The eighth in our 118 part series.
Continental Airlines Arena
For all the years we had our season tickets, CAA was our home away from home. No, it wasn’t Maple Leaf Gardens, or Boston Gardens, or Chicago Stadium, but it was our building. As far as buildings went, it fit the team perfectly — it got the job done, it wasn’t flashy but what it did well (sight lines, broadcast booth location, banner-raising) it did really well, and it did it without any unnecessary flash or glitz. Sure, folks from out of town, where teams have fancy new arenas with concourses more than 2 1/2 people wide and food that actually resembles food, would complain about what a dump it was, but to us, it was perfect. The building was always bright (we’ve never been to another NHL arena as brightly lit as the CAA ), the ushers always friendly, the championship banners plentiful. There were no windows in the concourse to distract the paying customers from the entertainment matter at hand with the glitzy Meadowlands landscape outside; instead the concourse was designed with skylights that let the sunshine in — but seemingly only during the playoffs so the entire space felt somehow different and more exciting as soon as the postseason started. We’ve been to a lot of arenas, but CAA had something special, something so very Devils about it. There were (until, to our utter dismay, this past season) no high-end LCD screens with crazy graphics; there was just a small digital out-of-town scoreboard. There was no mascot repelling from the rafters; instead, the crowd was driven into a frenzy by a season ticket holder with some serious lungs who would lead the arena in old-fashioned “Give me a D! Give me an E! [And so on.]” cheers. There were no ice girls; just North Jersey guys in white jumpsuits. A trip to the Swamp to watch hockey was exactly that and no more: you went there to watch hockey. We’re excited for the Devils’ new home in Newark (okay, we’re not, but we really loved seeing cute little bundled-up Patty Elias proclaiming, “This is my new home!” on those NHL commercials), and we hope they can turn around the attendance issues they’ve struggled with thanks to the heinous, heinous construction and parking issues at the Meadowlands this past season, but that excitement and hope is definitely tempered. Because when the Devils move on, we’ll be leaving huge parts of hearts behind at Continental Airlines Arena.
We’re excited for the Devils’ new home in Newark (okay, we’re not, but we really loved seeing cute little bundled-up Patty Elias proclaiming, “This is my new home!” on those NHL commercials)
You might not be excited about their new home in Newark, but I am. Because I should perhaps be able to take public transportation there and see the Sabres games. And obviously my convenience should be a real concern here.
Seriously though, change often really sucks. I’m sorry you’re going to be losing Reason 8.
Because I should perhaps be able to take public transportation there and see the Sabres games.
Little known fact about CAA — there was public transportation from Port Authority to the arena. It was oddly never advertised very well. The four years I was at NYU, I rode the first bus out to the arena for every game. I ended up meeting some really awesome people, including some ancient British dude who told me if I was only 60 years older I’d be his dream woman (it wasn’t nearly as creepy as that sounds, honest). I ended up feeling about Port Authority almost like I did CAA (againt, not as creepy as it sounds!).
But can’t I take a train to Newark. I’m all about trains vs. buses. Although had I known there was a prort authority bus I very well might have considered it.
Meg, I want you to know, as Pookie wrote that little pro-Port Authority diatribe, she sat there grumbling aloud, “No one wants to ride it if it’s not a train.” I have to admit, the few times I rode the bus with her, I was like, “If this isn’t Hell, I don’t know what is.”
I hope y’all don’t suffer the new-arena curse your first season in the new arena.
(I also sincerely hope my mentioning it doesn’t call it.)
*knocks on wood for IPB Mistresses*
Reason 8 is really sweet. But at least it’ll bring up happy thoughts! Besides, what if they bring in some minor leaguer teams or something and =D
Change often really sucks, but this will turn out okay.
I think I’ve only been to the ACC once. My family won’t take me, none of my friends would go and Leafs tickets are more expensive than their Canadian counterparts and so… yes. But next year at university I’ll be closer to the *gasp* Senators and Habs. Which is strange. I haven’t decided if I want to take the 3 hour drive back on the weekends.
This is a really sweet entry, but
There was no mascot repelling from the rafters
I know you did NOT just insult Sabretooth!
But, honestly, I’m sorry that you’ll be losing your building. It sounds like a great place. I’m too young to really remember when the Sabres moved from the Memorial Auditorium to Marine Midland (now HSBC) Arena back in ’95, but I still can’t help but see HSBC as the “other” home of the Sabres. It’s like it just has an indelible stamp of “replacement” on it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great building, and I’ve certainly enjoyed all the games I’ve seen there, but the Aud just had a feel of history and charm that HSBC won’t be able to match. I mean, it was called “the Aud”! It doesn’t get much cooler than that! But now we just play in “an Arena.” Just like everyone else.
It’s a bummer to have to move. Maybe your new building will learn from the mistakes the first couple of waves of new construction made.
I only went to a few games in old Reunion Arena in Dallas, and I’ve been to many in the AAC. There are many complaints that the bowl is too flat. That the ice seems way out in front of you instead of right below you. I can certainly see that. And purists don’t like the suites.
But I have a warm spot in my heart for the AAC because I got to see probably 20 games over three seasons in the company suite. If I ever win the lottery, I’m getting a suite. And I’m only inviting fans to join me. Nobody who wants to spend the game at the Platinum Club or stuff like that. When your bosses are schmoozing clients during the game it’s very annoying. Usually, though, they just had drawings for the tickets and any employee could win. Unfortunately, our new owners do not see the benefit of a non-client-schmoozing suite.
Gambler, amen to your entire post. While I like HSBC Arena, it seems so sterile compared to the Aud. There was nothing like the feeling of impending death while climbing up to the seats in the oranges and then the good 20 minutes of navigating your way through the arena post-game. Its a shame that quirky buildings get thrown by the wayside for modern conveniences.
If the Sabres/City of Buffalo wanted to make quick cash before they tore down the Aud for Bass Pro, they would either open the old barn up for tours or sell off the old seats. It would be the fastest money ever made.
Remember that series of MasterCard “priceless” commercials where two guys spent the summer driving to all the MLB ballparks? Ever since then, I’ve been wondering how long it would take to do the same thing for all 30 NHL arenas. 4-6 weeks? I figure it’s probably too long to do while employed, so I’m looking forward to it as the Ultimate Retirement Road Trip. Anyone want to come along? I’m thinking winter of 2045.
I suppose it’s only fair to say that Pookie and I fully realize that we (and our friend Morgan) are the only people who liked the CAA on its own merits. Most Devils fans will say they liked it for the memories it held, but it was really charmless. I mean, it wasn’t charming in its resemblance to a dump (like Nassau Colliseum), nor did it have that “dank pit” appeal going for it (like the old Capitals arena), nor did it have any of the winning attributes of the Grand Old Barns. It was huge, so even with a decent fan turnout it still looked and sounded empty (and decent fan turnouts are few and far between). The PA music selections were beyond lame, bordering often on soul-killing (I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve been watching a game on TV, heard what music came on at the arena during a stoppage, and said in unison, “I am so glad we’re not at the game right now,” before hitting the Mute button on our remote).
We became fans right at the start of the “new arena” era, and we went to the inaugural event at the FU Center (then the CoreStates Center, now some other bank name, but it’s the FU Center in my heart now and forever) in Philly and were like, “It’s like a WONDERLAND!” It just blew our minds that an arena could be anything more than merely serviceable. So a swanky new arena that fans (and the players) can be proud of is a nice thing for the Devils. Sure. I’ll concede that. But still. I’m a CAA girl, and there’s no way around it.
I never went to the Aud, but my heart was still very touched by a scene we saw this March when we went up to Buffalo for a game. From the trolley we could see these two 20-something-ish guys all decked out in Sabres gear, lugging bags filled with stuff from the gift shop, walk over to the Aud to touch the wall. They just sort of stood there sadly, and then walked back into the general throng heading for HSBC. It was so sweet. Based on the loot from the gift store, you knew they weren’t frequent attendees, that this was probably their once-in-a-lifetime trip back, but that they still took the time to honor the building that they remembered as kids, or that their parents and told them about. *Sniff* Old buildings don’t die, do they?
I know you did NOT just insult Sabretooth!
Oh, Gamble, please don’t read the wrong thing into that! I adore mascots, and Sabretooth is my favorite one in hockey. NJ Devil just happens to be the very lamest mascot of all time, so his presence is minimized at Devils games. If I could have all mascots, all the time at sporting events I’d be a very happy person. But the lack of a mascot (even though the Devils have one) is one of the elements of starkness that we loved about how they presented games at CAA. It’s such a difficult dialectic for me, the mascot v. no mascot issue.
As we move along this summer with our SPECTRE offerings, you’ll be able to get a small glimpse of my mascot thing (for lack of a better word). Pookie can tell you, though, how disappointed I was when we got up to Buffalo, I saw Sabretooth’s House in the upper concourse (why does he live in a lobster trap and not, say, a giant kitty bed?), and did not see Sabretooth up close. I wanted a picture with him SO BADLY. Of course, I’m even worse around mascots than I am around the hockey players themselves. I stop breathing. Completely. We attended one Caps game this past season and Slap Shot the Eagle came up to our row. He stood six inches away from me. And I nearly passed out. I just lose myself.
I could go on all day, but I suppose I should save it for an actual blog post so I don’t monopolize all the comment space here today…
The mascots sort of freak me out. I’m just not comfortable with a grown person walking around in a fluffy suit hugging people all day.
Spartacat is okay, you can tell just by looking at him he’s got a snarky side to him. Bruiser, the Bulldogs mascot is hopping around all over the place. Personally, I’d do a drug test just to make sure everything is legit.
The mascots sort of freak me out. I’m just not comfortable with a grown person walking around in a fluffy suit hugging people all day.
I’m fine with mascots. They’re not really something I care about all that much but I remember loving people dressed up in giant costumes as a kid. Although I knew one of the guys who dressed up as a bobcat for NYU and he never seemed like the child-hugging, jumping-around-being-peppy sort. He was more the smoking-fancy-cigarettes-while-talking-about-John-Ashberry sort. It was odd.
Also, I think the need to find a mascot when the team name doesn’t lend itself to one is kind of entertaining. The Sabres and their sabretooth tiger, the NYU Violets and their bobcat. I didn’t go to a single sporting event while at NYU but if they’d forced someone to dress up like a violet, I might seriously have considered it.
I think the need to find a mascot when the team name doesn’t lend itself to one is kind of entertaining. The Sabres and their sabretooth tiger, the NYU Violets and their bobcat.
Fun Fact of the Day: Why is the NYU mascot a bobcat? Why, because it was named after NYU’s library catalog, of course! The NYU library is named Bobst Library. So the computerize catalog was named BobCat.
I do wish there had been a person dressed as a violet, though. That would have rocked.
Aww, sounds sad to lose an arena (though it’s something I haven’t really experienced myself). I guess I’m pretty glad when the Ducks decided to “move” to the Honda Center by slapping a big label on the already-existing Pond. It still remains my favorite building in Orange County (some hockey bias there).
It’s also pretty funny how little support the name change got, both from fans and from the state of CA. Most people call it either the Pond or the Ponda now, and all freeway signs in the area refuse to budge from their position of “Arrowhead Pond — next right”.
I can’t describe what it is I love about mascots. And believe me, I’ve tried. Because they are totally freaky and weird, and often their antics are annoying and they get in your way when you’re trying to watch a game. And more often than not, they’re just really lame. That said, I absolutely love pouring over mascot design, admiring the cleverness of how the animal/inanimate object has been anthropomorphized (or how the human has been turned into a 3-D cartoon object). And above all else, I love mascot props and costumes. You know, the costumes they, the animals, wear over their mascot selves. Like when the Philly Phanatic (the be-all, end-all of mascots) has his mother join him on the field. She’s a Phanatic wearing a frumpy plaid suit and she has smooth legs (as in: she shaves her furry mascot legs) — that kind of attention to detail just delights me.
Why is the NYU mascot a bobcat? Why, because it was named after NYU’s library catalog, of course! The NYU library is named Bobst Library. So the computerize catalog was named BobCat.
Somehow, though, I don’t think choosing a sports mascot based on a library’s computerized catalogue (love the NYU library though I do, particularly after my time bonding with the University of London’s library) makes things better. I mean, “our team name is the Violets and our library catalogue is represented at all the games”? It’s fabulously absurd.
She’s a Phanatic wearing a frumpy plaid suit and she has smooth legs (as in: she shaves her furry mascot legs) — that kind of attention to detail just delights me.
0.0 hahaha no joke? awwww.
I have really fond memories of Carleton the Bear – he used to come out for a lot of city events.. like charity walks or something. I remember as a kid he’d do fun poses with whatever kids ran up to him for pics (although myself, I just have this one where his paws are on my head almost like he’s pushing down on my already very short self. Thanks Carleton.)
I think the need to find a mascot when the team name doesn’t lend itself to one is kind of entertaining. The Sabres and their sabretooth tiger, the NYU Violets and their bobcat.
nothing against the library (I love reading)… but maybe a bee would be more fitting :X
(although myself, I just have this one where his paws are on my head almost like he’s pushing down on my already very short self. Thanks Carleton.)
See, Carleton is evil? Actually, he’s pretty cute but a bear is pretty unoriginal. I suppose it’s better than having a giant foam Leaf walking around or something.
Actually, my older cousin used to really love patting me on the head and given that I’m already pretty darn short, my mom would yell at him to stop as it was allegedly making me shorter.
