Sunday, May 6, 2012

It Is Finished: My Final Post

All good things must come to an end, even when I don't want them to.  This blog has brought such joy to me over the years.  The fact that it might have brought some joy and laughter to others blows my mind. I will still leave it up, it seems to still get a lot of hits.

This blog has enabled to be able to do things I never thought I would do.  I've met and interviewed players, sat in the press box and attended morning skates, all due to this blog.

Through this blog I have met some amazing people.  Due to this blog, I've had people come up to me in the arena and tell me they loved my blog.  Please know how much I loved that and my head usually got so big I could barely walk through the door.  Many of these people remain friends that I still have relationships with.  I've met people from around the world thanks to this silly little blog.

Thank you so much to all who have followed this blog, commented, emailed and came up to me.  I will really miss this blog. I will no longer even be bringing my camera with me to games unless it's a barn I haven't been to.  This is the end of an era for me.

Crash and Burn: Jets vs Preds

*NOTE* Blogger changed their website, so things might be a little different.  Funny, this is the first time I've used the new system and will be one of the last.


 March 24 is a date that has been marked on the calendars of Thrashers fans since the NHL released the 2011-12 calendar.   This would be the first time in the regular season that our beloved former Thrashers, now the Winnipeg Jets, came to our nearest NHL neighbors, Nashville. Many fans couldn't wait to go and let the guys know that we missed them and still loved them. Others couldn't bare it.  I was one of the ones that went!

I of course had some signs with me. It was Ron Hainsey's birthday, so I made him a Happy Birthday sign. 
 

















 Me and my signs.  It was a horrible picture of me, it looked like I was pooping, so I put troll face over it.  My favorite sign says "Kiss my *picture of an ass/donkey* Andrew Ladd.  We read your interviews, too!
  















While waiting by the side doors, we saw the players strolling up, all with coffee. Must be a good shop near by.



 









Ondrej Pavelec deep in thoughtactually I think he might be burping.

 Toby Entsrom posing for pictures. 

 Pavs poses with the girls.

 More players coming up the street including Kyle Wellwood who looked like he had pigtails.

 We saw a black guy coming down the street.  As he got closer I said "not tall enough to be Buff."  He got closer and I said "too dark to be Kane."  As he got closer my husband said "that's Kev..." about that time my old lady eyes focused and I yelled "OH MY GOD, IT'S KEVIN WEEKES!!!!!!!!!!!  I totally lost my mind and was just handing stuff to people and barking orders at people to take my picture.  Weekesie was super nice. I thanked him on Twitter and he responded!

 No Thrashers event is complete with out the Heat!

 It's kind of funny how no matter the team they are on or the arena they are in, the guys still do the same thing. 

 Pavs:  God that Enstrom is a pompous ass...he's standing right behind me isn't he?

 Mason seems like he is almost posing in front of Sally's Blueland flag.

 Eat a bag of shit, Andrew Ladd.

 Stuie is reading my signs.

 Big Buff playing with the puck.

 Toby has a happy.

Timmy always looks confused.

Just like always, Hainsey clearing pucks from the net.

Good shot of the top of Pavs' mask.  I love the chin with the shark.

Kaner taking the puck for a spin.
 
The birthday boy seems zoned out.
 
Buff likes his sign.

 Jimmy's hair looks pretty epic here.

Bogo
 
Mason seeing some shots in his old city.
 
Mason's mask is kind of cool, too.  It has Iron Maiden's Eddie character flying a jet.
 
 Tracy gives Buff some rabbit ears.

Guess Buff has had enough.

In addition to this being an important game for Thrashers fans, it was a big night for Nashville.  Prodigal son, Alexander Radulov was returning from the KHL. Though I was glad to see my old team and show them love at warm ups, I was 100% pulling for the Preds.

Pekka tracks the puck.

 Chaos in the net.
 
The Preds take action to Pavelec.
 
My friend Weekesie is up there doing the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast. *waves* HI KEVIN!
 
Whoopsie!  Pavs lost something there.
 
Pavs:  Damn guys, I just got my stick back.
 
The Preds put pressure on the Jets.
 
It pays off!
 
Message from Belly Guy.
 
The fans have the Frosty countdown going. 
 
As always, the pre-third period stretch from Hainsey.
 
The Jets try and take some offense to the Predators' net.
 
Gnash watches the action.
 
Time out Jets.
 
