NHL: Get Your Priorities Straight

A fight during last night's game,
via Denver's Facebook page

  I've been checking out some local minor league hockey games lately because of the NHL lockout that has persisted through three months of what would have been the regular season. The team here is actually pretty good--the games are fun to watch, and the atmosphere is pretty entertaining. Yet, it's not quite the same. I miss watching hockey on TV, and I miss the pace of NHL hockey. These games are a little more lawless--the refs seem to play favorites even more than in the NHL, meaning guys get away with stuff a lot more often.
    Some of the entertainment (contests, t-shirt tosses, giveaways, etc.) is a little cheesy, but it's all in good fun. The way the arena is set up, it's more like a football game than a hockey game, and it allows for more entertainment options than a game at the other ice arena. the mascot gets a lot more involved. The entire experience is much more personal than an NHL game, but somehow, the NHL games are more exciting. There's more at stake, and the players stand out more.

Angry hockey fans, via CBC

    All of which makes the lockout all the more upsetting. These guys are douchebags dividing up all this money and they are just being greedy. I would rather support a smaller team by attending the games because they can't fill the house. Not even close. They play even though they don't make millions of dollars a year. They get whacked in the face with a stick more often because the refs don't call as much and there's no league calling for major reprimands and fines when it happens.
    So, if Bettman gets off his ass and does his job to protect the SPORT and not the owners, if everyone involved realizes that the fans care about the sport, and won't want to support a game or a team that shows it's more interested in their money than their entertainment, maybe the season can be salvaged. If not, I'll be happy to see it come back next fall. But I will be doing it from my couch at home.
    I am not paying continually higher ticket prices, abominable concessions and merch prices, plus extra for parking at the fancy arena, to go see a team who continues to send the message that their paychecks are more important than the game, than the fans. You don't need $2 million a year to get by. You don't need an 80 thousand dollar car. You don't need two houses or fifty thousand dollar pieces of jewelry. If that's more important than the game, go be an investment banker. Go open a corporation that makes jumbotrons. But don't participate in a sport that means so much to so many people and pretend like you care about more than those matching Rolexes for your birthday.

Get your mind of your money and your money off your mind.

Battle Royale: Internet: 4 Me: 1

  I've been trying to transfer my friend's website for about two or three weeks now. Originally, the domain was purchased through Blogger/Google and hosted through a partnership with Enom. It was an easy process, REALLY affordable, and it offered easy design options with the Blogger templates. Then, we wanted to redesign, but Blogger is pretty limited to the templates unless you are an HTML and CSS whiz.
    The first redesign I had little to do with, but this recent one has been a nightmare, mainly because of how difficult it is to transfer a domain from one host to another if you're not a professional IT person. I know my way around pretty well--set up my site and a subdomain on my own. But this new one was just problem after problem.
    On the bright side, it's finally transferred, and we're hoping to wrap up the design within the next day or two. At least now we know about how the process is supposed to go, but it really sucked learning the hard way on this one. Like I said, nightmare.
    It has been a busy week, dealing with problem after problem with the domain setup and design. In addition, I had two interviews, two prove-yourself tests (social media plan and paragraph revision) for two different positions (both of which I have been offered), plus, I still haven't finished my current book and Nano is only 5 days away.
    I am really getting nervous about Nano this year. With all this other stuff I have going on, and barely having time to write my book as it is, cranking out 50k words next month is starting to look really scary. I still think I can do it, but I am going to have to drop the blogging quite a bit, and the social media (between Twitter, Triberr and Goodreads, I'm amazed I get as much done as I do!).
    Anyway, looking forward to checking out a local minor league hockey game for the first time this year and getting a break from all the hubbub!

When it rains, it pours.

Hell No, We Won't Go: Stop the Lockout

I am sick of bureaucracy. At the top of my list right now is the potential NHL lockout. I am a puckhead hockey fan all the way. I don't care if it's minors or majors, the hometeam or not--when it comes to hockey, it's just fun to watch. And right now, the ridiculous owners and the not-quite-as-ridiculous-but-still-ridiculous players are debating how much money gets distributed among them all.
    The reason this one gets under my skin is I was old enough to remember the last lockout. I was in 11th grade, and I even wrote an English paper about how stupid I thought the lockout was. (If I ever find it, I'll repost it here--me at 16 is probably pretty funny.) Back then, I blamed Gary Bettman, the commissioner of the NHL. Today, I still kinda do. This guy's on a path to have 3, count 'em, 3, lockouts during his tenure, and the ones who suffer aren't the owners or the players--it's the fans.
    We support our teams. We buy their stuff. We watch their games on TV and when we can, in person. We love those guys. And when somebody says they don't get to play until they come to an agreement about cashflow, we get angry. And you don't want to see hockey fans angry. You wouldn't like us when we're angry.

