Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Quick Notes

  • Mike Commodore will be on Hockey Night in Canada Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio 122 (sometime between 4pm-7pm ET) tomorrow (wednesday)
  • Raffi Torres out at least 6 weeks with a dislocated shoulder (ouch).
  • Khabibulin cleared waivers (and I was not the only one wondering why LA didn't pick him up; Jeff Marek on Hockey Night in Canada Radio also was surprise).

Monday, September 29, 2008

Final Score

7-1. Jackets blew the 'Hawks out of the water.

I work in a bookstore in a college town, and during the first week of courses, a student who was buying books notice the 'Hawks shirt I was wearing (I wore the Jacket's shirt before and it needed to be washed). He asked me if I was a 'Hawks fan and I said I was a bigger Jackets fan. Turned out he was a Jackets fan too. Anyways, he was telling me to keep my eyes out for Tyutin, that he was going to shine. And he was right.

Awesome game guys!

But I am getting sick of that burrito song commercial. It's embedded in my head now.

Why Couldn't the Jackets Played Like This In Chicago Last Week???

Halfway through the second period, 4-o Jackets. That is so freaking awesome!!

There is a lot of excitement in Chicago, but I never felt it. I feel so much more excited with the Jacket's new and awesome lineup. There wasn't much change in the 'Hawks lineup. I think the hype is because of John McDonough's marketing genius (Hey, it worked for the Cubs).

I really do think that the Jacket's changes are not given the respect that it deserves. This is a new team now, much better. 4 goals in less than 5 minutes? We beat Nashville once? Heck yeh, we got a great team.

Ain't I excited? Heck yeh.

In other news, the 'Bulin wall is on waivers. Think he's going to get snatch up? Only if a team is really needing a goaltender. Maybe LA. But I don't think it's going to happen.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Holy Crap!! We DID IT!!!

We beat the PREDS!! WE BEAT THE PREDS!!

Great game guys!!

Voracek with a goal & assist. Tyutin sounded great. Nasty Mirasty dropped them early (unfortunately I missed the first period).

And I can't hear enough of that Nationwide "smooth jazz" commercial with Jared Boll & Rusty Klesla. That is a classic.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Quick Initial Thoughts about the Game Last Night

  • I will try to post up my photos later on today. They are not exactly perfect (the camera is a loaner so I wasn't entirely familiar with it, I was at a kinda bad angle for some of the action, and I after a while I wanted to focus on watching the action rather than trying to find photo opportunities). (I saw the request for Versteeg this morning; I may have one or two of him, since he seemed to be on the ice quite a bit).
  • For someone who never been to an NHL game before (been to the old IHL & the current USHL games), you get a new appreciation for the game that you don't get watching it on TV. Like, the ice looks bigger on TV; it's not. They check REALLY REALLY hard into the boards. And it was REALLY cold near the ice (and I was dressed warm too).
  • Over 18,000 for a preseason game. Impressive. It was nearly packed, especially in the 200 & 300 levels. There were more open spaces in the 100 levels but people moved down towards the 3rd period to fill those spots.
  • There was a guy sitting about 5-10 rows behind me wearing a CBJ jersey who looked very familiar. It took a few takes and then I realized where I saw him (considering I've never been to Columbus before). He was in the background of the Leclaire computer background download photo released by Blue Jackets. That was just weird. I think I saw maybe 2 others CBJ jerseys in the crowd (I went incognito for safety. If something were to happen to me no one would know until Thursday when I go back to work. We are talking about Chicago here...I had on a old Nordiques tee but mostly wearing my black Indiana Ice hoodie jacket inside)
  • It is really rough rooting for your team in enemy territory.
  • I focused entirely on paying attention to the Blue Jackets, so my comments will be about them. I cannot comment about the 'Hawks, except that Campbell was really quick out there.
  • Lots of fighting last night. There's bad blood between these two teams.
  • Players I was impressed with: Brassard, Voracek, Chimera & Novotny; Tollefsen & Backman; Sestito & Dorsett plowing the 'Hawks into the boards; Norrena coming back to finish strong in the 2nd after being plowed into the boards.
  • More later on in the day. I rolled into home at 2am on autopilot (I don't remember much of the last 15-20 minutes of the drive), and I am still exhausted.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Game tonight

  • Ticket? - Check.
  • Camera? - Check.
  • Roster Info? - Check.
I will be taking a lot of pictures tonight. And writing down my thoughts. I will try to post them as soon as I can, but I can imagine I will be sleeping in quite a bit on Wednesday. This should be an interesting game: Brassard & Voracek is playing on the CBJ side, while Patrick Sharp & Patrick Kane, as well as goalie Corey Crawford, on the CHI side. Interesting people to watch.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

I now have a new favorite (non-goalie) player


From what I have been reading, I think I'm going to really, really, REALLY like Mike Commodore (not to mention his AWESOME last name!!)!

