Me: disgusted

Well, we won, but we sure didn't deserve to.

Sloppy play, not getting the puck out of our own zone, and six shots on goal in the first period and seven in the third? Not a great game by any stretch of the imagination. Not sure how they pulled it off, but a win is a win I guess.

Next up, a sure loss against my nemesis Olli Jokinen. God I hate that guy and his forehead.

Fun Fact: I own a game worn Joel Kwiatkowski Florida Panthers Jersey. Why? Why not? I mean, if I ever move to South Florida, I will have the coolest jersey around. It ain't easy fitting the name Kwiatkowski on the back of one of those jerseys! And I have a decoy jersey if I ever want to attend a Rangers/Flyers game at MSG...the Rags fans will be so confused they won't know how to heckle me!

Farewell, Oscar Peterson

I know jazz and hockey don't really go together, but I'd like to take a minute to acknowledge the passing of great jazz pianist Oscar Peterson.

I wish I could point you to one definitive recording to check out, so you could see how amazingly talented this man was. Truthfully, he was so prolific and so talented that any recording you hear is likely to be amazing.

So please, take a minute to pop on over to iTunes or wherever it is that you get your music, and check him out.

I regret that I don't travel well, for I would have liked to see the man in concert before he left us...

Gatorsmile!

Hey All,

Sorry for the noticeable lack of posting lately, but work has been, er, challenging. Oh, who am I kidding, it has been insane there and even hockey has hardly been able to keep me sane!

I went to the Sabres game on Saturday. A crushing loss...maybe the most crushing one (yet) this season. When the Sabres tied it up late in the third, that was it, the Flyers were mentally out of the game from that point on.

Anyhow, I won't bore you with too much info, but here are some things you should know from the Sabres game:

The new guy, Jim Vandermeer, looks similar Ben Eager. Similar enough that you might not notice Eager is gone. In addition, Vandermeer's play is similar to Ben Eager's. He looked slow and confused out on the ice. Not looking like a great trade so far. Seems like we may have picked up another Rory Fitzpatrick....

Paul Gaustad is, um....wow. I guess I have a type, and apparently he is it. It is weird that he is not a defenseman, because he is built like one. I know this is not relevant, but I thought y'all needed to know.

My seats were awesome....second row and across from the locker room. Watching the boys walk down the hallway at the beginning of the game gave me chills. If I ever get season tickets for real, I would try to get those.

WHY oh WHY did Stevens put Briere in for the shootout? Did he not see Danny blow it against the Canes the previous Saturday? Cmon John, you and I are usually on the same page here, but this time you disappointed me. Plus, I bet a guy 5 bucks that you wouldn't put Briere in. I feel like you owe me 5 dollars, sir!

Um, I think that is all for now. Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Wow. Eager is gone...

Now I guess I have to change the name of the blog. Maybe Roberts to go Psycho?

Bye bye Eager...

And what the heck do we need another defenseman for if we keep scratching Kooky every night?

Merry Christmas to me!

Me: delusional

For some reason, I really thought the Flyers were going to beat the Devils yesterday. I had to catch the game on Tivo, and when I was at work, someone nearly told me what the outcome was. Luckily, she is a sports fan who tivos and stopped as soon as she saw my hands fly up to cover my ears.

So as I was watching the game, I kept thinking, "well, we must have won, because she was talking about how the eagles won, and then she said 'and the Flyers are...' "

It was kind of nice to watch the game through rose colored glasses. I thought to myself, "Yeah, Nitty is looking good! Look, he's in position. Wow, the puck seems to be finding him." Even Coatesy and Jim Jackson commented on Nitty's fine form. That should have been my first clue that we didn't stand a chance, because the announcers are an even bigger jinx than I am!

Even when we were down 2-1 and 3-1, I kept thinking, "well, this must be about the time we stage the comeback." It was so blissful to think we were gonna win. I mean, after all, why would my friend even mention the Flyers game to me unless they had won? Of course we were gonna win.

I decided to fast forward through the third period, because frankly I was tired and it was late. Oooh...looks like we're staging the comeback, as I see the score 3-2 flash by. And then I see the Devils players all hugging. Hmm, that's weird, I guess they must be happy we won. Oh, wait. I better go back and check that out. Oh, they are hugging because they won. Hmm. I feel surprised, yet not. All is right with the world, as we continue to suck against the Devils.

I hate you Devils and I hate Broduer.

And...WTF happened, Gator? I have been waiting all season for you to put that little pansy Clarkson into the ground. You did not fare well, and I implore you to take that bitch out on Friday January 4th. I have been waiting for this rematch since you two went in preseason at Trenton, but so far, I am underwhelmed. It'd be great if you could take him out and get a 3 game suspension doing it. That'd make up for last night!

Awww yeah!

Okay, so if you go to google and type in crybaby crosby my blog is the first hit! Yes!!!

Mwaah hah hah!!!

By popular demand...

You can see more pictures of gator here. There are also some pics of Army and Cindy...

wow, manual settings

Hell Yeah: They put Conks in, I fall in love with Gary Roberts, and two hat tricks!

Really what else is there to know?