   
What in the hell do you expect millions of hockey fans across the US and Canada to do when their teams don't get to play this winter? We would watch minor league hockey, but unfortunately, not all those games are widely televised. We could watch basketball or football, but we don't like basketball and football nearly as much as we like hockey. They're poor substitutes for a fast, fun and crazy sport we know as hockey.

    What really gets me is that the teams are still promoting the new season like they have no reason to think it won't happen. Come on, buy your season tickets! Check out opening night! Buy a new jersey for the 2012-13 season! You know what, you settle your petty financial differences and guarantee me a season first, and then I'll feel better about handing over my money for a few games.
    So, there are a few angry hockey fan movements rising up: one girl has started a petition to get Bettman to resign. There are Twitter and Facebook accounts cropping up, @againstlockout, @stopthelock2012, @unfollowNHLSept are just a few.

Check out these articles and blogs for more info:

• http://www.boston.com/sports/blogs/shesgamesports/2012/08/gary-bettmans-remarks-about-nhl-fans-nice-try-but-wrong.html
• http://nyrnation.net/nhl-fans-plan-social-media-protest-of-potential-lockout/
• http://unfollownhlsept15.tumblr.com/

    The Unfollow NHL September 15 group is one of the largest, with almost 2,000 fans in just a short period of time (I think I read a week, but don't quote me on that). These guys are asking fans to protest the lockout by unfollowing and unliking NHL accounts, team accounts, and player accounts, as well as boycotting NHL and team websites, and avoiding purchasing official NHL gear.

    While the group doesn't think their efforts will actually prevent a lockout, it's more about making a statement. The kind of statement that says, hey, we matter. We're your paycheck. Don't forget it. That, I'm all for. Hockey players already make a hell of a lot less than most major league teams, but that doesn't mean they're poor. They make good money. The owners make better money. And that's probably the way it'll always be. But for the two sides to get greedy and demand more, not only that, ask for cutbacks from the other, they're not hurting each other. They're hurting the fans that pay into the pot where all that money comes from.
    So, if you're a hockey fan like me, whether you support the Avalanche, the Kings, the Rangers, or whoever, stand up for your love of the game and join in on the protest of the potential NHL lockout this season.

Go Avs :) Hope you get to play this year!

And Now, A Tap Dance

This is probably just me being weird and noticing this, but have you ever noticed how much live sports look like dancing? It is entirely possible that I have been watching too many musicals lately (Christmas musicals at that), and I am transferring the music that's playing in my head onto the new programming that I'm watching so it seems that the hockey players are tapping their sticks and zig-zagging through each other to the tune of a jazzy tap dance song. But maybe they've always looked like they were dancing and it just took a few consecutive hours of Christmas movie musicals for me to realize that that's what they were doing.
    I think basketball players do the same thing, and football players too. They might be dancing to a different tune, that's all, because they're on their feet and not on skates, so they don't move as fast.

And for something relatively different.

    Nothing gets you in the mood for the holidays like Christmas movies, especially ones with singing in them. One of my favorite parts about Christmas is watching the movies. While it seems more engaging and fun to watch them on television where there are Christmas commercial breaks to get you even more psyched up for the holidays, the Christmas movies they play on television are either a) bad, or b) good, but all the good ones are on different channels at the exact same time. So, I have compiled my own Christmas movie collection (with a little help from my dad's movie collection) to enjoy whenever I want.
  Highlights: 

• Home Alone
• Holiday Inn
• The Family Stone
• The Holiday
• Serendipity
• While You Were Sleeping
• It's a Wonderful Life
• Meet Me In St. Louis
• Love Actually
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• Ratatouille (I know that one's not a real "Christmas" movie, but I love it so it's in here too.)

    The ones that are not on the list I do watch on TV because I don't own them (Elf, Christmas Vacation, The Santa Clause--Amazingly enough, I do not own these, but they're all on the list this year ;)
    These movies all remind me of some of the best parts about Christmas--family, love, lights, music, and presents. It's not actually the opening and receiving presents that I enjoy, but the wrapping of them. I am a rather excellent and--when the situation calls for it--creative gift wrapper, so that's one of my favorite parts.
    It's been snowing a bit lately too, so that makes it seem closer and closer to Christmas!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

I know I digressed a little from sports to Christmas movies, but what are your favorite things about Christmas? Or your favorite Christmas movies (especially if they're not on this list!)?

Share in the comments.

