Argh? Was that a goal? It had better not be a goal! Buffalo has taken so few shots that it's going to be quite sad for my SV% if it was a goal! ^^;;
I don't think it was a goal!!! Kaberle is a GENIUS!!!! He got the puck that deflected off the crossbar onto Belfour's pad safely off of Belfour's leg!! ^_^ Is it any wonder that I love this guy? He's my FAVOURITE Leaf for sure, and definitely edging himself way up there on my all-time favourite list! He's probably third now, after Sakic and Yzerman. =D Kaberle, daisuki daisuki!
(Now if only he'd SHOOT! =Þ)
Edit: Hours later, after the Colorado @ Edmonton game, I've set up my Rambling Hockey Fangirl (RHF) main page. ^_^ Check it out! So far I've got some of my personal photo collection up, as well as my Sakic wallpapers!
I learned something new in the first period of today's game about when teams take out their goalies. Until today I've only ever seen goalies come out in the last minute of play, to try to tie a game, but today Belfour went out when a delayed penalty was called and the Leafs were on the rush into the Sabres' zone. I would never have thought of that, but I guess it makes sense since as soon as a Buffalo player touched the puck a penalty would be called, so it's not like Toronto had to worry about being scored on. ^_^
It's kind of sad how happy learning something so basic can make me, but ah well, I happily admit that I don't know much about hockey, although I'm learning more all the time.
Something else interesting today was Cherry's comments about the CHA hockey parent adds. Usually when Cherry talks about anything other than the game itself I can safely presume that he's going to say something not worth listening to, but this time he had a point. I still think the ads are a good idea to raise parent awareness, but it's also true that the ads paint a picture of all hockey parents as overpressuring and overbearing. So yeah, I can see why he'd be upset about the ads giving hockey parents a bad image.
YEAH!!!! Mogilny scores!!! (It's great sitting in front of the computer and watching the game at the same time. ^_^)
Whelp, I finally accepted a trade offer! I'm not totally sure what my logic was on it, except that I think Gagne will (eventually) be better than Deadmarsh, and I wanted Sakic. =Þ I'm taking a bit of a hit in PIM by losing Comrie, but strangely enough, Sakic's got about 7 times as many PIM as Modano, so...Here are the final details, if you're interested:
Carter, Anson
Gagne, Simon
Peca, Michael
Sakic, Joe
for
Deadmarsh, Adam
Comrie, Mike
Modano, Mike
Hope we'll both be happy with the trade once it goes through!
With all of the media coverage that overbearing hockey parents have been getting recently, I think it's a pretty clear indication that things need to change. I think this ad campaign looks pretty good. Don't know how effective it'll be, but it looks pretty good. You can watch the ads online or download them here. Oh, and you should read today's Star article about the campaign; it's crazy the way some of these hockey parents talk! @_@
Wow, you can get a Leafs credit card, who knew? The sad thing is that I'm actually seriously considering applying for one! ::rolls eyes at self:: I already have two credit cards, and goodness knows I use one of them way too much as it already, but still, it's a Leafs credit card, how could I not! Maybe I should talk to my parents first though... =Þ
Oh, and I'm really considering the Sakic deal, so any input would be greatly appreciated! ^_^
Anytime I get an offer with Sakic in it, I consider it very seriously, so here it is! (Thanks for the suggestions, btw!)
Carter, Anson
Gagne, Simon
Peca, Michael
Sakic, Joe
for
Bonk, Radek
Comrie, Mike
Modano, Mike
The message also said that Deadmarsh instead of Bonk would be fine, which is tempting considering that Deadmarsh is now on IR and goodness knows I've been plagued by injured players, so I wouldn't mind getting rid of one.
Hmm... I guess I should break it down. Comrie and Carter are about the same, except that Comrie gets more PIM, but I think recently Carter has been scoring more/getting more points, so that's probably fine. Gagne doesn't seem like too bad of a player, but I don't think he's as good as either Bonk or a healthy Deadmarsh, especially in terms of PPP, where the two of them seem to be fairly consistent producers. Of course, the key word in regards to Deadmarsh is healthy. I don't know if I can afford to wait for him to fully recover from his concussion. Finally, I've already been told that I shouldn't do Sakic for Modano straight up, so I'm guessing that Peca is supposed to be sweetening that one? He hasn't been playing well so far, but looking over his stats from the past couple of years it seems like he should be pretty good once he gets back into things.
So it seems like the sticking point for me is the third player. I think it might not be too bad to trade Modano and Comrie for Sakic, Carter and Peca/Gagne, but would it really actually help me?