Poor Teka. It's tough being a Pens fan during an 8-2 loss to the Flyers. I tried to apologize for winning, and for the atrocious Flyers fans surrounding her, but I don't think it helped.

Our "stalking" was hampered by the fact that the Wach is a freaking fortress. Sheesh. What's a girl gotta do to get an opposing team's autograph?!?

The pregame videos FINALLY changed. They showed the one of Gary Roberts shopping at Whole Foods in Pittsburgh. Dude, that guy is totally ripped. I must have said that about 200 times during the 2 minutes the piece ran. Yeah, I think Roberts is getting added to the collection. Dude, that guy is totally ripped!

They showed a Charlie Brown Christmas in its entirety during the pregame. Weird. Very weird, although somewhat soothing for me. (I love Vince Guaraldi...)

The game of course, was great, with gator and Malone dropping the gloves about 20 seconds in. I believe this was a rematch from last game, and Malone did not fare any better this time.

The third period was out of control. I think Eager got in a fight and then, on his way to the box, got into another fight. Is that even possible?

Sadly, even though I have two Tivos set up to capture every game possible, they both somehow missed this one. Dagnabbit! Well, at least SportsNite was about 50 percent game highlights.

Richie likes to make funny faces for me!

Roberts owns Eager

I finally make it to practice again!

And then I remember how badly the lighting in there sucks!

It was good to see the boys today, they were having a lot of fun. Unfortunately, whenever I see them having fun at practice, it is after a win or before a loss. Um, they haven't won recently, so my prediction is for a loss tonight. No matter, the fun of this game for me will be booing Crybaby Crosby. That, and testing my stalker skills with Teka. I figure Teka can use me as a homing device...if I start hyperventilating, she will know that we are getting closer to the hockey boys.

Anyhow, for a recap of practice, and some awesome pics, check out ladyneat's blog or Flyers Center where she posts as well. It was great to meet her today and we even switched cameras a couple of times! Of course, when I got home, the only decent pics on my card were the ones she took. Dang! At least she got some good ones of gator!

The return of Crybaby Crosby

Only 2 days til we get to chant "crozzzzzzzzz-beeeeeeeeeeee" again...

yay!

Dear Riley,

You got lucky. I watched the hit last night, and if that dude had embellished that at all, you'd be out for 20 games.

Of course, to me, it looked like you didn't even make contact, but I guess the dude's helmet flying off indicated otherwise.

Look, I know I'm just a silly girl, but if the first two suspensions of the season never happened, that dude just puts his helmet back on and skates off. End of story. No match, no review, and you just keep on trucking.

Anyhow, enjoy your days off. My prediction for the next suspension: Briere or Upshall.

Oh, and for those of you who may not have seen the "hit"...

Gratuitous Sami "post"...

I got nothin

drunk kristin at fan gear...

again?

Can't someone find me an example of another hit like this from this season? This is getting to be a bit much...

Hartnell suspended for two games...

oooof

So yesterday around noon I decided to get tickets for the Bruins game. Rod kinda wanted to get a Briere bobblehead, and I felt kinda guilty for never taking him to any games. I went online to see what tickets they had, and lo and behold, ended up in the second row of section 115. I love when that happens.

The rain and fog made my drive their particularly slow, so by the time we got there, it was 6:20! My precious gameday routine of get there early and get drunk was in jeopardy of being ruined! Only 10 minutes until they come out for warmups! Luckily for me, section 115 is right outside the bar. Really, you walk out of the bar, and there is 115. This would prove to be bad for me.

We head down to the seats for warmups. Section 115 is where most of the kids congregate with their "briere give me a puck please pretty please" signs and since we got there so late, the first row is pretty packed. Rod takes out his camera, and realizes he has left his long lens at home. So he is now at the Flyers game in the second row with a fisheye lens and a 17-35. Great. I take a few shots with my camera, and then give him my lens to use. I say, "You can use it, but you have to take lots of pictures of Gator." Now that I have his tiny lens on my camera, I pretty much give up on shooting, and can focus on drinking. This would prove to be bad for me.

By 7:15, I have 4 margaritas. And sadly, because the barkeeps at the bar are starting to recognize me, they are not your standard fare margaritas. I end up having 6, which is probably the equivalent of 8, and man am I feeling it today. One good thing about not bringing Rod to the games is that I know I have to pace myself and cut myself off. With him there, I can just keep drinking and hand him the keys. (This time and time again proves to be bad for me and my liver).

So that's it. I guess there was a game, although sadly I was either in the bar or the ladies room for most of the time.

I gotta stop drinking so many margaritas. It is really interfering with my hockey!

(and then I went to fangear and did some drunk shopping. there is a funny picture of me accosting the Smith jersey. If Rod ever lets me have it, I will post it here...)

hell yeah and oof...

So yesterday around noon I decided to get tickets for the Bruins game. Rod kinda wanted to get a Briere bobblehead, and I felt kinda guilty for never taking him to any games. I went online to see what tickets they had, and lo and behold, ended up in the second row of section 115. I love when that happens.

The rain and fog made my drive their particularly slow, so by the time we got there, it was 6:20! My precious gameday routine of get there early and get drunk was in jeopardy of being ruined! Only 10 minutes until they come out for warmups! Luckily for me, section 115 is right outside the bar. Really, you walk out of the bar, and there is 115. This would prove to be bad for me.

