75th Career Shutout

Dominik Hasek helped the Wings win against Anaheim by getting the 75th shutout in his career. Only one goal was scored, by Datsyuk. After losing four games in a row, this win seemed like a loooong time coming. Anaheim brought their physical game to Detroit, but the Wings pushed right back and didn't let them get the upper hand. A pretty good game.

With the Wings clinching a playoff spot again this year, this is the 16th consecutive year for them to make it to the playoffs. This is the longest playoff streak in North American professional sports. The New York Yankees are second with a 12-season playoff streak.

Chris Chelios was honored tonight for playing more NHL games (1542) than any other US born player.

Brett Lebda is still out because of the concussion he suffered on Saturday when St. Louis' Nieminen drilled him into the boards. Many say that Nieminen is a dirty player--and it might be so--but he actually went to the hospital to apologize to Lebda. Nieminen was tossed out of the game after the incident and got to the hospital to see Lebda before the game had even ended. Dirty player or not, it definitely was classy of him to show up--in person--to see how Lebda was. If Lemieux had been as classy ten years ago, there probably would never have been the great 'blood feud.'

Ten Years Ago

It has actually been ten years since (as so many people would say) the greatest hockey game ever was played. Yes, I'm talking about THE game between Detroit and Colorado--the game of retribution for what Lemieux did to Draper the previous year. To those who don't know hockey, this video can look like a bunch of thugs beating on each other--but it was much more than that. On May 29, 1996, Draper was hit with a sucker punch by Lemieux--this ended Draper's season and left him with broken bones to his nose, jaw, cheekbone and eye socket. Five teeth were bent backward toward his throat. He needed 40 stitches to close cuts around his eye and in his mouth. His jaw was wired shut for five weeks. Lemieux never apologized for what he did and actually came very close to belittling anyone who saw this for the terrible tragedy it was. This was the night that the six-year 'blood feud' was born between the Red Wings and the Avalanche. Almost a year later, on March 26, 1997, the tension, media sniping, and bad blood came together and produced the night no hockey fan will ever forget. Here is the 'highlight' video of the game. This is good, old-time hockey! The Wings won the game AND the Stanley Cup. And they won the Cup the following year, too.

Blues 3, Red Wings 2

Okay, what is going on with the Wings? Here we go:

--The season is way too long and they are plain tired. Several years ago, the playoffs would just be winding down about now--there still are 7 games for the Wings to play before the first round of the playoffs!

--Injuries. At one time they had seven players out with injuries.

--Zetterberg has been gone too long. Zetterberg is one of the best players in the NHL and he was relied on way too much! They just can't get it together without him.

--The officiating has been lousy. Yes, that is a whole song-and-dance that is always used as an excuse, but... The last few games have been terrible in the officiating department and then the shoot-out calls today! Well, case made. (Not that I believe in conspiracy theories, mind you! ;))

--They still are not over Yzerman retiring. I think that is a given. Lidstrom is a great player and leader, but he ISN'T Stevie.

--Babcock is no Scotty Bowman. DUH!!

--They have one of the worst--if not THE worse--travel schedule in the NHL. The majority of their away games are played 2-3 time zones away. Now, just think how you feel when changing to/from Daylight Savings Time. Now imagine being in a plane for hours. Now imagine having to do your job--a VERY physically taxing job--and doing it well. And now, imagine doing that several times a month! Yes, that would put you off for awhile.

--The normal hot and cold streaks of players. They all have times when they aren't playing to their potential, but when you have two or more on the same team having a bad spell, it is hard to compensate for that.

--The lines are constantly changing. With injuries and new players, the make up of the lines HAVE to change. But when a player is used to playing with the same person day after day and he suddenly isn't there... It just must be hard.

--New players. Both Calder and Bertuzzi have been assets, but it takes time to get used to having someone completely new on the team. And there is no training camp for everyone to be together and get used to each other in the middle of the season.

