tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68459995632389345242024-03-04T23:59:23.705-06:00Married to the Oil: Cheering for Edmonton from TXGirl meets (Edmonton Oilers fan) Boy. Girl goes to first hockey game. Six years later, Girl and Boy are married and living in TX, panicking without an NHL Center Ice subscription. Girl attempts through blog to chronicle how she became a deranged hockey fan. Hilarity ensues, perhaps?marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-18956606129254295352010-03-03T14:56:00.000-06:002010-03-03T14:56:05.654-06:00Farewell LuboI would Vo-et for you anytime, and I will miss you sorely. Good luck in (shudders) Anaheim.marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-54885291629220232162010-01-30T17:39:00.000-06:002010-01-30T17:39:18.476-06:00Young PlayersAnother <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/us/30rookie.html">nice NYT article</a>, this time about the retreat the MLB sends top prospects on to prepare them for the pressues of fame, media, and other changes in their lives with making The Show. Sounds like the NHL would do well to have similar, if they don't already?marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-57754116093801306232010-01-13T15:19:00.002-06:002010-01-13T15:25:19.590-06:00Is it Me?Or does this Twitter from the Oilers team account contain a whiff of the judgemental?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://tinypic.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i50.tinypic.com/2rzb3np.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Quinn: Brule out for grandmother's funeral, for the sixth time this year. Will miss tonight's game.</i>marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-10940105091991761342009-12-19T13:57:00.000-06:002009-12-19T13:57:14.824-06:00Exchange Rates, Canadian NHL, and Making Payroll<blockquote><i>Canadian teams have learned to protect themselves by hedging their bets on swings in foreign exchange rates. This often involves buying contracts to purchase United States dollars at different levels, up to several years in advance. This helps insulate the teams from big changes in the exchange rate. But it also means that the current rise of the Canadian dollar may not translate into a gain for teams, or as large a loss when the Canadian dollar slips. <br />
</i><br />
<br />
</blockquote><blockquote><i>The effect of the fluctuating dollar also hits N.H.L. players. <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/hockey/nationalhockeyleague/ottawasenators/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="Recent news and scores about the Ottawa Senators.">Ottawa Senators</a> forwards Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson were with the team early this decade when the Canadian dollar was weak and team finances were shaky. “Quite a few of us even bought season tickets to help out,” <a href="http://senators.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8460621" title="Profile of Alfredsson.">Alfredsson</a>, the team’s captain, said. <a href="http://senators.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8467370" title="Profile of Fisher.">Fisher</a> said that once the paychecks arrived late. </i><br />
<i>“We were on thin ice for a few years,” Alfredsson said.</i><br />
</blockquote><br />
I highly recommend checking out this really interesting <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/sports/hockey/02hockey.html?_r=1&scp=13&sq=nhl&st=cse">article</a> in the NYTimes about how fluctuations in the exchange rate affect payroll for Canadian NHL teams. It all makes sense when you think about it, but I certainly never had before.marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-23859424339289177312009-10-28T04:35:00.000-05:002009-10-28T04:35:56.597-05:00If you're faced with a jumble of hockey players:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This google ad I saw in my RSS reader should provide the answer:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6_1ihlJ68UwB40ohTX_X6d2ylcR00n7sWMaBGXb3b-NHErVjZe3mJI9TJWb8HzA_qfa8tLfqzt-9BSZilT3WVi14LU_HTM1AZxeS1Vp5F7LZItPvHw0uYPoX-2QcYzZFKXlBoP7gZjyt/s1600-h/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6_1ihlJ68UwB40ohTX_X6d2ylcR00n7sWMaBGXb3b-NHErVjZe3mJI9TJWb8HzA_qfa8tLfqzt-9BSZilT3WVi14LU_HTM1AZxeS1Vp5F7LZItPvHw0uYPoX-2QcYzZFKXlBoP7gZjyt/s640/Picture+1.png" /></a><br />
</div><br />
I wonder how many GMs are using this?marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-52752779304615554232009-10-12T00:45:00.000-05:002009-10-12T00:45:25.625-05:00Winning in BostonWhy not losing in Boston? That is what we (the BoSox) did today, right?<br />
<br />
Yeah. I don't have the energy right now, but consider it a placeholder for a rant I've had brewing awhile. More soon.marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-67029059958832233242009-10-03T21:27:00.007-05:002009-10-03T23:56:32.816-05:00OpenerAgainst my better judgement, here I am, and I even dug my jersey out of the closet. Fresh bread will come out of the oven soon, but it better NOT be the best part of the evening.<br />
<br />
GOilers.<br />
<br />
<br />
UPDATE:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">*HEADDESK* *HEADDESK*</span></b><br />
