Not so quick hits: Birthday Edition

The dream lives!

Don't ask me who I'd root for if the Aeros and B-Sens, by some miracle, ended up playing each other for the Calder Cup. Honestly, I'm pretty sure it would be the Aeros. I know where my bread is buttered and what an honor and treat it would be to cover a Championship team.

But that's way way WAY ahead of this Round 2 point we're both at now. All I can say is, Get well soon, Corey Locke. Keep the dream alive, squirt!

Of course, if Lehner cements the starting role in Bingo (ride the hot goalie, right?), there really is no question of my loyalty but I'd totally sneak down to the backup goalie corner and marvel at Brusty's hair.

Bonus tongue!
Photo courtesy of Tracy Hicks/White Raven Creations/Press Photo International

No kidding, I've had at least 5 pictures of the BACK of him randomly sent to me by various friends/enablers, because the flow is so bitchin'. I love my hockey friends so much. :)

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Today's my birthday. 35 again. Shut up. I'm staying 35 until someone outright laughs at me when I tell them my age. I figure I can be 35 for a good 10 years if I keep after the Oil of Olay and sunscreen and stop smiling.

:) <--this is all you get

I'm spending my birthday working my tail off to meet a couple of deadlines (worked most of Sunday, too), then working my tail off on the ice at goalie clinic and then drop-in.

Likely have a playoff game Tuesday night at women's league, too, so hopefully I'm not hurting too badly after Monday.

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Speaking of which, my buddy and awesome goalie writer Kevin Woodley, tweeted this last night:


I sorta half read the quote. Then I went back and half read it again. And then I really read it. And then I started choking back tears.

At least for me, that really does boil it down to what matters on the inside for a goalie. And for me, they're sometimes hard to remember. And I guess what's amazing is that a guy playing at the highest level has to remind himself of these things, too.

"Don't fear failure." I'm mortified of failure. Failure = embarrassment and embarrassment is honestly my biggest motivator and my biggest inhibitor. I play with too much fear, and 90% of that is fear of failure.

"Compete 100%." Um yeah. Nobody's going to be making any dramatic movies about my competitive spirit. I'm getting better though. Contrary to the "just play and have fun" spirit of women's league, my experience there as actually upped my competitiveness. Because I have a team and stats and playoffs and all that "evidence" of my success or suck-ess, it's easier to get in the zone.

"Play for others." This one makes my head swim a little. Goalie is so solitary, playing a game within the game, with your own (and usually quite different) mental and physical needs and demands. It's easy to get and stay wrapped in your little cocoon of goalieness and not really connect with what everyone else on the ice is experiencing. My best games have come when I AM engaged in the experience others are having, but not worried about it.

"Enjoy the process." This is the one I have the least trouble remembering, but man, when the shit starts flying and I'm knocking pucks into my own net, all my mind can think is "Fuck the process." But screwing up and being miserable and watching the clock IS part of the process. It's just the part I don't like and want to minimize.

God, I feel like I need therapy after writing that. But, I dunno, I felt like that "quote" was worth sharing. I was surprised how strong my reaction to it was.

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Nothing real special going on today. Monday birthdays are kinda lame other than I get to see a shit ton of rubber, so that's cool. My real birthday gift is my trip to Dallas Wednesday and Thursday to see my Jaybirdses! Yay!

It's funny because my Dad is as excited as I am. No other way he's getting to go to Dallas and see HIS favorite team two days in a row. But Mom's putting up with it because it's what her lovely daughter wants. Any wonder I'm such a brat... ;)

He's also excited because it's dollar hot dog day on Wednesday. I'm bringing Tums...

Also, crushing pretty hard on Snidey, that foxy meat mixer... can't wait to get my gawk and giggle on.

GO BLUEJAYS!!!!

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Not-so-quick hits: Like wall, pad rotation, Blue Jays

Good night in goal tonight. Been a while since I fell headfirst into the zone and stayed there for a while, but I sure did after letting a few too many in early on.

I wasn't particularly frustrated by the goals or anything. It was some breakaway stuff and a screen and maybe one where I just couldn't get over. Nothing horrible. And then finally, I just got locked in. Man does that feel good.

One guy had a great chance and I stopped it (don't even remember the scenario but I know it was a good save) and he just yells, "BITCH!!" not AT me in an aggressive way, but just sort of to the universe. I was so proud. Why yes, bitch just smacked you down, didn't she?! <3 I feel like I should get another trophy.

(Fun fact: If you Google "bitch trophy," you get a bunch of pictures of show dogs. Not what I was after.)

Another guy who is decent and usually gets one past me at some point if he tries hard enough just couldn't get it done tonight. He's a VERY nice guy, always pegs my net for me, takes blame for defensive failures, just a pleasure to play with. And he was on fire tonight, always getting the puck on his stick.

He must have put 10-15 shots on me all by himself, trying every which way, and I stopped all of them. He was so funny to watch get more and more frustrated and in disbelief. His exclamations got louder with each stop.

And with every stop, I was more and more determined to make sure he got blanked for the night. It turned into a game just between us after a while. He wasn't even passing anymore. He was just on a mission to score a goal. Sorry, sir!

I love my night job. ;)

I missed my women's league game last week, but the other team had to forfeit due to lack of turnout, so my girls won. Tomorrow is another battle royale with Captain Danglemitts' team. I hope I can carry this loose feeling with me.

Lately I've seen frequent mentions that resonate with me regarding worrying about the process rather than the outcome. Women's league defines that concept. Women's league is ALL process. It's nice to win but the fun and the effort and the learning and the bonding and all that good stuff is why we come out each week season after season.

I think the most fun I've had was the last one I played where we lost 5-2. Go figure. Could just be because of how drunk I got after.

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I'm back to having trouble with my right pad not rotating when I butterfly. The new pads rotated perfectly until recently, and I guess now that they're broken in, they're succumbing to whatever caused that with my old pads.

The right pad actually rotates inward on me while I play so I'm always adjusting it back to square on my leg, so I'm sure that's why it's landing under me. Maybe it's my pants?

I dunno. It's really frustrating and newbie-esque for those silly things to keep landing under my leg instead of flipping up. Also doesn't stop pucks as well, which is kinda what I like to be able to do.

