Behind the Scenes

So, I'm super bored in the Flint airport, and as it turns out the first 24/7 episode is up on YouTube. Here are some thoughts I had watching it:

-Generations of Pens fans? Really? I guarantee you most of them didn't know (or care) the team was there before the lockout. There's a reason Mario visited the Kansas City Arena.

-Boys... will definitely be boys... haha

-Boudreau is really fucking easy on the Caps. I guarantee if the Red Wings were on that much of a losing streak and the forwards were slacking on defense Babcock would YELL. And then bench them.

-I really don't think anyone short of Bowman could make Ovechkin defensibly responsible. Yeesh.

-I'd make fun of Ovechkin for the Gillette sponsorship but my baby goalie has a pretty ridiculous deodorant sponsorship currently, so...

-hahahaha there are little kids heckling Backstrom in the Mall. Epic.

-Max Talbot might be the most ridiculous person on the planet.

-"Don't ever go out with a hockey player? Are you listening to me?" That is seriously the 189,309 time I've heard that come out of a hockey boy's mouth.

-...YouTube fail. Note to self: stopped 24 minutes in. (JK, got it working again)

-Some of these kids are ADORABLE.

-Dear Brooks Laich, please sign with a team worthy of your work ethic. Thanks.

-Dupuis's son's Daddy shersey = ADORABLE.

-"We're going to find out who did it! And probably do nothing about it." Bahahaha hockey pranks = win.

-"Well, he probably has sensitive skin, no?"

-Props to Ovechkin for being willing to drop the gloves... but it takes more than that to be a Captain.

-I feel like the Caps got really distracted by the HBO cameras at times... which also makes me think that the Red Wings would never agree to do something with as much access as this.

-I know that Crosby and Ovechkin (et al) are the most visible players and the biggest money-makers for those franchises, but I'd have liked more focus on some of the other players. The third and fourth line guys usually have the best stories.

All in all, it's a really interesting look at hockey that makes the players seem normal. It's too bad that it's playing on HBO rather than a sports channel, but for now I guess the NHL has to take what it can get.

Hockey + grad school apps = confused.

So... it's been a while.

One of my personal goals that I've set for this year is to blog more; largely because once I move out of state (probably in the near future) blogging about myself personally will be my best method of communication with my family. This is good practice. Plus... I like connecting with people in casual ways, and I seem to do that better online than I do in real life (usually).

This year is my final year of undergrad, and I've started trying to decide what I'm going to do after April. I initially started to look at graduate programs out of lack of anything better to do, but I've started to really think that it's the best next step for me. So many of the jobs that I want require graduate degrees that I want to put off entering the workforce for a couple of years so that I can step into a position that I actually want.

That said, here's how hockey relates to my top four graduate school choices:

University of Indiana-Bloomington: IU has a D2 Varsity hockey program. I like the idea of a D2 team- they're talented, but not high-profile. None of those kids are going to go pro, but because of that they relish playing college hockey more. As far as pro hockey- the closest team is Columbus, with St. Louis, Nashville, Chicago, and Detroit all within fairly close driving distance. However, all of those teams are far enough away that I would have to get a hotel and spend the night after a game. Ditto to all lower-level pro teams.

University of Michigan: D1 hockey program, which I'm actually kind of familiar with since my brother is currently an undergraduate. This is the most attractive living location on a pro hockey level- it would move me closer to Detroit and my team. That said, the fact that it's so close to where I am now is unattractive in pretty much every other way possible.

University of Pittsburgh: I haven't done much digging into the college hockey program here because the school's website apparently hates my computer. Obviously, there's a professional team in Pittsburgh- not one that I particularly like, but it's there. It's also fairly close to Columbus and Detroit, so I could still see a few western conference games per year.

Georgetown University: Definitely the farthest away and most out of market of my options, this also provides me the greatest opportunity to become a fan of a new team. I have absolutely no feelings about the Capitals, other than general bemusement towards Alex Ovechkin and respect for Brooks Laich (largely related to his off-the-ice actions last spring). I can see myself going to a game in DC and actually cheering for the Caps, which is not the case for many other pro teams I might move near.