We head down to the seats for warmups. Section 115 is where most of the kids congregate with their "briere give me a puck please pretty please" signs and since we got there so late, the first row is pretty packed. Rod takes out his camera, and realizes he has left his long lens at home. So he is now at the Flyers game in the second row with a fisheye lens and a 17-35. Great. I take a few shots with my camera, and then give him my lens to use. I say, "You can use it, but you have to take lots of pictures of Gator." Now that I have his tiny lens on my camera, I pretty much give up on shooting, and can focus on drinking. This would prove to be bad for me.

By 7:15, I have 4 margaritas. And sadly, because the barkeeps at the bar are starting to recognize me, they are not your standard fare margaritas. I end up having 6, which is probably the equivalent of 8, and man am I feeling it today. One good thing about not bringing Rod to the games is that I know I have to pace myself and cut myself off. With him there, I can just keep drinking and hand him the keys. (This time and time again proves to be bad for me and my liver).

So that's it. I guess there was a game, although sadly I was either in the bar or the ladies room for most of the time.

I gotta stop drinking so many margaritas. It is really interfering with my hockey!

Oh and Nadine, they listened to you....they gave us the bobbleheads on the way out!!!

(and then I went to fangear and did some drunk shopping. there is a funny picture of me accosting the Smith jersey. If Rod ever lets me have it, I will post it here...)

15 SOG so far ?

Hell Yeah, and consistently inconsistent

Well, I decided to watch the game. I really only half watched it, as I was making dinner for the first period, and shopping online for another new lens for the Stalkercam 80000000. All I can say is that I wish the team that played tonight would show up more often. They are, to use one of my favorite phrases, consistenly inconsistent.

Notes from the game:

During the pregame, we learn that the Sens had an optional skate today...and nobody skated!!! See, I told you they don't take (perceived) basement dwellers seriously! I also learn that Gerber is in goal. Oh well, I guess we don't stand a chance now, even if nobody skated today.

Also, Nitty is in goal, which doesn't even scare me. Hmm. Weird.

Ack! I see that Gator shaved! I hate when he does that. Luckily, he has so much testosterone that by the end of the first period he has a five o'clock shadow, and by the end of the game he is sufficiently scruffed up again. Honest, I am not exaggerating here, check the tape!

Heatley takes revenge on me for all the trash talking I do about him by scoring a crazy sick goal...

Holy shit! The shot count at the end of period one is 16-9 in favor of the Flyers. Whoa. Something is wrong here, since 16 is usually our total for the entire game. What happened to get the goalie cold guys?

Wait, they're pulling Gerber? Aw, cmon. This guy has been outstanding. Actually, goaltending from both teams was amazing.

Umberger has a weird goal celebration technique.

Um, that's pretty much it. A pretty great, fast paced game. Stevens must have really chewed these guys out on Saturday!!!

To watch or not to watch...

Yikes. As Katebits over at The Willful Caboose pointed out last week, the Sens are scary. I'm not so sure I want to watch the game tonight. Truthfully, I have "watched" the last two games while sleeping.

On Wednesday, in celebration of Thanksgiving being over (trust me, it was over on Wednesday for me) I cracked open a 30 dollar bottle of wine to chug while watching the Canes game. Well, a glass and a half in, I felt "sleepy" and decided to lay down to watch the rest of the game. I woke up just in time to hear lil Briere getting the hat trick.

On Saturday, I rushed home from work to watch the Caps game. Knowing that I might be headed to a Phantoms game that night, and trying to recover from drinking the rest of that 30 dollar bottle of wine on Thursday night, I decided the best way to watch the game would be by laying down on the couch again. With a blanket. I woke up just in time to hear the guys tie it up and give it away to Ovechkin in OT. (Ovie, I love you but for this I might be angry at you for a while. Okay, I am over it, I love you again...)

So then there is tonight's game vs. the scary Senators. It's possible the Flyers could win it/put up a good fight for a couple of reasons:

1) The Sens don't seem to put any effort in when they know they are playing a basement dweller (see Caps, Sabres, Maple Leafs). (And yes, I know we are not basement dwellers, but I feel that the Sens will still look down on us and not prepare for the game. I mean, all they have to do is pull tape from our first Ranger game or any of our Devils games and I bet they don't even come out for warmups!)

2) The Flyers tend to do okay after a loss/getting their asses reamed by Stevens after a loss.

So we'll see. Maybe I'll take a nap and see what happens...

Dear Hockey,

Thanks for being there for me these past few weeks. You're the only reason I made it through the craziness. Whenever I am feeling overwhelmed, you are there to pick me up. Also, thanks to your friends alcohol, caffiene and sometimes nicotine. Keep up the good work!

Love,

Kristin

xoxo

*sigh*

I'm gonna be honest here...the only thing that got me through this game was watching Gator. (even if he was a -2)

Hell yeah I'll take the point!

So I don't want to say the reason the Flyers lost tonight was because Nadine wasn't there, but...it was the first home game she didn't attend! Coincidence? We'll see on Saturday. We'll also see if Nadine's non jinx powers can overcome my severe Devils game jinxing powers. Keep your fingers crossed.

