randomly chaotic and frequently mundane

So, I haven’t been able to watch much Avalanche hockey… that sucks very much badly.  I’m very thankful that I can listen to them online though.  I at least have that.  Missed yesterday’s game cause I was working, but I can listen to tonights game and that will be good.  Can I say that I was SO disappointed that the Avs traded my favorite player?  So sad.  Special K (Karlis Skrastins) is a damn fine defenseman in my opinion.  Not that I have a problem with Ruslan Salei, as a matter of fact I’ve had him on my fantasy hockey team since the beginning.  I’m just a big fan of the at home defenseman, the guys who don’t really do a lot of scoring, but do a lot of shot blocking and hard working in their own end. 

And then there’s the return… oh, was that an interesting pair of acquisitions on the Avs’s part.  Foote and Forsberg coming home.  Who knew?  Oh, there were dreams, but who really thought it’d happen?  Let us hope that this means good things in the Avs future.  There are 2 regular season games that are supposed to be nationally televised left.  I intend to watch both of them.  Here’s hoping they spend a lot of time in the playoffs.

to a less than stellar day.

The Avs played their season opener tonight and it ended in a 4-3 victory.  It was apparently the first win in a season opener for Q, which made me smile.  The victory was nice, giving up a 4-1 lead wasn’t.  I liked some of the new additions to the lineup, they stood out.  Smythe and Hannon were expected, this Hlinka guy, who has entered the league this year at close to my age was great.  Apparently it was Milan Hejduk who gave someone the scouting report on this guy.  Good job Milan.

Now I’m watching the Top Chef Finale — the replay.  The hockey game was more important, he he.   I’ll be off to bed in a little while.

Oh yes, and I started working on Gage’s Halloween costume today.  For fabric, I used my witch costume.  I’ve made pants and a shirt, which he can wear every day as well.  I also made a hood with little pointy black ears.  I just need to make the wings, but I’ve got time for that.  He’s going to be a bat.  For the record… the pants, shirt and hood were all made without a pattern whatsoever.  I’m so proud of myself.

Hockey season is almost here.  In the meantime, I’ve been listening to the Avs’ pre-season games and loving it.  4 games played so far, 3 wins (one in OT) and 1 shoot-out loss.  Not too bad at all.  Hejduk and Svatos are benched with groin pulls and Theodore had some minor knee surgery, so they haven’t been in.  Hopefully they’ll be in one of the remaining two games of the pre-season.  I can’t wait till the season starts.  I’m all kinds of excited.  I think the Avs are going to do pretty well this season.

round 1 ended and i went 8 or 8 on my picks.

and so round 2 begins…

buffalo sabres vs ny rangers — i gotta go with the sabres.  i think they’re the better team and the hungrier team in this series.

new jersey devils vs ottawa senators — maybe it’s the jersey girl in me, but i think the devils have this series.  brodeur is no doubt disappointed with his play in round 1 which has a tendency to make him that much more determined.

anaheim ducks vs vancouver canucks — this one is really a coin toss for me… so i’m going to err on the side of goaltender playoff experience and say the ducks.  of course, the thrill of being in the playoffs for the first time could work in luongo’s favor… i’m not sure it will.

san jose sharks vs detroit redwings — i honestly think that the sharks have it in them to beat the wings.  and wouldn’t it be interesting to see the western conference final come down to 2 california teams?

the final two games in the 1st round of the nhl playoffs were played last night and tonight.  and i’m happy to say that all 8 of my 1st round picks were correct.  detroit won last night, vancouver won tonight.

8 for 8 in round 1.

in a previous post, i listed my picks for round 1 of the nhl playoffs.  6 of the 8 matchups have been decided:

predators vs sharks — i chose the sharks, correctly i might add.

ducks vs wild — i chose the ducks… and i was right.

devils vs lightning —picked devils, devils won

sabres vs islanders — went with the sabres, sabres didn’t let me down

thrashers vs rangers — picked the rangers and they SWEPT IT

senators vs penguins —went with the sens, sens won

so i’m 6 for 6 so far.  on the last two series i have the canucks (vs stars) and the wings (vs flames).  the last game, or games as the case may be, of these series should be interesting.  i’m still pretty confident that my picks will stand.  hmm… i should have made a bet on round 1, LOL.

