Ok, I was supposed to be in bed like an hour ago (shut up, I have PT at o'dark thirty tomorrow) but I came across this little tidbit from Team Canada's camp:
Crosby playing centre on a line with Rick Nash and Jarome Iginla at Canadian Olympic camp.
The hockey fan side of me drools at the chance to see that line in action. You have speed, grit, edge, skill....all of it.
The bunny side of me just drools.
Ok, going to bed. For real. After I walk Max.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Happy days are here again!
Yes, it is indeed a good day here in Hooterville as the 2009-10 campaign has begun for my Everett Silvertips. Camp officially opens tomorrow; but the boys are reporting today for weigh-ins and meetings with on ice drills to begin tomorrow. There should be a combination of returning roster players, current listed players and tryouts; and it's always fun to see if there is some boy that no one ever heard of or isn't expected make the the team for another year or two have a breakout camp and they end up on the opening night roster. There should be quite a crowd for this year's camp as the Tips staff have decided not to have a separate rookie camp; but throw everyone in the pool together and see who surfaces at the end of the week.
I can sort of see their reasoning behind this, especially after last year, as there are not a whole lot of guys that are of an advanced age. There are two 20 year olds that I know are coming back and rumor has it that the club picked up a couple more from waivers; but the rest of the team is still fairly young. The team is allowing the public in to watch the afternoon scrimmages Wednesday to Friday; so hopefully I'll be able to get down to the CableBox to see them one or two days. If all else fails, they are having the annual Grey versus Green game on Saturday afternoon; and those are always entertaining.
After camp finishes up Saturday, they should continue to practice next week in preparation for the Labor Day Weekend tournament here in town next Friday through Sunday; then they head over the mountains to TriCity for their annual tourney, but I will not be going over due to work. The official start of the season is the 18th when they play two more games on the road then opening night at home is Friday the 26th against Vancouver.
Oh and not to forget but in between the tournament and opening night is the long anticipated NHL preseason game! Yes, that's right..... our little neck of the hockey woods has been gifted by the league with an exhibition game between the Phoenix Coyotes and the Tampa Bay Lightning! The Tips, in their infinite wisdom, let fans order tickets as part of a package with the preseason tourney tickets; and best of all was that season ticket holders got to order first. So I was on the horn the morning they were available and thanks to the credit card that I have on file there, I have my usual seat for that game which is two rows behind the glass! Man, when I got my ticket in the mail the other day, I am not sure but I think I petted it. Sad, I know; but hey, I live 2+ hours from professional hockey and now I just might get to see Wayne and Pete and Doaner and Bugsy and mmmmmVinny 10 feet from me! *squees and does a little fangirl dance*
But anyway, that is about it from me other than it's been a long summer and I can't wait to see what Craig Hartsburg and his crew will do this year. GO TIPS!
I can sort of see their reasoning behind this, especially after last year, as there are not a whole lot of guys that are of an advanced age. There are two 20 year olds that I know are coming back and rumor has it that the club picked up a couple more from waivers; but the rest of the team is still fairly young. The team is allowing the public in to watch the afternoon scrimmages Wednesday to Friday; so hopefully I'll be able to get down to the CableBox to see them one or two days. If all else fails, they are having the annual Grey versus Green game on Saturday afternoon; and those are always entertaining.
After camp finishes up Saturday, they should continue to practice next week in preparation for the Labor Day Weekend tournament here in town next Friday through Sunday; then they head over the mountains to TriCity for their annual tourney, but I will not be going over due to work. The official start of the season is the 18th when they play two more games on the road then opening night at home is Friday the 26th against Vancouver.
Oh and not to forget but in between the tournament and opening night is the long anticipated NHL preseason game! Yes, that's right..... our little neck of the hockey woods has been gifted by the league with an exhibition game between the Phoenix Coyotes and the Tampa Bay Lightning! The Tips, in their infinite wisdom, let fans order tickets as part of a package with the preseason tourney tickets; and best of all was that season ticket holders got to order first. So I was on the horn the morning they were available and thanks to the credit card that I have on file there, I have my usual seat for that game which is two rows behind the glass! Man, when I got my ticket in the mail the other day, I am not sure but I think I petted it. Sad, I know; but hey, I live 2+ hours from professional hockey and now I just might get to see Wayne and Pete and Doaner and Bugsy and mmmmmVinny 10 feet from me! *squees and does a little fangirl dance*
But anyway, that is about it from me other than it's been a long summer and I can't wait to see what Craig Hartsburg and his crew will do this year. GO TIPS!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Roasting Heatley
Lemme first get this out. I do not like Dany Heatley (or the Sens but that's a different post for a different time). I think the biggest reason is that if you kill someone, you should be punished a little more than bad dreams. Now that is out of the way, it looks like I'm not alone in my "dislike" stance. There were three articles over at Slam this weekend echoing my thoughts on the current situation:
No. 15 is your classic finger-pointer. It’s never his fault. His point totals have dropped by 33 in the last two seasons. He’s gone from being a 50-goal scorer to a 39-goal scorer. Why? Gotta be Cory Clouston. Gotta be that he’s playing two or three minutes less per game, and only half of power plays. It’s not Dany Boy.
