that when someone else wins it all the Crosbyphiles out there will claim that he would have won except he sat out X number of games with this injury, and that's just going to piss me off more. Both because it will detract from whoever the winner is, and because no one said the same about Ovechkin last year when he missed a handful of games due to injury and bogus suspensions. It appears as though the winner will be Stamkos, and I don't like that little twit either, but if he wins he deserves the trophy without everyone doubting his legitimacy because their preferred winner missed the mark. But now I'm getting off track here...I say this because it's not just my extreme dislike of Crosby that is driving my feelings on the issue. I would feel this way about the statement in question if it applied to any other player in the league--yes, even my beloved Sasha.
OK, now back to the main point. Last night one of the NHL Network commentators had the gall to suggest that Pittsburgh keep Crosby out through the All-Star break and not allow him to participate in the All-Star game to "send a signal to the league" that it's "stars" need to be "protected." What. The. Fuck?
Yes, withholding Crosby from the All-Star game would be a major blow to the league. It would "send a signal" no doubt. But as to what that signal is supposed to be, I'm at a complete loss. Like I said, no penalties were committed. If Crosby's teammates felt that a call was missed, or even that Crosby was being unnecessarily, albeit legally, abused during the game, they would have taken care of that. That's why they allow fighting in hockey. So, the question remains unanswered: what is the signal that Pittsburgh needs to send to the league?
The process of deductive reasoning leaves us with only one possibility: that you should not be allowed to hit so-called "stars," either at all or as hard as you'd hit any other player on the team. There's been much debate over the years as this is already an unspoken rule as is--and led to that amazing knock-out punch delivered by Jordin Tootoo on Stephane Robidas four years ago in Nashville, which ended with the ridiculous suspension of Tootoo. Yet again, this is why fights are allowed. If a team feels that their "star" is being roughed up, they send out an enforcer to handle the situation. The asinine suggestion by the NHL Network commentator that this be somehow unofficially codified by the league presents a whole host of problems.
First, and most importantly, hockey is a team sport. Every player on the ice is expected to play as hard as the others, regardless of actual ability. Every player must skate as fast as he can, pass as well as he can, control the puck as best he can, defend, shoot, backcheck, forecheck, protect against turnovers, etc... Not infrequently this also includes hitting and being hit. Generally speaking, the high-powered snipers such as Crosby (but not Ovechkin) avoid hitting and really only put their bodies on the line when they battle along the boards. But that doesn't make them immune to getting hit. It's a physical game and no player can be expected to hold back just because they are approaching a player who doesn't make direct hits a part of his playing style.
Secondly, how do we define "star" in this context? There's no argument to be made, as much as I hate to admit it, that Sidney Crosby is a star. Of course he is. And of course Ovechkin is. Stamkos and Kovalchuck too. But what is the criteria beyond being known across the entire league? I mean, at least five Chicago players could fit that description, as could the entire Detroit Red Wings team. In these examples it's not clear if we're defining "star" by name recognition or scoring ability but even if you picked one of those two you'll still end up with some teams made up almost entirely of stars and some without any. For example, let's say we go with scoring ability. Well, is this in the context of the entire league or just the leading scorer for one particular team? If we go by name recognition, or celebrity status, you'll still have a handful of teams that don't really have a player that fits the bill (i.e. Nashville). Is star defined by how much the player is paid? Are we designating any one team's highest paid player as the star that's immune to hits? What if your highest paid player is a defensemen--not typical, but could be the case in Nashville next season--and his job is to hit and be hit? What then?
Let's pretend for a minute that we could agree on one of those criteria for defining the "star" player on any team. Any one of them except the highest paid player criteria could still result in one team having five or seven stars and some teams having one or even none. So, would the team be required to designate their star player that can't be hit? Would he wear a different color jersey, or have a big "NH" on his back indicating "no hitting"?
Of course not. Let's get real here people. It would be neither fair to the rest of the team, nor rational by any stretch of the mind, to create a rule like this. The Crosbyphiles in the hockey media are just heartbroken they don't have their favorite pet to report on day in and day out. They are beside themselves with the thought that he might not win the Rocket Trophy this year, even though when they aren't blowing Crosby they are right there blowing Stamkos. (They don't even have to worry about Ovechkin this year because his scoring is so off pace.) Sometimes I think they just talk without actually thinking about what they said, in order to fill air time and linger on Crosby even when he's not playing. But something so insanely ridiculous as that suggestion was, even if it was off the cuff, just set me off. It goes to the very heart of why I don't like Crosby--he's a whiny little wimp of a player that doesn't play a full game. He doesn't hit. It goes to the very heart of what I hate about the NHL Network commentators because you better believe it wouldn't be the case if the injured player in question was from Nashville (I know this for a fact because we've had concussed players before, even ones that could have been considered our "stars"). It certainly wouldn't be the case if the one sitting out games right now was Ovechkin. And it goes to the very heart of what pisses me off about the NHL in general--that they want to sanitize the game to the point it's no longer a contact sport at all.
So, I'm sorry Pittsburgh that your star is currently unavailable to play. I'm sorry Crosby that you have a headache and are dizzy. But I'm not sorry for calling bullshit when I see it, and this is one of the clearest examples of bullshit that I've heard in a loooooooong time.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Wrong Track
**I actually started this post on 11/19/10, shortly after the midterm elections, but didn't finish it. Now it's time to revisit it, particularly in light of recent events and news surrounding the subject.**
I haven't written a political post in a while, but lately I've been hearing two words fairly often that I can't ignore which have promoted me to speak up. As a newly minted "young Republican" I'm terrified by these two words I keep hearing. Those are: Sarah Palin.