--They just can't catch a break! When the announcers say over and over and over again, '***** shoots! And it hit the post!', or, '***** shoots! And it hit the crossbar!', you have got to wonder what is going on! And this has been happening with almost every shot on goal lately. It's as if there is a magnet in the puck and it's getting pulled away from the netting and toward the goal posts. Just unbelievable.

I could go on, but why. Talking about what has been going on isn't going to change anything--the games have been played and that's that! If they don't get past the first round of the playoffs, oh well--at least it has been one exciting season. I am going to enjoy the rest of this year and (probably have to) hope for better things for next year. I really, really am going to try to look at things positively and not complain. I mean it! :)

Again?!?!?!

Detroit lost to Columbus 2-1. This, after being completely scoreless through the first two periods. And being tied after overtime. And having to go through SIX rounds of the shootout. Words fail.

On to a brighter note: Bertuzzi played tonight. Now, he didn't set the world on fire, but he DID play over 16 minutes and did fine. He played a solid enough game and I think will definitely be an asset as time goes on. As he said, he only got to practice 10 minutes with the line they put him on before the game, so...(I HOPE he was kidding!) Actually, he got right into the swing of things: he got a cut on his chin that required stitches during the first period and got a penalty in the second! Cleary also came back tonight. It is good to see the injured back and playing. From what the announcers said, Zetterberg HAS skated, so there is some hope he may return before the season is over.

For the seventh season in a row, Detroit has had a 100 point (or better) year. But, because Nashville tied tonight--ultimately losing in overtime--they got a point and now have 101 points, staying in first place. Right now the only thing for the Wings to play for is who they will play in the playoffs and home-ice advantage. And as to the who they will play, THAT probably won't be determined until the last game of the season is over! It is getting close.

ALERT! IMPORTANT INFO!

I hope everyone else wasn't as much of a slacker as I have been! K asked me earlier if I had checked our cat food to see if it was part of the recall--and I hadn't. Somewhere I got it in my head that it was dry dog food that was recalled--don't ask me where THAT came from--so I was going to ignore it all. Anyway, at least half of the food we have has been recalled! So, here is the link that will tell you if your dog OR cat food is on the recall list.

Hump Day

--K is on his last night shift--he will have a couple of days off before having to head back to work. That will be nice, as the weather is supposed to be okay--temps in the 40s. Before he left for work, he mentioned the possibility of doing burnt offerings one of these days. YAY! Grilled brats, hot dogs, and hamburgers! I always love the first time we grill for the year.

--Last night K called home and asked me to write a note for him. This usually translates as: 'I want you to do something for me, but don't want to ask you, so if I ask you to write a note you might be guilted into doing what I should have asked you to do in the first place.' Anyway, he wanted me to write a note reminding him to go to the store and pick up strawberry shortcake 'fixings.' Last summer he bought a couple of flats of strawberries and I froze them so that we could have them over the winter--I haven't fixed shortcakes at all since then. My bad. So he felt that we should use the berries before the new crop is ready for harvest. (See, just like I told you, trying to make me feel guilty.) Well, long story even longer, I took strawberries and Cool Whip out of the freezer and decided to make my own shortcake biscuits. Not the best idea I have ever had. I am very good at cooking and baking--I rarely screw things up badly, but these were very close to being a total disaster. First, they didn't seem to be finished baking at the designated time, so I left them in the oven a little longer. Bad move. The bottoms were thisclose to burning--but, if you scrape off the dark part, they shouldn't be too bad. The thing that might make you stop before eating one is the general appearance of the biscuits: they are smaller and lighter in color than a hockey puck, but they are about the same weight and hardness of a frozen puck. I don't know what went wrong, but they are still sitting there, waiting to be eaten. (Actually, I ate one and aside from the fact that it was a touch on the dry side, it didn't taste that bad.) So, my question is this: can Bisquick go bad?

