Finding my Zen and tonight's drop-in

Babies, I am crazy Zenned up for game 7. Totally at peace with how it goes either way, since it dawned on me that Brusty's coming to Houston in a month anyway. And I'll see a helluva lot more of him then. It just would be SUPER fun to have Joy and the rest of the Bingo crew I've gotten to know this season down here in our fair city.

Not to make it sound like I don't care if the Aeros get to the cup finals, but The Dream is Bingo v. Houston. It's a personal thing. The Calder Cup is an Aeros fan thing. We all want that, naturally, but it's not personal. Bingo is personal. And I guess maybe that gets more to the point of why I've been a basketcase about this series.

Anyway, tomorrow is just going to be me soaking it all in, since it could be the last home game and I don't want to look up with 1 minute left and have spent the whole game in Totally Insane Mode and not appreciated and reflected on the season at all.

Or the Aeros could just crush Hamilton's skulls early and I could do all that appreciatin' next round. Your choice, boys.

--------------------------

Played drop-in tonight. I feel like I've regressed a year and a half in that group. Back when I first started, I would suck at the beginning and then as I got more comfortable, I'd start to stop most everything.

Same thing tonight. About 45 minutes in, I finally started stopping the puck reliably. Until then, I think every other shot went in the net.

Never mind that it was a festival of breakaways up until then, too. Not much fun.

I was going to break down and do clinic before, too, since this is my only night on the ice this week. But I got tied up with stuff at home and couldn't get to Sugar Land in time. So as penance for missing clinic, I made myself work on backside pushes when the game was over.

Thanks to Scott, I finally realized that the part I wasn't doing right was having my skate perpendicular to the direction I'm pushing. It's a very unnatural angle for my foot to be in, so I have to think really hard about that push foot when I do it. It's very slow and I don't go very far, but that little tip made all the difference in doing it at all without just spinning in circles.

I also spin less when I push mostly with the toe of my skate blade, but that's another thing I have to be really deliberate about, so it's going to be a long time before that move is game-ready and natural.

Still working on getting up on my dumb leg quickly. Somewhat sharp pain in my knee when I do it but it's getting easier all the time.

Camp Brusty is just about a month away, so I'm getting excited about that. Can't WAIT to get on the ice with my goalie. I'm soooo temperamental (emphasis on the mental) with anybody coaching me.... it will be funny to see if and how quickly I want to tell him to fuck off. It will take a lot, I suspect. You can't stay mad at this face:

Beauty.

Anyway...

What was I talking about?

Oh yeah, Camp Brusty. Ha. Awesome.

History will be made Tuesday night, gang. How exciting is that?

Read more...

Losing Weight

Ahhhhhh, what a night!

Monday nights with goalie clinic AND drop-in are so hard. I mean, it's over 2 hours on the ice, with an hour in the middle to sit there in my sweaty clothes and get cold and tired. It suuuuucks.

Clinic tonight was great, though I swear, sometimes I feel like I'm just starting. One of the drills, I just couldn't do. A simple stick save drill and I just couldn't do it for shit. I can't even explain it.

But we did a lot of movement work, butterfly slides and backside pushes and whatnot. The young lady (12?) helping Jason and me told us it took her about a year and a half of work to get that down pat. And she's got crazy quick legs. Very good goalie, very smooth. I'm jealous, but I know she's worked really hard to get that good. She's a bad ass and really inspiring.

Jason and I both bailed a little bit early because of drop-in. And I still ended up being pretty gassed in the last 20 minutes or so of our game.

Didn't help that all but 1 of the really fast guys who plays this drop-in (even some who aren't usually there) were on the ice. It's definitely more fun that way but I honestly think my mind was fading worse than my body. In fact, I was pretty happy with my legs not being ALL that tired, especially after the work in clinic.

But my brain was toast. Like, I'd just zone out, and look up, and there's an opponent in front of me with the puck on his stick. SHIT!

Still, had some nice saves, and more importantly, I burned off the lake of vodka I drank this weekend in Austin. Never mind all that I ate. Jesus. H. Austin.

So, I survived my marathon evening at SLICE. I brought my lappy to get some stuff done in the break between ice times and check in on the Aeros game. I was dismayed to see them down 2-1, then 3-1, then 3-2, then 3-3 as I got back on the ice.

The other weight off my shoulders was finding out, when I got in the car, that they won 5-3.

That's a big confidence building game. They had to find a way to reset themselves within the game and boy did they. Would love to see them finish the Rivs off tomorrow and avoid that ugly 3 in 3. I would also love to see ALL us prognosticators be WRONG. Not a single person picked Aeros in 4.

Well, I picked Aeros in 3, but that was a joke. :) Though that would have me coming closest without going over, so if we're playing by Price is Right rules, I win.

No more hockey this week and I'm glad. I hurt absolutely everywhere. From my toes to my knees, to my elbow (looking up "tennis elbow" after I press send on this post) to my back and neck. Wuss.

Read more...

Back to business...

Hope all you crazy kids had a good Christmas, or at least a good few days off if you don't roll Christian-style.

Mine was good. Very low key since we stayed home. Not a drop of hockey to play, which means I was stuck with the dreaded REAL WORKOUTS. You know how I hate that. But it's okay. Had to balance out the apple pie...

Got back in the swing of things today with the Aeros game, which you can read about here because I covered for Andrew, who was in Green Bay freezing his keister off at the Packers game.

Nice to get an early goal and a win in the skills competition.

Hackett's getting better in all areas except playing the puck. I know I'm spoiled in that regard, but he's just rough at it. The issue isn't technical skill; it's reading the ice and decision making.

Too many hesitant plays where he seems to want to defer to the skaters rather than just quarterbacking that bitch, launching it up the ice, and letting the chips fall where they may.

I know it will get better and I suspect it's something that only gets better with experience but, man, it's tough to watch. I stand by my rule of, just let the D get it if puck movement isn't in your wheelhouse as a goalie. Not every goalie has to be a third defenseman to be successful.

Anyway, check out my hack ass giving advice. Ha! Speaking of, my hack ass has got games Monday and Tuesday. Looking forward to hitting the ice again. Then only ONE game the week after. :( And then it's off to Boston/Vermont/(beyond?) the following Thursday-Tuesday, so another week without playing.

Which means more real workouts. Suckkkkk. But I'm moving to "phase 2" of my goalie training this week, so that should be fun. After I get back from my trip, I'm starting yoga for a few weeks. Got a deal for 10 hour-long yoga sessions for $30 total. What a steal. I'm looking forward to a change of pace and it looks like I'll have company from a good friend. Everything's better with Sheala. Well, everything I've tried, anyway. ;)

And luckily, goaltending has taught me the humility to not give much of a fuck when I make an ass out of myself. I've always done yoga at home with just me and the TV watching. Going public is a little daunting, but hey, we all start somewhere. If embarrassment hasn't killed me yet, it won't ever.

Read more...