Don't get me wrong, I like her. I liked her from the start, I've never understood why people hate her with such venom and I don't think she's done anything to deserve the treatment she's gotten in both political circles and the press. That said, I don't think she has what it takes to run for President. That is different from having what it takes to BE President, mind you, and I'll address that later. But for now, let's focus on the 2012 election.
Her support is not widespread. She will never get a fair treatment in the press. She's extremely polarizing. Not even all Republicans like her. She has a snowball's chance in hell of beating Barack Obama, which says alot since a wet sock could probably beat Obama at this point. If the Republicans really think that she is a viable candidate then that is a serious problem. A problem of epic proportions. Because it is clearly not the case and all polling data says so. I don't think she single handedly sunk the McCain campaign but she certainly didn't help it. If the Republicans back her I won't be able to tell if they are just absolutely out of their fucking minds or if they want to lose.
Now she has this silly little reality show (that I haven't seen yet, but would like to). While it may change the way some people view her and her family, I doubt it will have a major impact because the people that don't like her probably aren't going to watch anyway. Even if they did, most people who dislike her do so for intangible reasons having nothing to do with her actual personality. I also don't care what "age" we live in, no one should be President after having a reality show about their family. Sorry.
She simply doesn't have what it takes to run. It seems clear now that she's more concerned about staying in the public eye and remaining relevant to something than doing what's right for this country, or even her party. If she did care she would gracefully bow out of the spotlight. The only plausible reason for her to remain in the public arena would be as a straw man, giving the Democrats someone to attack that isn't their main candidate. They could be using her to deflect attention from whomever they are actually grooming to run. While I see merit in that strategy I still think it's more harmful to keep her around.
As for having what it takes to actually be President, I'm not so sure. As McCain's running mate I wasn't scared by the possibility of her being "one heartbeat from the Presidency." I still don't think she'd be any worse than the previous or current Presidents, but I'm also getting tired of Presidents who can't accomplish anything. She would be as polarizing, if not more so, than Obama so I'm not hopeful that she would be effective.
Everything preceding this point in the post was from the original 11/19/10 writing. In the past few weeks Palin had become the focus of the mainstream media yet again for reasons on which I'm not really clear. Then the shooting in Arizona happened over the weekend and this week has just been a media firestorm looking to blame anyone, particularly anyone conservative, and Palin took most of the heat because of particular graphics she had used on her website during the campaign and "combat-like" rhetoric she has used. Aside from the fact that the shooter is clearly apolitical and just plain crazy, nothing Palin has done or said really makes her deserving of the blame here. If you want to blame the conservative punditry in the country for souring the political discourse, go right ahead, even though I still think you'd be mostly wrong. To single out Palin, however, is more than wrong--but it's not unexpected or surprising. When she finally made a statement addressing all of the bogus claims against her she was subject to even more criticism for using the term "blood libel." It just serves as one more example of why she's not a viable candidate for POTUS in 2012, and why the conservative movement should begin to distance themselves from her.
It's hard for me to admit, because I do want to like her so, but Palin is clearly more interested in fame and all that has brought into her life, than doing what's right for the country or even her beloved party. I have no problem with her remaining in the public eye, but continually feeding her ego monster isn't helping anyone, even the so-called Tea Party movement. With the splits that are occurring in the conservative movement right now it's not a good idea to cling to any one particular figure or force. If conservatives are serious about saving the country from the liberal onslaught of socialist-style programs and higher taxes and spending then they need to set their sights on a unifying figure to lead the party into this decade. Continuing to prop Palin up against any and all odds just makes them look foolish and power hungry, like everyone suspects.
I haven't written a political post in a while, but lately I've been hearing two words fairly often that I can't ignore which have promoted me to speak up. As a newly minted "young Republican" I'm terrified by these two words I keep hearing. Those are: Sarah Palin.
Don't get me wrong, I like her. I liked her from the start, I've never understood why people hate her with such venom and I don't think she's done anything to deserve the treatment she's gotten in both political circles and the press. That said, I don't think she has what it takes to run for President. That is different from having what it takes to BE President, mind you, and I'll address that later. But for now, let's focus on the 2012 election.
Her support is not widespread. She will never get a fair treatment in the press. She's extremely polarizing. Not even all Republicans like her. She has a snowball's chance in hell of beating Barack Obama, which says alot since a wet sock could probably beat Obama at this point. If the Republicans really think that she is a viable candidate then that is a serious problem. A problem of epic proportions. Because it is clearly not the case and all polling data says so. I don't think she single handedly sunk the McCain campaign but she certainly didn't help it. If the Republicans back her I won't be able to tell if they are just absolutely out of their fucking minds or if they want to lose.
Now she has this silly little reality show (that I haven't seen yet, but would like to). While it may change the way some people view her and her family, I doubt it will have a major impact because the people that don't like her probably aren't going to watch anyway. Even if they did, most people who dislike her do so for intangible reasons having nothing to do with her actual personality. I also don't care what "age" we live in, no one should be President after having a reality show about their family. Sorry.
She simply doesn't have what it takes to run. It seems clear now that she's more concerned about staying in the public eye and remaining relevant to something than doing what's right for this country, or even her party. If she did care she would gracefully bow out of the spotlight. The only plausible reason for her to remain in the public arena would be as a straw man, giving the Democrats someone to attack that isn't their main candidate. They could be using her to deflect attention from whomever they are actually grooming to run. While I see merit in that strategy I still think it's more harmful to keep her around.
