Everybody clap yo hands!

Thank the baby Jebus that it's finally Friday! Why is it the weeks that you only work 4 days seem longer than the 5 day ones? I don't know... maybe it's because my life outside of work has been pretty busy lately. This is another reason I have been remiss in posting; but hopefully the weekend and next week will look up.

And speaking of looking up, two former Silvertips have had some press this week. First is Peter Mueller of the Avalanche. He's finally begun light skating again after being on the shelf since September when a hit in a preseason game put him back on LTIR. This was the second time in his pro career with the first being the time last April when Rob Blake tried to end his life. This time, the concussion symptoms were so bad that he even went to see Marc Savard's doctor. So, hopefully it won't be long before Pete is back to not only full contact; but back in the game he loves.

Also having some press is Zach Hamill. Zach is a prospect of the Bruins and has spent most of his three years as a pro playing down in Providence; but yesterday he was called up for his second cup of coffee with the big club. Also being bitten by the injury bug, especially in his first season, it's been a long but hopefully valuable experience for Z. I'm sending lots of good vibes his way that will hopefully help our pal get his first NHL goal. When he was called up in April, he got his first point with an assist on a Michael Ryder goal and got to be part of the Bruins Black Aces group during the playoffs.

And of course, there are my present day baby boys too. They're on a four game winning streak and have moved back into playoff contention. Tonight they're back home to play the Seattle Thunderbirds for the 245th Friday in a row as the first game of a five game homestand. Actually those five are half of the remaining games at home. After playing the first eight games of this year at home, the WHL has them on the road for almost the whole month of March. So, watch this space for more news on hockey here in Hooterville.

Since this is an actual post, Boy of the Day not really BotD... it's going to be just a random picture I chose. I hope you've enjoyed the BotD posts so far; and if you have questions, concerns or comments about this or anything else, please let us know. Have a great weekend everyone!

It's a lot shorter now, but I love the look on Bing's face when he's getting his do did for a photo shoot.

*bounce, bounce, bounce... SWISH!*

You'll have to excuse me for being not here yesterday... not only am I fighting Le Grippe, but I spent most of the day on the couch in front of the TV cursing my NCAA bracket. In fact I have the UCLA-Nova game in the background, but that's only because there's no hockey on until 1... yeah, that's it. :)

So, I'm sitting here looking at the schedule for today's games and I'm surprised there are not more afternoon games, but maybe that was because of the basketball. Just looked at the CBC webpage and the guest for After Hours is the captain of the Canucks, Roberto Luongo; and that is good. I like him a lot. Since they're in Phoenix, I was sort of hoping for a Yote, and maybe even that Yote being a candidate for the future captain, aka Peter Mueller. I miss Pete... he's a good kid; and as much as I see of him on line both on and off the ice, he's becoming a wonderful man. But then I've met his mom and dad... they're good people.

But can I tell you how proud I am to be a Canucks fan right now? Two months ago, they were in the middle of an 8 game losing streak, even more at home; and were precariously close to the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Since then, they have made some adjustments, the biggest one is that Mats Sundin has become Mats Sundin again; and they're now in 4th and may just get home ice in the playoffs if they can hold on for a few more weeks. *squees like a mofo*

My baby boys, the Silvertips, have started their playoffs against the Tri-City Americans and lost a heartbreaker in game 1 last night in Richland. It looked good in the first with a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes; but whatever happens to them when they come out for the 2nd happened again last night, as they gave up 4 goals to T-C. The Tips were able to get another goal, but the Amerks scored again; and it all seemed to be lost.

Then, with just about 3 minutes to go, Shane Harper put one in and after pulling the goalie, our 20yr old Czech Daniel Bartek was able to tie it up with 21 seconds to go. I swear that JR, the radio guy, was going to have a stroke on the air; and I was too! Oh man... I can only imagine what it must have been like in that building, not only in the stands, but in the locker room between periods 3 and 4. Well, the magic was not to continue, as one of the TC boys slipped one past Heemer for the win.

So, they'll come back out tonight, hopefully with the same fire that they ended the game with; and get a split before they come home for game 3 on Wednesday and 4 on Friday. One other good thing is my good pal Dale Hunt was back on the ice last night. He hasn't scored a whole lot; but he shoots a lot, he's fast and he brings so much grit and heart to the game.

Anyway... that is my report for this lovely first Saturday of Spring. Yay for sun! *shakes pom poms*

*insert witty title here*

Well... Lisa is back to work and I am not at work due to the fun-ness that is having a cold/flu/whatever strain is rampant here in Hooterville this week. Meh.

Because of being under the weather, I missed a great end to the Kings-Thrashers game last night. I turned it off with about 2 minutes to go thinking that it was over. Well, Anze Kopitar decided that it was not, and they went to OT then the shootout, and at least got a point.

Now, as a fan of two other Pacific division teams, I should not be rooting for the Kings, and I'm not really... I'm just tired of seeing them in last. That and I have a little place in my heart for Jack Johnson and Patty O'Sullivan. Having followed them with Team USA U-20 and now to the big show, I think they are poised to be a big part of USA Hockey next year in Vancouver and beyond. Well, that is if JMFJ can avoid being hurt at for the rest of this season and into next.

Funny moment of the night was during the Sens-Preds game on TSN when the camera panned to the suite where Carrie Underwood was; and when she saw she was on TV, she immediately disappeared like she has fallen into a rabbit hole. Hey Carrie? It's not like you there wearing a pink #12 Sens jersey shaking your moneymaker for the crowd. *paging Jessica Simpson*

And now for a little something different...

Major junior hockey is a very important part of my life, and I am hoping to be able to bring you just a little taste of it here; especially since a good portion of the guys who play in the NHL have also spent some time playing for a team in the Canadian Hockey League.

There are three separate leagues under the umbrella of the CHL: The QMJHL, the OHL and the WHL; and my focus is for the most part on the Dub and the Everett Silvertips. They've only been in the league for 5 seasons, this being the 6th; and we've already had 8 boys drafted and one is already playing full time. You might have heard of Peter Mueller? He's a great kid and doing really well so far in his sophomore season.

It's been a crazy sort of season for my boys this year... lots of attrition due to graduation and others leaving have more than half of the squad being rookies and very young. But, even with all of the negatives, they've held their own and are sporting a 2 games under .500 record and clinging on to the 7th spot in the conference. I just hope they don't let Portland catch up and have to play the Vancouver Giants in the playoffs. That would not be fun times at all. :)

I really don't have any actual structure for what I will post each week about the baby boys or even how many times a week, so if you have thoughts on what you'd like to see, please let us know. I'll even post pictures of any boys from your draftees if I have any since I sit right behind the Tips bench at home.

So, to close today's ramblings, I'll leave you with a picture of this week's former CHL Hottie of the week. As much as I still wanna punch him in the nards for giving PMueller a concussion a couple of years ago, there's nothing more that I want to than make him happy he's a man. I give you former assistant captain of the Vancouver Giants. captain of Team Canada for the U-20 Super Series and MVP of the 2007 Memorial Cup... Boston Bruin sophomore Milan Lucic!