Such a Tease...

I go through the same thing every NFL preseason. The football withdrawal is so bad by August that I don’t care if nothing’s really at stake, I just want to watch a game.

Or so I think.

I giggle maniacally in anticipation of kickoff. I’m interested through the first quarter, excited to see all the guys I know and love and even to hear the little NFL song that plays before they go to commercial. Then the second string guys come out, but I’m still intrigued to see who we’ll be dealing with if there are injuries or other circumstances that should bring them out. Crucial for both life and the fantasy team. Then after halftime, the third string shows up. I probably should be at least vaguely aware of who these guys are, and usually at least know some stuff about QB3 from college ball, likely, but my interest starts dropping like a fumbled pass. When you get the third string out there, the bad passes, other errors and weird plays start happening more often… which makes it look more like a practice or scrimmage. Which is kind of what it is, I guess, if you really think about it.

But it’s still football. So I still watch. (…and count the days till the season starts :) )

…and since football is pseudo-back, it’s time for the return of the PATs:

• Gator football starts in 3 weeks! ESPN’s Inside the Program day with the Gators was the perfect way to officially get psyched up for the season. Being back in the Swamp to watch my first game as a student in 5 seasons is gonna be great. From the SEC media days and ESPN’s interviews, I’m liking what I’m hearing about Coach Muschamp and even Charlie Weiss so far. Guess we’ll have to see how things go once the season starts before this “Muschampions” thing gets too out of hand… Don’t shake the keys yet.

• In a totally different sport, my Sox are having an awesome run in the second half, not giving up more than 1 game in any series so far. The Yankees got away with one, but still remain 2 for 12 so far this season. The best part is that we’ve had some amazing games, several in a row coming from behind to take the win, and it seems like it’s a different guy leading the team in each one. Yay for a well-rounded team and not relying on one star player to save the day. I’m much more optimistic about this post-season than those of recent years.  

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Does Anybody Really Know What Team They're On?

The NFL lockout is over!! Just when the drama was really starting to pick up... 

No, seriously, I'm glad it ended before things got crazy and preseason games (aside from the Hall of Fame) got affected. Plus, we need time to prep for fantasy football. How are we expected to manage functional teams if we have no hints about who's in shape enough to be effective and who's playing for what team now that free agency got condensed to basically the blink of an eye?

Speaking of free agency and trades and all... here's a brief list, accurate to 7:06p est, of some of the moves I'm most concerned about going into my fantasy draft. And, I guess, for watching football this fall, too.

Chad Ochocinco to the Patriots from Bengals (the Battle of #85 begins between Chad & Aaron Hernandez, Gator alum 1-year-out-of-rookiedom-TE)

Donovan McNabb to Minnesota from Washington

Kevin Kolb to Arizona from Philly

Matt Hasselbeck to the Titans from Seattle

Vince Young... not on the Titans

Reggie Bush to Miami from New Orleans

Albert Haynesworth to the Patriots from Skins (I still can't believe anyone actually picked him up...)

So excited for NFL, college football, fantasy leagues, all of it. Yay football :)

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Our Rookie is the Best!

Last night’s NHL Awards were… interesting, to put it nicely. With Jay Mohr hosting, I understood there would be some comedic aspects involved, but some of the laughable parts likely weren’t intended to be funny. Take the presentation of the Lady Byng, for example. Two of the Real Housewives of Beverley Hills presented the award (odd thing #1). Everything about their time behind the podium was clearly scripted, which is understandable, as their NHL knowledge is likely not vast. (Which brings up the question of why they were involved at all, but I digress…) After a poorly executed joke about how they would end up in the penalty box given the room full of hockey-playing men, they deferred to the video that listed the nominees and the merit for which they were deserving of the award. When they returned to the mic to announce the winner, they pronounced his name as dumb American-like as possible, saying “Mar-tin Saynt Loo-iss” instead of the French Canadian way it is really pronounced “Mar-tahn Sahnt Loo-ee.” Now, they both said it this way, and I would expect better from the NHL that they wouldn’t throw presenters out onto the stage without briefing them on the proper pronunciation of all 3 names they might have to say on live tv, so I assume (and hope) they mispronounced it purposely as a joke.

Either way, between antics like that and the random stage performance by an artist I could not identify, it felt more like a cheesy, lesser awards show than the prestigious honor it truly is to receive these awards. The friend I was watching with and I were discussing these exact things as we watched. We suggested bringing back former players, coaches, GMs, anyone actually related to the sport, to make the presentations instead. Hell, we even thought having some forms of contests for fans to win the opportunity to present would have been better. The way it was done very much so cheapened the event, and I am curious to know how many others agree. Maybe it comes from having a close understanding of hockey now and therefore a better grasp on the hard work and dedication that goes into the sport, great athletic talent the players have, and respect for those who have played before them, but still. One would think the NHL of all organizations would understand that.

All that aside, the best part of the evening was the presentation of the Calder Trophy for the NHL Rookie of the Year. We Caniacs had been campaigning pretty hard all season once we realized what a “rookie phenom,” as he was called by the media, we had on our hands. It took very little time for anyone watching his performance during the first half of the season to realize how great of a player he already is and the potential he has for the future of his career. His interview on the red carpet was adorable. He carried himself well through the whole evening, as he typically does. He had such poise and humility as he went through his list of thank yous (speech not written either, which was also impressive) that you can’t help but respect the boy. The competition was tough with several other great and deserving rookies in the nominee pool, but our rookie had a fantastic first season and was definitely worthy of the honor he received. So proud of the baby! Congratulations, Jeff!

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Things that have been awesome in sports recently:

-Dirk & the Mavs beat the supposed all star Miami team to finally get their NBA Championship

-The Sox swept their series against the Yankees in the Bronx… again

-The Gators are heading to Omaha for the College World Series… again

:)

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Bevy of Big Games

The Sox start another three-game series in the Bronx tonight. This time, I have a bet riding on their (hopeful) success. If my boys win the series, a Yankees fan friend of mine has to change his Facebook profile picture to something pro-Sox during our series in August. If the Yankees come out ahead, I have to change mine to something pro-Yankees. Crossing my fingers I won’t have to subject myself to Yankee fandom for that 3 game stretch. And, you know, pulling off the wins to get a couple games ahead of our rivals would be nice, too.

In other crucial games tonight, the Gator softball team is playing Arizona State in the Women’s College World Series. They lost Game 1 in the best of 3 series, so tonight is a must win. They’ve had a great season from what I’ve heard through Twitter, so perhaps another national championship is in the works as we speak. Stephanie Brombacher, our pitcher, just ended the 1^st inning with a strike out, so things are looking pretty good to start off. So excited to be working with student athletes this fall!

Last but not least, the Heat play the Mavs in game 4 of the NBA Finals tonight, too. The Heat stole Game 3 the other night and have the 2-1 series lead, but the Mavs have made some crazy comebacks. I know even if the Dallas comes away with the title, ESPN and the Heat supporters won’t shut up about how their all-star team got to the finals the first year it was assembled and blah blah blah. No matter what, Dirk is freaking awesome, and the Mavs are way less cocky. Go Mavs. 

