Total Hockey I fnally got a chance to visit Kevin (Shea) at Total Hockey in Bowmanville today. It's not the biggest place, but the displays/exhibits are very attractively designed. There's a distinctly different feel to the place, compared to the Hockey Hall of Fame: it's more accessible.
The HHOF feels more like a museum, with the predominance of glass display cases, but Total Hockey feels more...homey. I mean, there are sticks and skates and things that aren't in cases, and I loved the memorabilia/collectible area living room design!
Also, I just liked the use of different materials (fabrics, tapestries, etc.) and styles. I thought the giant Richard and Bower cut-outs--like table hockey figures--were a unique concept. Don't know why exactly, but I particularly admired the look of the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast section (if you put on the headphones, you can actually hear old broadcasts). It's very simple--a curtain, stools, and hanging headsets--but attractive.
Now, it's been a while since I went through the interactive/game section of the Hall, but I think Total Hockey's got a more varied collection of activities. Don't get me wrong, the Hall's Shoot Out and Shut Out games are really cool, but I like how the Total Hockey games allow you to test specific skills.
The goaltending activity, for example, tests your ability to both observe and react. After you press the blue button (top right corner), one of the yellow buttons will light up. You have to hit the button for another one to light up, and so the process repeats for 30 seconds. Of course, this simulates stopping pucks coming from all different directions. It's pretty challenging. Not only do you have to be able to quickly identify which button is lit, you also have to be able to respond quickly to hit it. Not to mention there's a degree of flexibility required to go from top to bottom, left to right.
There's also an activity that tests your puckhandling skills. Basically the game has a bunch of circles on the floor and you need to move the puck over the different circles which light successively in a random order. The goal is to finish all the circles and to return the puck to the centre in the shortest period of time. I was really terrible at that! When Kevin demonstrated, it took him 24 seconds to complete, but it took me 50 seconds!! ^^;;
Of course they also had a slap shot game to clock the speed of a shot. I thought I was bad at the puck handling, but I was even worse at the slap shot! It was pretty embarrassing. Even with Kevin there to give me tips, I couldn't get the puck up, much less moving towards the net with any speed! The fastest I managed (after dozens of tries) was 26 mph. @_@ Half of the time I couldn't even get the puck up to the net! Oh well. Kevin said it just means I need to practice more--maybe I should go to Total Hockey more often. =P
Apart from those three games, they also had some things to test your hand and leg strength. The hand strength one was this thing that you just had to squeeze to see your grip strength. For leg strength, you just had to stand on a mat and jump as high as possible for the machine to measure the height of your jump. I thought these two were really good ideas because even self-conscious kids/people who don't have any experience hockey sticks can do these activities without feeling too exposed/awkward.
Apart from the games, I had a lot of fun taking pictures of myself in the little photo set available. There was even a handy-dandy ledge that made it easy for me to set my camera up with the timer to take the pictures by myself!
So, all in all I enjoyed my visit to Total Hockey! It's a great little gem of a place for hockey fans. I just wish more people knew about it! I mean, the Hockey Hall of Fame is great and I love it, but Total Hockey's got its own unique appeal/feel.
Leaf fans, here's an event you don't want to miss *snicker*:
Hey guys,
Just a reminder that Wade Belak will be signing at Untouchables next Sunday - March 4th - from 2-4pm. Tickets are $10 per item. We will have photos and pucks available for purchase at $5 each.
Worried about waiting in line? Advance tickets are available at the store! Your calling time will be on the ticket so you can show-up just before that time instead of committing your day to waiting in line!
This is our first autograph session and we really want it to go well; more sessions will be sure to follow if we get a good reception for Wade Belak! Even if you're not interested, please consider telling any Leafs fans you know who might want to stop by!
Sakic Hits 600-Goal Milestone! Woohoo!! I'm so thrilled! Sakic became the 17th player in NHL history to score 600 goals in Thursday's 7-5 win against the Calgary Flames!
