oh me oh my

so.. game 6 didn't go quite as planned.. but there is still game 7- and that means..


DEREK ROY WILL BE BACK!!!!!!!!!

And the Blackhawks managed to get another win so they will be playing game 7 as well... whoa.

BRING. IT. ON.

pretty smoothe, eh?

Wow.. this is really cool. Like 'em or hate 'em, the Blackhawks had a classy Banner-raising ceremony- bringing back some of the guys from 1961. It was pretty great.



But I still want the Sabres to win tonight!

HUZZAH!

There is hockey- real, live, regular season hockey on my television right now! :) YAAAAAAAAAAYY!!!

And my boyo Sharpie got a point. Hossa took the goal, but that's okay- because I have both of them on my fantasy team(s). Not the same team or league but they are both representin. The stinky Avs are winning at the moment (early in the 3rd) but there is still time.

My nose itches. Just wanted to share that.

C'mon 'Hawks! Where's your Defending Stanley Cup Champs "swagger"? They seem quite fond of that term tonight.

Colorado is blocking shots left and right on this power play. Wow.

Man I have missed hockey. Have I said that lately? But guess what? HOCKEY IS BACK!

Wooohoo just saw a clip from Jordan Eberle from Edmonton's goal. It was pretty. He's on one of my teams. :) But man oh man, what is up with the Oilers' uniforms? They are uuuugly. Looks like retro night or something and that is just not necessary. Shorthanded goals are great though.

SHARPIE SCORES! Great heads-up play to grab a loose puck in front of the net. I love that man. Now we're tied.

Out of town update again- Eberle has another goal- this one a PPG. What a nice fantasy addition!

Oh man now they are talking about Sharpie and how awesome he is (duh) and they showed one of those nice little cut-away videos where he turns around with a hockey stick over his shoulder.. and ooooh my I had to rewind it and watch it again. Those EYEBROWS. I'm a little puddle of goo. Sorry, I'm embaraassing myself.

Let's get back to hockey. It's overtime.

Awwww. Poo. The Avs won. :( Oh well, it's just game 1 of 82. There's time. Turco looked a bit sloppy at times tonight. He needs to be better but it wasn't a bad game.

Can you smell the hockey?

It's almost hockey time. The leaves are starting to change, the air is cooler.. football is happening (who cares? not this kid.) and all of that means that hockey is just around the corner! YAY!!!!

As usual, I won't be attending Puck Drop. Not because I don't want to- believe me- I DO- but I always end up having something else to do that day. This year I think it's going to be parking cars at my brother-in-law's building in Palmyra for Canal Days or something of the sort. Whatev. I'm sure y'all will provide me with all the scoop on how fat Royzie got over the offseason and how snarky Drew Stafford was on twitter about the rookies, and how tall Tyler Myers still is, and how sad Thomas Vanek looks when he misses shots. I will happily read all the hockey chatter on the interwebs and re-live it through my fellow bloggers. :)

In preparation for the coming season, I wandered over to BlackhawksTV last night to hunt down Sharpie's summer visit with The Cup and was not disappointed. :) Yes, I still have my stupid dirty love for the 'Hawks and the Sharpster. (though with the trading of Adam Burish, my trifecta of hotness (never really went into that one- a different post for a different day) is now a duo- just Sharpie and Seabs.) Does this mean Sharpie is going to make videos with Seabrook full-time now? Questions, questions. I will always love you, Adam Burish, even if you now play for the stinky Stars.

I'm so sad though- my brother-in-law has season tickets again. I often get to use these tickets, as he is quite often busy and he knows I love hockey. It's a pretty sweet deal. I take one of my nephews when I can, and have also brought several friends along. I was super excited to see that our 2nd home game was against the Blackhawks. I don't remember if I wrote about it here, but I did not see last year's 'Hawks game- though it was on the BEST. WEEK. EVER (sharing with the Caps and Devils, 2 games I did attend. I think the Caps game was the best I saw from the Sabres last year. The Devils was among the worst but it was Marty's record-tying 103rd shutout so that was sweet.I digress.) The Blackhawks tickets had already been given to another, plus we had this ridiculous snow-storm and were pretty much buried in our valley here that night, so I watched it on tv instead of the 2nd row seats. I did get to drool over Sharpie in person in Columbus in February but it wasn't the same.