With the clock winding down, the Jets put pressure on the Preds.  No such luck for them though, Preds win!
 
Some disgusted Thrashers fans threw their jerseys on the ice.
 
Maybe it was in memorium or protest, but it did make Puck Daddy and some other sports news.  I'm sure the Atlanta Spirit doesn't give two shits. 
 
The cat with the coolest toys...Gnash.
 
Way to come back, Rads!  He was the #2 star.
 
And of course, Pekka Rinne was the #1 star.  Pekka tosses a shirt to a fan.

It was so good to see the team and all of my hockey friends, but it was sad at the same time.  At least most of us felt like we got the chance to say goodbye. 


Sunday, March 25, 2012

Lightning Crashes: Washington vs Tampa Bay

So about a MONTH ago, I went to a game in Tampa Bay. My friend Sandy and I put her kids in the van and headed down to the Sunshine State for some hockey. I’m always up for going to another barn. When that barn is in Florida, that is always a plus. Tampa Bay was taking on the Washington Capitals. I was excited about seeing some of their superstars as well. It’s been horrible going from seeing super stars several times a week with 41+ games to seeing super stars several times a SEASON.



The Tampa Bay Times Forum is amazing. It’s by the water and they have a large court yard where they have activities for fans before they go into the arena. They have merchandise out as well. Tampa Bay’s merchandise was the highest priced stuff I’ve seen yet. I ended up waiting and getting a Stamkos shirt from Walmart.



Warm ups


This lovely lady is quite smitten with Marty. Maybe she has 15 minutes and wants him to save her some money on car insurance.



You can see Hedman's large port wine birthmark here. I think it's kind of cool because it actually looks like a lightning bolt.



Captain Vinny



Victor Hedman



Stammer time! Stephan Stamkos, the goal leader in the NHL at the moment.



Swarm the Rollie.



Rollie making sure there are not pucks left.



Tampa Bay's building and fan experience is pretty cool. This is their pipe organ.



Druing the national anthem, they pass a giant flag around.



Can't argue with the cup!



And then there is this...REAL LIGHTNING! At the beginning of the game, when they score and for the 3 Stars of the Game, they fire up the Tesla coils and there is real lightning. Very cool!



On to the game




St. Louis peeks around Mike Green.




This disgusting prick. Tampa Bay Forum does NOT sell sunflower seeds. I guess this guy can't live without them because he brought his own. Then, he proceeded so spit the hulls all over the floor. Classy.





I'm not sure what Green did, but Ryan Malone went batshit crazy over him. He had crazy eyes and clearly wanted to remove his head from his body.





It's a team of St. Louis!



Um okay. Always good to see a Thrashers jersey, just a little unexpected.



Another cool thing in Tampa Bay, they have a zamboni that several fans get to ride!



Action in front of Garon.



That's one damn sexy face off!



Ryan Malone hanging out in front of the crease.



Tampa Bay has douche bags, too. I swear the mobile phone is a great invention of convenience and safety, but it's turned us into a society of douche bags.



Semin is known for diving, usually not in his team's crease.



Laich cruising around.



Tampa Bay don't play around with their version of Cotton Eye Joe.



They have a real fiddle player come down and play it!



The Bolts try and get another goal. Not to worry though, Tampa Bay wins!



How cool is this? On game night, Sun Trust bank shows Bolt support.


