Thankful for bounce house slides!

Thankful

So it's nearly Thanksgiving. People are clearly in a good mood today,
well, the people that showed up to work; which are not too many. I'm
thinking that not very much blogging will be done from here until next
week. It will be a busy time of driving, eating, napping, golfing,
eating, movies, golfing, eating, napping, hockey-ing, and driving. So,
I'm thankful for the excitement of the upcoming holiday, light traffic
this morning, positive attitudes, and getting out of work at 3:00
today.

Most of all I'm thankful for thankfulness. The current economy has
people counting their blessings. I would say that greed and the need
for "stuff" has got us in the situation that we are in today. We
Americans are quite selfish and spoiled in general, so it's nice to
see everyone greatful or thankful, even if it's for only one day and
partially self-inflicted.

I'm even thankful for having to: locate a bigger vehicle for the
weekend, pack it full of golf clubs, hockey gear, gas, clothes and
kids, drive for hours in slow holiday traffic, rush from place to
place, and sleep on the floor; if it means I can eat too much food
that I rarely get to eat, see people that don't see enough, and play
till I'm exhausted. You can't beat that.

Paper Tigers and Suspensions

I forgot to mention that George Laraque is getting a 5-game suspension for a knee-to-knee hit on Nik Kronwall, which put the Red Wings defenseman out of the line-up for 4-6 weeks with a torn MCL. That's a tough break, as the Red Wings are already a pretty ding'd up team.

The Senators are currently leading the Northeast Division. I have to say that it's great, but realistically a testament to an easy schedule. A ton of home games for Ottawa's front loaded schedule. 8 away games and 16 homers the first two months of the season. They better get a little cushion in the standings, since they have to pay for it at the end of the season. Something like only 7 home games and 12 roadies, after the Olympic break.

Fisher, Patrick Stewart and 59 saves.

A lot of noteworthy action in the NHL last night. I was watching the
Ottawa game and after striking first, they quickly got outplayed by
the Capitals and down by 2-goals. They rallied in the third to tie it,
and my buddy Mike Fisher scored in OT for the gutty win. During the
game, there was a familiar song being played, but totally out-of-place
for a hockey game. I finally recognized it as the theme song to Star
Trek the Next Generation. Weird. But then I remembered that each
Ottawa player has his own song played after scoring a goal. Alfredsson
is a U2 fan and Beautiful Day is played when he scores. One of the
funnier ones was when Heatley was with the team and his song was 80's
tune The Heat is On. You would think that it would get old pretty
fast, but the amount that song was played, had to annoy visiting
teams. So, it was Senator defenseman Alex Picard who scored. Get it?
Picard. Star Trek. Yeah, horrible. I love it. He needs to score more.

Other notes. Dwayne Roloson had an amazing 59 save night! Apparently
he saw 61 pucks come his way. Nice. But what the hell was his team
doing in front of him? Other than the obvious, of nothing.

Kings, UFC & Turkey

Went to the Kings v Flames game on Saturday. And as expected, the
Flames had something to prove after getting smached around by the
Blackhawks 1-7. Iginla got a hattrick and the Kings had a lackluster
effort. The wheels are starting to come off for the Kings, and I am
concerned...

Had a bit of difficulty watching UFC 106. My UFC buddy and I had
recently found a new place to watch the fights. So, we walk in and all
the TVs are on some random college football game. Turns out that they
weren't showing it. Well, all I can say is that they must not want to
be bothered with a lot of business, 'cause the place was empty. We saw
a dozen people walk in and turn right around after finding out the
fight wasn't going to be shown. So, we drove 5 miles to the back-up
place and being late meant not getting a table. We eventually sat
down, but never found a waitress. It reminded me why we stopped going
to that place. Now, the search is on for yet another UFC viewing spot
for next time.

I thought that Griffin won outright and that Tito was not robbed. Say
what you will, but in the 3rd round it looked like it was Tito's
gameplan to get wear out Forrest's hands and feet with his face. Grove
had a slick submission, 'Lil Nog displayed some power striking,
Saunders continued to show destructive Muay Thai, Koschek/Johnson was
straight out of a Three Stooges episode with the eye pokes. An
entertaining card.