Other than the suckfest which was the first half of the second period, last night's game was pretty great. These guys stayed in the game, and didn't give up like they sometimes do. Shot count through the second period was a little disturbing, but they made up for it a little in the third. I also love that scoring continues to come from unexpected guys...

Congrats to Tolpeko on his first NHL goal. I got to see Denis a lot last year during my stint in the minors, and he is a fantastic player, and funny too. Those crazy Russians!

I don't have much more to say...I'm in the thick of things at work and that is consuming most of my brainpower.

a gator a day

I gotta stop drinking so many margaritas!

Wow, I hope Cassie will see this picture of me and remember how much she lusts me...

Great game yesterday. Nadine was entertaining and informative as usual. I am worried about Thursday's game vs. the Rangers, since this will be the first home game Nadine is going to miss. Hopefully she will save all of her lucky energy to combat my Devils jinx for Saturday night. We will be in row 1 right behind the net, so be sure to look for us. I will be the one heckling Broduer. (Just kidding!) (Well, not really...)

For me, the best part of the game was during the warmups when a puck got stuck in the net and was unable to be dislodged. Pure gold. Poor Kooky on netbitch duty..Carts: Dude, Richie it totally going to lead the team in points after tonight. Lupes: OMG! Be quiet, tiny!briere is right there!

I gotta stop drinking so many margaritas!

Carts: Dude, Richie is totally going to lead the team in points after tonight.
Lupes: OMG, be quiet...tiny!briere is right there!

Great game yesterday. Nadine was entertaining and informative as usual. I am worried about Thursday's game vs. the Rangers, since this will be the first home game Nadine is going to miss. Hopefully she will save all of her lucky energy to combat my Devils jinx for Saturday night. We will be in row 1 right behind the net, so be sure to look for us. I will be the one heckling Broduer. (Just kidding!) (Well, not really...)

For me, the best part of the game was during the warmups when a puck got stuck in the net and was unable to be dislodged. Pure gold. Poor Kooky on netbitch duty...


That's all I got, the rita haze has clouded everything else! Check out Nadine's blog if you want an actual recap...

Fantasy Hockey Update Week Six...Kristin is working too much to write a real update!

It was a rough week guys. Nobody fared particularly well, especially the top five teams from last week

gator

wow again

Hell yeah, and the funniest blog you're not reading

Okay, good game tonight (I think...it is hard to tell with 3 margaritas in you and Teka sitting next to you). The Cingular Wireless Pavillion at the Wachovia Center has the greatest, most efficient bartenders. I didn't miss a minute of the action tonight thanks to them.

Teka got some great pictures. Me, not so much. I got a lot of pictures, but only about 5 of them are decent. So my percentage is increasing...by the end of the season I may get 10 pictures out of 200. The worst part was when I was going through them tonight with Rod as my critic...my obvious *ahem* attention to Jason Smith was a tad uncomfortable. I would say 60 percent of the pictures include him in some way. Including the ones of Gator stretching, which were supposed to be for my eyes only. Oops! Oh well.

Some other highlights:

• "Crozzzzzzzzzzz-beeeeeee, Crozzzzzzzzzzzzzz-beeeeee, Crozzzzzzzzzzzzz-beeee" after number 87 embellished a bit while looking to (unsuccessfully) draw a penalty. We decided that in Sid's RBK commercial, he should say, "In this jersey, I pledge: to whine and cry every chance I get." Man, I knew he had a rep as an embellisher/whiner, but sheesh, tonight was bad. He should get an academy award.

• A big eff you to the guy in front of me who lost his camera and then commandeered Teka's camera to take pics of his kid on the ice during the anthem. Really? Get yer damn paws off her camera! Also, get yer head out of all my damn pictures!

• Teka almost dropping the gloves with a girl who checked her in the ladies room. Yikes!

On a non-game related note: please check out the funniest blog out there...Flyers Goal Scored By... Ryan is either really funny or really sick (or I am really dense...I am a Flyers fan, so it sorta goes without saying...)

Also, this is an open invitation to Ryan...Nadine and I will be at Saturday's game vs. the Diablos. Get yourself a ticket and come on down...we'll even let you sit in row 1 right behind the net...you can heckle Brodeur!!!
Look, you could be this close to the net!!!

The big day!

Are you ready?

Are you kidding me?

14 Shots on Goal?!!???

See Steph, he's totally fine!

And looking right at me! (Which made me and my camera unable to catch a non-blurry picture of him.) Click on it to enlarge and you will see his eye is fine! Really!

Yikes...

Next four days are gonna kill me. I can handle a loss in PGH as long as we win at home. And the Devils? Yeah, we need to win that one too.

My brain is not working right now, as work is completely taking over my body and brain for the next 6 weeks..or is it 8 weeks? Anyhow, I won't be right again until after the New Year.

I'm off for a nap so I can be ready for the game...

For your enjoyment, a picture from Sunday's practice...

Fantasy Hockey Update Week Four: all bow to kms2...

