Woohoo! Steph took me to visit Joe Sakic Way today! It was actually pretty exciting for me to go and see the road, as weird as it may sound. I didn't want to lug around my (dad's) big digicam, but luckily Steph brought hers, so she took some pictures for me. Actually, I'm breaking another one of my cardinal internet rules and am posting a link to my Joe Sakic Way photo album here--it actually has pictures where you can see my face! *gasp* So yes, now people can stalk me if they so choose. =P Shyeah right, like anyone would bother.
Anyway, here's the link: http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4288178439. Unfortunately you have to make an ImageStation account in order to even view the pictures, but it's free, and you might want to post your own pictures there someday, so why not?
I won't be able to upload my own pics from the Oilers game until I get home, since Steph's camera uses a different memory card and I didn't bring anything to upload the pics with. My pics aren't that good however. When I do make the album, I might "borrow" Steph's pictures from the fight, since she was in the center and was able to take some pretty good shots of the action. My camera has a pretty good zoom, so I probably would've been able to get some photos even though I was close to the other end, but I was too lazy. =P
Let's see, it's really late, so I'm going to save commenting on the second Avs vs Canucks for later. All I'll say now is that it was an exciting game to watch, even though my Avs lost, and I can't wait until Friday's game! It's going to be intense!!!
This week's Forecheck Four is also going to have to wait until I'm less tired. Besides, I looked at the questions, and I don't know if I have enough insight to answer the questions decently without serious though anyway. ^^;; I really suck at answering the questions that aren't based on personal something--personal experiences, personal opinions like dislikes or likes, etc.
Last thing, KABERLE IS BACK!!!! Yay! I'm so happy! ^_______^
I tell you, Salo does this to spite me, everytime! I really wanted to be able to heckle Salo last night, but he actually made saves!! Boo!! Yes, I realize that he's an NHL goalie and therefore is expected to make some saves on occasion, but really, I didn't expect him to be able to make any important ones, much less to help the Oilers win the game!! >_< Ah well, at least I WAS able to do the "SAAAAAA-LOOOO" heckling chant a couple of times. That really was the highlight of the game for me.
What else? Well, I learned that I really SUCK at sports photography. @_@ I got a couple of good goalie shots, but that was because they were standing still at the time! =P Most of my pictures were from the pre-game warm-up, because I wanted to pay attention to the game rather than trying to take photos. And face-off photos too, because they stayed still for those! =P Oh well. Hopefully I'll have enough experience to take some good shots at the Colorado game.
When I get home maybe I'll post them to my RHF main site. Actually, I think I need to totally revamp that site. The layout is really irritating, and now brinkster has ads, so I have to make the layout banner compatible.
I also figured out that so far all of the games I've seen the Canucks play, they've lost. Which was sad yesterday, but I'm hoping that this "streak" of mine will continue for at least the next two games I watch. =P The Avs won yesterday, meaning they're six points behind the Canucks, with two games in hand. So yes, winning against them is going to be REALLY important!
*sigh* Kaberle still hasn't come back yet. =( I was really hoping he'd be well enough to play on Friday, but I guess not. Hopefully sooner rather than later!!
Woohoo!! Here I am in Richmond, B.C. ^_^ Tonight is the Edmonton @ Vancouver game, and we'll be there!!! Woohoo! Hopefully Salo will be playing tonight so I can MOCK him! Mwa ha ha ha ha!!
I'm going to get to wear my Mogilny white skate jersey for the first time!! Yay!
Also, I brought my dad's big honkin' digicam so I'm going to practice taking action shots at tonight's game! Hopefully I will learn fast enough to take good shots for the Colorado game Jan. 2nd. ^_^
I almost forgot I said I'd do the Forecheck Four "soon"! so, before I go catch my flight to Vancouver, here it is!
1. All time favourite hockey movie? (Not sports movie, hockey movie)
(sent in by Cerasi)
- Um, I haven't watched very many hockey movies, so I guess it'd have to be The Mighty Ducks. ^^;; I started watching Slap Shot, but never finished. Maybe that movie about the Miracle on Ice will become my favourite, who knows...Then again, if they stick in too much American patriotism, it probably won't be. So, yes, Mighty Ducks it is.
2. Do you watch the World Junior Championship? (also elaborate on your memories of it)
- No, not really. I never remember to check when they're on. I think I caught part of a game last year, when they beat the US, but I didn't watch the final. I heard it on the radio when they lost though, it was so sad. I did see all the footage of the boys crying and stuff though. Ah, it's so sad, but so cute to see all the boys crying!
3. Who are you most excited about to see this year in the tournament?
- Fleury! If I watch, it'll be for Fleury, since I fell asleep for the Penguins-Oilers game on HNIC. =P I love goalies.
4. Do you think Marc-Andre Fleury should have stayed in the NHL or been sent down? Why?
(sent in by Al)
- Well, I think it'd be fine for him to be sent down if it was for his development. I mean, as much as he seems to love playing in the NHL, you've got to wonder what it does to a goalie's psyche to be shelled every night, play spectacularly, but still lose most of the time! I still wonder how "Louie" (Luongo) does it, in fact. If I wasn't strategically voting for the All-Stars for Belfour to prevent Turco from getting the most votes, I'd vote for Luongo for sure. He deserves it. But I digress. If the only reason they want to send Fleury down is financial, then I think that's dumb, especially considering that he's already said he'd rather give up his bonuses to play in the NHL. He's such a good kid (personality AND skill wise), so as far as it's beneficial to his development, I think he should be allowed to stay, especially since the NHL is where he wants to be!
This is the best UD series EVER!!! You get 8 cards in a pack, which is huge compared to the recent trends of maybe four or five in a pack, and in one entire box of cards, I only got one double! ONE double!! How amazing is that? It's so great!! The only unfortunate thing is that neither Sakic nor Kaberle is in this series, so I'm going to have to wait until series 2 to get my favourites. But Roy was still in this one, and I got him! Actually, I think I got all of the Avs in this set, as well as all the Leafs. Pretty sweet. My jersey cards were okay too (Iginla and Satan), if not anything to make me ecstatic. So yes, now is most definitely the time to get back into buying hockey cards!! Go Upper Deck!!!
Oh, and I know I haven't done my Forecheck Four yet this week--I've been crazy busy--but I'll get it done soon! Maybe later tonigh!!
The plan was that I would go with some friends to meet another friend, Anita, at the airport at around 6:30am. She was coming back from an 8-month mission trip in Australia. Then I would come back downtown with my friend (who lives near the ACC) and have lots of time before going to wait in line around 11am (the signing was set from 11:30am-12:30pm). But her flight was delayed three hours and didn't arrive until 9am. Then it took her almost an hour to get out because their luggage was slow, and her parents invited us all to dim sum with them. So we went to dim sum for a bit, and I felt like a jerk for asking Alan to leave early (after maybe only 40minutes there and only 15minutes with food actually present). But of course, it was for hockey, so I did it anyway.
Got down to the ACC just after 11:30, and the line went from the gate almost to the (outside) entrance. @_@ So I joined the line and waited. I could hear some vague murmurings about how he was going to be delayed an hour and that only the first 60 people were guaranteed to get in to meet him. Needless to say I was rather worried, but I said a little prayer and waited. And waited. And waited.
The line didn't start moving until almost 1pm, meaning he didn't start signing until then. When I had finally turned the corner and was actually able to see the gate, a group of people went in and then I heard that they were going to cut off the line after the next 20 people. They let in ten people and the guy at the gate went in to talk to Stajan. If he didn't agree to stay for more, only 10 more people would be let in--I was #13. @_@ Now I was VERY worried. The security (or whatever) guy came back and counted off as people went in 8, 9, 10 . . . 11, 12 . . . (I held my breath) 13, 14, 15 .... They actually let in quite a bit more than ten, for which I was extremely grateful.
Oh yeah, while we were waiting, after we had heard it would be cut off at 20 people, I started talking to the girl who was behind me and her mother, which was nice. As I've always said, one of the nice things about waiting in line for hockey related stuff is being able to talk to fellow fans. When we were inside, the girl's mother mentioned that she always liked the players she picked for her hockey pool. I mentioned that the reason I started liking Kaberle was because I had drafted him in a hockey pool, and the girl was like "oh, I've met him." Apparently he hangs out at the pub where she works (or used to work?) after games.
So yeah, the Yellow Griffin is going to become my new favourite place. =P Of course it's in Etobicoke--which makes sense since he lives there--but hey, it's not that far from Mississauga. The biggest problem is my aversion to intruding on players' personal lives. Even if I saw him there, would I actually break from my own principle and disturb him for an autograph, or worse, a photo (which is what I really want)? Tough to say. It IS Kaberle, after all.
But back to the Stajan signing. It was kind of awkward because he didn't stick out his hand for a handshake or even really say anything. He just accepted the jersey I put down and said "yes" when I asked if it was okay to get a picture. Of course, it didn't help that I was completely tongue-tied as usual either. The cool thing was that for the picture I actually went behind the table and stood next to him, and he kind of leaned over and tilted his head towards my shoulder. ^_^ Cool, huh? Now I absolutely MUST finish off this blasted roll of film!! It's got my Esposito, Dryden, HHOF, and now Stajan pictures all on there! I think I still have 11 or 12 shots to go, though. ^^;; Can you imagine how sad I'd be if something happened and the film was ruined? I would cry!!
I don't think I mentioned it here (although I commented on it on Nicole's blog), but a church friend of mine named Rebecca went to high school with Manny Malhotra. It's pretty funny because somehow we started talking about hockey last night, and she mentioned Malhotra, and how he used to sing Mariah Carey songs with her! Not only that, but he sang the high parts!! I think she also said something like "he sang pretty high for (such?) a big guy". ROFL
Speaking of Mississauga players, I wonder if my friend Raymond (who went to Port Credit) knew Matt Stajan? That'd be cool! ^_^ *sigh* If only I knew a hockey player!
