Missing the hockey...

Having moved recently (to New Jersey), I haven't been able to watch any Avalanche hockey... it's been incredibly sad. Although I think they're something like 2 and 1 since I moved, including a win that was something like 9-5 vs the Blues. Holy crap that must have been a good game! How would you like to be at a game where 14 goals are scored??? Even better would have been if it was 7-7 and went to a shoot out (that called for extra shooters).

Starting this weekend, I'm going to use the online NHL radio link on the Avs website and listen to the games. There's at least that, you know? Until then... Oh am I missing my Avalanche hockey.

Avalanche @ Kings

This was an excellent game! The Avs played strong and really bounced back after their San Jose loss. I was impressed. Especially since they did it without Sakic, among other players who were out. Smythe was great and Stastny picked up a few points as well. God it was a lot of fun watching this game.

Theodore was really good in net, I thought he moved well and had some really beautiful saves. There was a bit of a scary moment when Smythe fell over the Kings goaltender and he (the goaltender) laid on the ice for a few minutes. He seemed ok when he got up, but was replaced. I'm guessing it was a "just in case" although I haven't checked today to see if he suffered any manner of injury when it happened. I didn't hear any mention of an injury during the game though.

Avalanche @ Sharks

Last nights game was a good effort, except for the 1st period. It just looked to me like the Avs spent most of the 1st scrambling to catch up. They came out for the second ready to play though, and that was good. Too many penalties on both sides, but Hejduk getting a shorty was nice. Giving up 2 PP goals wasn't. So the Avs lost to the Sharks 3-2. That last period was really exciting. It would have been nice if the first period had been as well.

Hannan being booed was disappointing. I mean, why? Did he badmouth San Jose? No, he just went to another team via free agency. What's so bad about that? Ok, he left. And so will most of the players on every team, they'll go to other teams. Why? Lots of reasons, more money, a better shot at the Stanley Cup, a desire to play on a team with a specific player... there are a lot of reasons. I'm sorry, but how many canadian born players do you know would turn down Joe Sakic when he calls them up and says "hey, you know, the Avalanche is a great organization that would love to have you."

I don't know, I just don't get the booing thing. I can understand booing a player if they did something like badmouth the town, the fans or the team on their way out the door. Or if they made a comment like "well I just go where the money is." Yeah, by all means, boo away. Hell, I'll boo right along with you. But to boo a player because he was traded or left via free agency... seriously, why?

Combined Pregame... I hate it.

I hate when the Avs and the Nuggets have games on the same day that start at the same time. I like my pre-game show to be all hockey and mostly Avalanche. I don't mind highlights from other games and special features on players with other teams (particularly if they're players that I really dig). But It seems to me that whenever the Avs and the Nuggets have a combined pre-game show, it's about 1 minute of Avalanche to every 3 minutes of Nuggets. I'd rather there not even BE a pre-game show. And of course, when they have the combined pre-game show, they usually end up having a combined POST-game show.

Don't mind me, I'm just pouting.

A Gorgeous Site

I've been a part of the Goth scene off and on for about 10 years. It's an environment I feel perfectly comfortable in; one of the few, to be honest. With all of the sites popping up targeting specific types of people based on their lifestyle, religious beliefs, even ethnic backgrounds, finding a Goth singles website isn't that suprising. What I'm impressed with, however is the unique layout. A layout that is truly appealing to those whose tastes run a bit "outside the norm." It's not just about being goth, of course. The site caters to those whose tastes run a little darker. Goth, fetish, extreme music and alternative culture is of course included (among others). The site is beautifully laid out, I have to say. Whoever designed it deserves an award. I'm truly in awe of it. The features of the site are great as well. It's a free site that allows you to set up a profile complete with pictures if you choose. You can send a wink or a message to other members. I tried it myself, I was able to send a quick hello to someone who has a few similar interests -- didn't cost me a cent. It's certainly one of the better dating sites I've checked out, if not the best.

28 Weeks Later

So I watched this last night. I loved the first one (28 Days Later) so I figured "what the hell..." It was good. Very good. It starts out so calm and then just bursts with attack of the infected. It's a great opening.

This is where the spoilers start, so if you haven't read it and want to be surprised when you do... don't read on.

I loved the military angle, the very "state of marshall law" set up. I loved the "some people might be immune" twist. Of course, the someone who was immune was also carrying it and passed it on. It seemed to me, althought it wasn't discussed, that the virus may have mutated. Just seeing what the woman who was immune and carrying's husband did when she passed it on to him. It was like he had a goal. Kill my family. Brutally. He gouged out her eyes for pete's sake. That was pretty brutal to watch. This one is gorier. He also seemed to attempt to follow his kids when they were escaping. The impression I got from the 1st movie is that the virus made them mindless killers. "Dad" didn't seem like a mindless killer. Which made him scarier. The ending was left open for sequel, and I've heard that they're working on a 28 Months Later, which could be good. I just hope they don't try to do a 28 Years Later after that.

