My Hockey Players are Growing Up!

If you are friends with me on Facebook this is nothing new, but I thought I would post a couple photos of the 2011-12 hockey players in the family. This season has me traveling 16 of 21 weekends and I just finished my first non traveling weekend of the past 6 weeks. We still had 2 home games for Frudoch and a 'team' trip to the Columbus Blue Jackets game vs. the Anaheim Ducks. Both were hard fought wins and FREE tickets to the CBJ game (thanks to Anaheim player George Parros) where they actually WON! Yes for the CBJ its been a tough start to the season at 2-9-1. In any case this post is about my hockey players and I do have one this year playing for the CBJ. Poppy is playing on 2 girls travel teams and while she did play some travel last year its only Oct 31 and we've already had more travel for her this year compared to all of last year.Just last weekend we went to Windsor Canada for the Hocktoberfest tournament and our girls team did a great job in going 5-1 in the tournament with our only loss being in the championship game by a score of 3-2. In 6 games they gave up only 6 goals with 4 shutouts! Frudoch has returned to play for the Capitals again this season but has moved up to the Bantam AA team. We've hit several out of town games and have several more to come. As one of the couple "new" guys on the team he's still trying to assert his place on the team. So far he's scoring a point a game thru 15 games and is winning faceoffs at a 71% pace. Both are tops on the team despite a second line role. This weekend we have 7 games between the 2 kids with Poppy drawing 5 and Frudoch 2. Oh yeah I'll be out of town for a portion of the weekend and its for a race meeting. Its all part of being a hockey parent.

Wisniewski Got Robbed

Welcome to Cbus James Wisniewski. The land where suspensions are handed out to teach a "weakling" franchise a lesson. Whether it was Campbell or now Shanahan the cycle continues. I see this from a Jackets perspective of course, but what we see here is what Shanny references and Clutterbuck came at Wiz. He knew what he was doing and then milked it. Shanny played favorites and we lose again.

Whirlwind

Its that time of year when I never have enough time... Nothing can be done about it. Its just the way it is. Yesterday morning started with a visit to the Orthodontist with my daughter. She's 8 and will get to know that Dr. very well over the coming years. He will get to know us as well. I had braces as a kid and hated it. My son has so far avoided it, but my daughter did not. She starts with a palate expander and placeholder retainer on the bottom. She also gets braces on the top, but won't get the wire until a tooth is moved forward. Then a bite block to move that tooth even further up. 14 months later her tops will be done and then we move to the bottom. For her there is plenty of time. For me not so much as we just made appointments for the next 6 months. I'm not sure I can write all those down on my calendar.

So obviously my daughter was sad about this. We went to everybody's favorite place for Pizza. Pizza-Hut. That helped, but took forever seeing as we were the only ones in the restaurant. A power nap later we were again off to the Columbus Blue Jackets Pre-Draft party at Nationwide Arena. Hey it was free. That also meant EVERYBODY was there too. lines were crazy for autographs. Poppy wanted to get her favorite players autograph RJ Umberger. Sadly the line for him was hours long and he was only there for 45 minutes. We decided to take a tour of the locker room and hope the line would be shorter for Jared Boll or Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year 2009) winner Steve Mason. While waiting in the line in the bowels of the arena I spied Steve Mason sneaking in and pointed him out to my son who at the top of his lungs shouted "STEVE MASON YOU'RE SO AWESOME". Of course everybody looked and he got a smile on his face as he was whisked away by security. A few minutes later around a corner a door opened and we were face to face with RJ Umberger. Poppy looked him in the eye and quietly waved to him and said "Hi RJ. He smiled and waved back saying hi to her.

The moment was better than any autograph ever could be. Both kids did things their way and thats what makes them special. After the tour of the locker room they were ready to roll so we went to BD Mongolian Barbecue for dinner. I'd never had it and it was good, but i was stiff full from lunch. We ate and headed home where we watched the Blue Jackets trade down and then back up to make their pick. Before I knew it it was 11. The time just keeps ticking, but it's summer in Ohio.

Today was similar. A gas pump going so slow I could count to 10 between 10ths of a gallon. Of course my on board computer told me I could go all of 14 miles so I had to wait it out. The pool is still closed. Thats been more than 2 weeks of warm weather. In an attempt to do something to cool off we decided to go and scout the other teams in our 3 on 3 ice hockey league and watched their game. Cooling down in the Ohio summer.

I followed that up with a visit to the Powell Festival for the greatest stuff on earth: Fair food. French Fries, Funnel Cakes, Elephant Ears. All there all right before my eyes. Blazing sun be damned. I was eating it all. Fried Shrimp and Fish Sandwiches and lemon-aid. Best of all the drinks were Pepsi products. This is what Pepto Bismol is for. For a moment there I believe time did stand still.

Tonight after getting the kids to help with some tree trimming we picked fresh wild black raspberries in the backyard. Blackberries are still a few weeks away. Summer in Ohio.
Sunday is still to come. I love summer.