So... I was all ready to go this year. But someone else has a claim on the tickets already, which would be fine except I really want to see them and I will miss seeing Sharpie again this year. Boo. :( I really shouldn't complain, I will get to see many more games up close and personal, and I'm not really complaining, just lamenting. I shall watch from home. But I AM swiping the Canucks tickets so I can shamelessly drool over Ryan Kesler all night. :) That's right- I HAVE NO SHAME.

It feels good to be talking about hockey again, even if it's silliness. Not that I ever really stop, but hockey is about to matter again. That is really exciting!

Had to happen

The Sabres lost tonight in an 11-round shootout. Rats. I didn't watch the game at all but I listened to the 2nd half of OT and the shootout. Looks like the boys gave up an early 2-0 then 3-1 edge to Colorado and even though they managed to tie it, they didn't have quite enough to put it away in the shootout. Oh well. They had won 6 in a row... it was bound to happen at some point. At least we gave away the 1 pt to a Western Conference team rather than Eastern.

I had a really weird dream about Brent Seabrook last night. I think the Blackhawks are trying to invade my life! I mean.. yeah I bought the Sharp t-shirt and a bobblehead (which came in the mail yesterday, woohoo) and I've been (not so) secretly enjoying them for about a year now but still.. now I'm dreaming about them? I guess it's not quite the first time, since I had some really weird dreams last week (when I was in Chicago) about Kane and Toews- they weren't exactly dreams per se- more the weird non-awake, non-asleep wanderings of my subconsious mind. I only had a few hours to sleep and I kept waking up because one or both of them were telling me that it was time to wake up- almost like alarm clocks. Odd.

Anyway I will share the details of the Seabs dream later, along with some further extrapolation on the "Trifecta of Hotness" that I mentioned in last entry. I also have a ridiculous stare-off between Ryan Miller and Jonathon Toews written. I found the pics last week and wrote the dialogue today at work when I was bored out of my mind. I can only hope that my readers (all 2 of you) will find it half as amusing as I find it myself. I have this insane and slightly unhealthy obsession with Toews' eyes. Seriously though, LOOK at the kid. It's rather frightening, and once such an idea takes shape in my mind, there is nothing to do for it but let it happen. :)

So there's your presell. Hopefully you will all come back and read what's to come. One of my not-quite resolutions for the New Year was to be more active with my blog and to make it more interesting, so I am trying to do just that. I was pelted with inspiration on my trip to Chicago, and I apologize if my entries are a bit Blackhawks-centric for a while. It's not that I don't like the Sabres anymore, it's just that I've found a new and more interesting (I maintain that the Sabres might have personalities, but until their management/internet folks decide to share those personalities with us, we'll never know for sure) crew to play with.

breaking news

I am actually a little sad that the Blackhawks lost today.. which puts them on the brink of elimination.

I think this means that, while I do love the Wings, I'm more of a 'Hawks fan than I was fully willing to admit.

This will require much thought but my brain is full right now with some hometown wanderings and too much nostalgia so I can't really process that at the moment.

and I am so sick of Pittsburgh. Carolina, I hate you guys too but will you get it together so I don't have to see the Pens anymore? GRRR.

More later.

razor sharp

Oh wow. What a crazy game. The Wings were down 0-3, scored 3 in about 4 minutes to tie it, then the 'Hawks won in OT.

*Phew* A few thoughts on tonight's tilt:

-WHY did Kronwall get ejected? I really don't think that was a dirty hit. Havlat had his head down and was off balance. It didn't help that he had 2 guys dropped on him after he was down either. I dunno, I just didn't think that was fair but that's me.

-Helloooo Sharpie. :) I liked the 2 interviews- after the 1st period and after his GAME WINNER in OT! Word. So my sis calls me during the first intermission, and she says.. "Oh I saw Patrick Sharp being interviewed. Now I understand why you're always drooling over him." LOL TOLD YA! ;)

-What exactly happened to Khabi? I guess he was sick or something.. I didn't quite get the story, and in true VS. style, they babble forever yet tell you NOTHING! Weird. I thought Huet did a nice job weathering the storm in the 3rd though. good job, buddy.

-Pahlsson's pass to Sharp for the game winner was SICK. To thread a pass though a couple of guys to the guy who just happens to be streaking towards the net (which was crazy cuz Sharp was practically behind the net when he sent the puck back that started the sequence which resulted in Pahlsson's pass but still. Crazy madness and sweet passing. Well done dude.

