I know I said I was going to leave you alone for awhile and pick on David Booth, but we have some serious business to take care of. Last night. The game. The shot. What. The. Deuce. I defend you constantly all the time but all I can do after last nights swing in a miss(At least goalies feel safer when you swing your stick around the net these days) is laugh, to keep from crying. I want you to go get a hockey dictionary and look up the term "one timer" Here..I'll even show you.
Have a better understanding of it now?..perhaps a visual will help
Now since you're already in your basement sulking at what you didn't do last night, I want you to start practicing. Wipe away the tears, hold your head high and practice one timers until it feels like your arms are going to fall off. Then, I want you to go make a tuhamkey sandwich and get your ass back down there and practice some more.
Yeah I laughed, at my ability to come up with absolutely horrible names for things.
I decided it's time to give poor Ballard a little break and I think I may now zone in on poor David Booth. As a friend pointed out the other day, if I ever touched a bible *I* would burst into flames (I have great friends, eh?) so I'm not sure exactly how this will work.
Really though, how can you not love the guy? the ladies love him for his looks and the men for his play, of late anyway. His tweets are so randomly awesome you can't help but want to pinch his cheeks.
Whoever can actually admit to doing a shake weight work out is awesome in my books.
Priceless.
Well, I'd hope he would have a hard time misplacing his fingers...
Well see now I have to burst his bubble. I give you Celery Bread
When I was growing up there was a house up the block that would give you a trick or a treat depending on how you knocked on the door, I got the trick a couple times.... I felt kind of ripped off, but really it makes sense.
Now that he's out for awhile with a knee injury I can only hope for some awesome tweets to work with.
During Tuesday nights Canucks game a horribly tragic incident took place, Kevin Bieksa took an elbow to the face and he lost his front tooth, girls everywhere screamed...... I figured it's only fitting that we take a look back a the life of his front tooth.
Imagine being 5 years old and living in Calgary, being a huge Canucks fan you are still out showing support for your team with a Canucks jersey and hat on. You have a man in his 40's wearing a flames jersey come up to you and tell you that you need to ' watch it or your going to get beat up' completely serious, not joking at all. What would you think of Flames fans? Take that story and reverse it and you have a boy named Jake in Vancouver in his Flames jersey. Needless to say, he doesn't think Canucks fans are very nice...
Jake is now 7 and with the help of his dad made a video for the Calgary Flames "Brand Your Passion" contest. He has reached the top 4. Even as a Canucks fan I can chuckle at this video.
We can all laugh at that, we've been hearing/seeing jokes like that for so long it just doesn't really hurt, right?
NOW. I need a favour. It's a tough one. I need you lovely people to help little Jake out, go to the Flames Facebook page, you will have to 'like' it, but this can be undone later. Then you can vote for his video, it's called 'Cup', it's the first one on the voting page found HERE.
It's the Season of giving, lets give Jake something to cheer about because we all know his hockey team doesn't give him much reason to cheer.
I had the chance to sit down with Keith Ballard for coffee yesterday. It was pretty crazy actually, I was just sitting there after doing some shopping at the pet store and this guy walks up to me and asks if he can have some Pupperoni. I told him sure, if I could ask him a few questions first.
This is how it went down
Christine: Are you aware that you only just passed the Canucks goalies in assists since being a Canuck?
Keith: .... I have always had more hipchecks!
Christine: So there's been some talk about a twitter account that is apparently yours.First it had a 2 and people were confused. I pointed out that the account had been around since January and at that point everyone had figured you'd be gone so maybe you were hoping to go to a team that you could have your 2 back. It has since changed to 4 and you have locked your account. Whats going on?
Keith: Well I was hoping to get more followers then Bieksa and Kesler but then I realized it wasn't going to happen... I'm as bad at twitter as I am at pranks and pumpkin carving.
Christine: Have you got your pants hemmed yet?
Keith: No
Christine: Why not?
Keith: I'm spending all my time working on my shootout technique so I'm ready, I know my time is coming!
Christine: Did you do some work in the off season to help with your fear of shootouts?
Keith: Did you see my shootouts in practice? I was 1 of only 3 players to score. Now I just need to buy AV a house so he will let me out there.
Christine: You scored a goal in the first regular season game of the season, I thought your time had come....What happened?
Keith: I really thought so to and I'm working on it. I'm off to a slow start, again...but I'm completely confident in myself and believe I will do better. I may bring a rabbit with me again on the next road trip.
Christine: You seem to miss the net a lot when you shoot, did you know the net hasn't moved position at all since you've been playing?
Keith: I still get a little nervous when I get the chance to shoot, I'm working on it and 100 percent confident in myself. I was kind of hoping to play a trick on the goalies, you know.. let them think I can't hit the actual net...then BAM it's in....it's a work in progress.
Christine: Have you talked to Chris Tanev lately? I miss seeing his little baby face
Keith: You miss it? I have nobody around here to pass on my knowledge to, everybody thinks they know how to play better then me.
Christine: What are your thoughts on the recent 'controversy' with Schneider and Luongo?
Keith: Well, you haven't seen me swing my stick at either of their heads yet have you?
Christine: ok... Moving on.... How's George doing?
Keith: He's good. Still just doing his thing... being small, not afraid to take on dogs bigger then him....but really..if anybody wants to send him some pupperoni....
Christine: hmm I see he takes after you. So, How about Aaron Ro.....
Keith: This interview is done.
And with that he got up and walked away with his head hung low. I saw him stop at the garbage on the way out, it appears he was grabbing some left over tuna, ham and turkey. My only guess is he needed some comfort food, in the form of a tuhamkey sandwich. I hope Derek Jory is ready for him.