We had a SoCal Thanksgiving on Sunday. It was great. Our immediate
hockey family and friends got together. There was enough food for a
small army and everyone had a relaxing time. Our hostess cooked a 21
pound turkey and a massive tray of baked mac 'n cheese. The weather
cooperated and we hung out by the patio firepit once the sun went
down. It would be a good tradition to continue next year. I'm now
ready for the holidays.

NHL Notes

Kings lost to Philly at Staples Center last night. A hard fought game,
but the Kings offense was only coming in spurts. That was a very bad
sign, since Ryan Smyth was out the whole game. He's diagnosed with an
"upper body" injury that could keep him out a month. It's scary
because he makes up the potent top line with Kopitar and Williams
that's been the bread and butter of the Kings scoring. A very strong
third period, almost turned things around. Kings had 21 shots in the
third and numerous scoring chances. Boucher was up to the task and
made 37 saves on the night. Somebody has to step up while Smyth is
out.

Brendan Shannahan announced his retirement yesterday. Weird timing?
Yes. He started the season with New Jersey. Left the team shorty after
the season started. I'm thinking he just wasn't up to the task
anymore. Shanny is one of my favorite guys. Gritty, skilled and a good
hockey personality. During his career, he would routinely make-up
stories about himself during player interviews. Such as: claiming to
have worked at fast food places to knowing different celebrities.
Pretty funny, random stuff. You know you are getting old, when all the
players of your "era" have retired.

Goal celebration

So, I found this off of Yahoo!; a hockey goal celebration gone wrong.
It is a pretty nice goal, followed by a moderately funny celebration
fail.

I've seen guys slammed through the glass by a monsterous check. I've
seen guys hit the glass and have it shatter all over the fans sitting
in the front row. So, when a guy celebrating throws himself through
the glass, it's not that remarkable. It is kinda funny when he
disappears and his skates fly up. Must have been a slow day for the
Yahoo! hockey blogger.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-When-Swedish-goal-celebrations-go-wrong?urn=nhl,203239

Shootout

There have been many changes to the NHL, most of them brought-in since
the lockout. Two line passes are allowed, goaltenders are not allowed
to play the puck behind the net in those trapeziodal shaped areas,
obstruction penalties are enforced, and there are no ties. A tie game
was always one of the wackier elements to the NHL. But it worked, in
my opinion. Should they start using 4 periods, because other sports
have 4 quarters? 3 periods and two intermissions make hockey what it
is. I am also bummed that they went with conventional East/West
divisional names and Western, Central, Northeast etc., conference
names. Who names divisions and conferences with names like Wales,
Campbell, Norris, Smythe, Patrick, Adams? The NHL, that's who. Well,
used too. I think that an attempt to appeal to "the average Joe" has
effectively eliminated the rich history of the game, while garnering
no extra fans and disappointing true fans. I'm going on a bit of a
tangent.

My original point was that I'm not a fan of the shootout. I will get
out of my seat to watch this breakaway contest as much as the next
guy. But hockey is a team game, it makes no sense to have an
individual skill contest decide games and ultimately a team's playoff
contention. Just as it would make no sense to have a 3-point contest,
involving only 3 players from each team, to settle a tie after the
first overtime, in the NBA.

That said, the Kings have back-to-back shootout wins. What seems more
like a successful roadtrip? Going 3-2 or 1-2-2? Meh. I'm still not a
shootout fan.

Good or just a good schedule?

The Senators continue their slide toward mediocrity. Currently, they
are 2-2-1 for November. I caught a quote from some of the TSN analysts
during the intermission of last game. That is something of itself,
since I'm usually fast forwarding through the intermissions. It was
something about the Senators having an easier schedule the first month
of the season and that they can't compete with the better teams of the
league. I think there's something to that. Yeah, Volchenkov has been
out and Spezza lost a few games to injury. But, Ottawa seems to only
be able to beat the lower level teams of the NHL. Stomped at times by
the elite. As a fan, I kinda blamed poor goaltending. Sure LeClaire
has given up some ridiculously soft goals at times, but the better
teams of the league are schooling the Sens. The truth hurts.

Kings are struggling. 4-3-0 for November and 2-2 on their current
5-game roadie. I guess that's saying something, as a 50/50 record is
still not acceptable this year. But it is more about the way they got
stomped by Chicago and Atlanta, which were poor games. Maybe last
year's team could chalk it up to lost focus. This year's team expects,
and has been getting alot more. The Kings can play with any team in
the league, if they decide to bring it.