</div><span style="font-size: 32px; font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I dunno if I can take a whole season of our awesome new goalie.</span>marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-2534800735543133182009-09-30T13:06:00.001-05:002009-09-30T13:08:10.079-05:00Perhaps the Strangest Job Posting YetThe Oilers have a <a href="http://hockeyjobs.nhl.com/teamwork/r.cfm?i=26016">new job posting</a> up, and it is a doozy. Close textual analysis follows.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>The Edmonton Oilers are one of North America’s leading sports organizations, and we’re looking for outgoing people to administer surveys using a handheld PDA at Oilers and Oil Kings games as well as at special events.</blockquote><br />
<i>We are both extremely confident in our decisions and yet retain some anxiety that the fans don't want a dehydrated goalie.</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote>• Survey administrators approach event attendees and ask them to complete a brief survey on behalf of the Oilers/Oil Kings. • Responses are entered into a handheld PDA •</blockquote><br />
<i>We will impress the fans with our technical prowess and gadgets!</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote>Training will be provided</blockquote><br />
<i>This doesn't pay enough to assume you know how to use that PDA.</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote>Survey Team will dress casually (no jeans) and will be provided with an Oilers SURVEY TEAM jacket to wear while working</blockquote><br />
<i>Jeans are far too formal to wear with a SURVEY TEAM jacket! Break out those warmup pants!</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote>Survey Administrators will be provided with one PDA to use while working</blockquote><br />
<i>Because we're generous like that</i>.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>After the survey time period, Survey Administrators will return the jacket and PDA</blockquote><br />
<i>Well, not THAT generous! You realize you're borrowing Katz's spare PDA, right?</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote>Ideal Qualifications: • Passionate about the sports and entertainment industry • Comfortable approaching and speaking with people </blockquote><br />
<i>Basement-dwelling blogger types probably not welcome.</i>marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-45510394718088575222009-09-10T16:30:00.004-05:002009-09-10T16:30:46.587-05:00MacT to SpenglerPer <a href="http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=290628">TSN</a>, MacT will coach Team Canada for the 2009 Spengler Cup.<br />
<br />
And uh, you know, Comrie is an Oiler. Yup. If this causes me to run into Hillary Duff on my next Edmonton visit, man that's gonna be awkward.marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-54377907608337157922009-09-04T16:19:00.003-05:002009-09-04T16:35:06.903-05:00Wherever you go...There is a BP's.<br />
<br />
So Training Camp approaches, and how do things stand at marriedtotheoil? Oddly. You see, I've spent the last month moving house to College Station, Texas for job reasons, and currently I cannot seem to get any internet or cable provider to contemplate hooking me up in a reasonable budget/timeframe, so I am without television altogether, and only sporadically able to find some internet.<br />
<br />
What's different about College Station from Austin? Well, absolutely everything. What's different that anyone reading this blog would actually care about?<br />
<br />
1.) NONE of the local cable options seem to provide Center Ice. This is very, very distressing.<br />
<br />
2.) There is a Boston Pizza here. No, REALLY. It knows not of this "hockey", nor of Thai Chicken Pizza, and is calling itself "Boston's the Gourmet Pizza," but curiously, it <span style="font-style:italic;">does</span> have Caesars on the drinks menu. (Trust me, no one in TX has ever heard of a Caesar, and thinks you're talking salad.) If I can't get some kind of hockey hookup soon, I'll be drinking a lot of them.marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-79666652949181879662009-07-21T13:50:00.002-05:002009-07-21T14:16:26.410-05:00The Top 10 Questions on Everyone's MindI recently added Google Analytics to this site, essentially for my own amusement. It's fun to see where people visit from, and, even better, what search queries landed them here. With that in mind, I will give you the top ten questions that people seem to be looking to marriedtotheoil for answers to, and as I'm all about service, I'll do my best to answer them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. tim wakefield carries sick kid</span><br /><br />Aww, what a sweet image. I'm sure he would, if you asked. How far do you need this sick kid carried?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9. "oilers flag" + tennessee</span><br /><br />Oh, I'm so, so sorry. I wish I could help with your situation, but I don't think this is something mail order can fix.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8. edmonton oiler masco</span>t<br /><br />Is a terrible idea.