My pants are getting quite enormous on me as I continue to shrink, so maybe that's on the agenda as the next replacement purchase.

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Baseball ahead:

Going to my first Blue Jays games for my birthday at the end of April in Dallas. At night on the 27th and a day game on the 28th. Should be a blast. My parents are coming up and my aunt and uncle are going. I missed seeing them at Christmas, so it will be fun to catch up and see my birdies, too.

I'm highly tempted to get a Meats Don't Clash shirt and see if I can get Snidey to sign it or honk a boobie for luck or whatever. Love me some Snidey.

But I'm also cheap, so I probably won't.

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Weekend Update (like SNL's but not funny)

Oooooweeee, kids, I love me some vicodin! My back hurts like a mother after I play lately. Dunno how I keep doing it but my hips are out of alignment and I need to get back to the handsome chiro asap before I'm officially crippled.

It's been a while since I posted because, really, nothing's been too interesting and I've been too busy to blog about anything boring.

Friday, the Aeros' home pre-season game got axed because the compressor went out at the rink and the ice melted. Oooops. Still, it was fun to see John and Drew and shoot the shit. As if watching hockey wasn't fun enough, I'm lucky enough to do it with those guys, who make me laugh and, more importantly, laugh at my dumb jokes and generally treat me like one of the boys, except with tits. It's perfection.

Saturday, I listened to Brusty's first full (preseason) game with Bingo on the ol' internet radio thingy. Sounded like an okay game but the announcer didn't describe the goals very well, so I dunno. Coach K said he felt the first and third goals (they lost 3-2) weren't his fault and then he says, "He is what he is. He probably feels pretty good about the way he played." Or something like that. That was the gist.

As you can imagine, I officially hate the guy. I sent off the paperwork earlier today. I mean, WTF, Master Motivator? One thing I always appreciated about Kevin Constantine was that he never EVER threw a goalie under the bus. I think having been one himself, he knows it's so easy to make the goalie the goat, so he's sensitive to it, especially with the media. I never heard him say something that would deflate a goalie.

Seems to me, no matter how you feel about your goalie, as a coach, surely you understand that goalies without confidence are completely worthless to you. You gotta keep their tires pump and find other ways to get what you want out of them than "Well, he has a pulse and he gear fits, so yeah, whatever" kinds of comments. 

*ahem* /rant

Saturday night I had practice. Happy to report my favorite d-man is back this season. I <3 him so much. He apologized to me after the scrimmage and yeah, he had a couple of pylon moments but damn if he doesn't block shots and play a smart game. Told him he never needs to apologize to me for anything.

They've also got one of the C goalies coming in to help us goalies. That rattled me a little bit, to be honest, and I felt insecure and desperate all practice long. It's like the voices were back... self-doubt, etc. They were evaluating the skaters, and I guess Jon was evaluating us goalies too a bit. He was really nice, so I don't know why I got all keyed up, but I did.

I'll admit, I've gotten pretty comfortable lately and I know I need someone to push me out of my comfort zone. I won't do it to myself, this I know. Ah, well. We'll see where it goes. Kinda feel like Scott should warn him. :)  I'll miss the next practice because of Aeros opening night, anyway.

I did have one absolutely crazy scrambling play where I was really proud of myself for staying with it. The puck was all over my crease and I was battling to get my glove on it and it went ALMOST completely over the line, but not quite when I swiped it back to myself and held on to it. It maybe had a few millimeters to being a goal. It was CLOSE and Toronto woulda needed a look at it, but it wasn't in, man. No goal.

Sunday, I did nothing but get writing done and say goodbye to the 2010 Toronto Blue Jays. I already miss Lyle Overbay. *sniff* He's just so manly and first basey. I love him more than any baseball person.

And finally, tonight I checked out the Aeros' "Sorry about that canceled pre-season game" Skills Competition. I'm just gonna throw a theory out there: Colton Gillies IS the Energizer bunny, right? The kid is constantly moving, always smiling, just a completely adorable button. But I wonder if a little Ritalin in his water bottle might not be a terrible idea.

He and Brandon Buck were most impressive in the shootout competition. Gillies has poor Hackett figured out blocker side. And Buck has this RIDICULOUS move where he ... well, I'm not even sure what he did, but it involved the puck being in his glove, which he swears is legal but I can't fathom how. Anyway, he did it twice and Hack bit both times.

I had my drop-in after that and it was fun having my friend Christa there finally getting to see what a hack I am in goal. Haha. Actually, it was better than last week because there were so few players and they got tired pretty quickly. Had some nice stops though, including a sweet glove at the end. It was fast and fun and the rink was COLD, so I didn't overheat like I have been the last few weeks there.

Loving the new pads more all the time. Still can't stand comfortably in them and I shift from foot to foot all game, which is tiring and probably weird to look at, but they sure are easier on the knees and awfully sturdy. Glad I invested in pro quality. They are beauties!

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I don't have a video this week cuz I'm too tired to care, but I have a site recommendation if you like weird shit that's funny. There's this craft-selling site called Etsy where people make stuff and sell it. Normally it's cute handmade purses, jewelry, or normal things like that, but some of it is seriously weird, fetishy shit. And that's where the site Regretsy comes in. They find and post the crazy shit for all us mean-spirited people to laugh at. It's a wicked good time. Check it out.

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Sievery, Harding, Overbay

Awesome game by my team tonight, but I didn't play so hot. I'm assuming it's uncool to go hug your d-men mid-game, so I didn't do it, but I wanted to. But I saw so few shots, by the time they remembered it's novice league in the third period and let up on the other team, I was already off in la-la land mentally. I KNEW I was unfocused and I was talking to myself, telling myself to get focused, but it didn't work to the tune of 3 goals in the third period.

Yet again my unwillingness to scramble bit me in the ass. Fuck me, that's frustrating. I don't know how to explain it. I WANT to do it, but ... augh! Dammit. I just don't.

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Anyway, interesting changes in the state of Wild and Aeros goaltending this weekend, huh? Harding goes down decisively in the pre-season game last night after a Brad Boyes falls on his butterflied knee.

