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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In a Canes Coma

Life is still happening outside of hockey? In the past 14 days, I’ve gone to 3 Canes practices, 4 home games, watched 3 games on tv, re-watched DVRed games I went to, stayed after for signatures, shopped at The Eye, coordinated and picked up 26 tickets for upcoming games, developed a Twitter habit (following primarily Canes/NHL affiliates and Caniacs), and read/listened to/watched every bit of Canes media I could get access to. It’s been intense, but I’ve been accompanied by at least 1 other member of our Caniac quartet for most of that, so it’s been a lot of fun. (Have I mentioned lately that we love this team?) Alas, there are other things going on in the world of sports, and I’m usually much more well-rounded than this when it comes to team loyalty. Tonight being Canes-free (after a frenzy of media activity throughout the day) seemed like a good opportunity to check in with my other teams on the blog. The title is EastCoastSportsChick not HyväCanes, after all…

I’m starting to feel the absence of college football, and I don’t like it. If I didn’t have hockey to distract me, I don’t know what I’d do. The NFL Playoffs have nicely lessened the blow, especially because my Packers made it to the NFC Championship. Even sweeter, they’re playing the Bears. I was secretly hoping for this matchup partially because it makes things interesting between myself and some of my friends, but also because of the history and rivalry that runs so deeply between these two teams. The talent levels are a great matchup as well, so it will actually be a great battle between the Ds and QBs of each team. Any given Sunday and all, but Aaron Rodgers tends to be the more consistent of the two. Plus, with all the injuries we’ve suffered this season, we’ve finally looked functional and like we’re peaking in the post-season, which is perfect timing if you ask me. The other side of the league is interesting as well. I was ecstatic to see the Jets take down Brady and the evil empire, and still hold that the battle of the Green would make an awesome Super Bowl. The downside is that’s gonna mean pitting factions of my family against each other and a strange spreading thin of the typical respectful cheering that usually helps make stressful games more manageable. The Steelers and Jets are both total wild cards right now. You never know which versions of their teams are gonna show up, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. That is why they play the game, after all…

Gator bball has been working its way through the SEC. It’s not been bad, but it’s not been consistent either. Living in ACC territory, when my local ESPN radio station isn’t talking about my Canes, they’re blabbing on about ACC basketball. Normally, I’m ok with that and at least partially interested, but right now, I’m just not in it. Once the NFL wraps up, I’m sure I’ll get around to watching more games, but for now, NCAA hoops is hovering in the background of my sports radar.

Ironically, opposite of most of the country, NBA hoops actually is on my radar. I’ve been watching the Magic a little more closely, though I jinxed them in a recent post when I questioned how far their winning streak could go. It ended at 9 (which is where it was when I wrote about them). They’ve won some and lost some since. Respectable losses, though, like a close game against the Celtics, so I can’t complain. I’m loving that Turkoglu is back. The revamp of the team definitely has my approval. I don’t know what possessed me to do so- I’ll blame a hunt for MishandledBalls blog fodder- but I watched a Lakers game the other night, and actually another is about to come on right now. These always upset me, because more often than not, the Lakers win. And I hate the Lakers. The particular game on now is at the Nuggets, which means it will be peppered with Melo drama. (See what I did there?) Should be a good time. The upside? Pau Gasol cut his hair. Looking less like a greasy pedophile lately, which makes him more tolerable to watch. At least I know my Finnish hockey crush and some of his friends are hot under those helmets on the ice… Canes Coma resumes :)

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If You Can't Say Something Nice...

…at least don’t say it about my boys.

I’ve done my share of talking crap about other teams, but I never say something negative about an individual player unless I have a specific example to back up my claim. For instance, Alex Ovechkin may be skilled, but he also plays dirty. There are several references I can make here, but here’s one:   And this is minor compared to other stuff he’s done. Regardless, I can defend my claim.

Now, it’s one thing if ignorant or misinformed fans are saying things against players. It just shows their depth of understanding of the sport. But when a commentator or other sports professional makes the comment, that’s completely uncalled for. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, there was a recent incident where not only one of my favorite players had this happen, but it started spreading to others on the team.