Well last week's matchup to watch was a close one, but kms2 continues to roll. She took all the goaltending stats and killed Kirsten in assists, and poor Kirsten just hung on to pick up the scraps in the other categories. Vesa is really dragging Kirsten down, yet she keeps him on the roster...and plays him!! Hey Kirsten, I'll give you Miller for Hemsky...cmon...you know you want him!

Leanne's new additions are already paying off, as Mike Richards and Patrick Kane added 3 goals and 2 assists between them to help her take those categories. Tracy took the goaltending stats as Brodeur started to get back on track this week.

Having that Crosby kid is finally starting to pay off for Bethany...she beat Jordi in G,A and PPP thanks to Crosby and Gaborik. Jordi also lost in goaltending since Biron had a rough week. She somehow managed to squeak two wins out of Khabibulin, in spite of his horrible GAA and SV%. Hey Jordi, do you want Miller?

capschick's team took offense (no pun intended) at me saying they only scored 3 goals last week...so they went out and scored 5 goals this week! If it weren't for Ovie she would have only had 2 goals this week! (erm, uh, I can't really throw stones here, I only had 3 goals this week...) capschick beat teka 7-1, as teka fell victim to the "minimum games played" goaltending rule. At least teka won in PIM!!!

Sherry was able to come up with a decisive 9-2 win over our rogue team, although I am sure it has to be frustrating to lose to murphys in any category. However, elly's team does have kovalchuk and heatley, who scored 3421 goals this week...it's hard to compete against that!

Oh, remember last week when I said kms2, sherry, and Kirsten were my predictions for taking whole enchilada? I forgot to mention Steph in that group, and her team made me pay for it this week. At one point, she lead 10-0 and I was just praying that nobody on her team got a SHP so I could avoid being completely swept. Luckily, my goaltending came through on the last day and I was able to tie her up in W and SHO. I would also like to report my earth shattering -17...for this week. (I guess that is what happens when you have 42 Sabres on your team and the Sabres start sucking...)

Overall, it was a great week with a lot of teams headed in the right direction.

Matchup to watch this week: leanne vs. sherry. These two teams are really starting to roll, and it should be a close one.

Note: kms2 has proposed a change to the max number of moves (drops, adds, trades). She would like to change it from 20 to unlimited. Let her know how you feel about this either in the comments or on the league message board...

got it....

Four down, four to go....

(or, Briere, you made the right choice)

Well this road trip so far has proved to be quite a test for the boys. They have been outshot 3571 to 122 and have lost Hatcher for 4 weeks and Jones for two games.

Last night's game was shades of the Panthers game, except instead of the panther roaring sound effect, we got the booing Briere sound effect. Really Montreal? He was a free agent who didn't sign with you. That's it. There was no offer sheet, no contract...just talk that you were one of his potential teams. Every single time he touches the puck he gets booed? Wow. You really are a bunch of douchebags. I have to give you points for sticking with it for the entire game...

During the first period, the guys tried using the "get him cold" strategy by getting two shots on goal in the first 11 minutes. Hey, it worked against Brodeur, why not try it on this Huet guy? They were able to maintain this strategy with a total of 19 SOG to Montreal's 541. I am sure Marty was trilled about that.

Some other observations:

• When Hartnell breaks his Flyers scoring cherry, he is going to be a force to be reckoned with. You heard it here first.

• Nice tripping call on Briere! Get some glasses ref!

• The Flyers looked sooooooooo sloooooooow tonight. Lead skates again.

• My new in game rallying cry is "What this game needs is a dirty hit." This replaces the ever popular, "score, bitches!"

Oooh, I almost forgot about Smith and the stick to his face. First, yikes....not fun to see him laid out on the ice hyperventilating and trying not to cry. Second, thank goodness it wasn't his eye (although it was close enough to cause his eye to look scary). Third, cmon, that dude is amazing...he didn't even miss a shift! He deserves extra bacon for breakfast this week!

Not hopeful for tonight's game...

Happy Birthday, Gator!

I should have known you were a Scorpio!


After I find the picture of you covered in blood from last night's game (that doesn't ahve the NHL logo plastered over it), I will post it here.

Ouch please

During my stint in the minors last year, my favorite games to see were those against the Norfolk Admirals. The Ads had David Koci on boards, and chances were I could see a good fight (but not a win, since I think we lost every game to the Ads last year).

I can't believe poor Koci and his already broken nose fought Chara. Nadine, you might wanna skip this one...lots of blood (even I sq

let the downward spiral begin

Okay, okay, it's not that bad. Except that I totally remember last October's game against the Panthers. For me, that game marked the beginning of the end for last season. Sure, we already sucked by that point (we had only won one of our first seven games) but this was the turning point of the season...the one game that summed up how the rest of the season would go.

And it was all Jokinen's fault. Him and that stupid forehead of his.

Anyhow, enough about the season that shall not be named. I took a page out of Nadine's book (almost literally) and made a few notes. Well, at least for the first period and part of the second. After that, I gave up and started reading photography books. Gah!

First Period

• The roaring Panther sound effect. Really?

• Lupul is up on the first line again. Cmon Stevens, I thought we were on the same page about Knuble here. Well...moving Mike to the 2nd line got him a +2 for the night, which helps with my fantasy team, but still...don't even think about making this permanent.