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. gene principe</span><br /><br />Is perhaps googling himself? What does he <span style="font-style:italic;">do</span> during the off-season, exactly?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. hey, get well soon</span><br /><br />Why thank you. I'm feeling much better already!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. is dean arsene married?</span><br /><br />I applaud your rapid, opportunistic response to a recent Oilers transaction, and am a little afraid. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. sidney crosby</span><br /><br />Surely I can not be an early result for that query. I have, however, had 3 visits from Nova Scotia, so I am concerned Sid needs a better summer hobby than vanity googling to assuage his off-season boredom. Go live a little, you just won the Cup!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. rexall brand hair gel</span><br /><br />Sheldon, my man! How's your summer going?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. tarnst porn</span><br /><br />Oh dear. I do not know what this is, and I'm not sure I want to. I'm assuming "porn" is a wild-card query word on google by now? A perfunctory visit with a german dictionary would suggest that "tarnst" means disguised or masked. Good luck with that. Or it could be featuring Dick Tarnstrom, I suppose. I don't know what disturbs me more of these options.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. tarnst hockey</span><br /><br />I suppose that's less disturbing than #2, but I fear I still do not know what this means, readers, though I have had enough queries about it to imply it is in the current zeitgeist. Can anyone else help?marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-48681449355468422152009-07-16T15:18:00.003-05:002009-07-16T15:25:04.780-05:00More KnuckleballsThe MLB All-Star Game this year was, as always, a bloated spectacle, and from my partisan point of view, a disappointing one. I thought it was pretty lousy of Joe Maddon not to put Wakefield in--it was his first All-Star Game and possibly his last, given the vicissitudes of pitcher selection, and I sincerely doubt Rivera or any other AL pitcher would have grudged him a couple outs. Bush league, says I.<br /><br />Here's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/sports/baseball/12wakefield.html?_r=1&emc=eta1">a nice article on Wake from the NYT</a>.marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-59934144439888338572009-07-07T18:48:00.003-05:002009-07-07T18:54:33.347-05:00New Oilers Job Posting:I tip my cap to the individual who can accomplish all of the tasks listed in <a href="http://hockeyjobs.nhl.com/teamwork/r.cfm?i=24756">this job description</a> in a 40hr week. Or an 80 hr week. Or a 120 hr week. I'm assuming there's an opening because of a nervous breakdown?<div><br /></div><div>My favorite part of the listing is this:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; "><blockquote>Write articles and features for the Oilers website and Oilers publications and the general public</blockquote></span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div><div>So does this mean I can call and request, as a member of the general public, a feature on Shawn Horcoff for my own use? What a nice service!</div>marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-54428044413593730622009-07-06T00:08:00.004-05:002009-07-06T00:21:15.716-05:00Knuckleballers are All-Stars too!<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tinypic.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.tinypic.com/spaj2x.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm delighted by the news that Tim Wakefield will be one of the six Red Sox players (including Horc's buddy Jason Bay) playing in the 2009 MLB All-Star Game. Wakefield, a 42-year-old knuckleballer, has been an integral part of the team since I first started watching them in '95. This will be Wake's first All-Star Game, which is somehow unsurprising, as he has always been excellent at a very low profile. I had the pleasure of meeting him at a fan event in 1999, and he was polite and painfully shy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wake is probably the current greatest athlete benefactor of sick kids in New England (though I'm happy to say he has many rivals for the title) and his dedication to the rugrat crowd is reciprocated heartily. Every time I have been to the giant souvenir store across Yawkey Way from the Park, someone behind the counter is promising a parent that they'll have more #49 shirts in x tiny kid size in "by Monday, they just sell out so fast." Anyone that under the radar with that many little kids worshipping him anyway has got to be doing something right, and it's delightful to see the League acknowledge it. Congrats, Tim!</div>marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-17416663241503517602009-07-01T14:46:00.002-05:002009-07-01T14:48:03.942-05:00Roloson to the Islanders?Harrumph. This day is just annoying me more and more.<br /><br />I'll miss you, Crazy Eyes. Sorry you're going to one of the most obnoxious arenas in the league.marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-6176583426208657482009-07-01T12:20:00.005-05:002009-07-01T12:52:48.616-05:00Happy Canada Day! Free agent drama for all!