Wow, the final period of the Washington @ Toronto game totally kept me on the edge of my seat!! So much action and movement! Thank goodness Toronto won! Too bad Belfour let in four goals though. =( Now my SV% is gonna go down, especially since the Caps only had like 26 shots! Kaberle, of course, was great to watch. ^_^
Oh, and on another topic entirely, did I mention that I'm such a hockey nerd now that I've set my homepage to the hockey pool page? =Þ What a geek!
Haven't felt like posting one of these in a while, but I'd actually like to think about this one, so...
Drury, Chris
LeClair, John
Roenick, Jeremy
for
Modano, Mike
The message from the person offering the trade was this: "you need some depth, drop your dead weight players and gimme a superstar, i have none!"
I'm more inclined to think seriously about this offer because 1) the person obviously made an effort to address my needs as well as his own, 2) he included a message in the trade offer.
Too bad I'm quite inert when it comes to trading. =Þ I don't like to move once I've settled in, so it'd take a bit of "force" to get me out of the status quo.
Oh yeah, and since I've posted one, I might as well post the other trade offer I've still got pending:
Carter, Anson
Recchi, Mark
for
Comrie, Mike
Deadmarsh, Adam
The problem with this one is that I'm being asked to give up PIM, which I'm already lacking. It also doesn't help that I don't really know Carter of Recchi (whereas I do know Drury, Leclair and Roenick).
Anyway, comment, comment, comment, please! Use my new commenting system at the bottom of the post. See? Next to the date, time, and link?
Well, the guy finally emailed me today--after my third email. =P Anyway, I hope he's faster about sending things than he is at replying to emails. -_-;; I want my Kaberle photo! The Sakic and Roy (unsigned) photos that I won not too long ago came in today too! ^_^
oh, and Toronto lost to Ottawa yesterday. =( Boy did my roommate ever gloat--again. =Þ She teased me when the Avs lost to the Sens too. Ah well, Belfour's SV% was good, so I still went up in that category. A win would've been nice, but you can't have everything. I wonder if I should play Salo when the Oilers are up against Columbus? I mean, I actually do have something to lose now by trying to catch a goalie on a good day, not like before when I had the second lowest SV% so it didn't matter if it went down... Hmm.... Columbus hasn't been doing too bad, if I recall correctly. Then again, I might be mixing them up with another one of the newer teams. Decisions decisions...
BOOO!!! I won a signed Kaberle 8x10 photo from eBay on Saturday, but the stupid seller still hasn't contacted me, so I haven't been able to pay for it!! I've sent the guy two messages requesting the total, and he still hasn't replied! I'm getting pretty frustrated since sellers are supposed to get in touch with buyers within three days, so today is his last day and so far, nothing! I think I'm going to try sending the guy a message directly from my email account this time, rather than going through eBay. =/ Man, I was so excited to win the picture too, and now this! I don't want to have to leave my first negative feedback ever, but what choice do I have if he doesn't get in touch with me? I mean, eBay says that you're supposed to try to work things out with a seller before leaving negative feedback, but if I can't reach the seller at all, what can I do? Geh. I just hope it's not something really strange going on with my email and that he's not thinking that I'm an uncommunicative buyer! ^^;; As much as I don't want to give negative feedback, I also don't want to get any! ::sigh:: I guess I'll be patient and give it some more time. Maybe he's just having problems with his internet server or something; I guess I should give him the benefit of the doubt.
I read this in one of those game-recap-type articles on tsn.ca, and boy, did it make me glad that I never said or thought that Belfour was a bad decision on the Leaf's part (I know, I checked through my blog(s) archives). ^_^ If I recall correctly, I thought that it'd be good to have Belfour as a goaltender, I just thought it was unfortunate that Joseph left in the first place. Anyway, here's the relevant portion of the article:
"Flyers centre Jeremy Roenick said he never doubted Belfour would help the Leafs when they signed the free agent last July after Joseph jumped ship.
``I watch from the outside and it's funny how there's so many bandwagon fans out there,'' said Roenick. ``At the beginning of the year, everyone's all over Eddy saying it was the worst thing (the Leafs) could do getting Ed Belfour in here.
``Those people don't know what the hell they're talking about. Those people don't know hockey. All those people should just shut up."
Belfour got his second shut-out in a row tonight!! Woohoo!! I still don't like the way he takes shots at opposing players who get too close (in)to the crease, but he's looking like a heck of a good goalie right now. ^_^
Kaberle got two or three assists tonight too!! =D Oh oh oh, AND I won an autographed photo (of Kaberle) on eBay tonight, right after the game too! =Þ It's my very first Leaf signed photo!!