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East Coast Highlights

With playoffs all over the place and baseball season starting since my last post, there’s been a TON of stuff going on in the world of sports that I’ve neglected blog-wise. Catching up completely isn’t gonna happen, but here are some highlights:

Charlotte Checkers—Yup, I’m starting with Calder Cup Playoffs. Our AHL affiliate is just that awesome. They lead the East Division Semifinals series 3-2 and are playing game 6 as I type. My sources tell me that these possible future Canes looked great in Game 5, coming back from a 3-0 deficit to win 5-3 on Friday night. With the recent addition of Justin Faulk following his Frozen Four Championship run with the Univ. of Minnesota- Duluth, my fellow Caniacs in attendance noted his potential as a big D-man, similar to Joni, but perhaps a little more consistent. My sources also shared how impressed they were with the Jedi-like goalie skills of one Mr. Michael Murphy. Apparently he’s not only a hilarious source of entertainment on Twitter and through Mike & Mike Mailbag clips on their YouTube channel, but he can also stop pucks in unbelievable ways. Definitely great to have him as one of our boys!
**Immediately after posting this, Blanchard scored the game winning goal in OT, sending the Checkers to Round 2!!! So proud of these boys!

Blackhawks v Canucks—Vancouver may lead the series 3-2, but Chicago definitely has the momentum. They lost the first 3 games, then have come back with a vengeance after some questionable hits and look more like the team that won the cup last year. Most people had picked the Canucks to win it all, from what I’d been hearing at least, and I may be a tad biased with Chicags as my team in the West, but I think if anybody could pull off the come-from-behind-to-take-the-series move these guys are poised to do, it’s the Hawks. With face off for Game 6 about to happen, we’ll see if they can tie the series tonight.

Flyers v Sabers—This series has been a lot of fun to watch, partially because the games have been so exciting, but also partially because my fellow Caniacs and I want to see Buffalo get knocked out in round 1. It’s definitely been nerve-wracking, but this afternoon, Ville Leino (Finn!) scored the OT goal for Philly to force game 7 Tuesday night. Keeping our fingers crossed the Flyers blow them out and send them golfing!

Red Sox—My Sox started out their season on an incredibly rough note. Their only 2 wins in the first 12 games were against the Yankees, at least, but being 2-10 is still just sad. Somewhere in there, I vowed to stop watching until they pulled it together and started watching the Braves more instead. Apparently my threat worked, because they’ve won 8 of their last 9 games since! Not sure if this means I should continue to avoid watching games, or if it’s safe to pay attention again… either way, I’m feeling much better about the potential for the season and am happy I can at least claim 2 victories over the Yankees so far :)

Janoris Jenkins—Gator CB Janoris Jenkins had his third arrest in two seasons this week for marijuana possession. Love him, but seriously, how do you get caught 3 times?! It’s still fresh news, so there hasn’t been a decision yet (as far as I’m aware) as to whether or not he’ll be playing next year. Should be interesting to see how Coach Muschamp handles this kind of stuff… and if our players get any better at not getting caught for stupid stuff like this. I swear, all the comparisons to Thug U during Urban’s reign killed me. If you look at the records and see what the charges were, Miami’s are more often violent and ours are something like that of Mr. Jenkins here. Completely different situations, really. Apples & oranges.

NFL Draft—The Draft is this Thursday. It’s typically like a holiday for some of my friends and I who have an annual Draft Party as we watch our college football guys join our favorites in the NFL , crossing our fingers they don’t get picked by the Pats, Cowboys or Miami. This year, I’m anticipating a completely different vibe with the lockout, and am a tad concerned it won’t be as exciting as it normally is. Yet another reminder that my beloved fall weekend rituals may be thrown off this year… and I don’t like it.

Magic vHawks— The Magic and Hawks have been keeping the opening round of the NBA Playoffs interesting. With the series currently at 2-1 Hawks after a heartbreaking OT loss Friday night, game 4 is about to tip off in Atlanta as I type. I would love to see my boys move on, but if they have to lose, I’d be ok with Atlanta moving on in their place, solely because of Al Horford. One of my favorite Gators during my time at UF, I am incredibly proud of how he’s representing us in the NBA. Great guy and great player, definitely deserving of a championship at some point, but it’s still early in his career, so my boys can win it this year :)

Celtics v Knicks—After all the Melo trading and drama that went with it, the Knicks got swept in round 1. I appreciate the Celtics for their history and tradition, and am a fan of most guys on their roster. I’m glad they’re moving on, but feel a little sad for the Knicks and their fans, I’m not gonna lie. Hopefully they keep Amar’e and Melo and can build a functional team for next year.

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In Memoriam

The 2010-2011 Carolina Hurricanes season was cut way too short. Taken in its prime, it had so much potential in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we’ll never get the chance to see what might have been. I think all of us who love the Canes have spent the past week coming to terms with the abrupt ending of the season. While it still hurts to think of our loss and everything that slipped away with it, there are a lot of good memories that came from it. I think I’m finally ready to move on from the sadness and celebrate the good that was the 2010-2011 season.

Though I regretted greatly that I couldn’t make the trip, the start in Helsinki was great for the team and put us at the top of the NHL standings, if only briefly. It also set up the season-long Tripp Tracy interview fodder (and subsequently, running joke) with the team bonding trip to Sauna Island, facilitated by my favorite Finn. Wonder if they’ll bring it up again next season…

Despite a crazy chunk of travel, this season started off much better than the last. We avoided the whole 14-loss streak thing this time, but the most notable excitement of the early season (well, whole season) was watching Jeff Skinner’s NHL debut. We watched in awe during the first half of the season what I think we came to take for granted during the second. The freshman phenom shocked us all… or at least everyone except Rutherford and those involved in the genius scouting that went into our draft pick. It’s been a blast all season not only watching him develop as a player, but watching the effects of the rookie sensation on the media and fans—including hearing commentators calling him things like “rookie sensation” and seeing the throngs of fans going crazy over him during All-Star Weekend and beyond. And through it all, he remained the poised, mature (freak) 18 year old he is, taking it all in stride, smiling and not letting the insanity affect what was most important to him—his job on the ice. PS- Skinner for Calder!

All-Star Weekend was another huge part of the season we’ll all so fondly remember. Being the host city/team was an amazing experience. No words can quite describe how it felt to welcome such great players from around the league (even those we typically have at least a little grudge against) into OUR house via red carpet. Seeing their personalities come out and getting to know them a little more throughout the festivities of the weekend made the rest of the season that much more fun.

The season post-All-Star break had some ups and downs, but more ups for sure. Being at nearly every home game and several practices for this chunk of the season, the CaniacGirlTrio was practically a part of the team, in our own minds, at least :) We ate, slept, and breathed hockey, even more than usual, and rode the emotional rollercoaster that came along with that level of devotion. With our Twitter debut, we found not only another medium through which to extend the hockey obsession, but also an awesome group of fellow Caniacs. Watching the Canes and going through the stressful last week of the regular season with the #Caniacmob has been fantastic, despite the sad note we ended on in the final game.

Though the season ended abruptly, just when it looked like there was hope for a good playoff run, there’s still more silver lining than sadness to take away from it. Our younger players, both prospects and those with the Checkers or making brief visits to the Canes, have a lot of promise and give us hope for future seasons. Some of our older players had great seasons, like Cole and Ruutu, and Cam’s season just goes beyond words.

2010-2011 season—we were sad to see you go, but it’s been fun, and you’ll hold a special place in the hearts of Caniacs. Thanks for the memories.

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Caniacs AND Canes Never Say Die!

This team never ceases to amaze me. Just when the playoff chances were looking bleak, the boys completely revamp and come out fighting like a team I haven’t seen all season. Some of us Twitter Caniacs had been throwing around the hashtag #Caniacsneversaydie recently to show our devotion to the team, but the Canes have been showing they're all in, too, these past few games. Holding the no-longer-Ovi-less Caps to a tie through OT and getting not one, but two goals in the shootout to secure the W after a pretty physical game was exciting enough. But then to come to the Habs game tonight and see them looking organized, coordinated, cohesive, determined-- whatever adjective you want to use to describe it-- it was great. We were much better with keeping the puck in the right zone and put more shots on goal than I’d been used to following the All-Star break. Cam’s been consistently ridiculous all season, but the man has been downright mind-blowing lately. I seriously don’t know how Cam does it, but honestly, Mike Maniscalco’s amazing article on him does his skill way more justice than anything I could possibly write, so I’ll direct you here rather than do Mike or Cam a disservice. My girls and I bring our “Thank you Cam!” signs every game, even though he for sure can’t see them from the 300 level. We’re pretty sure he spotted it on his bobblehead night when we were in the 3rd row of 107, and plan to bring them to warmups from here out to get our appreciation across. The man deserves it, without question.