Our school mascot is a “Marauder”. Nobody actually has any clue what it is, but our logo is some sort of eagle/phoenix/large bird type thing. `
My favorite thing about Carleton the Bear is that Dmitri Yushkevich (or was it someone else?) declaring that Carleton was “the most honest man in the Leafs organization”. HA!
maybe a bee would be more fitting :X
Or a big finger with a piece of string tied around it.
As for Carleton the Bear, thanks to Dimitri Yushkevich, he’s my favorite mascot!
True Story:
One time I was playing a gig with a boys choir in Philadelphia. I think it was a fundraiser for their group or something because the show was very gimmicky and chock full of local “celebrity” guest stars. We were clicking along, nearly to the end of the show, when out of no where without any sort of reasonable warning, the Philly Phanatic comes barreling through the orchestra. And I mean barreling. Stand and musicians were flying everywhere. I didn’t even really see the Phanatic until his hulking green furry body knocked over my music stand on his way to the podium. It was utter chaos. The musicians were giving absolutely no warning that the Phanatic would make a destructive appearance. Many of us were holding valuable instruments that could have been easily damaged, so a lot of musicians were pretty peeved, but the audience thought the whole thing was hilarious (which it was). A friend of mine told me later that one of the highlights of the entire debacle was hearing me say loudly onstage “Oh my God, it’s the Philly Phanatic” in a tone tinged with both horror and reverent awe.
I’ve always wondered if the Philly Phanatic somehow knew he could dramatically (and to great comedic effect) navigate himself through a cramped orchestra without doing any real damage, or if he was just drunk that day.
“Oh my God, it’s the Philly Phanatic” in a tone tinged with both horror and reverent awe.
Ding ding ding! We have an early front-runner for Comment that Made Pookie Laugh the Hardest! This is too funny! Of course the Phanatic knew he could barrel through the orchestra! The man (thing?) is the model of mascotdom. He probably practiced for weeks ahead of time. I mean, there’s a reason he was one of the first inductees into the Mascot Hall of Fame. (Oh crap, I just remembered I gave Schnookie an IOU for a voting membership in said mascot HOF 2 years ago and still haven’t come through; I suppose I should go pay for that now, huh?)
Katebits, I think I just went into shock from my hysterical laughter at your Phanatic story. I’m pale and shaking and unable to speak. That… is… BRILLIANT!
But Pookie! Heavy music stands were flying all around fragile old violins. The Philly Phanatic is a menace!
I’m just kidding. I’m sure you are right. The Phanatic knew all along that the whole bit would be funnier if the musicians were genuinely surprised/horrified to see him….but still it was a dangerous game. :)
I swear it’s true Schnookie. I can’t believe I haven’t pulled that story out until actually.
Crap, the stupid MHOF won’t let me sign Schnookie up. But I did learn something interesting, or mildly interesting, ok, not really interesting at all. Suzy Kolber is on the MHOF board of directors. Who knew?
I have a love/hate relationships with mascots. My club doesn’t have one so it’s always fun when we go on the road to a team that does, just because it adds that little bit to the atmosphere. But I really don’t like when they bother us during warm ups. Some of them (especially the Bloemendaal Sparrow) are really spoiling for a beating. Go pester the crowd or something.
As a spectator I have a great deal of fun with mascots, mostly because one of my best friends wears the suit for Amsterdam :D
Kate, Christ that’s the best story ever. I hereby promise to never again whine about being interfered with by mascots, because nothing compares to your story.
“Oh my God, it’s the Philly Phanatic” in a tone tinged with both horror and reverent awe.
:^::::::::::::::::
oh noes! kate my notes, how am i going to study now?
Our school mascot is a “Marauder”. Nobody actually has any clue what it is, but our logo is some sort of eagle/phoenix/large bird type thing.
I get “Queen’s Golden Gaels”. Huh.
The Sparrows? That’s almost as bad as the violets!
My library just unveiled a mascot a year or two ago. It’s a dragon named Sparks. The backstory on the website for him cracks me up. Basically Sparks was ostracized by the other dragons because he can’t breathe fire. So, alone and unloved, he went to the library, where he made friends with all the other losers who hang out at the public library. At our holiday party last year, Sparks danced to “Putting on the Ritz” with the library director, but sadly, no one sitting around me had ever seen “Young Frankenstein” and thus couldn’t figure out why I was turning purple from trying not to laugh.
The Sparrows? That’s almost as bad as the violets!
The way that statement made me happy is completely insane. Finally, someone agrees that it’s a shitty name for a hockey club! Finally!
(incidentally, this is the fans’s version of the sparrow… No prizes for guesses what their club colours are)
Crap, the stupid MHOF won’t let me sign Schnookie up.
Are you suggesting that the Mascot Hall of Fame actually exists?! That sounded like some sort of IPB lore to me.
Whoa. Mags that sparrow is crazy looking.
Katebits, yes, it does. See?
Whoa. Mags that sparrow is crazy looking.
Wanna know what’s worse? That’s my lovely sister’s boyfriend in there.
That’s a sparrow? I could have sworn it was some form of poisonous frog from the rainforest or something.
oh it’s poisonous? Must be why it hasn’t been eaten yet.
That’s a sparrow? I could have sworn it was some form of poisonous frog from the rainforest or something.
Opinion seconded.
Y’all are making my day :D. I fricking hate that thing.
the bill really is very scary.
if that.. is a bill :X.
In defence of the “Sparrow” (I can’t believe myself) my sister told me just now that that suit is over 30 years old, and hasn’t been patched up once in it’s entire history.
Mags, I am in LOVE with that sparrow. If I saw that at a game, fan-made or official mascot, I would be the happiest person EVER.
incidentally, this is the fans’s version of the sparrow…
Wait, Mags, this guy is doing this completely voluntarily and without compensation?
Wow.
I know. I sort of have a new appreciation for Sparty after witnessing that…thing now.
In defence of the “Sparrow” (I can’t believe myself) my sister told me just now that that suit is over 30 years old, and hasn’t been patched up once in it’s entire history.
Clearly that thing needs to be in a museum of some sort.
The one thing I love at Baseball games is The Chilly races. The Nats were in Toronto the other day and they had the chillies race AJ Burnett. Burnett won. And now he’s on the 15-day DL. Don’t know if the two are related.
Wait, Mags, this guy is doing this completely voluntarily and without compensation?
Yup. Very similar to the way he voluntarily and without compensation comes to eat dinner at our house.
Kate, I’m dying at the Phanatic story.
Our school mascot is a “Marauder”. Nobody actually has any clue what it is, but our logo is some sort of eagle/phoenix/large bird type thing.
There must be an unwritten rule that if your school can’t have a real animal mascot, then it must have some mythological being as a mascot. My college’s mascot is a golden griffin (half-eagle, half-lion), named Petey.
I didn’t know what a chili race was, so I looked it up and found this youtube video.
o.O wow.
I just learned on ‘Good Eats’ yesterday that Delta Universities mascot it the Fighting Okra. If that’s not awesome I don’t know what is.
God, I hope the students of Delta U. are keen on designing their own mascot costumes. That would be awesome.
Yup. Very similar to the way he voluntarily and without compensation comes to eat dinner at our house.
AHAHAHA, Mags, that is brilliant.
Carleton University in Ottawa has won the CIS Basketball Championships three years in a row and I still have no idea what the heck a “Gee-Gee” is supposed to be.
Ohio Weslelan U. is a private methodist college, they’re called ‘The Battling Bishops.” That one always cracks me up too.
Sorry, it’s not Carleton but the University of Ottawa that are the “Gee-Gee”s, Carleton has the more normal but somewhat more boring “Ravens”
Wesleyan. Sorry.
The Fighting Okra??? Why did I not go there? Why did I suffer through one year of “The Yoemen” (or whatever Oberlin is) and three of the half-assed “Scarlet Knight” of Rutgers? The only good thing the Scarlet Knight has going for it (besides the soda machine at the parking garage that had a “coming at you with the fist of God” Knight painted on it) is that Army totally ripped us off with their “Black Knight” mascot overhaul a few years ago. I’m going to go cry now over the missed Fighting Okra opportunity.
The Fighting Okra? That’s some sort of brilliant.
“If this isn’t Hell, I don’t know what is.”
I’m pretty sure Hell is when you travel to Staples Center by taking the Green and Blue metro lines realizing that you have to transfer in Watts and another passenger stares at you and asks, “are you sure you want to get off here? Are you sure this is your stop?” But no real worries since apparently “the gangs in the area are known to have a respect for the rail line, and recognize that the trains are not part of their turf.”
I’m sure it won’t take you long before you have a love affair with the new arena.
(Note: I read your post very carefully to make sure I wasn’t supposed to email you my comment.)
Whooooooa Schnookie! You went to OBERLIN!? Ha! Me too.
The Fighting Okra
That would definitely instill some fear in me, let me tell you. Nature and I? Not friends.
My favourite in the university ranks is probably the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. The womens teams are called X-Women but for some reason that just doesn’t sound as cool. Sadly, their logo is just a rather boring ‘X’ and not some sort of artistic rendition of Wolverine.
Kms2, you’re lucky the Metro is off limits to gangs down in LA. They give all gov’t employees a discount of something like 70% to ride the light rail here in Sac. I still won’t do it, only because it would take to long to get to the hospital after being stabbed.
Is the public transit system really that bad? I live and die by the system in Toronto because it is impossible to drive in the city and the ACC is actually connected right to Union Station so having to walk through any gang territory is limited. Not that I even know where they are in Toronto.
Anyhoos, gotta get ready for my on-air now.
Kms2, do you go to a lot of games at Staples? I feel kind of bad, seeing as I work like 6 blocks from that arena yet I’ve only been there three times in the last two years (and once was for a Clippers game). I’m thinking I might head over a few more times this coming season, maybe once to finally meet this Rudy Kelly guy who keeps writing on my blog.
I have only ridden public transportation in a few cities: Sacramento, San Francisco, and London.
I don’t know about the rest of the world’s busses and trains, but Londons is great, S.F. is…interesting, and Sacramento’s is pretty bad. I have a friend who rides everyday. He’s a little punker guy, so he does draw some attention to himself, but I swear someone will pick a fight with him about once a week on the train. crazy!
Whooooooa Schnookie! You went to OBERLIN!? Ha! Me too.
Katebits, we’re the same age, too, right? Wouldn’t that be bizarre if we actually knew each other once? (I find it highly unlikely unless you invited yourself to hang out in my dorm room, which I never left. It was on the 4th floor of Burton.) I was only there for the 1994-1995 academic year, and only knew about 10 people.
Earl, have you never really met Rudy? Man, he cracks me up. I don’t even like the Kings but I love his posts on your site.
Earl, have you never really met Rudy?
Well, through e-mail when I “hired” him. The only other blogger I’ve met in person (from my site or others) is Sharkspage and BoC writer/photo guy PJ Swenson. Oh, and I’ve talked to Mike Chen once on the telephone.
Yeah, we run a pretty roughshod operation at BoC. That was to be expected, though, the day they put me in charge of general administrative duties.
G’day all… just finished catching up… man, you have to show up early to read all the threads and then by the time you read them, there’s more… kind of a vicious circle (especially the Okra).
My highschool’s mascot was vermin
We were the Lord Dorchester Beavers – live that one down when your female field hockey team shows up to play a game.
Public transportation just hasn’t been the same to me since Prague. I miss sitting on the subway with a bunch of people drinking beer.
Of course nothing anywhere near me actually has public transportation other than a few busses that take you to campus, so that probably doesn’t help matters.
ublic transportation just hasn’t been the same to me since Prague. I miss sitting on the subway with a bunch of people drinking beer.
Seconded.
Katebits, we’re the same age, too, right? Wouldn’t that be bizarre if we actually knew each other once? (I find it highly unlikely unless you invited yourself to hang out in my dorm room, which I never left. It was on the 4th floor of Burton.) I was only there for the 1994-1995 academic year, and only knew about 10 people.
Schnookie, why are you stalking me and trying to steal my identity like this? Hee. Just kidding.
No, I don’t remember going up to the 4th floor of Burton to hang out with someone named Schnookie, so I doubt we ever crossed paths at Oberlin. (And frankly, during that stage of my life, unless you had a permanent gravity bong in your dorm room, I would have seen no reason to go there. [Drugs are bad, kids!])
My favorite public transportation I’ve ever used was the Moscow Metro. I have no idea how well it’s run these days, but back in 1991 it was a delight. (Of course, Pookie encountered a massive puddle of blood on a seat in one of Moscow’s lovely buses [their bus system was also very nice in '91] when she was there in 1994, so that might be an indicator that things were going downhill even back then…) I have no idea what their approach to public consumption of alcohol was, but considering it’s Russia we’re talking about, they probably didn’t’ mind.
Yeah, we run a pretty roughshod operation at BoC. That was to be expected, though, the day they put me in charge of general administrative duties.
Earl, are you serious? I’m even more amazed at what a well-put-together blog BoC is, now that I know what an uphill climb it faces every day with you in charge of it! :P
And the street vendors – street vendors! – with their fried cheese (god that sounds so vile, thinking back on it) and beer for like less than two dollars…how do you go wrong with that?
“Oh, and I’ve talked to Mike Chen once on the telephone.”
I actually went to college with Mike Chen. He’s a friend of a friend but we’ve had beers on a few occasions. Heck of a nice guy.
Katebits, that was hilarious. If I had gone to school on the east coast it sounds like we probably would have hung out!
Sadly, I have no knowledge of Mike Chen, Rudy or Oberlin.