Fun night but I need a nap

No wonder I'm playing so shitty. I've got this theory that everything can't possibly all go right at the same time and that there's only so much good luck to go around. And last night, the Wild won, the Aeros won, and Brusty got a shutout.

So the only logical explanation for my sieviness lately is that all those jokers are stealing my good luck. :)

It's okay though. Brusty can have all of it he wants and, the Wild and Aeros, I'll throw them the occasional bone just to keep from having to watch losing hockey all season.

I'm still recovering from information overload this morning. Between following two games I wasn't at, watching the Aeros, writing my story for the Chronicle (filled in for Andrew) between periods, praying my (and the Aeros) lead sticks and the Wolves don't come back, and then Yeo lobbing his "that game sucked" bomb at us post-game when I thought it was a pretty awesome game (WTF do I know?), it was a lot to parse.

I couldn't tell if Yeo was annoyed or amused at my dismay that he was screwing up my story. I'm just standing there with my recorder in his face with my mouth hanging open. "You just ruined all my questions by not liking that game!" Haha. Whatever though, it was a fun night and I didn't get to sleep until 3 a.m. Fuckin' exhausted at that.

Also, not that you need minute by minute updates on Operation Boob Lift, but the consult went well. Only it's costing more than I expected. Like, by a lot. Like, you could buy a decent used car. You could buy a decent NEW car for all the stuff we talked about doing (tummy tuck with lipo, etc).

I'd love to do it all, but man, even just the lift part of it seems like a selfish use of money. I dunno. Add that to my information overload yesterday, too. #msconductproblems

I actually have the night off tonight. Four of the last 5 nights, I've gotten home after 11:30. I love it all but I'm definitely due for some "kickin' around the house" time.

Gonna try and do my full hour of physical therapy today, too. Been trying to build back up to it a bit since my knee is bothering me so much. Hopefully I can get the knee happier and then I can start doing the awesome Rapid Response Goalie Training program I picked up the other day. Want to be doing it by January.

But that means getting off my ass. When what I really want is lunch and a nap.

Read more...

BangBangBang: A brain dump

• I wrote some stuff about Aeros winger/Wild prospect Carson McMillan here, because my jaw dropped when I saw that he's tied for the Aeros scoring lead. WTF is that about? I think that's awesome for him, but possibly very foreboding for the Aeros. 
• I also wrote some stuff about the Aeros for PHN. I'm told it's going live at 3 a.m. Thursday, so click the Pro Hockey News link at the top of the page tomorrow for that. (I would have thought that was THIS morning, but apparently it's actually 3 a.m. Friday morning?)
• I'm not a Devils fan but man I feel bad for that team. I'm so grossed out by hot shot dicks who are willing to sink their team in the name of cashing in. What an absolutely ridiculous situation for that team to be in. I was thinking about it driving home from hockey last night and my stomach literally turned. What a jerk.
• Of course, that stomach turning could have been my lousy women's league performance. The scheduled goalie couldn't make it so I filled in. Team played great, but I didn't see many shots and 2 of their 3 good chances got past me. Though the one I did stop was a seriously gnarly blocker save. Only lost 2-1 but even a 2 goal game can feel bad after.
• Though I did feel better today when I realized their best player probably put 4 decent shots on me and I stopped them all. Coulda been worse.
• Interviewing my boy Jaeger tomorrow for InGoal Mag (via chat, so I'm not sure how that will go), but he's just blowing up the EIHL right now and has everybody in a frenzy over this crazy back door glove save he made Sunday. I need to put some questions together as I have a whole bunch rattling around my head, but I'll forget them as soon as we start talking. I'm the world's worst interview choker. 
• Luongo. Is. Overrated.
• I hope Marty Brodeur doesn't hang on too long. I know the team is bad so maybe this isn't on him, but he hasn't looked good lately. I wonder if his heart's still in it. He's reached so many goals, set so many records, and now his team is a mess. It's gotta be hard to get up for that every night. Maybe if they changed their name to the New Jersey Sisters-in-law....
• Or the New Jersey Bacon Cheeseburgers...
• Kidding. I don't even think he's fat. Which is why "Marty is fat" jokes are so funny to me. I love you, Marty, you know it. I only tease the ones I love.
• It's COLD here! Like 50s cold! Fuck me, I love this weather. Even better, it's cold and gray and rainy today. I just want to bundle up and watch hockey and bake stuff and wear fuzzy socks.
• My boobs hurt. It sucks being a girl.

Read more...

Jon Gruden, next Wild coach?

Crap. Supposed be up at 6:30 in the morning to drive to Austin for the UT vs. Iowa Farm College or whoever they make us play anymore. But much like games I play in, I still suffer from an adrenaline rush after good Aeros games and have a hard time sleeping.

Beer? Why, yes, I believe I will. BRB

Oh how nice. I feel like a pro for using the gap between the couch cushions as a cup holder. Here's hoping the dog doesn't get startled or anything since he's up here with me.

Anyway...

Good Aeros game tonight. They lost in OT, but it was entertaining the whole way. Lots of excellent chances but Ben Bishop, y'all. Ben Bishop has found. his. game. He looks like a different goalie. Gone is the lumbering slowness. All he is now is big and relentlessly square to the puck (aka, he's moving faster) Whoever's been coaching him absolutely nailed it. He's fantastic right now.

I'll see him again tomorrow night in Austin, unless Jake Allen takes the net. But I kinda hope it's Bish again. Just so I can compare and make sure what I saw tonight is really what I saw. And also because I never had a great view of his porn stretch tonight. *sad*

-------------------

Meanwhile, way up north, Brusty followed up his killer appearance on Sunday with a 28-save shutout. Show-off.

I tried to tell Andrew and John that we're "Shutout Twins" now but John kindly reminded me that I didn't actually WIN my shutout. Hmph. Yeah. I guess Anton and I will have to settle for each other as shutout twins since he lost his shutout, too.

It's pretty cool to see BSens fans on Twitter being absolutely nuts for Brusty though. Told ya so!  On to Wilkes-Barre tomorrow, where I daydream that they will erupt into a "Barre! Barre! Barre!" chant without realizing they're cheering on the opposing goalie.

Anyway, WTG,  Brusty. You're making my endless fawning and adulation seem not quite so insane.

------------------------------------


At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Wild are a mess. I don't get it. They've shown that they CAN do this. What is their problem? I feel bad bad bad for Todd Richards. He seems like a decent guy but this ship is sinking around his ears. It's painful to watch. *glug*

So much optimism when you get a new coach, you know? How much is Jacques Lemaire enjoying this though? Like, I dunno if the guy gets giddy, but if he does... well... he's giggling like a school girl right now. His desk chair wasn't even cool before he called this.

Anyway, I asked on Twitter how many games folks give him. I say he's gone in the next 10 and everybody was within that timeframe. But who do you bring in? I say Jon Gruden... I mean, these guys already know how to play hockey. They need someone to kick their asses. Chuckyyyyyyy....

Haha! Goodnight!

Read more...