               

As for the rest of this team… if Skins doesn’t get the Calder, something’s off in the selection process. I’m so glad I’ve been fortunate enough to go to as many games as I have this season so I can say I saw some of these crazy games he’s had in his rookie year. He floored me from game 1 (well, the first game I saw him play) @ the Rangers in MSG. I’d heard the hype, but to see it live left me super excited for my return to Raleigh to watch him play more. Up through the All-Star game, his play has continued to leave us in awe, and he’s been doing so since, whether it’s because of something he’s doing on the ice or his maturity, leadership & composure off the ice. Would have loved to see his first hat trick tonight, and loved to see the guys rallying around him to get him the chances, but it’ll come in due time. Jamie could have gotten a hat trick tonight, too, which was awesome considering it was only his 3rd game back from a shoulder injury. He’s been another great player and a great guy, and I know the McBaniac from our group will be very glad to see him v Tampa on 4/9.

If you’ve read my blog, Tweets, or met me at all, you’re likely aware of my affinity for the Finns, Joni included. Canes fans seem very divided on the Joni issue—you either love him or hate him—and it kills me that it’s that way. I get that he makes mistakes, but all the guys do every night (with Cam as the only potential exception). I can remember times that Allen or Corvo or anyone else out there has made the same mistake as Joni in the same game, though I get that sometimes Joni’s have resulted in a big play or point for the opposition. Again, same is true for others on the team, but blame seems most often heaped on Joni. Pretty sure there was a lingering injury or something going on, because he’s looked much better recently, in my opinion, and has some points to show for it. Of course, there’s always the infamous OT goal when he, and I quote, “decided to shoot.” Games like tonight’s definitely showed the upside to having Joni around, which I believe far outweighs the negatives. Then again, I’m not running the team, but still show all the boys some Caniac love.

Saving my favorite Finn, Cane, hockey player in general, Tuomo Ruutu, for last, he’s finally starting to the get the recognition he’s long deserved by media and fans alike. Yes, he hits, but he does much more than that. He plays with such intensity every night that whether he gets a point, makes big hits, or chases down the puck & agitates whoever has it, it’s often creating an advantage of some kind for the rest of the team. He takes a humble, objective, yet emotional approach to the game that comes across in all his interviews (with a side of light-hearted teasing, like calmly dropping “bitching” in or calling himself a gladiator…). Hell, rumor has it the man even coughed up blood in the locker room during a recent game, then came back out to play. For anyone I’ve ever tried to explain “Sisu” to and ultimately failed, that right there is a perfect example. The first two goals in tonight’s game wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for his forechecking, and that wasn’t enough… the man went on to break the glass with a just right (and completely clean) hit on Hal Gill, the giant of the Habs. The man is awesome, but rarely gets a star as these aren’t the stat sheet qualities considered. The recognition is starting, though, with the Skinner Finn-Sandwich line being the most successful lately, and media types starting to catch on. Ruu would never complain, cause that’s just how he is, and that’s part of why he’s so awesome. I’m stopping my Finn tangent (for now), but seriously, love these boys and love this team! They have heart, for sure, and that’s just what they’ll need in this tough push for the playoffs.

Video from NHL.com of the glass shattering :)

PS- Happy 1st Day of the MLB Season!

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There's No Crying in Hockey

As an avid sports fan with a psych degree, I find it hard to separate the two sometimes. Superstition reinforcement/punishment schedules, creating disorders based on typical fan behavior… the connections are endless. Dealing with the 5 stages of loss Saturday would be one of those times.

In a span of about 2.5 hours, I watched my Gators lose 74-71 in OT to Butler in the Elite 8, ending their chance at the NCAA championship, then went to my seat in the RBC Center to watch my Canes let playoff chances slip a little further out of reach with a loss to TB. Not the best night as a fan. Probably also not the best night to bring 8 friends from work to the Canes game, many of whom were coming to hockey for the first time. Sad game, and I wasn’t the most fun to be around after it was all over, for sure. The upside is that my regular sports friends and I are learning to work through losses like this a little quicker. Denial came with the 2^nd period TB goal that gave them the lead. Anger surfaced w/the 3^rd period empty net goal, quickly followed by bargaining in the remaining seconds of the 3^rd with our far-fetched hope for 2 quick goals. Depression stuck around for about an hour, from the sound of the final horn, through the ride home, and for a 20ish min discussion in the parking lot as we listened to the Aftermath on 99.9 the Fan. That was when our 3^rd Caniac friend who couldn’t make the game started texting us pictures of customized NHL team shirts with inside jokes as the player names and links to Ask the Canes videos that made us laugh. Between Mike Maniscalco’s ever reassuring and honest words on the Aftermath and Kate’s amusing links, we moved on to acceptance and all was, well, not quite good, but somewhat better, at least.

In honor of the videos that made us less sad & the boys that make us love hockey, I decided to post some of the links here instead of a depressing post recapping in detail why Saturday sucked. Even if you’re not familiar with the players, the videos are still pretty funny. Enjoy!

Ask the Canes: What do you sing in the shower?

Canes singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer


Canes & Wild players attempting to say, “Where is the bathroom?” in Finnish before their season opener in Helsinki


Chicago Blackhawks w/Joey the Jr. Reporter on what makes Patrick Sharp beautiful


Jonathan Toews & Patrick Kane from the Chicago Blackhawks- hilarious!


PS- My objective recap of Saturday's events: The unlikely quartet of VCU, Butler, UConn & Kentucky are heading to the Final Four this weekend, and the Canes pretty much need to win at least 6 of our remaining 7 games, including the game v Buffalo on 4/3, to get into the playoffs.

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March Madness... literally

Only during this month can I go from being ridiculously happy to ridiculously stressed and back in such a short span of time. I feel like I’ve been in a permanent nauseous and anxiety-ridden state since the brackets started, in part due to NCAA bball, but also because of the stressful will-we-make-it-into-the-playoffs? drama of the NHL. Bi-polar Fan Disorder? Playoff Panic Attacks? I could write my own addition to the DSM-V if it's not too late... Any fans who make it through the first week of April without suffering a heart attack should get some sort of perks or recognition next season. I’m just saying…

As far as the brackets are concerned, my left side was perfect till ‘Cuse decided they were done dancing. Totally had more faith in Scoop Jardine than I should have, but I can’t help it. I have a thing for fun names. The right side, on the other hand, was rough from early on, though I was pretty proud of picking Richmond for the upset. I’m currently tied for 1831^st place in the BS Report bracket out of 23695 brackets. Not too bad, especially considering I’m 100 points ahead of the legend himself, Mr. Bill Simmons. Small victories.

There have been so many crazy endings, close games, and great stories throughout this tournament so far, but there’s just too much for one girl to blog accurately at the moment, especially when her team is among those still battling for a chance at the title. After our short lived run last year, the Gator boys are looking (kinda) hot right now. We had a 79-51 blowout over UC-Santa Barbara in the first round, which was exactly as it should have been. Somehow, we always seem to get matched up with UCLA and took them down yet again in the second round 73-65. (And yes, I realize my 1^st and 2^nd round claims are technically off, but I’m sorry, four play in-esque games do not constitute a round, in my opinion.) We needed OT to get past Jimmer and his crew, but Tyus made some amazing plays to get our momentum back up and keep us moving forward with an 83-74 win over BYU. I’m semi-watching Badgers v Bulldogs as I type, though the stress of our game earlier has completely drained me, and I admit, my scouting for Saturday’s game will likely be ineffective due to this fact. This is why Billy D is there, too, since he’ll actually be courtside when we play the winner and, you know, calling plays.