Did I mention that this one was gorier than the first?

In a Pinch

There comes a time in everyone's life that they need a little bit of money in a pinch. A lot of people have those times right around the holidays. Money's tight, the week or two before Christmas, but you want to give the kids a nice holiday. That's one of the many ways that Payday loans can come in handy. As long as you think about it and don't borrow more than you can afford to pay back. It's also my experience that they can be very helpful for holiday travel. You've pre-paid for your flight and your rental car and all of that, but you find yourself wishing that it was next payday so that you could have a little extra spending money. It can be a life saver, a stress reducer and a good backup to have in a pinch. Just don't borrow more than you can afford.

This is a sponsored post.

Edmonton @ Colorado

It's about time! The Avs had one of their best games in awhile last night. OH it was beautiful! They came out flying, that's for sure. It's been a few games since I saw them play like that. They weren't just in the game, they were the game. It was a great win.

Peter Budaj wasn't tested all that much last night, but when the Oilers came on, he was damn solid. Roloson had some good moments as well. I'm not sure if Roloson was off, or the Avs were so on that he couldn't figure them out. That's how good the game was. It was nice to see Sakic get his second goal in 2 games -- he's had a bit of a slump but it looks like he's pulling out of the nosedive and getting back to true Sakic form.



Lappy is out on injured reserve for a little while. I can't seem to find what he's out for. Maybe this is a new thing. We'll announce that he's on IR, but we won't tell anyone why except for once during every 3rd telecast. I didn't find out why Skrastins was on IR a few weeks ago (separated shoulder) until the 2nd or 3rd game he missed and there was a graphic showing who was out and why. It was the first I'd heard of the WHY.

Avalanche @ Oilers

Last night's game was good. The game befor, against Calgary was also good, just not good enough.

But last night was nice. First of all, it was the second game back for my favorite player (Karlis Skrastins) who'd been out w/ a separated shoulder. He also scored a goal, which was absolutely beautiful, in my opinion. There's nothing like a good goal scored by your favorite player, no? Another favorite also scored, Marek Svatos. Which was nice. It's always nice to see him score.

Overall, I think the Avs fought pretty hard to win last nights game and pulled out a very deserving win. I do love when they play Edmonton. The first two games I ever went to were against Edmonton. I also think that Edmonton plays a little grittier than anyone else in the division, so the Avs get to face more grit and less finesse when they meet up. Makes for some outstanding hockey.

Colorado at Minnesota...

I wonder how many times this season the Avs and Wild will play each other on a Sunday. This was a fun one. Both teams lost their last games. The Wild wasn't nearly as embarassed as the Avs were, but they both wanted to spring back and have a good game after a loss. The Wild wanted it more. The Avs just seemed to be a little flat on their feet. Hopefully they'll spring back on Tuesday against the Flames. The Wild played really good, the Avs were ok. A few shades above mediocre. It was a disappointing game to say the very least. I'd hoped that after the game against Dallas the Avs would play with some fire and passion.

Colorado @ Dallas

Oh man was that sad. It just wasn't there last night, seriously. This wasn't simply being out played... I love my Avs, but last night was an embarassment. That's not to say that there weren't good moments. A few good plays, a few good saves, a few good moments. But a win is not built on "a few good..." This is one of the reasons that I cannot stand long breaks during the season. Yeah, the break helps injuries heal and gives the players time to rest and be energetic for the next game. But I think that the rust factor is a bigger player in most 3+ days off stretches.

So the Avs lost 6-1 last night. It was heartbreaking, but not the end of the world I guess. They're still on top of the NW Division and doing pretty well. I just hope they bounce back from this atrocity with a vengeance.

Minnesota @ Colorado

It was a good game. Fast, exciting and a lot of fun to watch. It was nice to see after missing much of the previous game (my son gave me a stomache virus, so I spent most of the game praying to the porcelain god). Stastny picked up a few points, no such thing as a sophomore drought as far as this kid is concerned and I LOVE it. Budaj was solid the defense was good...

Something that Woody brought up today was interesting though... Liles. He seems a bit lackluster so far this year. Not that he's not playing good, he's just not playing with the spark that he's played with the past couple of seasons.

The Avs were solid, played a good game and came out iwth the win -- which kept them at the top of the division. 4-2 was the final and it was good.

Oilers @ Avalanche

Oh man was that a good game last night! It was exciting and fast paced and just... damn that was a good game. The Avs opend up scoring in the 1st, but Edmonton tied it just a few minutes later, the Avs another followed by 2 by the Oilers. And that was just in the first period! The Avs tied the score at 3 in the 3rd period, but neither team let up for a second. Overtime was scoreless and they went to a shootout which required 1 extra shooter per team. I love extra shooters in the shootout. It means that either the shooters are shooting well or the goaltenders are really on. Either way, it's exciting to watch. Lappy, one of my favorite players scored two goals and was the number one star of the game. That was awesome to see, especially since he's more of a grinder than a goal scorer. I love when the guy who's interviewed as the #1 star of the game has bruises all over his face from fighting. So the Avs won 4-3 in a shoot out, and to be perfectly honest I'd have called it a great game even if the Avs lost.

