Well the weekend is over...There was plenty of sports...NASCAR let the NRA sponsor a race which with all the talk about gun laws got people all kinds of fired up...Me, I don't care...NASCAR is a business and the NRA has money to spend...Do I agree with everything they say...No...But I don't watch NASCAR either, so I don't give a damn...
Adam Scott won the Masters...I heard it went to a playoff but I didn't watch...Why? Because golf bores me, and the wife didn't want me taking a nap...Plus there was the whole shit about Tiger Woods supposedly not knowing the rules, and taking an illegal drop...The officials okay'ed his score card, then a viewer at home called and pointed out the violation...If people can call you up from home, and point out the rules that your officials missed, or screwed up on...Your sport/game is fucking stupid!
Besides that...These cocksuckers at the Masters gave a one stroke penalty to a 14 year old, who was out their holding his own, for playing too slow....FUCK YOU! But Tiger does something that would have gotten anyone else DQ'ed and he's given a two stroke penalty and allowed to stay in the hunt...Fucking Golf and the Masters can eat my ass!
-Let's go to a real sport...
Saturday night was the NCAA Hockey Championship in Pittsburgh...It was a battle of Connecticut as the Nation's #1 team Quinnipiac took on the Cinderella Yale Bulldogs...No matter who won, it would be their schools first NCAA Hockey title...
Well, Yale came to finish the Cinderella Story, lead by goalie Jeff Malcolm on his 24th birthday...
It was a tight, close game through two periods...Yale finally scoring first with just under 4 seconds left in the second period...
They carried the momentum into the third going up 3-0...Quinnipiac pulled their goalie, Hoby Baker finalist Eric Hartzell with 7 minutes left, trying to use the extra attacker to help them back in the game...But Malcolm held strong, making 36 saves...Yale fired in an empty net goal to put it out of reach, and winning 4-0...
Yale had proven once again not to count out underdogs...And that they can compete with the big guns in D-1 Hockey...Great win for Yale...And great for College Hockey...But the night belonged to the birthday boy Jeff Malcolm...The heart and soul of the team...The goalie in the tourney that they didn't talk about....Looks like he's finally caught the eye of a few people...
-This weekend was my and Mrs. Beeze's 12 year anniversary...We went out Friday for a cheap date...We started out, where it all began...A little bar, with great tacos...It was where we went the first time we went out after work...It was that night that I knew she was the one...SO we had a beer and a couple tacos and the went to the movies...Going to the movies is one of her favorite things to do...We saw Olympus Has Fallen...Spoiler Alert.......It had good action...The one dude was a good ass kicker and had some good lines...But it was bullshit...And the CGI stuff looked like crap....
As we drove home, we started talking about how the time has flown by...12 years went by quick...I never imagined my life like this...And now I wouldn't consider changing it...3 kids, a house, a mini-van, coaching baseball, selling a guitar to get my daughter a clarinet...I'm still madly in love with my wife...I'm a lucky guy...Wouldn't change a thing...(but if I found a million dollars in my wallet tomorrow that wouldn't be awful)
I hope everyone had an enjoyable Easter weekend...And I hope your Easter Bunny was as giving as this one!
My week was crazy...We'll start on Thursday...I took Little Beeze and his older sister to Holy Thursday Mass...It was required for part of their RCIA class...A number of the kids from school were going to lead the procession into mass with candles...Before they even stepped off, a little girls hair caught fire...No, the boy wasn't involved...Her mother screamed and got it out quickly, but her pony tail was gone...Then the mother, trying to fight it as hard as she could, let out a 15-20 second battle with saying "Mother Fffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuu----cccccccccckkkkk" in the back of the church....The dashes are where her voice dropped out, and we all thought she caught herself...
Then, during the homily, an old lady passed out...Some one called 9-1-1...And she woke up loudly, puking all over herself...The EMT's rolled in, and not so stealthy took her out...All this has me fearing what was going to happen at the Easter Vigil Saturday night, where Little Beeze was being baptized/confirmed, and he and his sister were making their first communion...
And the fear ran high as Saturday's mass started at 9:00PM, outside with a bonfire, candle lighting, and walking into a dark church...Sounds safe right!?! Everything went okay...Long...2 and a half hours, but okay...We got home, to find Molls wide awake...It wasn't until after 12:30AM when they were all asleep...Then I had to put on my fucking bunny ears and hide Easter baskets and eggs...
Sunday, my house was full of over-tired, sugared-up kids, all in need of a nap...And my wife and I running on coffee and wanting naps...It was a lazy day, especially after the ham, mashed potatoes, corn, lamb chops, and asparagus...
But there was some time for dancing...
But it wasn't all church, food, and dancing this weekend...