I hope to see that hairdo soon!

Indiana Ice News

There seems more to the story of Ethan Werek's decision to play for the OHL's Kingston team instead of in Indiana.

Also, the 2008-09 Indiana Ice roster is up.

I was able to score a ticket to the Ice's home opener against Cedar Rapids in a few weeks. Only $20 (with the Ticketmaster fees of course) got me front-row next to the penalty box. I might just have to bang on the plexiglass just this once. I'm not sure if I can even get a seat for $20 at Nationwide (if so, it's nose-bleed seats). One day I hope to go to see the Jackets play in Nationwide, but right now I'm content with their preseason game in Chicago.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

It was expected.

RANGERS' ZHERDEV OFF TO SLOW START (NY Post)

Hope the New Yorkers will have fun with Zherdev.

Also, Fritsche had a good day on the ice with a highlight-worthy goal.  I wish him all the luck in NY.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Just For Laughs

The Hockey News website featured some off-the-wall predictions from various sports writers, including Columbus Dispatch's Aaron Portzline. Some of them are predictable: Stabs at the KHL, Mats Sundin, Toronto & the Tampa Bay, but some are actually quite good.

Aaron Portzline's prediction:

KHL czar Alexander Medvedev gets fed up and decides to buy the NHL for $2 trillion. No more quibbling over players. No more dealing with the IIHF. Say hello to the Kolomna Blue Jackets!
My favorite:

Dallas Stars co-GM Brett Hull will pass on a chance to trade for Jeremy Roenick saying Roenick talks too much.

Other good ones:

Mats Sundin signs with the Red Wings for $500,000 and becomes a fourth-line center in an incredibly stacked lineup.

In a particularly intense late-season game between Dallas and San Jose, Sean Avery climbs into the stands at the Shark Tank, grabs the purse of a woman heckler and hits her over the head with it.

Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. Marian Hossa shot flying toward unattended Blackhawks net. Out of nowhere, skating wildly, wearing baseball glove, Steve Bartman to the rescue.

Vancouver GM Mike Gillis trades the Sedin twins for the Olsen twins. The Canucks lose much-needed scoring, but attendance at their games goes through the roof.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Updates

  • Hockey Night in Canada Radio was not on last night, so I think it is safe to assume that will start airing again September 29.
  • It appears I will not be able to see Nikita Filatov play on Tuesday in Chicago. Seems that they are keeping him off the ice till late next week in order to mend his (hairline) broken fibula. I hope to see Voracek play though.
  • The Blue Jackets prospects beat the Tampa Bay prospects last night to take 7th place in the Prospects Tourney.
  • Blue Jackets: Question about playoffs nets cautious optimism (Columbus Dispatch)
  • For those in the Columbus area: Free food on Friday, 12-2pm at the Nationwide Arena Plaza. You can also see Fedor Tyutin, Kristian Huselius, Nikita Filatov and Jakub Voracek.
  • Blue Jackets 2008 training camp preview (Hockey's Future Website)
  • Voracek yanked from prospects tourney (Halifax's Metro News - The Q blog). I'm not a communications/journalism degree-holder, but isn't this title a little too rough?
  • In unrelated news, I am fighting for first place in 2 out of my 3 fantasy baseball leagues, which is amazing because I never made it any better than 3rd place, even in hockey. And baseball I know little about.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Quick updates