Quick Hits: Empathy, Monster, Major, DITL

Funny little phenomenon. You know how I play in a cluster of days, like Saturday-Tuesday and then have a solid break during the week? I noticed that I almost can't stand to watch On the Fly on the NHL Network on the nights I've played.

Because really, what are hockey highlights 75% of the time? Goals. So I watch and I just get more and more tense for these poor goalies. In the context of a full game, it's no big deal, but when it's condensed into a highlight reel... ugh. Can't take it.

But then tonight, with no game until Monday, it doesn't even phase me. I can look at goals against fairly objectively and don't get all, "Ohh, that hurts my heart, baby. I'm so sorry those mean boys scored on you."

-----------------------------

I think it's really cute that Ron Wilson calls Gustavsson "the Monster." I wonder if he busts out his real name when he's mad at him. "Jonas Monster Gustavsson! You get out there and challenge that shooter!"

-----------------------------

Major is back to the dog park after 3 weeks with that godforsaken cone around his head because of a hole he chewed in his side. I was watching him today and marveling at, aside from our red hair, how much we have in common.

The old boy turns 9 this month (Happy Birthday Booboo!). He's had one ACL surgery and has severe dysplasia in both hips. But he's still a puppy at heart and he runs and runs with the fast young dogs, except he runs about 10 feet behind them, tongue dragging, no hope of catching up unless they just flat out stop.

And sometimes when they're really going, he just stops and waits for them to circle back. Older, wiser with his energy. I watch him and realize that we're not real different in our playtime. Neither of us is very well equipped for it or very good at it, but we have as much or more fun than anybody else.

Also, we both stink like something died when we're finished playing.

-------------------------------

Ryan Stanzel, the Wild's PR guru and all-around nice guy, tweet-asked if it sounded like a good idea to tweet a "day in the life" of an NHL PR guy on the day of the home opener tomorrow. I love the idea, so I told him if he did that, I'd tweet a day in the life of a marginal, minor-league, third-string beat writer the day of the Aeros home opener on Saturday.

Should be good fun. It's going to be like 12 hours of hoping the dining room has mashed potatoes and 2 minutes of checking that my recorder has a fresh battery. Though in reality, I'll be jonesing so bad to go sit in the arena, I'll probably skip dinner and just go take it in for a while before the madness starts. This has been one seriously LONG summer.

Read more...

Make them good goals go bad

Gosh darn. I guess my hot streak had to run out sometime, huh? Played an unreal game tonight at women's league, but still lost because I let in one stinker of a goal with just a couple of minutes left. Didn't plan to blog tonight but this is one I just need to write about to stop dwelling on it.

Started out with a 35 minute shut out, and NOT because I wasn't seeing shots. Their good players weren't holding back (like ours were... grrr) and I got shelled all night by their best girls. My best save was a quick pass from my blocker side to a girl right at the top of my crease glove side. I read the pass and pushed off the post to get a pad in front of it just in the nick of time. Normally I get beat on backdoor plays like that, so I felt super awesome on that save.

The first goal was a breakaway, where she came up on my glove side. It's a situation I often have trouble deciding what to do, but with this group, I should have known to challenge more. Instead I got back on my post and butterflied and she put it in the gap just over my pad and outside my glove. Good shot, but I shouldn't have given her that much space.

The second was a breakaway from their best girl and my captain was backchecking but something happened and she went down and didn't get up, but ref didn't blow the whistle, so I've got an injured teammate on my door step and am sort of in shock that there's no whistle, plus I'm sort of keeping my distance so I don't run into her, which meant I was too deep for the shot and she put it in far side just inside the post. Poop.

The girls were kinda pissy afterward that she took the shot when clearly there was someone hurt, but I told them I very much expected her to play to the whistle and if anyone should get a little stink eye, it's the ref who didn't blow the whistle when she wasn't getting up.

The third, though... fuck. Awful goal and I broke my one overriding rule about this league: $2000 saves. Get EVERYTHING in front of the puck if it's coming anywhere near the goal. It was a faceoff and the center (again, their really good girl) got a shot off but my d-man tipped it and it kinda turned wobbly. I would have put $100 on it going just wide so I was just letting it go, but it wobbled right into my net. Goddamnit. A ridiculously great night in goal and I fuck it up with that shit going in.

That put it 3-2 and we couldn't get another one in. Someone iced it with 30-something seconds so even pulling me for the extra woman wasn't very feasible. Ah well. 

Trying to focus on the really good stuff I did, and there was a lot of it, but I wanted that win so badly. (And yeah, I know it would have been tied, but I think I could have won the shootout.) But hey, it's a good reminder of the golden rule and I'll carry this loss with me for a while so I don't forget. No losing, just learning. Haha.

Honestly, now that I'm comfortable with this league, I'm going into each game with the mindset that if I play a smart, energetic game, a shutout is very much within reach. I've never been able to set that as a goal before, but that's my goal every week in this league. Absolutely no reason I can't reach it.

--------------------------------

I'm officially loving my pads now. They're broken in and I can stand comfortably when play is away from me. I slide like a pro in them. It's grand. I thought I'd end up ditching the inner calf wraps, but I love them. They help keep the pads centered on my leg and help with rotation. My butterfly is pretty nice now. No gaping V in the middle any more like with my old pads.

--------------------------------

Got a massage lined up for Thursday, though I'm feeling a lot better already. I figure a little precautionary work on my glutes wouldn't hurt, just to run that pain off for good. My knee is stiff again, but I'm going to get back to doing my PT and hopefully that will help.

And then I'm off until next Monday since the Aeros home opener is Saturday night, so I'll miss novice practice. I'm pretty jacked to see these guys play given the success they've had so far (in a whopping 2 games). And Hackett appears to be so good so early, I want to see it for myself... I can't wait to see where he goes and how his presence will push Anton.

I think Anton has had "the climb" pushing him thus far, either to get out of the Coast, or to stay in the AHL, or to be the Wild's call-up. But he's always been the baby of the organization, never having a higher-drafted, younger guy nipping at his heels the way Hackett will, and I think it will be interesting to see how he responds. He's so confident/cocky and happy go lucky, I don't doubt he'll thrive, and Anton thriving + Hackett thriving = some seriously good goaltending.

---------------------------------

Read more...

Rambling Monday

Poor little blog. So lonely and boring. But man, have I been busy. Between work and hockey season writing gearing up and playing hockey and trying not to completely ignore Mr.C and stuff around the house, I don't have time to sit down and have the quiet time I'm used to.

I don't know if all only-children are like this, but I do love me some quiet, alone time. I start to feel frazzled and disconnected from myself if I don't get it. But then if I get too much of it, I drive myself crazy, so I guess there's a balance.

Anyway, went to the presser last week for the Aeros. Whoever decided to hold it at the Maple Leaf Pub was a freaking genius. Normally I'm all tense at these kinds of things, but I actually had a really good time. I don't know if it's because there were a few fans and booster club folks there to make it a little more festive (and not just PR people and serious reporters like myself ... haha)... anyway, I could make some guesses as to why the lighter mood but who knows.