-I still love the Wings and I loved the way they calmly executed the comeback, but I'm totally excited that the Blackhawks won tonight because it will extend the series and that can only be a good thing. :)

-I'm in Ohio visiting my parents this weekend and I was telling them about the "Detroit Sucks" chant that they do in Chicago which I find hilarious. (for those of you unfamiliar, in lieu of a "Let's go Hawks" cheer, the fans instead say "Detroit Sucks") The also were amused by this.

-Oh and anyone who watched Hockey Central after the game heard this but Detroit is 0-93 in playoff games in which they have trailed by 3 or more goals. 0-93. WOW.

And on that note, I'm outta here. Can't wait till Sunday.

Let the games begin

I missed both game 1s as I'm playing Mom to the nephews for a few days, but I will try to catch tomorrow's game- I need to see my main men and decide once and for all who I am cheering for in that series. I think it's the Wings but man those Blackhawks are tempting. But I've been a Red Wings fan for 15 years and you can't just throw that away.

And I need to see the energy of that series- I love the rivalry between Detroit and Chicago, it's amazing. Guys, I was AT the Winter Classic this year and the place was electric. And my Blackhawks friends say that games against Detroit were always like that. I wish the Sabres had a rival that we get that fired up about. I guess the closest would be maybe Toronto, because of proximity but really there is nothing like the atmosphere of a Wings/Blackhawks game. There are plenty of teams that the Sabres don't like but few that we actually get crazy about hating, ya know?

I think I've figured out what it is about the 'Hawks that is so appealing. (Besides the obvious Sharp factor LOL) They are what the Sabres wish they were. They are young, speedy, tough and talented, without any HUGE name players but a lot of pretty decent guys that work really well together. True they have Kane and Toews, who are a pretty hot duo, and Kaner was a #1 pick, but still most of their guys are players who quietly go out and get the job done. The Sabres want to be like that. The Sabres used to be (almost but not quite) like that and they want it back. And maybe that's why I like the Blackhawks so much, because they are plucky. I think I've used that word before to describe them, but it fits. They play exciting hockey and I love exciting hockey. You don't have to score 129386 goals a night to play exciting hockey, you just have to play with passion and persistence and I will love you forever. Speed, foxy playoff beards, the occasional scrap and some nifty goals don't hurt either. ;)

So lay it on me, fellas. I know as soon as I see the BIG RED MACHINE again I'll remember why I love them so much- because I do love the Wings, even if they are not my old time Wings. They still have Osgood, who I never gave up on, even though he was pretty rough this year (who's been playing all the playoff games? Not Conklin!) will always be my boy.

I guess what this ramble is about is that I am cheering for the Wings officially, but I would not be heartbroken if the Blackhawks won, because i greatly enjoy the city of Chicago and the team, and it would be wonderful for them to get a Cup back there after a very long absence. As long as it isn't Pittsburgh or Carolina, I'm good, because I have no love for any team which has a Staal playing for it. ;)

perhaps some thought on the East later.

tonight, tonight

I turned on the game in the 2nd intermission- the Blackhawks were down 3-1. I was hoping for my 2-goal 'Hawks comeback mojo to kick it, but it didn't happen and the final was 3-1 Canucks.

Now it's time for the Wings/Ducks. The game started fast and looks to be more of the same. I really want to stay up and watch but I'm super tired, fighting a nasty cold, and have to work tomorrow so I think I'm about to hit the sack. GO WINGS!

In parting- please submit your pick for hottest playoff beard. My pick of the moment goes to Sharpie of course but there are some other fellas who deserve consideration. Also, on the subject of facial hair- do you prefer the mountain man look or a more polished, debbonaire goatee?

I say.. depends on the guy, but for some reason I tend to lean towards mountain man playoff beards.

The discussion does not end here, and I await your responses. More to come on the subject, and I think I (finally) have a hockey SAB for tomorrow, so stay tuned.. but for now, bed!

Everbody's crazy about a Sharp dressed man

Hellllooooo Sharpie!

I just turned on the Blackhawks/Canucks and the 'Nucks were up 2-0 but not for long. My man Sharp just scored 2 goals. Guess I'm good luck, eh? Better stick around.

I don't mind the extra face time for my boy either. ;) He is teh hotness! I also really enjoy his goal celebration, it's cute.

This is a super fast-paced game. My goodness.. action up and down the ice. I love hockey like that. Quite a bit of hitting as well. These guys don't like each other much, do they?

In other hockey news, the Wings won last night. I missed it as I was seeing Wolverine, which was rockin- go see it if you haven't- but yay Red Wings. The Caps also won today- take that Sid!

Whooooaaa the Blackhawks just scored a shortie. Niiiice. Suddenly it's 3-2 Chicago.