As for having what it takes to actually be President, I'm not so sure. As McCain's running mate I wasn't scared by the possibility of her being "one heartbeat from the Presidency." I still don't think she'd be any worse than the previous or current Presidents, but I'm also getting tired of Presidents who can't accomplish anything. She would be as polarizing, if not more so, than Obama so I'm not hopeful that she would be effective.
Everything preceding this point in the post was from the original 11/19/10 writing. In the past few weeks Palin had become the focus of the mainstream media yet again for reasons on which I'm not really clear. Then the shooting in Arizona happened over the weekend and this week has just been a media firestorm looking to blame anyone, particularly anyone conservative, and Palin took most of the heat because of particular graphics she had used on her website during the campaign and "combat-like" rhetoric she has used. Aside from the fact that the shooter is clearly apolitical and just plain crazy, nothing Palin has done or said really makes her deserving of the blame here. If you want to blame the conservative punditry in the country for souring the political discourse, go right ahead, even though I still think you'd be mostly wrong. To single out Palin, however, is more than wrong--but it's not unexpected or surprising. When she finally made a statement addressing all of the bogus claims against her she was subject to even more criticism for using the term "blood libel." It just serves as one more example of why she's not a viable candidate for POTUS in 2012, and why the conservative movement should begin to distance themselves from her.
It's hard for me to admit, because I do want to like her so, but Palin is clearly more interested in fame and all that has brought into her life, than doing what's right for the country or even her beloved party. I have no problem with her remaining in the public eye, but continually feeding her ego monster isn't helping anyone, even the so-called Tea Party movement. With the splits that are occurring in the conservative movement right now it's not a good idea to cling to any one particular figure or force. If conservatives are serious about saving the country from the liberal onslaught of socialist-style programs and higher taxes and spending then they need to set their sights on a unifying figure to lead the party into this decade. Continuing to prop Palin up against any and all odds just makes them look foolish and power hungry, like everyone suspects.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Hockey Thoughts: Streaky, Streaky
We're just past the half way mark of the 2010-2011 season and all I can say for the Preds is that they are streaky. It's been a rough rollercoaster ride of ups and downs--feast or famine. One week they are scoring 4-5 goals a game and whooping ass, the next week they drop five in a row and end up in the points basement again.
injuries have been a problem of late, but the team is still finding a way to string together wins with a depleted roster (that isn't all that strong to begin with). Unfortunately, they are also finding ways to string together losses just as frequently. The Western Conference in a points logjam as usual any more slides could prove fatal come April.
Colin Wilson is showing alot of promise, but so was Cal O'Reilly until he broke his leg in a freak fall. Several more new players are getting out there and making a difference, but on the whole it's hard to predict going into any game where the final score will end up.
As for the Caps, they are also a little streaky--or rather just plain inconsistent--winning one, or two then dropping one or two. They can't seem to string together any performance whatsoever except to be a complete disaster. They are losing their grip on the Southeast division, and are falling in the standings, albeit slowly, since the Eastern conference isn't quite as close a race in points as the Western.
I'll check back on things around the All-Star break, but for now I'm content with how the seasons are playing out, for the most part. For the last four years that the Winter Classic has been played, one of the two teams has ended up in the Stanley Cup finals...let's pray that the blessing falls on the Caps and not the Pens.
injuries have been a problem of late, but the team is still finding a way to string together wins with a depleted roster (that isn't all that strong to begin with). Unfortunately, they are also finding ways to string together losses just as frequently. The Western Conference in a points logjam as usual any more slides could prove fatal come April.
Colin Wilson is showing alot of promise, but so was Cal O'Reilly until he broke his leg in a freak fall. Several more new players are getting out there and making a difference, but on the whole it's hard to predict going into any game where the final score will end up.
As for the Caps, they are also a little streaky--or rather just plain inconsistent--winning one, or two then dropping one or two. They can't seem to string together any performance whatsoever except to be a complete disaster. They are losing their grip on the Southeast division, and are falling in the standings, albeit slowly, since the Eastern conference isn't quite as close a race in points as the Western.
I'll check back on things around the All-Star break, but for now I'm content with how the seasons are playing out, for the most part. For the last four years that the Winter Classic has been played, one of the two teams has ended up in the Stanley Cup finals...let's pray that the blessing falls on the Caps and not the Pens.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Winter Classic: Post-Game
We are back home safe and sound and no worse for the wear, despite our post-game transportation adventure (details later). The most important news is, of course: CAPS WIN!!!!!
What a massive relief that is! On top of it, it was a good game overall even though it took the entire first period for the two teams to adjust to the awful ice conditions. Due to the poor ice it wasn't a fast paced game, but it was a full 60 minutes of hard-hitting hockey between two great teams that have no lover for each other.
According to the TV announcers, there were about 30,000 Caps fans and 40,000 Pens fans, but I can tell you that doesn't seem accurate. We were outnumbered at least 2-1 in there. There was much less outright venom between the fans, though. That's not to say there were no assholes running around or that it was a pleasant atmosphere, but for the most part the two groups kept to themselves and ignored each other. To the point that the concession stand lines alternated between Pens fan-only lines and Caps fan-only lines. All self-segregated. on the concourse you'd see groups of red and groups of blue/black. I only saw one couple that was "mixed" and one pair of males that were "mixed." Beyond that it was all or nothing in the crowd. This is a departure from every other game I've ever been to, even Nashville vs. Detroit games, where you'll see groups of fans socializing in whatever jerseys. The fans grouping together allowed me to meet a handful of people who were also Mason alum, and that was really cool since I rarely run into any at home.
