Saving Daylight With Late Night Hockey

First of all:

Love beard talk (please see post below, good job BAC) I am seriously considering the cultivation of facial follicitude, I don't think it can help the Stars but how can it hurt?

Missed my regularly scheduled mid-week post so let me put this on the record.
10:15 Snipers 3, Brewzers 0
10:15 Iceholes 5, Puckers 2
11:30 Stickmen 2, Warriors 1
11:30 Gravediggers 2, Komets 1
12:45 ATM 2, Spiders 1
12:45 Pats 3, Blue Devils 1

Onto...

This week was all about dragging it out into the light of daylight savings. A concept conceived by constitutional congress member Benjamin Franklin as a means to conserve tallow and whale oil. Even in his time it's effectiveness was controversial. After the expansion South and West into the harsher summers of those regions and the development of Air Conditioning (people lived without it?) Energy costs were not wrapped up in lights but in climate control. This hypothesis was put to the test when the state of Indiana finally approved legislation accepting, uniformly, the switch to DST across the state. Indiana, about one eighth the size of Texas, is a very difficult state to tell time in as it straddles the central and eastern time zones and before 2005 it was even more convoluted. 77 of Indiana's 92 counties are in the Eastern Time Zone and stay on standard time year round, except for two counties adjacent to Cincinnati and Louisville. It makes my head spin. Arizona is the lone hold out in the contiguous 48, Hawaii doesn't bother to switch either, but who worries about time in Hawaii? Canada has one unusual province, Newfoundland (named for the giant dogs ridden by the nomadic aboriginals before westerners hunted them to extinction) has a half-hour time zone. This must be the age of globalization because nobody seemed to care much about anyone more than a couple hundred miles from them in the past. To return to my point, after Indiana's institution of DST in these previously all standard all the time zones, energy costs have actually gone up.

I know that I don't care very much for anyone more than a couple hundred miles from me, but I am obligated to maintain at least a little decorum with those a few hundred feet from me. That is why DST means landscaping around my house. Who doesn't look forward to returning home to a wife holding a shovel and standing in a lawn that has been neglected for almost six months? I love it! Mowing, tilling, spreading, planting, more than just transitive verbs, a lifestyle. The dirt under my fingernails is substantial enough to create a cute little soap dish planter in my shower. But I can't complain too much, it does offer alot of team-building time for me and the family. As the CEO of Jo-Joco setting up an environment that my subordinates can enjoy and flourish in is essential to my retirement. My son is showing signs of upper management already, by next quarter I expect him to be assuming the role of assistant mower manager.

So if cooling costs are the impetus (however inaccurate) behind maintaining the DST, then perhaps that is also the reason for holding games from 10:15 pm-1:30 am? It seems to be the only thing that follows some sort of logic. Lights are cheaper than ice. See you tomorrow, today!

bcIII

P.S. Hey guys, let's all watch that whale oil consumption this year, okay?

Playoff Beards

It's that time of the year when razors are forsaken and manliness is born not only by a check or a goal, but by number of birds that can dwell in that mass entanglement of blood, hair, sweat and glory.



All hockey fans have known of this ritual by watching beards from Mike Commodore's beard and afro of doom with the Hurricanes to facial growth of Darian Hatcher Bret Hedican, George Parros, Scott Niedermayer, and most recently Colorado's Scott Parker.

see also...

Website Dedicate to playoff beards

Greatest Beards of all time


that should kill some time at work

bac

Session Half Over: The Point of No Return

Is this really I-league? Who cares, it sure is entertaining. The Stickmen narrowly avoid their first loss. The green rink becomes the stage for two incomparable linesmen. And Ellis is outdone in nutty goaltending by Jim DeBaro.

Players of the week:

So many to choose from in this week's dress-up pageant...

1. David Base 4 goals (one game)(enjoy it buddy)

2. Geoffrey Goodson 4 goals (two games)

3. Butch Hutchinson 2 goals

Goalie of the week:

without question, Patrick Donaghue 1 GA, .957 SP

Here's your re-caps:

Stickmen 3, Komets 2 OT, Shoot-out (Vegas: Sticks 5, Komets 0)

The first game of the night looks to take up where last weeks Brewzers/ATM upset left off. Just after the puck drops Scottie Baldree implants the Dustin Nation feed, putting the Komets on top. This unfamiliar position is likely the result of the re-appearance of head coach Al Zarago. Despite Al's astute coaching efforts, the lead is surrendered to the Sticks in the second. But Coach Zarago keeps his team focused and the inspired Dustin Nation sets up the tieing goal for Sean Kier. The Overtime goes without incident as both teams fall exhausted behind their net minders. Everyone in the building stood to attention as the action distilled to the final skills demonstration. And like a fine aged scotch the shooters approached, with locked knees, shuffling toward the nets. But it's Alex #%@*ing Eysermans who does it again. As the second shooter for the Sticks he scores the only shoot-out goal. Hanging in, Blubaugh makes the final, compulsory, diving save/poke check. And this time the favorites steal back victory, pride, and their perfect record from a surprising Komets performance. Al Zarago throws up his hands with a smile, "I told them, all they had to do was go high stickside. Nobody listens to me!" I'm listening Al. Listen up Komets!