Thankfully, I do have this one picture to remember the time I had coffee with Keith Ballard.
I tried to log into my blog account earlier and couldn't even remember my password, I was quite disappointed in myself. I had been so good with finding something to talk about almost every day last season. I've posted a couple things this season but not much, and it's not for lack of material to go on. I don't think I need to give everyone an explanation but I am going to go personal and tell everybody what's going on.
On September 1st I packed my children up and left a very bad relationship. A relationship I was in for 4 years that had me go through things I do not wish on my worst enemy. He never knew about this blog, it was my way of escaping from the real world for awhile. He never would of let me do it if he knew.
It was Rypien's death that made me realize I needed to make changes in my life before I ended up in that same lonely place. That and thanks to the wonderful world of twitter and hockey, I met a great friend who was able to convince me, and help me make these changes. So, I made the changes, I left and I am much happier now. I love walking into my living room and seeing hockey pictures and posters everywhere, knowing nobody can tell me what I can or can not hang up in my house.
I figured that once I was out of that relationship and on my own I would be able to blog more freely and would have more content but it hasn't really worked out that way. I still make fun of Ballard and say really random crap on twitter and facebook but I just haven't been able to make myself sit down and blog the way I did last season. My son also decided to dump his milk and water on my nice laptop one morning while watching cartoons and completely fried the keyboard so I was computerless for awhile.
I finally have a new (used) netbook thanks to my sister, I have internet set up so I can watch games again, and I'm hoping it's the start of a new time. I really hope to start blogging more again about Ballard and hockey in general. I think a 'Dear Keith' is long over due.....or maybe it will be a 'Damnit Keith'
There was pretty much none stop talk about Ballard's season last year and doing better this year. How his confidence was shattered and all that blah, blah we've all heard it and read it 10 million times by now. Sad thing is, poor Keith is still afraid of screwing up............even at pumpkin carving.
On an unrelated to confidence or lack there of note, it is great to see so many players out carving pumpkins with the kids at Canuck Place. If I remember correctly last year there was only 2 or 3 players there.
Have to say I'm quite disappointed that Keith Ballard is no longer on pace for 82 goals, I mean really I was expecting him to be superman this season. He made up for it though. How?.....Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike Taylor Hall? (for no particular reason, just because)
BOOM. I enjoyed that way more then I probably should.
Then there is Darcy Hordichuk, I used to like him a lot as a canuck. Then he had to start all this chirping and really piss me off
Thank you Ballard. You didn't even have to try there.
I love when he goes low
Too low apparently. I love a good Ballard hipcheck with play by play from John Shorthouse.
So I was sitting here thinking, man I hope Keith Ballard says something funny or SOMETHING so I can blog about it tomorrow. Then I go upstairs to put my daughter to bed and come back downstairs, lay down on the couch and HE SCORES. I jumped up so fast and screamed "WHAT?!?!" that I'm pretty sure I wont be able to move my neck in the morning.
What.A.Beautiful.Goal.
Then twitter goes down. Clearly Ballard's amazing play broke twitter. I am officially crazy excited that hockey is back and for Ballard being on pace for 82 goals.
All the Ballard excitement aside, I am extremely disappointed that Matt Cooke scored not only 1 but 2 damn goals. I guess when you aren't thinking about trying to knock someone's head off it's a lot easier to score.
A Couple of weeks ago it came out that Ryan Kesler would be posing nude in a magazine coming out. My first thought wasn't how hot it was going to be, but what Kevin Bieksa's reaction would be, I even mentioned it to Ian Walker.
So here is the picture:
Now, I am female and as I've mentioned before I have no problem admitting I think a player is good looking. HOWEVER, that picture is not attractive at all in my opinion. Kesler can be a good looking dude, but that picture just has way too much muscle. I gave him the benefit of the doubt but some of the lines that came out of Kevin Bieksa's lovely little mouth yesterday about it were great.
(thanks PITB, couldn't find it on youtube to put up before)
And onto some real matters in no particular order. Just go read them, you wont be sorry.
I am definitely excited for hockey to be back, a distraction from some stuff going on in my life right now. Hopefully I can get back into a regular blogging schedule as I failed horribly the past 2 months.
Keith Ballard appears to be an interesting character off ice. So I must go through my favourite off ice moments from the season
George is small, but all man and not afraid to defend himself. I'm pretty sure Keith is talking about himself.
How can we forget his horrible fail of a prank on Kevin Bieksa? The picture in itself is great. If you haven't read it, you must.
at the 17 second mark is where we learn just how mature 28 year old Keith Ballard is. He steals the ball away from the guys, tells them they can't play and then plays himself.
Not long before this I told him he needed to out do the Keslerbomb, so what does he do? tries to steal it. Good job Keith, good job.
Here is where we discover the reasons behind his horrible season. He has scoliosis and borderline osteoporosis. He sucks at shooting and thinks the definition of clutch is not falling down. Poor Keith
Here Ballard admits to keeping a rabbit in his bag. The guys just plain weird.
Here he admits to being a nerd, are we really surprised by this at all?
Finally, Let's all take a minute to look at his inability to dress himself properly considering how much money he makes:
Obviously when looking back at his season, his off ice antics were far more entertaining then most of his on ice. I do have some on ice moments I loved though.
Can you imagine the aneurysm Alain Vigneault would have if Ballard was in this position anytime past November?
HIPS!
ok so the only reason I'm throwing this horrible fight in here is because I love the name Abdelkader
HIPS!
So he CAN Score....
only twice in a season though
HIPS!
Not a great fight, but a Ballard fight none the less.
not the greatest but I'll never ignore Ballard's hips.
out of my way, asshole.
clipping....clipping?.... I'll clip you.