Other than saying the game was just amazing, I don't really have much to say about the details of it. It was a gritty dump-and-chase game due to the ice conditions but these two teams still made it entertaining somehow. We were worried that it would just fly by but it seemed to move at just the right pace mentally--not too fast, but also not too slow. Considering how tired we were it could have been a massive bore had the pace of the game not seemed fast enough.
I didn't even get that discouraged when Malkin scored first. I was confident that the Caps would keep it close and my faith was rewarded when the Caps scored shortly after. What I didn't expect was that Malkin's goal would be the last for the Pens!! He did get the puck in the net one more time, but it was waved off for goaltender interference. Ovechkin also had a goal waved off for the same late in the game, but that was a questionable call since Fleury was out of his crease beside and behind the net, and the puck already in the goal, when the contact occurred. Good thing they didn't need that point, but it still would have been awesome if Ovi had scored--especially since Crosby was held without a point in the game.
The Pens fans started filing out early, so by the time the game was over it was fairly safe to celebrate without fear of being verbally harassed--and despite their seriously disgusting attitude all night the Pens fans were SILENT on the way out. It was an amazing feeling to walk out of there with a Caps win in hand since it was such a long walk out!
Little did we know that our adventure was just beginning. We went straight away to the bus stop and got down there about 11:25. It started to rain pretty steady so we found cover and waited a bit longer. Kirby was being very impatient waiting for the bus, so I looked on my phone and discovered that the buses started running at the start of the 3rd period (WTF?!?) and the last bus would leave 45 minutes after the end of the game. We were still within that point when we got down there, but once it had been 45 minutes since the game ended and no bus had picked us up, we decided to start walking to the T Station.
We tried using the navigation on our phones but we immediately got lost just a few blocks from the stadium, so we stopped and asked a cop for directions. She pointed us to the Wood St. station, which is actually 2 stops down from where we got off, but was the closest to us. I don't know why I didn't think of that, but apparently my city skills are rusty. So, we cross the bridge and then can't find the station, so I ask another cop for directions. We go the three additional blocks to the station and get there about 12:15. We wait almost 30 minutes for a train to arrive, and get on the first one that shows up which services our line/station. Because of where our station was located (where we parked) we needed to transfer from the one that picked us up to another, smaller train that would take us to our lot.
We got off the train around 1:00 and waited for a while for another train. It was getting later and colder so I pulled out my phone again to look up the schedule and couldn't find any information about actual stop times, just the same info that we used to plan the trip in the first place. The same information that said the trains would be running until 2:00 am. Several out of service trains came by and we figured out that we were probably SOL. Finally, around 1:45am one of the out of service trains stopped and the driver asked if we needed help. We told him what was going on and he said that he'd never heard the service was supposed to run until 2:00, and that he was actually supposed to stop at 12:30, but had just taken his last trip. He wasn't able to give us any other information, like a nearby gas station where we could go and try to stay warm while coming up with a solution, or a number for a cab company.
At that point we decided to start walking and follow the tracks back to our car. After a couple blocks we lost the ability to follow the track and it was a dark and deserted, and not very savory, residential neighborhood. We turned back and then went out to the "main road" by the station, which was also poorly lit and did not have any sidewalks. I knew if we followed that road it would get us back to our car, but we had no clue how long we had to walk and Kirby was not in agreement as to the direction we needed to walk in the first place. His phone was completely dead and mine was close so we didn't want to waste phone battery looking online for any more information, but we knew we needed to do something or get somewhere fast.
As we were sitting there trying to figure out what to do a cop drove by on the main road and Kirby unsuccessfully tried to flag him down. Immediately after that a cab whipped into the parking lot and let out a full load of Pens fans that apparently couldn't even get to the station where we were. We ran over to the cab as quickly as possible and asked if he could take us to that station. He said he wasn't really supposed to, but that he could. As we rode with him to our station he said the same thing had happened to those fans he has just dropped off, and that there were still a bunch of people downtown that could not get out. We had been warned by a friend who used to live in Pittsburgh that it has the worst cab service of any major city, and they were not kidding. The cab driver told us that he was not supposed to be that far out of the city during "peak times" and he said we were lucky he came by because no cab company would have sent anyone out that far to pick us up!!! The only way those people convinced him to make the trip was by offering him an extra $20. Over the course of the ride we realized we would have never made it back to our car walking because it was at least 5 miles farther from where we were stranded, even though it was directly down the road I believed it to be on, in the direction I felt we needed to go. We finally got back to our car at 2:45 am and gave the driver $40 for an $18 fare. We were just relieved to have gotten a ride at all, and thanking God for sending us an angel in the form of this particular cab driver!!
Our hotel room was about 45 more minutes away, and I could not drive because i was just too tired and my eyes were killing me. I fell asleep as soon as we got on the interstate. On our way out of--get this--South Park, we were followed by a cop for a few miles. We were going a bit over the limit and when Kirby realized it was a cop and slowed down he whipped a U-turn in the middle of the road and went away. All I can say is that it was fortunate for everyone involved that he did turn around because he would have gotten an earful at that point and we would have ended up in jail.
Kirby drove us to the hotel, and apparently stopped at a truck stop to find food, since it had been our original plan to stop for food on the way back and eat in the room...and that didn't quite materialize. We got back to the room at exactly 4:00 am, almost exactly 5 hours after the end of the game. We were damp, cold, tired and sore. I put the microwave pizza in the microwave, hopped in the tub to warm up and then basically sleep ate the pizza. I could barely function but knew that I needed to eat since it had been 15 hours since I ate anything, and if I went to sleep without eating I'd really regret it in the morning. I told Kirby, "I'd really like to brush my teeth right now, but I can't. As soon as I lay my head down on this pillow I'll be out." He said I wasn't kidding, and fell asleep immediately after laying down--he'd never seen anyone fall asleep that fast!