Katebits, I wasn’t Schnookie yet when I was at Oberlin, nor was I even a hockey fan (still in my nascent sports fan years — my team was Pat Riley’s Knicks, which explains a lot about why I’m capable of loving the Devils, and also explains a lot about why I had no friends at Oberlin), so basically I was completely unrecognizable in relation to my current incarnation of self. That said, I didn’t have a permanent gravity bong either (also helping explain why I had no friends at Oberlin), so I guess that answers that. And thank goodness we’ve established we didn’t know each other back then — how embarrassing to suddenly now have to be all, “Oh, *cough*, I, uh, totally remember you…”
I have to admit I love Sabretooth. When he comes down from the rafters I’m all “Look! It’s SABRETOOTH!” like a seven-year-old. And then if he ever comes close to my seat I get all shy and star-struck… it’s sad.
The sports at my school are so bad, that I don’t think anyone even knows what our name is. It’s either the Scotsmen, the Highlanders, or the Fighting Scots, everyone seems to have a different answer. All I know is that our mascot is Mac the Scot, a play on words which makes my heart sing. Plus, any mascot carrying a plush set of bagpipes is awesome.
One of my friends went to an all-girls high school in NYC called the Beavers. Someone really dropped the ball on that one.
And Kate, that Phanatic story is beyond awesome.
I actually went to college with Mike Chen. He’s a friend of a friend but we’ve had beers on a few occasions. Heck of a nice guy.
Speak of the devil. He’s on my gmail chat right now, blabbing along about his “exclusive” “legitimate” interview with Sharks GM Doug Wilson.
Man, he has raised the journalistic bar on our nonsense blog. :P
I don’t actually own a car (nor could I afford to park one) so it’s a very good thing the NYC public transportation system is as good as it is. I would say that, on balance, our subway rates somewhere above London’s tube (goes more places, costs much less money because it doesn’t have those awful zones) but rather less than perfect.
One thing I loved about the London tube though: the somewhat disturbing honesty of their service announcements. For those unfamiliar, they have these little whiteboards set up that keep you up-to-date on what lines are not running, are delayed, etc. On occasion they’ll say things like, “Circle line service is delayed due to a customer on the tracks,” and, “Picadilly line is delayed due to a safety equipment failure.” There are times when it’s just better to lie, people!
And thank goodness we’ve established we didn’t know each other back then — how embarrassing to suddenly now have to be all, “Oh, *cough*, I, uh, totally remember you…”
Yeah, no kidding. My 1994-95 self was a train wreck- nothing in comparison to the put together, sophisticate I am now. *eyes darting suspiciously*
Tell him Drew said what’s up. Now that he’s all famous, talking to Doug Wilson and shit, he probably won’t remember the little people.
To chime in on foreign transportation systems: The one in Hamburg is wonderful. I’ll never forget, though, the time I was on the bus, and a guy produced a large rat from the hood of his sweatshirt. It was sort of unreal.
Mike Chen says: “oh yeah, drew’s a good friend of my buddy brendon”
The subways in Prague didn’t actually have anything but a rather disembodied robot voice announcing the station you’re at and the the next one – and entirely in Czech so for the first week I was baffled (by now, I still remember the entire phrase, despite the rest of my Czech being miserable). The only time they deigned to have anything in English was at the end of the line when you got “Please leave the train.” Apparently they didn’t care about getting the foreigners lost, but they didn’t want them stuck on their trains.
I love the part of Mike’s interview where Wilson says: “The only blame I have in Scott Niedermayer is that he didn’t have more brothers.”
Earl, where is your interview with Burkie? ; )
Small world. Hey, at least he didn’t say anything incriminating.
Meg, I love how brutally honest the London Tube is about bodies on the tracks and subway cars falling apart and whatnot. Last year all three IPB sisters took Boomer to London, and we spent one delightful afternoon in a station in Chelsea getting the most ridiculously detailed and forthright updates over the PA about a lengthy delay.
Earl, I’d say hi to Mike Chen, too, but A) I don’t know him at all, and B) “legit” bloggers who do shit like interview their team’s GMs totally intimidate me. So could you instead just sort of surreptitiously stare at him from a safe distance for me? Because that’s what I’d do if I actually met him. (And andrew, since you know him, I’d also stare at you if we met in person, but from a closer distance. Because while you do attain some degree of fame for your association with him, it’s a lesser degree of fame, naturally.)
Hey, I just went to school with the guy! Don’t stare at me too Schnookie!
Actually, kind of random, but after college another one of my good friends roomed with Chen down in Palo Alto while in law school. I didn’t even know about it until, like, 2 months later. My buddy Ben said “you should meet my roomate, he’s a huge Sharks fan too.” Very small world.
The staring is a sign of respect, andrew — you should be proud!
Earl, where is your interview with Burkie? ; )
I spent a lot of that chat trying to feel out Mike’s experience and picturing myself at the other end of a B. Burke interview (not that one’s imminent or anything). I think it would be a lot of fun, especially given Burke’s ability to swear and my ability to not write anything down.
Someday, maybe! Who knows what’s in store when BoC starts experimenting with legitimate journalism?
I think it would be a lot of fun, especially given Burke’s ability to swear and my ability to not write anything down.
This sounds captivating….I’d buy it.
Hey, andrew! Will you put up a profile on the IPB Irregular page? I want to know more!
The only thing I’d fault Mike Chen for (and he’s somewhat excused given that he used his Fox Sports blog to hook up the interview) is that it is awfully professional. I mean, he did take comment-suggested questions to the interview, but it could have been any journalist asking the questions.
Just my opinion, but I would definitely try to avoid any sort of bland interview–I’d want it to be distinct from what I’m likely to read in another interview later. Then again, it’s pretty easy to talk about how awesome my interview would go when the interview is purely theoretical.
I am currently trying to imagine what an IPB interview with Lou Lamoriello would be like…
After we got past the initial stage of staring at Lou from a “safe” distance (which we have actually done in person on more than one occasion. He was especially gracious about the staring when we were sitting pretty much across the aisle from him in SJ at the ’97 A-S Game), I think all I’d be able to ask is, “What’s it like having Jay Pandolfo and his raccoon wife living in your crawl space? Do they make a lot of noise skittering around down there?” Then there would be awkward silence and I’d nervously laugh to cover it up and hastily add, “Of course, I know you live in your office here at the arena, and there isn’t really a crawl space here at all, is there? Silly question. Okay, moving on…”
I think it’s going really well so far!
I’ll work on it Kate!
Good morning all….I have been working to catch up.
Jeeze………now I need to run to lunch and get behind again.
I would definitely try to avoid any sort of bland interview–I’d want it to be distinct from what I’m likely to read in another interview later.
“What’s it like having Jay Pandolfo and his raccoon wife living in your crawl space? Do they make a lot of noice skittering around down there?”
Wow, the two of you are really in tune. Probably explains why we’re all here.
By the way…..last nights baseball game….clearly we were way out of place there. We were calling “diving” penalties, yelling at the “refs”, yelling at the kids not to get out of their seats cause the “ball was in play”, and PP kept wanting to know how many “goals” they got in this “period”.
I think to start a B. Burke interview I’d first go down the roster with him and together we’d assign each player a nickname that neither of us has ever used in the past.
Then we could go through a list of 29 other GMs and play the same game.
If we are not in a bar by the end of that question, then the interview would be over.
I tried to put the pitcher in the box for delay of game during gym class today, a oil so you’re not alone there. But he wouldn’t pitch the ball!
Mags the Littler (aka Flutter) says to say RAAAAWR and that you’re all evil for picking on her team’s mascot :P
Oil, Heather, heeheeeee
Earl, now that is a GM interview I’d actually read. The ones that are all the same old questions? Zzzzz… (Given that we happen to be fans of the most tight-lipped GM in the history of all sports means I’m kind of naturally disinclined to care what they actually have to say. With Lou it’s all “orchestra” this and “the fans will be pleasantly surprised” that, and then BANG! your coach gets fired, and no one ever tells you why. But the Earl Sleek style of GM interview is really something I can get behind.)
Mags the Littler (aka Flutter) says to say RAAAAWR and that you’re all evil for picking on her team’s mascot :P
I know, I know. I felt pretty bad about picking on that poor dinner-moocher wearing the disease-stricken newt-bird mutant costume. Tell her I say SAAAAAAWRRY.
A.Oil, that reminds me of the time we got company seats to a Kings game (NBA). My wife Tracie and I went, but she had literally never even seen more than 3 or 4 minutes of a basketball game. Her sports knowledge is STRICTLY limited to hokcey. Here’s basically how it went:
(Ref blows whistle)
Tracie: Why is he calling a penalty?
Me: They’re not penalties in basketball sweetie, they’re called
fouls.
Tracie: Why is he calling a foul?
Me: Because the player hit the other guy’s hand while he was trying to shoot.
Tracie: That’s it?
Me: …..
Tracie: Pussies.
Oh hey since Oil brought up baseball, I thought I should mention the Tigers not only held onto their lead (a first, at least lately) but ended up winning 15-1 last night. I am demanding you all continue cheering for them from now on, it seems to have worked.
Steph killed the thread. But, as you wish m’lady ;P
Aw that’s not usually my job, either!
I should also mention I just saw a Capri Sun commercial and thought of Giguere.
Is it just that I haven’t watched baseball lately (um no thanks to the Jays :X) or am I right in saying 15 runs’ pretty hard to find nowadays?
I cheer for Detroit! I think.
I’m just not very baseballsy. ._. sorry Steph. The pace of baseball kills me.
Nope. You’re going to make me lose my job :P
I bought a pair of earrings today solely based on the fact that they had ducks on them and they reminded me of Bryz. Stupid Anaheim costing me money :P
Despite the fact that we’re pretty open-minded sports fans and have, at various times in our lives, considered ourselves serious fans of all manner of sports, the general discussion at IPB Manor generally breaks down to “this is so much lamer than hockey” whenever we watch anything else. I’m looking forward to liveblogging a baseball game this summer because Pookie always falls into hysterics about how stupid the sport is, how lame the players are, how bored she is, and has a litany of hilarious “improvements” she’d make if she was in charge of MLB. This needs to be put into writing.
I bought a pair of earrings today solely based on the fact that they had ducks on them and they reminded me of Bryz. Stupid Anaheim costing me money :P
Look at what IPB is doing to us! It’s caused me to giggle everytime I see toasters.
Since we were talking about Mike Chen before, I too am slightly intimidated by him but we’ve talked a couple of times, mostly about music since I was on the Rawk the Puck panel this year. Cool dude. Can’t so much get behind the Van Halen love though.
Despite Burke having not cracked a smile since probably when he was 10 years old, I think Burkey would really like a Sleek-type interview. He’s Irish, he’s got to like drinking.
Schnookie – and last but not least – is there ANY sport where the commentators come up with the absolute LAMEST statistics?
I’ll bet they have research runners finding out what color undies Roger Clemens wore when he signed with the BoSox
I bought a pair of earrings today solely based on the fact that they had ducks on them and they reminded me of Bryz. Stupid Anaheim costing me money :P
I used to hate ducks. The examples in my physics textbooks 99% of the time involved ducks. stupid ducks that could skate off ramps at such and such velocity with such and such forces acting upon thems. Anaheim has muchly endeared me to ducks. At least I no longer murderously glare at said physucks ducks.
Pookie – i wholeheartedly agree with you on baseball. But I look forward to the liveblog. Maybe i’ll even like baseball again :X.
I just looked at the box scores for all MLB games played yesterday. Total runs scored? 156 runs…. now, when was the last time there was 156 goals scored in one day of NHL action?
That would read so much better if it was “I bought a pair of earings today solely based on the fact that they had toasters on them…etc.” That said, Mags, I’d do the same thing. And I certainly wouldn’t want to steal your job :b
So last night there were obvious season ticket holders next to us. Old couple all decked out in their Aquasox finery (on a side note, ran into Jay Buhner) and the woman had this scorebook, or so it seemed from a brief glance at a distance. My friend Nikki snorts and says….all I need to know about baseball I can read on that sign (as she points to the big scoreboard). I start laughing because clearly she saw the scorebook as well! About the 5th inning (typed period…had to delete) I realized that she was playing sudoku and it wasn’t a scorebook at all.
The only thing that really bugs me about baseball is that they never seem to actually hit the ball. Maybe I’m just watching the wrong games.
Vinny, there is NO WAY an IPB liveblog of a baseball game could do anything other than drive the reader insane. But we’ll subject you all to it anyway, because that’s the kind of service we strive to offer at IPB!
I will say in baseball’s favor, though — I love the insane statistics. I like that they can pull out percentages for the most inane situations, and then they can pull out percentages that suggest the exact opposite of what the previous stat said. You know, “This batter is hitting only .062 with runners on the corners against lefties who’ve thrown more than 50 pitches in a game, but he’s also hitting .893 with one out and no one on second in the sixth inning or beyond…” There must be a million occasions in the average baseball game where I get to shout about the stats, “Ohhhh! Something’s gotta give!”
Of course I say this all snottily as if we don’t watch hockey and whip out our stats and info better then the next guy….but clearly it is dorky for people to do it in other sports.
I really like baseball but it shouldn’t be compared to hockey. Baseball is like taking a fishing boat out on a calm lake, and hockey is like riding one of those freaky jet boats they have over by Niagara Falls. They are entirely two different experiences, but they each have their place.
Mags – seconded. Sometimes I why they’re paid so much to whack at a ball, but never seem to get it and then get “out”. I mean.. I can do that!