-There was some intense NCAA Hockey...There were plenty of upsets that took place...In the East, Union upset Boston College before falling to #1 seed Quinnipiac...In the Northeast, #1 seed Umass- Lowell had to battle Wisconsin, and New Hampshire to get to the "Frozen Four"....In the Midwest, #4 St. Cloud State gave #1 seed Notre Dame a 5-1 beating...This was a shocker since the Irish had been one of the hottest teams going into the tourney...Then St. Cloud beat #2 seed Miami (Ohio) to advance...And in the West #4 seed Yale upset #1 Minnesota and #2 North Dakota to earn a trip to the "Frozen Four"...
Quinnipiac, St. Cloud State, Umass-Lowell, and Yale will head to Pittsburgh to play the "Frozen Four" April 11-13...I'm annoyed by the break they take, but they know they'll get no coverage at all with the basketball tourney going on...
-As for basketball, my bracket was pretty much screwed...But Marquette losing killed me totally...Hows yours?
-Sunday night, Major League Baseball kicked off it's season with the Astros and Rangers...Most of the rest the teams get going Monday...I'm slightly excited for the season, if only because it gives us hope that Spring is here...Even though my local Weather guy gave us a heads-up for more cold and possible snow this week...Of Course! Probably get a blizzard for the Tribe's home opener next week!
I have to say, there is something about Baseball that is bothering me...I never liked the inter-league stuff to begin with, but now with this inter-league game every day crap...It just doesn't make sense when you have two leagues that have different rules...It's time to take a stand...Either DH for everyone, or no DH at all...Bud, you stupid old coot, it's time to make the call already!
-Sunday, a friend of mine posted this LINK on my facebook page...If you were ever concerned about the charities athletes setup, and where the money really goes, you were right to be concerned...Only 8% of the funds in one of Baron Davis' foundations went to charity...Lamar Odom doesn't know what his Charity does...You call Randy Moss' charity, and it's a private residence in Manitoba...There is $300,000 unaccounted for from an Alex Rodriguez charity fundraiser...Give it a read...It could save some people from wasting their money!
-My wife has been a fan of "The Walking Dead"...I saw a few bits and pieces, but never really cared...This week, she got me to watch a bunch of episodes...Which lead up to me watching the season finale...You know what this show did...It fucking annoyed me! Some how, magically, when people die they turn into a Zombie...No explanation...It just is...Fucking childish writing there! Didn't this shit go down in 2010 supposedly...Why the fuck are they driving a 2013 car! Shitty advertising ploy there! I found myself wanting a lot of these people dead...
SPOILER ALERT: One traitorous bitch got what she deserved!
But seriously, America...Between the ads for video games and movies and other TV shows I was seeing while watching a bunch of episodes of "The Walking Dead" I have to ask...When the fuck are you going to grow up? Enough of this Zombie and Vampire shit...Seriously Yes, "Reality TV" makes me sick...But beating these two stupid trends to death has just become lazy! This Zombie, and Vampire shit can eat my ass!
Here we are again....Monday's seem to come some quickly...We really need to go to a four day work week, because Saturday and Sunday just aren't enough time...Especially if you have a lady like Rosie Jones (above) in your bed...
But this Monday is different...After more than a few years, sadly, I have to say goodbye to my Monday blog partner, B-Dub...If you didn't know, he has excepted an opportunity to do more writing and social media work for a Carolina Panthers site...They've offered him a 100% raise from what he makes at the Gab...Congrats partner!
Many years back at Sporting News, B-Dub was one of the first guys to welcome and support me there...When I took heat for the times I got off the sports topic, he pointed me to Blogspot, where he also had a blog....Then after TSN was going to hell in a hand basket...After much poking, he convinced me to join The Gab...The rest is history...Through blogging, and social media, and phone calls, we've gotten to know each other pretty well...Brad is great guy, and a great friend, and I'd do anything for him...I wish him all the best...The Gab will miss him...
Now, on with the show...
-This past week started out shitty, as far as news goes...Especially on CNN! The whole Steubenville case is disgusting, and the way the media handled it, made it even worse...Then there was more awful news Friday...News that really makes me question our society...My first thought was WHAT_THE_FUCK!
-Besides that, there was some sports news that pissed me off...Local sports news...Cleveland Browns fans were upset when return specialist Josh Cribbs left when the free agent frenzy started...Me, I'm happy to see him go...Way too much money was spent on a guy who had a few years as an elite return man...He was also a top kick coverage man...but both those parts of his game started to slip...And as a WR he has been a work in progress...With little progress...
Then kicker Phil Dawson left for the City by the Bay...Let me say this...Thank God they didn't use the Franchise tag on their kicker, again! Yes, he is an excellent kicker, but if losing your return man and kicker is going to devastate your fan-base, let alone your team...Then your team has problems...Serious problems...
-Now I know this week people have been fired up and all into "March Madness"...Me, not so much...But I have been following some NCAA action....This past weekend the college hockey's conference tournaments were played, helping to setup their 16 team tourney...