Keep Jim Day on FSN Ohio Blue Jackets Telecasts

Since the birth of the Columbus Blue Jackets one man has been there for televised games. As host of the broadcast he is able to set the tone and welcome the viewers to the greatest sport of all. Jim Day has done that and more in his time as host of the CBJ pre and post game shows. I did an on-air piece with Jim when he was sports anchor at WSYX many years ago. He had me make fun of his last name just for laughs. The guy loves sports and TV. The fact that he was broadcasting the best of all sports was awesome. That time has now ended because he called a loss "disappointing" and refused to stay mum on the trials and tribulations of the team FINALLY making the playoffs. Jim Day will still be working for FSN Ohio, but not the CBJ broadcasts. In a scene straight out of the Doug McLain years the current powers that be decided to mess with the broadcasters. Firing Danny Gare and moving Bill Davidge from the radio booth to the TV side. George Mathews was given only a 1 year extension while Jeff Rimer gets 3. Rimer after 4 years still has trouble remembering which team he is covering and his endless name dropping and self promotion have made me turn the sound off. George and Bill have been here since the beginning along with Jim Day and it kills me to see them be broken up. I've stood right up with the CBJ organization thru all the good and bad, but this messing with the broadcast teams is too much. Stick to what you know. Hockey.

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/keepjimday/

Hockey in April? In Columbus?

On Thursday evening the Columbus Blue Jackets will finally lose the moniker as the last team in the NHL to make the playoffs. I've resisted the urge to write about it and just bask in the playoffs themselves. No coaches or GM firings. No lists of players we need to get rid of. Just real honest playoff games. Thursday and Saturday in Detroit and then next week here. Playoff fever has gripped Columbus. How long it lasts is anybodys guess. The experts don't give us much of a chance, but for this year thats OK. Its just nice to be in the show. Mr. Mac this ones for you.

Next....

So we returned from the tournament in Detroit and the first thing I heard was a really weird noise coming from my sump pump. I'll get around to that after Vegas I said to myself. I had 2 days and a million things to do. Poppy had her tournament final game at 7:30am at Chiller Easton. Nothing like having to wake up at o dark thirty on a holiday day off. So we went out and watched the CAHA team get handled not only by the other team, but the parents that were working the clock.


Well the game was fun, but decidedly one sided as the other team plays full ice vs. our half ice. Since these games were full ice and this one on Olympic ice it was hard to cover so much open ice. So after the game it was announced that all players were getting tickets to that nights Columbus Blue Jackets game against Dallas. Now I had so much to do with a trip coming on Wednesday morning, but Poppy earned it and I took her and as always she appeared on the Jumbotron with several of her teammates. We had fun. When I got home I heard that noise again.....

Please stay tuned. SO MUCH to tell and its getting late. Several more posts tomorrow.

Hockeytown

So I'm up in Detroit for a few days for what else? A hockey tournament. While the NHL team from up here went down to our town Columbus and guess what happened. The Jackets beat the RedWings 3-2. Awesome. Except for the fact we could not find any place to watch it up here. Hockeytown my ass. The hotel is nice, but is SOOOOO LOUD. The pool is in an atrium and the rooms overlook it. Nobody could sleep and it showed in this mornings game. A 2-0 loss to Pittsburgh. Its going to take alot more for Frudoch to get a trophy here. Add to that there is no free wifi. $9.99 for 24 hours and no free breakfast. Bummer. WE are across the street from Detroit Metro Airport, but you can't see anything because of the snow. Double bummer. When we get back home I turn around and head out west for the SCCA National Convention so hopefully the weather is nice. Cross your fingers for Frudoch and Poppy who is also playing this weekend for a team called the Blue Chill in the Chiller House Mite Tournament. Go Blue Chill and Go North Stars.

The NHL "War Room" is full of idiots

Anybody that knows me knows I perseverate on things. Something inside me says don't let go. In that mode I still can't forgive the NHL for the no-goal call against Dallas in December. Now I saw the same group of "hockey experts" in Toronto called and goal good in a recent Islanders vs. Oilers game. I sent the replays to a local CBJ blogger and he agrees. Check out Light the Lamp for your CBJ blogger fix. Its excellent. Plus he gave me credit. Excellent.

http://lightthelamp.blogspot.com/2009/01/you-be-judge.html

Who was that team?