In his own words, Dany Heatley has confirmed there are no hidden plots and that he is, indeed, the validated self-serving selfish jerk, authenticated me-me-me man with the astonishing sense of entitlement, certified coach killer and confirmed cancer he's been painted to be.
No longer known chiefly for his efforts with Team Canada or the fact he's a two-time 50-goal scorer who deserves to be one of the NHL's highest paid snipers, Heatley is now seen by the public as the poster boy for selfish athletes.
Yes, they are all bashing Heatley for his public trade debacle but you know what? All of what they say is true. I expect this sort of stuff from baseball or basketball (or heck even football), but unless your name is Keith Tkachuk, hockey players just don't do this sort of thing (and before anyone jumps on me, Tkachuk, not once but several times held out on a signed contract to have it re-worked. I'm sure there are others, but sue me, it's early and my morning started off not by going to physical therapy like I was supposed to, but calling maintenance because my stupid front door wouldn't lock from the outside).
Heatley wants people to know that he's not a bad guy, he's just in a bad spot. He makes it clear that this is nothing like the bad spot he was in while he played in Atlanta, this time it's totally different. What I think Heatley fails to understand is that Atlanta, though it still irritated many a hockey fan, was at least mildly understandable.
Ottawa, where he makes the most on the team, is a club that signed him in good faith to play for a boat load of money for several years. Now he wants out. Over playing time. This just smacks of Allen Iverson asking why practice was so important.
Can you imagine anyone in the Sens room wanting to see him pull on the same sweater? Bitching about playing time and your 'diminished role' on a team will win you no favors.
A few years ago, I heard the very quotable Brendan Shanahan say in jest, "There is no I in team but there is an M and a E."
Thanks Heatley for just making that statement seem more and more like the truth.
No. 15 is your classic finger-pointer. It’s never his fault. His point totals have dropped by 33 in the last two seasons. He’s gone from being a 50-goal scorer to a 39-goal scorer. Why? Gotta be Cory Clouston. Gotta be that he’s playing two or three minutes less per game, and only half of power plays. It’s not Dany Boy.
In his own words, Dany Heatley has confirmed there are no hidden plots and that he is, indeed, the validated self-serving selfish jerk, authenticated me-me-me man with the astonishing sense of entitlement, certified coach killer and confirmed cancer he's been painted to be.
No longer known chiefly for his efforts with Team Canada or the fact he's a two-time 50-goal scorer who deserves to be one of the NHL's highest paid snipers, Heatley is now seen by the public as the poster boy for selfish athletes.
Yes, they are all bashing Heatley for his public trade debacle but you know what? All of what they say is true. I expect this sort of stuff from baseball or basketball (or heck even football), but unless your name is Keith Tkachuk, hockey players just don't do this sort of thing (and before anyone jumps on me, Tkachuk, not once but several times held out on a signed contract to have it re-worked. I'm sure there are others, but sue me, it's early and my morning started off not by going to physical therapy like I was supposed to, but calling maintenance because my stupid front door wouldn't lock from the outside).
Heatley wants people to know that he's not a bad guy, he's just in a bad spot. He makes it clear that this is nothing like the bad spot he was in while he played in Atlanta, this time it's totally different. What I think Heatley fails to understand is that Atlanta, though it still irritated many a hockey fan, was at least mildly understandable.
Ottawa, where he makes the most on the team, is a club that signed him in good faith to play for a boat load of money for several years. Now he wants out. Over playing time. This just smacks of Allen Iverson asking why practice was so important.
Can you imagine anyone in the Sens room wanting to see him pull on the same sweater? Bitching about playing time and your 'diminished role' on a team will win you no favors.
A few years ago, I heard the very quotable Brendan Shanahan say in jest, "There is no I in team but there is an M and a E."
Thanks Heatley for just making that statement seem more and more like the truth.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Testing.... testing... is this thing on?
Good morning campers... It's been a while since we've updated, and it's not for lack of trying; but real life seems to get in the way. lol However, today I had some time and a few things to post, so heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go!