I don’t know if a liveblog of a baseball game would work when if you listen to the play-by-play on the radio, they typically dissolve into talk about anything but the game that is actually going on because it is just that slow.
The best part is when the commentators say something borderline offensive. Because you know they totally will.
Steph, they had teapots and cupcakes and all sorts of random shit, so I asked if they had toasters as well, but alas, no dice. Is just… duck.
Although of course, I do have to add sometimes the out/infielders do make some amazing catches and plays.
But without the Pierre Drinking Game…..what is the point of watching????
all I need to know about baseball I can read on that sign (as she points to the big scoreboard)
Okay, the other thing I’ll say in favor of baseball is that I also love keeping score! I refuse to go to a live game without the promise of scoring (otherwise I’ll just fidget and wonder why I’m not sitting in the air conditioning at home where I don’t have to pay $12 for a drink of water), and have my own fancy-pantsy scorebook. So don’t hate on the scorers, a.oil! We’re just trying to keep our sanity intact! (And the last time I went to a game I was keeping score, and the game ended and everyone got up and I was like, “WTF? Aren’t we going to extra innings?” Turns out I’d been operating since, like, the third inning thinking the game was tied when it was, in fact, not. My scorebook was correct, but I was so wrapped up in the little details that I never bothered with seeing what the actual, well, score was.)
It boggles my mind how little actually happens in MLB games, especially after playing softball for so long. I mean, 14 hits in a game and that’s exceedingly high? What? I swear to god I saw a batter running on a dropped third strike for the first time ever the other day.
This is probably why I can watch the Tigers and love it, but to put on a random baseball game with two teams I really could care less about like I have been known to do with hockey and pay any sort of attention? No way.
And Schnookie you are so right about the stats. Mario and Rod come up with the craziest things, I have no clue why anyone would bother to even remember, let along bring up consistantly.
Well, back from lunch. If the talk is still about hockey vs. baseball, I imagine a lot of you have seen this, but if not, it’s hilarious.
Ah…I can’t keep my attention that close to anything other then hockey….it is outside…….there are weird people to watch, planes going over head, trains, beer…….just way to much going on…..
Oh no, don’t bash commentators! I was a baseball fan before I was a hockey fan, and Vin Scully, the longtime announcer for the Dodgers, is practically the voice of my girlhood. I love the obscure, contradicting stats and the random asides about where a player went to preschool. I agree with Kate–you can’t compare hockey and baseball.
I have Earl and it is hysterical.
Yeah, I’ve seen that vid. He’s right though…. the only thing that isn’t cool about hockey is the off-season -_-
Steph, they had teapots and cupcakes and all sorts of random shit, so I asked if they had toasters as well, but alas, no dice. Is just… duck.
:^:::::::::
There has got to be a reason that never gets old.
I have to say there is something great about baseball announcers. The cadence in their voice and the flow of the talking always makes me happy. It is completely different then listening to any other announcer.
Sherry, our baseball liveblog will be more of a transcript of whatever we’re saying to the television as the game unwinds. I really just want to share with the world Pookie’s unique perspective on the sport. Plus I love the thought of being able to write in a game diary:
8:15 PM: Foul tip.
8:15 PM: Batter steps out of the batting box and readjusts.
8:17 PM: Foul tip.
8:17 PM: Catcher trots out to the mound to converse with Pitcher.
8:20 PM: Foul tip.
And so on…
Doesn’t that sound exciting?
I’ve really got nothing against baseball or the commentators. I find most of them hilarious, haha. And I agree, you can’t really compare the two. I came to Canada after the Jays won their second World Series title but I could never get into it much. I’m with Steph really, I’ll root for the Jays but I’d be hard-pressed to actually sit down and watch a game.
I also have softball related trauma, but we won’t get into that.
Oh man that video is amazing, my dad sent it to me at some point with a comment about thinking of me and Roloson and the way he baseball batted the puck down the ice before OT the last time we saw the Oilers. The first watch-through I was too busy being astonished that my dad had actually remembered something about a player who wasn’t a Leaf.
I also have softball related trauma, but we won’t get into that.
Don’t leave me hanging like that. That’s just not fair Sherry.
The guy who does the Tigers radio announcing is my favorite person in the whole world. The way he yells “STEEEEEE-RIIIIIIIKE” every time it is remotely necessary is a thing of beauty.
I would never religiously go to baseball games like I can hockey and the sport itself doesn’t “catch” me all that much. However, I have to say there is something perfect when you are sitting in a big leauge stadium watching baseball on a summers day. The beer and dogs, etc………the people talking all around you…….but it is really not the game as much as the setting that seems right. The game ends up being secondary to the setting itself.
Sherry, they made me tell the whole Ty Conklin story when I made an offhanded comment like that. They’re going to wear you down eventually, it’s probably best you just spill now.
Doesn’t that sound exciting?
It does. I’m betting you guys would find a way to make it the most intellectually stimulating piece of literature to ever come into existence. Second only to ‘Chasing Sidney’, of course.
I have to say there is something great about baseball announcers. The cadence in their voice and the flow of the talking always makes me happy. It is completely different then listening to any other announcer.
Exactly. Baseball is just soothing and nice.
I also have softball related trauma, but we won’t get into that.
OK, Sherry can be exempted from the “Things I love about hockey” assignment if she writes an extra special “Things I hate about softball” post instead.
Baseball is just soothing and nice.
Which is exactly why I can’t watch it for too long. Where’s the adrenaline?
I completely sympathize about switching arenas. I absolutely love everything about the Verizon Center and its been odd to not go there several nights a week. It felt like another home for all the time I spent there.
I didnt really start following hockey until I went to college in a state where hockey IS the only sport but whenever I was home in NJ, I did attempt to go to Devils games. The parking situation was murderous. I actually went once (i was going to buy tix at the gate because I knew they would be available) and I turned around because the line was so long to get around the construction to the parking area. That said, I am not dissing on CAA cause I know I would probably challenge anyone who dissed the VC to a steel cage match.
Good luck in your new arena and its looks like you guys will be rocking out in a sold out building pretty often.
Out of curiousity, I was wondering if the management got in touch with season ticket holders at all regarding your seats changing a bit? Or is section XX in CAA going to be the same as section XX in the new arena?
OK, Sherry can be exempted from the “Things I love about hockey” assignment if she writes an extra special “Things I hate about softball” post instead.
If I have to fill my blog with summer programming, it might just descend into that. I think i’d get more mileage out of my “Things I Hate about Soccer” essay instead though.
Long story short, I joined a summer league one time after being forced by my friends. I’m totally not athletic in any way shape or form and out of 10 games I think our team only won 2. Yet I still managed to get hit in the face with the ball about 5 times, in the leg 3 times and was actually tackled and dragged to home plate one time when apparently I didn’t end up touching it when running home. Apparently, that’s not illegal cause it counted for a point, so I suppose it wasn’t a complete waste.
Baseball is just soothing and nice.
which kind of = relaxing = sleep-inducing
i’m sorry if that was offensive though ._. I got hit by a foul ball when I was a kid at a Jays game. Baseball has not been that enticing. =(
“Things I Hate about Soccer”
I could get behind that.
Poor Sherry, all accident prone.
I was wondering if the management got in touch with season ticket holders at all regarding your seats changing a bit? Or is section XX in CAA going to be the same as section XX in the new arena?
Shmee, I actually have no idea how that’s working. I had to give up my season tickets after the lockout (not because of the lockout, mind you. We even sent the Devils a letter explaining as much and we still got all those “please don’t leave us!” letters from “Lou” apologizing for the labor stoppage and promising they’d never do it again. We were like, “Which part of ‘I swear to God, it’s not the lockout! It’s that I can’t get to the games on time now because of my commute from work!’ didn’t you understand?”), so I’m out of the season ticket loop now. They must not be having sales problems, though, because they haven’t sent us anything begging us to re-up now that they’re in a new building, which the Coyotes totally did (even though we’d only had season tickets for one year out there and sent them a very nasty letter about how shitty their organization is after that one season when we declined to renew) when we were living out in AZ. What I do know about the new arena is that the ticket prices are going up by as much as 100%. The new arena is crazy expensive, and the Devils are going to be lucky to see Pookie and me at home in person more than twice next season. (We are planning several road trips, though…)
Yet I still managed to get hit in the face with the ball about 5 times, in the leg 3 times and was actually tackled and dragged to home plate one time when apparently I didn’t end up touching it when running home.
Yikes! And who says it’s not a contact sport?
I got hit by a foul ball when I was a kid at a Jays game. Baseball has not been that enticing. =(
Almost getting killed by a zinging foul ball after being lulled into peaceful bliss by the game is one of my favorite things about baseball, actually.
Schnookie, welcome to my world – tickets prices at the Joe make me cry. Then again, so did ticket prices in Chicago which made no sense whatsoever. Of course there we paid $45 for the first row of the upper bowl…and then sat third row of the lower for most of the game because that’s how empty it was.
Sherry, I grew up a Tigers fan and I will sorely miss Al Kaline and George Kell commenting – especially “Right Up Miiiichigan Avenue” before the park moved. Best best part of a game was going to AC Lindells after.
(We are planning several road trips, though…)
IPB hits the road! Where are you heading? (If you come to Boston, I’m not sure I’ll be able to do more than stare from a safe distance.)
Sandra – really? I love Al Kaline! And Tiger Stadium! Comerica park is beautiful, but it somehow will never have the same feel as the old park. And I remember the Michigan Avenue bit, too! Mario and Rod are great, but I miss the old announcers too.
I suppose that was more ‘addressed’ to Steph… it’s been a bit of a hideous day here.
Steph, what kills me is that the Devils had something like the second-highest ticket prices in the league before the new-building price hike. For our last few years as season ticketholders we sat in the last row of the upper deck, and it was always hard to get extra tickets near us because the last two rows were the only seats that cost $20. Everything else, from the third-to-last row in the upper deck out, was considerably more expensive. So if you’ve ever watched a Devils game on TV and laughed and laughed about how empty the arena looked, what you weren’t taking into account was that the last two rows in the nosebleeds were jam-packed.
Sherry, your softball story is so terrible! I played softball in 7th and 8th grade (when I got to high school I was able to get gym credit by managing the softball team, which meant I never had to go to practice, and got to say on my college applications that I had 4 years of varsity sports experience when in fact all I’d done was keep score at all our games), and only got put into a game once in that entire time. I played an inning in right field. And thought I’d die if the ball got hit toward me. (It didn’t.) I remember for the first day of practice that first season I was like, “Hey! Catching a ball really isn’t that hard!” Then I got hit square in the forehead and was, forevermore, terrified of the ball.
IPB hits the road! Where are you heading? (If you come to Boston, I’m not sure I’ll be able to do more than stare from a safe distance.)
We’re hoping to be able to do Buffalo and Pittsburgh this year, but Boston is a driveable distance, and we have friends up there, so if the Sabres or Penguins schedules don’t work out for us, maybe you’ll be able to stare from a safe distance at us! (We’re also going to see some Caps games, I think, but that’s a day trip for us…) I sincerely hope if we do end up in Boston that we can hang out!
You know….I think out west is nice that time of year….. :) May be more then a day trip however…..
I’ll meet you in Buffalo. I have never been to an NHL regular season game.
And thought I’d die if the ball got hit toward me. (It didn’t.) I remember for the first day of practice that first season I was like, “Hey! Catching a ball really isn’t that hard!” Then I got hit square in the forehead and was, forevermore, terrified of the ball.
I was no good in the out-field either because I actually do need glasses to see and I was stubbornly insistent on not wearing them whenever I played. The trouble with me also is that I caught and threw with my left hand so making me catch with the other was also very traumatic. I suppose that’s how I ended up getting hit in the face so many times.
The trouble with me also is that I caught and threw with my left hand so making me catch with the other was also very traumatic. I suppose that’s how I ended up getting hit in the face so many times.
Okay, Sherry, you just won the Comment That Made Schnookie Laugh Out Loud the Hardest Award!
The trouble with me also is that I caught and threw with my left hand so making me catch with the other was also very traumatic. I suppose that’s how I ended up getting hit in the face so many times.
Oh, poor Sherry!
Awww, poor Sherry. I need to wear glasses when I play as well, which is hard when you’re wearing a mask that’s moulded to your head. Thankfully I’ve recently found a brand of contacts that don’t make me cry buckets whenever I wear them.
I hope you do go on the road. Take pictures!
We’re hoping to be able to do Buffalo and Pittsburgh this year, but Boston is a driveable distance, and we have friends up there, so if the Sabres or Penguins schedules don’t work out for us, maybe you’ll be able to stare from a safe distance at us! (We’re also going to see some Caps games, I think, but that’s a day trip for us…) I sincerely hope if we do end up in Boston that we can hang out!
Keep us posted of your travel plans!
Sherry on the road, wearing glasses, catching and throwing with the same hand, sliding spikes up on anyone that reminds her of Sean Avery. I’d go watch.
Thankfully I’ve recently found a brand of contacts that don’t make me cry buckets whenever I wear them.
I’m too much of a wuss for contacts. I’m super sensitive about my eyes since one time in high school I got photo solution in it [wow, I must sound like the biggest. klutz. ever]. To be fair, it wasn’t my fault, my friend splashed me in the eye. Allegedly by accident.
Okay, Sherry, you just won the Comment That Made Schnookie Laugh Out Loud the Hardest Award!
SWEET! Since I’m now setting that as the bar for a productive day at work, I guess it’s officially time for me to leave the office.
I’ll see you guys after dinner!
Here at the Joe if you’re paying $20 you’re in the standing room only section. Awful.