Tucker got 3 points tonight too, which is a bit vexing because I was debating between him and Conroy to fill in while my numerous injured and other non-playing players (like Shanahan, awaiting the birth of his twins--at least he's got his priorities straight) recover, and I eventually went with Conroy. He's not doing much, but my original logic still holds; I didn't want to pick Tucker because I might get attached to him, and then I would have a hard time deciding who to drop when Yzerman comes back. At the rate he's going, I don't think I'm going to get attached to Conroy. =Þ
Heeheehee, back to Belfour, I wonder if the person who gave him up is regretting that decision now? ^_~
Oh, and Sakic scored in the first period (none in the second) again! Getting closer!
I can't believe I actually read this sentence on a professional website. It's so bad that I noticed it even though I'm punchy from pulling an all-nighter to finish my Japanese history essay! Anyway, here it is: "Horcoff was pleased that himself and Marchant were able to chip in offensively and help take some off of the onus off the Oilers top line of Ryan Smyth, Anson Carter, and Mike Comrie."
I was just reading about the Ottawa-Carolina game at tsn.ca and I found this amazingly ambiguous sentence: "Bonk's goal came less than two minutes after Brind'Amour scored his team-leading ninth, banging the puck off defenceman Magnus Arvedson and past a stunned Lalime." I mean, if I didn't know better, I'd think that Bonk scored on Lalime! Well, that explanation would certainly account for Lalime's stunned state! Don't mind me, I'm still a bit giddy from the Leafs game. And of course the types of things that amuse me when I'm giddy are sentence ambiguities--what a nerd! =Þ
YAY BELFOUR!!! Woo hoo! I came back from class just in time to watch the third period, and man, it was SO worth it! This is probably the best I've ever seen the Leafs play, including the conference finals last year! A decisive 2-0 victory--the 2 goal lead coming fairly early in the third period and they didn't blow it!
Oh, AND AND AND, Kaberle got a powerplay point (an assist!). ^_^ I LOVE Kaberle! Seriously, I've decided now that if I get a Leafs jersey, I'd want a Kaberle one, "A" and everything!! So happy! I mean, even if I wasn't in a hockey pool, the fact that they played SO well tonight would have made me ecstatic anyway, but the fact that it means good things for my hockey pool makes it even sweeter!
Yes!! There's almost nothing I enjoy more than watching a solid game of hockey, and that's what it was tonight. The Leafs didn't shut down or turn off or give up or anything, they were just energy and go-for-it all the way through! I can't possibly explain how awesome it was to watch. If you missed out tonight, boy did you miss out! Of course, I only saw the third period, which tends to be more energetic, but there've been so many times that the Leafs just can't seem to pull it together, even in the third...Whatever, that was the past, and for now I'm just going to exhult in the beauty of tonight's game!
In other news, Brind'Amour also scored for Carolina against Ottawa, and Bonk (who I luckily did leave on my line-up even though I wasn't sure if he was recovered) also scored for the Sens against the 'Canes! ^_^ Whoopie! Even if I'm still in 11th place tomorrow, I don't care because it was such a great night tonight!
One last thing, it was awesome the way the fans at the ACC were cheering for Belfour. I think the first time they did it was during the game against Detroit (I could be wrong), but it still makes me feel good to hear the crowd giving him their support and encouragement. I mean, if there's one thing I believe in, it's supporting your team.
Maybe that's why I'm not so great in hockey pools; I get attached to my players even if they're bums and don't produce much for me (think Kapanen). Sure I complain about them and bench them, but I still feel reluctant to trade them because of my attachment to them. I can't imagine what I'm going to do once Yzerman is playing again. Hopefully I won't have gotten attached to Conroy by then, so I'll be able to dump him. ^^;; Even though my team clearly isn't the best (I'm second last!), it's still my team, and I like them! I also don't know what I'm going to do if there's a pool next year, because then I'll have to make a new team, but I think I'd want my current team still. ^^;; It's ridiculously sappy, I know, but that's the way I am. Ah well, at least the more different people I get on "my team" throughout the years, the more players I'll get to know and appreciate.
Speaking of appreciating players, I've been reading some Star sports articles, and as a result I've developed a lot of respect for Mogilny and Joe Thornton. On Saturday there was this interview with/article on Mogilny (which a friend highly encouraged me to read) and I totally appreciated his overall attitude as well as his skill with wordplay. He can't beat Kaberle right now, but I think if I watched more for him, I'd be very impressed with him. Then there was the Thornton article today, and I liked that fact that he's so low-key and unconcerned with celebrity. Plus there was this description of him, which made me smile: "Thornton remains a big happy Canadian kid who still can't believe someone is willing to pay him millions of dollars to play hockey." No matter how much we talk about the gross salaries of the players, I still feel like the game hasn't lost it's innocence. It may be naive of me, but I'd say that most of the players are still thrilled to be able to make a living from the game that they love, and because I think it's still more about the game than the money, I can't and won't begrudge them their millions. A salary cap would still be a wise decision, in my opinion, though.