<a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.tinypic.com/1iste.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I love poutine. As a lifelong resident of North America South, I was not exposed to it until D brought me home to Edmonton to meet his family. Since then, I have been trying to make up for lost time, as far as poutine is concerned. Here in Austin, one grocery store actually carries squeaky cheese curds, though somewhat unreliably. Our original plan for celebrating Canada Day 2009, was to make poutine, because "it's Monday" also works around here as an excuse for such. Alas, no curds at the store, so we have settled for a 750ml Unibroue Trois Pistols, a Terry's Chocolate Orange, homemade maple shortbread cookies, and worrying about the free agent market.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am unabashedly disappointed that the Sedins will not be coming to Edmonton. I know it wasn't much of a risk, but still, it would have been lovely to have them in Copper and Blue and I was mentally drawing up lines around the Sedins +1 and Horc and Hemmer +1 and sighing ecstatically.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ah well. This Heatley business is bewildering and seems to have no happy resolution. Perversely, if it does go through, I will miss Laddi the most. He's a feisty player, and has an air of the undersized underdog trying to prove his credentials and courage, so much so that I mentally clock him at several inches shorter than his rightful 6'3".</div><div><br /></div><div>To all I wish a day filled with good libations, celebrations, and constant applications of F5 to the TSN homepage.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">To anyone kind enough to still visit this languishing blog for updates, my sincere apologies for my lengthy and unplanned (a now-resolved personal medical debacle) hiatus. I'm back to posting at least sporadically: preferable (I hope) to not at all.</span></span>marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-60660517317813289502009-05-27T22:51:00.004-05:002009-05-27T23:00:56.814-05:00Job Opening: Oilers MascotThe Oilers are offering a new <a href="http://hockeyjobs.nhl.com/teamwork/r.cfm?i=24259">job</a> with the organization, on the heels of (much smaller) coaching announcements in the last 48 hrs:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><blockquote>We are currently seeking enthusiastic and motivated individuals to help promote our team as our mascot at various events in the community. No experience as a mascot is necessary; however, preference will be given to those with some acting or public promotion experience. • Hours of work will vary, including mornings, evenings and weekends. • $12/hour. • Costume supplied. Training is provided for those who enjoy greeting/working with families and the general public</blockquote>. </span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I have to say, the Oilers must be footing a lot of overhead these days, if all they can offer for the honor of dressing up in a fuzzy (?) costume of a design yet to be revealed is $12/hr in Alberta's economy...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><br /></div>marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-72174865053571003282009-05-12T19:19:00.003-05:002009-05-12T19:56:36.099-05:00Alumni Gossip<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tinypic.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i40.tinypic.com/2qlu844.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rachel Hunter and former Oiler Jarret Stoll will marry this summer, in Northern California, according to <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20278357,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines">People</a>. Congrats to the happy couple.marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-69840394249318267432009-05-11T15:49:00.006-05:002009-05-11T16:12:22.527-05:00Properly Accessorizing FanshipsBack in February/March I traveled to Santa Barbara for a few weeks with D for his work. We did it as a roadtrip from TX, and it was pretty fun, except for the part where my wallet was stolen out of my bag on the UCSB campus at the end of the first week. <div><br /></div><div>I needed a cheap replacement to tide me over until I got home (Of course, ID and credit cards were another, hairier matter altogether), so I found myself glumly examining my options in The Saddest Target Store Ever<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">(TM) </span> in Ventura, CA and was amused by the inadvertant shout-out to the Copper and Blue this seemed to represent. Since I'd already had one wallet boosted from my current bag, a little zipper action would ease my paranoia. Also, I'd have something to dig loonies out of the next time I was at Rexall Place and needed a hotdog.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tinypic.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i40.tinypic.com/2mfkm85.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Finally, it seemed reasonable in the interest of parity, as this is my go-to carry-on bag when I travel. (I sewed it myself, after spending eight years debating the best deployment of this now discontinued logo fabric.)