Weekend Roundup

Several items caught my interest this weekend. Saw that James Nitties
was near the lead on the Aussie Masters, that was ultimately won by
Tiger. Nitties was also in the latest Oakey catalog, pretty cool.
Tiger is on YouTube for some club throwing incident. It's pretty weak.
It was more of a release, than a throw. Tiger is so strong that I bet
he could get 75 yards, if he really tried.

Watched UFC 105. Pretty good card. I like watching a bunch of TKOs.
UFC 106 is already here this Saturday. I'm not sure I'm gonna see it,
as I might have good seats for the Kings game! My first love is still
hockey. But since it's an afternoon game, I might just get both events
in. Now that would be a good sporting events day.

I watched parts of the Pats vs. Colts game. First game I've had on for
longer than 5 mins this season. Glad I saw the ending of that one.
Also caught a glimpse of Kobe limping and the Lakers lost
two-in-a-row? The sky will be falling on the AM radio today.

TUF 10

I haven't really commented about TUF 10 yet. It's been an interesting
season, mostly for the lack of drama. Other seasons have had "that one
guy" who dominates the air time. I think most fans thought "that one
guy" would be Kimbo Slice. His personality has impressed, while his
fighting skills have not. The bigger drama has been between the
coaches, as Rampage and Rashad clearly don't like each other. I
thought it was an act at first, but they really seem to want to brawl.

That brings me to why this season has been a bit weak. In the previous
season, Hendo built up a little anamosity with Bisping, so it was
awesome when he knocked him out. Rampage is busy being B.A. Baracus in
the A Team movie, so his fight with Rashad is not planned and may
never happen. I don't care about their squabbles knowing that they
aren't going to fight. Then there's the fights themselves. I will
usually scan through most episodes, but stop to watch the fight at the
end. Watching heavyweights gas-out is not entertaining. Maybe this is
the why I like the WEC so much, it's all action and no standing around
with the little guys. Several of these big boy fights were downright
brutal to watch.

My favorite guy so far is Marcus. The Big Baby, ex-football player,
gardener, and gentle giant. He was interesting and all, but the
biggest surprise was the jiu jitsu he put on display in his fight. I'm
pulling for the lone Rampage guy left.

Lowrider or Muscle Car?

I just finished installing the lowering springs for the GTO last
night. After my front disc brake project, the stance in the front was
considerably lower. So, I ordered some rear lowering springs online.
They took forever to get here, but I wasn't in a rush; and I bought
from the cheapest website I could find. Well, I have mixed feelings on
the result. Even before I lowered the front, the back was always a bit
on the high side. Now, the frame is about level, but it looks strange
to me. I guess I just need time to get used to it. Also, the bigger
point is that I haven't driven it yet. One of the rear shocks was
severely worn-out. I have a feeling that I am in for a nice handling
change.

25-degrees

So, I am something of a food fan. Not your fine dining, wine and
cheese type-dining. I'm talking about promotional fast food and greasy
spoons. More along the lines of Man v Food than anything else. I had
previously done a series on Promotional Fast Food of the Week. But, I
am actually trying to eat a little healthier. I still indulge in the
weekly cheesesteak, cheeseburger, hot wings, or pizza, etc.

Some guys at work had recommended a place in downtown Huntington
Beach. 25-degrees. There were rave reviews about the burgers and onion
rings at this place. So, I checked it out with the wife on a Date
Night last weekend. We walked into a casual and dark bar; this place
wasn't even a restaurant, so-to-speak. I was going through their beer
list and nothing noteworthy was staring back at me. I did see Guiness
at the bottom, but it was a Guiness milkshake. WTF?! I had to order
it. It was way too interesting to pass up. And yet I'm NOT a milkshake
guy, I don't even eat ice cream that often or really at all. It turned
out to be pretty good. A lot of chocolate, but a Guiness flavor mixed
in there pretty naturally. I ate the whole thing.

Then came the burger. They had a number of cheeses and toppings to
create your own, but I went with their #3. It was a green chili,
chipotle, jack, and I added jalapeno bacon. I noticed too late that
there was a hatch green chili option. This place was focused on the
cheese. It described the type, flavor, origin of each cheese. For
example, fumunda: white, mild & smoky, cow. They take cheese very
serious. It kinda scared me.

