Didn't Make the Cut =*( Sadly, I did NOT make it as a finalist for the Greatest Canadian Hockey Fan contest. I would be lying if I didn't say that I'm pretty bummed about it, particularly after reading the actual finalists' entries.
They've all had unique and interesting experiences for sure, but (and I don't mean to sound conceited or anything) in terms of presentation, they weren't "creative and unique" AT ALL. All of the finalist just wrote plain paragraphs, but I guess, in the end, it was probably the lack of community involvement that killed me? Or maybe it was because I used too many names, etc. (I noticed that they edited out team names etc in the finalists' entries) that couldn't be edited out without ruining my entry?
I don't know.
Maybe it was unrealistic of me, but I really had high hopes that I would make it as a finalist.
But anyway, I tried my best and I ended up with something that I can be really proud of, so that's as much as I could do.
This is just my opinion, but I'd like to encourage everyone to vote for Brigette Mcilmoyle! Not just because she's the only female finalist, but because having a hockey-themed wedding is a pretty darn good demonstration of passion for the game!
Actually, that's the thing that REALLY disappoints me about the finalists: not one is a member of a visible minority, and all of them are, well, relatively "old." But I guess that's a harsh reality of this type of contest: older people have a natural advantage because they've had more time (and thus opportunities) to do things to show their dedication to the game. It's hard to compete against that, but I'd like to think I gave it a good try.
I'm really disappointed, and it's extra bad because I actually allowed myself to get my hopes up. I've always been so afraid of failure that I've always lowered my expectations of myself and others in order to avoid disappointment. This time, though, even though I tried to downplay it, even to myself, I really wanted to make it as a finalist very badly. And I know the fact that I didn't make it is more a reflection of the particular way the contest was judged than of me and my efforts, but it's still difficult for me to not feel like a bit of a failure for not making the goal I set out for myself.
Anyway, I'm going to stop writing now, before this degrades into a pity party.
The Mania Continues If you thought it was crazy that I actually wrote my own lyrics to the tune of Stompin' Tom Connor's classic "The Hockey Song", well, you haven't heard anything yet! Since a song (in this case, "Mel's Hockey Song") isn't a song until it's sung/played, well, I decided I'd make my own amateur recording of it!
So I downloaded EXP Studio Editor on Friday night, sat down with my laptop and mic and sang away! It's a cappella, an MP2 file, and completely unprofessional, but it was fun nonetheless! And here it is, for your free listening entertainment!
Just be warned, though, that after you click the "Download" button, you'll be directed to another page where you'll have to click the text link "Download the file now" before the download will actually start. And you may need to fiddle with your computer's sound settings to hear it properly as well. I need to have both Windows Media player AND my laptop volumes set to full in order to hear it (and even then it isn't all that loud).
Like I said, it's 100% amateur (you can hear me accidentally breathing into the mic a couple of times, and I left my laughter and sigh of relief at the end of the recording on the file), but it was fun! So yes, feel free to comment!
Oh, and the Greatest Canadian Hockey Fan contest that I wrote the song for (you can see my complete entry--lyrics and photo--in my April 23rd post) closed on May 5th. I'm currently waiting for the five finalists to be announced!! They're supposed to be posted for voting from May 15th - June 2nd on the contest site (http://www.tsn.ca/lays), so if I get selected, expect me to post here again to solicit some votes!!
Not only do I really want a chance to win personally, but I also think it would be an awesome statement for Canadian hockey to have "the first fan honoured in the Hockey Hall of Fame" be a young, Asian female! That would definitely tell the world that hockey (and in Canada in particular) really is for everyone! But yeah, I'm sure the competition will be pretty stiff, and I haven't even heard about making the first cut, so I guess we'll see! *crosses fingers*
But yeah, definitely download and listen to the song, and let me know what you think!
The True Meaning of Home Ice Advantage Wow. Go Oilers. I thought at the trade deadline that the Oilers would be a scary team to face in the playoffs, but I never expected they'd be this crazy! They lost games 1 and 2 to the Sharks in San Jose, but won games 3 & 4 at home to keep the series tied.
Game 3 went into triple OT. Game 4 they overcame a 3-1 deficit halfway through the second to score five unanswered goals--winning the game 6-3. Absolutely INSANE!!
Before the playoffs I'd almost forgotten that the Oilers were an insane comeback team. I always used to say that if any team could come back from a large deficit, it was the Oilers--and this was in the "old NHL" days! (Not to mention Salo was still their goalie then too!) There were a couple of games against Dallas in the playoffs that I remember where, if they didn't win, they at least managed to come close to tying things up.
But yeah. Two crazy games at home for the Oilers. The Avalanche could definitely take some lessons from them!
7-6 OT Final Score? Insane!! Wow. This is the new NHL indeed. The Buffalo Sabres won the first game of their series against the Senators 7-6 in overtime. For the Senators, by all accounts, it's a tough loss since the Sabres scored the game-tying goal with 00:11 left in the third period, and then the game-winning goal at 00:18 in the overtime period.
Crazy!! Maybe they were scoring for both games tonight? After one period, the Ducks and Avs are still scoreless. Lots of chances (for the Ducks, at any rate, as they outshot the Avs 14-4), but both goalies were playing well when tested.
Bittersweet I am thrilled that the Oilers won against the Wings tonight. Not only because they're Canadian, but because it was the best possible outcome for the Avs!! Now, regardless of the outcome of the Anaheim-Calgary series, there's no possible way that the Avs will face the Flames in the second round!!
It was a little sad, however, to see Stevie Y hugging all of the Red Wings coaches/trainers. I guess he's played his final NHL game.