Regardless, it was a good event and while I'd spent all summer feeling not very excited for hockey season, I am now. Part of that is a credit to Mike Yeo, who honestly surprised me with his... I dunno what. Likability? Not that I expected him to be a jerk or anything, but he was extremely open with us beat writers and quick witted, but is clearly has a lot of fire and intensity and drive.

I loved Kevin Constantine and I may have even gone into the presser with a little bit of judgment in my cold, dark heart. KC is all I've ever known as a hockey writer and I learned an awful lot from him and had a great deal of respect for him. So, for Yeo to have won me over and for me to have left the presser going, "Okay, now I see why people are so excited" is a real testament to the guy. I think he's a great follow up to what KC did here.

Now it's time to see what he can do and I'm eager to see that.

This is the first season where I'm really approaching the team with a reasonable amount of objectivity. My first year covering them, I was fresh out of the second row, screaming insults at the guy in the penalty box. The team had me by the heart.

Last year was just 100% Brusty Insanity. If he was up, I couldn't even be on press row. I had to be down in the corner, living or dying with every shot on goal. And when he was in Florida, I was judging whoever was in goal. And hating them. And hating everybody. And just generally being MsConduct CrankyPants.

But now my primary feeling about the Aeros is just, for the love of god, give me something interesting to write about. Cuz last year, I had nothing. When you took away the Brusty stuff, I had so little feeling about that team. I didn't understand them. I couldn't find their pulse. I'm not entirely sure that, as a team, they even had one. The players might not agree with that, but I think anybody watching from the stands would. Especially following up a season that was one heart attack after another.

Anyway, it's a clean slate for this team and Yeo made it VERY clear that he doesn't want any comparisons to previous years. Sir, yes sir. So gimme something fresh to write about and it won't happen.

------------------

On a personal note, I've been sievier than usual lately. I battled hard the last couple of games, but just didn't get it done like I wanted. I got a piece of nearly every puck that went in Saturday night, but they squeezed through somehow. More of a ricer than a sieve I guess.

It was still fun though. I really like this new crop of novice players. The game was as fast as I've ever seen novice and that was without the C league coach type guys playing. Also, I adore my defensemen. They talk to me, and not just when I've made a good save or let a stinker in. I have a dialogue with them and feel more like I'm on a team. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy and definitely raises my compete level, but unfortunately, that isn't always enough. We still won, but I let too many in.

Anyway, drop in tonight, women's league tomorrow, just hired someone to paint the whole interior of our house, gotta sort out ice time for camp, and I've got a dozen other little things to deal with on top of work. Busy is good, right?

First, though, Egg McMuffin.

Okay, no, first Muppet Monday. Then Egg McMuffin.

Read more...

Quick Hits: HGH, down with Cosmo, yay Jays, other stuff

Seriously, isn't there something The Man can inject in my knee to make it better by, say, Thursday? Hell, I'm willing to give it until Saturday. Okay, Sunday at 9:30 p.m.?

Whatever, I just really feel aimless not being able to play hockey. I can't even imagine what that's like when it's your job. At least I can still do my job (thank heavens I do that a little better than I play goal). But really, would a little bit of human growth hormone or whatever it is the studs take on the hush-hush to heal up faster be such a big ask for this weekend warrior?

Fine. I'm just grumpy. I don't just miss playing. I miss walking without a limp. I miss being able to move around without worrying about tweaking my knee.

That said, it does seem to be getting the tiniest bit better. But I'm still missing my second weekend in a row of being on the ice and that sucks. I've already committed to playing next Monday, and of course, Sunday for Novice, so I'm really hoping I'm good enough by then.

Honestly, it's a shitload harder to make the decision not to play than it is to just "man up" and play anyway.  Staying home carries a lot more fear and insecurity than playing hurt does. Fear of looking like a sissy, of losing  your spot, of being deemed "unreliable", etc. It sucks.

Have I mentioned my shoulder is jacked up, too? Yeah, 35 is turning out great. Maybe me and DiPietro can lick each others... wounds....

One thing I did kinda figure out is that this pain feels and behaves very much like my achilles tendinitis did. So now I'm looking at the solutions that fixed that and seeing if maybe they help with this. It involves deep, extremely painful massage of the damaged muscles in my groin and calf, which I'm trying to do myself for now, but I may end up seeing if my MT can work on me, too. We'll see. At least it's a direction to go in for now.

------------------------

So, I got my haircut last week, which rocked cuz I don't do it often. They have a new guy working there and he got his claws in me and waxed my brows, too. The shape is amazing. Queer Eye for the Hockey Girl, it was.

Anyway, while I was waiting, I was reading a Cosmo magazine for the first time since my early 20s. I quit reading magazines like that back then because I realized they were just warping my sense of self and my self esteem.

It really struck me while reading the feature article on Lada Gaga. Now, I'm not a big Gaga fan, but I respect her for pretty much showing up, doing things her way, and being a huge success at it. But this interview with her was literally question after question about men, relationships, etc.

I get that that's Cosmo's angle, but damn, here's a chance to feature a woman who kicked ass on her own terms and all they wanna know is what she looks for in a man? Who gives a shit? The whole article, I kept wishing she'd just say, "I'm a lesbian. So, can we talk about me now? *I* don't even care who I'm fucking as much as you people care!"

Anyway, I was reminded why I don't even bother with those mags. I'm convinced they turn you vapid and needy and encourage women to be someone they're not just to please men. Well, not YOU personwhoreadsMsConductANDCosmo, but the rest of them. You know who I'm talking about.

Not to say I haven't had a few glaring moments of hypocrisy on this front.... damn goalies.

Hey, and while I'm on empowering women, if you're ever in a "crazy bitch with subtitles" kinda mood, dial up La Femme Nikita (Luc Besson's French version) on Netflix or wherever and enjoy. I haven't watched it in years but that was on heavy rotation back in my 20s. If I ever get my name put on a jersey, I'm gonna put Nikita. She'd stop your puck and kill you before you're done with your follow-through.


--------------------------------

How about my freaking Blue Jays!!?! I'm totally taking credit for how lens flare and happy cat they are this season. Yeah, I know they haven't played anyone. Shut up. Let me enjoy it before angry little girl sets in.

----------------------------------

Just learned that they make Stetson Black... which is apparently the "sexy" Stetson fragrance. Um. Jesus.

Speaking of tingling down there, look who made it on to a fake billboard for the Aeros! Seeks it, huh? Heh.

Honestly, if that were a real billboard, I'd would find a reason to drive that way no matter where I'm going. "I'm going to Katy, but, uh, I'm gonna swing by Pearland first."

Read more...

Dreaming in bigger skates & other stuff

So, I had this realization Thursday that has had my head spinning for a couple of days: The Aeros defense sucks.

For the most part, anyway. And I mean that relatively. We've been spoiled with outstanding, mind-blowing, beautiful, hard-working, gutsy defense the prior two seasons. But I've just come to realize... the Aeros are no longer that team that will sell their souls to keep the puck out of the net. And this is the reason I don't care that much about them. Heart-wise. And worse, it hurts Brusty, so that pushes me into full-on dislike.