Last but not least....my favourite on ice Ballard moment of the season
It's true. It is. It's almost time for hockey to start back up. I'm slowly getting back into the groove of reading information on prospects and such. While my friends of teams like the Flames and Oilers are really excited for hockey to be back, I am not there. I think I am ready, and then I watch clips from last season or read talk of the playoffs and panic strikes. My anxiety levels go past Keith Ballard sitting in the press box and right through the roof. I'm trying to be excited, I really am but I keep getting flash backs.....
Sitting alone in my living room watching Game 7, refusing to believe it was actually over. Shedding a few tears, trying to pull myself together and saying ' it's just a game'...that turned into ' it's just a god damn game'...which then turned into ' holy fucking hell I'm going to smash my laptop into pieces'. Even now my chest feels all tight when I think back to everything that went through my head that night. (ok, maybe that's partly to do with the fact I'm wearing my Tanner Glass Scrabble Champ shirt and it looks like his face is on my boob). Then came the rioting. I knew it would come no matter what but it was still shocking, sitting up alone until well after midnight watching it all unfold on CTV.
I want to have flashbacks of the happy times. Alex Burrows' and Kevin Bieksa's great goals don't work, because I just remember being so exciting thinking ' holy shit, this may actually happen'. I wish I could think back to just watching regular season games that weren't life or death, chirping some of my Oilers and Flames fan friends. I just can't seem to remember exactly what that's like. Hopefully once the first regular season game gets here I will feel that excitement again. Dealing with some personal crap in my own life, hopefully it will be a nice distraction.
I am excited for these things
Seeing Keith Ballard actually play again
Seeing Chris Tanev continue to be awesome
Keith Ballard's first hipcheck of the season
Seeing Mason Raymond skate again
Hopefully, once I get some stuff sorted out, get back to Vancouver for a home game. It's been way to long.
Gathering up as many Canucks fans as I can here in Edmonton and watching a game somewhere
That's all I have right now. Anyway, while you're reading check out this great story on Tanner Glass giving back to his home town. also Alixiswright37's great blog post "A Day In The Life Of A Canucks Fan". Hopefully I have more to say soon.
This wasn't exactly what I had imagined my first post back would be, and I'm not sure if I'm even ready for anything more then this at this point. However, Some things have to be said.
Rick Rypien. 5'11'. 190lbs. Hockey player. Forward. Enforcer. Son. Brother. Cousin. Friend. Gone.
He had some personal issues, it wasn't totally made public, but rumours flew. When he went after a fan at the beginning of the season and then left the team it was very apparent he had something going on. When he came back to play with the Moose late in the season I remember everything on twitter was about his beard. I remember thinking ' I'm so glad he's dealt with whatever is wrong and he's looking forward to a happy, healthy life again'. Apparently I was wrong, or maybe he was better then and the demons took over again.
Mike Gillis said in a press conference today that Rypien's problems were never drug or alcohol related and he didn't even want anything prescribed. That doesn't leave much else does it?Sure I didn't know him personally, but when you passionate about something like hockey, a team, all the players you learn a lot about them and it almost feels like you do know them. It breaks my heart to think about how alone he must of felt, for whatever reason.
I was out at the store last night and a friend in the states who barely knows what hockey is messaged me saying ' Rick Rypien?'. At first I thought...what the hell? is he trying to get to know hockey or something? then something clicked, I remembered the beginning of the season, the leave of absense. I instantly knew.
No.
No.
He didn't.
He couldn't have.
Please god don't let my thoughts be true.
Right away I signed onto twitter and started to see everyone's tweets. I was already in a crappy mood and I just kind of stood in the middle of the store and dropped everything and just couldn't figure out what to do with myself. I gathered my thoughts a bit and instantly thought of @alixiswright37 as we have had a few conversations about him, his jersey she has and such throughout the season. I thought I hope she's dealing with this shocking news better then I am. Really though, it shouldn't have been so shocking if just by someone saying his name, I knew what it had to be.
Nobody should EVER feel like there is no way out, or that they are completely alone. I in no way have ill feelings towards him for what he choose to do, but it breaks my heart that he did it. I've had a few rough years as I entered adulthood. I've hit rock bottom but somehow pulled myself back up. I now have 2 beautiful children and even though I'm going through some really rough times I know I could never ever do that to them. I have, however, felt completely and utterly alone, like nobody cared. Sometimes you just have to reach out, take that deep breath and send that e-mail or text to a friend. I reached out to someone I barely knew, someone I had only really contacted to have a drink with when I was home earlier this month to congratulate him on something. One night though, I decided to tell him some things I've kept quiet and that had been eating away at me for quite some time. He listened, he told me what he thought, he continued talking to me. He's helped me through a lot lately.
You have to reach out, even if it's to a stranger. Even if you do it anonymously. I have no idea who all reads what I'm writing but I know depression hits every kind of person, and some are really good at hiding it. Just talk to somebody. Make up a new e-mail so nobody knows who you are and take that step. My contact information is on the right hand side of this page. If anybody reading this feels the need to talk, click that e-mail link. I can try to give advice, I can help you find information to help, or I can just sit there and listen. I'm always around in some form thanks to modern technology, my blackberry is always on me. Nobody deserves to feel what Rypien must of felt in those last days. Nobody. Ever.
It saddens me that on a big scale, Rick Rypien will be remembered as the Canuck player that went after a Wild fan. I refuse to remember him that way, instead I will remember him as the guy who stood up for himself and his teammates, no matter how big the guy coming after him was.