I added omeone from the Czech Republic to the Kaberle fanlisting today (I know--funnily enough, I'm still slightly surprised when people join too) and her comment in the submission form was: "I know Tomas quite well and he is such a lovely person ;)" Now, I don't know if I should take it as literally as I did, but if she means it exactly the way it sounds, well, I really wish I could say the same! That is, I wish I could also say that "I know Tomas (Tomas!) quite well"; even without knowing him I could still say "he is such a lovely person". ^_~
Anyway, Lisa has a new Christmas layout, so you'd better check it out before it's gone (boxing day)!! Oh, and Nicole has yet another new layout! She just put up the Malhotra one less than a week ago too! @_@ And here I am too lazy to even make one layout, which is why I'm still with blogger even though both Lisa and Nicole had offered to host me--I'd feel guilty for sticking with the template if I was actually able to use a real layout! =P Ah well, much love to both of them for the offers anyway! ^_^
I meant to mention this before, but "Two Minutes in the Box" in this week's Hockey News was rather amusing. They got Belak (to match the Leafs feature, I guess?) and I enjoyed his answers to two of the questions:
Ugliest alternate jersey in the league? "Dallas'. What's that thing suuposed to be, anyway?"
(Isn't that what I said? Glad to know someone agrees!)
All-time favourite practical joke? "We were at a hotel in L.A. this year that's supposed to be haunted. A couple of guys -- OK, Ed Belfour and Tom Fitzgerald -- left the team dinner early and snuck up to Darcy Tucker's and Bryan McCabe's room. Eddie hid in a cabinet beside the TV and Tom got under one of the beds. Darcy and Bryan came into the room a little later and after a few minutes, Eddie started making strange noises from behind the cabinet while Tom started shaking the bed Darcy was lying on. Darcy was so scared, he jumped on to Bryan's bed. Best joke ever."
("Darcy was so scared, he jumped on to Bryan's bed." Just imagine it! ROFL)
What else? Steph went back to Vancouver today. She should be watching the game right now. Speaking of which, I can't believe it's the second period and Dallas is up 1-0!!! NOOOOO!!! The Canucks are supposed to be slaughtering them!! Grrrr......
Other bad news was the Kaberle left the game with four minutes left after a hit yesterday. The Star said something about a shoulder injury, although he didn't seem to be in any pain when he was dressing. =( Poor Kaberle! Hope he's okay!!
Oh, and I STILL haven't received my Avs Better Halves planner yet!!! I'm pretty sure it's been more than two weeks, so what's taking so long!! I just hope it gets here before I go to Vancouver. I really want to see it!
Eeks!! And Minnesota just scored the first goal of the game on Colorado!! Booooo!!!! Things had better turn around tonight, or I'm not going to be a happy camper!!
Phew. Vancouver just scored. Thank goodness. Things WILL get better.
Finally got to see the renovated Hockey Hall of Fame!! Woohoo! I was a little disappointed, actually, because I didn't see the Kaberle jersey which used to be in one of the display cases near the entrance anywhere. =( I'm really glad I took a picture with it last February! I did see a Frantisek Czech jersey though, so I took a picture of that. Hopefully it will turn out since I used flash, and I don't know if the reflection from the glass is going to make the picture weird.
*breathes*
Ahem. Sorry for the incoherent rambling. So yes, I went to the Hall with two friends today, and it was pretty fun. It looked like there was a class there on a field trip or something, though, so we didn't play any of the games because we didn't want to wait in line. I was also hoping to finish off my roll of film, but I ended up taking only a couple of shots, mainly in the trophy room. I took one with the Stanley Cup (as usual), one for my friend, and one of the Hart Trophy (in honour of Foppa, of course). My friend took a picture of the Pearson trophy, naturally, because of Naslund.
I was a bit disappointed that Théodore's tuque wasn't out yet, but I guess I should've expected that. The guy I asked said it would probably be put in a year in review display or something. Seems like an awfully long time away, ne? Ah well, I can go back anytime, so it's okay. Now that I've seen it with my friends though, I'm probably going to be dropping by just to look at stuff more often! I've been really tempted to go in, but I wanted to see it again for the first time with my friends, so I waited. Maybe the people there will come to recognize me, and hopefully that will be a good thing for when I eventually apply for a job there. =P Yes, I still dream of working there during summer breaks, when I don't have to teach.
Oh, and if anyone got the Toronto Star today, hopefully you saw the front page of the sports section!! One of the first things Steph told me this morning was that it made her like Kaberle (although she already liked him more than most Leafs thanks to me), so I went to take a look, and it was a picture of Kaberle giving a highfive to a five-year old boy during a visit to the Sick Kids' Hospital!!! So sweet!! I love that hockey players really give back to the community, especially in visiting sick children!! Yay Kaberle!! Maybe if I had money to burn, I'd consider ordering a reprint of that photo, even though I've already kept our copy of it, as well as taking it from a friend! =P What can I say, I'm crazy. If I lived in Colorado, I'd definitely do the same thing but with Sakic photos--people would probably understand the Sakic more than the Kaberle, though.
What else? Oh, I wasn't going to mention this because of my uber-paranoia about revealing my real name on the internet, but what the heck, it's there for anyone to read anyway, so what difference does it make if people make the connection between that name and "Presea" and the "Rambling Hockey Fangirl." So yeah, I submitted a question to the Avs mailbag, and it was actually the first question answered this week--meaning the headline was even based on my question!!! Isn't that exciting? I'm such a hockey nerd!! =P So yes, check this week's Avs Mailbag!! I'm going to save screenshots of the article and print out a copy as well! =P
If anyone could find me a copy of Selanne's "Professional Hockey Player" song (online, or preferably, a copy of the cd single) I'd be forever grateful!! That would be the most amazing Christmas present... It's too bad I can't read any of the Finnish websites--I'm sure there must be more information available there!
Last thing, Nicole's done exams, hooray! And she's got a new layout with Manny Malhotra--a good ol' Mississauga boy! Yay for 'Saugeens (is that even a term, or did I just make it up?). ^_~
All the Forecheck Four questions seem to be about personal hockey history/experiences this week! I've linked most of the pertinent blog posts related to each particular event. ^_^
=*( Wah!!! The Avs are so RARELY on HNIC, and I didn't watch the game last night because I was too tired!!! Argh!! I know it was my own decision, and therefore my own fault, but it's still sad!!! See, I came back early from a Christmas dinner thing last night because Steph needed to study. For a while I was reading, but around 9 o'clock I was starting to fall asleep, so I set my alarm for 10 and slept. I woke up around quarter to 10, but I felt so exhausted, I decided to go back to sleep. Woke up again around 12am to make a trip to the bathroom, thought about catching the last period, but still felt pooped and went back to sleep.
*sigh* It's so sad. I pull all-nighter after all-nighter no problem for essays, but I can't even stay up to watch my beloved Avs? The only consolation is that apparently I missed seeing them play rather poorly. But still.... =(
What else? Oh, recently there have been a lot of Kaberle cards appearing on eBay, which is good for my collection, but brutal for my Visa. ^^;; I think I have just under 10 items being watched in eBay right now, and all of them are Kaberle cards!! @_@ I'm not totally crazy, however. I do check Beckett.com first, so I never bid more than the highest price--including the shipping costs. Thank goodness I like Kaberle, who is both young and relatively underappreciated. Can you imagine how crazy it would be to try to collect every single Sakic card? @_@ It could never happen.
Hmm...It's been quite a tumultuous week for me in the girls' pool this week. I think I've jumped to third, gone down to fourth, and now down to sixth!! Crazy. ^^;; Hopefully I'll be able to climb back up soon. *shrug* At least I've gone up in the MCBC pool though. For the longest time I was stuck in 13th place (out of 15), but as of today, I'm 9th. I really want to maintain this upward movement! My goal for that pool, at the beginning of the year, was to be in the upper half, which would be 7th place this year. So I only need to move up two places and find a way to stay there! Ha. easier said than done. All the categories are pretty tight, so even if I move up, one good night for another team, or one mediocre or bad night for me could send me way down again. Ah well, at least I have Sakic and Kaberle in both pools, what more could I ask for?
Before I start on other stuff, let me say that everyone should go visit Nicole and give her lots of love---it's been a hellish week for her. Nicole, wish I could do more than just leaving sad attempts at comforting messages. Things WILL get better, they have to.
Now, onto the trivial. ^^;;
Man, here I thought I had an easy win for Burke with Phoenix playing Edmonton with Salo in net. End of the second, the score was 2-1 Coyotes and I thought I had it made, but no, stupid Edmonton came back to tie for a final score of 3-3. BOOOOO!!!! This is Salo spiting me, I'm sure. >_<
Ah well, at least Burke had a good sv%, which is more than I can say for Hackett, whom I played in the girls' pool. ^^;; Stupid Devils--why don't they shoot more?
Anyway, other than that, things haven't been too bad hockey wise. I'm only missing 2 McDonald inserts now, since I bought four of them at Untouchables. I'm still missing the stupid Messier regular card (#34) though. *shakes fist* Why am I always missing ONE card?!?
What else? Oh yeah, I actually bought a Colorado Avalanche hat for $8 from the HHOF on Thurs. too. No reason really, except that it was on sale, and it doesn't look to bad. I'll probably hang it on the wall with my Sakic and Nordiques hats when I finally finish cleaning and rearranging my room. Man, I really need to finish doing that. I have so much new stuff I want to display!!! I'm probably going to replace my LotR posters with a wall of Sakic/Avalanche. I might make a Stevie Y wall out of my current Sakic/Avalanche wall, and Kaberle will stay put. ^_^
Wow. I went to wait in line for the Dryden's book signing at 11:45am (it started at 12pm), and when I got there, there were already like fifty people waiting! @_@ Man, I was 15 minutes early for the Esposito signing, and there were maybe 10 people ahead of me. So yes, I ended up standing in line for about an hour and a half. But it was worth it.