  • For those with Sirius Satellite Radio, Hockey Night in Canada Radio with Jeff Marek should be back on (Sept. 15 according to the Sirius.ca website). I haven't confirmed this yet because I take public transport to work rather than drive. But it should be on M-F, 4-8pm (2 hours, repeated twice), on Sirius channel 122.
  • (see above): Looking at the cbc.ca website, Hockey Night in Canada Radio will start airing September 29, M-F, 4-7 pm (I think I heard they are doing 3 hours straight now) on Sirius channels 122 & 97. I will try to see if it's on tonight and confirm which may be true here.
  • With the merger of Sirius & XM satellite radio, there should be more choices coming in the "early fall". This may or may not mean that with Sirius XM, those who were previously with Sirius may have access to the NHL games when it comes to a la carte programming. I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but if this is indeed the case (o please please please!!), I will let y'all know.
  • Six days to the first preseason game of the Blue Jackets in Chicago (I got my ticket! Three rows from the ice on the Columbus shoot-twice side! I will bring a camera and take beaucoup pictures).
  • A bit of old news, but Robert Lang (C-Chicago) was dealt to Montreal for a draft pick in 2010. My first reaction was "That's a bummer," but then I realized he wasn't that great of a player last season. It was commented Langer was one of the players that caused the normally cool & calm Denis Savard to give his "Commit to the Indian" speech last season (Right after the lost to the Blue Jackets *big smile* in January).

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Nice Pitch Sharpie!

Watch Patrick Sharp throw the first pitch of the White Sox game yesterday.




There was an interview with John McDonough during the third inning that was more interesting then the baseball game (but I guess that says a lot about how much I really like baseball).

One more year of....

Chris Chelios.

Man, he's got to be Superman. Instead of the Red Wings logo, he should have a big S on his jersey instead. How does he do it?

Trinity to Columbus, the Filatov has landed

Filatov in town, set to go to work (Columbus Dispatch)

Oh yeh! He's here. Finally.

Thirteen days to the first Jackets pre-season game in Chicago & I will be there. Three rows from the ice, at the Columbus shoot-twice area (I just hope the people in front of me are short as well). I got a good price on that ticket too. The ticket should arrive today. Next step, get a good camera to take pictures with. I will be totally excited, I would love to see Filatov, Voracek, & Brassard play, as well as Nash, Commodore, Tyutin, & Pazzie. And I would be interested in seeing whoever Chicago puts on net (either Khabibulin or Huet I'm sure). I love watching goalies.

I went to a fight last night...

and a hockey game broke out!

KHL game, Dinamo Riga (white jerseys) and HC Sibir Novosibirsk (blue).

Among the fighters: Marcel Hossa, Matt Ellison (formally of the Blackhawks & Flyers), Ron Petrovicky (formally of the Thrashers & Penguins) and Former Blue Jackets Duvie Westscott (the last guy fighting at the end of the video in white).



Poor Bulgaria!

An 82-0 lost for the Women's Ice Hockey Olympic qualifying team. Slovakia just blew them into smithereens.

A small blurb about Steve Mason

From the Calgary Herald website (which I think is actually just a summary Sunday's Columbus Dispatch article):

Steve Mason would love nothing better than to be suiting up with the Columbus Blue Jackets prospects.

But the 20-year-old goaltender, who starred with the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers and London Knights, injured his left knee in April. He's had a quiet summer following surgery and hasn't skated since the injury.

"The pads are just sitting there collecting dust," Mason told the Columbus Dispatch.

Mason, who led Canada to a gold medal at the 2008 world junior hockey championship in Russia, is expected to start the season with the American Hockey
League's Syracuse Crunch. But the native of Oakville,Ont., is considered a significant piece of the Jackets' future.

Not so great news for the Indiana Ice & the USHL

It seems that Ethan Werek, who had planned to play for the Indiana Ice this season & even practice the past two weeks with them, decided to go with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL instead. This is a big blow for the Ice and the USHL in general (and even possibly Boston U., as he was planning to play college hockey there), who are trying to be the American version of the OHL, WHL, & the Q.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

It's that time of year again...

Time for those NHL season preview magazines to hit the magazine racks. And the only time of year I can get any hockey magazines at the local Barnes & Noble.

So, in my hands, or on my hardrive, I have:
  • The Hockey News Ultimate Fantasy Pool Guide 2008-2009
  • The Hockey News Yearbook 2008
  • The Sporting News Hockey 2008-2009
  • The Official 2009 NHL Yearbook
So, what are they saying about the Blue Jackets this year?

