Monday, April 21, 2008

After-Action Report

So. SN1 pulled in to El Casa Móvil De Pennington around 1230 hrs yesterday afternoon and is on the road again this morning, headed back to South Carolina. The visit, short as it was, was a good one. We drank a few beers, shared a few war-stories, and watched hockey… two games, in fact. We watched ALL of the Deetroit game and most of the Dallas-Anaheim tilt before Buck had to take off and spend time with his in-laws. All in all: good times, and they happen way too infrequently these days.
As for yesterday’s (premier) game? Well, the outcome was as good as it gets. From The Detroit News:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Shades of 2002 against the Canucks, that's exactly what it was.
Same player, Nicklas Lidstrom. Identical type of goal.
Lidstrom took a shot from the neutral zone officially listed at 103 feet that bounced, hit a bump, took off in a direction unexpected by Nashville Predators goalie Dan Ellis on Sunday and into the net in the second period.
The improbable goal triggered a 3-0 Wings victory over the Predators, helping the Wings win the first-round series in six games.
Detroit now awaits the identity of its second-round opponent. Calgary beat San Jose, 2-0, Sunday to force a Game 7 in that series. If Calgary wins that series, Detroit would face Colorado Calgary (ed: a rare screw-up by a sportswriter). If San Jose wins, Detroit will play Colorado.
Shades of 2002, indeed. The Wings were on the ropes in that first round series, down 0-2 to eighth seed Vancouver. And then Lidstrom scored that fluky goal and the Wings proceeded to win four straight, advancing to the second round on their way to winning the Stanley Cup. They faced Colorado in the conference final that year… an exciting series that went seven games, ending with a 7-0 blowout in Game Seven.
I watched that game in a sports bar in San Francisco… which was filled to over-flowing with Wings and Avs fans in approximately equal numbers. My fondest memory of that game…and that series… was a particularly loud Avs fan that ripped off his Patrick Roy jersey at the end of the game and stomped on it in frustration, accompanied by LOUD cheers from the Wings fans in the bar. As for me? I was at a table with three other expat Wings fans, and we celebrated like there was no tomorrow. But there was a tomorrow, and it just kept getting better and better. The Wings, as previously noted, went on to win the Cup, beating Carolina in five games.
So. Shades of 2002. One can only hope
One thing we know for sure: The Wings won’t face Anaheim anytime soon. The Stars sent the Ducks off to the golf course last night, coming from behind to beat Anaheim by a score of 4-1. In Dallas, which was way-cool. This might just end my rooting for the Stars this year… unless San Jose prevails over Calgary. At which point I’ll back the Stars against the Sharks.
Tonight I’ll be rooting for the B’s when they play game seven against the Habs in Montreal. This particular series has been among the best in the first round, and tonight’s game ought to be a real classic…what with two Original Six teams going head-to-head in a game seven for the seventh time in their long-standing rivalry. It’s gonna take some REAL doing to get more exciting than Boston’s 5-4 win in this past Friday’s game, however. I don’t want to seem like a guy who’s overly impressed with the last game he saw… but Friday night’s game was simply superlative, what with Boston overcoming one-goal deficits three times to win it in the last three minutes of the game. Hockey rarely gets any better than that, period. I don’t expect any less tonight.
Photo: Nashville goalie Dan Ellis shakes Chris Osgood’s hand after yesterday’s game. David Guralnick / The Detroit News
―:☺:―
Just for grins… My Bud Ed in Florida sends the following along…
Jake is 5 and learning to read. He points at a picture in a zoo book and says,
"Look Mama! It's a frickin' Elephant!"
Deep breath. "What did you call it?"
"It's a frickin' Elephant, Mama! It says so on the picture!"
and so it does ...
"A f r i c a n Elephant "
Hooked on phonics!!! Ain't it wonderful?
Indeed. Wonderful!
And now it’s off to make the rounds…

7 comments:

  1. Not being a sports fan I usually skip thru these posts pretty quickly. This time as I read I just kept thinking Wow, it's great Bucks enjoying the games in a clean house :) Glad your visit was nice, may you have many more:) (and I liked your phonics story.)

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  2. Loved the elephant story! Kids can be so hilarious.

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  3. I am glad you had fun with SN1! Good company, sports and beer does it get any better than that!? The only thing that could make it better? Hot chicks and good food! ;) (for men at least maybe some women but we won't go there) ;)

    I like the elephant story.

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  4. There is just something great about your team winning and celebrating with friends. Sounds like you and SN1 had a good visit too.

    I like the elephant story. I can just picture the Piper teaching his little ones to read and them talking just like him.

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  5. R.I.P. Bruins. You gave it a good go.

    As promised, you are now a character in the stupidest play ever written. Well, actually, I didn't promise to make you a character in the stupidest play ever written, but that's how it turned out. Come see for yourself:

    http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

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  6. Dawn sez: Not being a sports fan I usually skip thru these posts pretty quickly. This time as I read I just kept thinking Wow, it's great Bucks enjoying the games in a clean house :)

    I'm trying to keep the hockey posts down to the minimum required. But, it's that time of year. And since hockey is one of only two sports (the other being college football) I care enough about to actually blog you only have to put up with this for a couple of months.

    And yeah: having a clean house definitely enhanced the experience. We actually had empty, level, and clean spaces upon which to rest our beers. And pizza.

    Becky sez: Loved the elephant story! Kids can be so hilarious.

    Hilarious ain't the HALF of it! I think God makes 'em cute and funny so we don't kill 'em in those "other" moments...

    Ashley sez: The only thing that could make it better? Hot chicks and good food! ;)

    Well, we had pizza. And isn't there a joke where the punchline is "...show up naked. With pizza." Or something like that.

    Lou sez: There is just something great about your team winning and celebrating with friends. Sounds like you and SN1 had a good visit too.

    Absolutely. All the sweeter coz the Wings advanced... that was a critical game!

    Jim sez: R.I.P. Bruins. You gave it a good go.

    They did. I was a lil disappointed with the game last evening, but it would've been dang near impossible to beat Friday night's game... which, as I said in the post, was one of the BEST games I've seen all year.

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  7. My Flyers are takin' a dive...tonight it do, or get out the Golf Clubs!

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