And everyone had better keep me updated on these Boston ventures – I’d love to plan my attempts to get out there around when there will be others!
I’ll see you guys after dinner!
Bring your glasses!
Okay, I have to comment on this only because
a) 171 comments? Are you SERIOUS? Crazy girls… ;)
and
b) yeah, you’re coming to a Caps game! WOO! Anyone else want to join in? Come on…Ovechkin? Semin? Empty seats to put your stuff? What could be better??
Bye, Sherry! Try not to hurt yourself in any further hilarious, accident-prone ways while you’re away from your computer!
It doesn’t like my URL… :(
Bye Sherry :0 nice friend btw.
Thankfully I’ve recently found a brand of contacts that don’t make me cry buckets whenever I wear them.
Mags I’ve been looking forever for contacts! I have super sensitive eyes (I can’t even properly use eyeliner most of the time), may i inquire as to what you’re using?
Sherry, I have retinal scarring from an accident in the chemistry lab (yeah I know, I should have been wearing goggles. But it’s not like I’m the poster child for safety here) so wearing contacts is incredibly risky. But these things work. What’s even cooler is that they make them in a sunglasses variety too, so when it’s bright in winter I don’t have to squint :D
This year will be PP’s first NHL game…..she is pretty excited….and I will get to watch my Luongo……ahhhhh….
:0 Capschick! *waves*
yeah, you’re coming to a Caps game! WOO! Anyone else want to join in? Come on…Ovechkin? Semin? Empty seats to put your stuff? What could be better??
Actually I really do want to go to a Caps game. Except it’s too far for a day trip I think. which sucks.
And with that I say…180 COMMENTS! YAY!
I’m officially bored at work so I’m clogging up your blog with meaningless babble. You IPB gals know how good I am at that… :^::::::::
Haha Oil….I may or may not have intentions to go to a Canucks game when they’re in town just for that. (Well, and maybe also so I can yell at Bulis to grow the excellent pink mohawk back.)
And hi CC! This is what we do here :b
I am seriously having a sort of “Steve Smith” day here at the office. Difference is, it’s somebody else’s mistakes I’m chasing after.
:0 Vinny! *waves*
(Do I know you? I do now! Yay! New friend.)
You should totally come – I have a sofa if anyone wants to crash there and I’m walking distance from the arena. I’m just sayin’. :D
Hello CapsChick! Welcome to the madness :D
I totally want to go to the game toooooooo. *bitchbitchmoanmoan*
I looked it up once. Me and Jan Bulis, same birthday. And not just the same date, same exact day!
good god, I need a hobby.
I want to go to an Oilers/Canucks game so I can watch my team. PP wants to watch a Penguins/Canucks game. I am torn….cause I would realllllllly like to watch Cindy play…..rather then just watch my Oilers lose.
CapsChick, it is now physically impossible to “clog up” our blog. It is clogged beyond recognition or redemption! :P
HAHA Andrew that’s amazing! You should grow a mohawk, streak it pink, and then buy a dog, and name it Baffy after the Czech onomatopoeia for ‘bow-wow’ (no seriously, I spend far too much time translating articles in Czech).
(Do I know you? I do now! Yay! New friend.)
You should totally come – I have a sofa if anyone wants to crash there and I’m walking distance from the arena. I’m just sayin’. :D
I really want to do that NHL-arena-round-trip idea. Visit all the arenas. But I have a soft spot for the Caps due to a friend of mine that moved up from the area.
And I read your blog alot, but um. No you don’t know me. HI NEW FRIEND :D.
I had pink hair last summer… does that count too?
Btw, it’s a summer tradition that I dye my hair some outrageous colour. Anybody want to suggest a shade of crazy?
I’m already harassing my dad to get tickets for the two Oilers games in Detroit since the two in Chicago will have to come out of my pocket…if I’m not careful my Oilers love is going to eclipse my Red Wings, and this is not the time to let that happen, after last season.
Hi Mags! You should come down too! I have a really nice…um…floor?
The madness is fun and is preventing me from doing the work I’m supposed to be doing right now…and to that I say, cheers, IPB! WOO! I’m a little punchy today.
Chartruse.
I had a mohawk in high school! Can’t really do that anymore.
I have a dog too, but no Baffy, her name’s Shibby. Those of you who can fully appreciate the genius that is “Dude, Where’s My Car?” will understand.
I looked it up once. Me and Jan Bulis, same birthday. And not just the same date, same exact day!
By the way, is Jan Bulis related in any common-knowledge way with Jessica Alba? I’ve done zero research on it, btw, but Jes Golbez asked me if I would do some sort of graphic or cartoon about the two of them.
Not knowing any better, I asked, “Oh, what’s the theme here? Invisibility?”
Now Jes won’t talk to me any more :(
Mags what colours have you done? My first thought was neon-rainbow. But that’s not a shade but many shades. :X
MAGS. I love dying my hair stupid colors. I’ve done pink, purple, teal….and now I was thinking I would have to stick with more normal colors since I really need a damn job, but as of this afternoon I officially work for my college’s athletic department and they officially don’t care what color my hair is at all! WHOOOO!
Oilers love is decidedly absolute. You don’t think you love them, they are like the ugly dog (ryan symth) that is underfoot that you cuss at to get out of your way, but yet, you realize that you couldn’t live life without them……..
and that made soooo much more sense in my head.
CC, I’ll bring my camping gear :P
Oil, it’s been bright green already. And blue, purple, and pink. Orange isn’t an option.
Mags, I dyed mine when I was in college (hello, Oberlin much?) — it went from a nice comic book superhero blue to a deep pine green to a too-light purple in rapid succession. The nice thing was that my hair must have weird issues because it didn’t wash out of one streaky spot. So when it was purple I had this delightful chunk of green still in it, so it kind of ended up looking easter egg-y. I highly recommend that approach, although it was completely accidental on my part, so I can’t advise on how to accomplish it.
Teal?
Yay! Steph has a job! Whooooooooooooo! *throws a party*
So is Steph treating us to drinks tonight? Oh wait….Steph isn’t OLD enough to drink…….
Not knowing any better, I asked, “Oh, what’s the theme here? Invisibility?”
Ohhh… BURN!
Vinny: OMG, someone actually reads my blog, I’m so excited!! The Caps hold a special place in a lot of people’s hearts, I think. They’re so lovable and eternally awful, it’s hard to hate them. I think everyone harbors a secret love of my boys…
So yes, include the Caps in a road trip plan – let’s get everyone who comments here to come! YAY!
Well Shibby and Baffy have the same uh, ring to them? So I’ll let it count :b
I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything about him and Jessica Alba though…but now you’ve got me curious. Czech tabloids here I come.
The Caps hold a special place in a lot of people’s hearts, I think. They’re so lovable and eternally awful, it’s hard to hate them.
I think you’re confusing ambivalence with “holding a special place in a lot of people’s hearts”. :P
Oh, ouch…OUCH. Mean.
Ok, so you are on my favorites, but honestly, I only skim other blogs, this is about the only one I have time to actually READ. :) I would love to come out there, but since it is more of a week trip, not a day trip…I think I will have to pass…..
….The offer remains open for anyone that finds themselves in the Pacific Northwest for food, booze or housing……PP’s and my door is always open…….
I was shocked when the team said they were doing new logo for the upcoming year. I was like Really????? That is what will make people watch? A new logo?
OH SHUSH. Give me uh, like TWO WEEKS. TWO WEEKS YOU GUYS. Besides the internet doesn’t have a drinking age! SO THERE!
And that’s exactly how it went! After cheering for them last year it just turned into this inexplicable love…and I think it’s only made worse by the fact that they’re so far away which means I have to jump on any chance to see them, unlike the Wings who are always available. And uh, there’s that little matter of Hemsky.
I kid because I love, CC! And seriously (spoiler alert for next season!), IPB plans to add the Caps into our 4-team rotation. So they better not let us down!
I’m just going to drop by every last one of yous when I head to the States in 08. You can’t escape!
aww oil i’ll be in the pacific northwest =D I have family in the Vancouver area and we visit them every summer.
I keep wanting it to be winter-visits so I get a hockey game =(
CC: it’s okay. the caps have a more special place in my heart than the devils :D by far.
I’m just going to drop by every last one of yous when I head to the States in 08. You can’t escape!
come by Toronto when you reach Buffalo. We’re close enough. Buffalo plays Canadian anthems!
and and so as not to offend: the devils hold a very special place in my heart too. It’s all relative. =D
IPB, is there a hierarchy to your 4-team rotation? Obviously, the Devils are first, but what happens if Pittsburg meets Buffalo in the playoffs next year? (Or the Capitals–hey, I guess it could happen.)
CC: it’s okay. the caps have a more special place in my heart than the devils :D by far.
Yeah, the Devils have a very special place on my dartboard, and another one in the pit of my fireplace.
and and so as not to offend: the devils hold a very special place in my heart too. It’s all relative. =D
Too little, too late, Vinny! :P
I don’t want to escape, Mags! Sign me up for visitation!
And look at everyone and their offering of housing. I’d add my name to the list but unless you want to be smack dab in the middle of Chicago and Detroit I’m not sure how useful I’d be. That said, anyone is welcome! How come none of you are from Edmonton, huh? :b I need somewhere to stay when I come crash all those clubs the skanky girls on facebook say Hemsky hangs around!
CC: it’s okay. the caps have a more special place in my heart than the devils :D by far.
Oooh, someone just got docked a few IPBucks for that comment!
CC, it’s so awesome to see you over here on IPB! And yeah, I second Schnookie’s statement that the Caps had better not lets us down. I have very high hopes for them as a potential Other Team.
And Vinny I’ll be up in Toronto again at the end of August! Too bad it’s before the season starts up as always :( I have such ill-planned visits. Then again I haven’t been to a game in Toronto since the Gardens, and I can’t imagine it’s gotten any easier to make happen, so maybe I’m lucky I haven’t needed to try.
OH SHUSH. Give me uh, like TWO WEEKS. TWO WEEKS YOU GUYS.
Really? Enjoy the hell out of it. I have a very hazy memory of turning 21, but people tell me I had fun.
I really wish I could come visit during the season, but the fact remains that I have to play my own games. All 60 of ‘em. I’d love to skip one, but that means skipping my scholarship as well, and I’m not rich enough to pay for school all on my lonesome.
As for teams, the Devils own most of my ice hockey heart, with little bits for Pittsburgh and Buffalo. And then you know, there’s the field hockey, but none of you have ever heard of any of them :P
Vinny, let me know….I am only about 1 1/2 hours south of Vancouver and we are always looking for a reason to go across the border……
Winter = Good………I see both Canucks and the local WHL games in your future…. :)
Well Mags, we will take you on the off-season I guess…..
IPB, is there a hierarchy to your 4-team rotation?
We kinda go on instinct with this. Remember that awesome Buffalo-Pittsburgh game in March when Buffalo came back in the final seconds to tie it? The game when Uncle Mario announced the team was staying in Pittsburgh? At that point, Buffalo and Pittsburgh were pretty equal in Other Team status, and I remember basically just cheering for however was playing better at that instant. It was surprisingly easy to cheer for both teams. I’m not sure what would happen if they faced off in the playoffs. I’d probably just cheer for it to go 7 and then hope for a good, fair game.
Ok, so you are on my favorites, but honestly, I only skim other blogs, this is about the only one I have time to actually READ. :)
I see, so you make time for IPB but not me? Nice. Thanks. ;)
I was shocked when the team said they were doing new logo for the upcoming year. I was like Really????? That is what will make people watch? A new logo?
They’re beyond trying to get people to watch hockey in DC, I think. This is all about making the look match the product on the ice…and take that however you wish, especially if you’ve seen the “leaked” jerseys.
IPB plans to add the Caps into our 4-team rotation. So they better not let us down!
They will…and I’m sorry, that rotation is NJ, Buffalo, and Pitt? Hmm………..not so sure about that one. ;)
(Or the Capitals–hey, I guess it could happen.)
Is this pick on the Caps day? Oh, wait. That’s everyday.
Longest…comment…EVER! YAY!
(Or the Capitals–hey, I guess it could happen.)
Is this pick on the Caps day? Oh, wait. That’s everyday.
Sorry, CapsChick. If IPB adopts your team, I will be along for the ride!
Oh, and because I’m really behind on all the comments here, I’ll just too out a few random thoughts:
1. Congratulations on the job, Steph!
2. Earl, that interview with Burke sounds wonderful.
3. That sparrow costume ROCKED! It reminded me of the fantastic stuff you’d see in the crowds at the World Cup. You know, like the dude dressed in full Napoleon regalia carrying a live rooster? Good times, good times.
AO: i know! every year we go in the summer and every year I whine about it. To no avail bc my family is non-hockey. But the food is great. =D (i admit I eat a lot -o-).
Steph: ACC is > gardens in terms of arena. But honestly… leafs tickets require you to sell your soul if you’re not a s-ticket holder. Maybe more.
Too little, too late, Vinny! :P
=( in my defence, i say my finals-studying/cramming that has addled my brain. Can my comment just be uhh… vanished into thin air :D
And look at everyone and their offering of housing. I’d add my name to the list but unless you want to be smack dab in the middle of Chicago and Detroit I’m not sure how useful I’d be. That said, anyone is welcome!
You guys are so funny all offering your places up to internet strangers! Don’t you watch 20/20? We could all be crazed homicidal lunatics! I can’t speak for anyone else on this blog, but I sure know I wouldn’t want me showing up at my apartment all “Hey! It’s me Katebits, from IPB!”.
