Here's something different, let's see if I survive.
The economy is in the dumps, and just like with everybody else, the best way to make things better is to spread it around. Therefore the stock market is falling on the Stars. Marty isn't the best goalie in the league as per usual, he's not even the best Marty in the league, despite Brodeur being inactive now. Biron is kicking his arse. It isn't all on Marty, though. How much longer can we go without Lehtinen and Zubov? I really liked the idea of signing of Avery, and it is now obvious that not only would I make a terrible NHL general manager, but so would a couple of other guys. . . Oh my sweet lord, someone please help the Stars!
Are there any good teams in the area anymore?
What about me?
This weekend, I will be burying my head in the sand. After being showed-up by the Privateers, Ice Bats, and for Pete's sake the Chiefs.
I had been looking forward to dealing out a little sumthin'-sumthin' to those Blue Devils, but I just don't think I can show my face in the place.
I am retreating to Lubbock, to sit at the feet of Mike Leach. To learn how to win. The remainder of my free time in the work week will be spent at the Mike Moore Goaltending Clinic. So watch out next week.
Elsewhere. . .
Do you remember how you felt in the weeks after 9/11? There was a feeling of patriotism that permeated the entirety of the country. It cut across racial and political lines. You felt proud to be an American.
Unfortunately, it came at a great expense. And, the intense sadness of the whole event often overpowered the collective embrace. Often, there was an anger boiling-up.
I voted for the first time last week, and I Barack-ed the vote. I felt good doing my part as an American. I didn't start to feel anything as powerful as those seven years ago until last night.
I am only thirty-two and I'm not black, and will never be able to understand the extent to which the American life can be distorted just by the color of your skin, but it is humbling to think of how much has changed in what is only a long lifetime. On the verge of tears myself, I listened to the testimonies of men and women who had endured inhuman treatment, constant oppression, and their overwhelming disbelief, to be at the precipice of such a moment in this nation's history. The unthinkable. A black president.
I certainly hope that no matter your political affiliation that you will realize what a positive moment this is, how much healing and unity can result from this one event. I feel good to be an American, again. It doesn't solve everything. It doesn't solve a lot of things. It is a huge step toward the American ideal, where anyone can go as far as their will can carry them.
I don't know if this will come across the way I want it to, but, this time it is a purer feeling, because it comes without that expense, without the sadness, fear, and anger. The payment is the event itself.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Sunday, November 02, 2008
We May Have Something Here. . .
Things are finally getting interesting in the fourth week of the schedule. . . LSI and the Privateers are battling for dominance in the minors: LSI had zero goals against until this week, the 'Teers have (in the three games that I have records for) twenty goals for. One of these teams will be graduating the Minors at the end of this session, should be quite a battle when they eventually meet.
The Komets stand alone atop the Majors, as the Pats fall in the shoot-out this week. In fact all of the major games were very close except for the Komets, who mopped the floor with the misplaced Snipers. The Snipe will have to set their sights on next session when they will be rightly placed in the Minors. Definitely some discretions on Yockey's part for the Major/Minor division, unfortunately the Snipers will suffer the most from this decision.
Minor
Privateers (3-0-0) 7
Grave Diggers (0-3-0) 1
left : Brooks Willhoite, Jon Ellis, Cody Payne (l,r)
Well, I threw down the gauntlet. . . The 'Teers lit a fire in front of the Digger's net and no matter how much gasoline I threw on it, I just couldn't put it out! The Privateer tide rolled in quickly, in the fourth minute of the game, Casey "Bring the" Payne puts one behind me, Bush gets his only point of the game for the assist. In the seventh minute it's Patrick Haley who comes away with the tally. To finish off the first period, Cody "Max" Payne, puts up the third unanswered goal for the 'Teers. The second sees an early goal from Robert Meassengale (pointstreak spelling, AKA Bob-O) and a counter punch from Bruce Davis of the Grave Diggers. For a moment it looked like the Diggers might have a chance. At the other end, Ryan Haley responds to the pressure with timely saves on every Digger scoring chance, crushing their hopes. In the third the Diggers returned to the ice with their heads hanging, breathing through their mouths, with heavy skates they chased the 'Teers as the chasm widened between the two teams. Steve Haley scored first, followed by a goal by Erick Ahlstedt, and Casey scores the final goal of the night. They bested me with their wood, their composite. They bested me with speed. They must have out-played Ellis, and a team that can do that can plan my castle onslaught any day.
Calm down a bit, Willhoite, we're all havin' fun here, right?