In the Final CCHA tournament The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame beat Ohio State 3-1 Saturday, pitting the Irish against rival Michigan for the last ever CCHA Championship....The Irish continued their hot streak, beating Michigan 3-1, and clinching one of the top 4 seeds in NCAA Tournament...This is how the NCAA Hockey Tourney has setup...
Providence
Dunkin Donuts Center
Saturday, 5:30 and 9 p.m. (ET), Sunday, 6:30 p.m.
1. Quinnipiac vs. 16. Canisius
6. Boston College vs. 12. Union
Grand Rapids
Van Andel Arena
Friday, 2 and 5:30 p.m. (ET), Saturday, 4 p.m.
2. Minnesota vs. 15. Yale
8. North Dakota vs. 10. Niagara
Manchester
Verizon Wireless Center
Friday, 4:30 and 8 p.m. (ET), Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
3. Mass.-Lowell vs. 14. Wisconsin
7. New Hampshire vs. 9. Denver
Toledo
Huntington Center
Saturday, 1:30 and 5 p.m. (ET), Sunday, 4 p.m.
4. Notre Dame vs. 13. St. Cloud State
5. Miami vs. 11. Minnesota State
-Things here are still crazy...More crap has come up with the in-laws issues...It seems like every time where making head-way, something else goes wrong...Hopefully we can get it all resolved soon...It's been tough on the kids with my wife making so many trips to Erie...Hell, it's been tough on me...2 parents, 3 kids...Zone defense can be tough, but it's even harder when it's just one of you...But there was a moment Saturday that was just great, that made us forget about all the crap for a few minutes...
Molly had been upset all week because the nail polish my mother put on her toes had worn away/washed off...She kept telling me "Toes not happy" with an adorable pouty face...So when my wife got home Saturday evening, I ordered some food, the kids got ready to watch the Kids Choice Awards, and my wife painted Molly's toe nails...Afterwards she shouted, "Yay, toes happy!" She showed each of us, and told us, "Toes Happy!" She won't even let us cover her toes with a blanket while she's sleeping...Sh e kicks them free, because "Toes happy!"
It kind of put everything into perspective for me...
Well here we are again...Another Monday...And another post I'm not really in the mood to do...But you know me...I'll keep plugging away and try and give you something good to read...Or at least a nice opening pic...
In the Hockey world, the Chicago Blackhawks have extended their amazing run of not losing a game in regulation time...The Blackhawks beat rival Detroit in a shootout to take their record to 19-0-3...This is an impressive run...The 'Hawks have plenty of fire-power and have seen some great goaltending from Corey Crawford...Even Ray Emery in spot duty has been very good...Without a doubt, Chicago is the front runner to win the Cup...How long can they keep this streak alive?
Friday I posted Quick little Hockey story...If you missed it, you can find itHERE....
The weekend was full of us taking care of shit in Erie, PA for my inlaws...We did take a few hours to hang with some friends...It was a nice little breather...Then Sunday we had to get back home, so I could go to a wake...I had to say goodbye to an old co-worker/friend...
He was 30 years older than me, but he one of the guys...He was a salt of the Earth kind of guy...He served in Vietnam as a medic...One time he was working on a marine during a fire fight...His helmet had fallen off, and he was grazed in the head by a bullet...He did stop doing his job until some one grabbed him...He was a real man...He'll be missed.
Rest in peace "Old Hickory"
Hotch often tries to bring us some of the best hockey fights out there...Well, I've found the worst...
As for the rest of this post...Sorry gang, this week is short and sweet...I've fallen asleep 3 times trying to write this.
A couple nights ago, my high school Alma Mater and perennial power, St. Edward played a thrilling 5 overtime playoff game...The Eagles lost 3-2 to The Green Wave of Holy Name, coached by a couple of former Eagles...
Holy Name goalie Sam Pikus was outstanding, making 74 saves...74! That itself was impressive as hell....
But today I was talking with the father of St. Edward captain, Gabe Lampron...The kid is really good...It's looking like he may pass on a college scholarship, and take a shot at juniors...Well after the game...After 5 overtimes, and a crushing loss for a program that expects to be in the state final four every year, Lampron's father noticed a number of players crying...This is something we see often in youth sports...He asked his son "Why weren't you crying?" Gabe responded, "I left everything out there, I have no reason to cry. It's just hockey."
Those words. "it's just hockey" may bother some people...But to me, this kid seems like he may have his shit together...He's been scouted...He's had scholarship offers...But in the end, compared to other things in the world, "it's just hockey." He was confident enough, and proud enough to know he "left everything out there"...So why cry? He's right...Sometimes you lose...But if you leave it all out there, you've got no reason to cry.
Great season by the Eagles!
Holy Name takes on the Rocky River Pirates Saturday in the District finals...