Phew, well that was a lot of energy that I just released. =Þ I'd better stop writing and get to sleep soon so that I can really put my nose to the grindstone tomorrow and accomplish a significant amount on my Japanese history essay--eight to ten pages, due Friday, and I'm not even done my research yet! @_@
Boo, my team seems to be quite injury prone! Bonk's still having trouble with that chest injury (or at least that's what I think's wrong with him), Deadmarsh has an injured wrist [edit: 18/11/02: apparently Deadmarsh also had a concussion @_@], and who knows what's wrong with Kapanen! Plus I've got Yzerman, but of course I knew he wouldn't be playing for a while, so it's not the same case as with the other guys. I wonder if I would still be so low on the standings if I didn't have the second lowest number of games played?
Anyway, Sakic's only got five more goals to go! Too bad I'm so busy that even if there were Colorado games being broadcast, I wouldn't be able to watch them! ::sniff:: I want to see his 500th career goal!
Wow, today seems to be my crazy posting day. Anyway, I was checking out prices for jerseys online and boy are they ever scary! Buying an authentic Avs away jersey from the Hockey Hall of Fame store would be $249.95, and the lettering option would add $49.95 for a sub-total of $299.90. At least with the HHOF I get a 15% discount, so the discounted subtotal would be $254.92. With tax, the grand total would be $293.15! @_@ That's a crazy amount of money to spend on a piece of clothing! That would be like my entire new wardrobe for a year, maybe even two! But I still want one. ::sigh:: Maybe this summer I'll actually clamp down on the rest of my spending and save enough to get it. Actually, it's not so much the saving that's a problem--I've actually got almost that amount in my "savings" account--it's the guilt of spending so much on an article of clothing! Yes, I am repeating myself, but hopefully that will just show you how difficult it is for me to wrap my mind around the concept.
It might be a better idea to get a Nordiques jersey first. I wouldn't feel compelled to customize it, so that'd knock off $50, and they're cheaper anyway, $119.95 (with discount, including tax, $117.25). So that'd be more like the cost of all of my formal wear (dress, shoes, jewelry, etc.), and hopefully I'd get to wear the jersey more often than I've worn my formal dress. Too bad I don't like the shade of blue for the Nordiques jersey as much as I like the colours of the Avs away jersey.
Then there's the fact that it'd be more practical, if not as emotionally satisfying, to get a Leafs jersey. I mean, assuming the netting isn't that bad, I'll probably be watching more games in the future (just the Feb. 18th Carolina game this year) so I'd have more chances to wear a Leafs jersey than an Avs one. Also I could walk around downtown in a Leafs jersey no problem, but I'd feel mighty strange wearing an Avs jersey. Even though I love the Avs, I still have some national-regional pride. And I probably wouldn't bother to customize a Leafs jersey either--my favourite player is Kaberle, and people have suggested that it'd be a waste of money to get his name--although I might still want the authentic.
GAH! This entire line of thinking is pretty useless though, I mean, I doubt my parents would be particularly happy about me buying one jersey, let alone three! Maybe this'll just be one of those things that'll have to wait until I'm on my own--like all that beautiful framed hockey art.
Oh, and tomorrow I'll be working with my mom, so if I finish early enough, I'm going to drop by the HHOF store after work, just to drool over stuff that I want but can't afford! =Þ
The Hockey News has got a lot of amusing quotes, so I thought I'd share some. They're not really "lol" quotes, but they did at least elicit a wry smile from me, in appreciation. ^_^
Nov. 22, '02 Vol. 56, No. 12, p.3:
" 'Ah Doug, I'm having a beer with a big piece of bread.' Stars right winger Bill Guerin, in a telephone call intended to tease Doug Weight over his strict off-season diet."
Actually I thought this kind of "cute," that they'd tease each other that way.
Oct. 26, '02 Vol. 56, No. 8, p.11:
"Brendan Shanahan's initials come with the package. The trouble is figuring out when he's using them and when he's telling the truth. . . .
THNCan you describe yourself in five words or less? Shanahan I should hope not. And that was four words, by the way.
. . .
THNFirst job? Shanahan It was when I was 15 and I unloaded trucks at a storage unit company.
