Things I learned this weekend.

1. The guys on ESPN radio in NYC cannot pronounce hockey player names. Coburn was "Cowburn", Powe was "Po" and Leighton was Leightonen. Every. Single. Time. I wanted to crash my car into a pole to stop the insanity. (I was driving to CT and had to catch the game in transit.)

2. The iPhone can save you in so many situations. I realized that I have aol radio on my iPhone, and was able to listen to the WIP feed of the game on my phone while driving. Sadly, I realized this 5 minutes into the third period.

3. I mostly love Sean Avery, but he is such a douche sometimes.

4. Leightonen. Every. Single. Time.

5. I love March hockey. Gettin' close to playoff time. Wonder which teams I am going to root for, since the Flyers clearly won't make it.

6. Newborn babies are very scary! And they squeak a lot!

I don't really know how many times I can write "Oh crap, I forgot to post."

I hope we get a goalie. Or a defenseman. Or a goalie named Halak. But please, not Price.

Damn, only a month til the regular season is over. That's effed up!

Oh crap, you mean I still have to write about hockey?

Don't fuck it up tonight, Hiller.

I actually love watching the playoffs once my team has been eliminated. I mean sure, there's not as much passion involved, but there's not as much stress either. You can sit back, relax, and not really care about the outcome of the game. As the game goes on, you realize who you're rooting for (unless it's Pens/Caps, then you know you're rooting for NotPens) and then you live and die with every goal.

However, now that the Flyers and Habs have been eliminated, I've gone back to a more night time related schedule at work. That has really been cutting into my game watching time. I would venture to say I have not watched one entire game since my teams were eliminated. Even when I have been able to watch, I tune in but the game barely holds my attention!!! What is wrong with me? Why am I burnt out on hockey? It's starting to scare me. I'm home tonight and well rested, so I am going to try and watch both games. I'll let you know how it goes!

Update: Well, I failed. I watched the first period of Canes/Bruins while flipping back and forth between Seinfeld. Then, flipping back and forth between Family Guy. Then I fell asleep on the couch at 8:40 and woke up around 9:45. Bad, bad, bad hockey fan. Let's see how I do with the Ducks game. Although honestly, it's 10:26 and I haven't started watching it yet. Sigh.

oh gosh

I cannot root for either team in the Pens/Caps series. Right? I mean, I hate the Pens. Ovechkin drives me crazy. Pens fans are douches, Caps fans are idiots. It's a lose/lose situation right?

I can't root for the Broons. Canes are okay. They've got Leighton, so there's that.

Canucks? I don't believe I've ever watched a Canucks game in my entire life.

Chicago? Meh. Sure, they've got Eager, so there's that, but come on, that's not a lot to go on.

Detroit? Boring to root for them.

Ducks. Ducks. Ducks. The Pronger. Ducks all the way.

yeah, I got nothing. I guess we'll have to wait and see once the games get started.

Flyers trade Briere!

Heh. Just kidding. Just trying to freak you out and drive a little traffic to the site.

Man, I got nothing. Absolutely nothing. I mean, if Puck Daddy can only scare up 2 posts in a 24 hour period, and he is covering the entire NHL, how the hell am I supposed to come up with anything on the Flyers?

One thing that is helping to pass the time in the offseason...I joined a keeper fantasy league. I inherited a team and I am currently in the process of trying to make some trades. Here is my team:

Zetterberg - Hejduk - Upshall
Modano - Willsie - Zajac
Linden - J. William (CHI) - Radivojevik
Talbot - Fiddler - Brodziak
(B. Sutter - Laich - Van Riemsdyk)

Bieksa - Poti
Klee - B. Clark
(Coburn - Parent)

Kiprusoff
(Raycroft)

I got waaaaaay into my fantasy team last year, and I highly recommend it. It's a great way to learn more about teams and players that you might not usually follow.

Um...I guess that is all for now. It's Saturday night, and that means it is time for metal mania on VH1 Classic!

A few notes from this week...

* Twizzlers do not taste good right after you brush your teeth

* Ryan Parent is growing a Gator beard, while Gator seems to be shaving every day

* I love watching hockey when it is between two teams I am not attached to

* I love watching Brodeur get scored on

* Is it too early or too late to climb on the Habs bandwagon? Cause damn, they look amazing right now

* It's March. There are only 17 games left. Yikes.


Tough week ahead...

no gator pics today...

I was having some technical difficulties during warmups on Saturday, and by the time I fixed them, Gator was pretty much done warming up. (He leaves the ice early to leave personalized notes for each player in their stall...)

So, all I got were some lame Biron and Hartnell shots. Great, just great.

I am fascinated by this picture of Randy Jones blowing a bubble during warmups. A few of the guys appeared to be chewing gum before the game. Weird.


Two great games this weekend...the loss on Saturday was a tough one, but it was still a great game. (how many times have I said that after a home game this year? Let me count...)

Gator needs a haircut! During his fight on Sunday, he lost his bucket, and damn is he furry! I may just tell him that this week if I see him at the STH meet the team party (yep, I'm going!)

Got my ticket for the Pittsburgh game...sitting in the same seats as the Boston game. There were some awesome fans there, and I hope to see them again! (I just hope they don't mind all the swearing I will be doing...)

hmmm...I think that's all for now....

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!

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!

Gratuitous Sami "post"...

I got nothin

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!!!

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!

Hockey weather!

Oh man, this cold rainy dreary weather is killing me because it seems like October but it's not!!! But it does give me a good excuse to throw on my favorite jersey and take a nap.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz...wake me for the home opener.....

Slow news week...

I got nothing guys, absolutely nothing!

A few weeks back, Adam Proteau of THN wrote a piece about the Flyers rebuilding during the offseason. He wrote "one presumes the Philadelphia Flyers have been pre-approved to hoist the Stanley Cup next spring."

Um, I don't recall anyone from the Flyers organization using the words "Stanley Cup", "playoffs" or even "contender". Every press conference I watched showed guarded words and cautious optimism about next season. Nobody was getting ahead of themselves.

Until le petit Briere spoke.

Let me digress here for one second. I watched the Hartnell, Smith and Briere press conferences. Hartnell was very articulate. Smith was very boring. Briere was very skittish. Of the three, if I were a GM, I would only want Hartnell talking to the press.

I think the press was a little harder on Briere since he is the "prized free agent acquisition". Some of the questions seemed a bit critical. And Briere's answers, and the faces his made when answering, were a little disheartening. He needs to polish up his skills in this area. But the worst part was the answer he gave to this question:

Q: As a player is there any concerns, questions as to how all these new faces are going to fit together?

Briere: “There are going to be a lot of new players next year. You never know how long it is going to take to mesh. We have a lot of good young players that are still going to have a lot of room for improvement. How it’s going to mesh I don’t know. What I expect from this team looking at our roster is to definitely make the playoffs. That is what I expect us to do at least get to.”

Oh no! He used the "p" word! And this was the question where he made the worst face and hesitated a lot when talking about the new players next year. I will try to upload the video later, but if you feel like watching it, you can look here...