Labels

` (1) Alexander Burmistrov (3) Alexander Ovechkin (9) Anaheim Ducks (9) Andrew Ladd (2) Anssi Samela (3) Antero Niittymaki (6) Anthony Stewart (1) Ben Chiarot (1) Blake Wheeler (4) Blueland Guest Goalie (21) Boris Valabik (25) Boston Bruins (12) Brenden Shanahan (3) Brent Sopel (4) Brooks Laich (4) Brooks Orpik (2) Bryan Little (9) Buffalo (7) Cabbie's Journey to the Cup (7) Calgary Flames (3) Cam Ward (5) Carey Price (5) Carl Klingberg (22) Carolina Hurricanes (11) Casino Night (6) Chad LaRose (1) Chicago Blackhawks (12) Chicago Wolves (2) Chris Letang (1) Chris Mason (9) Chris Osgood (4) Chris Pronger (1) Chris Thorburn (12) Colby Armstrong (15) Colin Stuart (6) Colorado Avalanche (4) Columbus Blue Jackets (4) contests (6) Craig Anderson (2) Cristobal Huet (1) Dainius Zubrus (1) Dallas Stars (7) Dan Ellis (5) Daniel Sedin (3) Darren Elliot (2) David Clarkson (5) David Leggio (1) Detroit Red Wings (5) Dion Phaneuf (1) Dustin Byfuglien (29) Dwayne Roloson (3) Edmonton Oilers (4) Enstrom (1) Eric Boulton (14) Eric Christiansen (1) Eric Staal (2) Evander Kane (22) Evgeni Artyukin (6) Evgeni Malkin (6) Evgeni Nabakov (4) Florida Everblades (1) Florida Panters (4) Florida Panthers (3) Focus on a Thrashers (29) Garnet Exelby (3) Goalie Gumbo (2) Gwinnett Gladiators (11) H:Log (1) Henrik Lundqvist (6) Henrik Sedin (3) Henrik Zetterberg (2) Hockey Photo of the Day (56) Ian Laperriere (3) Ilya Kovalchuk (17) In The Nest (22) Jaimey Langenbruner (2) Jarome Iginla (3) Jaroslav Halak (1) Jason Labarbera (2) Jeremy Morin (5) Jeremy Roenick (1) Jim Slater (8) Jimmy Bubnick (5) Joe Fallon (1) Joey Crabb (4) Joey McDonald (1) Johan Hedberg (76) Johnny Oduya (28) Jonas Gustavsson (2) Jonas Hiller (3) Jonathon Toews (5) Jordan Samuels-Thomas (5) Jordan Tootoo (3) Jose Theodore (2) Kari Lehtonen (20) Karri Ramo (1) Keith Tkachuk (1) Kevin Weekes (5) Kris Versteeg (1) LA Kings (1) Levko Koper (13) Lundqvist (1) Manny Legace (3) Marc Andre Fleury (12) Marian Hossa (1) Mark Popovic (1) Mark Stuart (3) Martin Erat (1) Martin St. Louis (3) Marty Biron (8) Marty Brodeur (23) Marty Reasoner (7) Marty St. Louis (3) Marty Turco (5) Max Afinogenov (8) Maxime Talbot (7) Miikka Kiprusoff (3) Mike Green (1) Milan Lucic (2) Minnesota Wild (3) Miroslav Satan (1) Montreal Canadiens (11) Nashville Predators (26) Nathan Oystrick (10) New Jersey Devils (21) New York Islanders (6) New York Rangers (7) Nicklas Lidstrom (1) Niclas Bergfors (3) Nik Antropov (9) Niklas Backstrom (1) Niklas Havelid (1) Nikolai Khabibulin (2) Olli Jokinen (1) Olympics (10) Ondrej Pavelec (26) Ottawa Senators (8) Ovechkin (1) Panthers (2) Pascal Dupuis (1) Patrick Elias (2) Patrick Kane (6) Paul Gionta (1) Paul Kubina (1) Paul Stastny (1) Pavel Kubina (1) Pekka Rinne (5) People of Blueland (8) Peter Budaj (1) Philadelphia Flyers (14) Phoenix Coyotes (1) Pittsburgh Penguins (20) Practice (18) Prospect Camp (19) Puckdaddy (8) Reasoner (1) Rich Peverley (16) Richard Zednick (1) Rick DiPietro (4) Rob Scuderi (1) Roberto Luongo (3) Ron Hainsey (17) Ryan Getzlaf (2) Ryan Malone (1) Ryan Miller (9) Sabres (1) San Jose Sharks (5) Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting (5) Scott Clemmensen (4) Scott Walker (1) Sergei Gonchar (1) Sidney Crosby (5) signs (25) Simeon Varlamov (4) Slava Kozlov (6) St. Louis Blues (2) Stanley Cup (12) Steve Mason (1) Steven Stampkos (2) Super Star Tuesday (7) Tampa Bay Lightning (11) Thrash (4) Thrashers (4) Thrashers Year Book (8) Tim Thomas (16) Tobias Enstrom (5) Toby Enstrom (11) Todd White (2) Tomas Vokoun (5) Toronto Maple Leafs (13) Training Camp (10) Valabik (1) Valiquette (1) Vancouver Canucks (6) Vesa Toskala (3) vid (1) videos (55) Vincent Lecavalier (4) Washington Capitals (15) Winnipeg Jets (1) Zach Bogosian (18) Zach Parise (2) Zhedono Chara (4)

  © Blogger template 'Grease' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP