Well look who finally showed up!

Good afternoon campers. In case you are new to the blog or just plum forgot, I am Amy. I am also known as the NW Chica as I am up here in the NW corner of the country. You know... the place where nothing is ever live except the Superbowl and the Oscars. ;)

So what's going on out here in Hooterville? Well, my beloved baby boys have had a very rough season; and as of last week, it got even rougher. The Tips started the season 4-0 and then for some unknown reason, they just went Sybil. Some nights they could beat the world, then others seemed like no one gave a shit and they were just killing time until the party that night. So, here we are in the last week of January with an 18-22-3-4 record, which is good for 43 points and last in the Western Conference. Add to that our second leading scorer along with one of the top 4 D-men were traded a few weeks ago as well as our head coach was out for most of the season after having to have open heart surgery. Oh, and in case that wasn't enough, our captain Landon Ferraro, aka Parm Junior and a Wang prospect, has a sports hernia and will be out until the beginning of March at the earliest. Yay! *sighs*

Anyway... I hope that the All Star Break gives everyone a good rest because my pro teams are doing pretty well, especially the boys to the north. I am pleasantly surprised but cautiously optimistic about the way that the Canucks have played this season. This is because I've been a fan for over 20 years and have seen them have delusions of grandeur then get kicked in the nards when they either implode the last two weeks of the season or get destroyed in the 1st or 2nd round. I wasn't around for the 1st Cup run in '82, but I was for '94; and this year's team has shades of that one which has me excited and guarded at the same time.

So, since this has turned out shorter than expected since I seem to have gone into brain freeze, I will leave you. However, tomorrow, I'm hoping to get started a feature that I wanted to do before, but it never really came to fruition on a regular basis. It's called Boy of the Day and this will be something that I hope to post every day. It's not only to get to know more of the lesser known employees of the National Hockey League, but to show our appreciation of the male form. I know we might have some male readers; but hey... this page is run by three women. We're gonna look at the players that play this game too. ;9 If you have some suggestions on who YOU would like to see, please leave a comment.

Have a great day everyone, and happy hockey!

Disappointment and medals

This is the face of disappointment. Andrej Sekera of the Slovak team (and also press box extraordinaire in Buffalo) sits on the ice after their game with Finland and wondered where it all went wrong. How heartbreaking it must be. To come all that way to finish 4th.

Now, mind you, he's got more athletic talent in his pinkie toe nail than I have in my whole body but 4th place in the Olympics is where you just don't want to be.

Then again, apparently neither is silver.

A friend of mine at work the other day summed it up like this: You get a bronze medal, you are grateful (you aren't the 4th place team); Gold, you are over the moon as you are world fracking champion. Silver....get you disappointment? Really?

A silver medal in the Olympics will be handed out in mens hockey today. Either Canada or the US will be disappointed by not winning the gold medal in the sport they center their lives around.

Having never been a runner up (please note, I've never been CLOSE to anything that resembles a runner up because I don't ever make it to the dance to begin with), I'm sure it's a huge bummer not having the pretty gold around your neck. But hopefully in a few days the silver medal team will be able to look back on today and realized they accomplished something only a handful of people in the world get to say they've done.

That being said, I don't know who I'm rooting for today. A part of me would LOVE to see the US team win - and really, it wouldn't be a miracle because they've been playing amazing hockey and the Cruchynater in net has been nothing short of breathtaking (And hot. No lie. Even if MSNBC can't tell him from a fake). I think, despite not being a huge fan of his, Brian Burke could use some good news away from his personal and professional life.

On the other hand, rare does the home team win gold in hockey. Bobby Lu could cement his do-no-wrong standing for LIFE if he backs his team to victory. plus I have a HUGE crush on Sidney Crosby and would sorta like to see him too

So, I'm rooting for both teams today. I want a good tight nail biting game for 60 minutes (but please no shootout - I hate the shootout). And no disappointment for silver!

The Kids Are Alright...

Who is this updating this blog? Yes, you've seen her someplace before....but where and when? It's true, I have been absent from here for too long and I'm sorry. I'm happy to be back with some stuff to say today.

So, I'm stopping by today for two reasons... the first is to welcome two new blogs on our blog roll, SportsSoundOff.net and SPORTSMONARCH.com; which are run by a real nice guy named Jason who stopped by to say hello to us. Go check them out, they're both chock full of all sorts of sports and have pictures which if you know me or my chica, we love! Thanks for the shout out Jason and welcome!

Secondly I want to be a total fangirl and squee over my baby boys aka the Everett Silvertips since I have been remiss in talking about them that much this season; which is not because they've been bad or anything, but real life has just been kinda just a little bit short of insane. But anyway, the entire roster of the Tips must have had some secret potion dumped into their New Year's Eve punch; because since the calendar turned back to January, they've been playing pretty damn well and have yet to drop a decision.

Along with the wins has been a lot of scoring from all 4 lines. Happily this is` including the group that has been dubbed the DHL line, which consists of Captain Zack Dailey, Assistant Captain Shane Harper; and the third 20 yr old Chris Langkow whose cousin Daymond plays for the Flames. The coaches had been trying to find a wing for Shane and Chris all season then someone got the bright idea to put Dails, who is a natural centerman, on the wing; and bam! Instant chemistry and it also got Zack off the schneid. He had been scoreless in over 20 games until then; and the first game that they played together, he scored two goals in the first period.

I know that this streak is not going to last forever; but after some really rough games in December, especially at home, we've been having such a good time watching the boys scoring and winning and who knows... maybe they might even have a chance to challenge Tri-Cities for the #1 spot not only in the division but the Western Conference.

One thing that has helped a lot in this winning streak is having both our #1 and 2 D-Men back from playing for Team Czech from World Juniors U-20 and Team West at the U-17s respectively; as well as our Associate coach Jay Varady also back from the World Juniors and sporting a shiny gold medal as video coach for Team USA. Several Tips have been in the tournament before and even had one boy win the gold a few years ago with Team Canada; but this one was just a little more exciting. Can I tell you how excited I was not only when John Carlson shot that final goal but they showed Jay during the medal ceremony? I love Canuckistan and lots of people who are from there; but they had had it enough and it was time for someone else to have a turn.

But anyway, that's about it for today from here in Hooterville, but I also wanted to post a picture of the victorious US squad. And if you look closely in the upper left hand corner, fourth from the left you will see a man with dark red hair, glasses and smiling like a mofo. That is our Jay who got a much deserved standing ovation his first game back. Congratulations boys and GO TIPS!

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.