The one downfall to all this stressful fun that is March is that sometimes my teams/sports have conflicting game times. Having tickets for the remainder of the Canes’ home games, I’ll be partially in hockey mode when my Gators make their Elite 8 appearance. Thankfully, the sports gods gave my boys an earlier game time on Saturday, so I’ll be able to watch most of the game from the sports bar near the arena, then tracking the end of the game on my phone & tvs on the concourse. Not how I’d like to watch either game since both are crucial, but at least the continued stress means my boys are still in contention… here’s to being anxious through the championship game and NHL post-season!

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I Can Quit Anytime...

My name is Cheryl, and I admit, I am addicted to hockey.

I didn’t expect it to be so tough to be away from hockey for a week. I should have known better. I followed the Canes games against Montreal during one flight and Florida during another via Twitter. Hell, I even had about 20 mins at the gate in CLT, which I deemed enough time to get out my laptop and listen to ChuckandtheletterK’s live streaming audio before I had to board. (Side note: CLT rocks for having free wifi in the terminals. DTW and terminal B of MCO- shame on you for trying to charge $8) I was in such hockey withdrawal, I met up with another Caniac for practice at the RBCC the morning after I landed. RecZone is great and all, but there’s something different about a full practice on our home ice. While we were there, we checked out the view from our seats for an upcoming game just behind the penalty box. Excited beyond words. Thank you, StubHub.

It feels like some sort of time warp happened over the week I was gone, because I came back to a different team. Sergei played against us for Florida as I was en route to RDU, and Carson had recently been picked up off waivers by Calgary. We reacquired Stillman and picked up Bryan Allen for Sergei, both from Florida, before the trade deadline. I noticed at the Buffalo game that the RBCC also stopped playing the “Smile” intro, which threw off the pre-game routine I’d been used to, but is much less crucial in the grand scheme of things. Thanks to our amazing hockey karma, the Caniac Girl Trio spent our reunion game in lower level seats—an amazing spot for an amazing game. Our boys played 3 whole periods (?!) and quite well, I might add. Unfortunately, Buffalo looked pretty good, too, and we ended up tied. Cue “Welcome to the Jungle” and a spike in my heart rate. I hate OT. With a passion. But Jamie saved the day, getting the game-winning goal less than a minute in, avoiding Buffalo catching us in the standings and any major cardiac damage.

The boys played my 2^nd favorite team in the NHL the next night, but I don’t wanna talk about it. Jay Harrison made an awesome save that made the SportsCenter Top Ten plays, but other than that, let’s just say it was the only time this season I heard too much Chelsea Dagger… With a break this weekend, we had to rely on other teams in the East helping us out by beating Buffalo and NY. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. At all. In fact, both the Sabres and Rangers had some ridiculous games. Buffalo beat Philly 5-3 Saturday, then went on to beat Minnesota in OT the next day. On Sunday, the Rangers had a ridiculous game against Philly. Callahan scored 4 goals in the Rangers shutout victory. 7-0 over Philly. What is happening?! Clearly, our Canes need to be focused and ready for every game ahead of them, because with our competition being this intense right now, we can’t afford to give up any potential points if we want to play more than three games in April. I’m starting to remember how much this final month of the regular season feels like perpetual OT…

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Bball Bragging Rights

The group of sophomores that led the Gator basketball team to their first-- and the next year, second-- national championships were collectively referred to as “the ‘04s” for their starting season. Though they’ll likely not be remembered “the ‘07s,” there’s no doubt that Chandler Parsons, Alex Tyus, and redshirt senior Vernon Macklin had a huge impact on their team just like Taurean Green, Al Horford, Corey Brewer & Joakim Noah did in their run. The ‘07s played an amazing senior night game v Alabama. Though they were tied 30-30 at the half, in the 2^nd half, the Gators could do no wrong and Bama could do no right. The offense was on fire. The defense was excellent. Rebounds were surprisingly better than normal. Parsons and Macklin ended up with 19 points each. The seniors ended the night with a final score of 78-51, at least a share of the SEC title, and huge smiles on their faces.

After beating Vandy 86-76 Saturday night, the next generation of Gator Boys won our third ever outright SEC Championship and get to sit back and watch until the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Things had been rough since the ‘04s left*, but we’re finally back on track and have several younger players that I’m confident can step up into the roles our seniors are leaving behind. Definitely much more excited this year for the SEC Tournament and brackets, and hopeful we can make a great run this year!

Just as the Gators became SEC Champions again, Duke v UNC tipped off, and as a resident of the triangle area, I have come to appreciate this game on a new level. I started off cheering for Duke 4 years ago basically just to go against my cousin, a UNC fan, and because their blue was closer to Gator/Magic blue, but I’ve found many other reasons to like them since. This game is not meant to be watched from home, so I joined 2 of my Duke-loving friends at one of our regular sports bars for the game, where we ended up surrounded by UNC fans. One was surprisingly not evil and started a conversation with us before the game to keep things friendly. Of course, there were plenty of others that made this game, if you could call it one, nearly intolerable to watch.  Nolan Smith was pretty much the only guy who showed up to play for Duke the entire night. He ended up with 30 points. Nearly half the 67 Duke ended up with. Do with that what you will. Singler looked exhausted, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary. What was off was everything else about him. The only stat you need to understand how he played last night: FG- 3/14. Ridiculous. Needless to say, Duke lost 81-67. Sad day, but there’s always the ACC Tournament… and brackets… and the reminder that UNC couldn’t even win the NIT last season. Just sayin :)

*For Gator alums who lost track and anyone else interested, Noah is still playing for the Bulls, T is playing for Gran Canaria in the ACB, Corey ended up with the Mavs after bouncing around with the Melo trade, and Al Horford is doing pretty damn well with Atlanta. If you consider yourself part of the Gator Nation and do the Twitter thing, several of our current players are on there. Even if you’re not super interested in what episode of Friday Night Lights Macklin’s on or the daily routine of Chandler Parsons, it’s still worth it to see how excited they are after big wins and all the RTs of support from Gators far & wide. They’re a great group of guys. To get you started, look for @ErvWalker11, @ChandlerParsons, @vernon_macklin, @KBoynton_1 & @AlexTyus23.

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Blog Roadie!

This week, I’m on the road for grad school visit days and interviews, so I’m taking the blog on the road, too. Totally taking the opportunity to pretend I’m living the life of a true sports journalist (without the commitment) for a week :)

First stop: Gainesville. I returned to my alma mater in the early part of the roadie, and amidst all the program information and stressful interviewing, the current students wanted to show the prospective students what it’s like to be a Gator outside the classroom. The best way to do that is, of course, a Gator game of some variety! I jumped at the chance to go as I hadn’t been back to the O-Dome since watching the first national championship win as it was played on the big screen. (Well, technically, I was there last for graduation, but sports-wise…)  It was awesome to join the current students in teaching the prospective students who were coming from schools across the country all of the necessary cheers and actions that must be done for a Gator bball game. Good times.

The game itself was great, too. As the month of February is coming to an end, so is the regular season, and the Gators are poised to (potentially) do well once March Madness hits. Ranked at 13, we took on one of our most intense rivals in UGA. The lead flip flopped a bit and ended up close at the half. Chandler Parsons, who missed several games due to a deep thigh bruise, made his return during the game. As predicted via Twitter, he didn’t start, but did play off the bench. He had a few shots where his time on the bench was painfully evident, but came out playing strong in the 2^nd half. Walker was making 3s consistently and the crowd really got into it as we gained and held a lead. The Gator Boys pulled off the 71-62 win in an excellent game to watch- especially live!