So, Here's to you Rick. I hope you are at peace now. If anything, know you have given me new determination to fight through what I'm going through right now. One day I plan on getting a dog, I've decided this dog's name will be Rypien. I'm not sure why exactly, but it just seems fitting.
As anyone who follows my blog knows I haven't been saying much lately. I've decided to take a little break, and will probably start blogging again after I get back from my trip to Vancouver next month. Feel free to email me or send a message on twitter if you want.
I'm a horrible person, I'd been so good about blogging something almost every day since January and now I haven't said a thing in a week. Truth is besides my feelings about the riot I haven't exactly known what to say, or how I feel. I thought maybe if the Canucks lost in game 7 I may shed a tear, sit in a state of shock and disappointment, but that never happened. Instead everything got focused on the riot, and yes I shed a tear for that.
The beginning of the season I knew the Canucks had a great team, with the potential to go far but I was always cautiously optimistic. As the season went on I became more and more optimistic, it was a great season and they set many records and lead the league in many categories. I still sat quietly wondering if they would actually do it. I was happy enough that I actually was able to watch the Canucks live twice this season. Even though the 2nd game, I'd rather forget the outcome of.
When the playoffs came around in April and everyone was on the "sweep" bandwagon in the Chicago series, it drove me nuts as you saw in my posts back then. When that series went as long as it did I started to wonder even more. The Nashville series was some boring hockey at times, but the fans were amazing and I quite enjoyed it. I had a more personal connection with the Sharks series as one of my good friends is a Sharks fan. We had some hilarious conversations via BBM during games and even chirping absolutely stupid stuff on none game days. Then came the Bruins. By then I was way more optimistic that it would happen, then came those 2 damn games in Boston. Everyone was all ' they are still in it' and all that but honestly, I Wasn't so sure. . Then we all know it went to game 7. 1 game to determine who wins the Stanley Cup, again I was cautiously optimistic but once it was 2-0 I basically knew it was over. I still watched the entire game, because I have never turned a game off because of how they are playing. In the Chicago series I turned the absolute blow out game off for maybe 5 minutes, just to collect my thoughts and keep myself from throwing my laptop across the room.
So there are some random fast thoughts about the season and mostly the playoffs. I am working at compiling some of my favourite moments of the regular season and playoffs to post about. It's getting harder as the weather is nicer so the ' stay inside curled up on the couch watching a movie because its -40' days don't happen and I'm busy with my kids outside most days now. I also have some Keith Ballard thoughts I need to get out properly. I don't know what exactly will come of my blog through the summer, I may just 'close' it until pre season when I will have more things to talk about again, I'm not sure. I've also decided to dive into the world of CFL football, which should be interesting. Hockey has also been my main sport but I've done the basketball and baseball thing to, so naturally football is next.
Anyway, hope everyone is having a good off season so far, I will have more to say, hopefully, soon.
And none of it is even about the game, I'm not even ready to try to talk about that.
I was hoping win or loss I would be able to come and just say something about the game, thank the team and move on. Instead I have spent the morning trying to defend myself to people who don't see the difference between real fans, and the 'fans' from last night and the people who didn't even go down there with the purpose of watching the game.
I don't know what's bugging me more, the idiots who rioted last night, or the people that are painting all Canucks fans, Vancourites and just hockey fans in general with one brush. I don't know how many facebook status's and tweets I've seen saying " stupid hockey fans", "embarassing Canucks fans". I guess I can see how un knowledgeable people would look at it. People who don't give the game of hockey, or their fans the time of day in the first place.
They see that the riot happened after a Canucks game, and see some people with jerseys on and automatically just lump us all together. I can tell you, putting on a jersey or a t-shirt does not make you a Canucks fan. I can almost guarantee you that most of the people you saw down there with Canucks jerseys or t-shirts on involved in the riot, had just bought them in the past few months. You know the "sweet! the team is doing well, its cool to wear Canucks gear!" type people.
Trouble makers in Vancouver saw an opportunity and they took full advantage of it. With the constant reminders from the Media and other fans around the league using it as chirps, it gave them something to think about. It gave them something to try to outdo and something they knew they would get attention for. When people head downtown with balaclavas and molotov cocktails, they were not going down with the intention to enjoy the game. Period. I don't care if they threw on a Canucks jersey or t-shirt to fit in. You can't pull the ' what about the people in Linden jerseys, they've obviously been fans a long time if they have that'. No, no they haven't. Linden jerseys are still available everywhere, and lots of people wear them so once again seen as the cool thing to wear.
That being said not all went down there for that purpose. There were also the young drunks, but once again I don't believe they were rioting because of the loss. They were doing it because they are young, drunk and just like to start stuff. I know the types, I think anybody who attended high school knows those types. Once again, not true Canucks fans.
True Canucks fans were to upset after the game, after the performance by the team to care.
True Canucks fans left the downtown core before the game was over because they knew that the people down there purely to get drunk and have a 'good time', were getting out of hand already. The game wasn't even out of reach at that point.
I'm angry that I now have to sit here and defend myself, and fellow fans against it all. Other teams fans chirped us because of the 1994 riots, I hoped and prayed that it wouldn't happen again but who was I kidding? Really, I think everyone saw it coming. Im angry that people will not see the point I'm making about true fans, trouble makers and drunk bandwagoners.
I'm angry that my beautiful city was put to shame. That once again people will not understand that it wasn't the true fans doing this. The world, for the most part, thought highly of Vancouver after the 2010 Olympics and now that is all gone. It sickened me watching the footage on CTV and Global last night, and to go on twitter and see that it was being broadcast as breaking news in places as far away as Australia. I lived in Vancouver for 19 years and wish I could live there again now, I know the true beauty and and love the city actually has. I really hope people are able to look past this, and that people see news coverage of the good citizens and real fans that were downtown bright and early this morning helping the city clean up.