it occurs to me that i haven’t done my picks for round 1 of the playoffs.  i make my picks every year… this year is no different.   and so i share with you…

western conference:

redwings vs flames — as much as i’d like to see the flames win the series, i think it’s going to be the redwings in 5.  they’re already 2 up on the series.  the flames are phoning it in.  kipprusoff should get a huge bonus

canucks vs stars — turco has a history of 1st round exits from the playoffs.  granted his history consists of 2 playoff runs and both times they were eliminated by the avs.  i think history is going to repeat itself… and i’ll be highly amused if the canucks take it in 5 games.

predators vs sharks — in december i picked san jose to win the stanley cup.  dunno if i’m that confident in them now, but i do think they’re gonna take this series.  i’m thinking in 6 games.

ducks vs wild — i wanted the wild to do well in this series.  but they’re taking a shit.  ducks in 5.

eastern conference

devils vs lightning — despite being down 2-1 in the series so far, i gotta go with the devils.  i think they’ve got the better team.  in 7, tho.

sabres vs islanders — sabres in 5, i think.  they’re just better.  they were my 2nd pick in december to win the cup

thrashers vs rangers — i’ve gotta go with the rangers here… i think they want it more and they’re a more solid team.  in 5

senators vs penguins — this is the penguins 1st playoff appearance in like 5 years.  but i don’t think it’s going to go past round 1.  sid the kid isn’t a miracle worker.  but i think the pens’ll pull 1 more win out of their asses.  so i’ll go sens in 6.

alas they begin without my beloved colorado avalanche… but that’s ok.  avs or no avs, i watch.  afterall, hockey season doesn’t end until the stanley cup is raised.  at the moment, i’m watching pittsburgh at ottawa.  pittsburgh is being schooled.  i’m not surprised.  this is their first trip to the playoffs in something like 5 years.  half of their lineup has probably never played in a playoff game.

allow me a momentary gripe session…

if you’re a fan of a particular sport, be a fan.  nothing pisses me off more than “hockey fans” who say things like “well the real season doesn’t start until march” and stupid shit like that.  well what if in march your team has no chance of making the playoffs?  did they not have a season that year?  if that’s your attitude… go fuck yourself.  you’re not a hockey fan.  i’m a hockey fan.  a damn passionate one.  not only do i watch every game my avs play that i can, i watch every televised nhl, chl and ahl game that i can.  because i love hockey.  i will re-arrange my schedule around a hockey game if i have to.  a last season a friend wanted to take me to dinner for my birthday, any restaurant i wanted.  i picked a place that i knew i’d be able to watch the game at.  when i go to a game, i’m there before the pre-game skate and i don’t leave until the final buzzer — no matter what the score.  the game can be 10-0 in favor of the opposition and i’ll still be in the stands cheering my team on.  not because “i paid for this fucking seat!” but because I LOVE HOCKEY.

in 49 seconds the penguins will have lost game 1 of round 1.

and the stars @ canucks will begin… i look forward to seeing if marty turco can keep his “eliminated in the 1st round” streak going, lol.

tonight the colorado avalanche face off vs the calgary flames for the 7th time this season. incredibly important this game. and the remaining games.

it’s very important that the flames lose this game and the other 3 they have this season (including another vs the avalanche).

it’s very important that the avs win this game, and the other 3 left on the season.

if that happens, the avs will be playing in the playoffs for the 12th season in a row. if it doesn’t the avs are eliminated.

nail biter? oh you bet. i’m all set to enjoy the hell out of this game.

about 3 minutes left in the avs game… it goes well.

i’ve been working on a grocery list today… nothing major just some food to get us thru the week.  especially since gage is home on spring break and is eating constantly lately.

gage is playing with a light saber.  that’s my boy *g*

i have a nagging cough that will not go away, and i would really like a cigarette.

gage is having a bit of an off day.  several temper tantrums.  he’s been having a little minor diarhea off and on the past few days, it’s probably making him uncomfortable and contributing to his irritation.  he’s also puked in the living room twice in 2 days.  blah, i say.

avs won.  excellent.

avs game today. an absolutely must win game, as the rest of the games on the season are. i’m excited.

gage is very cute. incredibly, in fact. i was just putting him in the shower and he started rubbing his head. so i asked if he wanted to wash his hair. and he said “wassa hair” which i assume is wash your hair. so after he got good and wet i grabbed his shampoo and lathered him up. the problem comes when he moves away and it still needs to be worked into his hair. i had to change my shirt and now one side of my head is decidedly wetter than the other, lol.