I saw the injury and called an MCL tear, but wasn't surprised there was more to it with the ACL tear, too.

Here were my reactions in the order I had them. Don't judge me.

• THIS year you do this? Gimping around on that bum hip all last year, keeping Brusty in Florida and making me annoyed, but no, now that he's gone, you go and assplode yourself? Goddamnit. *pounding fists on floor*
• Ouch. Shit. Shit. Poor guy. My measley MCL strain was months of pain. I can't even imagine what tearing two knee ligaments must feel like. Jesus. Plus coming back from months of rehab from his hip surgery. Just sick for the guy. Awful.
• OMG Anton!! Very excited for him to have this opportunity. Maybe that sounds callous, but that's how it happens sometimes. Critical injury and a spot opens up and some really patient kid gets his chance to prove he belongs in the show. Though tonight, Russo is saying the team isn't committing to Anton as the #2. Hmm. Hi, Theodore!
• Crap, now it's just Hackett and Tordjman in Houston. Nothing wrong with either of them, but I'd spent all summer trying to convince myself that Anton's goaltending style was entertaining enough to fill some of the hole in my heart left by Brusty. So much for that. I was mighty impressed by Hackett against the Blues last night though and I think him having a larger role and more starts in Houston will be okay. He's a good goalie. 

Aaaanyway, goalies. You can beat 'em for fun but you can't beat 'em for drama, can you?

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I love Lyle Overbay. Unabashedly. I'm hoping I can get an Overbay shirt on the cheap after the stupid Blue Jays don't re-sign him and put some poo-flinging monkey on first base and break my heart.

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Quick hits: Jays blog and new pads!

So, I don't want to blog about the Jays here, but as you have seen, things come up and I'm so warped that I fear if I don't write about something that's on my mind, I may cease to exist. Or my head will explode. Or you guys won't know what I'm thinking! Oh the humanity.

And since I don't really have much to say about baseball that's very long winded, I went the Tumblr route. I'm actually not a big Tumblr fan. Either have a blog or have Twitter, but Tumblr is sort of in between and more media rich, so pics, video, etc.

Anyway, we'll see how it goes. You can follow it on Google Reader just like a real blog. It just won't be pages of entertaining angst about knees and goaltending and Brusty lust (sorry, man, but hey, at least it's your Jays!)

What pushed me over the edge, because I'd been thinking about this for a while, was the whole Meats Don't Clash thing. When it hit me like a bolt of lightening that that would be an awesome blog name, I knew that was my cue to go Tumbl the Jays. Now if I could figure out how to Tumbl JUST my Jays tweets over there... that would be cool.

Oh, you can go to there by clicking here: http://meatsdontclash.tumblr.com/

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I wasn't expecting this so soon but it looks like I've gotten funding for new pads. I'm pretty jacked about that, but now my head is spinning with information.

I knew absolutely nothing about anything when I bought my first set (RBK 6ks with no break). And they were mis-measured because, as I found out in MN, my skates were too big and skate size is part of the measurement. DOH!

So now that I have skates that fit, I remeasure and get 32", which is exactly what I thought I needed (have 34s now and my knee rests between the knee stack and the calf pad... and when I say rests, I mean, my knee slams into the ice in that spot every time I butterfly).

It occurs to me that having my knee actually rest on the pad stack like it's supposed to might even help with my knee woes. Less torque on the knee and whatnot. We'll see.

I'd love to go custom but I don't think it's necessary. And I do like the feel of my 6ks, but I have a fairly narrow fly, so I need more flex at the top to close up my 5-hole (according to the sales guy in MN).

As such, I'm looking at the Revoke 9000s and the Bauer Supreme One80s. I'm looking at the Vaughns, but I've gotten used to a looser fit on the leg and I'm afraid Vaughns will sit around my leg more than I'll like.

My concern about the Bauers is that they'll be too hard. They have a thinner profile and in order to have a thinner profile and still protect, they have to be harder, right? But they do come in a 32+1 and solid white (yum---lookie at all the pucks I stopped!)

The Revokes only come in a 33+1 (or intermediate 31+1, which is too small). The 33 would probably be okay, so it's not a huge deciding factor, but when combined with the fact that I also can't get the color I want... Hmm...

Then there are ones like Smiths that are just a few hundred more and completely custom pads. The problem is, what if I don't like them? Pretty sure they can't go back.

And then I go back to the Vaughns, which have better knee protection and are softer from the start (and come in 32+1) but also don't come in a color I want. But the idea of not getting dinged in the calf sounds kinda nice, too. Plus they have this wider pad on the bottom so you have better stability, which seems like a fine idea.

Bahhhh! So, I dunno. Advice is welcome, as long as you're okay with me not taking it. :)

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Beer run and Meats don't clash

I'm not a big fan of drinking alone, but man, I really want a beer right now and I don't have any in the house that isn't 3 years old and living in the scary abyss at the back of the fridge. I could run out to CVS and get some, but I'd also come home with chips or some crap and I'm finally shedding that "injury weight" so I don't wanna fuck that up. Damn.

Anyway, speaking of eating crap, Blue Jay Travis Snider is back from his injury and worming his beefy way into my heart (shove over and make room, Overbay). And if his efforts on the field weren't enough, this awesome little article where he reviews nachos around Toronto completely seals the deal. God, I love me an athlete who isn't giving the ol' "I really love salmon and brown rice and plain sweet potatoes" line.

"Meats don't clash."

Poetry, Snidey. Poetry.

Fuck it. I'm going for beer.

And then I'm going to ponder why anybody would review nachos in Toronto. It's fucking Canada. What the hell do they know about nachos? That's like writing about hockey in Texas. Crazy talk!

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Dear Monday... bite me

It's a bad sign when you and your spouse are sitting at the dinner table Sunday night and agree that today felt 100% like a weekday. We both had real work to do throughout the day and I hadn't played hockey all weekend and we were just bored. Weekday.

Blue Jays
The highlight of my weekend, however, was watching the Blue Jays sweep the Rays. It was the kind of series that made you feel sorry for people who don't like sports, or maybe worse, sports fans who don't like baseball.