Dryden's a really cool guy. Part of the reason it took so long was because he talked to everyone. He asked me about my favourite team and favourite player, and (this is what I think is the most cool) why. The why made me feel he was actually interested in my answers. I was rambling and stuttering like mad, of course, I was so flustered. =P And as usual, I got a picture taken--I hope it turns out!!
So yes, another good experience. All of the book signings (for hockey players) I've been too have been great, but I still think that meeting Ron Ellis was the best. He was just so nice. I wish I had thought at the time to bring a camera to get a picture taken with him.
In other hockey news, Turco sucks! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!! He let in 2/18 shots while Burke only let in 1/40!!! I'm always happy when Turco loses, but it was especially sweet that Phoenix won since I was playing Burke in the MCBC pool (I have Burke in the girls' pool too, but Hackett is my starter, so I played him instead). Yes Turco, continue to live up to my opinion of you!!! Bwa ha ha ha ha!!
I really don't know why I'm so anti-Turco. You'd think I'd dislike Hasek more, considering that he plays for Detroit and has such an ugly style. Maybe it's that my dislike for Hasek is just more impersonal. *shrug* Ah well.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to tonight's game! Avs all the way!! ^___^ I really want them to win a tenth straight division title, so beating Vancouver would definitely help contribute to that. Go Avs go!!
Heh, Kaberle is actually 9th right now in the All-Star voting for Eastern Conference defensemen. He's got 18,451 votes to Conference leading Scott Stevens' 44,826. =P I wonder how many of those votes are mine? Kekeke...
I wonder how the Leafs are going to do tonight? It'd be cool if they could keep their winning streak alive--or unbeaten streak at least. Then again, the Blues are good so I'm not really all that optimistic...C'mon Kaberle, score!! Or get a PPA or something!
Only three questions for the Forecheck Four this week! I'm trying to think up some questions to submit, but... Ah well, onto the questions!
1. Do you own any hockey jerseys?
- Yes, seven of them actually:
1. Adult M Toronto Maple Leafs Blue Jersey (home and away is too confusing for current jerseys, since it was the away jersey when I got it, but it'd now be considered the home jersey @_@)
2. Youth L/XL Quebec Nordiques Away Jersey
3. Youth L/XL Quebec Nordiques Home Jersey
4. Youth L/XL Colorado Avalanche Sakic Dark Jersey
5. Youth L/XL Toronto Maple Leafs Kaberle Blue Jersey
6. Adult S Colorado Avalanche White Jersey
7. Adult S Vancouver Canucks Mogilny White Skate Jersey
2. What's the strangest piece of hockey memorabilia you own?
(sent in by Cerasi)
- I don't think it counts as memorabilia, but the strangest piece of hockey paraphenalia (sp?) is a prospectus for the Hockey Company that I picked up from work. ^^;; Strangest actual memorabilia is probably my set of Avalanche Katch coins. I don't even know how to describe them; they're these big metal coin-like things with a picture of a player on one side, and stats on the back. Or maybe others would consider my NHL Jello moulds to be stranger?
3.What's the one hockey related merchandise you want the most right now?
- Youth L Kaberle 2002 Team Czech jersey...With the cd single of the song Selanne wrote, "Professional Hockey Player," (if it really exists) as a close second. =P I like unique/weird things.
Woohoo!! I slept before the game finished, so I didn't know until this morning that the Avs beat the Jackets 5-1!!! ^_^ Okay, so it was the Blue Jackets, but still, with Sauve in net, I would say the outcome certainly wasn't a foregone conclusion. The best thing is that Sakic got 4 points, and Morris got 3!!! Very good for my MCBC pool! Plus I'm just happy that Sakic's producing again! I had faith, sure, but I'm glad my faith didn't have to be tested, if you know what I mean.
Oh, and I jumped up to 4th in the girls' pool! Yippee! I thought I was going to stay a bottom-feeder forever, and that would've been pretty sad for me, considering that I thought I drafted pretty well.
Ah, I'm getting pretty excited about going to Vancouver and Colorado now!! About 70 days left until Colorado!! I can't wait! I'm going to shop so much, I'm probably going to have to buy a suitcase there just to cart it all back home (I'm only bringing a backpack there).
And I'm finally going to see the revamped Hockey Hall of Fame on the 16th! With my Legends membership, I could go anytime (for free) but I wanted to go again for the first time with my friends, so I've resisted the temptation.
What else? Oh yes, Ken Dryden will be signing "The Game" on Thurs. Dec. 11th between 12pm and 2pm at the BCE Place Coles. I'm going to go!!! I don't know if I'm going to bring a camera with me this time, though. I mean, I think I'd feel kind of weird asking him to take a picture with me...I don't know why, but I think it has something to do with the fact that I really admire his intellect, and it'd feel kind of...juvenile? to ask to get a picture taken with him? I dunno. But yeah, I'm definitely going to buy a book and get it signed!!
Can this possibly be the Leafs? Simple hockey, sound defensive play, and an 8-game winning streak?!? I gotta admit, I'm starting to think that it's starting to get mighty cold in Hades. =P Seriously though, tonight's game was awesome to watch! This is what more teams need--defensive play that creates offense. I mean, tonight I could actually say that I saw WADE BELAK doing some good work to keep the puck in the Wings' zone. Belak! Not to mention Marchment's unassisted goal--I was pretty impressed/surprised by that one.
Not that this is necessarily related to sound defense in any way, but isn't it amazing how many close pairs of goals the Leafs have scored of late? Let's see, Tucker had two in under 30sec in Boston, I believe; there were two in the second period by Domi and Roberts 23sec apart, and then Sundin and Stajan in 51sec (okay, so not THAT close together) in the third. Absolutely mind-boggling.
Okay, so Kaberle was -1 and got all of one shot tonight, but he made some good plays, and avoided the giveaways too. Plus Nieuwendyk mentioned Kaberle when asked to comment on the Leafs' D in the post-game with Maclean. Okay, so being underrated isn't exactly high praise, but it's something. ^_^ I'm still positive that he's only going to get better at any rate.
So yes, tonight was a good night. I wanted to watch the Penguins @ Oilers game too, but I caught myself dozing in the first couple of minutes, and my eyes felt like lead weights, so I figured it was best not to waste electricity by keeping the tv on when I wasn't really focused on the game anyway. Too bad though, because I did want to see Fleury play. His little interview during the HNIC pregame was so cute. It's great to see how much he loves playing in the NHL and wants to stay there. The thing about him being willing to give up his bonuses (or at least some of them) to keep playing really says a lot about his character too. What a sweetie. Apparently there's a Fleury fanlisting in the works, so once it's up, I'm definitely going to join! How can you not love a guy who plays through the stomach flu. Maybe my memory's off, but I recall some story about him going off to puke and then coming back out to play. Now that's heart. He's a surefire for the Young Stars game. Ah, if only he had some support (offensive or defensive) from his team!
Anyway, in other news, Sauve, oh wonder of wonders, is not being blasted tonight. Of course, he's also playing, no offense, against the Blue Jackets, so that's not exactly an achievement. I wonder whether he's been trying to handle the puck though... *shudders* He's probably the scariest goalie out of the crease I've ever seen. Egad. I know I'm supposed to like him because he's on "my" team and all, but... It's going to take a while to wipe the memory of the first game I saw him play (against Edmonton, I believe) out of my mind. ^_~
Well, after a week of making Steph check out Wal-Mart everyday, I finally got a McFarlane 12-inch Roy figure. I was so paranoid about it getting sold out, I was standing outside the Wal-Mart at Square One at about 7:40am, since it didn't open until 8:00am. As it turned out, I didn't really need to worry. I got the Canadiens Roy no problem, and since my mom was there, I even managed to pick one up for a friend too. So I was happy about that.
BUT, they were supposed to have the Avs Roy as well, and it wasn't there!!! =( That was the one I really wanted. So although I'm happy to have been able to get one, I'm still a bit upset that I couldn't get my Avs Roy. Anyway, I left my phone numbers with the store manager, so if they do come in, I should be getting a call. I hope they do come, otherwise I'm going to have to pay a ridiculous amount to get one off of eBay.
This whole thing with the McFarlane Wal-Mart Canada exclusives is starting to peeve me off, actually. I mean, the sheer volume of eBay listings for them tells you that people are buying them for profit, and not for themselves. That ticks me off. It's starting to get like scalpers for games. GRRRRRRRRR. I was glad that Wal-Mart limited them to one per person, because that's so much fairer. Anyway, I DID get a Roy, so I'm going to concentrate on being grateful/happy for that, rather than complaining about what I couldn't get.
Oh, and I finally got my McDonald's Sakic "etched in time" insert yesterday!!
Oh oh oh AND, my parents bought Steph and I ten packs on Thursday, and Steph got a GOLD FOIL KOVALCHUK JERSEY PATCH CARD!!! There are only 2500 available Canada wide!! How cool is that? ^_____^ So exciting!
Yay! A good week for the F4 to be earlier than usual, since I want to sleep earlier than usual! So yes, this week's F4
1. The top 4 rivals of your favourite team: (in your opinion)
- Detroit, Dallas, Vancouver (only for the division title, really)...and that's about it!
2. Do you enjoy or hate it when your favourite team play them? Why?
- I like it when they play Detroit and Vancouver, because they're such good games. Remember, it was watching Detroit and Colorado in the 2002 Conference Finals that made me fall in love with hockey in the first place. I don't really enjoy Dallas though, because I'm quite anti-Turco. I guess I enjoy it in the sense that I have the hope of seeing Colorado cream Dallas, but yeah, I just dislike seeing Turco, so...