The only regret I have is that I didn't have Centre Ice to be able to watch the game. I mean, sure it was an empty netter so it wasn't a super-cool goal or anything, but it's a major milestone for my favourite player, and, as a fan, I feel that I should have been watching him achieve it.
Oh well.
And of course the victory against Calgary is HUGE. I mean, the Avs totally need the momentum considering that tonight was their first of FIVE games against division rivals within exactly one week. (Yes, I think the NHL schedule makers are absolutely insane and/or sadistic.) If they can't win the majority of these games, particularly the one against Minnesota (their nearest division rival currently occupied a playoff spot), their already slim chances of making the playoffs are going to get even slimmer.
ARGH. Darn the Avs for playing themselves into such a poor playoff position!
. . .
In other news, Forsberg is going to Nashville. *sigh* It's a little depressing to see such an illustrious player get shunted around this way. This is my Avalanche bias talking, but I really think he would've been better off staying in Colorado, even with a significant pay cut. I mean, at least he would've been appreciated there, regardless of his performance/health.
But yes, you can read more of my thoughts on both tonight's (Thursday's) game and the Forsberg trade on my MVN site: http://mvn.com/nhl-avalanche. I'm pretty pleased with myself, actually, for managing to get the game recap/Sakic's 600th goal post up within half an hour of Yahoo and Colorado Avalanche.com's posts. Hopefully this prompt post helps to make up for the pathetic job I've been doing of updating my MVN column in recent months. ^^;;
Whodathunk... It's disconcerting, but I have to admit that one semester of teaching has done a lot to put a damper on my hockey mania. I mean, I still consider it a passion, but I've got to admit, it's no longer natural for me to spend nights watching hockey, and even when I'm free I often schedule my time for things other than HNIC.
On the bright side, I guess it's a good thing that I basically had some balance forcibly injected into my life. I mean, there's nothing like feeling like you have no free time to make you realize the importance of pulling yourself away from the computer and television and spending time with friends and family.
I've got one game lined up for the rest of this season: Colorado @ Buffalo. It's on March 7 and I've got 3rd row seats! Again, another good thing about not spending as much time on hockey is that I truly appreciate and look forward to going to games in a way I didn't before (I think I was starting to take going to games for granted, last season).
Anyway, I've still got to find someone to come to the game with me... My mom suggested that I invite my dad (I don't think he's watched a game live before) but I don't know... It may sound a litle mean, but I'd like to go to the game with someone who'd really appreciate that they're 3rd row seats!
Any takers? =P (Of course, this probably isn't the best place to ask since I'd bet my 5-month "hiatus" has killed off most of my readership, such as it was. Oh well...)
Neglect... Many apologies for the neglect! As you can see, getting a job as a teacher wreaks havoc with one's hockey life. The Avalanche played in Toronto this year, and because I was teaching I didn't even TRY to get tickets to the game.
How sad is that?
Other ways teaching has messed with my hockey life:
- I didn't have time to plan for my hockey pool draft - I don't have time to manage my hockey pool team (hence I am currently 11/13) - I don't have time to watch hockey games, so I didn't buy the Centre Ice package - I don't have time to watch games, so I didn't buy a mini-pack from Buffalo this year
Sad, sad, sad, sad, sad!!
Anyway, I will be done in February (I was only hired for one semester) so I expect to be posting regularly again then!!
One Step Forward... ...two steps back!! Each time I think that John Ferguson Jr. has earned my respect--like signing Kaberle to a long-term deal, refusing to trade Steen, picking up Raycroft, and dumping Belfour and Domi--he does something stupid like RE-SIGNING WADE BELAK!!!
Seriously.
I don't know if all the intelligent wheeling and dealing in the world can make up for re-signing Belak not once, but TWICE when faced with an excellent opportunity to dump him.
ARGH.
Maybe JF Jr. feels like he needs an enforcer type player now that Domi (who was playing a much reduced role anyway) is gone? But surely there are more skillful "grit" players out there than Belak, who's such a defensive liability for the Leafs, by rights their opponents should be paying for some of his salary!!