Saturday's 17-11 home run derby-slash-JP Arencibia debutante ball was an absolute carnival of sporting pleasures. Any time you have a major league debut where phrases like "first time in modern-era baseball" are being written, you know you've done well. Guys play for 20 years and don't have games like Arencibia had in his debut. Never mind the rest of the team bringing the big bats with them, too, and just piling on.

Then yesterday, a more elegant show as Brandon Morrow gets one out away from his first career no-hitter. Even crazier is that I watched 90% of the game and didn't know he had a no hitter going. I missed an inning or two and not really being a stats person, hadn't clued into the big goose egg under H for the Rays... that is, until there was a 1 under the H and the tv guys could finally say, "Ohhhh, there went his no-hitter!" Duh.

Of course, the tv guys weren't saying it because they didn't want to jinx it. I even fell asleep during the bottom of the 6th for about 10 minutes. Ha! Even Mr.C, who only begrudgingly tolerates my baseball fandom, was pretty jacked to realize he'd just witnessed his first no-hitter... almost.

Anyway, it was a great weekend to be a Jays fan, or even just a sports fan watching the Jays.

Urgh
Maybe it wasn't such a great weekend to be in my head though. I'm still feeling pretty "meh" about goal. I HATE this feeling. It's happened 2 or 3 times since I started. Where I just feel like if I never strapped the pads on again, I wouldn't miss it.

Fortunately, since I HAVE been here a few times before, I know I'll find my heart for it again real soon. I think I'm mostly just tired of hurting. But if I get objective about it, it's really camp that was just too much for me and I'm having to recover from that . As much as I enjoyed it and loved having a week to wallow in goalieness, I'm not sure it's worth this continued misery in my knees to do it again next year.

I promised my PT I'd take a full week off, but then I got Scott TFCG's agenda for goalie clinic tonight and it's exactly that "scrambling" issue I talked about wanting to work on a few weeks ago. So there's no way I'm missing that. What's one day early? I'll try to take it easy though and not bang up my knee too much. Mainly I just want to get warm and then really focus my energy on the scrambling drills.

Then back to women's league tomorrow night. Oh boy has that GOT to get better for me. Then for the next two weeks, I only have 2 games a week and never 2 days in a row, so that's a good healing schedule.

I feel better already, just writing that out. Phew.

Ice Ice Baby
So, the ice in Houston is pretty shitty right now (though it wasn't too bad at Space City since it's just been re-done), so I went back to a 3/4 sharpening last week. Ugh, what a mistake. It definitely felt more comfortable initially, but I'd really gotten used to the dig you get with a deeper hollow. I think I'm still a little bit away from finding my sweet spot when it comes to my blades.

Speaking of Space City though, man do they ever need to upgrade their lighting. Or even just replace the bulbs that are out. That rink is like playing in a cave. Even in my mind's eye, playing the game, it's dim. And yet, still Equator hot in there.

Wild
I've come to a realization about the Wild: I don't care what they do with their roster. Apart from a few favorite players, I don't give a crap who they sign or for how much or where they are relative to the cap or who plays on what line or with whom. All I care about is that they don't suck like they have the last two years.

How they get from point A to point P (for Playoffs!!!!!!1), doesn't matter one bit to me. I realized this as I was scrolling through the Hockey's Future message board for the Wild and didn't feel compelled to click any of the topics. And as much as I'm all about prospects, I don't care to rank them. They will be what they will be (or not, if they're James Sheppard).

I am pretty jacked about having John Madden on the team, though, because we are John Madden fans in this house, even though it's the football version with the crazy eyebrows. So I'm looking forward to a season of saying, "BOOM!" and "Turduckin!" and "They used to use stickem, but now they've got those gloves!" though I have no idea when that would be appropriate in hockey. I'm going to try though.

Mondays
Everything should be Muppetized on Mondays. Things are so much easier to take when offered up by Muppets. Had "In the Navy" in my head this morning after discussing the Milwaukee and Norfolk Admirals logos with Chris "Your Taste in Logos Sucks" Jerina.

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Naptastic and Cecilicious!

Just when my knee is starting to feel like I don't have aliens living in it, I get to go wreck it again tonight. First with a novice game at 7 and then with a 3 on 3 tournament from 11 p.m.- 8 a.m.

I've never met a goalie who enjoys a 3 on 3 tournament, but I'll do my best. At least I'm only playing against myself, so if I suck for one team, so does the other goalie. :) Never done a tournament of any kind before, and certainly not one like this where I don't have a a single team relying on me. I really don't know what to expect, but I'm sure it will be more fun than I'm expecting.

Also getting started with the women's league out at Space City on Tuesday, but at least I have Mondays off for a couple of weeks. I SHOULD go to Scotty's goalie clinic Monday, but not this week. As much as I get out of those, I need to rest as much as possible to get my knee recovered from camp. I still can't sit cross-legged and it hurts like hell to kneel on it, so getting dressed is going to be fun.

Honestly, I'm a little burned out but I don't see a break coming for ... ever. I just need to be careful and cry "uncle" for a week if I get too fried.

One thing that was awesome about camp was that my whole life, for one week, was about being a goalie. I don't know any goalie (amateur, anyway) who doesn't wish they could just focus on that. No work, no family obligations, nothing but stopping pucks. Heaven.

And even when the stopping pucks was less successful than I'd want, there was always another chance to redeem myself right behind it. I think that helps you not obsess so much on one ice session. A clean slate is just hours away. I guess that's the trade-off for the grind that pro goalies experience?

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When I play Tuesday, I should have my new chest protector on, assuming I like the Vaughn Epic 8606 as much as the 8800 I tried on in person. I sure hope so. My old Brian's is hanging together by a thread.

Speaking of which, apparently the glue in my mask doesn't like going on airplane rides because a couple of major pieces fell out. Fortunately I was able to kind of wedge them in place and get by last week, but I finally glued them back in yesterday. And a piece inside my glove has come unstitched, too. Less sure what to do about that since it's in a not very sewing friendly spot, but it makes my glove so loose, I keep losing it. More super glue? :)

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But never mind all that. Right now, the Jays are on and Brett Cecil is pitching. And this new kid Escobar has flair to spare, so you know I like that, even in my baseball boys. Go Birdies! And I apologize if I sleep through half the game. Got a long night tonight.