3. What to you think about the extra inter-division game this year?
Does it really increase the rivalries? (according to Bettman that's the
reason for increasing division games from 5 to 6)
- Well, I guess I'm rather indifferent about the whole thing, mainly because I don't get to see enough of the Avs play to appreciate the rivalry. =( But I guess I can see how it might work in the case of Ottawa-Toronto. Probably would help the Sens a bit with ticket sales at the Corel Center too. =P
4. Is it "right" to hate certain teams JUST because they're your
favourite team's rival?
- Hmm...Well, I know at first I disliked the Wings just because they beat my Avs, but as I've grown to appreciate hockey more, I base my dislike on the actual attributes/players on teams. For example, I dislike Minnesota because of their boring trap style, Dallas because of Turco, Rangers because of their lack of character... But then again, I don't really like Ottawa because of Toronto, sooo.... I guess it's natural to hate rivals, but I think it's more logical to appreciate rivals for bringing an extra intensity to a game, making it much more enjoyable to watch.
Woohoo!! Whatta great game!! I didn't see the Toronto @ Ottawa one (friend's birthday dinner) but Kaberle assisted on the first one, and *GASP* the Leafs beat Ottawa in a regular season game. Now you know the world is ending. =P I feel kind of bad for Ottawa, though, considering it's the twelfth straight game that they've let in the first goal! Definitely not the kind of statistic a team wants! Apparently they've only won 5 out of the last 15. Ouch. I'm still glad that Toronto beat them though! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!!
(Back to the top.)
Anyway, the real game I'm talking about, of course, is the Vancouver @ Calgary game! What action! Okay, so it didn't start off too well, with the most uninspired, boring, flat singing of the national anthem I've ever heard--who the heck was that woman?! But thankfully the game wasn't in anyway somnambulistic like her singing.
Whoops, but I almost forgot, did anyone realize how strange Jamie McClennan is? They showed him before the game, just standing around in the rink, looking at the ice, muttering to himself. Then he jogged back in, came back out, stood around muttering again. Repeat this cycle for about six times. VERY weird. ^_~
(Back to the top.)
Anyway, for the game proper I'll start off with the Canucks' second goal--what a beaut!!! Nazzy's pass through the Flames' player and Linden's legs was amazing!!! (And good for me in the girls' pool too) Plus it was cool when CBC replayed the goal without any commentary, so you could hear them shouting: "The backdoor, the backdoor!!"
Kesler's goal was nice too, especially since it came from Linden! They're rooming together, right? Ah, so friendly! So cute!! ^_^
Calgary's comeback with two goals in 40 seconds was sweet too! It was nice to see (even though I was cheering for Vancouver) because really, at the beginning of the first period they were totally outworking the Canucks, and it must've been frustrating to play so well without results, so it was good to see.
(Back to the top.)
Then the fight, or, well, rowdiness! That was the most hilarious thing I've ever seen! Henrik seemed to think he was wrestling, he just grabbed onto (I forget who it was now) the Flames player's leg and didn't let go!! ROFL. THe Flames player just looked confused, and was staring at the ref, like "get this guy off my legs!" Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!! Steph and I were both laughing our heads off.
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Three on three OT. @_@ If the NHL wants excitement, maybe they should switch to 3-on-3 for overtime, instead of 4-on-4! That was crazy! Iginla, though. *shakes head* Really stupid penalties. Even though it's good for me in the girl pool, I'm not impressed. He's the captain, he's got to set an example, and he took two really dumb penalities tonight. Not impressive at all.
(Back to the top.)
After hours was really fun too! Conroy, I really like his sense of humour! He was talking about being drafted by the Canadiens, and his first practice with them. They were taking shots on goal, and the first thing he did was shoot a high one, hitting Roy right in the head!! The entire practice stopped. He was apologizing, and Roy went up and hit him right in the head with the blocker!! Conroy said he thought he was going to be sent down to the minors right away, but he lasted out a week. When he got called up, Roy told him that he wasn't really upset, he just wanted to set the tone for the season, and Conroy was like "uh...okay". =P It was quite amusing, but I guess it doesn't really translate well into type.
Oh, and right now Rogers digital has lots of free previews on, so we're getting Sportnet Pacific!! It's so great to see all the Canucks programming, so entertaining! So, after the game, there on Sportsnet News, they did this little spot on King and Keane. SOOOOOO cute!! They always go to Starbucks together! Apparently they switch off paying for coffee, but Keane was saying how King always has coupons--two-for-one, etc.--or gets the coffee for free because he's a big deal, but he (Keane always has to pay)!! Heheh... They're always the last two off the ice, and they have a little competition going in practice too. Oh, and Keane was saying how even though there's a little age difference--a little? try 14 years!-- they have a lot in common. So yeah, it's realyl very cute! Go Keane! Love my former Avs, and King, well, I like him too! If he keeps up the hard work, he's definitely looking at Calder consideration!
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ROFL. Oh, and before the King-Keane thing, there was an interesting little shot during an interview with Linden. I didn't actually see it the first time around, but Steph saw it and we stayed up to see it come around again, and sure enough, there it was. Right at the bottom left corner partway through the interview, you could see Henrik Sedin, in the stark!! Thank goodness for the "Trevor Linden - Canuck Forward" caption, covering up the essentials! @_@ You could see him kind of look up and quickly pull on some underwear! The camera then moved abrubtly to the right. =P OH MY.
(Back to the top.)
Almost forgot, but my mom actually got me a Maple Leafs body pillow! It's so funny! See, I sleep on a futon, a closed futon, so it's pretty narrow and the pillow takes up half of the bed!! Not to mention, I sleep on my back, not my side, so I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with the thing. =P Ah well, I'm going to try sleeping with it tonight, just for fun. Egad, it's late, and there's church in about six hours! @_@ I'm off!
(Back to the top.)
Today has been a good day for me, Avalanche wise! ^_^ When I got home I called the Pepsi Center Trading Company and ordered my Avs Better Halves 2004 Limited Edition Weekly Planner! It ended up being around $28 US, including shipping, but it's for charity, and it's the Avs, so it's all good! =P
Then of course, the Avs won 4-1 against Edmonton tonight!! Woohoo! Even better, Sakic and Selanne both had a goal and an assist (hopefully this will help somewhat in the girl pool), and Morris (whom I have in the MCBC pool) at least got some PIM for me--I'm second last in that category! @_@ I'm so happy for Aebischer too, 40 saves on 41 shots! I really hope this is a sign of things to come!
What else? Oh yeah, I read an amusing article in the Denver Post today about the Avs' annual rookie dinner. I'd love to be another customer in the restaurant where they held it! Apart from making the rookies pick up the bill, apparently they also get them to sing their own national anthem and to serve other customers! It'd be so amusing to see!
Speaking of amusing, I read about an interview with John-Michael Liles in the Avs forum today. It sounded really amusing, so I wish I could've seen it! Anyway, here's what was posted:
Did you people see the interview with John-Michael?
It was the Fox Focus, and they were trying to get Liles to demonstrate how to be a good defender. The main point was "even though he's puny (5' 10"), he manages to be a great D-man out on the ice by simply 'being a pest'". They had McAllister, the tallest guy on the team at 6' 8", come out and play against the rookie. Liles said that he has learned a lot from Blake, even just by watching him, and demonstrated holding McAllister up w/a stick cross the chest, before McAllister dropped the gloves and pulled him into a headlock, saying that was what you do if the guy gets too persistent w/his checking...
Then Liles demonstrated Blake's famous hip check, going at Chris butt first . After a hit like that, the guy is usually down on the floor for a long time, Liles said. Yes, Liles, we respect Blake's willingness to use all parts of his anatomy to take out his man
An interesting topic that happened to come up in this interview: Liles and Chris said Foote has taken Kariya "under his wing". Apparently Kariya is really ticklish and is known as the ticklemonster cuz he gets tickled all the time... Liles was all, "It's like a 9-year-old being tickled by his dad. you know; '*giggles* stop, Footy, stoppit' sort of thing' *laughs*.
All in all, it was an interesting discussion just thought I'd share for all of you who didn't get to see the Rocky Mountain Sports report (or the game, you poor souls )
Liles seems to be a sweetie & obviously has tons of respect for the guys he plays with, seems to hold Blake as a role model, which is very cool
"*giggles* stop, Footy, stoppit" ROFL *dies*
Ahem. Anyway, I've always been pretty contrary about Kariya (refusing to like him because it's just too typical for girls), but I've got to admit, the more quirky/amusing stories I hear about him, the more I like him. Don't know if he'll ever become a favourite or not, but yeah, I'd say he's a player I like right now.
Oh, one last thing, about the Atlanta third jerseys, I'd say that they're not ugly, but I don't exactly like them either. I mean, was it really necessary to put Atlanta down the sleeve in such big, ugly font? And the blue's an okay colour I guess, but where on earth did they pull it from? It doesn't exactly fit with their team colours...Then again, the Canucks never really worried themselves much about team colours either...and at least the Thrashers' colours work, they could've chosen mustard yellow or something like that. =P
Wow, what a crazy high-scoring night this was! Okay, well, maybe it was half and half. With the crazy scoring: Phoenix beat LA 6-4, and Colorado won in OT against Calgary 6-5. For the more moderate games: OT victory for Vancouver against Ottawa 2-1, and Toronto bested Atlantla 3-1.
And there were a lot of pretty goals tonight too: Stajan to Tucker, the Sedin goal, Tanguay to Morris, and one of Nagy's too. ^_^ Ah, it was a good day.
Oh, and the Avs Better Halves 2004 Limited Edition Weekly Planner is on sale tomorrow!!! I'm so excited! I've already emailed to find out how much it would cost to get it sent here, and if I hear back soon enough, hopefully I'll be able to get the money order and mail it off tomorrow!!! Yay!!