The Hockey News Ultimate Fantasy Pool Guide 2008-2009:

The Fantasy Impact Standings:
8. Columbus: Nash & Umberger lead revamped offense.
In their Hot 100 Top Scorers, they project Nash as being #42, with 78 games played, 4o goals, 32 assists for 72 points. The only other Columbus player on that list is Kristian Huselius at #95, with 81 games played, 21 goals and 38 assists for 59 points.

In their Projected Shutouts, guess who they have on top? Yes, Pascal Leclaire with a project 8 shutouts (FYI, they projected 6 each for Giguere, Brodeur, Kiprusoff, Luongo & Lundqvist).

As for the Rookies to watch, they have Jakub Voracek at #6:
Voracek is more of a playmaker than scorer, which suits the Blue Jackets fine. They've been searching for someone to get Rick Nash the puck since he entered the league (43 points)
In their Ultimate Guide to the Teams:
The Blue Jackets are a defensive-minded squad under coach Ken Hitchcock, but rely heavily on star winger Rick Nash for offense.

A one time 40-goal man, Nash missed the milestone by two goals in 2007-08, but will get there again. Fifty goals is not out of Nash's reach, but, he needs a better supporting cast first.

Kristian Huselius will replace Nikolai Zherdev on the wing, playing with more consistency and causing less headaches for GMs.

Swedish veteran Fredrik Modin is also a strong winger with scoring ability, but has had a hard time remaining healthy.

There are solid role players, led by Jason Chimera, Manny Malhotra & Jiri Novotny. The team has high hopes for Czech winger Jakub Voracek, who will get every opportunity to earn a top-six winger spot this year.

While the Jackets are strong on the wings, they are weak at center. Neither Malhotra or Novotny are solid options for the first or second line and Rookie Derick Brassard needs time to develop.

On defense, new acquisitions Fedor Tyutin & Christian Backman have made the backend even bigger and tougher. Kris Russell is a few years away from handling the quarterback duties.

In goal, Pascal Leclaire has arrived as the No. 1 man. As the team improves, so will his numbers.
And finally, on the page about penalty stats, a photo of our very own Jared Boll fighting!

Next magazine up: The Sporting News Hockey 2008-2009

100 Things About Me (part deux)

  1. I love corny 80's satire comedy.
  2. Musically, I am stuck in the 90's: 90's grunge and alternative are my favorites. There is very little I like today. Outside that, I also like some slowcore (i.e. Low) and some indie rock (Ida, The Reindeer Section).
  3. I married a metal head but you would never guessed it.
  4. Our first real "date" was to Ozzfest. I didn't really enjoy the music too much but I liked people watching.
  5. The first real concert I've ever been to: The Cowboy Junkies in 1996 (I was a senior in high school). I went to see them several other times in the 6 years after that.
  6. My favorite concert: Low, in Chicago, a few years back.
  7. I do not like clothes shopping. It is rare that I find something I like and will fit and is somewhat modest.
  8. I am a modest dresser. No low-cuts, no cleavage, no stomach showing, and no pants/skirts/dress an inch or two above my ankles.
  9. I wear tennis shoes & t-shirts with my skirts.
  10. I fell in love with Ottawa (the city).
  11. I've been trying to get into a habit of running for about 8 months now. I never can keep at it though.
  12. Most days I'm content staying at home. Other days I crave to go hang out at Barnes & Noble (though I work at an independent bookstore on the other side of town).
  13. I never eat meat when I eat out.
  14. I prefer vegetarian meals to meat.
  15. I LOVE Qdoba and Noodles & Co.
  16. I hardly have to go to my favorites; I memorize most web addresses that I frequent.
  17. I love tons of snow.
  18. I am extremely, painfully shy. I usually don't like to the be first one to speak.
  19. I hate PDA: Public Displays of Affection.
  20. My man is my best friend. I have very little friends other than him. Due to the type of community I live in, people come and go every four years or so.
  21. I always wanted to move far far away from Indiana. Now I've grown to love it. I just want to move to a city in Indiana with more hockey.
  22. When I was a kid I had a Manon Rheaume picture/poster on my wall.
  23. I also had a Monet print up on the wall.
  24. And a map of Canada as well.
  25. I also went for any Canadian musician's cd I knew of and get my hands on: Barenaked Ladies, The Tragically Hip, Spirit of the West....