Finally, I'm angry that I've sat here talking about this, instead of trying to piece together what happened these past 2 months with my hockey team. Why they had the ability to win the Cup, but seemed to not quite play to their ability. I'm angry, so it's probably not even the best time to try to figure it out. It will come in a future blog post though.
This picture was posted on twitter this morning, I guess it sums it all up. On the Bay building downtown.
The real true fans and citizens of Vancouver are taking the fall for this when it's not how it was, and we're still saying sorry. Those in Vancouver are downtown this morning helping to clean up the mess.
I hope that people who recognize people they know in the riot footage do the right thing and turn them in. If you have pictures of people directly doing the damage please get in contact with the Vancouver Police( 604-717-2541) or e-mail them to Robbery@vpd.ca.
My thoughts are so all over the place that I am going to bullet this bad boy
Keith Ballard looked like he had a decent game if you just look at his 2 shots and 6 blocked shots. Then you look at the -2, that horrid cluster something or other that lead to the 3rd goal and the fact that half of his blocked shots were recoveries form his own bad giveaways....suddenly it doesn't look so good.
I don't believe him. Look at his facial expression, the tone of his voice in that interview. Maybe I'm crazy but I feel sorry for the Keith Ballard in that interview. Anyone have a screen shot of when they showed him on the bench after the 3rd goal?
I do believe the teams confidence is fine like he says they *know* they are better then they played the past 2 games.
Ballard hasn't had this chance.
Kevin Bieksa says he thought Ballard played alright and will get better as the series goes on. If he is even in next game it better be a complete turn around.
This goes for the whole team.
I hope this is all out of Luongo's head and he can put it behind him and play amazing the next 2 or 3 games. I called a second loss last night if Bruins scored first, but I guess thats sort of a give in. I also said it would be another 7-8 goal game if Luongo wasn't pulled after the 4th one. I'm glad he got out for his own sanity, however I never would of been one of the idiot fans CHEERING as he was pulled.
I'm kind of surprised people still get mad at the Sedin "sister' or 'girl' comments. No matter what anyone says, what the Sedins do, somebody will ALWAYS do this. Just ignore it.
Saying that, it is a bit of a different circumstance when media says it versus just other fans.
Speaking of Media, Jason Botchford's tweets last night at about 1am my time were highly, highly amusing. I'm disapointed over half of them are gone this morning, but I completely understand why.
Am I worried? honestly, kind of. We need a huge Canucks win on Friday. I know they have the potential to do it, I know they can do it. They just can't play as a whole, not singling out anybody, like they have the last 2 games.
I guess I didn't really add any insight, I'm pretty sure I've seen everything I've said 10 times over in the past 12 hours. Oh well. Go Canucks go.
I've listened to the song below on repeat while typing this out. It's so stupid its great and has helped me not have a little freak out. I may have even danced a little bit.
When I was a teenager and through the past few years, I tried everything possible to 'fit in with the guys' when it came to hockey, I didn't want to be known as, or come off as a 'puckbunny'. It becomes a very daunting task because some people want to label you one without even talking to you, without seeing if you have any knowledge. I have to say now, I have completely given up on it.
My name is Christine, I find Keith Ballard and Kevin Bieksa good looking and I wear cleavage revealing shirts with Canucks logos.
I am female, it happens. To say you don't find any of the 20 some odd men on a hockey team good looking, you are probably either 1. a lesbian (which I have no problem with) 2. lying. I find the point of denying it kind of odd now that I think about it more, if you talk to people enough about the game they are going to know that you know what you're talking about. Ask poor PabloPenguin74 or Kev_macd who I talk to daily via BBM. They both know that I can keep up the actual hockey talk just like any of the guys, but they also know that I can make some interesting comments about some of the guys (hipcheck comments are always a beauty). I keep it mostly quiet, to the people who know me because they know I am really not serious about it all. I think the word 'puckbunny' is thrown around way to easily these days, being able to admit that as a grown female you find someone of the opposite sex attractive does not make you one. Some girls take it to far, the ones that show up at games with " Marry me Kesler", " I love you Kevin Bieksa" and " You can bite me any time Burrows" signs while pressing their cleavage revealing shirts up against the glass, then by all means I have no problem with throwing that term out there. They set themselves up for it, they are purposely doing and 'saying' these things directly trying to get the attention of the players. When I occasionally leave the 'check' part out of the comment ' Man I love Ballard's hipchecks', it's to get a reaction out of my friends, not trying to get his attention, not being serious and knowing he will never see the comment anyway.
That being said, and like I mentioned I am guilty of owning those cleavage revealing shirts. I would never wear one to a game, let alone stand pressed up to the glass. I would also never wear a fitted hockey jersey, but to each their own, I'm not going to judge somebody and lump them in a group because of it. I am just a tad over 5 feet tall and 115lbs so even the small regular jerseys are almost to my knees, the sleeves completely cover my hands and beyond by about 2 inches and I could probably fit 2 of me into it, I don't care, that's how it's supposed to be. Pink jerseys have no place in hockey, where the actual team colours the way jerseys are supposed to be. If you want something pink, get a t-shirt. I will always wear my jersey to a game, or to a bar to cheer on the Canucks but in every day life it would be impossible for me to function properly in something that hangs off me like that. I guess I don't really need to wear a tight v neck shirt, but I think they are nice. I am young-ish, I don't have have the nicest body around but I don't have a horrible one either, so I mine as well show it off while I can. I do also own regular mens t-shirts with different players names - Ballard, Hamhuis, Bieksa, etc- and I wear those more often then I do the other shirts.