Let's see, I found out about the start of McDonald hockey cards on Saturday evening. Sunday I had McDonald's for breakfast and lunch, and bought a total of 15 packs. Tuesday before work I had McDonald's for breakfast and got another ten packs. Today (technically yesterday) I had it for dinner and got another 10 packs! So, that's 35 packs I've purchased, plus some cards taken from my father and given to me Steph, for 53/55 of the main set, and 10/16 of the subsets. Not bad at all.
Anyway, since I've been buying so many, I've noticed that the cards aren't so randomly inserted after all. I think that between Steph, my father, and I, we've had at least three or four pairs of packs that had the exact same cards in them!! Actually, probably even more, considering that at least once I opened two packs in a row that had the same cards!! Isn't that highly suspicious? Now, I'm a great believer in coincidence, but even this is pushing it for me. =P Ah well, I still have fun opening the cards, so I guess it doesn't really matter.
If you're thinking that I'm totally insane about these cards, let me assure you that I still have some common sense left. From now I'm going to check out sports card shops to complete my collection. Of course, my dad and mom'll probably still buy cards since my dad only has about half of the main set, but I'm not going to be spending too much of my own money on the packs from now on--I think.
Anyway, that's all I felt like saying. ^_^ Oh, except, the game was pretty good. It wasn't as exciting as the Saturday game though, so I was a bit disappointed by that. Plus, from our perspective, the goals Hedberg let in seemed pretty weak, so it was kind of disappointing. =( I probably amused Ben and Steph with my sighing everytime Kaberle came onto the ice, though. =P
Ah, and I actually saw 2 or 3 people with Kaberle jerseys!!! Yay!! I like people with Kaberle jerseys; they're cool. Steph was pretty happy to see quite a few people with yellow vee jerseys (one real one, and not a vintage replica too!), plus some guy with an Ohlund jersey. I would've liked to have seen someone with a Sedin jersey, however. Heh, their falling down was one of the best parts of the game for me--they're so amusing!
Can't wait for the Edmonton and Colorado @ Vancouver games!!
How could I forget to mention that I'm going to the Canucks @ Leafs game tonight!!! Saturday's game was SO fun to watch, I know this one is going to be just as good, if not better!! It's so awesome to be able to get the second game of a home and home series--there's the grudge factor!! Woohoo!!! I hope the Leafs don't get owned....^^;; And I really really want Kaberle to do something!!! A goal, an assist, whatever!!
I'm wearing my Kaberle jersey, of course, although I was kind of torn. It would have been the perfect game for me to wear my Mogilny skate jersey, but how could I NOT wear my Kaberle? It worked out well anyone, since one of my friends going didn't have a jersey, so he's wearing the Mogilny one. ^_^ How exciting!!!! We're going to be quite the sight, considering that Steph is wearing her bright yellow jersey, I think. =P At least it's not the V-jersey! Heheheh...
This is my first of four Canuck games this year!! Can you believe it? Next up is the Dec. 27th game against Edmonton, followed by Jan. 2nd versus COLORADO!!! and topped up with Vancouver @ Colorado on Feb. 16th!! Ah, how I love hockey!
Yes, I should be finishing off my Japanese history essay, but considering that I've been working pretty darn hard (and almost without breaks) on the thing since 2pm, I think I'm about due for a rest! So yes, here's this week's Forecheck Four:
1. Do you have any hockey rituals? Share.
- Um, not really. I stopped my practice of consistently wearing appropriate jerseys (Avalanche home or away, Leafs home) on game days because I was afraid that I was jinxing my team(s) when I did that. ^^;; The Avs especially seemed to lose a lot when I wore my Sakic jersey! Coincidence, I know, but still...
2. Do you participate in fantasy hockey (hockey pool)?
- Yep! Two, one with MCBC (church) people, and one with cool blogging hockey chicks! I'm not doing particularly well in either, but I've got Sakic and Kaberle in both, so I'm happy! ^_^
3. How many hours a week do you spend watching hockey related stuff on TV? (sports news, games, etc)
- Umm...Hard to say. I think I watch at least one game a week (so about 2, 2.5 hr), but then some weeks I'll watch a couple of games during weekdays AND the HNIC doubleheader. Oh, and I'm sure I spend at least an hour here and there on the NHL Network. It's pretty variable, but when I really watch hockey, I really watch hockey! I think there was one week when I watched two or three weekday games, the two HNIC games, plus a couple of hours of NHL on the Fly, and Molson That's Hockey 2. Hmm...That might've even been the week when I watched the replay of an old Colorado-Detroit playoff game! =P
4. Anything else that you do to make you seem "obsessed"? ;)
- Um...I found out yesterday that the McDonald's hockey card thing started on Friday, so I had McD's for breakfast and lunch today and bought 15 packs of cards.
-I get eBay searches for "Colorado Avalanche jersey" and "Kaberle" emailed to me when new auctions are posted.
-When I see an online article on Sakic, Kaberle, or any of my other beloved players I take screenshots and save them so I can keep a permanent copy of them.
-I also clip and keep interesting hockey related articles from the newspaper. When there's a hockey event I find significant I'll go out and buy all the different newspapers so I can get all of the possible coverage: like Roy's retirement, or Kaberle's OT gamewinning goal in the playoffs.
-I buy McFarlane figures and don't open them. If I want to open one I buy a second one for that express purpose.
-I make pilgrimmages to other countries/provinces for the express purpose of watching hockey games, or seeing streets or arenas named after my favourite players.
-I'm constantly buying hockey books which I don't even have time to read. I also buy hockey books in foreign languages (like Swedish) which I can't read, just because they're hockey books.
-There's probably lots more, but the last one I'll mention is that I keep a separate blog devoted entirely to hockey, and post in it more often any of my supposedly daily blogs! ^_~
Well, I do still have that essay due on Monday (technically it was due Friday, but if I hand it into the History office before it opens on Monday, it'll be marked as "after hours"--Friday!), but of course, today's the Mega Stars and Heritage classic games, not to mention the Toronto @ Vancouver game, so... ^^;; Well, I've got a basic outline of what I want to do, so if I work really hard I'm sure I'll be able to finish it tomorrow!
Yes, I realize that I have no discipline whatsoever.
In happier news, my Kaberle card collection is growing! I just won the Kaberle All-Star jersey card on eBay today. It wasn't exactly cheap, but it was still under the Beckett high price, and it saves me the hassle of looking for it, so I'm content. ^_^ Oh, and yesterday I got the back issues of the Denver Post that I ordered! Two from Roy's retirement announcement (May 28th, and 29th), and the one for his number retirement night (Oct. 28th). I'm especially happy with the latter because it has a 28-page special insert all about Roy and his career.
Has everyone been voting for the All-Stars game? You can vote once a day, so I've been trying to do that. So yeah, if you don't really have any favourites for the Eastern Conference d-position, why not vote for (Tomas) Kaberle? C'mon, you know you want to! =P I want to see him play in an all-star game!!
There is something of an asterisk, however. For one week in August 1997, Sakic was the property of the New York Rangers, tonight's Avalanche opponent.
Never has there been a more tumultuous week in the nine seasons the Avalanche has been in Denver. Not only did the franchise undergo radical changes that extend to today, but so, too, did the NHL's salary structure.
In many ways, the subplots surrounding the three-year, $21 million offer sheet Sakic signed with the Rangers might make for a good movie - partly because one of them involved an actual Hollywood movie, the Harrison Ford blockbuster "Air Force One."
Oh, speaking of the Denver Post, there was an amusing little article in yesterday's edition as well:
Selanne cashes in
Former Ducks offer up $3,000 reward for victory
By Adrian Dater
Denver Post Sports Writer
A $3,000 bounty wouldn't seem to be a great motivational tool for today's NHL players, but that's what was on the board Tuesday night, courtesy of Avalanche players Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
A victory over Anaheim, and the money would finance a team party down the road, courtesy of former Ducks Kariya and Selanne.
With the clock winding down in overtime, Selanne scored the money goal in Colorado's hard-earned 2-1 victory at the Pepsi Center, the Avs' eighth game in a row with at least one point salvaged.
The three grand didn't match the $15,000 reward offered by Patrick Roy and Mike Keane the first time they went back to Montreal in 1997, but perhaps that's understandable, given Kariya's notoriously thrifty reputation and $1.2 million salary this season.
"Paul, he can't afford much," Selanne said with a laugh, after scoring at 3 minutes, 11 seconds of overtime against Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere. "He gives what he can."
LOL. As always I am amused by Selanne and Kariya's friendship, and the way they tease each other. =P I wonder if all those Kariya fangirls realize that he is a Star Wars geek, "thrifty" (a.k.a. cheap), and drives a "girl car"? Personally I like him better for it--perfection is actually rather unattractive to me, give me quirky anyday!!
I'm EST, and Lisa's PT, which is why this week's Forecheck Four is going up today, Monday, instead of Sunday, yesterday. Since I was dead tired last night for some reason, I ended up going to sleep around 10pm, and the F4 wasn't up before I shut down my computer. Not that anyone really needs an explanation, but I just thought I'd offer one, since I usually like to do the F4 on Sunday. =P
1. List your 4 favourite teams in the league.
- Colorado Avalanche!!! (no explanation needed)
- Toronto Maple Leafs (since I see so much of them)
- Vancouver Canucks (since my housemate is a fan, I see a lot of them too, plus they're fun to watch)
- Edmonton Oilers
2. List your 4 favourite players in the league.
- Joe Sakic! No ordinary Joe!
- Kaberle, a "sublimely gifted offensive talent"! =P
- Steve Yzerman, even though he's a Red Wing--he's got so much class!
- Peter Forsberg, the Swedish superstar!
3. List your 4 favourite players on your favourite team.
- Joe Sakic!
- Peter Forsberg
- Adam Foote
- Dan Hinote (his stock went up with me after watching him interview Kariya and Selanne--what a fun guy!)