THNDid you ever think at 15 you were going to be playing in the NHL? Shanahan I thought I was going to be unloading trucks for a living, carrying frozen carcasses of beef and lamb into a freezer for th rest of my life.
THNSomething at 17 you wish you still believed? Shanahan At 17 I found out the truth about Santa Claus--that was a bummer.
. . .
THNBest rookie initiation? Shanahan It had to be when I was in St. Louis. Jim Montgomery had a hairy chest and we shaved his chest to form the letter 'A'. He was pissed because he was hoping for a 'C'.
. . .
THNAny significance to your sweater number (No. 14)? Shanahan It separates me from the other players on my team.
THNOne guy you hate to play against but would love as a teammate? Shanahan There are a lot of guys I feel that way about, but I wouldn't want to pay them that compliment while I'm still playing.
THNWorst injury you've suffered? Shanahan I took a puck in the face.
THNWhat was going through your mind at that point? Shanahan Vulcanized rubber! I did have a feeling that solid foods were not going to be part of my diet for a while."
The entire interview gave me a lot of respect for Shanahan's quick mind and sharp wit. He's probably the type of person around whom you wouldn't want to say anything stupid, though, because you know he'd make some smart remark about it.
I don't know if it's just me, but it seems like The Star has got some sort of fixation on the backsides of Leafs' players. First there was that entire article by Rosie DiManno about McCabe's rump, and then yesterday I read this in an article by Paul Hunter (so you know it's not just one writer): "Often, like last night, Renberg could be seen protecting the puck, his back to the play pushing opponents away with his sizeable butt, waiting for a teammate to get open." The emphases are mine, of course, but am I the only one who finds it strange that a reporter should feel compelled to point out Renberg's use of his behind? ::shrug:: Maybe I've just become overly sensitive to the subject since reading Ms. DiManno's article. If nothing else, I guess it's a compliment to her writing skills that I would remember it for so long. =Þ
Okay, I knew there must have been a good reason why I didn't want to post the trade proposals that I received in the hockey pool message list, but unfortunately I didn't figure out that reason until after I decided to try posting the offers! The whole point in posting was to get opinions to help me make decisions on whether to accept, reject, or counteroffer. Well, I got a lot of suggestions and opinions, but I'm still undecided on half of the original offers, AND I ended up getting more offers, all of which involved more than four players! @_@ I think I've learned that proposals dealing with more than four players give me headaches on sight.
The worst thing was though, I felt so bombarded by offers and advice that I hastily and not too nicely rejected the first new offer that I received (after posting the list of offers)! ^^;; I was lucky that the person didn't choose to receive emails, so he didn't actually ever read my message, but I only remembered that this morning, so I had all night to feel guilty. ::sigh:: Not to mention, the deal was pretty reasonable, so it definitely deserved a lot more consideration than I actually gave it, and which I would have given it if the proposal hadn't been the proverbial straw (both the last straw and straw that broke the camel's back).
Anyway, the end result of all this chaos? I started with five proposals, rejected three, received two more, and am now at four offers. Net change: -1 Definitely not worth the hassle. Especially since most of the proposals that I rejected were small, but the new ones that I got were big--seven and nine players!! -_-;;
So from now on, I'll stick to my old method and only ask for help from the two people whose advice I trust the most. Posting the proposals for all the pool to see is like declaring open season on myself. @_@
Yoicks! I opened my email to find seven new messages, five of which were trade offers! @_@ Now in my mind I know that they're good things, because my team certainly needs help, and I'm not likely to offer trades myself, but man, does it ever make life difficult for me! It's not supposed to be a big deal, but I take trade offers very seriously, and spend far more time than is necessary thinking them over before making a decision.
At first I thought that I wouldn't be able to ask advice from the people I normally get advice from because they both made me offers, and thus might not be too objective, but then I realized that all of the trades except two involved different players, so there wouldn't really be a conflict of interest. (Actually, I could change half of my team if I really wanted to!) Nonetheless, I'd still like to try to work this out on my own; it's just reassuring to know that I can ask for advice if I really need it.
Anyway, Fatboy gave me the great idea (thanks!) of totalling up all my gains and losses in each category--G, A, PIM, etc.--and this helped me to actually figure out what the consquences of each trade would be. So I circled my totals in black for a gain, and red for a loss (I didn't do anything if there was no change) and wrote the specific +/- in the same colour underneath the total. Then I highlighted the categories in which I need to improve. I think it's a pretty good system, if a tad time-consuming (since I wrote everything out by hand); I've already decided to reject one trade because I found that all of my highlighted totals were also circled in red--except for one category that had an increase of +1. Even though most of the minuses were small, one of them was -10, and not only that, but all of the categories that had black circles on had pluses of one or two. Thus I concluded that I'd lose big in a category where I'm already lacking, and gain very little in return. Of course this season's statistics alone aren't all I'm using to evaluate trade offers; I'm also using the Toronto Star Forecaster and the Hockey News to try to get a feel for the players whom I don't know--which is most of them.