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... I don't know if I can take another season of Belak.
Another Signing, and My Adventures with FedEx So I got a call from UpperDeck at around 2pm (EDT) yesterday asking if I'd be free to do a signing today because they needed the cards back tomorrow. Being the obliging person that I am, I agreed, even though it's month end and work is really busy and I should be planning on doing lots of overtime there rather than rushing home to do contract work.
But yes, I agreed, and asked them to FedEx the cards to my workplace instead of my house because I didn't think anyone would be home to sign for them. That turned out to be stressor #1. We have a mailroom and all the mail is supposed to go through them to us so I was worried that the package would get there too late in the afternoon for anyone to want to bother bringing it up to me, and then I'd be screwed. So my co-worker kept calling the mailroom to see if the package had arrived yet, and I kept checking FedEx.com to see where the blasted thing was.
Actually, that was also a bit of a pain because I had forgotten to ask them to email me the tracking number when they called to see if I'd take the job, so I had to call my Upper Deck contact to get the tracking number--LONG DISTANCE (California) on my CELL PHONE. Did I mention that I'd stupidly left my calling card at home?
Anyway, right when my coworker was calling the mailroom for the 10th time, the FedEx guy walked in around 2:45pm--just under an hour before my usual quitting time. *Phew*
As I said, it's month end at work, and a heck load of stuff came in right at 3pm so I stayed until 4pm (1/2hr of overtime) but I had to rush off to catch my 4:30pm train. Everyone else was staying for at least another half hour of overtime. Did I mention that I had to rush off at 4pm yesterday as well (when everyone else was staying again until 4:30pm) to catch a movie with a teacher's college friend?
Caught the 4:30 train no problem. I figured I should be at home by around 5:15pm so I could go to the bathroom, grab packing tape and scissors (so I could drop off the box at FedEx on my way home rather than coming home first and then going back out) and just have some breathing room before heading out for the scheduled 6pm signing. Well, the train was delayed about 15min at one station because they had to go out and manually switch the signals (or something) for the tracks, so I actually ended up getting home at 5:30pm instead. Considering that the guy only lives a 15min drive away from my house, you'd think I'd be cool with the delay, but being the worrywart that I am, I actually got more stressed. I'd planned to leave at least 20-25min before 6pm in case there were any traffic problems (although I was going against the flow of rush hour traffic, so I really needn't have worried) so I actually still had enough time, but I just felt stressed because I didn't have that 20-25min break between getting home and heading back out as I'd planned.
Anyway, I got to the player's house maybe 5-10min early, and the signing went very smoothly, no problems. Oh, and he was probably the nicest guy out of all of them (and that's saying a lot, considering how nice Anthony Stewart was!). I met his dog (who drooled on my black work pants! =P) and we chatted easily throughout the signing. The only minor problem was that included in the box was 2 copies of this form that both he and I were supposed to fill out (separately) and return for tax purposes. At first he wasn't sure if he had all the information, and I KNEW I didn't have an American taxpayer identification number (i.e. a social security number). So I had to call my Upper Deck contact again (long distance, on cell phone, NO calling card, *sigh*) to ask about that. I got lucky though, since he didn't pick up when I called initially, so he called me back instead (hopefully meaning I avoided the long distance charges?), and in between the time that I tried calling and he called me back, the player figured out that he did actually have all the information. I was told that I could just use my Canadian SIN (social insurance number) on the form, and the player was able to ask about getting some of his cards for his dad (a big collector).
*PHEW* So everything worked out very well, and the player even said "good job" and smiled at me as I left!!! WOO HOO!!! Quite the most appreciation I've ever had, and after all the stress, I'd had, it was particularly encouraging.
Oh, but my adventures didn't end there!! Since they wanted the cards back tomorrow if possible, or Saturday at the latest, I had to go to the main FedEx shipping centre in Brampton to drop off the package before the 8pm pickup. Not a problem in terms of timing, since we finished just before 6:30pm, but of course, I had some minor issues finding the place.