• First period...guys have their lead skates on again. And apparently, blindfolds now too.

• What on earth is up with this broadcast....there is an eerie fluorescent blue cast to the entire screen. It is making my eyes annoyed. Maybe that is why the Flyers are blindfolded.

• I hate Jokinen. He really is the one person in the NHL that I would punch.

• They should have pulled Marty 10 minutes in...

2nd period...

• insane PK work by Richards, Smith and Kapenen to kill off the four minute Eager penalty.

• The pass from Richards to Lupul was incredible...Lupul positioned himself perfectly

• The Carter/Umberger goal was totally insane too...

• What the heck is Bernie Parent doing in the crowd?

Third period:

• The photographic triangle is fascinating...is that where all my good pictures go?

• I wonder how my fantasy team is doing....oh good, Brind'Amour is having a good night

• If Jim Jackson says "here come the Panthers" one more time, I am going to punch someone.

I think maybe Marty lost this one on purpose, in order to build Nitty's confidence for tomorrow. Whaddya think?

i forgot

how much i hate jokinen

First Star of the week...

Gosh, this is turning into martyblog

oh, the things you'll learn! (and hell yeah)

Oh readers, Saturday's game was a wonderful one. A few margaritas always make the game more enjoyable.

I met up with Nadine before the game...by the time she found me in the AT&T wireless pavilion, I was halfway through my first margarita. I encouraged her to catch up (good luck) and we each grabbed a margarita and headed down for warmups.

I decided to break out the StalkerCam 800000000 (totally copied Teka on this) so I could get some pictures for the blog that don't involve me giving credit to Bruce Bennett/Getty Images, but alas, buying the StalkerCam does not make me a better photographer. I guess I will have to go to practice on Monday to get some practice with the StalkerCam. *sigh*

Luckily, while I was "taking pictures" Nadine was schooling me on the last 85 years of hockey. I have a lot of catching up to do.

I don't have much to report on the actual game, since I was so busy switching seats and getting margaritas. I do know that it ended with a great OT goal which resulted in high fiving, jumping up and down and hugging. The entire third period was great, with me actually on the edge of my seat like one of those annoying people who gets ready to jump up at every shot on net. Look, there were a ton of scoring chances...just watch the replay!

Here are some other highlights of the night:

• Nadine has an interesting way of "watching" warmups at the glass

• Various texts and calls to Teka about dustbunnies and that lame ass Cocoa

• I sprained my ankle poaching some seats. (karma is a bitch, and I love saying poaching some seats. That might be the new name of this blog...)

• I was right to think that Brodeur is a douche.

• Nadine is a saint for putting up with me...how many times did I say "these seats are great!"? You would have thought I had never sat so close before!

Also, I learned post game that Stevens tweaked the lines a bit, putting Lupul up with Briere and Gagne. Interesting.

That's all for now, maybe I will post some of the sad sorry pictures later...

oh stalkercam, you have failed me

It's great...if I change all my pics to black and white, they don't look half bad!

head case

I am the worst fan ever. I am not a fairweather fan, because that would be worse, but I am a bad fan nonetheless.

I am a head case.

I am a sports jinx.

These two things do not go well together. I am the blogger equivalent of Niitymaki. On game day, I wake up with butterflies in my stomach. Not good butterflies, bad ones flying all around and saying this is going to be the game where they lose and then they lose for the rest of the season.

Watching a game, either in person or on my couch, involves me hunched over tensely, grinding my teeth and hardly remembering to breathe.

I am not fun to be around.

Don't even think about talking to me about how great the boys are doing this year. I will shut you down immediately. No mention before the game of what you think the score will be. No mention during the game about how many goals we are up. No mention after the game about how good it was.

A strange thing happened though during Thursday's game. It had to have been during the second, because the first was god-awful.

I was smiling.

It was a weird feeling, one I barely allowed myself to enjoy, but it felt good and I might even try it again.

But probably not until we have

Wow

From yahoo sports:

The Flyers shut out New Jersey for the first time in the 11-year history of the Wachovia Center. It was the first home shutout against the Devils since they played at the Spectrum in 1987.

Thank you, Marty!

I really did go to practice today...

I swear I did, I just don't have any pictures to prove it. The boys seemed to be wrapping things up about 15 minutes after I got there, barely enough time for me to even think about getting my camera out. (I was going just to practice using my big new camera, so that I can actually get one or two non-blurry pictures the next time I go to a game. I know, I know, it will never happen!)

Anyhow, the guys looked good, and I swear I may have seen Rory Fitzpatrick. There was one d-man I didn't recognize, so I am assuming it was him.

Knuble, Briere and Fitzpatrick were the last to leave the ice. Watching them practice was good for me, as they were practicing things I didn't even know they practiced. It sucks that I am so damn green that it never even occurred to me that hockey players practice deflections. It was a lot of fun to watch Fitzpatrick taking slapshots and watching Knuble and Briere stand there and "catch" them and redirect the puck into the net.

Nadine, if you ever wanna play hooky let me know and I'll come get ya!

Not....at...game....in...person....