Puckers 2, Grave Diggers 1 (Vegas: Diggers 2, Puckers 1)

The Diggers own the only other perfect record at 0-6-0, and they make easy work of the Puckers. Alex "no eyes" Atkins carries the only Diggers goal coast to coast in the first and it looked like the Pucker offense would not be able to answer the call. Not so. Guy Riggs moves it laterally and slides it through the gaping five hole of Jon Ellis. Donaghue does his part and holds off the Diggers until Guy Riggs again puts it in on Ellis, however he has to settle for an assist when Kent Gordon manages to stuff the rebound. The Diggers burn their time-out and generate a lot of shots with an empty net but no twine. As Donaghue hauls another shot into his glove for the whistle, the Puckers call a time-out of their own. Bobby Sirkis snatches the opportunity to draw up a play designed to hit the post, they do, Puckers win.

Iceholes 5, Snipers 1 (Vegas: Iceholes 4, Snipers 1)

David Base, David Base, David Base, David Base... The Iceholes offense was a one man army tonight. The first period is a deadlock with both goaltenders delivering stellar performances, then the second started. Raul Gilbreath put the shot in on Ellis and Dave picks up the rebound. Eysermans ties the game. Then again, it's Gilbreath to Base. In the third Nicholle Palomar takes the initial shot and Dave cleans it up, twice. Then just for kicks, Andrea Cortinas buries the Pringle shot. The key to the game: poor rebound control and suffocating crease pressure from the Holes, pronounced, DAVID BASE! Our condolences to Nick Murphee, Snipers goaltender, who could not attend the game tonight. A moment of silence, please... Nick is on his honeymoon. Married, poor guy.

Warriors 4, Spiders 1 (Vegas: Warriors 3, Spiders 1)

The first couple of periods start off in expected fashion a couple penalties, a couple goals but at the commencing of the third period, the teams notted at one, the brothers Baumgard (the linesmen) take the spotlight and turn it on themselves! Making outstanding call after call, with perfect form they raised there hands and blew whistles. These guys were machines. Possesed with incredible stamina they just kept blowing. Sixteen minutes of penalties in an eleven minute third period. The Warriors manage to keep a scoring rhythm despite the stop-start action and rack-up three goals for an easy win, Geoffrey Goodson gets two of them, Frank Casperson the other. But never fear, the Baumgard's weren't through, they still had twenty four more minutes of penalties to hand out tonight. The training regimen these guys have would intimidate Lance Armstrong. No Lynn, these guys aren't jackasses, they are pros!

Patriots 5, Brewzers 1 (Vegas: Pats 3, Brewzers 0)

The gold rink was certainly a lighter atmosphere. Yes, only one penalty in this game (Sarah "Knuckles" Buckner, two minutes, hooking) but Pat's netminder Jon Ellis (third times the charm) made a spectacle of himself. Late in the first Greg "wee willy winky" Winkleman makes a solo attempt and beats Mike Moore. The next frame sees the Pats roll. With brilliant passing and stupefying awareness, they net goal after beautiful goal. As the gap widened Ellis became more unpredictable. Most of his play takes place at the blue line for this game. Attempting dekes and passes on the fly, most with some success, he manages to hold-off the B-men with the help of his team. But in the middle of the third, as Ellis throws another ill advised pass, the puck finds its way onto the stick of Lori-Kay Frommann. She winds up and blisters one past Sabrina York (trying desperately to cover for her loopy goalie), her first goal, ever? Maybe. The Patriots take the "W" and Mike Moore takes names.

Army of the Twelve Monkeys 6, Blue Devils 1 (Vegas: BD 3, ATM 2)

Showing no signs of fatigue the dynamic duo of Chris and David Baumgard return for another exhileratring exhibition of arm raising prowess. Geoffrey Goodson and Frank Casperson (captivated by the Baumgard performance in their first game) take on another game with similar fortune, they connect for a powerplay goal in the first, Travis gets the second assist. Then another Monkey scores. On the power play again, Travis puts away the Dallas Lehr pass. Mike "heat-seeking" Missel nets the fourth goal for the Monkeys. Ryan Wacker makes a Blue Devils garbage goal, all by himself. Whereupon Geoff and Frank combine again for ATM. Everyone in the building was feeling the frustration as the penalties piled-up and finally Jim DeBaro, BD goalie, could take it no longer. In a manner that would put Jon Ellis to shame he moved out of his net, playing pucks and bodies with alike bravado. A.J. Fierrero puts another on the board for ATM and DeBaro collects a penalty in short order. No more goals but the Baumgard brothers do manage to cram six more minutes of penalties into the final 2:30 of the game, giving them a staggering TWENTY FOUR total penalty minutes for the contest, and they didn't even break a sweat.

Another outstanding night of beer league hockey. Halfway through and it's gettin' hot in hur. Only one team left unblemished and they stumbled this week. Can they keep it together next week...

bcIII

'Did he shoot that into his own net?'

This one is dedidicated to my old friend and loyal Komet Kevin Kopsky. Enjoy, Kevin.


-- BC