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!!
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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. ^_~
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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