You wanna know how bad it is? (How bad is it?)

I go to bed tonight at 10:30. I warn Mr. C, "If I go to bed this early, I'll be up by 1:30." I just can't sleep through the night. My perfect world is 5 hours of sleep at night and then a solid nap during the day.

Anyway, I wake up at 2 (so I was wrong, but not really), but the REASON I woke up is a little freaky.

I jerked awake, yelling at a puck going into my net, because I was dreaming that I was Brusty and I was playing goal for the Aeros. In my sleep, I was trying to make a save on a shot coming back door but couldn't reach it. You know how your dog growls and barks and kicks its feet in its sleep? How cute that is? Not so cute when it's a people doing it. Trust me.

Now, I've played goal in my sleep before, and that's plenty weird enough. But then to do it as another goalie... super weird. Man, I was so good looking though. And tall. And... And...

What was I talking about?

Oh yeah. So, the newsflash is that somehow being a hottie doesn't make getting scored on any easier. I definitely woke up with a distinct, "Augh, goddammit my defense suuuucks" feeling.

For a team that was billed to be driven by Defense! and Character! I'm sure not seeing that dominance on D (how much do we really miss Luke Strand? I'm thinking lots and lots). And character clearly isn't enough to make up for lack of talent.

I'm not calling anyone out. Yet. I'm just saying.

----------------------

Every time I think about my trip to Minnesota this summer for hockey camp, I get a little more excited. I have visions of Pretty Woman-style* goalie gear shopping sprees in my spare time. Me, wearing a tiara, lolling around in a pile of leg pads, drinking champagne, and laughing at skaters. Ohhhmygod, it's gonna be great.

Gonna need a shopping buddy who knows goalie gear and the shops there. But it's Minnesota, so if they really are the state of hockey, I'll be able to round someone up, right? Suuuure.

*No kissing on the lips.

-----------------------

Am I weird for being excited about putting new windshield wipers on my and Mr.C's cars tomorrow? Also get to change out some tail lights, which is fun, too.

I hope I get to use my socket wrenches. I'm such a whore for my socket wrench set. If you crazy kids ever have some nuts you need tightened, give Ms. Conduct a call. ;)

Read more...

Quick Hits: Clutterbutter extension, Valley interview, savoring the season

Players come and go, and it's something you just have to accept as a fan. But one heartbreak I and all the other Wild fans who love him won't have to endure is wondering whether Cal Clutterbuck will be back.

The Wild did the right thing and signed him for another 3 years... BEFORE the summer and before any silly speculation could start. Lock. That. Down. Good job, Fletch. And congratulations, Cal! *sniff* Our little wrecking-ball baby is all grown up and one-way contracted!

Russo is tweeting that it's 3 yrs at 1.4 mil per, which is higher than I would have expected. That's Steve Ott money, baby!

Here's the article on Wild.com. What a pleasure it must be for the Wild PR folks to actually break something before Russo. Heh.

------------------

I had the pleasure of doing a quick interview with Dallas Stars goalie coach Mike Valley last night. Man, I suck at interviewing, but it was still fun to get to chat with him, and he's incredibly nice. Solid of him to take the time and hopefully folks enjoy what he had to say.

Here's a link to it over at In Goal Magazine.

--------------------

Aeros tonight. Pretty happy about that since I figure Brusty's starting and that's always a good and special thing.

I cherish every game I go to. It may suck and the Aeros may lose and KC may be grumpy and it all passes without much fanfare, but I feel so lucky to get to do what I do that not a game goes by where I don't appreciate it.

But as the end of the season looms, that awareness becomes even more heightened. I find myself wanting to get there a little earlier, stay a little later, soak it all in, put it in my pocket so I can pull it out in the summer when The Longing strikes me.

So, commence hard-core soaking tonight. And I don't mean that in a dirty way. Other than ... well... if Brusty's in goal... um... anyway... never mind.

Heh.

Just got this in my Google Alerts. If you love me, you'll win it for me. Awww, baby Brusty... I'm not much of a "stuff" collector, but one of these days I'm gonna get me a Brusty bobblehead. I like the idea of him saying Yes to anything I ask. ;)

----------------------

I bought new shoes at DSW yesterday and there was a guy there trying on sparkly heels. Drag queen in his spare time, I guess. Nothing like a man with a perfect hot pink pedicure strutting flawlessly in 4" sequined stiletto sandals to make me feel whatever the female version of emasculated is. De-feminized? I dunno. He rocked it. But my boobs are real, so take that.

Another of my all time favorite songs:

Read more...

It's Shake and Bake, and I helped

What a weekend! Some truly awful hockey. Some truly amazing hockey.

Aeros: Effing awful weekend redeemed by stellar play from--who else?--Brusty (and an Aeros team that finally managed to provide some goal support) in Sunday's game. Everybody finally got it together under the same roof at the same time Sunday, which hadn't otherwise happened all weekend. They were a hot mess Friday and Saturday.

USA USA USA: Okay, call me a traitor but I didn't really care who won that game yesterday. I adore Canada. I know the words to O Canada by heart. I love that sieve Brodeur. Canada gave me hockey, so Canada is tops in my book and always will be. But I admit, I was pretty jacked for the Americans to end up winning it. By the end, I wanted them to win. Mainly because Ryan Getzlaf is a shit. But then Patty Kane is a megadouche, so whatever. It's all a wash.

Ryan Miller was both amazing and lucky. Brodeur was neither. But I still love him. Buck up, Fatso. You're still the cat's pajamas.

Finland: You think they're regretting promising the starter spot to Kipper? Backstrom is better. And any guy who isn't willing to EARN his starting job doesn't belong on an Olympic team, IMO. When you're putting together the Finnish All-Star Game, then sure, make him the starter. But you play your best guy at the Olympics and I think that guy is Nik Backstrom.

Brahmas: They finally ended their win streak with a 1-0 loss in Wichita yesterday. Palmer was in goal though (stopped 39 of 40... Jesus!) so Jaeger's streak could still continue. Yeah yeah, first star again.

Novice: We had a practice last night and Scotty came out to work with Jess and me. Poor Scotty. All proud Canadian surrounded by a bunch of loud-mouthed, hockey-lovin' Americans. He was bitter but didn't take it out on us, apart from requiring push-ups for any goals we let in during one of his drills. Bahhh...

It was good though, as it always is when Scotty comes out. I'm 95% comfortable on my new sharpening (3/4) on my strong side, but I still can hardly shuffle on the right. I wasn't great at it before but now I can only go a few inches. It will come. The thing is, EVERYTHING else apart from shuffling is easier and crisper now. One of the best decisions I've ever made as a goalie was to get that deeper hollow. There. I said it. Of course, keep in mind, I don't make a ton of great decisions as a goalie so the bar was low. :)

Anyway, we did a few drills. One horseshoe drill that probably didn't feel like much to the skaters, but was a lot of work for the goalies. Endless stream of breakaways. I finally just had to leave my net and go get my Gatorade off the other net. I was feeling ookie.