I’m just saying.
Oil, I’ll play hockey with PP :P off-season no more!
You know, like the dude dressed in full Napoleon regalia carrying a live rooster?
I was at that game! He was sitting like 3 rows down from us :D
This is all about making the look match the product on the ice
Hmm….so shit huh?
Sorry, I do actually have caps love….in that ugly red-headed stepchild sort of way. Watching the caps to me is like watching a 4 man baseball team. You know they are going to get their asses kicked cause there is only 4 of them to field the entire game, but you still watch a) because it is going to be a trainwreck, and we alll know how much Oil loves a trainwreck and b) somewhere in my steel heart, I want them to be the next Disney/Rudy/Radio movie………and actually win a game…….
You know they are going to get their asses kicked cause there is only 4 of them to field the entire game,
I instantly thought of that Philly/Ottawa game where there were like 3 Ott players on the bench and 2 on the Flyers?
Or or.. my brain is more addled than I thought. But I really remember this game!
“Hey! It’s me Katebits, from IPB!”.
“Oh, hey Katebits. Let me show you to the gravity bong.”
I thought being a crazed homicidal lunatics was a requirement on this site……? silence Not that I am or anything…….really…..um yeah.
Oh I intend to :b My friend’s throwing me a party with an awesome band (like, they’re actually good, not just some hackjob college punk band or something) from our hometown coming out. I’ll do my best to remember it enough to let you all know how it was.
And thanks for all the congratulations, guys! I can now further contemplate wasting all my money on silly hockey things and feel less bad about it!
You guys are so funny all offering your places up to internet strangers! Don’t you watch 20/20? We could all be crazed homicidal lunatics! I can’t speak for anyone else on this blog, but I sure know I wouldn’t want me showing up at my apartment all “Hey! It’s me Katebits, from IPB!”.
Well, you know how we met X, our crazy ex-roommate? That’s right: in line for the bus to the Meadowlands at Port Authority! (Great callback to the beginning of this thread, no?) So we are living proof that A) not everyone you meet in a “this person could end up being a homicidal maniac” situation really is one, and B) “homicidal” is not the only kind of maniac out there. My advice? Don’t ever move in with someone you met at Port Authority.
But we will also open stately IPB Manor to anyone who happens to be visiting central New Jersey. (I say that with the utmost confidence that none of you will ever find yourselves vacationing in our rural backwater.) We won’t of course, be opening it free of charge, but we do have a guest room…
=( in my defence, i say my finals-studying/cramming that has addled my brain. Can my comment just be uhh… vanished into thin air :D
Noooo, come on! Stick with it – stand up to the IPB goddesses, let your Caps flag fly :)
Hmm….so shit huh?
No comment.
somewhere in my steel heart, I want them to be the next Disney/Rudy/Radio movie………and actually win a game…….
So…relatively new to the Caps love, then? Expecting a win, silly silly silly…
HAHAHA, Earl! FYI I’m too grown up for such nonsense now. (Don’t do drugs kids) I just brush eat, drink, and brush my teeth with Baily’s now.
You know, like the dude dressed in full Napoleon regalia carrying a live rooster?
I was at that game! He was sitting like 3 rows down from us :D
No. The fuck. Way. That guy is my hero. Him and the dude giving a fascist salute during the Italian anthem before a game last year while wearing nothing but his Team Italia D & G designer underwear.
I think the number of people I’ve met having known them on the internet first is now so great that I have totally lost count :b And no one’s killed me yet! (Although Sherry did try to convert me to cheering for the Senators so…)
I say that with the utmost confidence that none of you will ever find yourselves vacationing in our rural backwater.
I’m staffing a hockey camp in NYC next summer, and I will find a way to come see you. Trust me, I will. I’m crazy like that.
I second Schnookie’s statement that the Caps had better not lets us down. I have very high hopes for them as a potential Other Team.
That should be the Caps new slogan, given the type of people who root for them: The Capitals…the Other Team. Everyone at Verizon Center is a Caps fan until their real favorite team comes to town.
Steph: 21st birthdays are only good when you can’t remember them…poor innocent child.
So…relatively new to the Caps love, then? Expecting a win, silly silly silly…
Well not so much expecting a win, I do understand the concept of freakin’ mission IMPOSSIBLE, but you know like the basketball manager who had downs’ that made all the baskets at the end of his high school game…….?? You just hope that every person gets that fleeting moment of glory like he did, just sad to know that the caps (and the nats) will never see that.
Noooo, come on! Stick with it – stand up to the IPB goddesses, let your Caps flag fly :)
While Vinny stares at the angel and devil on her left and right shoulders, she is confused and thus returns to studying.
which btw, knowing IPB comments are within a refresh key away, is impossible.
…. i can’t believe i’m referring to myself in third person.
CC, just so you know, I got nothing against the Capitals. Feeling anything about them would be in pure violation of my “ignore all things eastern conference” mantra.
That said, there was one game last season where afterwards I turned to my roommate and said, “Mark my words. We have just seen the most dominant performance we will ever see out of this year’s Ducks. They murdered out there.”
And yeah, that was the one game against Herr Ovechkin and his dress-alike gang.
The Capitals…the Other Team. Everyone at Verizon Center is a Caps fan until their real favorite team comes to town.
:^:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
PERFECT.
Feeling anything about them would be in pure violation of my “ignore all things eastern conference” mantra.
You too?
I was at that game! He was sitting like 3 rows down from us
I am so jealous that you went to WC games! So jealous! Someday I’d love to go to one, but since I’m lazy and cheap and I don’t forsee it coming back to the States soon, I probably never will.
I can’t believe I forgot all about Facist Underwear Dude. Imagine if he and the Sparrow watched a game together. That would rock.
(Although Sherry did try to convert me to cheering for the Senators so…)
Steph, that’s a fate worse than death!
I’m staffing a hockey camp in NYC next summer, and I will find a way to come see you. Trust me, I will. I’m crazy like that.
Mags, maybe we’ll use you as an excuse to get off our duffs and go into NYC!
Vinny, if you’re not referring to yourself in the third person, you’re just not living the full IPB experience!
Feeling anything about them would be in pure violation of my “ignore all things eastern conference” mantra.
This mantra is getting decidedly more difficult as IPB goes on. This year it was PP (who is flying to visit Mags soon) and now it is you all eastern conference people…..
I am so jealous that you went to WC games!
Germany is like practically next door and my dad had sponsor tickets. I got lucky for a change.
just sad to know that the caps (and the nats) will never see that.
Ouch. Now why did you have to bring up my poor Nats? Anyone see yesterday’s score? 15-1. Just another day here in DC…
That said, there was one game last season where afterwards I turned to my roommate and said, “Mark my words. We have just seen the most dominant performance we will ever see out of this year’s Ducks. They murdered out there.”
Double Ouch. Okay, can I defend them? They were all worn out from winning four straight, really! Winning four in a row for them is like winning 20 in a row for any other team.
I’m staffing a hockey camp in NYC next summer
Ooh, that sounds kind of fun.
Feeling anything about them would be in pure violation of my “ignore all things eastern conference” mantra.
You too?
The hardest thing I’ve done in a really long time was attempt to game diarize the first round of the Western Conference games this year. Stupid schedule making it possible for us to ignore the other conference so completely! (Not that I’m at all unhappy about the situation during the season, but as soon as the postseason starts, it’s like, “Who are these guys?”)
Mags…invite only camp? Ages?
Schnookie, I really hope that one of your 4 is an western conference team…….pppppplllllluuuuuueeeze!!!
Winning four in a row for them is like winning 20 in a row for any other team.
Oh, it wasn’t the Caps’ fault, per se. They caught a Ducks team that would have steamrolled anyone that night, it seems.
And I did go to a game two seasons ago to see Ovechkin’s first hat trick (the 3rd one being the OT game-winner where he made the entire arena look stupid), so it’s give-and-take with the Caps.
And hey, the Ducks and Caps won’t even play this year, so goooo Caps!
Oil, 2 weeks, invite only, week 1 is ages 10-16, week 2 is younger I think, but I don’t know off the top of my head.
That would be barring the stunning (miracle – sorry CC :X) that would have the Ducks face the Caps in a SCF :X
Schnookie, I really hope that one of your 4 is an western conference team…….pppppplllllluuuuuueeeze!!!
I make no promises, a.oil. I was kind of hoping the Pens would move to Kansas City for that very reason — I could still cheer for my jailbait boyfriends, but also get exposure to the Western Conference…
…. i can’t believe i’m referring to myself in third person.
Vinny, that is clearly something Sleek approves of.
That would be barring the stunning (miracle – sorry CC :X) that would have the Ducks face the Caps in a SCF :X
Yeah, you’re right. I don’t think the Ducks will repeat, either.
;)
Hockey Canada on Wednesday announced the four Canadian sites for the Canada/Russia Super Series, an eight-game exhibition between the countries’ best players under the age of 20.
:0000 I want to see this.. unfortunately all four canadian sites are west coast (winnipeg, vancouver, red deer and one more i forget :X)
That would be barring the stunning (miracle – sorry CC :X) that would have the Ducks face the Caps in a SCF :X
Good point, Vinny. We shouldn’t forget that the last two cup finals were arranged between teams that hadn’t seen each other all year. “Oh crap. When did they move a team to Ottawa?”
Nice that will be fun. PP has spent all summer picking out hockey camps, but most she will have to wait 2 more summers before she is age eligible. Next year we can sneak her in early to the local WHL camp and maybe one across the border as well. She got an invite to a girls camp in Alaska, but she is to young to go an board up there.
Yeah, you’re right. I don’t think the Ducks will repeat, either.
Depending on if they really do lose those 3 guys and don’t properly spend the ensuing the $17~ million…very true =D.
Vinny thanks Sleek for the approval.
How old will she be next year? 6? I’ve looked it up and week 2 is 6-10. If she wants to come I’ll see what I can do.
Ouch. Now why did you have to bring up my poor Nats? Anyone see yesterday’s score? 15-1
I saw! :) (I was also amazed that our shittacular, yeah I said it, bullpen was able to withstand any amount of pressure whatsoever to keep that lead. My bet is that they dont’ do it again tonight.)
I saw! :) (I was also amazed that our shittacular, yeah I said it, bullpen was able to withstand any amount of pressure whatsoever to keep that lead. My bet is that they dont’ do it again tonight.)
Um…it was the Nats. How much pressure do you think there actually was? But you’re right, they won’t do it again tonight. They’ll win 28-3, Nats’ll pick up a few extra runs. :)
I was also amazed that our shittacular, yeah I said it, bullpen was able to withstand any amount of pressure whatsoever to keep that lead. My bet is that they dont’ do it again tonight.
Hey, have a little faith Steph. It doesn’t suit you, that pessimism.
The way the comments are flying fast and furious right now, I’m sure I won’t be missed here, but I’m piping up to tell you I’m heading home now. But I’ll be back within the hour, so try not to panic or otherwise lose your heads in my absence, as I know is your collective wont. :-)
Steph! I’ve been bragging about that bullpen all day!
She will be 6 this summer so almost 7 next summer……wow, cool that it is so young.
I’m with Schnookie – I’m all worn out from all this hard work ;)
If anyone has AIM, feel free to chat me up tonight: DCCapsChick27.
That’s right, 27.
For Ben Clymer.
Don’t judge me.
Let me know the details, if and when you get them.
Bye Schnookie!
Oil, I’ll let you know.
CC: I won’t judge you bc mine is worse – A product of my little’un days – my AIM is xlidovinnyx and since I’m online a lot, feel free to distract me from my studying :D I’ll give you lots of e-thanks.
Have you seen our bullpen lately? Whenever we put Fernando Rodney on the mound teh entirety of Detroit collectively sucks in the last deep breath we will be allowed until he screws up too many times and gets pulled, or the game ends (presumably in a loss).
And whoo! Bragging! About our bullpen? You all are crazier than I thought!
ooohhh CC I added you. mine is seattlepiranhas so aptly named after a local adult hockey team here.
Anyone that doesn’t know already, since we seem to be passing them out, if you need me the sn is YourPianoDrowns. It’s a lyric from a Loudermilk song, before you all ask, as everyone always does.
Ouch!!! Up by 100% — what the fuck? That is horrible.
However, this does present the opportunity for you and Pookie to come to DC. Along with CapsChick, we could have a HLOG mini summit, and by mini summit I mean drink beer.
Also out of curiosity, what was so bad in AZ? Stadium, team staffers? It seems like they realize something is wrong out there because they are just purging management.
And whoo! Bragging! About our bullpen? You all are crazier than I thought!
Well, at least bragging that I pulled for the Tigers’ tenuous 14-run lead and that they managed to hold it.
But seriously, if it is at all revealing that I am a baseball idiot by bragging about Detroit’s bullpen, then I think I’ll probably start doing it more. I hate saying something semi-intelligent about baseball and then being drawn into a hopeless conversation with some gloveheads.
I’d rather say, “Detroit has the best bullpen in the league” and then left alone to enjoy my pitied non-baseball discussions.
and by mini summit I mean drink beer.
Shmee, that is the world’s best mini summit.
It seems like they realize something is wrong out there because they are just purging management.
MLSE could stand to learn. Preferably by purging ownership to one that actually wants to win and not make MORE bighugeboatloads of money.
Ok you all……that pay attention to the draft….I need to figure out where #9 Zack Hamill is going to be picked. (also if you are really bored (Taylor Ellington the round number and team that picks him)……season tickets are up for grabs here!!! Anyone….anyone……
Well last year our bullpen was great. This year they seem to have all forgotten how to pitch. Luckily our hitters are awesome (three were in the top five in the whole league, I know at least two still are) enough to make up for it.