4. Any players/teams you can't stand? Why?
- Turco!!! What a jerk!! He's a diver (playoffs against Edmonton last year), thinks he's a "sacred cow", and is constantly taking slashes at players!! Booo!!!!
- Hasek!!! Ugly style, and conceited. Oh no, they can't let Joseph play too much because I need to play.
- Minnesota Wild! Boring trap style, and I'm still bitter about the Avs' first round defeat last year. GRRRR.....
I also don't really like the Wings (Avs' rival) or Sens (Leafs' rival), but it's not a particularly strong dislike. And of course, there's Salo, but it's not that I can't stand him, it's that he's a bum!! Had him in the hockey pool last year, and if I hadn't had Belfour and Luongo for parts of the season, I would've died. *shakes fist* Salo, you bum!! Probably the only Swedish hockey player I don't like. =P
So, insted of coming home from church and working on my essay, I went to the Sportscard Expo. I didn't get any work done on it yesterday either. I'm so dead. @_@
But I had fun there anyway. I bought five Kaberle cards, all a dollar or less, except for one Pacific Crown Royale Rookie Class card, which was more. It's actually the ugliest out of all the Kaberle cards I bought--out of all of my Kaberle cards period, actually--but it's a rookie card, so... I considered buying a Kaberle jersey card (they're not easy to come by) for $20--book value is $30--but I decided against it.
What else? I also picked up the 2001 NHL All-Star stamps which I was missing, and the 2003 All-Star stamps which I hadn't gotten around to buying before. But the best purchase was my BAP: Between the Pipes box.
When I got one in the summer off eBay for $100 (after conversion and including shipping) I was already happy, so I was ecstatic to find someone selling boxes for $70 at the Expo. It took me a while to decide to actually buy it, so I was lucky to get the last one there. I opened the entire box at the BAP booth/table, and got a special numbered card for each pack I opened---so 24 total. If I had bought two boxes, I would've gotten a 1/1 jersey card, but oh well. If I go to the next Expo in May, I think I'll probably buy the two 2003-04 Between the Pipes boxes that I was planning on getting anyway from there, if the price is good. If it's still expensive, I might wait and buy them next November.
I love my BTP cards! This box was really good too! I got the Roy Mask II card, the Roy Home and Away card, and the Aebischer card. Plus, I actually got a good jersey card for once: Terry Sawchuk BTP Vintage Memorabilia. I have to get a Beckett's and check the price, but I'm hopeful that I'll be able to recoup a fair chunk of the box price by selling it. =P I've never been able to consider selling a card before! How exciting!
I was eating lunch in the Arbor room, and two guys sitting at the table next to mine were talking about fighting in hockey--the "code", comparing it to boxing, etc. It was quite interesting, even though I can't really give a coherent summary of what I overheard since I was trying not to overhear.
Anyway, mentioning that was just a pretext for posting. I'm supposed to be working on my Japanese Poetry and Fiction essay, but I haven't been feeling well, so I'm putting it off. Before lunch, when I was working on it, at one point I just started to get dizzy. I looked up from my book and the world wasn't spinning, but it definitely felt just a little bit off, if you know what I mean. I actually started to get a little bit nauseated, and a headache started to develop. I thought it might be because I hadn't eaten (which is why I went to eat lunch) but I'm still feeling a bit off, so I'm not so sure now. I really really hope I'm not getting sick. It would be the worst timing ever: not only do I have four papers due in the next two weeks or so, my parents aren't home to take care of me either!
So yeah, guess that's about it. Oh, or maybe not! Midway through last night's Leaf game I was a bit upset because Timonen (whom I traded for Kaberle) finally did something and got three assists, while the Leafs were behind 3-1, and Kaberle had only registered a shot. I was still happy to have Kaberle, though, and my faith in him was rewarded when he went on to get two assists! Yay! That was a wacky game last night, no doubt. Coming back to tie from being down 4-1 is something I would expect of Edmonton or Vancouver, not Toronto. Nice to know the Leafs do have some heart.
Last night was weird in general, I guess. I mean, Carolina thrased Atlanta 5-1 (stopping my "weak" jokes for the night), and Colorado blew a two goal lead to lose to the Coyotes 3-2 in OT. @_@ At least Sakic got a point and an assist in that game though. Still, it wasn't such a big shock to me, considering that Sauve was in net. *long-suffering sigh*
Hm, and for some weirdness on my part, you know how some girls buy clothing, shoes, cute things, etc. on impulse? Well, I buy tickets to sporting events. I got an email on Tuesday about a Sun promotion to get one Leaf and one Raptors' ticket for $70. Unfortunately I checked my email late, so by the time I called, the only Leafs game available was Feb. 14th--the day I'm flying to Colorado. But I thought, hey it's cheap, and I'll be able to give the tickets to someone, I'm sure, so I bought the tickets anyway! And I don't even like basketball! So now I've got a pair of Leafs tickets which I can't use, and a pair of Raptors' tickets I can, but don't particularly want to. @_@
Well, actually, I can use the Leafs tickets--I'm planning on giving them to a friend as a gift--but the Raptors'? I'm trying to find someone to take them off my hands. *sigh* Really, what was I thinking?
Anyway, I guess that's enough for me. I feel a bit self-conscious blogging here (UC library), because, as Nicole said, these Dell QuietKey keyboards are pretty loud! =P Plus, I feel my headache going away, so hopefully I can get some more work done on my essay. So far I've got a couple of points for body paragraphs, and a vague idea for a thesis. I think I should be able to get this done by the end of the weekend, if--and that's a BIG if--I work hard. Wish me luck!
I actually got a new member to my Blueliners Crew!! ^_^ Yay for Emma Gwen! She picked Chara, who I think is cool, even though he is a Sen. =P I like him because he stuck with hockey even though people kept telling him he should give it up and play basketball, because of his size. People make a big deal out of small hockey players--not that I don't think they're cool too--but we rarely think about the problems taller, bigger players have to go through as well. So, good on Chara!
Yesterday was my first day with Kaberle playing in my MCBC pool! ^_________^ He didn't do anything except get a shot, but that's okay, because I have faith that he's going to improve! Even if he doesn't, it's Kaberle, so I'm happy to have him--same deal with Sakic.
Anyway, I should probably get to studying for my Japanese quiz! =P
I finally got around to visiting Al's Hockey Luv, site, and I'm glad I did! The layout is entitled: "How 'Swede It Is", so you can guess why I like it! =D The Forsberg picture is really nice, I wonder where's it's from?
Even though I'm NOT a Wings fan I really respect Matt--knowing that he's a "closet Forsberg fan" sure helps!--so you should visit him too!
I thought I would forever be the only member of my Kaberle FL, but I was wrong! Admit it, you're curious to find out more about other Kaberle fans, aren't you? Well, you can satisfy your curiosity now: Mandy, Tii-Kay, Cerasi J., and Al (again). ^________^
And of course, gotta plug all the cool girls in our Blogging Hockey Chicks pool:
LISA, who is not only kicking all of our butts in the pool, but also is hosting all of my hockey fanlistings, as well as several others. She is the hockey queen! ^_~
Wow, once I again I feel quite clueless about hockey! Expect a lot of ummms in my answers for this week! =P
1. How do you account for the slow starts of teams such as Detroit, Colorado, Anaheim and others?
(sent in by Matt)
-Well, in the case of Colorado, their team has changed quite drastically, so it's not surprising that they'd need a while to adjust--simply adding offensive power isn't going to make you win, hockey's a team sport. And, as much as I like him, Aebischer isn't Roy, so he can't be expected to make crazy saves when the team is suffering so many defensive problems.
Detroit, well, serves them right for relying on Hasek. xP Heh, I'm not a big fan of Detroit in general, but I greatly dislike Hasek.
Anaheim, well, you've got to have seen it coming. They also made quite a few significant changes to their team, like losing Kariya and getting Fedorov (who has no heart, IMO).
2. Do you think Anaheim will become the next Carolina Hurricanes? (completely fall out of the picture after reaching the Cup final the year before)
- I think they'll be pretty shaky, but I don't think they're going to be rock bottom like Carolina. There's still Calgary and Carolina for that.
3. How soon do you think Detroit will move Cujo? To where?
- I think it's going to take a while to move Cujo. Most teams have a glut of goalies right now. Even though Detroit's willing to eat some his salary for this year, a team'd still have to be willing to pay his $8mil next year, and with the end of the CBA looming, I don't see a lot of teams being willing to do that. It'd be nice if he could go to Colorado, but I'm not sure that either the Avs or the Wings would really go for that. Besides, I'd feel bad for Aebischer if that happened. Maybe closer to playoff time though, if he (Aebischer) hasn't shaped up by then and Cujo's still kicking around.
4. What do you think about the Allen and Weight suspensions? Is it really possible to take slashing and cross checking... etc. out of the game?
- I don't know if it's really possible, but I think it's worth a try: it's dangerous and not very sportsmanlike.
Sidenote: Who'd a thunk Keenan would be the first coach fired? Certainly not me; I thought he was doing quite well, considering what he's got to work with.
Woohoo!! On Friday Steph checked eBay and saw that Naslund variants were up for sale, so she knew that the McFarlane series six figures were finally available. She called Untouchables and went there right after school, so when I got home, I had my Avs Roy and Yzerman with the Cup. The latter, by the way, is extremely cool: it's so detailed you can read Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils (as the last two engravings) on the Cup!! She also picked up Naslund for herself.
There was a Naslund variant for $24.95 (super cheap!!) there as well, but she hadn't been sure about it, so she didn't pick it up. We ended up going back to pick up the variant for her, as well as a Selanne for me. While we were there, we also picked up card boxes and thicker card Toploaders (for our jersey cards) and browsed through their insert boxes. She found quite a few Canucks, while I picked up a nice Sakic UD Honor Roll Students of the Game, and a Roy UD Wayne Gretzky Series Will to Win card. Hers were cheaper of course; I think the lady just looks at them, sees that they're Canucks and just charges $0.50 or something, insert or not =P.