Whalers (2-2-0) 4
Puckers (1-2-0) 3
The Whalers got the first franchise victory last week against the hard luck Diggers but prove it was no aberration with the start of a streak. The Puckers, on the shoulders of Patrick Donaghue, get behind in the first minute, as Brad Watson scores for the early Whaler lead. Chris Mosely ties the game half way through the period, only to give back the lead late in the period to Whaler, Kenneth Thomas. The Puckers win the second period with the first goal coming from John Ward. Brian Hamstra, Whaler captain, gains the the lead, but with their second goal of the second period, Steve Niecamp knots the score leaving the third period for the colossal battle between these two Minor power houses. Both teams lock down their defenses until halfway through the frame when Kyle Boltz puts the Whalers on the power play, Captain Hamster finds a way late on the advantage to sink the winner. The Whalers may be figuring this thing out, heck if you work with the stock market 9-5, I-league shouldn't be too hard.
Team Euless (0-3-0) 0
Chiefs (2-1-0) 3
The collection of leftovers, known as Team Euless got on the ice without a goalie, Bob Sirkis made a great stick save on the first Chief shot but could not find the rebound directly between his skates, Troy Clarkson does. . . Ellis arrives to try to stop the bleeding, throws a pass to the wrong color jersey, Bill Broad skates it back in and scores high glove. Team Euless takes a moment to breath, collect themselves, and make it to halfway through the second before Thomas Harnitchek holds Ellis to the post before sending the puck to David Dahms in the slot, who delays then beats Ellis top shelf. The Chiefs play most of the third in the Euless end, but somehow fail to score again. Ayala gets his second consecutive shut-out. Do you smell what the Chiefs are cookin'?
LSI (4-0-0) 5
Silverwings (1-1-1) 4
The last game on the gold rink was a doozy. After nearly seven minutes of scoreless hockey the usual LSI suspects show up on the score board. First, it's Gabe Rivera quickly followed by Katherine Levesque. Sergio "The C-Train" Castillo blazes down the ice to put a dent in the Import game with a late goal. In the second, Castillo hits it again on the power play, and before the Imports can adjust their game plan, he makes the hat trick. In the third, Ryan Kelly puts the Wings up by two but the Imports knuckle down. Just five seconds into their power play opportunity, LSI goal leader, Gabe Rivera, gets his second. And, with only little more than a minute left in regulation, Erik Todd steals the momentum with his tying goal. In over time, A flurry erupts in front of Silverwing net minder Eric Spivey and in just thirteen seconds it all comes to an end: Mark Haman sends it to Linda Mason, Mason finds Ken Lentz, Lentz drills it home for the LSI victory. LSI had no goals against, until tonight, where they proved that they have the fortitude to when in the clutch. The poor Silverweinies find a new way to lose.
Major
Patriots (2-0-1) 2
Ice Bats (2-1-0) 3
The new look Patriots take the ice limiting shooting from the Bats to three shots in the first and scoring on the power play with forward Bryan Brookman. In the second it was more of the same, the scoring this time from Brad Allen. In the third the Patriots dug in to ride the lead in, but the Bats, more specifically Eric Petty, would not go down, on the power play, Petty gets some space and beats Ellis with a quick one over the glove. Petty scores again late in the third with a deflection off a defenseman's skate to beat Ellis on the ice this time for the tie. Over time would not be enough and in the shoot-out, it's Petty again, on the first Ice Bat shot who scores off the cuff of Ellis glove. . . no one else could net a thing. Last session, the first loss for the Patriots proved to be a defining moment, has the team got the character to overcome this time?
DFW Titans (1-2-0) 2
Stickmen (1-2-0) 3
The Sticks pull-out their first win against the hot-and-cold Titans. It's the Sticks who score first with the goal from Lynn Young in the second minute. The Titans strike back with a goal from Lincoln Foster to tie the game. The second was the Clint Tippet show as he scores for the Stickmen two goal lead. Brittany Boisvert brings the Titans within one with her early goal in the third but, despite having nearly ten minutes to tie the game, the Titans fall short. Blubaugh looked less than stellar but comes away with the win.