But if you really want to sound like a baseball idiot, just go around saying kind words about Jose Mesa and how he’s the new Kenny Rogers (SPEAKING OF WHOM he’ll be back on Friday, whooo!) or something.
I’m magsessie on aim, in case anyone is wondering
Ok you all……that pay attention to the draft….
I am a notoriously bad fan at paying attention to things like the draft or the prospects in minors, and it figures to get even worse this year.
If your boy gets picked somewhere between 16th overall and 92nd overall, then he’s not going to the Ducks. The Ducks have one pick in the first three rounds, and I’m guessing Burke will deal it rather than think hard about how to pronounce some kid’s name.
Steph, you are more then welcome to join. We could use another perspective at the mini summit on the..uh…evolving state of hockey in terms of both..uh..a driven marketing campaign and uh……well whatever, come drink beer with us
I need to figure out where #9 Zack Hamill
I can tell you he’s one of the favourites for Toronto, and that he’s projected Top 20, definitely after #8+however many defencemen not named Alzner. Likely chosen after Esposito and Couture and appears to be on par with Backlund and Eller and the like =) Did that help?
Well last year our bullpen was great.
Was Troy Percival in the Detroit bullpen last year? (I don’t think he was playing, right? but was he around to help everyone get their intimidating eye-squint down?) I liked Percival before I stopped liking baseball.
ummm….vinny…did I say Hamill for Toronto? NOPE….so not much help.
Damn…I am not sure how I can function if he goes to the leafs.
Yes! Awesome! Beer! And uh….intellectual hockey discussion. And beer!
I know he pitched with us in 2005 (very unspectacularly), and then had some injury that kept him on the disabled list through all of 2006. They say he worked for the team as an “advance scout”, but I’d say it’s highly probably he did just hang around last year and teach the rest of the bullpen how to glare. In fact, maybe his absence is why they all suddenly suck so hard.
Andrew: “I still won’t do it, only because it would take to long to get to the hospital after being stabbed.”
If that happened in LA then you would probably get transported to King Drew where you would then have to die on the emergency floor because nurses wouldn’t think you need medical attention.
Earl: When I was growing up I went to maybe one game a year, if that since family hockey night can really add up. My first year out of college was the lockout. Then the year after that I managed to go to one game all season. And then this past year I went to almost one game a month. My metro story is actually from my white, tall, lanky friend who rode it with his pale, redheaded girlfriend, but I just had to share it because it was too good to keep to myself. I only go to weekend games because I actually work in Irvine so it’s a huge pain in the ass to get to games on time during the work week.
Yeah, who is that Rudy Kelly guy? I do love reading his posts, mainly because I agree with almost everything he says.
aww AO i’m sorry. If it helps, Toronto also has its eye on (fan-consensus) Backlund, Eller, and if possible Couture.
I’m guessing anywhere between #8 – #18 depending on how many GMs want a defenceman instead. This year’s draft is a crapshoot.
yes Vinny is a draft junkie :X
I swear my post got eaten up by spam filter but here it is:
aww AO i’m sorry. If it helps, Toronto also has its eye on (fan-consensus) Backlund, Eller, and if possible Couture.
I’m guessing anywhere between #8 – #18 depending on how many GMs want a defenceman instead. This year’s draft is a crapshoot.
yes Vinny is a draft junkie :X
okay maybe not :X HI GUYS.
yes Vinny is a draft junkie :X
Great, you cancel out my I Know Nothing Of The Draft then.
oh no =( did i kill the thread again? damnit.
I only go to weekend games because I actually work in Irvine so it’s a huge pain in the ass to get to games on time during the work week.
Oh, the irony! You work in the OC and shun the Ducks, while I work by Staples Center and shun the Kings. Actually, I know a couple of Kings fans who live down in Tustin, too. We’re all just gas-guzzling fools.
Yeah, who is that Rudy Kelly guy? I do love reading his posts, mainly because I agree with almost everything he says.
Hmm, maybe I’ll schedule an interview, and make it sound all Mike-Chen-official-like. All I really know about the guy is his real name, his old e-mail address, and if I had to guess he’s younger than me. Oh, and he does play hockey.
I was going to try to meet the guy this year for a game or something; it’s an easier goal than the whole Brian Burke thing.
oh no =( did i kill the thread again? damnit
I believe the rule is “no replies for 10 minutes = thread murderer”
oh no =( did i kill the thread again? damnit
Maybe you just winged it. Seriously, it’s tougher to kill a thread here than it is to kill a Sharks 2-man advantage.
:D so i didn’t after all!
We’re all just gas-guzzling fools.
the area that is SoCal must love the environment.
Shit….sorry……as far as mascots are concerned (I know…..my mind is moving slow) the best one is Vili the Warrior for the U of Hawaii.
http://starbulletin.com/2004/01/11/news/story1.html
please note picture. :)
He rocks to watch.
We’re all IM too hard to comment anymore :P
poor Earl……..he is just trying to figure out how to spell his name so he can sign up for an AIM account
:X are we seriously?
awesome mascot btw AO 0.0… but he sounds controversial.
hell yeah…the only way a mascot can be. So he jumped on the U of Houston mascot (I was at the game by the way)….not his fault they decided to make a 140lb scrawny nerd their mascot….
Great, you cancel out my I Know Nothing Of The Draft then.
We don’t need to know anything about the draft, Mags, because the Devils have no picks! The only year I ever watched the draft was the year the Devils picked Adrian Foster and everyone in the building went, “Wha-HUH?!?” And we all got a big laugh out of the fact that the Devils picked someone that far off the radar and… nothing ever came of it. He got hurt, his name occasionally comes up in discussions of the oragnization’s depth (or lack thereof) and now goes down in history as the answer to the trivia question, “Who was the last prospect Pookie saw drafted?”
poor Earl……..he is just trying to figure out how to spell his name so he can sign up for an AIM account
(Sigh) You can put me in if you want, but I’ll warn you–I don’t spend a lot of time logged into AIM.
Anyway, the screen name is dowdros, which is pretty meaningless except it was my nickname in high school, and a play on my actual last name.
I’m much more readily available for chatting through gmail now. Code name earlsleek.
Actually I think the Devils make pretty good picks. Zach Parise was a first-round draft pick by the Devils.. plus you guys picked Gomez and Gionta…Cam Janssen.. and Souray (I think Souray was a Devils pick :X)
And Shanahan (dead to me though)… And Brodeur…
are the Rangers dead to you Mags :X
Actually I think the Devils make pretty good picks.
Oh, for sure, the Devils make AWESOME picks. That (spoiler alert) is one of the reaons I love hockey (and also why I won’t elaborate too much on the topic, lest I have nothing to write about when we get around to this being our Reason of the Day). However, this season they literally have no first round picks.
Vinny, my entire family are Rangers fans. I die every time we watch a game. But no, Shanny was dead before that. Stupid Wings (don’t kill me Steph)
Ah, Shanahan… I can’t decide if I miss you or not.
I can only hate the Rangers so much as long as they have Prucha though. I really am a sucker for cute Czechs, and I think something needs to be done about this.
And please, don’t everyone go into AIM to have their discussions tonight! I’m stranded here at work, and although I have no qualms about leaving comments here all night, I probably should be professional and not log into AIM. So don’t leave me alone! I have 3 more hours of reference desk hell to get through; I need IPB to keep me going!
I’m here! I promise! Of course I’m on AIM too but I’m either unloved or these rumors about everyone migrating are total lies because I’m talking to all of one person and it’s not even someone who’s ever been to IPB (despite of course my insistance that she should!). But I won’t abandon you Pookie!
it’s okay Pookie :D we’re all here.
I kind of like the Rangers. For the reason being that they get boo-ed just as much as the Leafs so I feel less like Leafs fans are the most hated :D
Very nearly the only time I’m actually on AIM is work (to talk to other people in my department). Should anyone be around still as opposed to chatting away, and want it, my screenname is MegaeraR…it’s a remnant of my middle school days and I’ve never bothered to change it.
I’ll hang around here too. But AIM is this whole new toy for me. So I’m just finding out all sorts of things right now.
Don’t worry Pookie, you got those of us who don’t have access to AIM on work computers. We’re the cool ones anyway! right? Anyone?
Steph what’s your AIM? I just figured out how to add people to my buddylist!
So don’t leave me alone!
Aw, Pookie, how would you ever manage without us? I’m going to leave you alone soon, but it will strictly be to (a) drive home, (b) throw some clothes in the laundry machine, and (c) deactivate my now-public AIM address :)
But I will return!
As Canadian I’m really just used to using MSN :X
But I got AIM when I found out that every American I was meeting was using AIM instead =D
Yay for Mags on AIM! My sn is YourPianoDrowns and I am hanging around on it far, far too often.
And Andrew I’d give you a hearty RIGHT! but…I am not at work and am on AIM so it might be a little hypocritical.
I used to use MSN all the time, but the mac version sucks so I just gave up on IMing altogether.
Vinny, I’ll have you know that even though I am an American who (at times) uses AIM, my logo is a Canadian flag. What can I say? I hate Team USA. Go figure.
Thanks for backing me up (I think) Steph!
Andrew – Hahaha lots of backers. I shouldn’t be online chatting when I should be studying. But oh well =D I”ll deal.
What can I say? I hate Team USA. Go figure.
Of course =D. Everyone knows Team Canada > all. :D
I used to use MSN…until I discovered AIM and its handy orderly little boxes and fell in love.
I don’t think I’ve ever used MSN…it’s boxless?
Thanks for sticking around and keeping me company, everyone. I feel so much less lonely now!
Everyone knows Team Canada > all. :D
Well, I am pretty flimsy on which team I root for, but it’s never the Americans. Lately with Selanne and all it’s been Team Finland, though I’ve certainly been known to throw my weight behind Team Canada, Team Czech, and others, historically.
But never ever have I rooted for the American team. And while it probably started as a personnel-related thing, now it’s just ingrained hockey treason, I suppose.
Thanks for sticking around and keeping me company, everyone. I feel so much less lonely now!
Get back to work! OK seriously, I am off now. Later!
I only ever use Meebo to get to AIM. I was teaching a computer class to the public a month or two ago and for some reason I decided it would be a great idea to teach these two middle aged women who were terrified of computers how to IM using Meebo. They both loved it! They were sending messages back and forth and saying, “Are we blogging? Blogging is fun!” I decided they’d learned enough for one day and just said, “Yeah, sure, you’re blogging.”
hahaha…..perfect Pookie.
Well Pookie, it’s our pleasure. This blog has more dedicated commenters than I think I’ve seen anywhere else. It’s a pretty sweet group!
And Earl, c’mon man! You can’t tell me you don’t root for team USA? Haven’t you ever seen Miracle? Have you no heart?
I used to be an avowed cheerer for Team Canada since I eschew all forms of American patriotism, but then Wayne-O got involved and it all got a little too “oooh, we have a loonie under the ice, look at us, oooh” for me. And now I’m interested to see if Team USA can break free from the old fogie alliance of Chris Chelios, Doug Weight and Keith Tkchuck and start welcoming exciting new players like… oh say… Zach Parise and Paulie Martin and Drew Stafford?
It has boxes…but they’re all clunky or something. I don’t know, they just bother me :b
And I think we probably all know who I cheer when it comes to Worlds (although I made a little exception this year and cheered Canada instead since almost no one I cared about ended up playing…)
Team USA really does need to ditch their 1996 all star line up and move into the next generation of players.
I usually will root for the US, Canada, and Sweden. In no particular order.
aww I really really enjoy Team Russia versus Team Canada so I was kinda iffed about not getting to see that at the WC this year.
but but MSN lets you use awesomely cool emocons :X I have dancing penguins!
Vinny is so not weird.
In sports where Holland isn’t involved I throw all my weight behind Team Canada. Most of my friends are Canadian too, so I’d be killed if I didn’t… But if Holland is a part of it there isn’t a chance in hell I’d root something else.
This blog has more dedicated commenters than I think I’ve seen anywhere else. It’s a pretty sweet group!
It’s a very sweet group! Seriously, every night Schnookie and I sit around IPB Manor marveling at how awesome you guys all are. All of your ears should be burning pretty much all the time. Hey, that’s a great tagline for recruiting new GRs (because what we need around here is a few more comments each day): “Join the IPB Irregulars and Feel the Ear Burn!”
I guess that is better then other body parts burning….
Oh oil! :^::::::::::::::::::::
Oil, :^:::::::::::::
Pookie, I wouldn’t be here if the original content hadn’t been so cool. (and it’s not sucking up if it’s true. Which it is!)
Penguins, Vinny? That is awesome, I just have terrifying looking generic aim smileys.
awww, everybody! Let’s hug!
Just kidding, I’m way too tough and manly for hugs.
Yeah…riiiiight……andrew
Sorry…no…but everyone else is leaving and going home too.
We’re here Schnookie!
:^:::::::::::::
yeah steph :0 i have three different penguin emocons! and they’re animated and more fun than any AIM emocons.
I just thought I could at least try and act the part for a minute.
Meh, it’s almost and all girl blog here…I gotta inject some testosterone! Yeah! *hoooock* *Spit*
Okay, what happened? I could have sworn I saw a long post from Schnookie about her having come home and cooked her snack. And then she wrote about how she’s not a big AIM person. I swear, I am not crazy.
Nope….not crazy Grace…no idea what happened to it.
yeah, where did it go?