First of all, when I Map Quest'ed it, Map Quest didn't actually give me directions to the specific address (6895 Bramalea Road), it just gave me directions to Bramalea Road!! For some reason I didn't notice that when I printed out the map, and of course I needed to send the Map Quest maps with everything else so I could claim my mileage, so even if I'd noticed it before I left for the FedEx, I wouldn't have been able to go home to print off a new map AND make it to the FedEx on time.
But that was a moot point since I didn't notice until I was on the highway and trying to determine where to turn off. Map Quest told me to turn off on Queen Street and to to left (north) onto Bramalea Road, but as I was on the highway, I remembered that the FedEx site had said the nearest intersection was Bramalea and Derry Road--which ended up being a good two or three exits BEFORE Queen Street! So I goofed in following the directions to exit the highway at Queen Street, but luckily I had sufficient sense to go south on Bramalea instead of north (as directed). But as I was driving down Bramalea, I was trying to see building numbers, and as I neared Steeles I saw that I was at number 17 Bramalea, and the numbers were going down!! I freaked a bit and turned into a parking lot to park and call FedEx to confirm that 6895 was indeed at Derry and Bramalea, and not north.
I selected the option to find a FedEx location, but I could only select by postal code, and of course the only postal code I knew was my own, decidely non-Brampton one! So it gave me info on the closest one, and then offered to let me hear about the next location or to choose a different search method. I listened to two more explanations of Mississauga locations before I waited for the ENTIRE option selection spiel and found out that I could simply press '0' to speak to a customer service agent!! D'uh!! So I spoke to someone who very kindly confirmed that I could drop off my package for an 8pm pickup at Bramalea and Derry and that it'd be on my left and I couldn't miss it. With that reassurance, I continued heading south on Bramalea on did indeed manage to find the very clearly and obviously marked FedEx building. (It was about 7pm at this point.)
But that wasn't the end of my difficulties! I saw a sign that said "FedEx pickup and drop off" so I turned in, but came across some barriers so I turned around. Then I remembered that the FedEx customer service lady had said that I should go to a small building and I saw that the entrance for that had been before the entrance I turned into so I circled out and went there. I pulled into the parking lot, brought the box and headed to the building when I saw a notice that said the customer service area had moved to the building behind that one, a little west (the direction I had just come from!). At first I started walking around the building, but then the only one I saw was the big one whose entrance had the barriers which required ID to get through!
Luckily I saw a FedEx employee sitting in his car with his window open, so I asked him where I could drop off my package and he said I should go back out and turn left (indeed! exactly the way I'd come from!) and there'd be a parking lot and I couldn't miss it. So I went back to my car, headed back, and saw a place where I could turn left and park. Naturally, I did so, and then I went up a small slope and there was this covered bridge type thing to the building, so I went there. When I entered the building, I saw that they had a metal detector/security check point so I was pretty sure I was in the wrong place yet again. But the receptionist guy was on the phone, so I wasn't really sure what to do. Luckily one of the security guys manning the metal detector came out and gave me directions to the customer service centre.
So I left, when back to my car and went all the way back the way I'd come, but this time I went past the entrance I'd entered the first time and saw a smaller driveway that led to the parking lot for the customer service centre!! At last!! By this time it was about 7:25pm, so I was heartily relieved to stick the shipping label on the box and to drop it into the pickup box (which reassured me that the 8pm pickup had not yet occured--thank goodness!).
Oh, but before my travails for the night were over, as I was leaving the FedEx, I started going east for about a block before I realized that I needed to go west to get back to the highway, and I had to make a U-turn at a light. *sigh* But at least my sense of direction IS getting better! In my earlier days of driving I wouldn't have figured out my mistake for at least five to ten blocks! And I probably would have blindly followed the (erroneous) Map Quest directions north on Bramalea to the middle of nowhere before turning south, and thereby missing the 8pm pick up! So all in all, despite the stress and bad directions, I feel quite accomplished!! =P
