What's it like to sleep 8 hours in a row?

I know it's hockey season again because I start thinking things like, "My kingdom for an Ambien rx!" at 4 a.m. It's a bad combination: Hockey stuff happens at night, hockey stuff gets me all wound up, so I stay up late. Then I need a nap the next day just to stay conscious. And then I stay up late again, and the cycle just goes on and on.

It happens with my games all year but that's just a couple of nights a week and tolerable, but then add in Aeros games during the season and it's almost nightly that it's just me and the possums traversing the dark of night. Well, me, possums, and all the drunks on Washington Ave. by my house.

Add to that my excitement about my debut in goal at the Toyota Center tomorrow and my attempt to go to bed when I got home from a rather exciting victory for the Aeros (and if I may say, a really fantastic stick figure drawing of Al Montoya playing dead) fell short. I slept for 2 fitful hours, laid there for another hour thinking, "Girl, if you get up, you're gonna be up for hours and you're gonna hate life tomorrow."

But finally, I just had to. I can't stand to be in bed and not sleeping or otherwise, um, actively engaged. Neither option was on the docket. I'm hoping a few more hours of sleep and adrenaline will carry me.

So, I've gotten another day's worth of AHL goalie news pushed out to the world, including more mockery of Montoya. (Sorry, dude, I enjoy goalie antics, but don't f**k your team over like that in a close game.)

I didn't mention what Constantine said about his decision to play Khudobin tonight, but it certainly validates my feelings about Dubie, so I feel better about jumping the gun a bit on expressing my displeasure with his play. John quoted it in his piece on T3I and I'll use it in my next PHN piece next week. It suffices to say, I was surprised and pleased by his candor on the subject. Also, I very much enjoy being right.

Though I did feel like Anton was fighting it a bit tonight, and his team bailed him out a few times. But he could have fallen apart on that misplay of the wraparound. But the kid's got so much confidence, he was able to shake it off and hold down the fort. Doesn't have to be pretty. Just has to be done.

Okay, back to bed to try and get some winks. Have to be at the TC at 11:30 for my game tomorrow and then back at 6:30 or so for the Aeros game and hopefully mashed potatoes at the pre-game feed. No doubt, there will be a nap in between. And the cycle will continue. Argh.