Can you believe I've spent almost two hours going through all of this and I've only decided is to reject one trade? Not only that, but I'm supposed to be doing research for my Japanese history essay due next Friday! @_@ Guess this shows where my priorities are. Now, if it was for my Japanese language class, the pool would wait.
Salo finally posts a .913 SV% on a game, and guess what, I had Belfour (SV% .889) in goal! ARGH! Also, Bonk didn't even play, so I could have had Comrie in my lineup! ARGH!
On another note, I definitely need more assists. I'm third in goals right now, but I guess my people don't like to share or something because I'm fourth last in assists. ::sigh::
I think Comrie has scored at least five goals since I got him, but I haven't gotten any points from the goals because he's always been benched when he scored!! >( ARGH! I am suck! I totally cannot judge when to play a guy and when to bench him. Today I thought to myself, okay, I'll play Comrie since he's been doing a heck of a lot better than Kapanen. Fine, then I think about it some more, look at the stats of Carolina and Edmonton's respective opponents and decide that Kapanen's got a pretty good chance to score on Phoenix, whereas Minnesota hasn't let in a heck of a lot of goals. Also, the last time Edmonton played Minnesota they either only got one goal or none (I can't remember which). So I bench Comrie and play Kapanen.
WRONG choice! Comrie scores two goals, and Kapanen does zip, not even an assist (at least from what I've seen on the game log thus far)! ARGH! So that's it, Kapanen's benched; I've lost my faith in him completely. Of course, Murphy's Law being what it is, now that I'm positive that this is what I'm going to do, Comrie's going to enter a slump, and Kapanen will break out of his, and when I switch them again, the opposite will occur. Lack of skill + bad luck = me ::sigh::
Woohoo, Sakic scored his first at home goal tonight! Not only that, but he's remained true to his pattern by scoring in the third period. I think Sakic must be an excellent essayist, since he clearly recognizes the importance of starting and ending well! =Þ
I'm not eleventh in my pool, which is still good because I'm not last! Anyway, I was expecting it since I had such an abysmal Saturday night. I don't think any of my players scored goals, except, of course, the one I had benched. ::rolls eyes:: Yeah, that's just my skill in managing my team. You can bet that as soon as I decide to bench Kapanen and replace him with Comrie (which is what I was contemplating, but decided against for Saturday), Kapanen will start scoring a bunch of goals and Comrie will stop scoring. -_-;; I have no luck in this, which is ironic because I'm third in this Survivor pool which I joined on a whim; I don't care at all about Survivor, and I don't even watch it, but I pay attention to my hockey pool and look how much good that's done me!
On the subject of the hockey pool, I am now certain that I'm an awful person to trade with. I've received a bunch of offers, but I've only made a counteroffer for one, even though my low standing is certainly testimony to a need for change. Anyway, I think the big thing is that people keep offering me these big multiplayer deals, and that doesn't really work because I tend to get attached to my players, so the idea of "losing" so many of them doesn't appeal at all. I've been told that people just shoot off trade proposals without really thinking too much, and that if I'm even remotely interested I'm supposed to counteroffer, not take mild offense at the lopsidedness of the original deal, but I have a hard time working that way. The one offer I made was one that (the same) someone suggested that I make, but I was kind of uneasy about it because I knew that if I was on the receiving end of the trade, I wouldn't accept it. Actually, the offer was rejected, which is a fairly normal thing in pools I'm sure--I just have to think about how many trades I've rejected--but I still felt kind of bad for making an offer that probably didn't stand a chance of being accepted as it was. Gah. If being able to make deals is one of the criteria for moving beyond "chick" status, I think I'll remain "the chick" forever because I really don't like having to think about these things once I get used to my team.
Oh, and just for interests sake, here's the latest trade offer I've received, and which I am going to reject once I'm done here:
Drury, Chris
Fleury, Theo
Palffy, Zigmund
Samsonov, Sergei
Schneider, Mathieu
for
Lidstrom, Nicklas
Salo, Tommy
Shanahan, Brendan
Yzerman, Steve
Salo may suck, but that doesn't mean I want to give him up and depend solely on Belfour. Actually, the first thing I thought when I saw this offer was quality, not quantity. Egad, I wonder if I should be worried that I'm starting to think in clichés!