--C called today and to say she was having a bad day was putting it mildly. She was mad at her kids, perturbed at her hubby, disgusted with studying, and generally in a foul mood. The reason she called me? She wanted ME to be in a bad mood, too, so she wouldn't feel alone and would have someone to bitch with her! You know, someone to commiserate with her. To accommodate her, I worked up an attitude of my own and put myself in a foul mood, too. What we mothers won't do for our kids, I tell you. (I mellowed out as soon as I got off of the phone with her--my mood WAS manufactured, after all.)

--A year ago we were getting ready to go to Niagara Falls for A's wedding. It is so hard to believe so much time has passed. Is it getting older that makes it seem as if time passes so fast, or is it the time we are living in? Just a rhetorical question--no one needs to answer that one if they don't want.

--Tomorrow I really need to go shopping to pick up a few things: anniversary card, birthday card and gift, milk. Maybe I will give the 'Do you happen to have a Wii?' phone calls a try again. One of these days I WILL manage to get my hands on one!

Calgary 2, Detroit 1

Where do you even begin to explain the last two games Detroit has played? They are within 1 point of their seventh-straight 100-point season and they missed it again tonight. Of course, with nine games left to play, they WILL get to 100 (let's hope I didn't just jinx it), but there is really no reason for it to not have happened during this road trip.

Even though I wouldn't mind watching the Wings play 12 months of the year, I am beginning to wonder if the season they do play isn't too long. Maybe part of the reason for the last-month slump is just plain tiredness. (They didn't play great the last month of last year, either.) If the season was shortened by 10 games, it might be much better all around--except for the owners, of course. They would be in the play-offs already and probably be done with it all before summer got rolling along. But, I don't really think the powers-that-be will shorten the season.

The Wings had a problem with penalties on Saturday, but Vancouver had quite a few, also. It all boiled down to who actually took advantage of the power play. Tonight, the officiating didn't seem to be fair, at all. (And yes, it is always an excuse: blame the officials.) The reason I say this: the Wings had 5 penalties against them in the first and second periods and Calgary had NO penalties until the third period--then they received only one. A little lopsided, and yes, there were a few that were quite blatant that were not called. A reason for Detroit's poor showing? Maybe. Maybe not.

West coast road trips seem to be especially hard on the Wings--and you really can't blame them for that. After all, they bounce three time zones to play on the west coast. Even still, this was a fairly short road trip--Saturday in Vancouver and tonight in Calgary. And they didn't have to play back-to-back games, either. So, is THIS an excuse for losing two in a row? Hmmm.

Again, all the talk is about when Bertuzzi will play his first game. Right now 'they' say he will either play on Thursday or Saturday. I certainly hope it is on Thursday: I will be able to watch that game--no one is broadcasting Saturday's game, so I will be sh*t-out-of-luck if it is then. 'They' continue to say that Zetterberg is feeling better every day, but he STILL hasn't skated. 'They' are hoping he will be able to come back for the last five games of the season--HA! I don't now what 'they' are smoking, but I just might like to have some of what 'they' are having.

Day of the Chipmunks

Sunday was--to put it mildly--very interesting around here. Actually, this story starts on Saturday, so here goes.

Early Saturday evening I went into the basement to start some laundry. When I got to the machines, I noticed that the dryer hose didn't look right. When I looked at it closer, I saw a hole in it--and it looked as if it was a CHEWED hole, not a break. I called K down to take a look-see-- and in preparation for a new hose, he turned the dryer on to dry out the old hose. Almost immediately a chipmunk came shooting out of the hole. As soon as we regained our composure--we both jumped about three feet in the air--we searched for the creature. At one point K got it trapped in the bathroom, but it escaped. We tried everything we could think of to catch the thing, but it wasn't happening. K then went to the store to get some of the 'sticky' traps. They were placed in the basement, we came back upstairs, closed the door, and tried to forget about it. I DIDN'T get the laundry done.