</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tinypic.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i41.tinypic.com/35244n6.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" /></a><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Confess: What extremes have you worn or made in the name of representing?</div>marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-61728013595944082682009-05-01T03:55:00.006-05:002009-05-03T21:17:38.537-05:00Vampires blog?<div>I just discovered Google Reader and joined the 21st Century. Now I know what Black Dog said seconds after he opined it! I uh, also get a lot of nerd feeds. Because I am a nerd. This confuses the "recommend" feature, which after I added 17 subscriptions in assorted categories, still can only come up with "Cult of Hockey" as something I might like. Anyway. RSS is teaching me new things!</div><div><br /></div>Did you know this guy:<div><br /></div> <a href="http://tinypic.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i44.tinypic.com/33nw2s2.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" /></a><div><a href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=420320">blogs</a> for NHL.com?</div><div><br /></div><div>Yeah, neither did I. Apparently he's been doing it for three years now. Huh. In his most recent entry, this Flyers fan working in Hollywood shares this exciting, nay, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">suspenseful</span> scoop:</div><div></div><blockquote><div><br /></div><div><blockquote></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:12px;">I went to the San Jose / Anaheim game on Friday and this woman comes up to me and said that her father owns the team. She was really nice and invited us to go and sit in her father's box. At the end of the first period, my son Jay and my good friend went up to the box and met the owner. The owner's daughter had baked cookies for the team and she shared one with Jay. </span></div></blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:12px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:12px;">Yeah, I'm mean. Other genre tv hockey fans, btw? Michael Rosenbaum, a.k.a. Lex Luthor on <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Smallville</span>. Though he's buddies with CFP, if they're letting random celebrities do it I'd still like to see <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">him</span> blog for NHL.com, especially if it was i<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">n the voice of Lex Luthor</span>:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:12px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:12px;"><blockquote>The Ducks played unacceptably tonight. Though Chris has been a valued acquaintance for a long time, I simply can not allow things to continue like this. Please make the usual arrangements.</blockquote></span></div><div><br /></div>marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-46014402876203607272009-04-30T01:13:00.002-05:002009-04-30T01:17:49.244-05:00Is there such a thing as watching *too much* playoff hockey?Maybe, when not only are you convinced you can tell the Sedin twins apart, you're actually right.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tinypic.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i40.tinypic.com/2jepeyw.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(picture via </span><a href="http://www.fromtherink.com/2009/4/28/857238/a-look-at-round-2-matchups"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Mirtle</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">, of course)</span></div><br />That's Daniel, by the way. The question is, where's Henrik?marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-4749662812826796142009-04-27T15:56:00.004-05:002009-04-27T16:11:16.989-05:00Somebody likes me<div>For reasons unclear, NHL Center Ice showed the Blackhawks shellacking the Flames THREE times in its entirety this weekend. No complaints here.</div><div>
<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">***************</div>Not hockey, no, but pretty darn exciting stuff to watch last night:
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<br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SbF7Hp2vIkY&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SbF7Hp2vIkY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>
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<br /></div><div>I like this kid. For those of you who don't follow baseball, stealing home happens maybe a couple times in an entire season across the league, on average.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Red Sox Sweep Yankees. Pretty sweet words.</div><div>
<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">***************</div><div>