Virtual stop #1: Lexington. Unfortunately, the Gator boys would fall to Kentucky 76-68 two nights later. Four of our players ended with point totals in double figures, which I find promising as that was a consistent stat in our championship seasons. Billy Ball is at its best when centered around the getting the ball to the guy with the open shot philosophy. Tuesday will be senior night, the last home game this season, against Alabama. The win against Georgia made us the outright winners of the SEC East, and a win over Bama Tuesday would put us at the top of the SEC!

Virtual stop #2: Montreal. My quest for grad school admission is keeping me away from 2 Canes home games, but seeing as how I’ll have been to all but about 5 between Jan-April, I’ll survive. The first was against the Pens. Though they’ve been plagued with injuries lately, they’re still a decent threat, and in the NHL, you can’t take any game for granted. The Canes had recently re-acquired Stillman from the Panthers, a former Cane returning via trade, which seems to be a bit of a trend for us. I was unable to watch the game, but aside from a questionable hit on Staal that has kept him home from Le Centre Bell tonight, it sounded like a great game. The Canes went on to win 4-1 and snag 2  points, keeping us in fragile 8^th position. As I type from the Detroit airport, the Canes are playing the Habs, currently down 2-1 at the end of the first. Especially since I’m staying with a friend tonight who is a Habs fan, I’m hoping we can pull off the W! *Amended: The Canes did come back to tie it up in the 2^nd with goals by Ruutu and Stillman, but unfortunately, the Habs scored the game winning goal on a power play in the 3^rd. From what I understand following the game on Twitter, Skinner had two penalties which ended up hurting us, as the game winning goal was scored during the penalty for one of the two. I wish I had DVRed the game to analyze for myself when I get back to NC, but alas, I do not plan ahead well.

Wishful stop: It would have been awesome if I could have gotten to a college hockey game at Bowling Green, but I’m told the timing of my trip won’t make that possible as the last game was last week. That definitely would have been a great first experience as I’ve never been to one before. My next mission is to make myself more aware of college hockey beyond watching the Frozen Four and Championship games like I did last year. It may just be my experience in Raleigh, but it seems the sport is catching on more in general, and perhaps soon more prospects will be coming up from college teams. Definitely something to keep an eye on!

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New Cane on the Block

After all the trade drama surrounding Ian White, one of our most recently acquired Canes became our most recently traded on Friday when Ian was sent off to San Jose. We got a 2^nd round pick in 2012 in exchange, and with some careful wording, the Sharks also sent us Dman Derek Joslin for “future considerations.” Do with that what you will. It’s sad to see Ian go, but I’m curious to see what our new addition is capable of.

We got to see Joslin play Saturday against the Devils when he and Carson both spent time on the ice vying for the 6^th defensive spot. Joni had come out for the pre-game skate with the team, but ended up sitting out with an LBI (he was hit with a puck again recently), which presented the opportunity for both defensive considerations to show their stuff. From what I hear, the last man standing will snag the spot Ian left open, sending the other to spend some time in Charlotte. One of the tidbits I’d heard about Joslin shortly after the deal was made official was that he had won the Hardest Shot contest in the AHL All-Star Skills Competition in 2009. The Caniac Girl Trio saw- well, heard- one example of his strong shot from our seats in the 300s during the Devils game, and tried to keep a close eye on him for general analysis throughout the game.

Honestly, the Canes’ emotional swing from high-energy win over the Flyers on Friday to lifeless loss to the Devils Saturday made the game hard to watch as closely as we’d intended. We noticed some errors and some great moves, but really, it’s a bit too soon to judge… especially since he found out he was traded, flew in from the opposite coast, played the very next day-- but maybe hardest of all, had to be Tripp Tracy’s 1^st intermission interview-- and all within about 48 hours. His saving grace was that he hadn’t played enough for Tripp to use his if-I-touched-you-I’d-burn-myself line. Hopefully Tuomo and Erik will warn him…

Not sure if we’ll see much more trade action before the deadline, if any. Twitter has been amazing for keeping up with all the action. Definitely makes my ESPN text alerts pale in comparison. As of now, it looks like the team will remain in tact for tomorrow night’s game against the NY Rangers. To borrow a phrase from the infamous Tripp Tracy, this is a game of consequence for sure. Win- we tie the Rangers for 7^th with the advantage, having beaten them 3 out of 4 games, and inch our way closer to the Habs in 6th. Lose- we fall to 4 points behind NY, splitting the series thus far, and staying just 4 points ahead of Buffalo who would have 3 games in hand again at that point. The Caniac Girl Trio will be sitting in the 100s for this one, armed and ready with our signs (including a new “Thank you Cam!” set) and new customized Canes gear (shop.nhl.com is a very dangerous thing…). The Storm Squad girls handing out posters Saturday recognized our signs and chatted with us about them for a bit. Every time we’ve had lower level seats and brought the signs, the good guys have won, so hopefully the new shirts = good ch’i, too!

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The Stuff Legends Are Made Of

On Friday, February 18^th, 2011, past and present members of the Carolina Hurricanes organization and a bevy of Caniacs came together at the RBC Center to honor the career of one of hockey’s hardest working players. Rod Brind’Amour’s number was retired and sent to the rafters in an hour-long ceremony held before faceoff of the Canes v Flyers game. The ceremony capped a week of reminiscing and celebrating his career through stories shared in our local newspaper, the Hurricanes’ official website, our local ESPN Radio broadcasts, and numerous blogs.

I may not have been in Raleigh during the 2002 or 2006 playoffs, nor a Canes (or hockey) fan yet for the Stanley Cup win, but having gotten so into Caniac fandom once I got to Raleigh, I have gotten a pretty thorough education re:Canes history. I learned from my first two seasons as a Caniac how great of a leader #17 is and could see the effect he had on his teammates. I heard about his intense work ethic and commitment to keeping himself in the best shape possible for the good of his game. I could see the inspiration he brought to the team in clips from those playoff runs and live at the games. His mark on this team, organization, and the Caniacs was clear, and definitely deserving of all the acclaim surrounding the retirement of his number this weekend.

An emotional week leading up to Brind’Amour Night resulted in an intensely emotional game between the Canes and the Flyers. As the two teams most a part of his career, all players for both the Canes and Flyers wore jerseys with his name and number before the game got started. A very classy move by the Flyers that was both recognized and much appreciated. Once the puck dropped, though, we had to put all the mushy feelings aside and take on the challenge of beating the Eastern Conference leaders.

The Canes did us proud as they played with urgency from the start of the game and wore their emotions on their sleeves. There was discussion of how fitting it was for Chad LaRose, one of the Canes closest to #17, to get the first goal of the game, Erik Cole to get the game-winner (yet again), and Cam to have some ridiculous saves (see video of his glove save against Carle at the bottom of this post). All in all, it was a great game, a much needed win on many levels, and a very memorable night honoring one of our Canes legends. Circumstances kept our Caniac Girl Quartet from attending, but we watched from home with our commemorative Brind’essert, happy the long roadie and home hockey hiatus is now over.

The Brind'essert: Chocolate rink cake with mint Oreo "puck" border. Markings not quite to scale, but it didn't come out half bad for not having my proper cake tools!