When K went in the basement on Sunday morning, he found two trapped and one loose. The loose one found its way upstairs and proceeded to the pantry. Thankfully K was able to catch it and get it out of the house before it got into any of the food. Later in the day, two more were trapped. We haven't seen any more, but we ran out of traps, sooooo....

We still are not sure how these things got into the basement. We thought we had that taken care of last summer, but I guess not. I think they, somehow, managed to get into the dryer vent and came in through the hose. Of course, once they were in, they had no way out except by chewing through the hose. I keep telling myself this is the explanation! We will have to put out some more traps just to see if we got all of them--I figure we will be safe if no more are caught in a 48 hour span. This just may be another long summer.

And I finally got the laundry done on Sunday.

Vancouver 4, Detroit 1

How many times and how many ways can you use the word 'inconsistent' before it becomes redundant? After they played two fantastic games with Nashville, the Wings come up with tonight's fiasco. I just don't know what to say. Granted, they were short-handed for around 15 minutes for the game--they had 32 penalty minutes assessed to them tonight--but that still should not be an excuse for their poor showing.

There is so much talk about Bertuzzi joining the team next week--probably--that you have to wonder if they are just sitting back and waiting. I sure hope he won't be a disappointment after all of the hype that has been building.

FINALLY they mentioned Zetterberg and said he is coming along. Now, what does THAT mean? They have admitted that he has an inflamed disk, but on one of the message boards someone said it is a herniated disk--and I believe that is what Bertuzzi had surgery on! I really wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make it back for the rest of the year. I hope I'm wrong and just being my old pessimistic self.

How Is Your Life?

The other night I came thisclose to getting myself a Wii. I had to go and do some grocery shopping--my refrigerator echoed when I yelled into it--so I decided to call around to the usual places and see if any of them had gotten any new shipments of Wiis. Wouldn't you know, Shopko was selling their LAST ONE as I was talking. Damn! I'm thinking that I just may have to become someone's newest, bestest friend in order to get one before I am old enough to retire!

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While I was in WalMart, I noticed something very strange: MOST of the shoppers were male. And there were A LOT of them. While this isn't an unusual occurrence just before Valentine's Day or Mother's Day, I can't explain why so many were there the other night. There were big ones, little ones, old ones, young ones, ugly ones, and some I wouldn't have minded looking at a lot longer! It was as if every male from the entire county--except K--was there. Strange.

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Most people will get spring fever at this time of year--I get new car fever. This usually comes about because of the new car show/sale that we have here in town. I can keep the fever in check if I don't actually get to the show, but this year K has decided we will go. I LOVE seeing the shiny paint jobs and the sleek new models. I love to slide behind the wheel of a Corvette or fully-loaded SUV. I love imagining myself driving down the highway in a brand-spanking new vehicle. I hate imagining the monthly payments...

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C is determined to get the three-year-old potty trained. It is not going so well. The other day, C found a pair of pee-soaked panties in the middle of the coffee table. The little 'brat' removed them herself because she doesn't like feeling wet. This happened just after C asked if she had to use the potty and was told 'No!'

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I finally decided to catch up on my email. I got around to answering one that I received in November. Does 'better late than never' apply here?

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It snowed off and on all day today.

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I remember my dreams so rarely that, recently, when I recall something, I have to stop and think whether it really happened or did I dream it. It is NOT a good feeling.

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I have to figure out what I'm going to do with myself once hockey season ends. That is so sad.

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Finnish-American

I am 100% Finn. All of my ancestors came from Finland and I still consider it to be my ancestral homeland. (I am, first and foremost, an American, however.) I am very proud to be of Finnish descent. Because the US doesn't have a large, or widely dispersed, population of Finns, many people don't know a lot about the country or its people. Here are some things to know about Finland and Finns:

--16% of the population of the UP of Michigan is of Finnish descent. The UP has the largest concentration of Finns outside of Europe.

--The UP of Michigan is very close in climate and geography to Finland. This is one of the reasons so many Finns settled here.