(Have I told you I have all these KC Royals shirts from when Mr.C went to "free shirt night" there and ended up bringing me 3? So when I wear them, I pretend they're Blue Jays shirts. I'm not sure if that's more sad or brilliant.)

And because I know I have readers who love this song:

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Quick Hits: DP_57, bloggers, Gregg, withdrawal

I keep hoping St. Louis Blues David Perron will drunk tweet or something. He can't really be as "gee whiz," straight-laced as his Twitter persona, right?

I mean, I'm not looking for him to be rolling shirtless in a limo with a bunch of ladies of questionable attractiveness or beating up cab drivers, but surely there's some edge in there somewhere? Maybe a naughty Eagle Scout badge he earned? Cougar Snaring? I dunno.

Get drunk and do something marginally unethical, boy. If you're not using a few of those free passes they hand out at the "Dude, You Won't Fuckin' Believe the Chicks You're About to Get: An Introduction to Being a Pro Athlete" seminar, then how can we live vicariously through you? Sheesh.

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I love when someone has a totally fresh, weird, twisted, strange take on something that's been beat to death by a thousand other people. This how it happens a lot in bloggerdom:

1. News "event" happens (actual newsworthiness may vary)
2. All the legit people (beat writers, THN guys, etc.) tweet it in a boring legit way, maybe with a dash of analysis or snark from the ones we'd actually wanna have a beer with (sorry Mirtle)
3. All the bloggers RT or rephrase the legit people
4. All the bloggers then take turns whacking at it like it's on fire
5. All the bloggers giggle at how clever we were on that subject
6. The really ambitious bloggers will then go blog about it, whether it's how it relates to their team, how it makes them feel, how it's Gary Bettman's fault, how it affects Phoenix moving to Winnipeg, where it makes them itch or tingle, etc.

You see stuff hashed and rehashed and re-rehashed until it's a bloody pulp and everyone is tired of the smell.

But occasionally there's someone who is just out there doing their own thing. They react to news but in their own way completely. There aren't many like this but I cherish the ones who have the creativity to do it. A couple of my favorites in hockeydom are Down Goes Brown and The Willful Caboose. I can see new posts from these guys (okay, guy and gal) and know I'm going to get a fresh take every single time.

I was thinking about this because I ran into one for baseball. I don't even understand what's going on really, and I don't even care about the Phillies. But I don't care about Buffalo either, so clearly that doesn't stop me. Anyway it's called I want to go to the zoo with Roy Halliday. Because, who wouldn't? They even have t-shirts. My favorite is the "Kids Drink Free" shirt. Ha! Philly fan...

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baseball

Kevin Gregg makes me want to drop-kick puppies. Even when he wins, it's done so tenuously, it's almost like a moral loss, where you won, but you played so shitty, you probably didn't deserve it. I've never been so frustrated with an athlete for "almost not" winning. Normally I'd find that pretty exciting, but when it's your closer, it feels like a root canal. It's odd and extremely unpleasant. I can't even imagine how the starters must feel.

I'm thisclose to starting a I want to punch Kevin Gregg in the face blog. He'll have to take those stupid looking glasses off first though. I'm delicate. But I bet Brett Cecil would hold him down for me while I do it. Mmm. Cecilicious.

/baseball

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Hockey is over. It's been over several times. Aeros season ended (sans playoffs) and it was over. Constantine left town and it was over. Brusty left town and it was over. All the teams I was fond of in the playoffs were eliminated and it was over. And now, it's just over. Yeah, the AHL finals are still going on, and I'm pulling for Texas, but whatever. It's over.

I always feel a little lost and rudderless this time of year. I'm cranky and withdrawn and, well, depressed. That's really what it is.

But this ain't my first rodeo and I know it will pass. We've got the draft coming, then Free Agency, then AUGUST (FU, you sweaty, worthless POS month), then things start to happen and life becomes worth living again.

Hockey Season.

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The Vesa Effect

Read a couple of goalie things today worth blogging about:

First is this intro to an article from Die by the Blade, a Sabres blog, on why Jhonas Enroth can and should be Ryan Miller's back-up. As much as I love AHL goalies, I know next to nothing about Enroth, so I have no opinion on that one way or another, but the intro caught my attention:

What in the world drives a person to become a hockey goaltender? Of all the positions to play, it is the easiest spot to place the blame on when things go awry. There's a slim chance of being a hero, but the odds of turning into a villain are higher, and there's also the compliance of placing your body before a puck being fired ferociously, tracking it's destination, while putting up with forwards who refuse to get out of your way blurring your vision like a blindfold.

The lonely feeling of teammates skating away after a goal is conceded and the sad fact that the netminder won't be included in a scoring celebration - as an unwritten rule, a player who's found himself a goal should skate over to his goaltender for a complimentary fist pound before the next whistle - can create a sense of abandonment. But there's also the triumph of a win, symbolized by the extraordinary feeling of everyone skating towards you for a celebration. Handling such ends of a spectrum are their obstacle, and treating it smoothly, is why they are uncommon athletes.

Goalies? What do you think of this description of our position? I love to read how people (even goalies) perceive the position on an emotional or interpersonal level.

Personally, this is pretty much the opposite of how I feel about the position. I guess I don't really crave being the hero, but I do want my efforts to be important and have an impact. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, but it always matters.

And as opposed to feeling lonely and neglected, this is how I watch hockey:

Everything revolves around goalies in my head. Always has, even before I knew anything about the position, or even hockey, really. I always wanted to watch my goalie make saves rather than watch our players score goals. I suppose some people think the goalie is like Pluto, just orbiting off in the distance, occasionally coming into view, but in my world, the goalie is the sun and everything revolves around them.

And even when the action moves to the other end, I'm busy watching the other goalie, looking for break-out threats, thinking through things I need to work on, catching my breath, etc. to even consider being lonely. I honestly felt more lonely and just generally bad when I skated out. I always felt uncertain and uncomfortable and out of place. Yuck.

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Now, on to the other piece. You know how I got my Vesa Toskala Leaf's shirt for $6 a while back? And you know how he got traded to the Ducks and then like a week later, traded to Calgary?