Ack! I am so nervous for tonight's game. For one, I have to go to work at 8:45 and will not get to see the end of the game til I get home around 11. Don't you dare screw up, Tivo!

Since I can't be there in person, I don't get to go through the usual gameday rituals, and though I know it jinxes nothing, if we lose it will bug me nonetheless. It will because I wasn't wearing my lucky shirt/socks/jersey etc.

I also don't feel good about this Thrashers team. They are going to be hungry for a win...and is this Hossa's first game back or something?

Oh crap, Hedberg is in.


Okay, see you in the comments....

wow

Argh!!

God this stupid blog is so annoying! I can never post any pictures without sending them to my iphone first and then sending them from there!!!

Fantasy Hockey Update: Week Two and already I am a junkie!!

Wow, what a week. I was head to head with Kirsten (damn, it is hard to type Kirsten when your name is Kristin) and we had a great week of trash talking.

My team started off strong with about a thousand assists from Brian Campbell, and aided by the total drubbing of Vesa Toskala. At one point, I was killing her 8-1, but she had a strong finish on Sunday while Beauchemin and Preissing killed me with their combined minus 8000 for Sunday.

I would really like to thank Vesa for such a crappy week (game, actually)...Kirsten's team actually had two shutouts this week, and my lame ass goalies still came up with a better GAA and SV% thanks to Vesa.

Now, a confession. Yahoo updates their stats every night at 2:30 am EST. I know this because I wait up to see if I kicked any ass. This is gonna be a problem.

Up next....Tracy. Get yer trash talk ready!

Home opener recap

Whew, what a game. The opener was great and I love the new graphics for the team. Reminiscent of something, but I can't put my finger on it. I want to say an early 80s pop band album cover, but I don't know why. If anyone saw the graphics and knows what I am thinking, please feel free to help me out here.

I will skip the introductions, since they were long and overdone and everyone was just waiting to cheer for Briere.

The first few minutes of the first period were eerily quiet. It's like the crowd was afraid of what could happen. After last season, I can totally understand. Turns out, not much would happen, except for the Flyers turning it over like 5000 times. The period ended scoreless, which was good enough for me with how poorly they played. They were lucky to escape with no score.

The second period started, and it seemed like the players had laced up concrete skates. They were sooooooo slooooooow. I will have to watch the replay to see if they were as slow as I think they were, but damn. Again, the crowd was eerily quiet. (Except of course for the seven boneheads sitting in front of me who ALL got up to get beer every five minutes.)

Things get fuzzy for me when the scoring starts. Even though I was looking at the net, I didn't see either goal go in and both times I could have sworn they didn't. My vantage point was pretty bad, as I was nosebleed and also had the up/down people in front of me. The rest of the second period is a blur to me, since I was happy again to just get out of it without the Isles scoring.

What I remember from the third period (at least the last 10 minutes or so) is the amazing defensive play by pretty much the whole team, but especially Kapanen. This team was fighting to hang onto this lead, and did a pretty good job as a team of doing so.

The last minute and a half were so intense that I nearly passed out. First off, the crowd started clapping like we had won. Gah! Don't do that unless you are up 8-2, people! A little hockey etiquette please! The Isles had the extra attacker and both teams were passing, giving it away, and basically skating around like crazy. It was really insane!!!! And when Gator cleared the puck (was he down on the ice?) and got the empty netter, I really did almost pass out! I'm not trying to speak in hyperbole here folks, I had some physiological problems!

That's pretty much it, I will add more after I watch the replay if I see anything that bears mentioning.

A few other notes:

I don't really know how many times I can say it, but Smith is truly amazing. He blocked some key shots in the first period. His skate, stick, leg, arm or whatever always seems to be in position to stop the puck. He is so subtle about it that you don't even realize he is doing it (unless of course you are me and you are mesmerized by his every move). It looks like the puck is magnetically drawn to him just so he can deflect it. It is weird.

Biron was magical again. The best part about him is how he doesn't get rattled.

Gagne and Witt...what was going on there? Nice to see Simon getting scrappy.

Hope Eager is okay. At first I was scared when he was laying there, then I was scared he was going to get called for diving. We'll see what happens.

Cote and Simon....really, that's all ya got? Lame, and looks like Cote didn't even land a punch.

Somebody should have kicked Bootland's ass, but I can't remember why.

I hate going to games with people, next time I am going alone (except next time I will meet up with Nadine first....sorry it didn't work out this time).

Game on!

Home Opener!!!

OMG!!!!! I am so excited! It feels like a holiday! I made sure to get the day off from work so I don't have to rush around after work to get ready. Also, I got to sleep in so I won't be tired. It is a beautiful day and I hope to get to the Wachovia Center early and maybe meet up with Nadine before hand

If you're looking for previews, here are a few:

THN tale of the tape
yahoo
flyers
Flyers Goal Scored By... (This isn't really a preview but a funny blog you should be sure to check out..)

I guess that is all for now!

Have a great day everyone, and I will still be happy win or lose...just happy to see the boys back at home and excited to be a part of the opening night crowd!!!!

I am going to barf...

I can't listen to people talk about the "miscreants" anymore. I just can't take it!!!