Cam's ridiculous save courtesy of YouTube:

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There’s a Line… And We’ve Crossed It

…a couple times. A LOT has gone on in Caniac Nation since I’ve written last, taking a break to bask in the glory of my team winning the Super Bowl and all. Since then, we’ve finally crossed the line into the coveted 8^th spot… then fallen back to 9^th when the Thrashers beat the Rangers (which, ironically, was best for us in the long run since we faced ATL 2 days later and the loss kept the Rangers close)… then returned to the good side later that weekend with one point in OT against Tampa and a win over the Thrashers in ATL. We’re holding our ground for now, just 2 points back from the Rangers in 7^th, but with Buffalo and Atlanta close behind just 2 points back from us, we can’t get too comfortable. Somehow, Buffalo still has two games in hand, which makes me a little uneasy, I’m not gonna lie. It will be interesting to see how things go as we finish out February.

Speaking of anxiety in February, as if the playoff push isn’t enough to stress over, we have the added bonus of the NHL trade deadline to deal with. (Note the sarcasm.) Today alone has been ridiculous with the news of one of our D men not being on the ice for morning skate, then finding out it was Ian White, then hearing of other trades and teams still active in the trading action, then hearing that if Ian will be traded, it will be finalized within 24 hours… how can fans not start spazzing and speculating with all that going on? And in the span of about 3 hours, no less! I remember all too clearly being at the RBC Center watching practice the morning of March 3^rd last season when it was seemingly cut short. One of the ushers came over to tell everyone where we were sitting that Scott Walker had just been traded to the Caps. Shortly after, we found out Joe Corvo would be right behind him. There are very few guys on this team that I could see go and be ok with it—sorry, Sergei—but it’s hard to just sit back and wait to hear what’s going on. Though I think Ian is great and wish he weren’t on the verge of leaving the Canes already, I must say that I’m glad the Joni speculation wasn’t right. For me, and several other Caniacs, I’m sure, I think the Finn Trio being broken up would be the hardest to see.

All trade craziness aside, the Canes and Rangers both face the Devils and Flyers in upcoming games this week, so there will be plenty of allegiance flip flopping in the near future. The upside is that we have a ton of home games in March and all three in April. Good for being able to go to so many games as the regular season is coming to an end, and also good because we have an amazing fan base that supports our team louder than any other from the away games I’ve heard so far. The second half of the season is never easy, but the Canes seem to have a way of making things work. Coming as close as they did last season after that heartbreaking 14-game losing streak, and seeing how hard we tend to work when it’s do or die (see: Erik Cole), I have total confidence the boys can pull it off if they stay focused. We just need to stay consistent at giving the total effort we showed at the end of regulation v Tampa Bay and a bit more often v Atlanta.

Things just wouldn’t be right if I ended today’s blog post without mentioning that it happens to be the birthday of my favorite hockey player… Tuomo Ruutu turns 28 today, B-Sutts turned 22 on Valentine’s Day, and John Forslund, our amazing play-by-play guy, also had a birthday Monday, so what better way to end this week of Canes bdays (and long roadie) than with a win over NJ? Nothing would quite say “Hyvää syntymäpäivää” like a hattutemppu on your birthday, especially if it results in a -3 for Elias… I’m just sayin. I think it would be sweet birthday justice for an “accidental” high stick that left my boy’s face slashed up and gushing blood in his whirlwind of a first day as a Hurricane, albeit 3 years later. (See the video & picture below for explanation and an example of sisu.)

*For those who I’ve not managed to relay the story to, here’s a video montage of Tuomo’s first game as a Hurricane. Not the greatest quality, but it gets the point across. I recommend watching the whole thing, but start paying close attention around 1:40 to get the story behind my hatred of Elias. Bastard.

Result of high stick seen above: 
                                                                                                    *Photo found at http://bruinsvcanes.blogspot.com/

 

Thankfully, his face has since returned to normal :)

Happy Birthday Ruuu!

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Green and Yellow & the Championship Belt Phenomenon

I was so caught up in the excitement of my team winning the Super Bowl that I didn’t write a blog post at the time when there was a ton to write about! The game was everything I’d built it up in my head to be. The matchup between the Packers and Steelers was fun to watch and about as close as expected. I won’t rehash the details, because a) it happened a week ago & b) those who care already know. After much debate covered by ESPN and the players themselves via Twitter, the Super Bowl  victory went to the boys in Green & Yellow.

There was debate on the blog earlier this season when a certain follower who is a Colts fan tried to fight me on the championship chances of the Packers. It came at a time when, early in the season, our starters started dropping like flies, starting with Ryan Grant. Several others followed, and the season was rightfully called into question. Could any team pull off a playoff appearance using 2^nd and 3^rd string guys, some who had barely hit NFL turf yet in their careers?  Could Aaron Rodgers lead the team with so much history and heart to a Super Bowl? Now we know. Yes. It could all be done.

Aaron finally has his own legacy at Green Bay. After the way he handled this season and ending it with a Super Bowl win and MVP honors, he deserves the championship belt his teammates gave him at the post-game ceremony. When they brought that belt out to him, I nearly died laughing. Yet another thing that shows how awesome this team is- serious when they need to be, getting things done, but still having a sense of humor and respect for each other. I love it. He no longer has to live under the shadow of Brett Favre. He’s earned his place in Packers history and with the help of this team, brought the Lombardi Trophy back to its rightful home. Go Pack Go!

Having recently joined in the madness that is Twitter, I began following quite a few Packers around the week of the Super Bowl, Aaron being one of them (@AaronRodgers12). Over the past few days, he’s been retweeting his followers suggestions at when it is and isn’t appropriate to “do the belt.” The first tweet he sent was: “Yes, of course. Have at it RT @FrMPal @AaronRodgers12 Is the championship belt an appropriate gesture in response to success on a math test?” It went downhill from there… “Well worth it RT @lukereuter41 @AaronRodgers12 getting a dentition for doing the belt in the middle of class after getting a 100%” And finally went to Aaron’s observations of the belt across sports: “Missed Stephen Jackson doing the belt. Hitting a game winner is belt worthy especially when ur a baller like SJ. #thebeltiscontagious” Hilarious. (He actually did it, too. )

Crazy season. Amazing playoff run. Super Bowl Champions. Just wait till they’re all healthy again.

Though, with the CBA negotiations issues, that might not be next season. (It hurts just to write that…) My most reliable source of potential NFL lockout news has been ochocinco’s tweets (yes, I’ve been paying a lot of attention to Twitter, but pretty much only for sports purposes), but he’s been writing some insightful stuff. Two scheduled meetings between the NFLPA and owners were called off. Every day, it’s sounding more and more like we’re heading for a lockout. And it sucks. Money-hungry (evil) people like Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder annoy the hell out of me. You know they don’t give a crap about the sport. All they want is to show off—whose jumbotron is biggest (ps- New Meadowlands has more total sq ft of screen, I’m told, so there!) and who can sign the most expensive big name waste of time player respectively. Did I mention yet that Albert Haynesworth was recently charged with assault? Anyway, the team being owned by the fans is one of the things I love most about the Packers. Read more here if you’re curious. Either way, I’m hoping there will be preseason games to satisfy my serious state of football withdrawal expected by late summer. Baby steps, but for now, I plan to continue to enjoy living in the happiness that is the Super Bowl Championship.

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NHL All-Star Madness: Period 3- Fan Fair & Team Staal v Team Lidstrom

After a whirlwind 3 days leading up to the NHL All-Star game and very little sleep (makes me wonder how the players felt), facing day 4 of 4 was bittersweet. We planned to get to the Fan Fair at the convention center in downtown Raleigh right when it opened, so I grabbed a breakfast slice of carrot cake for energy and picked up the rest of our Caniac Girl Trio bright and early. It definitely paid off heading straight to the Stanley Cup line to get our pictures while it was short. There were tons of areas set up where you could do various skills type things (accuracy, slapshots, etc), a green screen to make your own free player card, trophies all on display, tons of memorabilia (All-Star and otherwise), and lots more. There were an impressive number of player & NHL personnel appearances and interviews throughout the weekend, too.