At any rate, I was extremely happy with my purchases for the night. ^__^ The next McFarlane series is going to be exciting too: another Forsberg, Hejduk, and Giguere for me, and Bert for Steph. Now I definitely need to rearrange my walls. I've got to display all my McFarlanes! =P
Oh, and how could I forget? We booked our hotel for Colorado today!! How exciting! We're staying at the Courtyard Marriott in downtown Denver. It's only 10 blocks away from the Pepsi Center, the price was pretty good, and it looks like a nice place, so I'm pretty happy. We're all set now! I've got everything--game tickets, hotel reservation confirmation, flight confirmation--safely stashed together where I won't lose or forget them. Only a week and three more days to go! Woohoo!!
P.S. - My mom saw my Kaberle picture, and she was like: "Who's that? He looks old." LOL He's only twenty five! =P Ah well, the photo still makes me happy, so no one else is obliged to understand my appreciation for it.
Not the summer that just passed, but the one before that, I bought a plaqued Yzerman poster. It was displayed rather prominently on the wall to the left of my desk, directly across from the door...until tonight.
You see, yesterday I bought a nice, simple black frame with white matting, perfect for a certain 8x10 black and white photo...
Yup, Kaberle!! ^____________^
It probably looks strange hanging below my Trigun (anime) and above McFarlane Team Canada and Maple Leafs figures, and I know that others would call it ugly, but I can't help but smile and feel happy when I look at the photo--the same way I feel when I look at my No Ordinary Joe poster. *contented sigh*
*contented sigh* I hope he continues to improve so that he can make himself indispensible to the Leafs!! Which reminds me, I got the Leafs Calendar from McDonald's this year (last year I got it from No Frills), and each player pictured has a little quote about playing for the Leafs:
Toronto is a great city for hockey. It's fun to play in front of all the fans. I really enjoy playing here and I hope to have a long career as a Toronto Maple Leaf.
"So do I" was my first thought after reading that!! =P Oh, and guess which month has Kaberle's photo? APRIL!! How did they know it was my birthday? ^_~
Egad. I'd better stop here...I think I might be starting to sound like a puck bunny...^^;;
Nicole now has her own domain: http://www.spiritual-intoxication.net so check it out! ^_^ Why? Because she's cool! She likes hockey, goes to U of T (although she's not an artsci, so she has it much harder than me), and is an all-around wonderful person! Of course, most of the people who read this blog probably already know Nicole anyway, but... =P
It's been a while since I've been able to post a good quote on Kaberle! =P
There's few guys on this team that have surprised me. I look at a guy like Tomas Kaberle, I mean I knew he was a good player, but I think potentially the way he skates and the way he handles the puck, he could take his game to a Scott Niedermayer level.
Well, the forecheck four this week is all about the predictions, so here goes:
1. Who will be the first coach to get fired this season?
(sent in by Presea)
- The sad thing is that I sent this question in, but I don't even have a clue as to who it might be... Let's see, probably one from a team that's doing really poorly...Carolina is still sad, but somehow I can see Paul Maurice sticking around. It'd be amusing to see Sather fire himself, but I don't see that happening...Geh. Really, I have no clue.
2. Do you think there will be a lockout next season?
(sent in by Sam)
- No, I don't actually. I think (re: hope) that all parties involved understand how detrimental a lockout would be to NHL hockey on the whole (the Canadian market would survive no problem, but I think there'd be trouble in the US) and therefore will work like mad to get a new CBA negotiated. It'll be tight though.
3. Who do you think will make the playoffs in the East? Who will be on the outside looking in?
- Ottawa, New Jersey, Boston, Tampa and Philly should be okay. Toronto, yeah, okay they'll probably get their act together eventually. Atlanta would be nice, and maybe either Buffalo or Montreal, again as wishful thinking. The Islanders have a good chance too; I'm shafting them because I just don't think much of them (one or the other). The Canes, unfortunately, look to be repeating last season's finish. Florida and Pittsburgh have good goaltending, but the teams in front of the goalies, well... The Rangers won't make it again--a fairly safe prediction, Sather's promises notwithstanding and the Caps are looking pretty pathetic.
4. How about the Western conference?
- Tight, as usual, although I'd say this is still not the year for Nashville, Phoenix, Columbus, or Calgary (despite the current standings). Colorado, Vancouver, Detroit, St. Louis, and Dallas should be okay, and LA will have a good chance if they can get/stay relatively healthy. Edmonton will probably get to face Dallas again, but for the rest... Well, I do NOT want Minnesota to make it (yes, I'm still bitter), I'd like to see Anaheim (re: Giguere) prove themselves more than a lucky streak, and I don't really care about Chicago or San Jose (sorry) one way or the other.
Heh, after reading my own answers, I realize that I've still got a lot of hockey to watch and learn! Those definitely weren't the opinions of someone who really knows what's going on. =P
1. Which off season movement(s) surprised you the most? (free agent signings/ trades/ retirements... etc)
- Selanne and Kariya going to Colorado for so little! @_@
2. What do you think about the new "road white" jerseys?
- It doesn't matter to me, but I think it's gotta be a pain for the equipment/jersey people. White jerseys get dirty so much easier, so when you're on a road trip, you have to bring a lot more than you would if the dark jerseys were still away.
3. More on jerseys. What's going on with those third jerseys? Who has the ugliest?
- Dallas Stars, hands down. What's with the bull-constellation thing? It looks retarded! Not to mention the colours! Yellow, green, black and RED?!? It may sound like an okay combination, but on the jersey, it's OOGLY!!!
4. With so many significant key injuries this early in the season, how do you think this will affect the teams and how are the teams going to react?
- Well, obviously the teams have to step up and fill the gap. Most of them will probably do fine unless they're all injured like last season's Kings. Or unless they're the Leafs. *rolls eyes*
Well, I haven't been blogging much this year, so I thought I'd try doing the Forecheck Four--hopefully that way I'll post at least once a week. ^_^
1. What do you think has been the biggest surprise thus far in the season?
- The Atlanta Thrashers. Who'd have thunk that seven games into the season they'd be at the top of the standings?
2. What kind of impact do you think the Heatly/Snyder tragedy will have on the Atlanta Thrashers?
- Well, if their torrid start is any indication, it's had a galvanizing effect on the team. It'd be nice if they could make it far into the playoffs this year, à la Carolina and Anaheim.
3. What do you think on the new restrictions on goalie equipment?
- Stupid and pointless! Taking off that little bit of padding isn't going to increase scoring, and it's a real hazard for taller goalies! They could have at least made it a length relative to the goalie's height.
4. Should goalies be protected when they come out of their creases?
- They should only be allowed out a certain distance before they become fair game. If they want to play like an extra forward or d-man, they should expect to be treated like one! Stop the "sacred cow" mentality!! *cough*Turco*cough*cough* xP
6-1 baby!!! OH yeah!! Eat that Salo (you bum)!!! =P
Forsberg got his 200th goal tonight, as well as a hat trick, and Foote got a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist and fight). =D Woohoo!!! I only wish I could've watched the game tonight!!
Darn! Why can't I get ESPN? Why is Centre Ice so expensive?!? Pheh....I'm feeling very Av deprived...Maybe I WILL get that Denver Post subscription, even at $25 US for four weeks.... Okay, maybe not, since I still want my Kaberle Czech Repulic jersey, but, it's a nice thought...
Yay yay yay!! I think this is deserving of a dance:
I don't want to double post (for those great friends who actually read more than one of my blogs), so I'll just point you to my Loquacious Silence post for today. ^_^ If you don't want to read that however, here's a brief summary:
Woohoo! My "Magic Boy" book, a biography on Forsberg arrived today!!! ^____^ It's so exciting! Even though it's in Swedish and I can't read it, it's still exciting--the prize of my hockey book collection!!! After being told by a couple of other online Swedish bookshops that they don't ship outside of Sweden, I was finally able to order it from the Sweden Bookshop. ^_^ It was quite a bit of work getting all the credit information sorted out, so I'm really grateful to Ms. Sanchez for going through all of that just to get the book to me! And it was pretty cheap too--only $15.60 including shipping and handling!!!
Since I can't read Swedish, I've just been going through the pictures so far. The pictures are really well selected too. There're pics of him and Naslund in MoDo (I showed them to Steph, and she was quite happy to see them), and of course from Team Sweden, the Nordiques and the Avs, but the best ones are his childhood photos. There's this one with him wearing a MoDo toque and winter gear, standing with two other kids, and he still looks the same! You can tell right away which one is him! It's really cute!! Awwwwww....... ^_~
So anyway, my next goal is to learn Swedish! Unfortunately it's not offered at U of T, but it is at UBC, so I'm thinking maybe I should spend a year there or something.... Yes, I'd do stuff other than Swedish, but Swedish is the main incentive. That or I might try to do purchase some self-study materials, even though I think that would be rather difficult.
After I've got a bit of Swedish, the next thing is to GO TO SWEDEN!!! Steph wants to see the Volvo factory, and I want to watch a MoDo game, and see the Foppaland sign (what IS it with me and hockey related signage? I really don't know. =P), so it works out quite well. =D Geez, I guess that means that even after Colorado I'm still going to have to keep saving (for Sweden, of course).