But despite all the trouble we had getting back after the game, it was still preferable (if only marginally) to parking downtown. We heard from people on the train that they were charging $100 to park anywhere downtown, and we certainly weren't prepared to do that!
All in, though, it was tons of fun despite our shitty experience with the Port Authority public transit! It is simply one of those things that just doesn't translate over TV. You have to see it to believe it. Being surrounded by that many real hockey fans created an energy that can't be described. Kirby now wants to go to every Winter Classic from here on out. We'll see about that...but I can't say I regret going to this one.
What a massive relief that is! On top of it, it was a good game overall even though it took the entire first period for the two teams to adjust to the awful ice conditions. Due to the poor ice it wasn't a fast paced game, but it was a full 60 minutes of hard-hitting hockey between two great teams that have no lover for each other.
According to the TV announcers, there were about 30,000 Caps fans and 40,000 Pens fans, but I can tell you that doesn't seem accurate. We were outnumbered at least 2-1 in there. There was much less outright venom between the fans, though. That's not to say there were no assholes running around or that it was a pleasant atmosphere, but for the most part the two groups kept to themselves and ignored each other. To the point that the concession stand lines alternated between Pens fan-only lines and Caps fan-only lines. All self-segregated. on the concourse you'd see groups of red and groups of blue/black. I only saw one couple that was "mixed" and one pair of males that were "mixed." Beyond that it was all or nothing in the crowd. This is a departure from every other game I've ever been to, even Nashville vs. Detroit games, where you'll see groups of fans socializing in whatever jerseys. The fans grouping together allowed me to meet a handful of people who were also Mason alum, and that was really cool since I rarely run into any at home.
Other than saying the game was just amazing, I don't really have much to say about the details of it. It was a gritty dump-and-chase game due to the ice conditions but these two teams still made it entertaining somehow. We were worried that it would just fly by but it seemed to move at just the right pace mentally--not too fast, but also not too slow. Considering how tired we were it could have been a massive bore had the pace of the game not seemed fast enough.
I didn't even get that discouraged when Malkin scored first. I was confident that the Caps would keep it close and my faith was rewarded when the Caps scored shortly after. What I didn't expect was that Malkin's goal would be the last for the Pens!! He did get the puck in the net one more time, but it was waved off for goaltender interference. Ovechkin also had a goal waved off for the same late in the game, but that was a questionable call since Fleury was out of his crease beside and behind the net, and the puck already in the goal, when the contact occurred. Good thing they didn't need that point, but it still would have been awesome if Ovi had scored--especially since Crosby was held without a point in the game.
The Pens fans started filing out early, so by the time the game was over it was fairly safe to celebrate without fear of being verbally harassed--and despite their seriously disgusting attitude all night the Pens fans were SILENT on the way out. It was an amazing feeling to walk out of there with a Caps win in hand since it was such a long walk out!
Little did we know that our adventure was just beginning. We went straight away to the bus stop and got down there about 11:25. It started to rain pretty steady so we found cover and waited a bit longer. Kirby was being very impatient waiting for the bus, so I looked on my phone and discovered that the buses started running at the start of the 3rd period (WTF?!?) and the last bus would leave 45 minutes after the end of the game. We were still within that point when we got down there, but once it had been 45 minutes since the game ended and no bus had picked us up, we decided to start walking to the T Station.
We tried using the navigation on our phones but we immediately got lost just a few blocks from the stadium, so we stopped and asked a cop for directions. She pointed us to the Wood St. station, which is actually 2 stops down from where we got off, but was the closest to us. I don't know why I didn't think of that, but apparently my city skills are rusty. So, we cross the bridge and then can't find the station, so I ask another cop for directions. We go the three additional blocks to the station and get there about 12:15. We wait almost 30 minutes for a train to arrive, and get on the first one that shows up which services our line/station. Because of where our station was located (where we parked) we needed to transfer from the one that picked us up to another, smaller train that would take us to our lot.
We got off the train around 1:00 and waited for a while for another train. It was getting later and colder so I pulled out my phone again to look up the schedule and couldn't find any information about actual stop times, just the same info that we used to plan the trip in the first place. The same information that said the trains would be running until 2:00 am. Several out of service trains came by and we figured out that we were probably SOL. Finally, around 1:45am one of the out of service trains stopped and the driver asked if we needed help. We told him what was going on and he said that he'd never heard the service was supposed to run until 2:00, and that he was actually supposed to stop at 12:30, but had just taken his last trip. He wasn't able to give us any other information, like a nearby gas station where we could go and try to stay warm while coming up with a solution, or a number for a cab company.
At that point we decided to start walking and follow the tracks back to our car. After a couple blocks we lost the ability to follow the track and it was a dark and deserted, and not very savory, residential neighborhood. We turned back and then went out to the "main road" by the station, which was also poorly lit and did not have any sidewalks. I knew if we followed that road it would get us back to our car, but we had no clue how long we had to walk and Kirby was not in agreement as to the direction we needed to walk in the first place. His phone was completely dead and mine was close so we didn't want to waste phone battery looking online for any more information, but we knew we needed to do something or get somewhere fast.