<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's summer, and like most autopsies, the Oilers post-season is starting to make me fairly queasy. I'm not enough of a stats gal to weigh in on the Draft, and I'm such a baby in Hockey Fan years (I maintain they are far more aging than dog years) that I can't reminisce with the best of them yet. I'll be lurking on the comment threads of my betters in the Oilogosphere, and offering a strange summer mish-mash of Red Sox baseball, hockey culture oddities, reaction to traumatic off-season front-office moves, and rambling personal anecdote here, hopefully on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.</div><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">****************</div><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For the record, Tambellini does NOT have my permission to trade Ales or Horc. If he can find some way to sneak the Sedins in under the cap, I am <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">so</span> listening.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-59161971955011316522009-04-24T02:40:00.002-05:002009-04-24T03:18:12.557-05:00In homage to Lowetide:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i42.tinypic.com/jfjiqe.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="http://i42.tinypic.com/jfjiqe.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />This is John Valentin. He played 11 seasons in the Show, 10 of them for my Boston Red Sox, batting .279 lifetime. He was the shortstop for the Bosox from his rookie year, 1992, until 1997 when some kid named Nomar Garciaparra came up through the farm system and displaced him to third base. Val was deeply unhappy with the move, and expressed his feelings to the media in spring training, but treated Nomar with great class, enough so that Nomar once credited him with teaching him how to talk to the press. Val seemed to think that the best revenge was living--or fielding--well, and that he did, essentially robbed of a Gold Glove that year by Robin Ventura of the White Sox, who expressed surprise at his own win when it was announced.<br /><br />In terms of on-field achievements, flying beneath the Boston sports media's radar was Val's speciality, despite a superb fielding percentage year in and year out (.971 in his first three seasons at short), perpetually leading the team in doubles, and becoming the only man in MLB history to hit for the cycle AND perform an unassisted triple play. Valentin was a team leader, a close friend of slugger Mo Vaughn (with whom he not only came up through the farm but roomed with in college as well), a devoted fundraiser for Boston children's cancer charity The Jimmy Fund, and played hard and played hurt. The Boston sports media, as was their wont, focused on his New Jersey wisecracking tone, and his criticisms of Boston's disastrous GM, labeling him a troublemaker and ungrateful. The hero of the 1999 playoffs would leave Fenway in bitter circumstances, in 2001, play one more season for the Mets on a shattered knee, and retire in enemy territory.<br /><br />Val was my first sports hero. He had many things to recommend him to a teenage girl in the early nineties, and his intelligence and oddball humor were just some of them. (What can I say--a 9.71 fielding percentage is girl bait!) I amassed a collection of Valentin cards in the hundreds (the rise of eBay was remarkably well-timed) and recoiled in a souveneir shop on Yawkey Way when I was asked while picking through their Valentin cards, "Hey are you that girl, who's like, stalking John Valentin?" For the record, as I said then, and I'll say now: No, I was not. Eeek.<br /><br />Tonight I learned he's managing an AA team in Chattanooga, and I'm delighted to hear it. I hope someday he's welcomed back into the Red Sox organization with a reconciliation to warm my teenaged heart. Stay classy, Val.marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-37023904908391971372009-04-07T23:23:00.003-05:002009-04-07T23:27:00.572-05:00Gene Principe is NOT a psychologist, true.Hey, Oilers?<div>I'm not mad. No, I'm not. Why would I even bother any more? It's just so exhausting for me. I mean really, my being mad isn't even going to make a difference with you, is it? It's not like you ever think about how <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">I'll</span> feel when you go out there and skate around listlessly. Stop rolling your eyes at me and listen.</div><div><br /></div><div>No, I'm not mad. I'm just very, very disappointed, and I don't want to talk about it anymore.</div>marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845999563238934524.post-156683091174039762009-04-05T22:42:00.005-05:002009-04-06T13:07:18.265-05:00Well thaw me a hot dog...or however the saying goes.<div><br /></div><div>Tomorrow is Opening Day for the Boston Red Sox (the home opener no less!). Were I home in Boston, I would be one of many with creative excuses to take the day off work or school, or my work or school would be facing reality and just letting me watch there. It's sweet, really.</div><div><br /></div><div>As I'm in Texas, I'll crank up the AC, thaw myself a hotdog (Hebrew National is the only way to go) and let myself slide into summer, known in some quarters as the "off" season. </div><div><br /></div><div>A little distraction from the inevitable *cough* is nice, no?</div><div><br /></div><div>ETA: Or, you know, the game could be postponed until tomorrow for rain, leaving me with a potentially horrifying MLB-NHL double-header. Whatever.</div>marriedtotheoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14370767299315046372noreply@blogger.com0