got a money order for a candle yesterday. i need to find a suitable box for to mail it in. also did some listing/re-listing the other day. added the jasmine candles to the bunch. they’re nice. not just the scent, but the cups they’re in are pretty awesome. hopefully they’ll sell, along with the rest of the candles i have listed.

tiger has become obsessed with licking his paws again… looks like he’s going to have to have the balm/sock treatment again soon.

mystery, alaska is on. good movie. as hockey movies go, it’s no slapshot (but really what is? certainly not slapshot 2, lol). the thing i love most about it is that the underdog doesn’t win. the team everyone expects to lose still loses. but they put their best effort on the ice, i like that. because let’s face it, in any sport no matter how well you play, no matter how hard you try you don’t always win.

oh i have lost my damn fool mind.  forgot my username for my blog, lol.  hows’ that for ridiculousness?  yeah.

gage is eating an apple that’s about half the size of his head.  it’s funny as hell.  he turns it and turns it and turns it and picks a spot to bite.  then he chews the apple off the peel and spits the peel out (on a plate).

he ate some ice cream last night.  he’s only done that once before… he took an ice cream cone from me last summer.  last night he used a spoon and a bowl.  it was SO cute.  i got some pictures.

avs play tonight, should be a good game.  i look forward to it.  might make something groovy for dinner.

today’s to-do list:

• clean the kitchen
• do laundry
• straighten/vacuum the living room
•  make a quick run to the grocery store

i’ve started working on changing my habits a little… to keep the house neater.  it’s gonna take some getting organized tho.  i might go thru the stuff behind the couch today and pull out stuff to list on ebay.  getting rid of stuff we don’t want/need anymore will hopefully open up some space and help me get organized.  if i can make some progress today, maybe i can do some re-arranging i’ve been thinking about… that would be a good thing.

i watched last nights avs game when it was live… about an hour later, i watched part of the replay.

at the moment i’m watching…

the replay of last night’s avs game.  just in teh background while i do other stuff…and even tho i know how it ends, it’s still exciting.

yeah.  huge dork.

last night, paul stastny scored 2 goals…  which extended his consecutive games with a point streak to 20 — the kids on fire and actually getting some calder trophy talk.  which is excellent.

a year ago, i couldn’t stand sidney crosby. i thought he was the most overrated player in the national hockey league. that’s not to say that i didn’t respect his talent, he is indeed quite talented. it was his attitude. he came across very much as a kid playing a man’s game, so i supposed the nickname “Sid the kid” suited him. last season he would whine and bitch at the officials everytime he was hooked or slashed or interferred with, looking for a penalty. and he’d get one… against himself. i remember watching one game on oln (now versus) last season and seeing him whine to the officials, it was very much like a kid who whines at his parents when he doesn’t get his way. i sat there, watching this supposed adult make an ass of himself and put his team on the penalty kill and thought “this is why you play in the minors or college hockey for a couple of seasons before going into the nhl.” you see, nhl hockey is indeed a man’s game.* sidney crosby was a little boy. i thought he should have done some time in the ahl or at a college somewhere before playing in the nhl — he hadn’t grown up enough yet to be an nhl player. he wasn’t a man yet.

crosby’s numbers for last year were indeed impressive, and perhaps he could have won the calder if he hadn’t spent so much time in the penalty box. in the 05-06 season, the kid had 102 points (39 of those coming from goals) , a -1 rating overall and 278 shots on net. he also had 110 penalty minutes. that means he spent the equivalent of almost 2 full hockey games in the penalty box. ian laperriere only spent 116 minutes in the box last season… and he’s someone you EXPECT to take a few penalties.

this year is another story. crosby seems to have mellowed, and accepted the fact that just because he’s the new “next coming of ______”** doesn’t mean that he’s going to get special priveledges. it’s a shame he didn’t realize it last season. so far this season (66 games played) he’s got 103 points (29 goals), an overall rating of 7 and 210 shots. he’s also only spent 54 minutes in the penalty box. much better kid… MUCH better.

besides, it was a shame to taint such talent with such a bad attitude.

* that’s not to say that a woman can’t play nhl hockey, you just need balls to do it… there are plenty of women out there with the testicular fortitude

** wayne gretzky, mario lemieux, whatever hockey great you think crosby is supposed to be the next coming of