As we were sitting there trying to figure out what to do a cop drove by on the main road and Kirby unsuccessfully tried to flag him down. Immediately after that a cab whipped into the parking lot and let out a full load of Pens fans that apparently couldn't even get to the station where we were. We ran over to the cab as quickly as possible and asked if he could take us to that station. He said he wasn't really supposed to, but that he could. As we rode with him to our station he said the same thing had happened to those fans he has just dropped off, and that there were still a bunch of people downtown that could not get out. We had been warned by a friend who used to live in Pittsburgh that it has the worst cab service of any major city, and they were not kidding. The cab driver told us that he was not supposed to be that far out of the city during "peak times" and he said we were lucky he came by because no cab company would have sent anyone out that far to pick us up!!! The only way those people convinced him to make the trip was by offering him an extra $20. Over the course of the ride we realized we would have never made it back to our car walking because it was at least 5 miles farther from where we were stranded, even though it was directly down the road I believed it to be on, in the direction I felt we needed to go. We finally got back to our car at 2:45 am and gave the driver $40 for an $18 fare. We were just relieved to have gotten a ride at all, and thanking God for sending us an angel in the form of this particular cab driver!!
Our hotel room was about 45 more minutes away, and I could not drive because i was just too tired and my eyes were killing me. I fell asleep as soon as we got on the interstate. On our way out of--get this--South Park, we were followed by a cop for a few miles. We were going a bit over the limit and when Kirby realized it was a cop and slowed down he whipped a U-turn in the middle of the road and went away. All I can say is that it was fortunate for everyone involved that he did turn around because he would have gotten an earful at that point and we would have ended up in jail.
Kirby drove us to the hotel, and apparently stopped at a truck stop to find food, since it had been our original plan to stop for food on the way back and eat in the room...and that didn't quite materialize. We got back to the room at exactly 4:00 am, almost exactly 5 hours after the end of the game. We were damp, cold, tired and sore. I put the microwave pizza in the microwave, hopped in the tub to warm up and then basically sleep ate the pizza. I could barely function but knew that I needed to eat since it had been 15 hours since I ate anything, and if I went to sleep without eating I'd really regret it in the morning. I told Kirby, "I'd really like to brush my teeth right now, but I can't. As soon as I lay my head down on this pillow I'll be out." He said I wasn't kidding, and fell asleep immediately after laying down--he'd never seen anyone fall asleep that fast!
But despite all the trouble we had getting back after the game, it was still preferable (if only marginally) to parking downtown. We heard from people on the train that they were charging $100 to park anywhere downtown, and we certainly weren't prepared to do that!
All in, though, it was tons of fun despite our shitty experience with the Port Authority public transit! It is simply one of those things that just doesn't translate over TV. You have to see it to believe it. Being surrounded by that many real hockey fans created an energy that can't be described. Kirby now wants to go to every Winter Classic from here on out. We'll see about that...but I can't say I regret going to this one.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Winter Classic: Pre-Game
As is apparently required by law, we did not get out of town on time. Not that it really mattered other than the fact that we constantly dream about how awesome it must feel to actually get on the road on schedule and not be running around like decapitated chickens up until we pull out of the driveway.
It's 11:37 CST, so in essence we're still in 2010 but physically we're already in EST so we're already 37 minutes into the new year, and new decade...and the day of the Winter Classic! Of course I was still on edge all day yesterday about the weather situation and desperately hoped the NHL would announce something, at least by the morning before we'd leave our hotel and head into the city. Apparently they announced their decision to move the game to 8:00pm at almost the exact same time we got on the road (3:30CST). But I was the first shift driver, therefore not messing around on my phone or the computer, and Kirby was napping (and thus not on the computer) so we missed the news by just a few minutes. I would have been less stressed about our departure time had I known we weren't going to have to get up early to head down for the game. We were listening to the Preds vs. Minnesota game on the drive and heard them mention it, but their announcers are a little slow and they never made it clear if it was an official start time move so it was hard to tell if they were just discussing it. We stopped to eat about two hours later and I immediately pulled out my phone to check "official" outlets, and once I saw the release from NHL.com we were both very relieved.
The drive went strangely well. Not many people on the roads and we didn't hit any traffic, or even slow areas, the entire ~500 miles or so. That was a welcome break for sure.
So we got into our room and I set about looking for another hotel. I eventually found one, and for a little less than we're paying here, so in the end it isn't too bad...and if we have to pack all our stuff up and move to another room it's really not that much more work to just go to a different hotel and save us some time after the game. I'm sure we'll be beat, so the shorter the distance we have to travel then, the better. The drive to St. Clairsville was right about 7.5 (driving time) on the nose, so another 30 minutes or so won't make or break the drive home tomorrow.
After I had the hotel situation resolved I turned to figuring out parking. I'm usually the type of person that over plans a road trip and has everything mapped out, with alternatives, etc...but for some reason I figured I'd deal with that when we got here. I also assumed that parking information was in the brochure that came with the tickets, but I'd only scanned it, and come to find out it only had information on the pre-purchase lots, to which we do not have a pass. Since we have no idea what people will be charging for lots around the stadium area (but assume that we'd get off lucky with $20), we don't know our way around at all, and it's going to be PACKED down there we decided to look into the public transit.
So, it got really late on us fast and I finally laid down to go to sleep around 5:00am local time. It was only 4:00am to me mentally, but that's still freaking late!! The first two hours I slept soundly, but then I started waking up every hour on the hour thinking it was time to get up. Every time I felt like I'd been asleep FOR-EV-ER!!! So, at 9:30 I decided to go ahead and get up, so we didn't have to rush out of here, and I'll attend to getting dressed and maybe a nap when we get checked into the other hotel.
That brings us to right now...having a muffin and some coffee...about to throw some clothes on and round up all our crap. I don't think it's really sunk in just yet. I was thinking about it before falling asleep last night and it still doesn't feel real. Just to see a Caps vs. Pens game at all is something I've wanted to do for the past couple years, and to see THIS one in particular is a really big deal. Obviously I want the Caps to win, but even if they don't I just hope we get a good game out of it, like the one last week. It won't be as entertaining if it's very lopsided, even if it's lopsided in favor of the Caps.