It was a great burger. I got mine medium and it came extra juicy, but
not a rare kind of juicy. Perfect. The bun was this huge
kaiser-looking roll, that was actually not bready, but mostly air. It
helped make the burger. The only thing I would change is the
"chipotle". It was a mayo-ish sauce; tasty but not something that I
have to get again. I will experiment with a different sauce next time.

The onion rings looked homemade. Nothing too special. A little on the
"thin" side. They turned out to be really good, too. I'm not an onion
ring guy to begin with. Probably because I don't like thick onions.
These babies were some of the thinnest onions used in 'rings I've ever
seen. Pretty much the perfect onion ring for me.

So, while this place was a bit on the high-end scale as far as my
usual dining goes, I'm looking forward to the next visit. It just
happened to be that eveything was my style and suited my tastes.
That's why this post is so long. I loved eating at this place.

Kings over Cup Chumps

I usually get so excited about some events, that the actual event
itself couldn't possibly live up to my nervous anticipation. Not this
time. Saw a great game last night, as the Kings played a tight game
against the Penguins through two periods. It started-off with a bang,
and Kopitar scored in the first minute of play. Seconds later, Staal
scores on a long slapper at the circles. My first thoughts were,
"Damn, it might be a long night for Johnny Quick." End on the second
had Pittsburgh up 2-1. Quick had some absolute highlight reel saves. A
couple powerplay chances were cross-crease passes that he made killer
splits, toe saves on. There were some really annoying drunk guys
sitting behind me. You know the type, the loudest guy in the arena and
his 3 buddies. Trying to start all the cheers and yelling "SHOOT!" too
much on the powerplay. It was getting on my nerves, as the Kings were
down and the Penguin fans were pretty satisfied with themselves.

Third period saw 4 unanswered goals. Kings win 5-2. They had not even
announced the go-ahead goal, and the Kings scored another one seconds
later. Brown had a sick powerplay goal to seal it. The drunk guys
didn't bother me once the Kings tied it. In fact, they were climbing
all over me and Channer. Though, I think I tweaked my lower back with
this 200 pound dude draper all over me, when they fired a t-shirt
right at us. Damn, I had that thing in my hands. If I played
basketball, it would have been an easy rebound to pull down. The drunk
guys did come in handy as the Penguin "fans" started exiting the
building early, and we said goodbye to them as an entire section.

I wasn't paying attention to anything on my way home and nearly ran
out of gas. The range computer thingy said 1 mile left. Well, I figure
it was my night as I made it to the gas station and got home without
any unnecessary walking or a gas can.

Kings vs Penguins

It will be the stiffest test facing the Kings this year. The Stanley
Cup Champs are coming into LA tomorrow night. The best part of this,
beside the fact that the Kings are playing well, is that I have plans
to see it live. Currently trying to locate tickets for the game. Well,
not me, but my old college roommate Ryan. I'm pretty amped about going
to the game and seeing an old friend. Win-win.

Another Kings note. I was following the blog of one of the Kings
trainers. Joe was a NFL trainer for the Patriots, before coming to the
Kings. He gave an amazing level of insight into the Kings organization
as well as what goes on behind the scenes, on the bench, in the
training room. But his website had issues last week, and I hadn't read
anything from him since. Apparently, he was fired by the Kings. Weird.
Confusing. Disappointing. I hope it wasn't from what he blogged. But I
have to think it was.

Scary Movie

It was a movie watching weekend for me. I love horror films, but don't
go out of my way to watch them nearly enough. This weekend featured
plenty, since it was Halloween. I caught the newer versions of The
Hills Have Eyes and Amityville Horror. Both were enough to keep me
from falling asleep, but not enough for a recommended must see. I
think that monster movies are more my thing. But is it that much
harder to make an original horror movie? I don't entirely understand
the re-makes.

I also saw the newer, animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie. My
daughter was captivated by this one and repeatedly asked the names of
each turtle; as she tried to determine her favorite one. The purple
one because he wore purple. Then the yellow one, since he was funny
and said "dude" a lot. But she was most drawn in by the conflict
between brothers; and when Raphael and Leonardo had a rooftop duel, it
was very troubling to her. She has her share of fights with her
brother, but sword play seemed to cross the line. "But Dad, they are
BROTHERS!" she said. This made my weekend. Because if I teach my kids
nothing else but to honor their family, I think I've done alright.