Then we scrimmaged for 40 minutes. I think we must have been on the ice for a good 1:40 or so. Phew. I got a little foggy headed and didn't play the scrimmage very well, but I did have one huge flurry of stops just before the final buzzer. Coach Dan was in the box (because Scott was "officiating" and wanted to call a penalty--ha!) so we were short handed.

Anyway, it was one of those little top of the crease scrambles where you just get low and be big and pray. Probably made 3 pad saves before I finally got a glove on it. OMG my hips were hating me from all that pinball flapping I was doing. It was the highlight of my night though, so it was nice to end on a good note. Got me a nice forearm bruise, too, from one of Scotty's drill shots. Sweeet. :)

Even better is that I'm playing SLICE tonight, so I'm happy about that. But not too happy. I figured out that I'd been trying to hang on to that amped up feeling I get when I'm really excited to play, because I kinda thought that was how I was supposed to feel. But apparently that's just not a productive state of mind for me. So yesterday, when I got that feeling during the day, I just talked myself back down and stayed even keeled about it.

It think that helps a lot. But we'll see tonight, because I am pretty excited to play tonight, but I have to just let that go and get my Zen on. So far so good.

One of my all time favorite songs:

Read more...

Heart on Sleeve

I'm moping around today like I've had a tiff with my boyfriend. Normally I don't let Aeros losses get to me. I keep my reporter hat nice and snug, try to look at things with relative fairness (I won't bother calling it objectivity... we all know better).

But this one, for whatever reason, is going down like a sand margarita.

I went to pick up breakfast this morning and every song on the radio reminded me of my team. Shake It Out, The Underdog, Back Against the Wall.

You know how it is when you're "in love" and wearing your heart on your sleeve and feeling embarrassingly vulnerable about it? That's me today. I hate it.

And I don't feel like I love this team particularly. Brusty, sure. And maybe that's why I'm so pissed. He's keeping them in it and gets nothing to show for it.

But I dunno. It feels like more. I'm just so disappointed.

I failed to give props where they were due though last night. Brandon Buck is playing like he doesn't wanna go back to Florida. And JM Daoust is playing his ass off like always. He reminds me of Clutterbuck in that way... no matter how crummy the team around him is, he just plays his game, plays his balls off. Love that guy.

I find myself missing certain guys lately. Marco Rosa is one. I see his name constantly in Manitoba news. Such a fierce protector of the puck. I loved him for that.

Okay, enough of this. Time to get my Saturday on.

When cleaning up dog shit in the yard seems favorable to thinking about your hockey team, you know the season isn't going well. Eeeesh. This feels bad.

---------------------

Oh hey, but The Scruffy One won again last night. He and the Brahmas are on a crazy 7 game win streak right now and he's becoming incorrigible. :) But if I were the league-leading goalie, I'd be incorrigible, too. Hell, I'm incorrigible now and I suck.

Read more...

Quick Hits: Novice game, V-day, Serious Reportering, Olys

My green team won 5-4 last night, but more because my team played unbelievable defense.

First goal, I was screened but probably should have gone down. Went right between my feet. Second, I just got burned top shelf. Got my glove up but missed it. Third, I got beat short side from a shot in close. I should have poke checked. The fourth, it was a straight shot that I was too deep for and kinda overplayed a slide and it went in just inside the far post.

But I had some pretty sweet saves. My favorite was a blocker save I made as I was sliding over. Really nice and a sure goal otherwise. Wasn't a great game but not even close to my worst either.

Lots of new faces tonight, too, which made it more fun. Very novice but just enough movement to keep it interesting, though I really didn't see a ton of shots and Jessica did and played really really well. My team was even dropping to block shots, which is just awesome and fills me with <3.

A question I need to run by my mental training coach is why it is that when I really don't want to be there, like I don't feel good or just don't feel like playing, why I play so much better. I was feeling like shit not having eaten enough at dinner and was shaking from hunger. Took a long time for the Luna bar I scarfed before I left the house to kick in.

But it frustrates me a little that good play comes from such a negative place for me. When I'm excited to play and eager at the start, those are my worst games. What's up with that??

Further, this was my first time to skate on my newly sharpened skates. I went from 1" to 3/4" hollow and boy was that a surprise when I skated to my net and tried to stop for the first time. Ha!

I got used to it for the most part by the end of the game, but I need to get out and work on t-pushes so I can get across faster. I am definitely more agile, it's easier to recover, movements are more crisp. It's going to be great in the long run, but it's a hell of an adjustment!

-----------------------------

Pretty good V-day yesterday. Nice breakfast at Buffalo Grille with Mr.C and my favorite french toast with strawberries. Best bacon EVER at the Buff. Nommmmm.

Then we ran a few errands and I got a new laptop bag for my netbook so I don't have to carry my big ol' ugly black bag to games. It's cute and only $10 because dudes who shop at CompUSA (why are you back???) don't necessarily dig "cute." Nerds.

And then I got to cover the Aeros for the Chronicle, which is always fun to put that j-school degree to work and make the parents happy. Plus, an excuse to interview Brusty. :) Normally, I don't like to bother dragging players out of the room because my PHN stuff is so high level, player quotes on individual games aren't usually too relevant until playoff time. But for the Chron, it's good and he gave some important color for my story.

They originally rewrote my lead but I notice my version is back now. Not sure why, but I'm glad. I figure, I don't get the chance very often (nor should I, because Andrew is The Man), so I figured I'd throw a fun lead against the wall and see if it stuck.

Anyway, tough loss to a Chicago team that is just on fire right now. Not sure what's up with the boys but they're not playing with a whole lot of fire. Not bringing 60 minutes of hard compete. Just not typical, but I hope they get it together.

---------------------

We have 3 goalies again. *sigh* Anton's hip is better, according to Russo, so he was sent down today. As much as I'm enjoying the Olympics, the Olympic break can just kiss my ass.

But speaking of Olys, I watched 2 periods of USA v China women's hockey. What I love about hockey in the Olys is that you really get to appreciate the underdog. Like in individual or really quick sports, the cameras just focus on the leaders and everyone else is an also-ran. But in hockey, you get to see the underdog goalie a LOT because they're just getting shelled.

And typically being the underdog goalie myself, I dig that. It's inspiring. So, I'm really going to enjoy these early rounds, I think.

---------------

Errr, I guess I better go buy a paper, huh? :)

Read more...

Ahhh, that's better....

Forgive me while I wax poetic for a bit.

There are two images that stick out in my mind tonight:

The first is Daoust scoring the OT winner for the Aeros tonight and Brusty leaping, fists pumping, from his crease and galloping down the ice to celebrate with his teammates. SHUTOUT. Fuck yeah.

The second is waiting in the hallway to interview after the game and watching him racing to the locker room after accepting his #1 star honors--sweaty hair going every which way and grinning ear-to-ear. And no beard. Holy geez...