I know some people probably think ' typical girl' or 'typical puckbunny' when I call Chris Tanev ' baby Tanev'. I actually stole that from Alixiswright, it just has a ring to it and I love it. I have no problem admitting I think he is absolutely adorable, in a I want to pinch his cheeks and send him out to play with my 2 year old son kind of way. That's just how I see him when looking at him, but I am also very aware of his hockey skill, and the fact that he has a very promising career going forward now that I am excited to watch, as a hockey fan.
So, I can admit that I find some hockey players good looking, and I wear tight fitting cleavage revealing shirts with my teams logo on them, if that makes me a 'puckbunny' or 'not a hardcore girl fan' in your mind, so be it. If you're going to be that close minded about it all, then I don't even want to waste my time with you. I know why I watch hockey, I know I can and do focus on the game and am able to keep up conversations about it. Open minded, awesome people who take the time to get to know me, or even have a chat or two with me are able to figure this out pretty quickly.
Does what I'm wearing here really make me seem any less of a fan then when I'm wearing a jersey..
If somebody is going to judge me, or anybody for that matter, and lump me with a group based on what I wear, or the fact that I do indeed find men attractive, they aren't worth my time and I honestly do not care what they think anymore.
All that being said, I have no problem at all admitting I have a giant crush on Ian Walker's arms, John Shorthouse's voice and Jason Botchford's laugh.
When I first saw Aaron Rome's hit last night, I instantly thought "dirty" but I was also sitting over 20 feet away from the TV without my glasses on. I usually have to sit about 4 feet from the TV without my glasses on if I want to see something properly so my first thought was....a little off. It was a late hit, which makes it 'illegal' not 'dirty'. My dislike for Aaron Rome is well documented and there is really no basis for it other then the fact I want to see Keith Ballard play. Rome isn't a bad player, I just don't think he's better then Ballard. I do not think he's a dirty player, and I actually feel incredibly bad for him right now, I can't imagine what he's going through, what he's thinking as he's injured another person. Just as my thoughts are with Nathan Horton, and I hope he is able to make a full recovery from his concussion.
Do I think he intentionally went for the head? No. Do I think he should of been suspended? yes. Do I think he should of been suspended 4 games? no. 1 game, possibly 2 is what I thought. Do I think Brian Burke should of been consulted at all on the matter? no, but I'm not even going to get into that. You have to take responsibility for your actions, whether intentional or not, it was an 'illegal play' and there had to be repercussions.
That all being said, it's nice to see the NHL taking hits seriously, even if to seriously with this one. I hope it continues next season and things move in the right direction. I think The NHL should have at least fined Alex Burrows for his finger biting, they didn't. Next game we have Max Lapierre taunting with his finger. Next game was a shit show and after Claude Julien voiced his disgust with Lapierre doing it, 2 of his very own players do it. The NHL must find that embarrassing, something should of been done in the beginning. I mean, I did, and do find the whole thing funny but they are playing in the Stanley Cup Final, it's time to grow up, play the game and show people what hockey is all about.
I'm done with the subject... DONE.. no more talking about it. All the crap that has gone on, specially this series, between finger biting, taunts and all that and fans bickering has taken some of the fun out of the fact my team is in the Stanley Cup Final. And no I'm not just bitching about Bruins fans, a lot of Canucks fans via twitter have been just as bad voicing their 'opinions' and even fans of other teams who aren't even involved. The entire game last night made me embarrassed for hockey. Not the Canucks, not as a Canucks fan, I could of cared less about the damn score at the end, I was embarrassed for the game. I hope nobody chose last night's game to watch for the first time to see if they liked hockey.
I wish we could all just get along, grab a beer, cheer our respective teams and enjoy a good game.........but then again...........what do I know?
Anyway, Keith Ballard. Watch these...enjoy.....and pray for him and for my mental health that AV doesn't pull some stupid shit...he better be playing tomorrow.
I have things to say about the Rome suspension, however, I have been fighting a cluster headache since shortly after the game so I'm in no mood to try to write anything that makes sense right now. It will come though. In the mean timekleine_snowdrop sent me a DM last night and I asked her if she wanted to elaborate on it at all because it sounded like a good thought. This is what she came up with:
Keith Ballard has been known to make a mistake or two this season with the Canucks… some have been costly, some not so much. But honestly there is not a defenseman on the roster that hasn’t made at least one. Some have much more leeway with what they can do, or how many they can make before being benched. This isn’t about them and their seemingly endless leeway, not the unbelievably short leash AV keeps Ballard on. This is about the way that Keith Ballard plays hockey.
Sometimes, this last game in Boston for example, the Canucks seems to lack heart. They have emotion, but not the good ones. And they get mechanical and unsettled they try to force things, and it is never pretty. They can’t find their heart. Something is missing that can ramp up the energy-their pride… something. It drives me insane to watch them when they play that way. They just can’t get things going, they know what they need to do, but just can’t do it. There is something missing.
Heart.
Keith Ballard has it. He might not be the heart and soul of this team, the brains of the team, or whatnot. But he has heart, tons of it. You can see it when he plays. He is always out there doing whatever he needs to do to help his team no matter the role. No matter if, he is called on for 5 minutes or 25 minutes. He plays (or tries to play) whatever role asked of him. Yes, he makes mistakes but he plays with heart. It is more than just playing with heart; he has it all the time. Watch his interviews; he won’t (publically) get down on himself unless he feels he deserves it, his skill set, his playing time, his coach. Maybe he is lacking in confidence lately, and you can tell he is disappointed, he wants to play, knows he can play, but for some reason unknown to most of the world he doesn’t get the chance. I think if he were a lesser man, this would show in interviews, in his interactions with his teammates.