The Holiday Spirit Appears Early

  I used to insist on waiting until Thanksgiving was over before I even started thinking about Christmas. I even skipped Christmas one year (i.e. did not buy presents or ask for any or put up a tree or anything--though not everyone listened when I said I didn't want anything) to protest the level of commercialism it had attained.
    However, sometimes after you go without something for long enough, the next time it comes around makes you appreciate it even more. (One case in point, the NHL lockout a few years ago made me realize how much I enjoyed watching hockey, even though I had not watched too much of it in the previous couple of seasons.) Case in point two: I really missed Christmas after I skipped it that year.
    I enjoy shopping for Christmas presents and making cookies and putting up the tree and singing Christmas music. Even the people who are hard to shop for, I don't mind as much because I enjoy the season. The lights and the colors and especially the movies. I know there aren't too many people who get to have a happy ending Hollywood version of Christmas anymore, and it has become overly commercialized over the past few decades, but it's still a lovely thought. Thinking about children believing in Santa, families coming together, forgetting all your misanthropy and cynicism and giving in to the holiday spirit, and spreading good cheer and good will towards men (PC term=humanity).
    I already started searching for Christmas presents, as I plan to do a lot of my shopping online this year. I'm hoping that 1) this will save me a little bit of money, 2) I can find things for the hard-to-shop-for people a little easier, 3) this will help me get most of my shopping done earlier rather than last minute, and 4) this will allow me to find a few things that you just can't find at a Target or a JC Penney's.
    I blame this recent surfacing of Christmas spirit on the huge snowstorm we had in my neck of the woods this week. I woke up on Thursday and said, wow, it looks just like Christmas! While most of it's melted already, as the temperatures shot back up into the fifties again, it doesn't change the fact that I'm already dreaming of a white Christmas (despite that we maybe get one every ten years here because it refuses to snow ON Christmas--it always snows too early or too late and it's all melted by the Christmas day arrives).

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

What are your thoughts on this (somewhat) impending holiday? 

Love it? Hate it? (FYI: If you say you hate it, you will henceforth be known as the Grinch.) 

What's your favorite, or least favorite, part about it?
Share in the comments.

A Shameless Plug for the Playoffs

If anyone out there--and based on my calculations, there probably aren't too many of you--follow hockey, I implore you to watch the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. They are tons of fun, and they last from now until June. If you are not a hockey fan, or just don't get it, give it another shot. The best time to learn is in the post season because those who do know will be tickled pink to share their knowledge and love of the game with you in hopes that you too will get a little Cup Crazy.
    I'm a different breed, being raised on hockey, raised to believe that ice hockey is the greatest sport ever, and the Stanley Cup not only is, but deserves to be, the most sought after trophy in sports. My objective today is to convert a few of you out there to believe in hockey the way I do.

How To Become a Hockey Fan
Step 1: Turn on your TV. Versus and NBC (along with local affiliate stations) will be hosting the games live this year. You can pretty much count on games being on at 7pm ET every day of the week for the first round, which will last about 1-2 weeks from today. The best way to learn is to see it in action. (Pay no attention to the men behind the microphones who will favor Detroit no matter who's playing.)
Step 2: If you're not a lifelong puck-head like me, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nhl to learn more about the game.
Step 3: Check out http://www.nhl.com/ to find out which games are scheduled, as well as stats, polls, news and more.
Step 4: Choose your loyalties!! There are 30 to pick from, you can go with whoever's in your state, or nearby, or just pick one with a cool name, excellent players, or a stellar record.


Some Vocabulary: 
1) Dropping the gloves--There will be a fight. Yes, they pretty much box on skates.
2) He iced the puck--The puck was shot down the length of the ice in order to delay the game, drawing a penalty.
3) Drawing a penalty--Getting (see manipulating in some instances) the referees to call a penalty by making it obvious you were impeded during play
4) Five for fighting--Five minutes in the penalty box (or in the locker room if the period is almost over) for participating in a fight
5) Penalty shot--The rare reward for a penalty in which a player for the team who was impeded during the play gets to take a free shot at the opposing team's goalie to try to score a goal
6) Period--Hockey is divided into 3 periods of play, not quarters, or halves. It's Canadian, what can I say?
7) Goal--They're called goals, not points, when someone puts the puck past the goalie into the net.
8) Hat Trick--When a single player scores 3 goals in a single game.
9) Gordie Howe Hat Trick--named for Gordie Howe, a retired Detroit Red Wing player; when a single player gets an assist, a goal, and a fight in a single game
10) Five Hole--Beating the goalie through one of the five holes that his body creates between him and the net; Also a style of goaltending

There are more terms, but I can't go into every single one of them here. You can probably find some of them on the aforementioned websites, or learn them as the game is played. The commentators like to explain things more during the playoffs for people who are new to hockey.

Guide to Being a Hockey Fan: 
1) Fights are a part of the game. Just go with it. They rarely get too gory or dangerous.
2) Pick on the referees. They aren't perfect, and if they slight your team, they deserve all the insults you can throw at them.
3) Cheer loudly, whether you're at a sports bar, in your living room, or at the arena itself. The team deserves your support no matter where you're watching from.
4) Don't be a fair weather fan. Cheer and support your team through the good games and the bad. 

Lord Stanley is coming to town. WAY better than Santa Claus.