--Finland has about 5.2 million people.

--According to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006.

--Finland is home to the world's leading mobile phone company: Nokia. (Guess what kind of cell phone I own! :))

--In the Finnish language, every letter of every word is pronounced. The first syllable of every word is accented. The rules of pronunciation are consistent. The Finnish language is quite easy to read--I was able to read it when I was in elementary school--but it is a difficult language to understand and speak.

--Finland is the only/first country to pay its war debt to the United States.

--Finland has a woman president.

--Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.

--Reindeer are herded by the Sami (Lapp) people of northern Finland (Lapland.)

--Some famous Finns:

--Linus Torvald, creator of the Linux computer operating system.

--Paavo Nurmi, Olympic champion long distance runner.

--Jean Sibilius, composer.

--Alvar Aalto, architect.

--Eero Saarinen, architect.

--Renny Harlin, director and producer.

--While Finland has an ancient history, it has embraced the modern world in many ways. Much of the architecture and design is very modern. Marimekko Corporation is a leading textile and clothing design company. Bright colors and bold designs are 'very Marimekko.'

--Iittala is another company that produces very modern design items.

"Iittala creates objects that are thought through in form, function and quality. Objects with a clear thought, created to achieve long lasting everyday use and inspiration. Whether in metal, wood, porcelain or glass, Iittala design objects are tools for contemporary living."

My favorite Iittala design is Ultima Thule. Gorgeous!

--The Finnish sauna is a very big part of Finnish culture. The first thing built when a Finn had his piece of land was a sauna. Here is a very good article on the sauna--much of it I can relate to. And, no, entire families DIDN'T sauna together when I was growing up--nor do they today. :)

--There are 40 or more Finnish born NHL players.

--Both Sweden and Russia 'owned' Finland during its history.

--Finland declared its independence in 1917.

--Finnish and Swedish are both official languages of Finland.

Saint Urho

Today, March 16, is the day we celebrate the patron saint of Finland, Saint Urho. The legend says he chased the grasshoppers out of Finland and this saved the grape crop and the jobs of the vineyard workers. He did this by saying--in Finnish--(a loose translation) "Grasshopper, grasshopper, go to Hell!" We honor Saint Urho on this day by wearing the colors green and purple.

Of course, Saint Urho is just a myth--the day is all in fun. You can go here and read more about the legend and how it came to be.

HAPPY
SAINT
URHO'S
DAY!

Spring--Gotta Love It!

Two days ago it was 74 degrees on my backyard thermometer (the official temp was 66) and the sun was shining. Today it is 24 degrees and it is snowing. Ya gotta love springtime in the UP!

They Took The Second

The Red Wings looked good tonight--not great, but damn good! They won over Nashville 4-2 and showed a glimpse of what they could do during a playoff game. I was so pleased to see more of the Wings getting physical--hell, even Datsyuk got in a couple of heavy checks! Their physical play from last night seemed to help tonight--that little pissant Tootoo wasn't NEARLY as much of a problem tonight. This is exactly what Detroit has needed to do: show the other teams that they can't push them around. It will be interesting to see if they can continue with this style of play--they really need to if they are to get the Cup.

With this win, Detroit is now at the top of the standings--by only one point, but still. I am not as concerned about the standings as I am about them beating Nashville--it is just a good feeling when that happens.

Hudler played another amazing game. He is another one that can go far in the NHL. Filppula got hit in the foot with a puck and didn't play the third period. They SAY it isn't anything serious, but another player had a similar thing happen earlier this year and his foot was broken--he JUST came back to the team after being out for more than a month. Hope they are right that it isn't bad.

Wii Just HAVE To Get One!