It's about 4 weeks until hockey returns to Everett with the annual Labor Day tournament that the Tips hold; and oh boy am I ready for it! It's nice to watch the playoff games on NHL Network; but it's never the same as it is in person. Two weeks after that we get a real treat when the Tampa Bay Bolts come to town with the Desert Dogs of Phoenix; and I am so so excited. I'm torn as to which bench I would like to be sitting behind; because as much as I would like to see Peter Mueller and Shaun Heshka I really really really want to see Vinny Lecavalier sitting six feet in front of me. lol
And speaking of the Tips, nepotism has hit Hooterville in the hiring of new head coach Craig Hartsburg's son Chris to take the assistant coach job that Mark LeRose gave up when he went to be an assistant with Kevin Constantine in Houston with the AHL. He coached a little in the IHL, which is a lower level pro league; and I'm sure having Dad being a coach for so long has rubbed off a little. We'll see how he does...it is also nice that he's pretty cute too. ;)
Last week as a little sad as two more players in Lisa and my generation retired. One was one of the few Winnipeg Jets left in the league, Teppo Numminen; and the other is one of the best American hockey players ever to be in the league, Jeremy Roenick.
JR is one of only four Americans to have scored at least 500 goals finishing with 513, 703 assists in 1,363 regular-season games with five teams; and his six goals in Game 7s is tied for second all time. He was also a nine-time All-Star and a two-time Olympian, helping team USA earn a silver medal in 2002. I hope that not winning a Cup doesn't keep him out of the Hall Of Fame because all that he has done not only for the NHL but the game of hockey in the States should be enough as it is a lot.
And last but not least is Sidney's day with the Cup on Friday; which was also his birthday. It just amazes me just what a star that boy is up in his native land when I see things like all of the press for his first trip west last year; then it was eclipsed tenfold on Friday for the Captain's Cup day-birthday party. National news and a bazillion people following him all over was just craziness! But luckily as captain, he gets a second day; so I would assume that he had a much more dialed down celebration on Saturday with his family and close friends.
There have been a bunch of videos chronicling Steve and Stanley's Excellent Adventure, but I love this one most of all because he gets to be himself while playing with his friends. He doesn't have to be Sidney Crosby, Captain; he can be Sid the lifelong friend of a few boys he used to play road hockey with. The look of pure joy on his face at the end of the game just makes me just love him even more than I already did...
It's about 4 weeks until hockey returns to Everett with the annual Labor Day tournament that the Tips hold; and oh boy am I ready for it! It's nice to watch the playoff games on NHL Network; but it's never the same as it is in person. Two weeks after that we get a real treat when the Tampa Bay Bolts come to town with the Desert Dogs of Phoenix; and I am so so excited. I'm torn as to which bench I would like to be sitting behind; because as much as I would like to see Peter Mueller and Shaun Heshka I really really really want to see Vinny Lecavalier sitting six feet in front of me. lol
And speaking of the Tips, nepotism has hit Hooterville in the hiring of new head coach Craig Hartsburg's son Chris to take the assistant coach job that Mark LeRose gave up when he went to be an assistant with Kevin Constantine in Houston with the AHL. He coached a little in the IHL, which is a lower level pro league; and I'm sure having Dad being a coach for so long has rubbed off a little. We'll see how he does...it is also nice that he's pretty cute too. ;)
Last week as a little sad as two more players in Lisa and my generation retired. One was one of the few Winnipeg Jets left in the league, Teppo Numminen; and the other is one of the best American hockey players ever to be in the league, Jeremy Roenick.
JR is one of only four Americans to have scored at least 500 goals finishing with 513, 703 assists in 1,363 regular-season games with five teams; and his six goals in Game 7s is tied for second all time. He was also a nine-time All-Star and a two-time Olympian, helping team USA earn a silver medal in 2002. I hope that not winning a Cup doesn't keep him out of the Hall Of Fame because all that he has done not only for the NHL but the game of hockey in the States should be enough as it is a lot.
And last but not least is Sidney's day with the Cup on Friday; which was also his birthday. It just amazes me just what a star that boy is up in his native land when I see things like all of the press for his first trip west last year; then it was eclipsed tenfold on Friday for the Captain's Cup day-birthday party. National news and a bazillion people following him all over was just craziness! But luckily as captain, he gets a second day; so I would assume that he had a much more dialed down celebration on Saturday with his family and close friends.
There have been a bunch of videos chronicling Steve and Stanley's Excellent Adventure, but I love this one most of all because he gets to be himself while playing with his friends. He doesn't have to be Sidney Crosby, Captain; he can be Sid the lifelong friend of a few boys he used to play road hockey with. The look of pure joy on his face at the end of the game just makes me just love him even more than I already did...
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