Heeeeey Bieska, was it really necessary for you to tackle Sharp at the end of the period? He didn't even touch you. Relax, dude.

Ugh the Bruins and Hurricanes- what a gross series. I don't like either of those teams, Kinda like the Ducks/Sharks. That was tough because I think it's hilarious how the Sharks always choke in the playoffs, plus I HATE Joe Thornton, but the Ducks are gross and they have Gigglypuff and what is so great about Ryan Getzlaf- he's greasy, plus skanky Chris Pronger. Yeah they are nasty. Back to the Bruins- they just bug me. It seems like the Sabres played them 23980948545 times a year and those games are ick and no fun. I do like Marc Savard (the tricks of All-Star Skillz Competition Mic'd up magic) but the rest of them are bums. Same for Carolina. Those punks beat the Sabres back in 06 and that makes them THE ENEMY. Well it wasn't all that bad actually, because it was a great series but the Sabres ran out of bodies but still, I can't like those guys. I guess I like them a little more than the Bruins but it feels wrong to cheer for Carolina.

DUDE Iced Caps at Timmy's in Canada are $1.89- aren't they like $2.50 or something here? What is up with that? Speaking of commercials on CBC, enough with the Viagra already!

Whoa Eager just squeezed one in on a really nifty pass from Burrish right in front of the net. Well done dude. I like it. 4-2 now. The fans are awfully quiet. Whoa whoa whoa Kaner is on the board- spiffy little backhand, just walked in on Lulu. Sorry buddy. It's 5-2 now. Good stuff. :)

Final 6-3. Series goes back to chicago tied 1-1. :) Lovely post game interview with Sharpie and his hot beard. I like it. And that's it!

that was refreshing!

First off, my first round predictions were a little off.. LOL 3/4 in the East and 2/4 in the West. I was really pulling for the Blue Jackets and I'm sad that they lost. But there is no shame in losing to the Red Wings, it happens. I hear the show in C-bus was off the hook and that is good. They have now made it to the post-season, this is progress, and next season will be even better. Well done boys. :) Y'all have nothing to be ashamed of.

so I *finally* got around to watching a spot of playoff hockey tonight. I turned on the Blackhawks/Canucks with about 12 mins left in the 3rd. What a show. The 'Hawks scored 2, the 'Nucks scored 2 and the Canucks ended with the win. I think I should do this more often. I actually casually enjoy both of those teams so I certainly won't mind watching a bit more.

It was a weird feeling though, because the last time the Blackhawks and Canucks played each other in the playoffs was Round 2 in 1995- and the 'Nuckies got swept, much to my dismay. I vividly recall watching game 4 with my sisters. It was an afternoon game- Saturday I think- and the weather was nice so the windows were open. I'm glad we lived on a quiet street cuz any random passers-by would have been weirded out by the mad yelling that went on that day. It was pretty stressful. Weird how some things just stay with you..

Anyway it was cool to finally watch some post-season hockey. I feel like a total slacker, but in my defence, I have been stupidly busy since the playoffs started, and had things going on almost every evening. Then I was annoyed because they weren't showing MY teams when I could watch. Bastards. It was a little rude of the league to schedule without consulting me, don't ya think? LOL

A few parting thoughts..

*tomorrow I'm going to see Wolverine and I'm super excited!
*my sis and I have decided that Luongo is henceforth known as LuLu.
*I know it's been noted on many an occasion, but I will say again that Patrick Sharp is lovely. in fact, tonight I went as far as to call him "excrutiatingly lovely", because well, he is.
And he looks FINE AS HELL with a playoff beard. Very good look for ya, Patrick. Carry on my man, Carry on.

let's go around the NHL

I don't want to talk about the Sabres. I missed all of last night's game. (My nephew is now officially an Eagle Scout- last night was his Court of Honor) But I think I'm pretty glad I didn't see it.. since things looked a bit ugly.

So I'm hoping the boys will rally and forget about the game and win the next one.

Instead of blabbling about the boys, here is news from elsewhere in the League:

From Yahoo:
Sun, Feb 15 G Martin Brodeur says he's within 10 days of his return to the lineup. He was to accompany the team on its trip to Florida but won't play in the two games down there. "He'll take the next step and go on the trip with us," Devils coach Brent Sutter said of Brodeur, who hasn't played since Nov. 1, when he tore the triceps in his left arm and then underwent surgery. He has been practicing and said, after Saturday's first full practice with the team, he could play if he had to.