Now, for a totally different topic, Ollie won't trade with me for Kaberle (so I can get him, that is). I sent him a trade offer, which I knew might be a little uneven, but I was hoping he would at least counter offer. xP No luck, whatta pooh! *sigh* Guess I'm going to have to do without him in that pool for this year. BOO Ollie! ;P
I did, however, order an 8x10 of that photo from the Saturday Star's Kaberle article. Not going to say how much it cost however, because I know I'm never going to hear the end of it if I do. ^^;; Yeah, so a lot of people would think it totally not worthwhile, but you know, *I* think it was worth it, so that's all there is to it. Even though I'm at peace with my decision though, I'm still not going to divulge the exact price, because I don't really want to have to listen to the scolding. Idoubt that most people would be able to understand; the only way I stopped Steph from commenting was by saying that it'd like her getting a Heatley photo. ;)
Darn, Swedish language self-instruction books are pretty pricey. Guess I'm going to have to hold off on them until after February. Unless anyone wants to get me some off of my Chapters' wishlist? *hint hint* My wishlist is listed under my Hotmail addy... ^_~ I should probably actually just sign up for an Amazon account. If they have the books, they're quite a bit cheaper than Chapters, especially if you don't have one of their reward cards. Even with my reward card, I'd probably still choose to buy them at Amazon versus chapters. Or maybe I'll wait until next year and see if the UT Bookstore has another 30% off language dictionaries, etc. coupon. =P
I heard/read the news about MacInnis yesterday, but I completely forgot that I have him in my Chicks' Pool!! ^^;; Now my D is going to be rather interesting. Argh. Hope Kaberle does really well tonight!
I've been thinking about chronicling my "Colorado Odyssey", but I wonder if it'd really be that interesting? I'd start with the anticipation and excitement of getting tickets, through the "Joe Sakic Quest", and whatnot. Ah well, considering how well my blogs have been doing, it might be a bit unrealistic to expect enough discipline of myself to sit down and write it out.
OH, and I'm temporarily third again in my other (not the Chicks' one) pool! Yay for Burke's awesome start! Let's hope he can keep it up!
The newest thing that I want to get is a Kaberle 2002 Olympic Czech Republic jersey. There's a youth L available at River City Sports, but I don't know if that would fit me or not.... =P
If you're in any of the same hockey pools as me, you've probably already seen this link, but it's just so hilarious, I'm posting this everywhere and sending it to everyone who knows anything about hockey!
Check out reason #3:
http://geocities.com/KABBYS_BABY/whyilike.html
*Dies laughing*
This girl is INSANE! I mean, I LOVE Kaberle, but I would never ever ever describe him that way!
It's especially hilarious considering that I showed my friend a picture of Kaberle from Saturday's Toronto Star, and the first thing she said was "Ew!" =D
Bwa ha ha ha ha!!!
It's hard to believe there's another Kaberle fan out there with a Kaberle webpage, though. I'm in shock. =P
There's been a lot of hockey-related stuff going on in my life recently, but I've been so busy with school and work, I haven't had time to blog about! So here it is, the mega huge post!
This year I am going to watch a grand total of four live games!! ^_^ 400% more than last year. Strangely enough, all four of the games involve the Canucks, even though I'm not actually a Canucks fan (I like them, but I'm not a fan). =P Blame it on having a Canuck friend living with us. Anyway, in chronological order, the games I'm going to see are:
Yes, indeed, I am going out of province to watch 75% of the games! It's kind of crazy, isn't it? At any rate, the big one, of course is Feb. 16th, Canucks @ Avalanche. The tickets arrived a couple of days ago, and my friend, Steph, and I were squealing in excitement for a bit.
We're either right behind the penalty box, or a row or two removed!! VERY exciting! Especially for Steph, since it's a pretty reasonable guess that Bertuzzi's going to end up there at some point during the game. ^_~ We're going to make signs and everything--it'll be SO exciting. We haven't made any headway on finding out about practice times yet, though. I've emailed the Avs organization, submitted a query to the Adrian Dater's Avs Mailbag (Denver Post), but no go; next I'm going to try emailing the radio station KK-something or other.
The Vancouver games will be interested, since Steph couldn't actually manage to get a pair of tickets: for the Edmonton game we're a couple of sections apart, and for the Colorado game, we're on opposite sides of the rink! She says she has a good feeling about the games (that we'll either meet nice people willing to switch, or an adjacent seat will be empty) but I'm not so optimistic. At any rate, it's still hockey, and I'm sure it'll be fun regardless.
My lone Leaf game is as close to obstructed as you can get, without actually being obstructed. =P Thankfully Steph doesn't really care, since it's her Canucks. Me, as long as I can see Kaberle, that's all I ask for! Speaking of Kaberle...
Can you believe I came really close to losing Kaberle in two hockey pool drafts on the same day? Thank goodness Nicole was nice enough to let me have him, or I probably would have cried!! For the first draft, I really regret my decision to pick Drury before Kaberle--I didn't think anyone would remember him. =( I will never underestimate my Kaberle again.
Anyway, that first pool is the same one as last year, and I'm not particularly into it--mostly because I didn't get any of my beloved players. I mean, I was happy to get Shanny again, and I have an ex-Av (Drury) but yeah, no one I can really put my heart behind. I was offered Sakic and Demitra for Lemieux and Shanahan, which is a pretty good trade, but I'm still thinking about it because it would leave my with only Drury and Morrow as choices for LW. I think Drury's going to do well, and Morrow should be okay, but Shanny's reliable, so it's hard to take the chance. Not to mention, if Lemieux does well, he's going to do REALLY well, so I might kick myself later for trading him. But the chance to get Sakic....OH so tempting!!
I'm pretty darn happy with my Blogging Hockey Chicks Pool though. I've got Sakic, Kaberle, Naslund, Selanne, MacInnis--all players I like. I still think Lisa is going to win the pool, but at least I love my team, so that's good enough for me.
I know I'm supposed to be saving for Colorado, but I just couldn't help myself. After working for 20 hrs last week (and that's on top of school!) I figured I deserved to splurge and treat myself a little. I bought the Forsberg series 2, Roy Canadiens series 5, and Sakic Nordiques away series 5 (supposedly the regular version, but I can only find the "variant" home version, which is silly) from some eBay seller--outside of eBay though. They are in the mail as I write, and should be arriving next week or early the week after. The price was pretty decent, all things considering. Sure it would have been 3-4 times cheaper had I been able to buy them in stores when they came out, but I couldn't, so $113 CDN (incl. shipping) for all three is pretty good. I mean, consider that I saw the Roy for sale in a store here for $60, and I've seen Forsberg go for >$40 US on eBay.
At any rate, I'm determined to get a Roy from series six, even if I have to beat off little old ladies buying them for their great-grandsons! (Not really, but I AM pretty determined). I think Hejduk's also supposed to be in this series, and I want him too.
Anyway, apart from those figures, I also splurged and bought a copy of Phil Esposito's autobiography, which just came out today. I think I was fated to buy this book. I mean, I just happened to stop by the Coles in the BCE place after school (I was waiting for my dad to finish work) on Tuesday, on my way to the just re-opened Hockey Hall of Fame store, and I saw this little flyer taped to the bookshelf for a signing session for Mr. Esposito's new book. Of course I immediately determined that I would go, and luckily it was at the perfect time: 12:30pm. I finished my Japanese class at 12:05pm today, got onto the subway and arrived at the Coles just before 12:30pm. As it turned out I had time to buy the book first, since he was a little late. The line wasn't too long when I joined, plus it moved fast, so I finished, rushed back to the subway, and made it into class maybe less than a minute before the professor started to lecture! I even had time to stop off at the WC before going to class! I couldn't have asked for any more perfect timing than that! Plus the adrenaline rush from hurrying to get back to class kept me wide awake through the lecture. =P
Ooh, and even better than the book (which is a highly entertaining gem, from what I've read so far) is that I got to take a picture with Phil Esposito! Now, usually when you take pictures at a signing, you just kind of lean over the table to get a bit closer, and then someone takes the picture for you. But Mr. Esposito was SO nice, and was like "hey, let's do this right! Come over here!" So I went behind the table and stood right next to him, and he even put his arm around my shoulder!! How cool is that? ^__^ I can't wait to develop the film! The picture had BETTER come out properly!
I was really excited to meet Mr. Esposito because in grade ten history, I remember learning about how after game four in the Summit Series, he delivered an address to Canada which rallied the team and the country (which was pretty shocked and critical about Team Canada's performance in the games up to that point). It's funny though, because apparently not a lot of people learned about the Summit Series in high school history. Not only that, but it's interesting that I still remember this little tidbit five years later, especially considering that I wasn't into hockey at the time that I learned it.
Speaking of hockey education, aren't those new "Get It?" ads a hoot? I saw part of the Shania one last night, and I hope I catch it in its entirety soon! =P
I was planning on switching from Leafs TV to the NHL Network for the regular season, but then I figured out that NHL tv is quite a different thing from the Centre Ice package. I mean, the NHL Network costs $2.49/month, whereas Centre Ice costs ~$29/month ($199.99/7 months, i.e. the season)! ^^;; I want it, but it's hard to justify at that price. I'm going to ask my mom anyway, but I don't expect her to say yes.
Heh, a funny thing happened today. The guy on night shift was listening to Q107, so it was still set to that station in the morning (his shift ended at 8am). Anyway, normally I switch the station back to 104.5 right after he leaves, but I heard that John Ferguson Jr. was going to be on, and that they were going to ask him who he would consider "untradeable", so I left it at Q107. I waited and waited, finally the interview started. They went through a couple of questions, then they asked the one I was waiting for. Right when the question ended, my coworker changed the station back to 104.5!! I was pretty amused, I mean, she couldn't have had better (well, worse) timing! Guess I'll never know who JF Jr. considers indispensable, if anyone at all. =P (I was kind of hoping he'd say Kaberle, but not likely!)
So yeah, I guess that's enough for now. I'm sure there've been more things going on that I've left out (and that I wanted to talk about) but this is pretty long, so I'll stop here.
Oh yeah, last thing! Hooray for Kondratiev making the cut and sticking with the Leafs (for now)!!
Oh oh! Extra last thing! You've gotta read the Mogilny article by, who else, Rosie DiManno!! It's another article I'm going to cherish (right up there with the "butt" article)!!