Well, apparently he is not going to be re-signed by Calgary. Not because he's bad (at least from his perspective), but because... you might wanna sit down here...

"Vesa made it very clear that he wanted to be a one or 1A in the league," said Sutter.

 I'll give you a moment while you laugh your ass off.

Oh man. To top it off, Mirtle's comment on this quote on Twitter was, "Was always delusional." Ha!

I love Vesa. No matter how crappy or crazy I get, there's always Vesa doing it just a little bit crappier and crazier to make me feel better. Every goalie in the league should send him a tip each season just to thank him for keeping the big heat off of them.

But it does take me back to the mentality of goalies again. Is Vesa delusional because he HAS to be to survive the pressure? Are all goalies cocky to a point, just as a means of keeping their head above water when things get rough? And I don't mean cocky as people, but cocky about their play. "I'm better than that guy." "I could have stopped that." I think you have to be, right?

But there's confident and then there's just plain, "Dude, you need to get a grip on reality."

I'm kinda reverse cocky... when I play well, I'm pretty quiet about it (well, not here, but on the ice) and then usually crater under the pressure to keep playing well (oh-ver-think-ing *clap clap clapclapclap*). It's when I'm playing poorly and THEN do something good that I'm a little mouthy about it because I'm just freaking excited to not be hating myself for a little while. :)

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And a couple of Blue Jays notes:

I missed all but the first inning last night against the Rays. We went to dinner after that, and on the way home, I flip the XM radio over to the game just to see what the score was (love that about XM). It said, "TOR 9, TB 0."

WOOO!!! Yeah! I look at it 5 more times to make sure I'm seeing that right. Cuz, like, the Rays are really good and the Jays... well, they've got Kevin Gregg. But hey, that's what the little screen says, so it must be true. I laid in bed and thought about how I was going to pull up the archive of the game and watch it today and savor the whole thing. Ohhh, won't it be grand?!

And then I log on this morning. And I see one of the Jays beat writers on Twitter saying how hard it is to go down and interview "after games like that." And I'm thinking... "What does he mean?"

So I go to MLB.com. TB 9, TOR 0.

FAAAAAAAK...

Silly birds.

On the upside, today Mr.C was on a conference call in the living room and he stops in mid sentence, says, "Hold on a sec," put the phone on mute, calls upstairs to me, "Hey, if you hurry, there's a big blue jay on the deck!" I thought that was pretty sweet of him, given he generally just rolls his eyes at my new interest in baseball.

And let me tell you, I'm predicting a win tonight because that bird looked like a mean cuss. I dunno if he was pissed or trying to impress a girl or what, but he was all puffed up and skulking around the deck railing. Pretty funny. Go Jays, dammit!

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MRI and Kevin Gregg Blows

MRI is done and I'll see the good doctor on Friday to see what's what with the bad knee.

My hip is starting to hurt now from limping for nearly 6 weeks. Any "healin' feelin'" I was having the last few weeks was strictly from the prednisone, because my knee feels as bad as ever now. It's less tender when I twist it, but it's swollen and stiff. It sucks. I'm really ready for Friday to get here. Let's just get this train rollin'.

On the upside, the MRI tech was very handsome. On the downside, I had to listen to Sunny 99.1 during the scan. Ugh.

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So, the Jays were just supposed to be a summer fling. Something to occupy the sports-loving part of my brain for a few months until hockey comes back. Maybe become literate, or at least semi-literate, in another sport.

But then the Jays turned out to be so fun and inexplicably good and lovable. And really, there's nothing more fun than a team playing above its talent level. They're like lovable losers... who don't lose!

But then Kevin Gregg darkens the mound with his chomping and his Oakleys. Screw his hot start. Night after night, he HEMORRHAGES leads. I was mad when I went to bed and I woke up still mad. At first I was shocked at myself. I can't tell you the last time I woke up still mad from a hockey game. Even my OWN games, usually a good sleep and I'm full of perspective and zen the next day.

So, why am I getting this worked up for baseball?

Well, I figure it's because I don't know what the fuck I'm looking at with baseball. As in, I have no perspective because it's too new to me. I can look at one miserable loss in an 80 game season for the Aeros and go, "Okay, I know why that happened and I know what this team can do, so I'm assuming they'll do it better next time." Hockey is a slow burn. Baseball is sirens and red flashing lights and OMGOMGOMG!!! You'd think, given the divergent pace of the two games, it would be the other way around. You'd be wrong.

I'm assuming this will get better. Or the Jays will finally start being bad-to-mediocre when they remember that gravity applies to their balls (baseballs, I mean), too, and there won't be so many fat leads to blow. I'm not sure that's better.

Anyway, Kevin Gregg will continue to be a magnet for my ire and disdain until he's sent to Vegas or he quits seeing the Baseball Reaper every time he's on the mound.

(P.S. Even worse is that he's HOT. Like break-my-neck-doing-a-double-take hot. And 6'6". Bitches!!! But he's completely unlovable and reeks of GAZOLINE! What a waste of a perfectly good object of lust.)

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Ms. Meniscus

Well, doc upped the ante on the knee saga today by declaring the need for an MRI on my lousy peg. The knee is still swollen nearly 5 weeks after the injury, and there is still pain in certain situations (particularly bread and butter goalie situations).

He thinks I have a torn medial meniscus, so we need to get a look inside the knee and see what's really going on. Honestly, I've had trouble with this knee from the beginning, so part of me is relieved to just finally see what's going on and what it will take to get it strong again.

I found myself almost giddy when I got home, actually. I've been sitting around for 5 weeks wondering when it's going to start feeling better, when I can play again, what's wrong, etc. etc. Now I get to get answers. Expensive answers, unfortunately, but... when I'm feeling positive... I think that I could play for another 15 years if I want to. I might even not suck so consistently at some point!

So taking some time now to get things right is worth it. I don't know what it will entail yet, because as I'm learning, a lot about meniscus tears revolves around where the tear is and what kind it is. Here's a great page I found on it.

I'll get an MRI next week, doc will have a peek at it, and we'll figure out what to do. Progress! Sweet sweet progress!