That's all for now...more to come after the game!! LET'S GO CAPS!!!
It's 11:37 CST, so in essence we're still in 2010 but physically we're already in EST so we're already 37 minutes into the new year, and new decade...and the day of the Winter Classic! Of course I was still on edge all day yesterday about the weather situation and desperately hoped the NHL would announce something, at least by the morning before we'd leave our hotel and head into the city. Apparently they announced their decision to move the game to 8:00pm at almost the exact same time we got on the road (3:30CST). But I was the first shift driver, therefore not messing around on my phone or the computer, and Kirby was napping (and thus not on the computer) so we missed the news by just a few minutes. I would have been less stressed about our departure time had I known we weren't going to have to get up early to head down for the game. We were listening to the Preds vs. Minnesota game on the drive and heard them mention it, but their announcers are a little slow and they never made it clear if it was an official start time move so it was hard to tell if they were just discussing it. We stopped to eat about two hours later and I immediately pulled out my phone to check "official" outlets, and once I saw the release from NHL.com we were both very relieved.
The drive went strangely well. Not many people on the roads and we didn't hit any traffic, or even slow areas, the entire ~500 miles or so. That was a welcome break for sure.
*****
We arrived at our hotel at 1:00am on the dot. When I checked in I was informed that our room is scheduled for remodel and that we'd have to check out this morning and then they'd check us back into a different room. I made the (I think, rational) case that we should just be allowed to stay in the room since we'll be out early tomorrow morning...it's one extra day not an extra week. Or even couple of days. Not surprisingly, the night desk guy said I'd have to ask a manager in the morning. Kirby and I discussed it while we unloaded the car and briefly entertained the ides of driving back farther West after the game before stopping for the night until we remembered that we'd have all our stuff in the car while it was parked downtown tonight, including quite a bit of electronic gear. We agreed that it would be a better idea to find another hotel closer in toward town to check into this afternoon, get ready for the game and then not have to drive as far after, since it will be 11:30pm by the time it ends, and then probably another hour or so to get back out of the downtown area to where we'll be parked.So we got into our room and I set about looking for another hotel. I eventually found one, and for a little less than we're paying here, so in the end it isn't too bad...and if we have to pack all our stuff up and move to another room it's really not that much more work to just go to a different hotel and save us some time after the game. I'm sure we'll be beat, so the shorter the distance we have to travel then, the better. The drive to St. Clairsville was right about 7.5 (driving time) on the nose, so another 30 minutes or so won't make or break the drive home tomorrow.
After I had the hotel situation resolved I turned to figuring out parking. I'm usually the type of person that over plans a road trip and has everything mapped out, with alternatives, etc...but for some reason I figured I'd deal with that when we got here. I also assumed that parking information was in the brochure that came with the tickets, but I'd only scanned it, and come to find out it only had information on the pre-purchase lots, to which we do not have a pass. Since we have no idea what people will be charging for lots around the stadium area (but assume that we'd get off lucky with $20), we don't know our way around at all, and it's going to be PACKED down there we decided to look into the public transit.
So, it got really late on us fast and I finally laid down to go to sleep around 5:00am local time. It was only 4:00am to me mentally, but that's still freaking late!! The first two hours I slept soundly, but then I started waking up every hour on the hour thinking it was time to get up. Every time I felt like I'd been asleep FOR-EV-ER!!! So, at 9:30 I decided to go ahead and get up, so we didn't have to rush out of here, and I'll attend to getting dressed and maybe a nap when we get checked into the other hotel.
That brings us to right now...having a muffin and some coffee...about to throw some clothes on and round up all our crap. I don't think it's really sunk in just yet. I was thinking about it before falling asleep last night and it still doesn't feel real. Just to see a Caps vs. Pens game at all is something I've wanted to do for the past couple years, and to see THIS one in particular is a really big deal. Obviously I want the Caps to win, but even if they don't I just hope we get a good game out of it, like the one last week. It won't be as entertaining if it's very lopsided, even if it's lopsided in favor of the Caps.
That's all for now...more to come after the game!! LET'S GO CAPS!!!
Winter Classic Eve
Finally...the eve of the Winter Classic. It came both quickly and slowly. We've been wicked busy at work so the month of December just flew by, but on the few occasions where I did have a little time to myself, at least enough to get bored, it seemed so far away still.
I still have to pack. I've got clothes in the dryer I need for the trip. I swear the dryer sucks. Kirby says my loads of laundry are too big and that his dry just fine on medium heat (I use high). This was not a large load. I think he's full of crap. It always takes more than an hour for my clothes to dry. They would have been done by now if I'd paid attention to when the washer got done, like, two hours before I remembered I had clothes in the wash.
I should just go to bed since Kirby decided to come home before we hit the road "to shower." Which is code for he was too tired/lazy to pack tonight. I'm sure that will end up delaying our departure by at least an hour. He can't "shower" in preparation for a trip in any reasonable amount of time. So, I will likely have plenty of time to pack tomorrow, and I could be getting rest now. I'm lying to myself saying I'll nap while he "showers." I'll be too excited. At least I volunteered to take the first leg of the driving! I'll also be sufficiently exhausted by the time we get to St. Clairsville, OH (and the hotel) that I hopefully won't have any trouble sleeping tomorrow night despite the ramped up excitement I expect to feel.
