I'm not stuck under something I swear!

I'm taking time from my very busy international starlet schedule to touch base on the best game....yeah, I can't even type that honestly. I've just been lazy but I've watched a lot of hockey in the first month of this fine season and I've seen a lot that I wanna comment on.

Head Shots
There has been an awful lot about shots to the head lately and the issue of preferential treatment. I'm sorry, but if you hit a guy high and he has to go hospital for a concussion, you should miss the same amount of time the injured player does. End of story. No matter who you are or what you intended or not intended to do. That will stop shots to the head. A paltry $2,500 fine will do nothing. Hit them where it hurts - with ice time.

Killing Your Fantasy Team One Injury At A Time!
Some big (and not so big) names are on the shelf and it's really tossing some wrenches into fantasy hockey teams (well yeah, and I guess the NHL clubs they play for).

The latest injuries include Ilya Kovalchuk, Marc Savard, Jonathan Toews, and Sergei Gonchar. Those are some big names. For a complete list of who is banged up, check out Yahoo's Injury Report. There are a LOT of guys there. Now there are also some injured players that (perhaps to my down fall) holding on to for now because I don't want them to slip through my fingers when they come back to their rosters. I'm doing alright in my leagues. Leading one, upper middle of the packs in two others. Not bad for my first go around.

Will Wonders Ever Cease?
Now on to the surprises of this season. Hell, there are a ton (and not all for the good).

The Colorado Avalanche: A hall of fame shoe-in captain retired, two 18 year old boys on the roster and an somewhat untested goalie in net. Should spell disaster right? Wrong. They are leading the west with a hard working style of play. I give credit to the new coach and captain for that - Sacco and Foote dont strike me as the sort who want floaters around. Who knew Anderson (he gets my vote for a goalie for team USA in Vancouver) would be that good? Who could have guessed Duchene and O'Reilly would be ready to play with the big boys? Did anyone pick this version of the Av to win games? Total surprise and even if they do fall back to earth a bit, I think barring a huge injury bug settling down in Denver, this could be a playoff team.

The Buffalo Sabres: Read it here now. If Ryan Miller keeps up his play, he will be in the Venzia running. He's just got an all around solid game right now. Last season before an unfortunate run in with Scott Gomez, Miller was going to get his team into the playoffs. He's right back at it now and this time, the team in front of him are helping out. And for the record, I love Tyler Myers - all eighteen feet of him. Yes, he's made a mistake or two but what veteran in the league hasn't? He's allowed, and for all the good he's done, he should stay. I think he's shown that he can't learn much more in junior. He needs to stay in Buffalo (plus, he's giving Hank Tallinder a chance to get his confidence back. A good thing all around)

The Tampa Bay Lightening, the Ottawa Senators and The Atlanta Thrashers: Now, losing Kovalchuk will sting a bit for the Thrashers but these three teams surprise because they don't stink this year. I'm not sure they can sustain the success but as the Av have proven, you never know with this game of ours. And I still have a crush on Ronnie Hainsey. Shut it, I'm allowed.

The Pittsburgh Penguins: Is anyone really surprised by this team? As Shelly Anderson writes over at the Post Gazette "The Penguins don't feature a top-10 scorer despite employing skilled stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Haven't got a hot-shot rookie. Don't have one of the NHL's top-10 power plays. Haven't gotten a shutout victory, even though goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been stellar almost every game.

What they do have is a 9-2 record, giving them the most wins in the NHL." Hard to argue with teamwork.

Other not so surprising surprising teams include the Flames, the Sharks and the Craps. All playing some pretty darn good pucks.

Now To The Stinkers.
Is there team out there that can top the Maple Leafs in stinkatude. Granted, I feel bad for the players (some, not all) because they are out there and mostly young. Who I can blame is Brian know it fucking all Burke and Ron Wilson. Any takers on how long they will have their jobs?

While they aren't stinking so much as struggling, I give you the Red Wings. Now I have a personal belief on why they are struggling but I'm not going to say it (lets just say that I believe any team with a particular player on it won't have success. Hockey karma and all that) but they took some summer time losses and now are facing some injuries....that's gonna hurt any team. But they just don't seem to be the teams of old...which could be the problem. They are growing old and not adapting.

The Vancouver Canucks: after a blistering hot training camp schedule, the Canucks have slowed a bit. The all world goalie isn't looking so unbeatable and while they've also had some injuries, they seem to me a team that lacks something. I don't want to say focus but something.

Scheduling
I realize that with just a month into the season, there is a LOT to shake out yet. Also, this schedule? Blows. Hard. I'm tired of every one playing on Saturday and then sparse games through the week. I'm hoping it evens out over the next few weeks.

On a "not hockey" note, I just want to talk about a special anniversary I had on the 25th. A year ago, my folks and I went down to Coldwater and came back with a dog. Not just any dog, but my dog. Max has been the best dog for me - we're talking life changing - and I couldn't be happier with the way things have worked out. It's been a fun first year for the two of us and I look forward to many many more with him. If you can work it out in your life, I highly suggest getting a pet. You won't be sorry.

Wait... what?

Yes, it's been a while since we've updated and it's not that we don't love writing; but somehow we both get busy with other things including watching hockey. :) Hopefully we can get a chance to maybe get back in the swing of things and update more often.

But I just wanted to pop in and share a link from the local paper here in Hooterville that covers the Tips. It's a video of my boys being funny and dorky and pretty much being teenage boys in front of a camera. They did one like this last year too; but I think this year is even funnier.