Wow, there was so much going on in tonight's game! I even had to get a piece of paper to jot things down so I wouldn't forget to mention them! Where to begin? Well, I must say I'm not terribly impressed by Trevor Kidd. It's probably unfair of me considering that the defense also wasn't very good (Kaberle and...McCabe(?) failed to clear the puck in the first powerplay that resulted in the Blues first goal), but I can't help but wonder if they would've done any better with Belfour in net.
That brings me to another point, why do Edmonton and Toronto choose to play and bench their number one goalies on the same nights? Friday I had to choose between Salo and Belfour (incidentally, as predicted, I made the wrong choice with Salo, and Belfour didn't even win), and then tonight I couldn't have made a choice if I wanted to because neither of them played! How am I going to get my full number of games if my goalies always play or don't play on the same night? Bah. Guess I'll just have to be patient and wait for Burke to recover. Maybe it's better this way, since it dissuades me from having too much faith/hope for Salo, who has been simply awful thus far. Belfour might not win very much, but at least his save % is still better than Salo's, and as far as I can recall, Belfour hasn't been replaced in the third.
But back to tonight's game! I've got to say, my highlights for tonight were McCabe's butt checks! =Þ I think that just goes to show the power of the written word, that whenever I see McCabe deliver a powerful check with his rear, I immediately recall that Star article that I read, by Rosie DiMannio. Both the check right after Mogilny's second period penalty ended, and the check around 1:42 to the end of the second period made me laugh outloud! I'm really quite grateful for instant replays, which allowed me to get clearer views of the bum checks. Of course the third one that I clearly saw wasn't too great, since it ended up as a penalty call, but then again Jackman of the Blues (it's confusing to have players with the same lastname on both teams) prevented that from being an advantage for the Blues by getting an unsportsmanlike penalty as well. If McCabe could only start hitting the net when he shoots, he'd even be able to contend with Kaberle as my favourite Leaf. ^_~
Speaking of Jackman, I was pretty proud of myself when I saw Ric Jackman on the ice and figured out who he was without being told. Okay, so it was deduction more than recognition, since it was a case of my not recognizing his number and therefore deducing that he must be Jackman (Holden (?) was the only other player whose number I wouldn't have recognized, but he gave an interview after the first period, so I learned his number), but nonetheless the fact that I didn't recognize his number shows that I'm getting familiar enough with the Leafs to be able to find things unfamiliar. =Þ Sorry about the horribly convoluted sentence. Anyway, that was just a random train of thought that occured during the game.
The penalty shot possibility was interesting, mostly because I don't even know what actions can result in penalty shots! So yes, it was quite educational, although I really wish I had an official rulebook so I could read up about the specifics when things like that happen. Hint, hint, Matthias? I don't even know if he reads this...
Oh, and I wonder if the shot that the Blues' defenseman took at his own net was counted as a shot? I've seen pucks deflect off defensemen, etc., but I don't think I've ever seen a case where it looked like the player was actively trying to score on his own net before! =Þ
Another little thing: I don't think I would ever take a baby or young child to a game. See, they showed a mother with her baby--still sucking on a pacifer--at the game tonight, and I don't think that being exposed to such loud noises for such an extended period of time could possibly be good for the kid.
Almost forgot! I didn't really enjoy the Coach's Corner tonight. Cherry's great to listen to when he's talking about the game of hockey, but once he starts getting into politics or other things... ::rolls eyes:: I mean, I can kind of see his point about why girls should stick with girls hockey, but he presented it in a way that would get almost any girl's hackles up, so most girls probably wouldn't get beyond his delivery to what he was actually trying to say. He made himself sound pretty sexist, even though his message was the exact opposite of that. I can see now why people wouldn't like Cherry, although I still think he's pretty cool, myself.
Last thing: I had a really hard time understanding the Satellite Hotstove. Most of that was due to the fact that I still don't know much about the workings of hockey leagues and stuff, but part of it was because of the way they kept interrupting and talking over each other. Yeesh, whatever happened to listening when other people are talking? This is not Japan, so it's not as if you're expected to interrupt out of politeness, to show that you're paying attention to the conversation!
So, all in all, tonight was a good night of hockey, even though the Leafs didn't lose respectably.
Yay! I went shopping with my mother today and got more hockey books!! When I think about it, my passion for hockey books is kind of silly because I don't even have time right now to read all of them, and besides that, I've always had a hard time finishing non-fiction books. =Þ Ah well, When I've got a place of my own, I'm sure my collection of hockey books will look very impressive displayed on my bookshelf, and who knows, I might even have read them all by the time I get my own place!
