Boy of the Day - 1/28/11

Okay... I realize that it's now Saturday in most parts of the world and this country, but I happen to be in the Pacific time zone and Mickey says that I have a bit longer to slip this in. I would have had it up sooner, but I was roped into coding for about 4 hours today at work; then I was at the arena watching my baby boys destroy Calvin Pickard and the Seattle Thunderbirds 7-0. Comcast Arena is always filled to the rafters when Seattle is in town since it's just down the I-5 from Hooterville, and tonight's game was especially sweet. There were a bunch of fights, St. Calvin got pulled 4 and a half minutes into the third and there were cowbells up the yin yang. In fact my ears are still ringing and I've been home about 90 minutes.

Anyway, I digress... actually though, fighting is something that today's boy does and usually does well. Kevin Bieksa of the Vancouver Canucks is not only a really good defenseman, but he can also take care of himself. Our boy comes to us from Grimsby Ontario, which is on Lake Ontario near Niagra; and his father, Big Al who looks like a biker, works in the Ontario Federation of Labour. He is married to a lovely girl named Katie; and they have two adorable babies named Cole who is 3, and little Reese who is 1.

After playing in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, he went to Bowling Green University where he not only played all four years, but he graduated with his BA in Business and was an Academic All American twice. He was drafted by the Canucks with the 151st pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft; but he went back to school then signed an amateur tryout contract with the Moose in '04. After playing with the Moose for 107 games, he was finally called up by the big club and he's been there ever since. Right now, he serves as an alternate captain for away games, and there was a rumor or two that he was going to be named captain before Luongo was given the C. I am sure that with his leadership and drive, he would be a good captain someday in Vancouver.

So, without further adieu, some numminess from KevB...

Chillin' with Kes while he was rehabbing an injury...


With a Fin puppet for the Canucks Reading program...


I have never wanted to be a roll of tape more...


On the road with Keith Ballard...


I just... yeah....

a puzzler

So you are an NHL GM of a team that has some dandy players on it. So you say hey nifty player A, we're going to sign you to an EXTENSION! Hats and Party horns! Wooot! But wait, it's only for one year.

Player A has been somewhat hampered by injuries but he's been well, less than stellar. Is this a way of saying you've got one more year on this team to prove himself before he's cut free? A way of motivating him to carry this team to the playoffs and you know, show up?

Here is hoping for the Caps fans, McPhee knows what he's doing.

The bang bang dance

Luckily I don't have this on my computer or it would be uploaded so we'll have to rely on the interwebs and youtube:

The bang bang dance



which is apparently from the show "How I met your mother"




(it only slightly resembles what I play with Max)

Boy of the Day - 1/27/11

Here we are with the new and improved BotD! Today's boy is Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche. He is a big favorite of Chucker Megan and I have to admit that I have taken quite a liking to the boy.

Matt is a young Canadian lad who hails from Haliburton, Ontario; which also happens to be the hometown of Canucks prospect Cody Hodgson as well as retired players Ron Stackhouse and Bernie Nicholls.

After playing two seasons with the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League, he was drafted third in the 2009 draft by the Avs. It was a dream come true for our boy because despite growing up in a Ontario tourist town, Matt was a Avs fanboy from the word go, especially for his idol Joe Sakic.

It didn't take long before the powers that be in Denver decided to keep him on the roster for the 2009-10 season after scoring an assist and a goal in his first month with the team. And since then, he's been a steady force centering his line; and last night, he scored his 100th career point which made him the youngest 100 point scorer in franchise history.

Anyway, I think Matty is going to have a wonderful career and I'll be watching him this weekend in the All-Star game.

And here are a few shots of the BotD...

A screencap from a post-draft interview showing his bedroom, and the clip of that interview. The bedroom shot is about the 5:00 mark...





Posing in his sweater from the CHL Top Prospects Game...



Draft night photoshoot where he's trying so hard to control the squee...



A funny shot from pre-game warm ups...



and all dressed up at the NHL Awards...

