Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Which Arrested Development character is your NHL team?

I didn't get to all the teams, but these are the ones that jumped out at me. Feel free to put some suggestions in the comments. I'm ashamed that I couldn't find a Barry Zuckercorn.

Montreal Canadiens = George Bluth Sr.

Arrogant, self-absorbed, thinks everything revolves around them (and sometimes it does, but not as much as they wish or think). Possibly associated with criminals.

San Jose Sharks = Michael Bluth

Well-mannered, upstanding, well-behaved, smart, successful, handsome in a way only Californians can be. They're the steady rock of the bunch.

Dallas Stars = Lucille Bluth

Aggressive, irritating, disliked by many but still seems to get ahead in spite of adversity. Mooches off social status-seekers, who in turn benefit from the opportunities to see and be seen at various Bluth/Stars functions.

Phoenix Coyotes = Buster Bluth

Though not without certain talents, remains generally bumbling in spite of efforts to the contrary. Extreme dependency on Mother/Gretzky at once holds them aloft while also limiting the success of growth efforts.

New York Rangers = GOB Bluth

Extremely unsympathetic character. Not particularly good at anything, other than being arrogant and unpleasant. Fancy themselves rather suave and handsome, but are really just coasting on the family name.

Pittsburgh Penguins = Lindsay Bluth Fünke

Pretty and occasionally tries to care about something, but ultimately doesn't have the depth.

Philadelphia Flyers = Maeby Fünke

Gets bored if not living on the edge to some degree. Revels in rebellion, specializes in con-artistry. Can pull off wearing Safety Orange.

Toronto Maple Leafs = Oscar Bluth

Wants to be as esteemed and respected within the family as his brother, but constant ineptitude and foggy decision-making has resulted in a lifetime of failure.

Boston Bruins = Annyong

While appearing hapless and harmless most of the time, we suddenly discover they know things and are plotting their revenge for the years of disrespect. Hello, Frozen Banana Vengeance!

Nashville Predators = Lucille "Two" Austero

Completely lovable, warts, dizzies and all, for the whimsy and gumption shown in the face of adversity. Plays the spoiler and incites ridicule from traditionalists for her "Little Engine that Could" approach to life.

Anaheim Ducks = Bob Loblaw

"Why should you go to jail for a crime someone else... noticed?"
Though giving off an air of serious professionalism, ethics and moral fortitude aren't a high priority.

Detroit Red Wings = Wayne Jarvis

"I use one word to describe myself. What is it?" "Professional."
Almost obnoxious in their focus and seriousness and lack of frivolity, yet willing to hide behind the couch or skate through octopus slime if it helps the matter at hand.

Washington Capitals = STEVE HOLT!

Creates a lot of good will through sheer confidence and contagious enthusiasm. You want to hate them, but can't find a solid reason to.

Tampa Bay Lightning = Kitty Sanchez

Slightly (okay, maybe a lot) crazy, not to be trusted with anything important, like #1 draft picks or long term contracts. Likes to make a splash by showing off sexy assets, but isn't smart enough to actually do any real harm with what little power they have left from their heyday.

Vancouver Canucks = White Power Bill

Like to act tough, but we discover soon enough that they're really just full of self-loathing. And because we loathe them, too, we sympathize (and yet do nothing to discourage it, as we know that eventually they'll jump off the ledge on their own).

Minnesota Wild = Ann Veal
"Her?" Highly principled, often rather dull, but nevertheless inspires great, inexplicable devotion from loved ones. Often forgotten about by everyone except aforementioned loved ones.

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Recap of Wild Trade Deadline Day Activity

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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Quick Hits: I Wanna Know What Love Is; Pucks & Paws

Installment #12 of the Mitch Love blog. An "absolute egg" is what he calls last Friday. Yeah, Mitch. Sunday, too.

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March 14 is Pucks and Paws night when the Aeros play in San Antonio. I was already thinking about going to that game... now the temptation is irresistible, knowing that I could bring the mutt with me and support a four-legged-friend cause.

Here's the info on the game. This is the second-to-last chance to go see the Aeros play in SA this season.

The way things are going, I'd rather go now while the games matter. I'm not sure they will that last weekend of the regular season when they meet in SA again.

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While we nap...

So, I woke up this morning to leaking, puffy eyes and a snot-faucet for a nose (stuck in the ON position). Alavert didn't touch it, so I hit the Benedryl. By 9:30, I passed out cold and woke up an hour and 45 minutes later.

As often happens when I turn my back to my laptop for a few minutes, all hell broke lose. Well, kinda good hell, actually, for some guys. Not so much for others.

The big bomb is that the Wild FINALLY got Backstrom re-signed! Four years, 6 mil-ish per. This is excellent news and you could hear the collective sigh of relief in Minnesota all the way from down here in Texas. Or maybe that was all me. But it seems most folks are awfully happy about not only the signing, but also eliminating the prospect of losing ANOTHER guy to free agency for absolutely no return.