Friday, September 5, 2008

100 Things About Me (Part 1 of ?)

Because it seems everyone else is doing it; and no, I wouldn't jump off a bridge if everyone else is doing it.

  1. I took 3 years of German, 3 years of French, and a semester of Spanish in high school.
  2. I took German because, well I don't know why initially. But I liked the fact I was learning the language of the vast majority of my ancestors. It also gave me an opportunity to go to Germany for 3 weeks; the first time I ever left the US.
  3. I took French because I dreamed of living in Montreal or elsewhere in Quebec.
  4. I'm not sure why I took Spanish; it was a conversation & culture course anyways.
  5. I added my French major after getting my first bachelor's in order to communicate with my in-laws.
  6. My initial degree was in anthropology.
  7. I [HEART] fantasy sports. I usually have at least one baseball team, a few football teams, and as many as I can get of hockey teams. I tried basketball once and absolutely suck at it. My co-worker got me started on fantasy sports. Now I'm obsessed with them (usually because I end up doing better than he).
  8. Magazines I read: Real Simple, Vegetarian Times, Runner's World, any hockey magazine I can get my hands on.
  9. I work in a bookstore.
  10. Favorite authors: Sherman Alexie, Joy Harjo, Louise Erdrich, Simon Winchester, Tolkien, Willa Cather.
  11. Favorite book themes/topics: anthropology, history of the world through the lens of a single item & idea, interesting travel narratives, natural disaster histories, the prairie.
  12. Favorite cookbooks: anything by Rick Bayless, Bittman's How to Cook Everything, and most of the Moosewood cookbooks.
  13. I'm currently reading the Star Wars novels in storyline chronological order.
  14. In terms of reading, I have obsessions that would last a week or two but fade away. Like once I tried to read all the Shakespeare plays in alphabetical order, but never finished.
  15. I [HEART] watching Monk & Psych.
  16. I'm totally obsessed with weather. I started college in meteorology but switched out because I sucked at chemistry. If I am able to (but I can't because we have the cheapest part of cable), I would watch the Weather Channel obsessively.
  17. I [HEART] Fanta.
  18. I lived in Indiana all my life.
  19. I never been to an NHL game before.
  20. I used to go to the Indianapolis Ice games when they were in the old IHL.
  21. I do plan on going to the first Jackets preseason game (in Chicago) in a few weeks.
  22. I am really hoping to go to the regular season home opener of the Jackets next month. It will be my first time in Columbus (not driving through).
  23. Been to Cincinnati once. Went to the art museum on top of the hill. That park area was really beautiful.
  24. I went to New Jersey once and will never go back.
  25. I have never been to NYC or California, and I have no desire of going there.

Apologies, Fantasy Hockey, Stefan Legein & More

My apologies for the slight break in blogging. Little or no hockey news (or just too late to blog about it) plus a very busy time at work plus some hiccups in life equals a very bad blogger. Now without further ado...

Hey Blue Jackets Fans!! I have started a Fantasy Hockey League on CBSSports.com. You can name your team after your fave Jacket past & present. It's a weekly Head to Head, with an automated draft set for September 20. Please join {League Name: "Columbus Blue Jackets Fans"}; I have 5 more spots to fill. (I also have a league for hockey fans in Indiana; So please, if you are a fan living in Indiana, please join {League Name: "Hoosier Fantasy Hockey League"}- because I need 11 more people...). These are all free leagues, of course. [EDITED: I tried to provide links but it only went to my teams for some reason. If I can find links to the league in order to join, I will post it up]

Canada's Sportsnet (Ontario Region) website tries to make sense of Stefan Legein.

So, it's a little over three weeks till the first preseason game (I'm nearly 90% sure I'm going to the first Jackets preseason game in Chicago). Mix feelings about whether I want this time to move quickly or not: I want hockey and I want it now, though that also means that while I'm (almost 90% sure I will be) at that first preseason game, my other half will be flying overseas to visit family for 4-5 weeks. So, I'm sure it will be a very lonely time those 4-5 weeks, watching hockey, reading hockey, reading Star Wars novels (yes, I'm a geek) and hiding from society in general. But at least I'll have hockey.

Discussion: Should I break out my Pazzie jersey to wear in Chicago, or should I go low-key for my safety?