Obviously I'm not basing my decision on hockey. Long-term, I would like a city where I settle for a long length of time to be close to a professional hockey team. For a place where I'll be for two years... I could deal. Hockey is one of those factors that I might consider if it really came down to the wire- if I manage to get accepted to several schools, who all offer similar aid packages and internship opportunities, things like the aesthetic quality of the campus and the quality of the local hockey might come into question.

Lucky 13

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Red Wings vs. Predators game at the Joe tonight. Unless I somehow con someone into giving me playoff tickets, it will be my last game this season. Infinitely more heartbreaking is the knowledge that it may have been my last game at JLA; currently we don't know where the Red Wings are playing next year- maybe JLA, maybe the Palace- and even that will be a short-term lease agreement so a new arena can be built. They desperately need this new arena; the Joe is what I like to call ghetto-fabulous and is reaching the point where upkeep costs more than building a new (sponsored) arena. I'm excited to see what Ilitch Holdings and the city of Detroit come up with; I'm sad to see the arena of my childhood go.

I suck at making decisions, so when I was preparing for this game I called my dad and asked him what jersey I should wear. I actually own four: Yzerman, Federov, Filppula, and Datsyuk. We decided that we didn't want to match, which knocked out #19. #91 basically lives in my closet and doesn't make appearances- I'm still not over how he left. #51 would be my first choice except my jersey is HUGE and also has the 2008 SCF patch on it, and I dislike patches. We decided I would wear #13.

Pavel Datsyuk is a clear fan favorite. He led the team in points and +/- the last two years; he wears an A on his jersey; he is a two-time Selke and four-time Lady Byng winner, and a Hart nominee; he gives all that he has to this team and this city.

I love him for all those reasons, but also because he seems to be a genuinely good person. He jokes around with reporters and mentors the young players and very clearly puts his family first.

The Thursday night before the beginning of my spring break, I was basically at the end of my rope. I had spent hours throughout the week editing position papers and preparing for midterms and writing papers and taking midterms and then editing more position papers. Despite all the work I had already done, I wound up having to stay up until 2:00 that night to get the papers done. Of course, the papers that weren't finished were the worst ones, making the experience all the more frustrating. Everyone else I talked to was just as stressed, so tensions were running high. I decided that I needed a break and started poking around on twitter... where I saw this:

NHLShanny- Saw Datsyuk at breakfast. Expected him to be crushed. His little daughter was cuddling & kissing him. His smile was huge. Perspective.

(This was the day after the Canada/Russia blowout)

This might seem silly, but I can't explain how much that lifted my spirits. Knowing that one of my favorite players wasn't going to brood on his disappointing Olympics and was already looking forward made me smile, and it was a lovely reminder that people can persevere and be happy. It was also a reminder that, awful as my week had been, it could have been a lot worse.

Thank you #14 for posting that, and thank you #13 for never failing to make me smile.

Oh, and thanks for scoring this danglelicious (thanks, VS announcers) goal tonight:

Life is weird.

I should be writing my position paper, so of course I'm writing a blog post! Some thoughts:

-I'm still annoyed about the call in the shootout on Saturday. It's okay, Ken Holland is too. Apparently he reamed someone out during the first intermission of the game yesterday. Hopefully it was someone important and not the coffee peon or something.

-This weekend felt like the playoffs. I don't know if the wives are withholding sex or if the players finally figured out that they are OUT OF FUCKING PLAYOFF POSITION but they were actually trying. It was weird.

-The Red Wings suck at shootouts. Apparently Babcock is protesting their existence by not working on them in practice. I appreciate the sentiment, but holy hell we need work (Z, I'm looking at you here).

-Fortunately shootouts don't exist in the playoffs (which we are going to make goddammit). And even more fortunately, this weekend led me to believe that in a playoff situation, Detroit is still competitive with any team in the league. You can't win in the playoffs with a skills competition. You have to outskate and outshoot the other team- and the Red Wings did that in both overtime periods this weekend. They just ended before they could put the puck in.

-I think Osgood might actually start a game this week. It'll be the first time since before Christmas. The mommy in me wants to give Jimmy a break. Maybe Ozzie has stewed enough that he'll actually redeem himself!

-I saw a kid wearing a Kopitar shersey today. I didn't realize there were Kings fans in Michigan. It made me think of Erika.

-Living in my house is hysterical. A couple of minutes ago, this happened:

Scene: I am in my room screwing around on the internet. Danielle is in her room across the hall. Action!

My phone: *ringringring*
Me: Hello?
Mom: Hi honey! How are you?
Danielle: ...hello?
Me: Eh, it's Monday.
Mom: I know that.
Danielle: ...it's Monday? What?
Me: *hysterical laughter*
Mom: What's so funny?
Danielle: WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?
Me: I'm on the phone! *more hysterical laughter*
Mom: Never mind, I'll call you back.
Danielle: ...oh. *joins in the hysterical laughter*

We laughed for a good five minutes AND my mom just texted me instead of keeping me on the phone for half an hour. Win.

You have GOT to be kidding me.

Okay, I know that I am still very, VERY upset about this, but I want you all to consider how you would feel if this happened to the Pens, Sens, Hawks, or whoever else you may be cheering for.

The Red Wings/Stars game today went to a shootout. This in itself is frustrating because the game-tying goal was iffy at best, but whatever. The point is that we got to a shootout. The first eight thousand or so shooters for each team missed (it was actually five or six).

Steve Ott skated out to shoot for Dallas. His shot was smothered right around the goal line. The ref on the goal line was not behind the net, but rather off to the side, and skated in so close to see where the puck was that he almost bashed his head on the post. He called a save. The other ref, who was out at center ice, skated in and said it had to go to video review. Understandable, refs are fallible and from the benches it probably looked like it went in.

While we were waiting for Toronto to figure out what to do, FSN showed us a replay of the shot from several angles. Because of the way Jimmy Howard was positioned, you can't actually see the puck from most of the cameras. We thought that was why the call was taking so long. Incidentally, the best camera angle was from the penalty box side, very similar to the line of sight the ref had as he skated to the post.

After the review, the ref skated out to center ice and called the goal good.

None of us knew what was going on until Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond were notified during the postgame show that:

1) the ref at the net called no-goal
2) the film in Toronto was inconclusive
3) the other ref, who was at Center Ice, CALLED THE GOAL GOOD

The on-ice call was overturned, not by conclusive video evidence in Toronto (IE the way the rules say it should be overturned), but by the other ref who was half the rink away and could not have possibly seen where the puck was at the critical moment.

Ken Holland, I expect you to go cut a bitch.

Does anyone still read this?

Clearly I never learned from my many aborted LiveJournal attempts in high school that I suck at keeping a blog, haha.

But I just wanted to tell everyone that Jimmy Howard is a BAMF and Darren Helm can teleport. (Seriously, there is no other explanation for his goal last night... he teleported.)

Also, winners come from Newfoundland!

<3 <3 <3

The Hockey News makes me laugh somtimes

So, The Hockey News just picked Chicago to win the Central Division this year.

Fun fact: Chicago has NEVER won the Central. The last time they won a division title it was still the Norris.

They also picked Chicago to come in second in the Conference... behind San Jose.

Teams that I am picking to finish ahead of Chicago this year (out of the West): Detroit, St. Louis, San Jose, Anaheim (although it kind of kills me to admit that), Calgary and possibly Vancouver.

Don't get me wrong, Chicago is an up-and-coming powerhouse... emphasis on up-and-coming. Apparently THN has already forgotten how the 2009 Western Conference Finals ended. If Chicago has any advantage over Detroit going into this year, it's that most of their team gets the Olympic break off while half of the Red Wings will be representing their countries in Vancouver. And I think that if any team manages to knock Detroit out of the top spot in the Central, it will be St. Louis, not Chicago.

In other news... college football soon! Whoo!

Oh, the Lions...

I am in the process of packing up the rest of my crap (how have I managed to accumulate so much stuff?) to go back to school tonight, but someone emailed me this quote and I wanted to share it with you:

"DETROIT -- Matthew Stafford took his first snap as a pro and perfectly executed a play-action pass. The problem: Keary Colbert dropped the ball. Welcome to the Detroit Lions, kid." (ESPN)

I laughed.