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!

Here we go again, the brain, the all stars, and Dmen in the box scores

It's not that I dislike the guy but when is Marc Savard going to call it quits. Yes, the Bruins have experience with a guy coming back after a lengthy absence with concussions then getting another one and not being out nearly as long (Hi there Mr. Bergeron). But really, this is getting sad. I watched two Bruin games (not by choice, they were playing teams I wanted to see) and saw Savard go down in both of them, awkwardly against the boards. Now, even the AWAY announcers audibly winced. When you hear a guy like Sidney Crosby who is experiencing his first concussion having trouble watching tv... multiple concussions can't be a good thing. Lets face it, we don't know a lot about the brain. Why is Marc Savard pushing it?

Crosby has pulled out of the all star weekend. Good on him I say. Sure in Montreal, he showed up injured but it was a knee injury. You can't tell me that the all star weekend festivities are anywhere to recover from a concussion. It won't be quiet, it won't be soft, it won't be calm. I'm glad he (or someone who handles him) is taking the smart road here.... I generously offer my place for him to rest the weekend away. When the dog isn't barking, it's damn near bucolic. And if the dog does bark, he's afraid of the squirt bottle.

I will not be watching the all star game this weekend. No, not just because I don't have tv but I'm highly disappointed in it. Look, I get that the league is trying to show the world there are other players in the league but to not have a single player who the FANS voted in be in the captain/alternate capacity is, to me, a slap in the face. I understand Lidstrom and E. Staal but to name a guy like "Twenty Cent" Kane over Towes doesn't make any sense. Not only is Toews statistically a better player on the Hawks, the fans voted him as a 'starter'. God I can't believe I'm defending a blackhawk. I blame Megan. Totally blame her.

I've decided I need to watch the Avs v Blues game last night. Three of my favorite D men got in on the scoring. And you know how I love it when the D score.

Also, Kevin? Thanks for the words of encouragement yesterday. It really meant a lot.

The Epic Saga

No, not Twilight. It's the Peter Forsberg saga, and it's not over.

Earlier today, Terry Frei of The Denver Post tweeted that the Avalanche would be making an announcement about Peter Forsberg. So, silly me, I think that Forsberg is announcing that he is finally hanging 'em up.

I should know better, I really should.

The headline, from The Denver Post: Forsberg to skate with Avs, mulls possible comeback

I realize that I'm at risk of losing my Avaholic card over what I'm about to say, but ... really?

Over the last few years, we've seen a two-time Stanley Cup champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Calder, Hart, and Art Ross trophy winner go from being one of the elite, most sought after players in the NHL, to a guy riddled with the same foot injury that has either crippled a comeback or made a comeback impractical. He hasn't played at all for MODO in the Swedish Elite League at all this year, but he wants to measure where he is physically against the likes of professional NHL players, not only much younger than he is, but who are also at their prime.

As an Avalanche fan, these repeated, failed comeback attempts sadden me. They really do. It's a shame that when Peter does finally hang up his skates, he won't necessarily be known for his shootout winner in the 1994 Lillehammer games, or for how he made splitting an opponent's defense look effortless, or how when he had a point, the Avalanche were almost guaranteed a win.

But as an Avalanche fan, who has been with the team through the best and the worst of times, I don't want to keep looking to the past for answers. While Adam Foote is the current link to the past, present, and future of the Avalanche, the glory days from the mid 90s to the early 2000s are gone, and in their place we have a young, exciting, upstart team with a "Why not us" mentality, and I just don't see where Peter Forsberg fits into that.

I can't imagine being in Forsberg's place, where your heart says yes and your body says no. It can't be easy for any athlete. But others, like Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman, made that difficult decision because they could no longer physically play at the level they expected.

I wish Peter the best, I do, and if it works out, it works out. But I have to be a realist when I say that Forsberg doesn't have it in him to skate with and compete with this younger, faster NHL. Not with his injury history.