Okay, so the title of this post is a pun--sue me! Anyway, when Nintendo came out with the Wii just before Christmas, I decided to wait and get mine later. It now is later and I still don't have one. I call Shopko, Target, and WalMart and I can't get one. I surf the 'interweb' and try all of the usual places and I can't get one. I MIGHT be able to get one if I go to Ebay, but I WILL NOT pay the rip-off prices there. (For crying out loud, someone is selling the EMPTY box for $50!) No one can tell me when new shipments will come in--or how many systems they will get when they come in. I cannot do a 'pre-order' and I cannot have them hold one for me if I happen to call when they have one in stock. I DO have the game 'The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess' and I DO have the players' guide--I just don't have the machine on which to play it! I am getting frustrated. At this rate, it will be summer before I get my Wii. I am NOT a happy camper!

Thank you for letting me rant. I'm feeling MUCH better now.

This Was BIG!

The Wings won against Nashville tonight 5-2--AT NASHVILLE! Hot damn. Tomorrow night they play again, but in Detroit. Hope they do as well. My boy got an assist and a goal tonight--he played very well. Calder got a goal again, as well as two assists--I really am liking the way he has been playing. Getting him has really proven to be a good thing. I sure hope the officiating is better tomorrow night--they let that little piss-ant Tootoo get away with far too much tonight. Don't like him at all. GO WINGS!

One Word Answers

I took this from burg...it is SOOOOOO hard to do...I kept wanting to go on and on with my answers...I just DON'T know when to shut up...as my life is rather boring, don't expect much from this...and here are the answers to the latest meme...

Answer with only one word…

1. Where is your cell phone?
Kitchen

2. Your Vehicle?
Jimmy

3. Your hair?
Dyed

5. Your father?
Absent

6. Your favorite thing?
Food

7. Your dream last night?
None

8. Your favorite drink?
Coke

9. The room you’re in?
Computer

10. Your ex?
Who?

11. You are?
Unsettled

12. What do you want to be in 10 years?
Me

13. Who did you hang out with today?
Cat

14. What you’re not?
Content

15. Muffins?
Cranberry

16. One of your wish list items?
Wii

17. Where is the ______ ?
Fun

18. The last thing you did?
Vacuum

19. What are you wearing?
Comfort

20. Your favorite TV show?
Many…

21. Your pet(s)?
Lazy

22. Your computer?
Adequate

23. Your life?
Routine

24. Your mood?
Hungry

25. Missing?
Variety

26. What are you thinking about right now?
Food

27. Your Shoes?
Comfortable

28. Your work?
Home

29. Your summer?
Yuck

30. Your favorite color?
Blue

Just Monday

--I really felt like crap last night--thought I was coming down with something. However, a good sleep helped a lot. I still have a headache, but that just may be from the smell of the Glade Plug-in I have here in the computer room. I have to be so careful because smells nauseate me so easily--and they don't particularly have to be what one would call BAD smells. Oh, well.

--K had an appointment with the internist this morning and all seems well. They still are working at getting the cholesterol lower, but he doesn't need to see him for three months. On Friday K got a letter from his nephrologist saying that he will be leaving the area! Thankfully there are two or three other ones in the same office, so he won't have to start from scratch.

--The weather has been so warm here that there is bare ground wherever K has moved the snow from. Now, of course, we are left with the lakes in our backyard and the water seeping into the basement. Spring is very fun around here.

--Talking about weather: it is very grey and gloomy today. I am really wondering if part of my not feeling right today has anything to do with my SAD. Maybe.

--The NHL decided to suspend Chris Simon for 25 games because of the hit he made on Hollweg. He will miss the final games of the season and all of the playoff games the Islanders play. Depending on how many playoff games they actually play will determine when he can start again next season. There are some forums/blogs/articles that are wondering if he will just throw in the towel and retire. He DEFINITELY doesn't want to be in this situation again: after all, this is the 6th time he has been suspended!

--After yesterday's atrocious game, we are hoping the Wings will be extra hungry when they meet Nashville tomorrow night. Go Wings!?!?

Too Depressing

Today's game was just too depressing for me to even comment on. The Wings lost to Boston: 6-3. That's all.

Simon Hit On Hollweg