As we wandered through the different areas about as excited as 10 year old boys would be about all the hockey stuff there was to do, we stopped in our tracks at a sign that said Brandon Sutter & Chad LaRose would be interviewed by Tripp Tracy at 2p. (Each of us in the Caniac Girl Quartet has a favorite player – mine is Tuomo Rutuu, but Chad LaRose, Brandon Sutter & Jamie McBain are equally as loved by their respective CGs) As soon as they let us, we took our post at the front of the line and waited patiently over an hour for an experience well worth the wait for the 4th time this weekend. The boys were hilarious through the whole interview, though we would expect nothing less from our team joker, Chad LaRose. Sitting in the front row, then getting signatures and pictures with their favorites made the other 2/3 of my party completely non-functional for the rest of the afternoon. Thank God Ruutu wasn’t there, too, or we all would have melted into hockey crush puddles and been done for the day!

The actual events themselves were fun to watch, even if you didn’t have tickets (like us). We watched the Super Skills Saturday night at a sports bar across from the RBC Center and had a blast watching Team Staal dominate! The shenanigans that went on were just another way to see the personalities of these guys first hand, like P.K. Subban wearing Skinner’s jersey for his first event and the goalie race between Cam Ward and Tim Thomas. A record-setting hardest shot for Chara (who thoughtfully credited the fans afterward) and hysterical series of issues for Ovechkin made it pretty entertaining.

Team Staal wouldn’t go on to sweep the weekend’s events, unfortunately, losing the All-Star Game to Team Lidstrom 11-10. Our Canes had impressive performances though, with Cam keeping it to 4 goals during his period in net (under 5 was his hope), and Staal had 2 goals, one of which came right at the end of the game giving his team a chance to tie it up and go to OT. Skinner had some great moves and was clearly set up by his teammates, a great display of respect by the more veteran players that was awesome to see. Having players mic’d up is always fun, too. It seemed odd to watch a game with no hits (probably because I’m often focused on Ruu) and no refs interfering. Overall, all the events of the weekend were great to watch or be a part of!

Post-game analysis:

After all the fun was over, our CGQ had a conference call to analyze the experience. We were most impressed with how smoothly everything ran all weekend—we couldn’t come up with a single thing that was terribly disappointing or flawed. The love from the media and out-of-town players for Raleigh and us Caniacs following their experience this weekend was amazing and is greatly appreciated. Definitely feels good to have others recognize how amazing our organization is and how great a respect and special relationship we have between Caniacs and our team. As a relatively young hockey fan (the Canes got me hooked at the beginning of the ’08-’09 season  shortly after I moved to Raleigh), I enjoyed the opportunity to get to see the personalities of players from other teams I was less familiar with as well. It’s opened my eyes to the idea that I may have been a Canes fan previously and now am a full-fledged hockey fan as I realized a deeper love and respect for the sport itself and those who play it after this weekend. Along with the majority of Caniacs, I’m sure, I felt like I was in another world this weekend where only hockey really mattered, and I loved every minute of it. I’m definitely glad that I had the day off today to take time to recover from the lack of sleep and remember that as much as I now respect Zdeno Chara, I should be cheering against him tomorrow night when the Trio reconvenes in regular-season mode for the Bruins @ Canes game in our home sweet second home, the RBC Center.

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NHL All-Star Madness: Period 2- Skinner Signing & Red Carpet

After the events of Thursday and Friday got us all amped up, we set out to continue the madness on day 3 of 4. The Caniac Girl Trio got reduced to duo with a sudden bout of sickness, but we managed to keep the excitement level just as high with our red carpet plans just hours away! Now that we had time, daylight, and gorgeous weather, we took the opportunity to see what was going on at the booths lining Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh. There was an outdoor rink set up that alternated between youth hockey groups making appearances and being open for guests to skate throughout the day. Local vendors, crafts, a beer garden, and plenty of fried stuff were out there, too. We wore our Skinner All-Star shirts to support our baby Cane, but also because we knew he’d be at one of the player appearance locations for autographs at noon. We got to the line (which was already pretty long) around 10:45a, and attendants started warning people just behind us that they may not make it to the booth within the hour. The wait honestly wasn’t that bad as we chatted with the Caniac couple in front of us about the team, our season, favorite players, previous All-Star experiences, upcoming Cool Bars… there was a lot of time to kill, but at least we were surrounded by fun, friendly hockey-loving people! Just before our new friends in front of us got to the young one, he took a phone call which seemed to last forever, but finally our turn had come. He was very sweet & humble as he thanked us for our congratulations and signed our shirts. First mission of the day: accomplished!

After grabbing a quick lunch, focused on our only other mission for the day, we decided to forgo the rest of the downtown festivities to grab a close spot at the RBC Center red carpet event. After recovering from the shock of paying $20 to park where we normally do for $10, we snagged a spot right behind the rail and proceeded to wait for the next 2.5 hours for things to get started. A band from a local military base kept us entertained and was later joined by mascots from around the league, who, in all honesty, were very amusing. We were starting to get over the reflexive anger at the sight of rival jerseys/logos at this point after being around them so much the past 2 days. (All-Star weekend = condensed prolonged exposure therapy? Psych & hockey worlds colliding!)

Two and a half hours later, looking back toward the buses when the boys arrived, I realized how big the crowd was and how extravagant the event had gotten. What I expected to be a short runway for the guys to walk down rather quickly as they went right into the RBC Center had turned into a full on 90 min broadcast including multiple stops for interviews, pictures, and plenty of time for autographs! Greatly exceeded my expectations, especially of player/fan interaction, and was possibly one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had, being literally about a foot away from these amazing athletes. It didn’t quite hit me as I was standing there holding a puck while Danny Briere signed it for a Flyers fan 2 people deep behind me or taking pictures of Mike Green and Jonathan Toews (my non-Canes hockey crushes) having to lean back a little to get them in frame, because they were so close… it wasn’t until after we got home, calmed down a little, and uploaded the pictures that I realized what had just happened. Hell, I still don’t know that I’ve fully grasped it yet! The shock and excitement kept me up till 3a, scrolling through pictures and rewatching the event (which I had thought enough ahead to DVR!), which did not bode well for my energy level on Sunday. I knew the giddy energy would take over, and I could recover on Monday, though!

Here are the guys! (Ladies, if you ever doubted that hockey players could be hot with all the fighting, broken noses, etc, scroll through these pics and get back to me…)

Henrik Lundqvist, NY Rangers

Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks

Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins

Dustin Byfuglien, Atlanta Thrashers

Too close to evil…
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Sharpie, Chicago Blackhawks

Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens

Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins

Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks

(he started to move, but I caught him making the Toews face!)

Last but definitely not least, our All-Star goalie & #1 pick in the fantasy draft, Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes :)

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NHL All-Star Madness: Period 1- Canes Corner & Fantasy Draft

Wow.

I know All-Star/Pro Bowl games are typically considered to be excessive and wastes of time because they’re “not the real game,” but my experience of the NHL All-Star weekend has left me absolutely speechless. Those that know me know what a feat that is, and Raleigh and the NHL definitely accomplished it. I knew my fellow Caniacs and the Canes organization could hold their own, but I was still highly impressed. So much amazingess was packed in to this weekend, I broke it down into 3 entries following our Caniac Girl Trio’s adventures: Period 1 for the Thursday and Friday leading up to the main events, which include Canes Corner with Jeff Skinner and the Fantasy Draft; Period 2 for the unbelievable experience that was the red carpet event, complete with pictures; Period 3 for the Fan Fair and the day of the game itself. Enjoy!

