New Face In The Crowd

Original post date: Friday, November 9, 2007

Who knew Mike Smith of the Dallas Stars was funny?

Actually, your first question might be: who is Mike Smith? The answer: the 25-year-old backup for Turco. He was one of the only ones I saw at the Toyota Center ice on my break today; it was him, two Stars players, and three coaches. I was really looking forward to seeing the highest-scoring American-born player. Damn.

But let’s move back to Mike Smith and his generic name.

I love it when players show off a bit of personality on the ice (and PLENTY was shown today). After one of the coaches scored on Smith, he skated in a circle, put his stick between his legs, and started cheering. He promptly fell on his back and continued to cheer. I thought this was hilarious; that is, until Smith joined in the fun. He skated from the net to the red line, put his stick between his legs, sat down, and glided all the way to the other end of the ice. When he reached the other end he fell back and spun on his back with his legs in the air. Just imagine this with full goalie gear on. Then he started to skate around backwards and doing crossovers with big-ass pads on while shooting pucks into the net. This was some excellent entertainment until he came back on the ice without his upper-body padding on and surprised me. He had a regular stick and gloves on and started shooting around with one of the players. So did you know that Smith can actually shoot the puck with accuracy? He also took a slap A La Cammy, falling onto one knee. Although I’m sure the fall was soft seeing as how he had a mattress pad strapped to his leg. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly amused.

Anyone, please tell me more about this boy. My curiosity has piqued.

And by "boy" I really mean "guy/dude" cuz we're the same age. haha




Game update: The Kings demolish the Stars Saturday night 6-5 in OT.

Here is a picture I took during warmups. You will notice that Mike Smith is looking right at me.

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H & HH Follow Up & Quick Update

Original post date: Tuesday, October 30, 2007

I have been quoted. muhahah

I had a feeling they were going to use that specific quote... So when you know you're being interviewed for something like this, is it normal to basically say what you KNOW they want to hear? I mean, I knew it was going to be a short interview and I needed something to sum up everything. Damn, I DID just regurgitate what they fed me! Oh well, at least I learned how to do something in college. =P

*****

At the Toyota Center on my lunch break today: Columbus Blue Jackets practice

There were two guys I wanted to see, Rick Nash and Sergei Fedorov. Nash was easy; just look for the really big, tall guy. Sergei, on the other hand... Well, I guess my time spent away from LA made me also lose track of Sergei. And yes, we are on a first name basis. If I ever meet him, I will call him Sergei. I guess I forgot that he had played for the Ducks?? Wikipedia has him there for 03-04 and 05-06. Can someone please tell me why his numbers for the 05-06 season sucked major ball sack? Oh wait a second, apparently he only played 5 games that season. Can someone tell me why he played only 5 games? I don't feel like doing more research beyond Wikipedia. Thanks. =)

Anyway, so Sergei was really hard to pick out of the guys on the ice today. I thought I was going crazy and I was afraid I was going to have to go back to work without seeing him! Lo and behold, who comes walking by me but Daryl Evans. I stop him and we talk for a bit; he's definitely a chill dude. And of course I ask if Fedorov is still on the team. He says yeah and easily points him out. I guess I was looking for someone skinnier...haha... Anyhoo, my day is complete.

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One Of These Does Not Belong

Original post date: Friday, October 26, 2007

So I wasn’t able to watch the Oilers practice today. Not my fault, the Toyota Sports Center neglected to call me and inform me this morning that they were moving the practice time from 1:30 to 2. Bah. No matter, I’ll be seeing them tomorrow at the Staples Center. Anyway, I did find something yesterday about the Oilers that made me laugh. When I thought about who I wanted to look for on the ice, I realized that I didn’t really know who was on the team anymore. I don’t even know what Dustin Penner looks like. So I went on their official website and checked out their roster. I noticed right off the bat that the roster page was formatted differently from other sites I’ve seen. It looked like a cheesy yearbook spread. The guys on the team looked like your standard All-American farm boys or something. All-Canadian? Whatever, that’s not important. As I started to scroll down, I saw that there was definitely a picture that did NOT belong with the crowd. So much so that I couldn’t look at it for too long because I couldn’t control my laughter. So instead of routing you guys to the page (even though the effect is that much more pronounced), I’m just going to post it here.

Ladies and Gents, for your viewing (or laughing) pleasure, I give you Marc Pouliot:

Photo Courtesy of Edmonton Oilers

Update (11/15/07): When I clicked on the link routing you to the Oilers roster page, I noticed that Pouliot's mug was no longer there. Is he still on the roster? Did he get sent to the Minors? Hmm...

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Modano, Robitaille, and....Crocs???

Original post date: Wednesday, October 24, 2007

So I went over to the Toyota Sports Center on my lunch break again and, lo and behold, the Dallas Stars were practicing. But, right when I sat down, I realized that their practice jerseys don't have number/names on them (obviously), and I wasn't going to know who was who. *Sigh* No matter, I was still able to pick out Modano and Mattias easily. As for Turco? Full face masks not only protect the grill, they also hide identities. Oh yeah, I fished out Sergei Zubov from the melee too. Thoughts on their practice? They looked fast. Their drills were clean and everyone was moving quickly and with purpose. Shit. I just hope the Kings don't get killed like the last time the Stars rolled thru So Cal. Yeah....

So this Modano kid. I caught him in the cutest act I think I've witnessed in the past...well, I don't know how long. It was more of a physical motion to another player. If you catch me around, ask and I'll personally do an instant replay for you.

Robitaille. Definitely saw him walking around looking all business-like. Awww, can't wait to finally meet him in person on Saturday!!

Crocs. This may seem out of left field. And it sort of is. I mean, I'm talking about hockey this and hockey that, and then Crocs? Yes sir, and I will say this: I don't know what I hate more, the Sharks or Crocs. Anyway, it has been brought to my attention that Peter Forsberg's company is the importer of Crocs to North America.

According to the Swedish newspaper Allehanda, Forsberg’s new airline is called Hoga Kusten. Translated, that’s “high coast” in Swedish. The airline will be operated by Forspro, a holding company that is co-owned by Forsberg. Forspro also owns the overseas distribution rights to Crocs footwear.

Holy hell. So it's Forsberg's ass that I have to kick! He's the reason those Crocs exist in this country! Ack! Peter, if you're out there and listening, please keep those ugly pieces of shit over in Europe. Please, I beg you.

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