Blue Devils (2-1-0) 3
Brewzers (1-1-1) 2
In Blubaugh's second game, his offense shows up first with a goal from Devil Jake Reynolds, the only goal of the first. In the second Scott Spellman puts the Devils up by two but sees his efforts erased by the goal from Brewzer lightning rod Joshua Sutton, he would draw on this later. In the third the Brewzers' Nidal Al Jabri draws on the last meeting of these two teams and this time it is he who bests Blubaugh to tie the game. After a deadlocked over time, the shoot-out commenced, and it's Spellman who uses his anger to strike Mike Moore down on the first Blue Devil attempt. But in the last Brewzer attempt it was Nidal's chance again to send it to extra shooters, he slides to Blubaugh's glove side, Blubaugh stacks the pads, Nidal lifts the puck, but it hits the edge of Blubaugh's glove. . . The Blue Devils hold on to tie for second in the standings.
Komets (3-0-0) 5
Snipers (0-2-1) 0
In the final game on the green rink, the Snipers laid their head on the chopping block. The Komets are the talk of the league these days, and without a loss on their record, they certainly deserve to be. This week it would not be another tight one goal lead though, they drill five goals while maintaining a shut-out for long time Komet netminder, Brent Bryant. Wil Dobson gets an assist on Rodney Forehand's goal. After only a few more seconds, Wil gets his own goal, followed by a lull of nine and a half minutes of scoreless grab-ass-ery. After a power nap between periods the Komets come roaring back with another goal, this one from Dustin Nation, Dobson gets the assist. Ram Lavani rams one home to close out the period. Early in the third, Bryan Brookman gets an unassisted goal before the Komets crawl into a shell to finish the game. A three point night for Dobson, it is however, against the Snipers. Maybe things would be different if Matt would wear his business socks.
The Komets stand alone atop the Majors, as the Pats fall in the shoot-out this week. In fact all of the major games were very close except for the Komets, who mopped the floor with the misplaced Snipers. The Snipe will have to set their sights on next session when they will be rightly placed in the Minors. Definitely some discretions on Yockey's part for the Major/Minor division, unfortunately the Snipers will suffer the most from this decision.
Minor
Privateers (3-0-0) 7
Grave Diggers (0-3-0) 1
Well, I threw down the gauntlet. . . The 'Teers lit a fire in front of the Digger's net and no matter how much gasoline I threw on it, I just couldn't put it out! The Privateer tide rolled in quickly, in the fourth minute of the game, Casey "Bring the" Payne puts one behind me, Bush gets his only point of the game for the assist. In the seventh minute it's Patrick Haley who comes away with the tally. To finish off the first period, Cody "Max" Payne, puts up the third unanswered goal for the 'Teers. The second sees an early goal from Robert Meassengale (pointstreak spelling, AKA Bob-O) and a counter punch from Bruce Davis of the Grave Diggers. For a moment it looked like the Diggers might have a chance. At the other end, Ryan Haley responds to the pressure with timely saves on every Digger scoring chance, crushing their hopes. In the third the Diggers returned to the ice with their heads hanging, breathing through their mouths, with heavy skates they chased the 'Teers as the chasm widened between the two teams. Steve Haley scored first, followed by a goal by Erick Ahlstedt, and Casey scores the final goal of the night. They bested me with their wood, their composite. They bested me with speed. They must have out-played Ellis, and a team that can do that can plan my castle onslaught any day.
Calm down a bit, Willhoite, we're all havin' fun here, right?
Whalers (2-2-0) 4
Puckers (1-2-0) 3
The Whalers got the first franchise victory last week against the hard luck Diggers but prove it was no aberration with the start of a streak. The Puckers, on the shoulders of Patrick Donaghue, get behind in the first minute, as Brad Watson scores for the early Whaler lead. Chris Mosely ties the game half way through the period, only to give back the lead late in the period to Whaler, Kenneth Thomas. The Puckers win the second period with the first goal coming from John Ward. Brian Hamstra, Whaler captain, gains the the lead, but with their second goal of the second period, Steve Niecamp knots the score leaving the third period for the colossal battle between these two Minor power houses. Both teams lock down their defenses until halfway through the frame when Kyle Boltz puts the Whalers on the power play, Captain Hamster finds a way late on the advantage to sink the winner. The Whalers may be figuring this thing out, heck if you work with the stock market 9-5, I-league shouldn't be too hard.
Team Euless (0-3-0) 0
Chiefs (2-1-0) 3
The collection of leftovers, known as Team Euless got on the ice without a goalie, Bob Sirkis made a great stick save on the first Chief shot but could not find the rebound directly between his skates, Troy Clarkson does. . . Ellis arrives to try to stop the bleeding, throws a pass to the wrong color jersey, Bill Broad skates it back in and scores high glove. Team Euless takes a moment to breath, collect themselves, and make it to halfway through the second before Thomas Harnitchek holds Ellis to the post before sending the puck to David Dahms in the slot, who delays then beats Ellis top shelf. The Chiefs play most of the third in the Euless end, but somehow fail to score again. Ayala gets his second consecutive shut-out. Do you smell what the Chiefs are cookin'?
LSI (4-0-0) 5
Silverwings (1-1-1) 4
The last game on the gold rink was a doozy. After nearly seven minutes of scoreless hockey the usual LSI suspects show up on the score board. First, it's Gabe Rivera quickly followed by Katherine Levesque. Sergio "The C-Train" Castillo blazes down the ice to put a dent in the Import game with a late goal. In the second, Castillo hits it again on the power play, and before the Imports can adjust their game plan, he makes the hat trick. In the third, Ryan Kelly puts the Wings up by two but the Imports knuckle down. Just five seconds into their power play opportunity, LSI goal leader, Gabe Rivera, gets his second. And, with only little more than a minute left in regulation, Erik Todd steals the momentum with his tying goal. In over time, A flurry erupts in front of Silverwing net minder Eric Spivey and in just thirteen seconds it all comes to an end: Mark Haman sends it to Linda Mason, Mason finds Ken Lentz, Lentz drills it home for the LSI victory. LSI had no goals against, until tonight, where they proved that they have the fortitude to when in the clutch. The poor Silverweinies find a new way to lose.
Major
Patriots (2-0-1) 2
Ice Bats (2-1-0) 3
The new look Patriots take the ice limiting shooting from the Bats to three shots in the first and scoring on the power play with forward Bryan Brookman. In the second it was more of the same, the scoring this time from Brad Allen. In the third the Patriots dug in to ride the lead in, but the Bats, more specifically Eric Petty, would not go down, on the power play, Petty gets some space and beats Ellis with a quick one over the glove. Petty scores again late in the third with a deflection off a defenseman's skate to beat Ellis on the ice this time for the tie. Over time would not be enough and in the shoot-out, it's Petty again, on the first Ice Bat shot who scores off the cuff of Ellis glove. . . no one else could net a thing. Last session, the first loss for the Patriots proved to be a defining moment, has the team got the character to overcome this time?
DFW Titans (1-2-0) 2
Stickmen (1-2-0) 3
The Sticks pull-out their first win against the hot-and-cold Titans. It's the Sticks who score first with the goal from Lynn Young in the second minute. The Titans strike back with a goal from Lincoln Foster to tie the game. The second was the Clint Tippet show as he scores for the Stickmen two goal lead. Brittany Boisvert brings the Titans within one with her early goal in the third but, despite having nearly ten minutes to tie the game, the Titans fall short. Blubaugh looked less than stellar but comes away with the win.
Blue Devils (2-1-0) 3
Brewzers (1-1-1) 2
In Blubaugh's second game, his offense shows up first with a goal from Devil Jake Reynolds, the only goal of the first. In the second Scott Spellman puts the Devils up by two but sees his efforts erased by the goal from Brewzer lightning rod Joshua Sutton, he would draw on this later. In the third the Brewzers' Nidal Al Jabri draws on the last meeting of these two teams and this time it is he who bests Blubaugh to tie the game. After a deadlocked over time, the shoot-out commenced, and it's Spellman who uses his anger to strike Mike Moore down on the first Blue Devil attempt. But in the last Brewzer attempt it was Nidal's chance again to send it to extra shooters, he slides to Blubaugh's glove side, Blubaugh stacks the pads, Nidal lifts the puck, but it hits the edge of Blubaugh's glove. . . The Blue Devils hold on to tie for second in the standings.
Komets (3-0-0) 5
Snipers (0-2-1) 0
In the final game on the green rink, the Snipers laid their head on the chopping block. The Komets are the talk of the league these days, and without a loss on their record, they certainly deserve to be. This week it would not be another tight one goal lead though, they drill five goals while maintaining a shut-out for long time Komet netminder, Brent Bryant. Wil Dobson gets an assist on Rodney Forehand's goal. After only a few more seconds, Wil gets his own goal, followed by a lull of nine and a half minutes of scoreless grab-ass-ery. After a power nap between periods the Komets come roaring back with another goal, this one from Dustin Nation, Dobson gets the assist. Ram Lavani rams one home to close out the period. Early in the third, Bryan Brookman gets an unassisted goal before the Komets crawl into a shell to finish the game. A three point night for Dobson, it is however, against the Snipers. Maybe things would be different if Matt would wear his business socks.
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