Blues Playoff Exit Thoughts

Like many fans of the St. Louis Blues, I am just happy they made the playoffs, after a five year drought. And, I will join the chorus of fans and pundits saying this really is a learning experience for such a young team.

I stopped shaving and grew a solidarity playoff beard. I shaved it as soon as the game was over and I got back home. Couldn't even make it thru the night. Which is OK. I prefer to be clean-shaved anyway.

I really do hope this is the start of great things for the Blues. I hope the fans aren't treated to another 30 years of playoff mediocrity.

And I do think the drought has made the STL fanbase a bit more appreciative of the playoff.

Sorry, dear readers. Nothing new, original, or exciting in this post. I agree with pretty much everyone else on this issue.

Erie Vs. Guelph Pics (3-15-09)

These are some pics taken at the game between the Erie Otters and Guelph Storm. You'll note a couple of interesting things, dear reader. One, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, the Otters were wearing special jerseys. I tried to get a pic, but apparently, the OHL does not permit game photos. I found this out after taking the other 2. Also, the ice was tinted green for the holiday.

Finally, I met some really cool Guelph fans who made the trek down to Erie. They let me get a pic with them. Thanks so much! I gotta say, Guelph has some pretty snazzy jerseys. I would not mind owning one.

Erie Vs. Plymouth Pics (3-1-09)

I went to Erie, PA today to see the Erie Otters take on the Plymouth (MI) Whalers. It was mostly a good time. Erie was simply outplayed. There's no other way to say it. True, the 3rd period was really exciting, but the scoring and plethora of fights was simply a matter of too little, too late.

But all was not lost! I had a really cool experience at the game. Just a few feet above where we were sitting, the radio play-by-play guy for the Plymouth Whalers was doing his broadcast. So, I got to see a live game with live play-by-play! It was fantastic!

It did not get my picture with the mascot, as I had intended. But there's still a couple more games I plan on attending.

Anyway, enjoy the pics!

Fredonia State vs Brockport (2-20-09) Pics

A friend and I went to the hockey game between Fredonia State and Brockport. FSU won. Enjoy the pics!

Erie Vs. Oshawa Pics (1-30-09)

Last night, a friend and I took a trip down to Erie, PA to watch the Erie Otter take on the Oshawa Generals of the OHL. Good game: good offense, good goaltending, a couple good fights. A night of good hockey.

Enjoy the pics!

Avery's Suspension

By now, this clip has been seen around the world. It features Dallas Stars hockey player Sean Avery making some off-color remarks regarding players who date his ex-girlfriends.

I felt like I had to comment on this. See, regular readers (going back to the old MySpace and Yahoo 360 days) know that I've had several relationship which ended badly. Some of my reactions to those badly-ended relationships ended up on those old blogs. And those comments have gotten me into varying degrees of trouble at times. So, in a sense, this post is really a plea for leniency for Sean Avery.

Is this much different than my old postings? (Don't worry, I beleive they've been taken down.) True, I didn't go the extreme that Avery does. But still. We all say dumb things. Sometimes those dumb things are said more publicly than at other times. I also have be a bit more careful about what I say, when I say it, and who I say it to.

It's no secret that Sean Avery is not well-liked by his teammates. And, it seems likely that Avery is probably being punished for his enitre body of work as a pest in the NHL. That's no original thought. But is this worth an indefinite suspension? Watch the clip and decide for yourself.

Fredonia State Hockey Pics

These photos are a bit overdue as well. I took that at the Friday night matchup between SUNY Fredonia and SUNY Morrisville State. Enjoy!

Random Blues-Sabres Pics

Here's a couple pics from the Blues-Sabres game the other night. The Blues lost 4-3.
Enjoy!

I'm just posting these for the sake of posting something.

Blue Note Karma?

From Yahoo!:

"ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Anchorage Daily News, Alaska's largest newspaper, endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Sunday after declaring Gov. Sarah Palin "too risky" to be one step away from the Oval Office."

Cosmic payback for indirectly taking out the goalie for the Blues? Could be.

But probably not.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081026/ap_on_el_pr/alaska_endorsement
Photo: http://wcco.com/sports/Palin.Drops.Puck.2.848483.html

Not The Way To Win Votes

From the STL paper:

"The Blues rolled out the blue carpet for Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin Friday night, and in a bizarre accident, goalie Manny Legace tripped on the carpet before the game and eventually left with a strained left hip-flexor."

Now, I wasn't going to vote McCain-Palin before this incident. But taking out my goalie isn't going to win you any points.

Photo: http://www.stltoday.com/sports#stl-masthead

Blues 3rd Jersey

Here's a picture of the St. Louis Blues 3rd jersey. Like I said about the Buffalo Sabres 3rd jersey,

I'm totally getting one!

Sabres 3rd Jersey

Here's a sneak peek at the Buffalo Sabres 3rd jersey for the upcoming season.
I'm totally getting one!

Time for...Fantasy Sports!!

Go ahead. Call me a tool all you want. But it's time for fantasy sports.

I don't take it seriously at all. I don't compete for money or prizes. I just do it for fun. It makes for an interesting way to follow the season. I signed up for fantasy football for the 1st time. I also just signed up for fantasy hockey. Both leagues are free on Yahoo!

I have 2 team names I like. My football team is the "Tie-Dyed Chasubles." And my hockey team is "The Green Alephs." For those dear readers who don't happen to have a churchly vocabulary, a chasuble is a liturgical garment worn during the celebration of Holy Communion. An aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The world kinda sounds like "olive"; that's why I picked it.

Root for me, dear readers!

The Sabres Get It Right! (Finally)

I have to admit that I was shocked to discover that the Buffalo Sabres actually pried open their wallets and resigned a key component of their team. I know sometimes have to let stars go due to economic reasons. But, with Buffalo, it just became kind of a running joke. Two local DJs even suggested last season that the main reason to watch the NHL All-Star Game was to see who from the Sabres wasn't going to be on the team next year.

Miller get a 5-year deal worth $31.25 million. Not too bad.
Here's the link to the actual story: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AikO4vq5Amy3BKojFpv8XhU5nYcB?slug=ap-sabres-miller&prov=ap&type=lgns