Flames @ Avalanche

Well, if the Avs bounce back like this after every loss this season, I can certainly live with that. The Avs played well last night, it was a great game. We had scoring, good goaltending and even a fight. Theodore was in net, and I believe that makes 3 wins vs the Flames for him this season. Theodore made some pretty nice saves last night as well. Stastny and Wolski both scored for the Avs, which is awesome. Doubly awesome for me, since I have both of them on my fantasy hockey team.

It was a great game, very exciting. Lappy dropped the gloves, which is always fun to watch.

Movies: Last Holiday

Ok, so when I saw previews for Last Holiday back when it was coming out in theaters, I wasn't impressed. But like so many others that I didn't really have an interest in seeing, I caught part of it when there wasn't anything else on and I wanted some background noise that wasn't "Building a toilet from scratch" on DIY or something and was entertained enough to want to see the whole thing. So I watched it the next time it was on. Damn was that a good movie. It's a little silly in parts, but it's got a pretty good message: Life isn't a spectator sport.

Vancouver @ Avalanche

Well, it had to happen eventually. I just hoped that the Avs would hold out a few more before their first loss at home. It wasn't a bad game, the Canucks just had an easier time of figuring out Budaj than the Avs had figuring out Luongo. The non-marquee players did a good job for the Avs last night, and Svatos seems to be back in scoring mood, which is great. I've loved Svatos since his first season with the Avs, even though he only played a handful of games because of injuries. He just struck me as something special. I still think that he's something special on the ice, actually. My favorite players tend to be defensemen (Skrastins, for example) and grinders (like Laperriere), so a big scorer's gotta be pretty special to make me take enough notice and say "he's one of my favorite players." Svatos is that kind of special.

The Canucks won 4-3 last night. Disappointing that they couldn't extend the home wins streak farther, but I'm not overly disappointed by the game itself.

Penguins @ Avalanche

I forgot to post last night after the game, but damn was it good. I really enjoyed it. In the first period, the Pens scored twice and the Avs started the second period in the hole 2-0, but they picked it up and scored 3 in the second and held the Penguins off in the third. Theodore was in net for the Avs and blocked a few doozies from Crosby and looked pretty good in net. He only faced about 25 shots, but I think he looked like he's really got his head together.

It was nice to see guys who aren't considered "skill guys" get some points last night, too. To be perfectly honest I liked the game so much I watched the replay... twice. In the end, the Avs won it 3-2 and sit at the top of the division going into a run of games against division rivals.

Hockey recap of sorts...

I was without internet access for almost 2 weeks, so I wasn't able to post on the Avs games that occurred in that time period. Well, damn it was a pretty good run.

After the Avs beat the flames in a shoot out on the 16th, they lost to the Blackhawks and the Wild on the road before finally getting themselves a road win against the Edmonton Oilers. Nice way for Ryan Smyth to return to Edmonton, I think. it was a great game. They also won in Calgary (in OT) before coming home and beating the Wild on Sunday. So far in the season, the Avs have been perfect at home and have won 2 out of 5 on the road. Not too bad.

I look forward to Thursday night's game. The Avs will be hosting the Penguins, so we'll get to see them take on Crosby and Malkin. I look forward to seeing how they do and I expect it to be an exciting game.

Flames @ Avalanche

Oh but I loved this game. Ok, it didn't start out great, but I have to admit that I wasn't worried. I don't worry until the team is down by 4 with only 5 left in the game -- then I worry. The Flames scored 4 goals between the first period and the first few minutes of the 2nd period. Budaj was pulled and Theodore went in to play the rest of the game. He looked good. He was fast, agile and his recovered from the Flames shots really nicely. The Avs scored 4 goals to tie the game -- some of them were some really bizarre bounces. As one of the announcers pointed out, you usually see one of those odd bounces once in every couple of games. The Avs got 3 in one game. It was weird, but I'm not complaining.

There were no goals in overtime, and it went to a shootout. The first Avs shootout of the season. The Avs won the shootout 2-1.

This was just the thing for Theodore, I think. He got to go in and save the game for the Avs. It was so great. So the final score was 5-4 Avs in the shoot out.

Son of a Witch

So I just read Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire. Good book. Not quite as good as Wicked, but up there with Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister (which I really enjoyed although not as much as Wicked). The story centers around Elphaba's son, Liir and tells the story of his growing up and what happens to him after the Wizard and Dorothy have left Oz. It was really good, very entertaining. A little formulaic in some parts, but overall really quite good. I enjoyed it thoroughly.