Here we go again

Its January so that must mean its hockey tournament time again. This year the pickens are a bit slimmer. Frudoch played in Cleveland on a team of "leftovers" from the select team and as expected things did not go well. Since the boys were made up of 3 different teams and none of them really liked each other the odds were stack against them from the start. When the coaches figured out that there were 15 forwards and a goalie the script was written.... The first game was a 11-2 beatdown which caused Frudoch to ASK to play Defense for the rest of the tournament. Fru is a decent defenseman, but he loves playing any of the 3 forward positions and was probably the best winger on the team. For him to ask to play D means things were bad. And they were. The nice thing was my cousin was able to come out with my aunt and take in the game. I had not seen my aunt in nearly 15 years and it was their first hockey game. Too bad the good guys sucked.

Saturday morning dawned with an early game at Gilmour Academy and the results were similar with a 7-1 loss. Luckily for me I had to head back home for an awards banquet and my wife drove up in time for me to tell her to check out of the hotel as we were eliminated from moving on after starting 0-2. Things continued with a 6-1 loss in the afternoon. I don't know, but I think not having a team name as well as a practice probably doomed this group from the beginning....

Poppy's team was in Cleveland too, but for this event she was not on the roster. It figures as that team won the whole tournament. She joins them in Detroit in a couple weeks.... It would have been nice as her main team is 0-12-1 on the year. The 6 teams supposedly dived to be equal has produced a team with no losses and a team with no wins. That sure sounds fair huh?

In other news Mark McGuire used steroids. No really he did. He admitted it. Barry Bonds and Roger "the liar" Clemmens still deny having used them....

Time Flies

Wow has the last few months flown by. It seems that the kids just went back to school. Alas its not the case and as I write this we are closer to Thanksgiving than we are to this past summer. The leaves are gone and I'm once again way late on throwing a blog post up. The kids are playing very competitive hockey this year and Freddy was able to make a PeeWee Major team instead of the expected Minor team. Quite an accomplishment for a kid starting his 3rd year of play. He has passed EVERY single kid that was on his first hockey team 2 short years ago. From last off the bench to starting at center. I'm quite proud of him. Poppy has elevated her game although the boys make it hard. Unfortunately this past Sunday a hit into the boards resulted in the ligaments in her thumb taking a beating. She came out of the game for about 6 minutes and her thumb was quite swollen, but she went back in and iced the thumb between shifts. The Dr. wants her in a splint and tight wrap for 2 weeks then we'll get an MRI and see if the ligaments are torn or if a break has manifested. She is in pain, but she went to practice the next night and gave it a go. We'll see how the season goes. Both are trying to make their respective select teams although both face uphill odds as first year PeeWee's and Squirts rarely make those teams without dad being a coach.

As for dad...I am helping coach Poppy's team and of course I enjoy it. Some times I wish I could take over entirely, but I just don't have the time. I'm up for reelection as Regional Executive of my region of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). I'm being challenged by the person that was the previous RE. Its a bit unorthodox to be RE and then not give the next one a chance, but whatever. i'll deal with it. If I lose it won't be so bad as I will get more free time.

The other reason its been so long since I posted was on October 12th, 2009 my longtime companion Zulu died. Zulu was nearly 14 years old and for a Rhodesian Ridgeback that is an exceptionally long life. Even though I knew the days were numbered the end hit me incredibly hard. Its been almost a month now and i still find myself looking for him dozens of times a day. Zulu was my daily companion for all those years and since for the past 5 I've been at home every day I spent so much time with him. He went with me everywhere. Many people have suggested getting another dog, but truly I'm not sure that another dog will be the same. Zulu had incredible qualities about him that other dogs just didn't have. Its tough to explain, but for the next couple years I think I'll be dog free. He died with me and it was a very difficult last few days and especially hours. Its hard to move on from that.

Again I'm on Facebook and I am able to catch up with so many people there so I post more often over there. Look for me. As of today Ohio enters the realm of states that allow gambling as a statewide referendum was passed yesterday to allow 4 casinos in the major metropolitan areas. This is going to be interesting to watch. I now need to find a place to take the fam for spring break or early summer vacation. Got any suggestions involving warmth and beaches?