He has grown and learned a lot from his younger days and over the last few seasons, and it shows. He is always the first to congratulate his team. To celebrate with them as teammates, not sulk in the corner. He supports his coaches’ decisions, and his teammates every game. This is why I think he was a perfect pair for Chris Tanev. He is supportive; he can guide, and maybe show Tanev how to be a good teammate even when it probably sucks. You can tell he’s invested when he plays. His hipcheck on McGinn had one purpose, to send a message; you don’t take out his teammates. He was watching, knew who it was, and boom, hipcheck. Message sent.
He might make mistakes, but he plays with heart. Every game. Every shift. No matter how few minutes he plays. Keith Ballard has heart. He plays the game with heart. Call me crazy, but it sure seems like he lives each moment with heart. And playing the game with heart, that seems like a big deal to me… It can take you places, and yeah, there will be mistakes, but sometimes you got to roll with ‘em.
I've been quiet the past few days, haven't written anything and it's no that I have nothing to say I think I'm just wanting to quietly take this all in. Maybe I'm kind of shock, and kind of just in amazement that the Canucks have actually made it this far. I've been waiting 24 years for this and it may actually be happening. 2 more wins...2!... that's all that is needed.
I always imagined myself being in Vancouver taking it all in on the streets when and if the Canucks ever won the Stanley Cup, or made it this far. I am not, and can not be (unless of course , someone wants to sponsor me, my boyfriend and our 2 kids to get back to Vancouver). Anyway, thanks to sites like Twitter and Facebook I am able to see pictures and videos of people celebrating and just quietly take it all in alone on my couch. Whether I'm here or there, it has been an amazing run and I'm extremely excited for the next week or so to come.
This whole Burrows finger biting thing is getting way out of hand. Why aren't people still talking about the Horton non suspension for the water bottle incident? Ok, I realize I laughed and still laugh at the Ballard water bottle incident so I shouldn't really talk about the Horton one. It's got to the point now though that Bruins fans are making comments on twitter about running over Canucks players (Lapierre, Burrows) if they saw them. Even though they aren't serious, at least I hope not, you don't say crap like that! Some Oilers fans have been just as bad, as if their team is perfect. Not all Canucks fans like what Burrows did, or what Lapierre did the next game, so stop generalizing us all. Bruins players aren't perfect, Oilers aren't perfect. While on this subject though, even though I may not completely agree with him... I absolutely love Jason Botchford in this clip.
Ballard hasn't been playing and word out of practice is he wont be playing tonight. I gave up my some what irrational hate for Aaron Rome as he has proven he can be....alright...... but the whole subject still bugs me. I have nothing good to say about it, so I wont. I just hope we see Ballard in at least 1 Stanley Cup Final game.
Alex Burrows. Where do I start? I have his jersey so I do like him, but sometimes I have a hard time justifying wearing it to. I actually haven't put it on since April when the Canucks were here. Not because I'm embarrassed, I just don't see the point of putting it on to sit in my house by myself and watch the game, since nobody else watches here and I'm not allowed to have people over. Anyway, there are some things he does that just make me shake my head. His diving/embellishment on hits drives me crazy, He's not as bad as he used to be but he still does it. Yes, I am aware the Sedins, Kesler and Hamhuis have also been pretty guilty of this in past games. Last night was a complete face palm moment.....biting someone's finger? COME ON!. He said he didn't, or he had no choice or whatever. My kids stick their fingers in my mouth all the time, doesn't mean I have to bite them, or close my jaw to get their fingers out. Do I think he should be suspended? I wouldn't complain if he got a game, but the way things go and it being the Stanley Cup Final I'm not sure I see it happening.
I enjoy trash talking/chirping fans of other teams, I usually keep it to my actual friends -people I know- so it isn't taken the wrong way. My friends know not to take things I say to seriously, even when most of them are Flames or Oilers fans. I don't go nearly as far as some people I know or have come across though, and never will. I have to say living in this city (Edmonton) and following quite a few Oilers fans on twitter, some of them are complete arrogant morons. I've pretty much come to the conclusion after 3 rounds that they do not watch the games for entertainment, they watch the games purely to find things 'wrong' with the Canucks and the city of Vancouver to bitch about. I know not all fans are like this, I know a handful that I talk to regularly and our rivalries are good fun. I'm getting sick and tired of hearing constantly ' Edmonton is better at ____' , ' Oiler's players would never do this _____'. A lot of them talk like they have the best team in the NHL, or the only team that is perfect at everything. I'm sorry, but grow up.
If the Canucks were not in the final, I would be watching for entertainment value, not to pick apart every single thing about the team in it. I think that separates real 'Hockey Fans' from fans who only watch if their team is around. Quite frankly, I don't care who is or isn't cheering for the Canucks now that they are in the Stanley Cup Final. I wouldn't want these types of people cheering along with me. I'm already having a hard enough time dealing with all these 'Canucks fans', that I hadn't heard from all season but are suddenly in love with "Kessler" and "Erhoff".
So, to all you people who can't just sit and enjoy a game, purely for the fact we get to watch NHL hockey in June...............bite me, I dare ya.
3 years ago today Luc Bourdon was taken from this world, far to early in a horrific motorcycle accident near his home town of Shippagan New Brunswick. He had a very promising future ahead of him on the Canucks, and even Rick Bowness said in an interview on friday that he believes, if Luc was still here, he would be on this team. I have a son who was born 9 months after Luc died, and my son has his name as one of his middle names.
Cam Charron wrote a great piece about Luc here, I highly suggest checking it out, it's a very good read.
