IPB Continues To Puzzle

Okay, some of us (ahem, Schnookie) were disinclined to blog tonight’s NYT puzzle effort because certain other parties (ahem, Pookie) finished first, but after realizing Pookie would still be struggling blindly with the left-hand side of the grid without her help, Schnookie finally relented. (Pookie, at this point in this narrative, raises her eyebrows in haughty disbelief.)

Unlike last week’s puzzle, this one contained only real words, so that was a marked improvement. However, it wasn’t especially difficult — are they getting easier, or are we getting better at this? It only took us 36 minutes (while eating dinner and splitting a bottle of wine) by the “Master and Commander” DVD clock, as opposed to our traditional 56 minutes, and that’s a time we’ve been getting for the last few months. A bit disappointing. Get on that, Shortz!

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Reasons We Love Hockey Part 16

The 16th in our 118-part series.

Scott Stevens

In honor of his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, today we want to celebrate our very own Number 4. We came kind of late to the Scott Stevens party — by the time we became fans he had grown out of his “deranged, dangerous” phase, and was at the tail end of his “offensively potent” phase. But that’s okay, because we think we still got to enjoy the best years of him. The Scott Stevens we knew was the Stanley Cup Champion Stevens, the steady-as-a-rock Stevens, the hard-hitting-but-disciplined Stevens, the stalwart Stevens, the “Captain Dad” Stevens. Our buddy Morgan has been a Devils fan almost from the team’s start in Jersey, and he once regaled us of how he felt when he found out the Devils had acquired Scottie. He said he’d never been more excited about picking up a player, and hadn’t been since; the thing about Stevens coming to New Jersey wasn’t just that he was a superstar. It was the he was a superstar who fit the personality of the team. His arrival on the Devils was about more than having a big-name player to “legitimize” the team — he was finally the right player around whom to build a winning tradition.

We love Scottie for the big plays, the booming hits, and the savvy on the blueline. We love him for being, for all those years, the heart and soul of our team. And of course, we love him for the three Stanley Cups. But with all of that, we also love him for teaching a generation of Devils kids coming up through the system how to win as Devils.

So as we embark on the second year of the Elias Era, we look back today at the glory days of the Stevens era and say, “Congratulations, Scottie on the Hall of Fame thing, and a million thanks for being one of the reasons we love hockey.”

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SPECTRE Saturday

By Morgan, Week Five

November 16, 2004
Senators 0
Devils 15

This is the last Devils game I get to do until Week 12 so I’m going all out! The Swamp was rocking tonight, as the greatest fans in hockey came out in droves for the Doc Emrick bobblehead promotion. The popcorn was fresh and full of buttery goodness, and there was excitement in the air. Dominik Hasek pulled his “groin” in warm ups, and spent the rest of the night betting on trotters at the Big M. The Devils struck early as Wade Redden had a clearing pass intercepted by Jay Pandolfo fifteen seconds into the contest. Pando snapped a beautiful wrist shot top shelf passed the stunned Martin Prusek. “Prussie should have seen that coming,” said Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, “He’s been here long enough to know what Wade does against the Devils.” The Senators tried to mount a counter attack, but were frustrated by the Devils tough defense. Finally, declaring himself “bored”, Devils defenseman Scott Niedermayer corralled the puck in his own end, rushed the puck end to end and roofed it past a continually stunned Martin Prusek. When Wade Redden yelled at Nieder that he could “so never do that again,” the smooth skating defenseman corralled the face off, skated behind his own net, rushed the puck end to end and scored on his back hand. “Way to go Wade!” chided his Senator teammates.

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