I understand the suspensions, blahblahblah, but I am sick of hearing about these two players like they are criminals.

I would love to post link after link of videos that show similar hits and NO SUSPENSION, but honestly, I really don't have the time or energy and I don't want to make myself barf.

Hell yeah and Jesse why did you do that?

Weird game. Weird because they won and scored a LOT of goals. A weird feeling for a Flyers fan.

And why oh why Jesse did you cross check that dude in the face? We already have a big enough PR problem on our hands with the Downie thing. Sheeesh!

baby faced bullies and rory fitzpatrick. WTF?

Yeah, so the latest issue of The Hockey News arrived today. The headline? Baby Faced Bullies: So Cute, So Dangerous. And a big picture of Tiny!Briere looking twelve. I haven't actually read the article yet, because I have been busy trying to scan it in so you can see it with your own eyes!

While scanning and getting frustrated with scanning, I hopped over to THN.com to see if they just had a picture of it instead, but no, they still have last week's cover up. Sheesh. While I was there, I saw this little gem: NO VOTE NECESSARY, PHILADEPHIA FLYERS
SIGN FITZPATRICK. Um, what?

Looks like the -ookies may have spoken too soon about the crazy....

Bonding time!

The guys are taking a couple of days to bond at th

“excoriating”? cmon Schnookie, I’ve had a bottle of wine here and can barely keep up with your vocabulary when I am sober! Remember, I am a Flyers fan! All these big word are making me tired!!!

Hell Yeah, part 2

Yeah, we lost, but it was seriously a great game. Pardon the typos, as I have had an entire bottle of Malbec during tonight's tivo'd broadcast.

A few things:

1) Smith is so amazing that it brings tears to my eyes. Fer real.

2) Briere is seriously gifted, keep it up lil fella!

3) This team has a good D

4) Biron is freaking sick. Really!



That is all for now...more after I sober up!

Hell yeah!

First off, let me just say how weird it feels to watch a Flyers game where they have the lead for the entire game. Secondly, it is weird to feel that they deserved to win due to the way the played.

Last season was really so terrible that it has programmed me to not get comfortable with any sort of lead/positive play/good goaltending. I know this was just the first game, but it was truly a pleasure to watch the guys play. I would have been disappointed if they lost, because they played better and deserved to win, but even a loss would have been okay because of the potential they showed.

Way to go boys!

Told you so!

Not to be annoying or anything, but he was my prediction and also my choice for captain.

Bruce Bennet Getty Images

Dear Everyone who thinks they are a psychologist over Steve Downie,

You aren't. And even if you are, he is not your patient. So please put a sock in it for now and pray none of your guys make any questionable hits this season.

Love,
Kristin

Okay okay....

I know I am not really allowed to say anything about the Downie hit, since I am a Flyers fan and can't be objective. But I just can't keep quiet any more. Jim over at South Florida Flyers has a well reasoned case over at his place. Here is an excerpt:

To put the hit into perspective, we first have to eliminate the personalities. Both Downie & McAmmond should not play into the discussion, the suspension, or the analysis of the hit. If you come up with a different conclusion based on the people involved then your conclusion is flawed. You have to arrive at the same answer no matter if:
Downie hit McAmmond or
Downie hit McGratten or
Neil hit Drury or
Neil hit McDonald or
McGratten hit Kapanen or
Kapanen hit McGratten

It is the ACT that should be judged not the participants.

Secondly, you have to forget about the outcome of the hit. It shouldn't matter that a player received a concussion, a broken wrist, etc.

It is the ACT that should be judged not the outcome. I see no difference between hit to the head that results in a concussion, and one where the player gets right up and skates down the ice. A hit to the head is a hit to the head.

Please note that I am not actually stating any opinions in this post, so feel free to not attack me in the comments!

Oh Briere, you make it so easy!

Mike Stobe Getty Images

This photo is just screaming for a caption...it practically writes itself...have at it y'all.

Oh Briere, you make it so easy!

Mike Stobe Getty Images

This photo is just screaming for a caption...it practically writes itself...have at it y'all.

Semi live game blogging from the game

At this point, I don't even need a goal, just some puck possession
would be nice!!!

Breaking down the walls of hate...Devils fans tolerant of Flyers?

I was checking the blogs this morning, and wandered over to IPB to see what Schnookie and Pookie have been up to. They had a hilarious post with hilarious comments, about their attempt to attend a Devils practice. My favorite comment came from icing:
They were practicing.
Practicing sitting around a dressing room.
It’s an important skill. When you don’t do it all summer you lose your stamina and therefore must re-adjust at the start of the season.

Anyhoo, the point of this post is that I stumbled upon a revelation. Devils fans hate the Rangers more than the Flyers.

This one is for you kms...

Vote for your 2007-08 Delta Dental Ice Team
Select one of the following candidates as your favorite for the Flyers team this year. The top girls will be selected as your 2007-08 Delta Dental Ice Team.

Amanda	Amy	Andrea	Betti Ann
Chrissy	Emi	Jeannine	Jen
Karen	Katie	Katie D.	Katie G.
Kelly	Kitty	Leslie	Lindsay
Lisa	Missy	Rachel	TC