Meanwhile, I've told Monday I'm basically out of the rotation until they hear otherwise. This breaks my heart. But I'll get better and I'll get back in there.

Not sure what to do about novice. I've paid for this season and got hurt the week before the season started. So I may see if they can just give me a credit for the season and I'll pick it back up when I'm ready to go again.

But who knows what the verdict will be. I'm just happy to be moving forward. This probably sounds weird but I feel like I can just relax and be hurt now instead of constantly worrying about what I could/should be doing to get better.

Aeros equipment sale is tomorrow, but my plans for going to buy a new stick feel pretty pointless and depressing tonight. It's like I don't want to think too far ahead right now, but I know I'll need a new stick eventually, so I might was well get a deal while the gettin's good.

The Khudobin stick I bought last year is basically being held together with hockey tape on the edges of the paddles. Totally stole that trick from Mr. April in the Aeros calendar this year, otherwise, I would have needed a new stick by now.

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Marcum today. Cecil tomorrow. As I tweeted earlier when the Jays went up 5-0 on Baltimore, "The #bluejays are baseball porn. Just whipping it out and going to town. I adore them."

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Why Richards' goal wasn't spectacular, and Cecil is a pussy

16 hours at the grindstone today, but I got a document out for review that I've been putting off and dancing around and dreading for weeks now. Mainly because the first time I submitted it for review, it was so wildly hated by the reviewers that they wouldn't even finish reviewing it. Um. Oops.

Okay, so I laid an egg. It turned into a semi-federal case, and so I've been terrified to put my neck out there again with a second revision. But it HAD to go out. I'll just take my lumps. If I'm not up to the task, then I'm not up to the task. Some days you're Mike Richards and some days you're Marc-Andre Bergeron.

I wore my Hextall Flyers shirt today, but cheered for the Habs. I guess I'm not real superstitious when it's not MY teams in the hunt. I just really love this shirt. Kinda makes me sad that the Flyers are going to the finals, but I think the match up is going to be really fun to watch.

The thing that stood out to me in the game was, of course, Halak's disastrous save attempt to cause the first Flyers goal by Richards.

SOME folks (ahem, Bourney) are determined to label that a spectacular goal. Now I will grant that it was a terrific shift for Richards, but clearly... CLEARLY... that was not a spectacular goal but actually a spectacular save attempt and a rather mundane goal.

I mean, how can an empty net goal with your only impending threat being the itty bitty slapshot committee (Bergeron) swooping in from behind the play be spectacular? You just get up, put the puck on your stick, and toss it in. Big deal.

But the save attempt is what made that goal what it was. Halak, with a song in his heart and ice water in his veins, takes the matter of a big, drifty breakaway into his own hands. He gets a piece of the puck but it slips past him, arms, sticks, and legs flying, Hamrlik in a heap beside him, and Richards recovers in time to take advantage of the pile-up.

My point is, Derek Boogaard coulda put that puck in the net, though if he'd plastered Bergeron like that, MAB would be spending the next 6 months learning to tie his shoes and use a fork again.

What made that awesome was a goalie with flair and brass ones who made a rather exciting decision, didn't get the job done, but still ensured we all got our money's worth out of the game. I mean, really, if you've been watching this series, you KNOW the Habs weren't getting past the Flyers, right? It was so obvious. So, play with gusto. Play like it's the last game you'll play all season. Why not? Why the fuck not?

I loved it, naturally. Been far too long since I got to see some heart attack goaltending. Does the soul good.

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I'm really falling for these BlueJays. I posted on FB that I want to get a cat and name it after Brett Cecil. I hope nobody thinks that's some kind of pussy reference... no, I just wanna name a pet after him but the next dog will get a hockey name (current dog has a football name). I dunno, baseball player names just seem right for a cat.

"This is my cat, Cecil." Seems right, doesn't it? God, that would be a fuckin' awesome cat, no question.

Also, I really like how Adam Lind's eyes are squinty like the Blue Jay's logo bird's eye. It's true, isn't it?

Aren't you glad I'm a Jays fan now so I can point out important stuff like this? Never mind that any time I read about the team (even tweets) and there are numbers/stats, my eyes glaze over. Don't bother me with numbers. I'm going off my gut with baseball and I'm liking it.

Urgh. I had a post JaysWin/document drop celebratory beer and spilled some of it. Now the whole office/guest bedroom smells like stale beer. Gross. Goodnight.

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Really good things today

1. The Jays not only won their game, but CRUSHED the Twins. And it was FUN to watch. Some wacky stuff going on. It's like the happy cat was vomiting lens flares all over the place. Welcome back, Edwin!
2. I got to watch them do it on the big TV because they were on the MLB Network.
3. Then when a work meeting started and I had to come back to my office, I got to finish watching it on MLB.tv (THANK YOU!)
4. I'm wearing a Leafs Toskala t-shirt. Nice shirt, too. $6. Feels weird wearing a Leafs shirt because I really don't even give a crap about them, but Tosky's time there was so epic in how much angst and misery surrounded him, the whole thing is perverse and wonderful and warrants a t-shirt.
5. TWO hockey games tonight!
6. Work is getting somewhat under control. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. But I'm still listening for a horn.
7. My knee is feeling better (so of course, I tested it a bit and now it hurts again, but nothing an ice pack didn't set right).
8. My very nice friend sent me some righteous joint supplements to try out and see if they help my knees. Looking forward to seeing if they work for me. I'm having to accept that my body isn't as low maintenance as it used to be.

Game time! Go Habs! Go... whoever!

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#bluejays

So, given I don't have much time even for hockey, my grand plans of becoming a part time baseball aficionado are scratched. But I am trying to keep up with the Jays (though if they were smart, they'd send me a t-shirt and ask me to please kindly follow anybody else in their division... If the NHL playoffs are any indication, I'm a jinx.)

And I found the awesomest blog for the Cliff's Notes I need to keep tabs on the Jays in about 5 seconds a day. Perfect! I HAVE 5 seconds!

It's Jays STAT, where the relative failure or success of a particular game is indicated with lens flares, happy cats, or angry little girls, with a few little stats to explain why. It's perfection.