As contradictory as this might seem given the brutal netminding I provide my novice team each Sunday night, I'm positively compulsive about my pro teams having good goaltending. After Daum's final season in Houston, with Miro and Swiss as our only goaltending options, I'm scarred for life. Give me good goalies or give me death. Contrast that with be spoiled by our goaltending in Houston last season... well, my expectations are sky high, and it seems Backstrom can come as close as anybody to meeting those.

I guess we'll see tonight how this affects his play. None at all, I would hope. Or he's elated, because it was clear he wanted to be here pretty badly, and will be even better. Nice interview with Backy here.

What is it with these Finnish goalies? I need to find a nice Finnish name to put on the back of my goalie jersey. Maybe I'll suck less?

In addition to this news was a waiver wire that runneth over, including some familiar names like Peter Olvecky. I suspect he'll just clear and return to Houston. There are too many big names on the wire today for him to get much attention. It will be really nice to get him back, especially with this experience under his belt.

Other familiar names... Aaron Voros and Erik Reitz. Doh! I wonder if Sather's still talking to Riser these days. Seems he didn't ultimately find what he was looking for in the Wild's sloppy seconds (really, he could have just asked the fans and saved himself some trouble). And speaking of which, the Rangers DID pick Avery up off the wire. I guess losing AV and Reitz and sending one guy back to the minors was enough to clear cap space for the Mouth.

And now that Avery is back... and Brodeur is back in New Jersey and playing like a MFing beast... how many of you have the only remaining Rangers v. Devils game circled in red on your calendars? March 30. Be there or be square, kids.

Finally, on a totally unrelated note, Justin Bourne, the minor league player/THN blogger gives another divine slice of life. It is a must read, especially if you play or have played hockey for fun. All I'll say is that I'm a little irritated that the boys know they look that good in those suits. Dammit!

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Monday, March 2, 2009

Royal's Aeros weekend recap

Go read it.

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It's a dog eat dog world...

And last night at novice, I was wearing milkbone underwear.


Stands to reason, after having a pretty decent, fun game last week, that I'd get blown up this week. Though really, I only let in 6 goals (though I could swear there were more, but I was assured they were keeping track), which is pretty much on par for me, and we ended up tying the game.

But I wasn't happy with how at least 4 of those went in. I should have gotten them. And I was a f**king statue in the first period, not seeing the puck well, kinda jumpy and flinchy. I've gotta find a way to be more prepared when the puck drops. Jessica got two on me in the first, but I stopped her the rest of the night.

Honestly, though, my D clamped down when they saw I was having trouble and pretty much didn't let the puck near me most of the night. I was finally stopping them later in the 2nd and in the 3rd, but I hardly saw anything. At one point, the green team had the red team pinned in their zone for 5 minutes straight. It was unbelievable.

Mostly, I felt like a schmuck. Any stops I made were such gimmes, they're hardly worth relishing.



But, ya know, I knew there'd be nights where I'd take steps backwards and feel like shit about my game. It's just motivation to work harder during the week, and show up better mentally prepared. And the really awesome thing is that I get to live with this for 2 whole weeks because I'll be out of town next Sunday. Yay.

I'm so bugged by it, I'm even considering hitting a stick and puck this week. But I fell up the stairs yesterday afternoon and have a huge lump and bruise on my knee right where I'd be dropping on it, so I dunno.

On the positive side, though, my freshly sharpened skates didn't give me too much trouble, though I'd love to knock the edge down a little. And as far as improvements go, I feel like I did do better playing further out of the net, but at the same time, knowing where I was in relation to the net.

Mr. C is sweet though... He was still up when I got home and I was moping a little about how disappointed I was in myself, and he said, "Did you have fun?" I had to think for a minute, but yeah, I did.

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Sunday, March 1, 2009

Aeros v. Milwaukee Admirals - Game 61

Can we just never play 5 on 5 again?

The Aeros special teams are just spectacular, with the boys converting on 2 of 3 PP opportunities and staving off 7 of 8 man advantage chances for the Ads.

But there's part of the problem in this game. 8 trips to the box, some pretty legit, some kinda weak calls. Either way, you can't get shots at the net when you're spending 18 minutes a game defending your own.

Oh and speaking of shots!!!

Aeros - 12
Ads - 38


Poor Dimples, but more to the point, poor BADASS Dimples, who stopped 35 of those 38! Well done, peanut! Welcome back to the Aeros!

Anyway, the boys started the game with a 2 point lead. Danny Irmen got the first goal with help from Schultz and Rosa. Kolanos got the second from Noreau and Locke.

But as I told a chat room full of nice Ads fans and one colossal asshole Ads fan, "Don't worry. This team lives to choke away leads." And indeed, the rest of the goals would be against the Aeros.

It's hard to tell from the little window, as usual, but I felt like the boys were playing without any desperation in the second and third, making way too many mistakes, etc. I know it was the third in 3 but really, the way they mailed it in on Friday, I don't really count that game.

Anyway, next game is Thursday back at home and I'm going as a fan and bringing the Mayor of Russoville with me, so that should be fun. Unless the boys continue to play without the appropriate urgency for this time of the season and for a team teetering on the cusp of being out of the playoff picture.

Enough of this. I've got a bunch of pucks to stop.

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