What a privilege it is to get to be right there to see my favorite goalie, the one who inspired ME to become a goalie, reap the rewards of a helluva lot of hard work and patience, particularly over the last few months of being shuttled back and forth between the AHL and ECHL. Amazing.

-----------------------

It was a great night for my other goalie, too. Jaeger allowed only 1 goal on 31 shots tonight for the Texas Brahmas, after pitching a shutout last night. One goal in 59 shots? Damn. DAMN! He's just burning it up. That's great. Though check out the penalties from this game. Good grief!

Plus there's this. And this.

Dear hockey photogs of the world,

Chicks effin' LOVE the water bottle shot. Be a hero and get at least one of these a game, will ya?

Sincerely,
Ms.C

Dear hot goalies of the world,

If you could just lift that lid up and squirt that water on your face a bit, while making sure the cameraman in the corner has a nice view of you, that'd be most helpful.

Sincerely,
Ms.C

So there ya go. I've said my prayers for the night. :)

This is the song I had in my head all through the Aeros game tonight, but it didn't feel right for the T3I story, so I'll use it here:

Read more...

Reflecting on last night

I'm still processing last night's game. I think in general "clusterfuck" is the best descriptor.

Here's the thing: being a goalie makes watching your favorite goalie both harder and easier in some respects.

You know, for instance, that some nights, it's just not your night. It just happens, no matter how good you are, no matter how bad you want it, no matter how much it means to you. It's just something you understand once you spend a little time in net.

You also know what it does to you mentally when it's very clear early on that your team isn't ready to go. And the Aeros were completely scatterbrained from the first puck drop. If you're not in just the perfect state of arousal (really? we can't come up with another way to express this, mental training coaches?), it's going to get in your head a little. You tighten up, second guess, get annoyed... I'm not saying that's what happened because I'm not in anybody's head but my own, but it DOES happen.

The sucky thing is you also know how it feels to be out there getting lit up. It. Feels. Awful. You're talking to yourself, trying to settle down and get your head right and let go of those goals. But it's hard, and doubly hard when your teammates are spinning their wheels.

So, that was tough to watch. I watched the first two periods from the corner, but felt like I needed to do something to change the luck. I dunno. Hard to figure things like that out. 4 goals in the first two periods, 3 in the third after I went up, so maybe it would have been worse if I hadn't been down there 2/3rds of the game. :)

I suppose it's pretty narcissistic to think something I do can change a game I'm not playing in, but... well.... I have a blog, an alter ego, and 300 followers on Twitter... I'd say Narcissistic is probably my middle name, yeah?

Oh well. It is what it is. Onward. *hugs* Tonight will be better.

Read more...

Quick (really quick) Hits

I don't really have much to say, but I get antsy when I've had a single post up too long. Especially when the subject is in LOLcatspeak. That's cute for like a day. We're going on 3 now.

Buncha quick hits:

My dog, who is 8 years old, got groomed... like proper groomed by the kind of people who know how to make poodles look like topiaries... for the very first time yesterday and he's such a priss now!

I'm not sure if he just SEEMS prissy because he looks so neat and trim or because he knows how good he looks and he really is being a priss. He's such a "rugged" looking dog normally.... it's jarring when a dog has a better manicure than his owner.

--------------------

Super excited about this weekend in sports. Excited about the Wild because Cody Almond is up and eager to see how he fares. Love to see all my pimping backed up with the big club. The kid is the whole package IMO.

Also, of course, the Olympics start. To be honest, I don't much care about anything but hockey. No figure skaters have done any kneecapping lately, so ... meh.... Mostly when I see all those talented skaters twirling around out there, I just wish more girls would play hockey. At least there'd be fewer divots in the ice. *grumble*

However, Russo is covering some of the winter events apart from hockey, and as I've often said, it's just such a thrill to watch someone who is the best in his league doing his job and loving it. This blog post tonight from Vancouver was about 18 different things, completely jacked up on coffee, and an awesome read. It proves to me that there's nothing Russo could write about that I wouldn't read. He's just good.

Finally, the Aeros have 3 in 3 at home this weekend and it looks like they're going to keep Khudobin up in Minnesota for the weekend, which means Brusty gets a start or two. And that means I'm happy for a few more days. And then Mean Mr. Mill will make bitter bunny bitter again. (There's gotta be a children's book in this right? I could do it all in jaggedy stick figures. It would be awesome. Maybe I'll do a short version as a blog post sometime.)

----------------------------------

I have plans to interview the goalie coach of the Dallas Stars system next week. Great timing huh? I'm excited to talk to him. Usually when I interview, I have trouble coming up with questions.

I'm a terrible interviewer because a) if I'm genuinely interested in learning about someone, I don't want surface stuff. I want to really know what makes them tick, but it's hard to get there without building some trust, and that requires coming in through the front door, conversationally speaking.

And b) if I'm not genuinely interested in learning about someone, I have a hard time faking otherwise.

But in this case, I may have too many. My focus will be on the AHL level but gosh, you just can't ignore what's going on with Turco and Lehtonen and Auld.... a little goalie threesome up there in Big D.

------------------------

STOP RAINING! NOW!

------------------------

My new cat eye cage still hasn't shown up. You'd think ordering something from freaking Canada is like ordering it from Iran or something for how long it takes to get here. Come on, customs people, it's just a cage. Get on it!

-------------------------

Awesome segment on ABC 13 tonight about Jeff Crawford, the Aeros practice goalie who nearly had to step in and play when Brusty got sliced last week. (May I just interject that I've watched that injury happen like 3 times in the last 24 hours and it still sends shivers up my spine every time. *shudder* The injury happens so fast, you don't eve know it's happened... it's when he goes to get up that my heart drops to my stomach every single time I see it.) Good job by the PR guys for getting a cool story out there.

Hopefully there's video soon, but if not, I'll record it off of TV and share it at T3I.

-------------------------

I'm finally convinced that I'm being ridiculous skating on a 1" hollow (hush, stop laughing). So I'm going to start ramping the hollow up.

Honestly, tough, I'm not a very patient ramper-upper, so I may not even bother with 1/8th increments and just go right to 3/4 for the first sharpening. Holler at me if that's insanity, but if it's just a matter of being awkward for a few sessions... well, I already am, so no biggie.

But the more I thought about the following comment from Mike McKenna over at IGM, the more I started thinking about how the very things I'm having trouble with revolve around using my edges. I hardly have edges with my current sharpening!

Q: Isn’t the 1/4” – 3/8” hollow in the skates pretty aggressive for a goalie? I thought most goalies used at least 1/2? hollow to make it easier to glide side-to-side? – Steve

A: Not really. Almost every pro goalie is around 1/2” or under. By gliding side-to-side I presume you mean shuffling. Today’s goalies never shuffle more than a foot or two at a time and it’s very controlled. T-pushes and power-pushes (movements while down in the butterfly) require sharp edges if you want to have any kind of explosiveness. I’ve been sharpening my skates like this for nearly eight years, so it’s not that new of a concept. Unfortunately many pro shops don’t understand the needs of modern goaltenders and their ‘goalie cut’ (or standardized goalie hollow) is often 1” or higher. Scary.