I totally want to steal this for the Aeros next year in lieu of stick figures. BUT THAT WOULD REQUIRE PHOTOS! GUH.

And yes, I know I said I wouldn't be posting much. Given this is mostly baseball related, you hockey-centric folks can pretend it didn't happen. ;) Honestly, I spent the 4 hour drive from my parents house working today. I figure that's enough for a Sunday.

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The one where I make a dorky Pinocchio reference

I'm in a foul mood but BrustyBobble is making me laugh in my attempts to make him say "No." It's pretty hard to get a good, solid "No" out of the little fella but the failed attempts are pretty funny and I need a laugh, so thanks BrustyBobble! When you become a real boy, we'll get you a proper goalie stick and leg pads!

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I'm learning about balls today. I actually had no idea there were different kinds of fast balls. I've heard of a bunch of them, but didn't know they were all fast balls. And there are four-seamers and two-seamers, which I had to consult Wikipedia on, but still don't quite understand.

My favorite? The Yellow Hammer. That sounds downright artful, though I understand nobody does it anymore. How sad. You can bet I'll be watching pitches intently tonight when the Jays get beat by the Rangers again. (What? I told you I was cranky!)

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So, my other goalie, who has one more goal than the rest of you hack goalies this season, CHRIS HOLT!, is down with Elmira for their playoff run, since Bingo isn't going anywhere. And whaddaya know, they're playing Florida in the first round.

And since my girl SwampHockey understands my goalie love, she snagged a bunch of shots of Chris for me. He had a rough game, I gotta say. The happy-go-lucky fella wasn't real happy with his team last night in a losing effort, but hopefully he'll regroup and be cool like Fonzie tonight and get the win.

As much as I appreciate the photos, I am pulling for Elmira here. Any loyalties below the AHL level travel with the goalies I'm following. No ill will toward Estero or anything, of course.

You can kinda tell it's a tough game because he pretty much looks like a crazy person in every picture. Here are my favorites of the "wouldn't wanna meet him in a dark alley" genre (and many thanks to SwampHockey for letting me post them):

Bitch, please!

If I can't see them, they can't see me.... Ninja Goalie!

Chris Holt offers you a knuckle sandwich. Or a fist pump. I'm not sure.

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I have things to say

First, a letter, from my heart:

Dear Alex Burrows,


Look, you weaselly little stain, if you're gonna do that douchey diving shit, at the VERY least, don't go sit on the bench and grin ear to ear about how much you just got over on the refs.

I hope the hockey gods have a serious smiting in store for you. 


DIAF,
Ms.C

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Wooo @ Cody Almond for his first NHL goal last night!!! So proud of him! And I'm kinda feeling like, "Uh oh, we might not get him back next year..." which sucks.

I was writing to someone about him the other day and wagered that Almond Joy is going to be sort of a Stephane Veilleux type of player in the NHL. Without the attempt at self-representation and tennis obsession... And cuter.

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Why didn't any of you hosers tell me that Brent Butt (of the beloved Corner Gas) had a Twitter account? What other awesomeness are you holding out on? Dammit, Canada!

But thanks to Bourney for the heads up. Now he has not one, but TWO Twitter accounts. That's when you know you're either really funny or really annoying. I'm gonna wager funny in this case.

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Speaking of Twitter accounts, I'm pretty picky about my follows because I read them all and that could really add up if I weren't selective. But I've accepted my need for sport in the summer, which means I've gotta start watching baseball.

Now, I understand baseball and I enjoy the games, but I have no context. Like, I don't know any of the players or their history other than a few Astros or the ones who have been famous for steroid usage or dating Madonna. I vaguely know which teams are good and which are hopeless but not trends up or down.

So, I've volunteered John and Andrew, both huge baseball fans, to be my tutors this summer. So far, they haven't told me to bugger off, so I'm gonna keep annoying them with questions.

I probably should be an Astros or Twins fan because those are the teams I hear about the most (knowing so many Minnesotans), but I'm a self-loathing masochist so I'm following the Blue Jays. Ha. The great thing about the Jays is that there's a lot of hockey crossover. So all those Torontans (?) who are hilariously miserable about the Leafs are often also hilariously miserable about the Jays (see @eyebleaf). I'm all about efficiency.

So, I've added a few baseball tweets. My two favorites so far are @OzzieGuillen, who tweets just like he talks, so it's pretty funny even if he's not saying anything I care about. Also, for Jays coverage, @MLBastian has been good. If he's a hack and I should follow someone else for beat writer-type coverage of the team, someone tell me. He's got a sense of humor though, so I've enjoyed him so far.

And of course, there's the always lovely, always drunk, @DrunkJaysFans. I promise not to write a bunch about baseball though. If I'm doing that, then I'm not doing the hockey writing I should be doing.

But I do enjoy watching a completely different sport in the summer. The pace of baseball after a winter of hockey is a nice contrast.

We'll see how it goes. With both my beloveds out of the playoffs, it will be easier to pick up something new this summer. Though I am pretty jacked for the playoffs. I'm going to have a lot of mixed loyalties in the West, which makes a lot of games worth watching.

Anyway, I got lucky in that the Jays are playing the Rangers today on Opening Day and I can watch it on FSSW. I think that's a sign that I'm doing the right thing.

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If I'm Anton Khudobin, I'm cracking the whip on a new passport as soon as I lose mine. It's been 3 months since he lost his (well, stolen... allegedly) and he's probably losing $10k+ as a result of not being with the Wild this week, including a promised start in Edmonton tonight (that I was super excited for). Never mind that Dubielewicz has no business playing up there, so Backstrom has pretty much no choice but to play. Be well, angry Finn.

Not to say that there's more going on there, because I wouldn't write about it at all if I knew there was more and couldn't say what it was... but that's one thing I've finally started to learn in a couple of years of writing about sports. If something doesn't make sense, there's more going on than people are willing to talk about on record.

On the one hand, it helps you be less knee jerk when a team or player does something that seems completely wrong-seeming or out of character. On the other, when they make it a trend, you have to start figuring maybe they really are that stupid.

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Okay, you baseball freaks, enjoy your opening day. I'm not quite "boner" excited about it but I'll be watching.

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