Ever since the last episode of 24/7 I've been uncontrollably excited. That commercial with the kid opening the Ovechkin jersey for Christmas? That's basically the scene inside my head all the time. I did manage to stay adequately focused at work on Thursday so that I accomplished much of what needed to be done. I still have a few remaining tasks to complete before being able to hit the road and actually enjoy the trip rather than fretting over all the stuff I didn't get done. My plan is to post this blog, check my e-mail and Facebook then get in to the shop and not touch the computer at all. Finish my work and then head home to get loaded up and on the road. I can screw around online while Kirby's "showering." Ha!
Right now I'm exceptionally tired so I'm not really feeling much of anything, but I have been uncharacteristically hyper the last two days despite getting only a few hours of sleep each night. The magnitude of the event itself and the undesirability of the drive have been occupying my mind so that I hadn't even stopped to think, "Man, I really hope the Caps pull this off!" Until a few hours ago. I started thinking that and now it's become an all-consuming thought loop in my mind...being played over the insanely excited Ovi jersey kid. It's making for a quite confusing mental state, honestly.
The issues over the weather have also kept me from being too overly concerned with the actual outcome of the game just yet. I think I may be subconsciously channeling all my nervousness and frustration into the weather situation which is deflecting the amount of worry I might otherwise feel about the game itself. The Caps' performance last week against the Pens has also been somewhat comforting, despite the loss.
I'm sure I have plenty of time to get worked up over the game. I really should get some rest, though, because this is going to be both physically and emotionally taxing. I know how tired I am after watching a regular season game live...or a Playoff game live...this should be at least as draining as a Playoff game, but probably more, if my initial guy reaction to the closing credits of this week's 24/7 is any indication.
Just as I finished typing this I heard dogs barking loudly and shrilly outside. Nothing unusual about that, really--you get one going then the whole neighborhood goes off. It just didn't stop. A few minutes of this terrible ruckus outside and I went out front to see what appeared to be a pack of dogs chasing and fighting each other at the end of the street. I ran back inside to put on my PJ pants, shoes and grabbed Kirby's wooden hockey stick (not one of the expensive composite ones!) but by the time I made it back out they were gone and it was silent. Needless to say I'm not particularly sleepy anymore and am on high alert for any more dog disturbance for a while. Very shocked that it didn't wake Rocky and Adrian, but they remained silent through the whole ordeal!
I still have to pack. I've got clothes in the dryer I need for the trip. I swear the dryer sucks. Kirby says my loads of laundry are too big and that his dry just fine on medium heat (I use high). This was not a large load. I think he's full of crap. It always takes more than an hour for my clothes to dry. They would have been done by now if I'd paid attention to when the washer got done, like, two hours before I remembered I had clothes in the wash.
I should just go to bed since Kirby decided to come home before we hit the road "to shower." Which is code for he was too tired/lazy to pack tonight. I'm sure that will end up delaying our departure by at least an hour. He can't "shower" in preparation for a trip in any reasonable amount of time. So, I will likely have plenty of time to pack tomorrow, and I could be getting rest now. I'm lying to myself saying I'll nap while he "showers." I'll be too excited. At least I volunteered to take the first leg of the driving! I'll also be sufficiently exhausted by the time we get to St. Clairsville, OH (and the hotel) that I hopefully won't have any trouble sleeping tomorrow night despite the ramped up excitement I expect to feel.
Ever since the last episode of 24/7 I've been uncontrollably excited. That commercial with the kid opening the Ovechkin jersey for Christmas? That's basically the scene inside my head all the time. I did manage to stay adequately focused at work on Thursday so that I accomplished much of what needed to be done. I still have a few remaining tasks to complete before being able to hit the road and actually enjoy the trip rather than fretting over all the stuff I didn't get done. My plan is to post this blog, check my e-mail and Facebook then get in to the shop and not touch the computer at all. Finish my work and then head home to get loaded up and on the road. I can screw around online while Kirby's "showering." Ha!
Right now I'm exceptionally tired so I'm not really feeling much of anything, but I have been uncharacteristically hyper the last two days despite getting only a few hours of sleep each night. The magnitude of the event itself and the undesirability of the drive have been occupying my mind so that I hadn't even stopped to think, "Man, I really hope the Caps pull this off!" Until a few hours ago. I started thinking that and now it's become an all-consuming thought loop in my mind...being played over the insanely excited Ovi jersey kid. It's making for a quite confusing mental state, honestly.
The issues over the weather have also kept me from being too overly concerned with the actual outcome of the game just yet. I think I may be subconsciously channeling all my nervousness and frustration into the weather situation which is deflecting the amount of worry I might otherwise feel about the game itself. The Caps' performance last week against the Pens has also been somewhat comforting, despite the loss.
I'm sure I have plenty of time to get worked up over the game. I really should get some rest, though, because this is going to be both physically and emotionally taxing. I know how tired I am after watching a regular season game live...or a Playoff game live...this should be at least as draining as a Playoff game, but probably more, if my initial guy reaction to the closing credits of this week's 24/7 is any indication.
Just as I finished typing this I heard dogs barking loudly and shrilly outside. Nothing unusual about that, really--you get one going then the whole neighborhood goes off. It just didn't stop. A few minutes of this terrible ruckus outside and I went out front to see what appeared to be a pack of dogs chasing and fighting each other at the end of the street. I ran back inside to put on my PJ pants, shoes and grabbed Kirby's wooden hockey stick (not one of the expensive composite ones!) but by the time I made it back out they were gone and it was silent. Needless to say I'm not particularly sleepy anymore and am on high alert for any more dog disturbance for a while. Very shocked that it didn't wake Rocky and Adrian, but they remained silent through the whole ordeal!
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