And to that I say- EEEEEEEEEEE!!! MARTY MARTY MARTY! :)

But.. my boy Sharpie left the last game with a "lower body injury" after having to be hellped off the ice following a knee-on-knee collision. That is NOT GOOD. :( No word yet on the severity but it doesn't sound good. (and I really don't want to lose him for my fantasy team!) However, he looks quite foxy in this video

Oh Blackhawks, will you stop distracting me from the Sabres? (Note to Sabres: If you had posted video of Derek Roy SINGINGat the Catwalk for Charity III, YOU would be in the link. But alas.. you don't seem to get it. More Derek Roy!)

I'm done.

musings

First.. sending some good mojo to Fla:
C'mon Sabres, you can WIN tonight.. do it do it do it! It's the Panthers, for crying out loud. I know they (somehow) beat y'all early this year.. DO NOT LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN! You are better than that. Right? RIGHT?! That's what I thought..

-Seriously, does YAHOO! have people proofing their updates on Fantasy Hockey? I saw this the other day and it made me cringe:
Columbus rookie goalie sensation Steve Mason said Friday Brodeur was his idle growing up.
Really? C'mon. I'm pretty sure Brodeur wasn't doing too much "idle-ing" when he was growing up.. don't know about Mr. Mason but I doubt he was either..

Tell ya what.. I'll offer you a deal Yahoo! I will come work for you and proof the hockey notes? Just tell me where to apply and I'm in!

Meh. Sorry I'm a bit anal about proper use of words and grammar and such. Just one of those things.

-And Sabres.. my "other" team is playing on VS tonight.. and if you don't play like you want me to watch YOU, I may have to change the channel and stare at the hotness sweet, goal-scoring, hilarious-video-creating machine that is Patrick Sharp and the rest of the 'Hawks. Then you'll be sorry. (Psst.. don't tell the Red Wings, k?)

Enough of that. See y'all after the game!

Thanks Bucky!

Great article about Derek Roy in TBN.

Yeah, what he said. ;) Derek Roy has been quietly going out and getting the job done this year. He started off very slowly but has been consistently producing over the last 25 or so games- and he's really been on fire since the New Year. I like this Derek and I hope he continues. One telling stat is his goals-assists ratio. Like a good centerman, he has more helpers that goals. (16G, 24A)

He is turning into the leader (at least on the ice, even if he doesn't have a letter) that the Sabres knew he could be.. and he showed flashes of in the past. This is the guy who led his OHL team to the Memorial Cup. This is the guy who can lead the Sabres into the post-season again. And as Bucky points, out, he's great "bang for the buck". The Sabres are known for bargain players and I guess our little Royzie is no exception. It's just to see what we knew he could be finally starting to show.

Keep it up, Derek. We like what we see. The rest of them will follow you- and you have a great group around you. Become those plucky guys who gutted out games back in the first 2 seasons after the lockout. Forget Captain America and the little French-Canadian that could. This is now- the boys need to BE in the now and play like they mean it and for Heaven's Sake- SCORE SOME GOALS! (see previous post) If they do it.. they will make the playoffs. Right now they are (precariously, but it's there) clinging to a spot and as everyone knows, it's not which seed you are in the playoffs, but the fact that you are IN that matters. Anything can happen once the second season starts.

But that is still a few months away. The boys need to play each game with desperation (and we are finally seeing signs of that, if you discount Saturday's game in Detroit) and like it's game 7 of the finals, score some goals and let Miller worry about the net behind them.

Okay I dunno if that ramble made any sense at all but there it is. I feel like I haven't seen the Sabres in ages. (I was AT the game a week ago yesterday and one a week before that) I haven't watched them on tv since.. last year? LOL it really was though, the last game I saw on tv was the game in Washington- what was that, Dec. 26? Yeah I miss the boys. I am excited about today's game. I like the Blackhawks to a point- they are pretty plucky themselves ( i think "plucky" is the word of the day), they have lots of young talent and they have turned the team around from the brink of non-existence into a real contender. As a fan of hockey (not just the Sabres), I can appreciate that. However, I really want the Sabres to win tonight because it will be good for them. And I don't like Brian Campbell. I don't particularly have anything against him (except for all those times he got burned on D because he was too busy spin-o-rama-ing or pretending to be a forward) but I'm glad he is not in Buffalo anymore because I think he's pretty overrated and we didn't have to pay too much money for him. Thank goodness.

Now I'm out.

LET's GO BUFFALO!