The Blue Jackets played the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday night before a sold out crowd. We got freebies from the Chiller and sat in 227. I had to work the Thomas Worthington vs. Worthington Kilbourne basketball game so we were arriving just before faceoff and found little parking and scalpers getting close to face value. Very surprising after the last game and very poor player effort. The crowd was up and so were the Blue Jackets. A much better effort, but I'm not going to forget that egg they laid against LA. I have tickets to a couple more games and am considering purchasing for several more if the team that showed up against Philly becomes reality. Check them out.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all the bloggers that happen to stop by. Its been a great year and I'm enjoying a few days of rest from the hockey season. We went to a Blue Jackets game the other evening and it was horrible. The team never showed up. The crowd even chanted "Wake Up Jackets" instead of "Lets Go Jackets". A real letdown with a 3-0 loss. We will be heading back on Saturday as the Flyers come to town. Lets hope they show up then. Thanks to Pepsi and Giant Eagle we will also be there for Adam Foote's return to Columbus if he dresses for the game on January 13th. Be sure to buy 4 12 packs of Pepsi products at Giant Eagle to get your coupon for 4 tickets to any game before March 3rd.

Once again Merry Christmas to all except the CBJ. You guys need to get it together. Your inflated paychecks are your gifts...

The NHL has it in for the Columbus Blue Jackets

I now know that I've seen it all from the the NHL. Last night the CBJ won the game against Dallas. Only the NHL decided that we didn't. See for yourself here. Probably the worst call of any sport I've ever seen. The real shame here is that they use the super slow motion when this play happened at about 15-20 mph and Manny Malholtra's head was in front of his body. Try to kick with your head leaning forward in front of your body. Its physically impossible. Its called Kinesiology NHL. Try learning about it. For whatever reason the NHL has chosen to stick it to the CBJ in the War Room. Its been going on for years, but this took it to a new level. Ken Hitchcock got it right--We won this game.

Tribute to John McConnell--Columbus Blue Jackets

This was the video shown at the home opener honoring Mr. Mac. It was followed by a great game including a goal on Nikita Filatovs's FIRST SHOT in the NHL. Not bad for the rookie. First Game, First Shot, First Goal. Lets get the D figured out and get this team in the playoffs.

Are You Ready for Hockey? CBJ

Is it possible to have 2 cold viruses at once?

I'm telling you its been a tough couple weeks. We've had the virus running around our house for the last couple weeks. I am always slow to recover and in typical form its been about 2 weeks to get over this bug. I'm still coughing and then boom another sore throat. Ten the runny nose and aches. This is not right. I use Purell all the time now, but somehow I'm feeling it again. Sometimes life is not fair. Both kids had hockey today. One at 6:30 am and the other at 10:00 am. Sunday its reversed. One at 7:40 and the other at a more reasonable 1:30. This will go on for the next 4 months. What were we thinking?

I'm going back to bed as Wisconsin has figured out how to beat Ohio State. Pressure Terelle Pryor with a blitz and run it up the middle on offense. If I can figure this out why can't Jim Tressel? Going into halftime he just let Wisconsin back into the game and got the crowd awakened too. The Badgers band has been suspended for "Hazing" and no band at a Big Ten football game is a sure way to help deflate the crowd. Don't worry though as Jim Tressel has the answer..... At least he can beat Michigan regularly.

The 2008-2009 NHL season started today. Will the Columbus Blue Jackets finally reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs? I'm no great predictor, but I'll go against all the so-called experts and say it going to be close. Injuries or the lack of is going to be the key. If Nash and LeClaire stay healthy then there's a good chance. If Voracek and Brassard can play solid games and maintain their pre-season form we've got a chance. If the defensemen can score a total of 35 goals amongst them we've got a chance. As you can see there are a lot of "ifs" to go around. Most "experts" have us anywhere from 10th to 14th in the Western Conference. I even saw one pick us dead last. I don't see that happening, but thats why they play the games. I'll be either at or tuned in to every one of them too. Ice hockey is an amazing sport and I just can't get enough. One more Pre-season game and then Friday night we go to Dallas. I'll be tuned in on the radio as I have to work a local High-School football game. The best of both worlds.

Update: OSU pulled it out with a late drive for a 20-17 win over Wisconsin.

Oh Well There's Always 2010-2011

Brule to Edmonton for Torres is an Ok deal. IF IF IF his knee is rehabbed.

Mike Commodore? Are you kidding me. This is the "Big Splash" on UFA's? I think our worst fears have been realized. Nobody wants to come here. The past is destined to become our future. Get used to low to no scoring games for the foreseeable future. At almost 9pm of UFA day 1 Howson gets a solid D. Some of it is not his fault, but he has had a year to make this franchise more of a destination. All that sitting back and doing nothing has now caught up to him. But hey you can buy partial season tickets (10 or 20 games) without a PSL AND get Playoff tickets if they ever get there. Hmmmm.

Do we really care that Dan Fritsche for Pavel Kubina is the current rumor? Will it matter?

Sure we have more money to spend, but the talent is gone. The big name players that will attract fans to the arena are not going to be traded here. We have no #1 center and in all likelihood have no hope of moving up with the moves that Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, and Edmonton Oliers have done in the Western Conference. Hell we may be contenders for the first pick in the Draft next year. This is really not the way things were planned out. As a pessimist i must say this is how I saw it playing out today and for Scott Howson its only going to get worse. Can the man do a trade without Edmonton and Kevin Lowe?