Today I got three books, one at an amazingly good price, and the other two for fairly reasonable, but still pretty hefty sums. The one that I actually paid for was the cheap one, of course; hehehe, I mentioned that I went shopping with my mother for a reason! It sounds kind of interesting, but I really bought it because the price was too good to pass up, and because there's a picture of kids playing hockey in China (there's a big picture of Mao Zedong in the background)! How could I resist? The book is about the author, Dave Bidini's search to find places where "true hockey" still exists. Apparently he found himself watching Martha Stewart in the summer of 1998, instead of the Stanley Cup finals, and that was what set him off on his quest. -_-;; I don't see what's so bad about NHL hockey myself, but then again I've only really known NHL hockey (even in the Olympics, it was all about the NHLers), so I'm not really in a place to judge.
Anyway, the other two books, the ones my mom got me, are the ones I'm really excited about: Without Fear: Hockey's 50 Greatest Goaltenders, and A Day in the Life of the Maple Leafs! The former is perfect because I love goalies, and the latter because it's so pretty! Photos, lots and lots of photos! Not to mention, even though I consider myself an Avs fan, I've still got some national/regional pride, so I also love the Leafs. I'm going to get the Leafs' book signed on Dec. 17th when the author visits the Coles in Square One (from 6-9pm)! Funny isn't it, how the first "hockey" autograph that I'll actually collect myself will be from a hockey author? Gah, my goodness, look at the time!! Gotta watch HNIC!!!
Who is going to be a better goalie on Friday night? Salo or Belfour? Surely the Oilers are more likely to beat the Islanders than the Leafs the Stars? But Salo has been so bad that I don't know if I should take that chance. It's entirely possible that the Oilers will win only after Salo's been benched in the third period. -_-;; My goalies are the worst in the pool! I have the fewest wins, and the second lowest save percentage! The way to improve this is to take it one game at a time, not simply benching one or the other for overall performance. ::sigh:: I suspect that no matter whom I pick, my choice will inevitably be the wrong one, so maybe I should pick Salo so at least I can be glad that the Leafs won, even if I record another loss in my pool.
BOOOO!!! I don't often get to watch Colorado play, and when I do, they play the way they did tonight! ::sniff sniff:: My poor Avs! Even worse, my suitemate is an Ottawa fan, so she was rubbing it in. I'm so sad right now, I can't even blog my unhappiness away. Ah well, it could've been worse, it could've been 7-0, with Roy.
And I thought I was the only one; apparently, since the Sun started its NHL sticker promotion, circulation has increased, on average, by more than 13,620 extra papers per day! That's really crazy. Who would've thought that so many people would be suckers just like me? I suppose I could feel comforted, knowing that I'm not alone, but actually, it makes me kind of worried that so many crazy people are walking around in Toronto. =Þ Yes, I am being facetious.
Anyway, the Leafs finally won again last night (and there was much rejoicing) but I'm going to be prudent this time and reserve judgement until their record shows this to actually be an upward turning point. ::rolls eyes:: After all, one game does not a season make.
I admit it, I am just about the world's biggest sucker. =Þ See, last Sunday the Toronto Sun gave out free NHL sticker albums with the paper. Naturally I went out and got it, but of course, it was just a sticker album, without stickers to go along with it. See, the idea was/is that everyday for the following eighteen days, there would be a coupon in the Sun which would enable you to buy a sheet of stickers for $1.99. Yes, buy the stickers. And I, being the sucker that I am, have been faithfully buying the Sun (which I'm not even interested in reading--I'm a Star reader, thank you very much) everyday for the past week just so that I could buy the stickers.
Not only that, but since not every place that sells the Sun is selling the stickers, I have to make a special trip all the way down to the Seven-Eleven, which is entirely out of my way, every morning when I'm downtown to buy the paper and the stickers. When I'm home for the weekend, I have to work go even farther out of my way to get the paper and stickers! Only I would put so much effort into allowing a company to take my money. ^^;;
It's quite strange, but I actually do enjoy collecting these stickers. I mean, I was pretty happy when I got my Kaberle sticker on Saturday, and then today as well, when I saw that there were twelve stickers instead of the usual nine. Good grief, what am I even going to do with the thing when I'm done with my collecting?
If nothing else, I guess I'll be glad to have a reference so that I can put faces to names of Canadian NHL team players. For example, I now know what Mike Comrie and Tommy Salo look like, which is kind of nice since they're on my team in the hockey pool. Not that I'd ever recognize them if I saw them walking down the street (I'm really horrid with names and faces), but at least they're a bit more than names to me.
Speaking of the hockey pool, I've been holding pretty steady at ninth place so far--knock on wood. ^_^ Woohoo! I just hope I can stay there for the rest of my season!