Our Caniac Girl Quartet was reduced to Caniac Girl Trio (CGT) for All-Star Weekend, keeping our 4^th (and the rest of our Facebook world) in the loop via updates from our smartphones. We started our All-Star madness by getting to Backyard Bistro across from the RBC Center 2 hours before Jeff Skinner would enter for his interview on 99.9 the Fan’s Canes Corner broadcast. (If you’d like to listen, click here) The support of the Caniacs (and females 13-18yo) was made abundantly clear by the packed house and scream fest that erupted at his entrance from just behind our table. You could see his face turn bright red as he passed.

Mike Maniscalco conducted a great interview, as always, and you could sense the young one getting more comfortable as the hour went on. Hearing about how his hometown supports him via a call from the mayor, how he got to where he is in hockey, his thoughts about the Caniacs and Canes org, and relationships with teammates, linemates and roommates was pretty awesome. Well, what we could hear of it anyway, with two 13-15yo girls standing right behind our seats saying how hot he was the whole time. My favorite part was re: Peters’s mustache: “Sometimes he’d sort of vent to me if he was having an off day and his confidence wasn’t real high on the mustache, but I guess that’s what roommates are for.” The main thing I took away from the experience (aside from the overwhelming mob) was that Skinner has the same humble, down-to-Earth personality and great sense of humor that seems to be a Canes standard across the roster. I really think he’s a perfect fit for this team and fan base, and hope he is here for years to come.

On Friday, the CGT ventured out to the streets of downtown Raleigh to peruse the outdoor ASG festivities, catch the fantasy draft, and end the night with the free concert courtesy of 3 Doors Down. We each had to work and knew we’d miss our opportunity to get the wristbands being randomly distributed inside the Fan Fair for seats at the fantasy draft, so we watched from a sports bar-like tent set up just outside the convention center. Personally, I loved the idea of team captains and alternates picking their guys kickball-style, because you saw their personalities coming out in their reactions quite a bit (ie: Toews looking shocked each time he didn’t get picked, Marc Staal giving his brother a big guilt trip…). Cam getting picked first overall was awesome, but his reaction— "I was the best player available, I guess” – was priceless. In the end, I think Caniac Nation was pretty happy that Staal managed to get all of our All-Stars playing for his team (and Marc and Sharpy, too), which set the weekend up to be that much more fun not having to divide our allegiance. On to Saturday in Period 2…

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Movin' On Up

Jeff Skinner, the Carolina Hurricanes 18 year old rookie I’ve been blogging about all season, was officially named to the NHL All-Star Game roster about an hour ago! He’s the youngest player currently in the league and will be the youngest to ever play in the All-Star Game, too. The hockey mob I follow on Twitter has been throwing all these stats out since the announcement, but perhaps the most impressive is @drosennhl’s tweet: “Skinner has more goals than 9 of the forwards selected for the All-Star Game. He has more points than 4 of them.” If that stat and the way he’s played all season doesn’t show that he deserves the spot regardless of the fact that Raleigh is hosting, I don’t know what does. The only downside to this news is that now Eric Staal has to add Skinner in the mix of which player to pick first in the fantasy draft on Friday: Skinner, our goalie- Cam Ward, or his brother- Marc Staal. Dilemma!

Congrats to the young one!! Definitely recognition well-deserved :)

The official announcement


Link to Skinner’s goal videos on NHL.com if you want to peruse the greatness

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I Love These Boys!

These past two days have been great for me as a fan. Not only did my Green Bay Packers beat da Bears, they beat them to win the NFC Championship and to go on to play in the Super Bowl! Looking back, it’s awesome to be able to say that during their Super Bowl season, I saw them play at the New Meadowlands and beat the Jets, and also that I went to Lambeau for the tour & Hall of Fame, too! Not bad for my first year as a full on Packers fan. At least this is all happening after I declared my allegiance so I don’t have to worry about the bandwagon tag. Not to mention, I have the family history to prove it. I think the matchup against the Steelers will be great to watch. Two respectable, old school football teams with amazing fan bases… doesn’t get much better than that. So excited to watch my boys from Green Bay go for their first Super Bowl since XXXI. Go Pack Go!

Before I leave the NFL thought… this Jay Cutler injury controversy- anybody have any thoughts? Several NFL players called him out, mostly via Twitter, saying that he was either not tough or that he was milking the “injury” because the game wasn’t looking too good for him. MJD, one of the players I used to respect, tweeted “Hey I think the urban meyer rule is effect right now... When the going gets tough........QUIT..” and later went on to tweet that he played the whole season on a hurt knee. Thing 1- You don’t talk about my coach like that. Urban had health issues and was not just “quitting” because things got tough. You’re not a Gator. You weren’t there. Shush if you don’t want a bunch of angry UF fans (a good chunk of the Jags fan base, just fyi) turning on you. We don’t handle criticism of our coach well. Thing 2- Last I checked, he was out for the last 2 weeks of the season with… what was it again?... Oh yeah, a knee injury. How can you call another player out with a claim about yourself that isn’t true? Lost my respect after that. Anyway, all that to say, with the Chicago Sun-Times saying MRI results show a sprained MCL for Cutler, are all the comments unfounded or were the players that said it wasn’t the question of the injury, but his demeanor and actions on the sideline that upset them justified?

Moving on, if you haven’t come to the realization by now, I absolutely love my Carolina Hurricanes! My Caniac girls and I made a last minute decision to snag some lower level seats to tonight’s game on StubHub, and I can safely say it was the best way I’d spent $38 in a while. The seats were great. The game had about as much drama as you can in an NHL game without going into OT. There were 2 legit fights. 6 goals (which means queso! Moe’s gives Canes fans free queso the day after the Canes score 5+ goals. It’s become a thing for us. Chants of queso, reference to goal #5 as the queso-winning goal or qwg. Good stuff.). A semi-comeback by the Leafs. Banners dropped for our All-Stars as it was the last home game before the All-Star break, game and festivities to be held in Raleigh this year, so extra exciting for us. My friends and I got on the jumbotron with our freshly-made signs for our boys. The franchise’s 1,000^th win as we battled through some rough officiating (as usual) to win 6-4 and get a much needed 2 points. Great night.

That being said, the road to the win was rough, mostly due to some seriously inconsistent officiating. It’s not just us. I am by no means saying the refs are picking on the Canes in particular. It’s being said around the league that certain refs let some things slide while others are more picky, and when you have dissension among the group of refs on the ice on any given night, or even differences in calls between groups at different games, the inconsistency makes it difficult to play, watch, and respect what’s going on in the NHL. The integrity of the game is being questioned for sure, and hopefully a refresher or difference in policy or something will happen asap re:officiating or it will just get even more out of hand. My favorite, Tuomo Ruutu, was getting checked quite a bit early on, though he got his share of retaliation, one recipient of said retaliation ending up sitting on the bench after a good shove sent him there. Things only escalated from there as Chad LaRose got into a fight, then shortly after, a scrum broke out which ended in Tim Gleason possibly busting Nikolai Kulemin’s face so much so that he had to leave the ice. Through all that going on, Brandon Sutter managed to continue his return to offensive visibility with 2 goals, making that 3 in the last 3 games. McBain launched in a 66 ft slapshot, Corvo and Skinner each had a power play goal, and Erik Cole sealed the game with an empty net shot. Skinner should have had a second goal, which Giguere scooped out from between his skate and the net pretty clearly on video, but after what felt like a 2 month review, the NHL gods said no. Absolutely ridiculous call, but one of many, and we’ve learned to battle through it and still manage to win.

Great win for my hockey boys following a great day for my football boys, and my Gator bball boys get ranked #23 for their first time making the board this season. Couldn’t be a happier fan.  

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