MSN smileys are just that much cooler than AIM smileys. But there’s so many of them they could drive you batty.
I deleted it. I realized like an idiot that I hadn’t hit refresh in, like, an hour. I was like, “Wait, the last comment was at 5:30? WAH!” Then I posted the comment and realized there were, like, a zillion comments I hadn’t read. It was very stupid. I was hoping no one would notice, but I should have known better. Sorry!
Phew! Thanks for backing me up, Oil!
And I’ll reiterate: I never log into AIM. We have an account (pookschnook, in case you’re wondering), but good luck finding us there. (Okay, I’m in there right now, but I’ll probably ignore you if you start trying to chat with me there. I’m chatting with Pookie in gmail, and I can’t IM with more than one person because I’m an old fogie. I’m like Sid. I pull my pants up to my armpits and look confused when people ask me about my iPod.) (Quite seriously, I didn’t know what AIM was until about 6 weeks ago.)
yeah…we are masters of the refresh key.
Schnookie, there have been so many times when I wished I could take back a comment. Next time, can I ask you to delete it for me? ; )
Oh, I will always accept deletion requests!
Quite seriously, I didn’t know what AIM was until about 6 weeks ago
I knew what it was, I just didn’t know how to use it. Clearly I am the only teenager (apart from Sid) who has this problem.
Ok, just so you are all not freaked…I am leaving work…..I will be back to chat later!!!!
Bye, Oil!
I prefer to leave my foolishness out there for everyone to see. Less stressful than worrying about it!
and with that, I’m outta here. I have to go to the doctor ’cause i’ve been sick like a freakin’ animal for the past week and I don’t know what’s wrong. Wish me luck.
Talk to you all tomorrow.
Bye Oil. Bye Andrew (get well soon!)
Hope you feel better, Andrew!
^ seconded. Hope the doctors prescribe something good :)
Bye Andrew and see you in a while, Oil!
I prefer to leave my foolishness out there for everyone to see. Less stressful than worrying about it!
I suppose it makes it worse to have to call attention to my foolishness by asking S to delete. But still…it would be stricken from the official record (because that’s important).
Or don’t prescribe anything if it’s in any way avoidable.
Mags, are you a medicine-phobe, too?
And I also have to run. I promised my roommate I’d watch 50s sci fi with her tonight. Have a good one, all.
Have fun, Meg!
…hello? Anyone there? This is my lame attempt to chat with both Pookie and Schnookie at the same time!!
Oh, and the rest of you still kicking around, too :)
I’m here CC – watching the Tigers/Nats game :) Nothing to painful yet, looks like.
I hate meds. I prefer not to take them if I can avoid it in any way. Especially antibiotics.
Oops nevermind, yay Magglio!
Hi CC! I’m here! I’m trying my hardest to look busy, so no more cheap little old ladies from New York ask me to print out estimated tax forms.
Mags, me too!
And now I’m interested to see if Team USA can break free from the old fogie alliance of Chris Chelios, Doug Weight and Keith Tkchuck and start welcoming exciting new players like… oh say… Zach Parise and Paulie Martin and Drew Stafford?
Sounds like a sequel to Shattuck Boys.
Sounds like a sequel to Shattuck Boys.
It does, doesn’t it? “Shattuck Boys Go To Vancouver 2010″. Schnookie, get on that, will you?
I’d much prefer it if she finished Shattuck Boys first. I’m some kind of antsy to read the rest of that.
Well, there’s one problem with making that the sequel to Shattuck Boys… considering that one of those characters DIES! (Heh.)
I missed saying goodbye to everyone. So belatedly, in the hopes they read this tomorrow morning, Bye andrew — feel better! And bye, Meg — enjoy the ’50s sci-fi!
considering that one of those characters DIES!
Muuuuuuuuuuuh! No way!
Well, it is a coming-of-age boarding-school novel. Someone has to die!
As JK Rowling has illustrated on multiple occasions -_-.
considering that one of those characters DIES!
Muuuuuuuuuuuh! No way!
Schnookie started “Shattuck Boys” a while ago and kept teasing me by saying one of them would die, but it was only last week that she finally told me how it will end. If anyone wants a spoiler, I’ll spill the beans, but I’ll warn you, I’m not into Bailey’s. I’m a champagne girl. So, send some quality bubbly, and we’ll talk.
As long as it’s a glorious death, I think I’ll be okay with it.
SPOIL! SPOIL! SPOIL!
Champagne is easier to promise than Bailey’s. Less apostrophes.
If anyone wants a spoiler, I’ll spill the beans
I love spoilers. But on the other hand I sorta want to find out what happens as the story goes along.
Sadly, I think Schnookie would kick me off the blog if I spoiled.
I just had this wonderful flash of Schnookie sending threats to Pookie over gmail chat, and Pookie making that last comment under extreme duress.
Bubbly?
SPOIL ME!
I have no problem spoiling, because it would mean I can focus on “Chasing Sidney” instead of this renewed interest I suddenly have in writing “SB”. (I haven’t written a thing since starting IPB, because I apparently have only so many words in me on any given day and I’m using them up here…)
That said, I think it’s pretty obvious which one of them dies. The big surprise is how he dies!
That said, I think it’s pretty obvious which one of them dies. The big surprise is how he dies!
I didn’t foresee Snape killing old Dumbles, and that was so obvious it almost hurt. You expect me to pick out the die-ee after just 7 chapters? Let alone how he dies? I’m not that clever you know.
You expect me to pick out the die-ee after just 7 chapters?
Just pick the one who looks the most like Robert Sean Leonard. :P
I didn’t foresee Snape killing old Dumbles
WHAT?!?!
Just kidding. Acutally, Schnookie and I are such dorks that we read HP6 out loud to pass the off-season the year it came out, so it took forever to finish. Now try to imagine working at a busy public library teeming with readers and blabby children without finding out how it ends. I had to practically wear a sandwhich board that said, “I haven’t finished it yet!”
Read the whole thing in just under 12 hours when it came out. And then I bought the audiobook for HP6 and read along with it. Just to make it last longer. And I cried. A lot. Because I’m an emotional wreck.
THE DEAD POETS SOCIETY! O man, I love you.
So it’s bad of me to track Harry Potter exclusively by watching scattered scenes from the movies? I did read the first one a while ago, but I’m more of a mind reader than a book reader these days.
I think I’m the only person who hasn’t hopped on the Harry Potter bandwagon. I’ve never read any of the books or seen the movies. I started reading the first HP book, about 4 years ago, and could not get into it. Maybe I’ll try again…my library card needs a workout.
Dead Poets Society…great movie.
I did read the first one a while ago, but I’m more of a mind reader than a book reader these days.
What are these “books” of which you speak?
And Mags, while I appreciate your love of Dead Poets Society, you have to realize that for someone of my grand old age, a DPS reference is fairly banal. I was a swoony tween when that came out! We ALL were in love with Robert Sean Leonard! (I have a friend who has worked with him and found out he likes to be called “Bob”. Not “Rob”. “Bob”. I was very disappointed by that.)
I’m more of a mind reader than a book reader these days.
The only time I ever read any more is during my lunch hour, but now if I have to choose between IPB comments and my current book (“Les Miserables”), I’m going IPB 10 times out of 10. So no more reading for me! Yippe! (That said I will be reading HP7, so no spoilers here please!)
Wow – the train of thought on this comment thread is truly spectacular. Are you guys really talking about Harry Potter??
2 weeks, baby – last book comes out and it will be in my hot little hands.
I think I’m the only person who hasn’t hopped on the Harry Potter bandwagon.
I’m mostly with you. I’ve never heard the terms “HP6″ or “HP7″ before, if that signals my level of interest.
I was a grand 1 year old when DPS came out. And any reference to it is good, because no one else I know has ever even heard of the movie.
Schnookie, my Robert “Bob” Sean Leonard crush died during his crying scene in Swing Kids.
Ah, Grace — Swing Kids! Now that is a movie reference!
(I saw Swing Kids in the theatre. And I believe my crush on Bob ended there, too. Whatever vestiges of crush I still had for him were further extinguished when the Bob thing came to light.)
Mm-hm. I went in with my heart being for RSL and left with a severe crush on Christian Bale. And swing dancing.
beating, not being
Oh, my crush on Christian Bale also died a painful death watching Swing Kids. But it came back out of its dormancy later, when he got a better agent.
My ex-roommate is getting married on the day HP7 comes out, and she has insisted that if anyone so much as brings that book to the reception with them there will be hell to pay.
What I remember about “Swing Kids” is that we saw a preview for it before the Muppet’s Christmas Carol movie. I was expecting it to start with cute little Muppets and instead I look up to see swasikas everywhere.
And amen to the Christian Bale thing. I’ve never heard that he likes to be called “Bob”, so that’s a major leg up for him.
Age killed me again. Swing Kids?
Yeah, looking back on it, it doesn’t make much sense to me, either. I watched it again recently and only enjoyed the dancing parts.
Mags, you should be very proud that you don’t know what Swing Kids is. Watching it (in the theatre) was one of my most shameful experiences. I don’t even remember the plot that well now. Something about how cute boys fight Nazism by swing dancing. Just awful.
Swing Kids rings no bells with Vinny either Mags :D it’s okay. Just remember there is still someone younger than you haha.
:0 HP7 HP7 I pray Harry doesn’t have to die…
Age killed me again. Swing Kids?
You’re better off not knowing, Mags. Actually, two tween girls asked me for it here at the library just two weeks ago and I almost said, “You two know this movie sucks, right? I mean, really, really sucks?”
Well, ok then. I suppose being young helps.
Vinny, yay! Little ones for the win!
Harry had better not die. Like I said before, I have a bone to pick with the Boy Who Wouldn’t Die.
I believe Harry Potter dies at the end of Shattuck Boys, right?
yeaaaaah Little League: 1.
:X.
Realistically I wonder who dies… like, aside from Voldie (gasp :X not his name) and/or Harry.
Earl, you guessed it! One bottle of IPBailey’s for you!
Schnookie, if you could find a way to work that in, I will nominate SB for the Pen/Faulkner award.
(because I have so much sway with that judging panel.)
Thanks Grace!
Ok, I give. I can’t stay awake any longer.
Good night folks! Keep chatting.
I believe Harry Potter dies at the end of Shattuck Boys, right?
You guessed it! Harry gets picked before Zach in the Quidditch draft, even though Zach was convinced he would be going first overall. In an elaborate Count of Monte Cristo-style act of revenge, Zach sets it up so that Harry dies a firey death several years later in a freak cow-fire accident.
Good night, Mags!
freak cow-fire accident
All I see there is Stafford Staffy-Stafford accident
‘night Mags!
And Pookie, where are you coming from saying you’re not as good a writer as I am? That was BRILLIANT!
All I see there is Stafford Staffy-Stafford accident
Of course! Zach figures the police will connect the dots and wrongly imprison Staffy and never suspect it was all Zach’s devious plan all along.
Wow, these are some seriously messed up kids.
And Pookie, where are you coming from saying you’re not as good a writer as I am? That was BRILLIANT!
*blushes* We’ve discussed this: Zach brings out the best in me. I should 118 Reasons I Love Zach Parise.
1. Formal Wear.
2. Turtle-of-Affiars.
3. The Series of Photos on Getty Where You Can See His Heart Break When He’s Not Drafted In the Top 10.
2. Turtle-of-Affiars.
Whoa, whoa. Explain this one again?
who is then, deep down, happy that he is chosen to play for a playoff-contending team instead of one that tanked :D
I would love to explain the turtle-of-affairs, but it’s finally time for me to leave work and embark on my drive home! Thanks for keeping me company and not flocking en masse to AIM accounts!
Have a safe drive home!
We haven’t mentioned yet Boxworthy, Zach’s turtle-of-affairs? What an egregious oversight! It’s one of his many, many, complex mythologies, but I think the short story is this:
During Zach’s first year as a pro (in the A) and his rookie year he was a very unhappy little guy. He had no friends, he wasn’t tearing up the league like he expected to, and his friends and brother were having all kinds of success back at UND without him. So we joked that he, like Petr Sykora once did, went to a pet store to find his soulmate. (We’re not making that up about Sykkie. In all honesty, he explained getting a chinchilla that way: He wanted a friend.) Only instead of getting something cute, furry and cuddly, Zach got a turtle (We are making that up. I hope). Up until that point there had been some running joke between us about Zach having an old-fashioned man-of-affairs with a name with the suffix “-worthy” (i.e. “Duckworthy”), and as soon as we settled on the turtle as his pet, Pookie shrieked, “Boxworthy!” So that’s how it came to pass, more or less, that Zach Parise got a turtle-of-affairs named Boxworthy. He lets Boxworthy handle all his correspondence, arrange all of the many duels he challenges people to, coordinate his lengthy list of people he’s planning his revenge on, and so forth.
So has Boxworthy answered any of your fan mail, then?
He’s very slow about it.
(See what I did just there? THANK YOU! I’ll be here all week!)
I love it all. Love the buying a pet as a soulmate. Love the turtle-of-affairs. Love the Boxworthy. Love the “slow” joke.
He’s very slow about it.
Har!
Ha! The turtle-of-affairs is brilliant! And Boxworthy is a totally -of-affairs name, I love it. Ever since my boyfriend told me he once had a basset hound named Mr. Hinkers, I’ve had a thing for names which make pets sound like butlers.
Wait Gambler — “pet”?
Oh, and Mr. Hinkers is an extraordinary name for a basset hound!
Ooooh…..Boxworthy. I love him already!