I'm excited to try it and see what it does for me ... or to me... Hah. Hopefully I can get it done by Sunday and get to try it out in practice.

I asked one of my pro goalie pals what his hollow is and he doesn't even know. Amazing. I sometimes wonder how some of these guys would survive without an equipment manager to take care of them. Must be like herding cats. Really buff cats with great asses, though, so it's not like I'm tossing any pity their way.

---------------------------------

Aaaaand with that hockey player ass reference, I think I've done my job here for the evening.

Apropos of my day:

Read more...

O hai internets! I mist yew!

Oh my lord, it's been a long day. Up at 6, dog to kennel, drive to Austin, workworkwork, dinner with coworkers, hockey game (well, the final 2 periods) in Cedar Park.

Very happy to be in bed at this fine hotel with my pointy boots OFF my aching feet enjoying some free popcorn and wifi that doesn't block every site I'm addicted to except Google Reader. Ahhh....

All the other stuff is boring, so I'll tell ya about the game. Stars v. Griffins. You'd think it would be Stars all the way, but it was exactly the opposite.

Remember, Aeros fans, back when the boys would whiff on EVERY SHOT, or hit a post, or shoot just wide, or fall down, or break a stick, or or or... do anything BUT put a shot in the net? That was the Stars tonight.

Though after coming home and finding out their all-star defenseman, Ivan Vishnevsky was traded to Atlanta for Kari Lehtonen, I wonder if the room wasn't a little rattled tonight.

Even my boy Climie seemed... off. Not his usual quiet, confident, ZenMaster self.

Felt awful for Larsson in the other net. He had a shutout going with around 3 minutes left and the Stars put the puck on him and he shut down his 5-hole but it trickled through and into the net. DOH. Though I admit, it was amusing to watch him watch the replay and then shake his head. There there, Danny.

I was only there for the final 2 periods, and really, if I'm getting there 40 mins after puck drop, can't you cut me a break on the $10 parking, Cedar Park Center? What a rip off. There's ACRES of empty land around that place. You pay $7 in downtown Houston and it's a shorter walk into the arena. Pfft.

I sat by the Griffins scratch, Paul Crosty, but didn't want to bother him. Seemed nice enough though, when a group sat RIGHT next to him and started chatting with him for the entire rest of the game. Hmm.

As far as the barn, which I've been in before, but only in the rarefied air of the press box (where I have to stand to see the near boards... bad box for short people), this time I was in the "crowd"... 3000 something. A couple of things:

Dear Stars Fan behind me,

It's a puck. Not a ball. If you're gonna razz the goalie, please PLEASE at least get that rather critical fact straight.

Sincerely,
Ms.C

Dear Stars Fans on the glass in front of me,

Calling Daniel "Danielle" was decent. Keep it up. Make the other goalie cry. But if you sit a little higher so your voice carries over the glass, you'll do better.

Also, you could cheer FOR your team occasionally with that big mouth of yours.

Yours in bad attitudes,
Ms.C

-------------------

Their ice is shitty. Very wet to start the periods. Even though the place was freeeezing cold. I'm spoiled by the toasty Toyota Center.

It's also smaller than I remember. Feels more like an ECHL game, to be honest. As Mickey Mouse as Aeros games can be sometimes, it still feels more like a "big time" situation because of the Toyota Center.

However, I paid $9 and could have sat pretty much anywhere but the suites, which, BTW, were almost all occupied even though the bowl was less than half full. Now THAT was strange. I think the only people ever in the suites (at least opposite the press box) at the TC are the scratched Aeros. Definitely indicates local business support though, right?

Anyway, that's enough randomness. Time to set a wake-up call and try to sleep. Or more likely lay here and play Bejeweled Blitz for an hour and think about how fucking tired I'm gonna be driving home tomorrow. Right on.

Just about everything from Led Zeppelin says "Let's have sex in my car" to me. No clue why.

Read more...

My hair-twin is an asshole

Wow, lots of nail-biting hockey tonight.

Brusty was back in goal for the Aeros and I'll be honest, I spent the first two periods watching from behind my fingers and cringing audibly when he had to ... well... do anything other than just stand there. I can only imagine it all hurt.

I know when I'm injured and playing, there's a point where you figure out which pain is "okay" and isn't making things worse, and you start to settle down and kind of numb that pain out. He looked more relaxed in the third, so hopefully that's sort of what happened. Either that or really good drugs. Or the beard gives him Goaltending Superpowers in addition to Hotness Superpowers. Nom nom nom....

Anyway, the boys were down 2-1 for a while, but my boy Almond Joy (who also had an assist on Kalus' goal to get the Aeros on the board) tied it up and then Zingoni put the Aeros ahead. Honestly, McCollum is still pretty green and hasn't come on like some of the other rookies in the league, so I wasn't surprised the Aeros put some numbers up.

But given how tired and depleted this Aeros roster is, here at the end of a dense patch in the schedule, I was impressed and surprised that they kept the shots against Barry pretty damn reasonable at 22.

Brusty took home the second star, with Zingoni getting the first for the GWG. Works for me. Come home!

-------------------

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Khudobin got his first NHL start and looked absolutely like he belonged there. It was an outstanding performance against a Flyers team completely okay with putting the puck on the net as often as possible.

The Wild let him see 39 shots and he stopped all but one, which tied a Wild SEASON record for most shots. And Russo had a cool stat from the last game: "According to Elias Sports Bureau, Khudobin's 9:33 of ice time was the shortest amount of time in NHL history to get one's first win." That's pretty cool.

Meanwhile, damn, the Flyers really are assholes. I don't usually have to think about it much with them being in the east but Scotty Hartnell really is a pain in the ass. Of course, if he's your guy, he "plays with an edge" but if he's the other team's guy... well, he's kind of a shit stain. But his curls are spectacular, so, ya know, props for that. We could totally talk product...

Anyway, they won 2-1 with goals from Clutterbuck and Nolan, and Anton was 1st star and still looks as "OMG this is happening to me" as he did last game. The crowd was off the chain for him, which was cool to hear. And honestly, I rarely cheer for games at home anymore, but I did a bunch of it tonight, both for the Wild and the Aeros. It was fun and I was rewarded with some great hockey.

------------------

Dear Hockey Gods,

Aeros don't play again until Friday. I'd really like that playing to include Brusty. I know that means keeping someone else hurt or whatever, but I've been a good girl lately, so maybe you can see fit to accommodate my request. I would be most appreciative.

Stay cool,
Ms.C

----------------------

Another win for Mr. Stubble and the Brahmas tonight. 38 stops on 40 shots and he earned the second star for the second night in a row. Wooo... I know the Brahmas Insider blog went to the game in Shreveport, so there will be pics in a few days. Something to look forward to during a few days without game action.

Read more...