The Carolina Hurricanes had a home-and-home series this week with the Boston Bruins. The first game was sad as we lost 7-0 in Boston, but the second was heartbreaking as we played with such a great effort, but came up short at home 3-2. I watched both on one of my cable channels that typically carries the games, and therefore was watching with our regular announcers. Some fellow Caniacs were watching on a Boston feed, and relayed via Twitter comments being made from the opposing side. To start it off, Mike Milbury was doing the intermission interview for NESN and called Tuomo Ruutu “a despicable player.” Now, I know my favorite Finn is known for big hits, and that’s one of the (many) things I love about him. 99 times out of 100, though, they’re clean hits, including the one that prompted this comment. And this coming from a former shoe slinger…

But wait- it gets better! Jack Edwards went on to say “this is typical of the Paul Maurice head-hunting, message sending teams we have seen in the past,” later in the game. The next day, when we played each other again back in Raleigh, he went so far as to make these comments about Chad LaRose: I’m sorry, but these comments are completely uncalled for and unprofessional. I can’t remember a time I’ve ever heard a Canes commentator make a comment remotely like that, because John Forslund, Chuck Kaiton, and –dare I say it—Tripp Tracy are way more poised and respectful than to stoop to such things. Nobody’s perfect, but damn. Realize the point when you’re no longer a player or a fan, but someone whose comments on the game are being broadcast as your job and have some respect for those playing the game.

I’m protective of my guys, especially when it comes to my Canes, because character is a huge part of this organization and something that really drew me to become a fan of this team in particular. God help them if I should ever cross their paths, cause I may be small, but I’m loud and loyal.

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Smile Like You Mean It

As Tripp Tracy said during Friday night’s game, watching Skinner play is definitely worth the price of admission. Having been in NYC for the early chunk of the season, the first game I was able to go to was the Oct 30^th game against the Rangers at MSG. Prior to that, I’d been listening to Chuck K calling the games online, and only able to watch the season openers in Helsinki (insert my obligatory whining about not being able to go to Finland here). Though I had heard about the wonder that is our newbie, Jeff Skinner, seeing him skate was a whole different story. The guy is only 18, looks even younger, and always has a huge grin on his face. You can tell he’s totally enjoying the whole playing in the NHL thing. More than that, though, he’s good. He’s got a ton of energy, isn’t afraid to get into traffic, and seems to positively affect anyone who plays on his line.

                After the 5-3 win against the Panthers, Skinner’s point total has reached 31, 3 points ahead of all other rookies in the NHL. Calder Cup rumors abound. The difference he’s made for the Canes has been great to watch so far this season, and will hopefully continue to bring the Canes into the playoffs. He was on the “JET” line with Erik Cole and Tuomo Ruutu during the Rangers game, and after numerous line changes, he’s been back with Tuomo again, creating an unstoppable force against Florida. Though he works well wherever you put him, in my opinion, it seems Ruutu is really effective at center, especially with Skinner as his winger. With the constantly revolving lines though, there’s no telling what things will look like from one game to the next. All I know is that with 10 big hits against the Panthers, my favorite Finn is starting to hit again after playing a little tamer at the beginning of the season, and Skinner’s energy and skill is fun as hell to watch. Definitely proud to have them as Canes!

PATs:

·          The Gators won their first SEC bball matchup of the season tonight against Ole Miss 77-71. Of course, I wasn’t able to watch, but I’m hoping what the articles I’ve been reading online are saying is right, and that our tough out-of-conference schedule has set us up well for tougher conference play. Side note: Walker hit the milestone 1,000 point mark, ending up with 1,006 career points after tonight’s game.

·          The Magic beat the Mavs 117-107 for their ninth straight win. They’re now tied for the longest streak in franchise history. Revamping the roster seems to be working well so far… The Hornets are up next on Weds night.

·          Saving the best for last, NFL playoffs started Saturday night. The Seahawks beat the defending Super Bowl Champions, the New Orleans Saints, 41-36. Didn’t get to watch the game, but I did go back to watch the clip of Marshawn Lynch’s absolutely ridiculous run, and you should, too. 