Also, rather than trying to pick out my favorite books to take to school with me, I am taking only books that I own but haven't read. That is more books than I would like to admit.

Is this real life?

I can't believe I'm saying this, but...

Ken Holland, what the hell are you thinking?

We just signed Todd Bertuzzi to a one-year, $1.5 million contract.

UGH.

I can see the upsides to this. He's a gritty forward that will probably be healthier than Holmstrom and company. It's only for one year, and with the amount of contracts we have ending next year we could replace Bert, Homer, and Maltby with Abdelkader and two big free agents (I'm assuming that Lidstrom will take a Stevie-esque contract that will drop his cap hit considerably). It creates a LOT of competition in training camp- we now have 14 NHL-ready forwards signed, even if it is a foregone conclusion that Abdelkader will be in GR this season.

But seriously... I didn't like him when he played for us before and I don't like it now. There are some players that I never want to see in the Winged Wheel and Bertuzzi is one of them.

I'm hoping the fact that he will have to compete for his roster spot every single night will keep his attitude and tendency to take bad penalties in check.

My latest take on the potential lines:

Cleary-Datsyuk-Zetterberg
Leino-Filppula-Franzen
Williams-Helm-Eaves/Bertuzzi
Holmstrom-Draper-Maltby

With Holmstrom on the top power play unit, and potentially Cleary on the second unit in Leino's place.

I was GOING to do a big post about Abdelkader today and how he is the personification of guys that I love having in Detroit, but now I'm just annoyed. I guess I'll do it tomorrow...

In other news, I was at a Beer League Playoff Game last night (serious business, guys!) which "my team" won 6-3 with my friend Kaleb scoring five goals (and having the first assist on the sixth goal). They were playing a total Goon Squad, and the Goons didn't disappoint- after the final goal there was an awesome cheap shot that led to a fight (with blood!) and THEN led to the cops being called!!! The next game is on Thursday so I'll try to get the scoop on what happened after we left.

Apparently I was very, very ignorant

This past weekend, I went to Toronto with five of the most amazing women I have ever met. It was my first time to TO, and included my first visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame. I learned a lot of things on this trip. So much, in fact, that I am dedicating a blog post to...

THINGS I LEARNED IN TORONTO

1. Pat Kane was just arrested! -Em (friend from home)
2. It's possible to try to be a puck bunny and fail. -Mer and Kylie
3. If you are a fan of Sidney Crosby, you are from Nova Scotia. -guy on the street.
4. Ali and I shouldn't be friends anymore. -another guy on the street.
5. Wearing an Yzerman jersey gives you more street cred than wearing a Crosby jersey. -random guys at the HHOF
6. If you do a good job in a shinny game against the Rangers, they will take you back to NYC with them. In a helicopter. How BA is that? -Mystery Alaska
7. Wayne Gretzky owns a restaurant! -Ali and Wayne
8. Subway stations can come in the form of phone booths that beam you to wherever you are going. -Ali
9. If one person wearing a Detroit jersey walks to the HHOF with five people wearing Pittsburgh jerseys, people will stare. -random people
10. They will also take pictures. -same random people
11. Mike Green told Kylie to get a mocha. -Mike and Kylie
12. Mike and Kylie's children are going to have fro-hawks (mohawks of curly hair). -Kylie
13. You're not supposed to drink the tempura sauce. -Mer (edited to correct the sauce- for some reason, I thought it was tandoori)
14. Taylor Lautner is from a hockey town, not Hockeytown. Clarity is necessary so Kylie doesn't have a heart attack. -me and Kylie
15. It is, in fact, possible to fit six girls (and all of their shit) into a hotel room meant for four. Without the hotel figuring it out. -us
16. Winners come from Newfoundland. -the Baseball Junior National Champions

If I missed something, feel free to tell me in the comments section and I'll add it to the post. =]

In other awesome news, today is Valtteri Filppula Days! (AKA the NHL regular season starts in 51 days) I am anxiously awaiting the post over at Peachy, even though I have probably already seen all the pictures and videos that will be used. In fact, there is a really good chance that I sent all of them to Kylie last night. Whatever. I'm still pumped that one of my boys is being featured.