The J-E-T-S Jets! Jets! Jets! have come back on more than one occasion this season with less than a minute left to win games. Tonight was no exception. In a game that was close with the Colts pretty much the entire way, Vinatieri made his trademark clutch kick, 50+ yards out, dead center, leaving about :48 on the clock. Sanchez pulled off a drive in that small window of time that is becoming standard practice for the Jets. They made it down the field, well within Nick Folk’s range, and with 3 seconds left in the game, he made the winning field goal to send the Jets to the next round with a final score of 17-16. This should be a great set of playoff games.

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Brief PSA

Andrew Luck announced he’s staying at Stanford to finish his degree in architectural design according to ESPN. Not trying to get all preachy on here or off the topic of general sports updates, but I’m glad that’s what he’s chosen.

For those new to the blog (or who just may not have known), I’m going to grad school in the fall for a degree in higher education student affairs, hopefully ending up with a career in athletic student affairs. As an avid lover of many sports (um, see: watching games, blogging/talking about them, or watching ESPN during about 98% of my time awake), I’ve seen many college guys not make it in the pro world, and some who have made it getting hurt, cut, or otherwise out of pro sports and thrown into the “real world.” It seems like guys are entering their respective pro leagues younger and younger, which often means forgoing completion of their degree or even skipping college altogether a la LeBron. With such a high possibility of career-ending injuries, or even getting dropped from the team due to the highly competitive nature of pro-sports these days, if they haven’t already made enough money to be set for life, what are they expected to do without a degree?

Anyone who has ever watched a game with me knows I defend my boys adamantly. I don’t want to see them stuck if their pro-career doesn’t work out. I’m curious—does anyone else have an opinion on draft eligibility, joining a pro team so young, etc?

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Change of Pace

A lot is going on in the world of sports, and coincidentally, the blog.

The Gators rough season earned them a spot in the Outback Bowl. Not my first choice, of course, but being matched with JoePa made it more exciting. The game ended up being really well matched and great to watch. It stayed close up till the end when Ahmad Black’s interception sealed the game for my boys. Very fitting way to end Urban’s time with the Gators. Not sure what next season will bring with Mr. Muschamp as our head coach and now Charlie Weis resurfacing in the college football world to be our offensive coordinator. Interesting times ahead, that’s for sure…

With the college football season ending, NFL playoffs are just beginning. Though it looked a little iffy for a bit, the Packers overcame some serious injury setbacks throughout the season and managed to make it into the playoff picture by beating da Bears last weekend. We go against the Eagles in the first round this Sunday. ESPN has been saying repeatedly that they think we’re the biggest challenge in the playoff field aside from the obvious favorite in the Patriots (ugh). I’m confident we can get it done and at least make a good run. Go Pack Go!

The Canes are working on getting into the top 8 to make the NHL playoffs. Yes, there’s still time before things get serious, but they need to keep in contention from now and make their trademark late season push to make it happen. There have been line changes galore this season, and things still haven’t quite settled down. The recent concept of just keeping it simple seems to be helping, especially my favorite of the Finns, Tuomo Ruutu, who scored 2 goals and 6 assists over the last 5 games. The boys are in NYC to play the Rangers tonight, then face the Panthers for a rematch on Friday. Both games are crucial when it comes to points, so hopefully things will continue to come together.

Gator bball is starting SEC play this week, so expect more updates on their status and other college bball news in the weeks to come.

Shameless self-promotion: After being adamantly against the Twitter craze, I have joined the masses (in blog form). You can now follow ECSportsChick on Twitter for post updates and more random sports thoughts when I don’t have the time or creativity to write out a whole blog entry. Should lead to some fun discussions… bring on your support and/or rivalries!

Since we’re on the topic, I’m also plugging mishandledballs.tumblr.com – a collaborative effort combining sports and the “That’s what she said” phenomenon. If you or your friends catch TWSS comments regularly, you’ll love it. Also conveniently on Twitter @mishandledballs.

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