This is the tribute the Canucks did for Luc at the beginning of the season after he died, I still can not watch it, or even think about it without tearing up big time
I have talked to his girlfriend a couple times and she is doing great, continuing on in medical school as she says Luc would of wanted her to. One of his best friends and teammates Alex Burrows says that Luc is still a huge inspiration to him, and I am honestly shocked that people don't know that Burrows bow and arrow goal celebration is in memory of Luc. I also had to shake my head when after Burrows scored the OT winner to beat the Blackhawks and I posted a picture of Luc simply saying 'this', people thought they had to point out that it was a picture of Bourdon not Burrows. Yes, I know that, think about it!
As we have all heard over the past few days The Canucks may not be winning it for Manny, they may be doing it WITH Manny.....so that leaves one thing now....Lets hope they can win it for Luc.
When he was a kid, he'd be up at five
Take shots till eight, make the thing drive
Out after school, back on ice
That was his life, he was gonna play in the Big League
The Big League
Not many ways out of this cold northern town
You work in the mill and get laid in the ground
If you're gonna jump it will be with the game
Real fast and tough is the only clear lane to the Big League
My boy's gonna play in the Big League
My boy's gonna turn some heads
My boy's gonna play in the Big League
My boy's gonna knock 'em dead
The Big League
All the right moves when he turned eighteen
Scholarship and school on a big U.S. team
Out with his girl near Lake McClean
Hit a truck doing seventy in the wrong lane
To the Big League
My boy's gonna play in the Big League
My boy's gonna turn some heads
My boy's gonna play in the Big League
My boy's gonna knock 'em dead
Never can tell what might come down
Never can tell how much you get
Just don't know, no you never can tell
Sometimes at night I can hear the ice crack
It sounds like thunder and it rips through my back
Sometimes in the morning I still hear the sound
Ice meets metal...
"Can't you drive me down to the Big League?"
My boy's gonna play in the Big League
My boy's gonna turn some heads
My boy's gonna play in the Big League
My boy's gonna knock 'em dead
Never can tell what might come down
Never can tell when you might check out
Just don't know, no you never can tell
So do right to others like you do to yourself
In the Big League
Yesterday I saw Bob Mckenzie tweet that the only 2 players he could recently remember being fined for water bottle incidents were Tie Domi and Keith Ballard. I remembered the Tie Domi one but not the Ballard one, so I did a quick google search and came up with nothing. Didn't think much more of it and went on with my day. Then today I came across this article from Ian Walker this afternoon and couldn't stop laughing.
Mild-mannered Ballard harbours a wet and wild past
Defenceman recalls dousing a heckler with water in Dallas in 2007 and $1,000 fine that followed
By Ian Walker, Vancouver Sun May 28, 2011
If there was one Vancouver Canuck you'd pick to be the first to help an old lady across the street, it would have to be Keith Ballard.
Quiet. Unassuming. Polite . Boy, did we have the 28-year-old defenceman pegged all wrong.
Ballard was once fined $1,000 for spraying an elderly female fan with water during a game in 2007.
His altercation with the fairer sex was a hot topic and resulted in a few laughs as he recalled the incident for teammates and coaches looking for the backstory during the Canucks practice at Rogers Arena on Friday.
"Everyone's been asking about it today," asked a perplexed Ballard, following the team's 45-minute skate.
"Now you. What's behind this, anyway?"
Well, first, Boston Bruins forward Nathan Horton made headlines earlier this week for squirting a Tampa Bay fan with water at the end of the Lightning's 5-2 win on Wednesday to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference final.
Second, Ballard and Tie Domi are the only players in recent memory who were fined for doing the same thing. And third, there's another five games before the start of the Stanley Cup final and we're scratching the bottom of the barrel for story ideas, so just humour us, Keith.
"It was this crazy older lady in Dallas and she pissed me off," said Ballard. "Everyone who plays the game probably knows who she is. She sits behind the penalty box she has the dry erase board and makes signs and she's just annoying -much like I'm sure guys who come into our building think the Green Men are.
"Every rink has those people. She was just chirping me the whole time . so I just squirted her with a water bottle that was sitting there. The next day I got a call from the league saying, 'You can't do that.'" Ballard, like Domi six years before him, was fined $1,000 for his actions.
"I didn't think it was that big a deal, it was only water, but I understand, you can't do that to fans," he said.
"I think all of us, whether we're getting heckled by them or they're cheering for us, we all appreciate fans and realize where the game would be without them.
"I was a little younger and more easily fired up back then. I think I was just upset because I had taken a penalty."
That's not to say he hasn't been tempted in the four years since.
"I think everyone get's the urge now and again, I've just never acted on it," he said with a laugh.
"You get some fans and they're pretty knowledgeable on what they're saying and pretty ruthless. I try not to take it too personal, but you never know, if you're not in the mood for something."
So much for first impressions.
I was ok with the whole thing, didn't think anything bad of the story but the "It was this crazy older lady in Dallas and she pissed me off" line got me. I laughed for a good 10 minutes after reading it. It's priceless. There's no need to add any of my nonsense to it all, so I'm just going to leave it at that.
..............and hope if I ever meet Keith Ballard there are no water bottles around.
Ok imagine this, I'm sitting in a darkened house, my 2 and 3 year old kids are fast asleep, my boyfriend is asleep on the couch beside where I'm sitting. I'm watching the game on my laptop because the cbc.ca feed was 8 seconds ahead of my TV feed, headphones on so I don't disturb anyone. Kevin Bieksa scores....what do I do? There's a moment of wanting to jump up and scream, a moment of hesitation because everyone in my house is asleep. So what did I do? I fist pumped into the air and let the water I had just tried to drink milliseconds before the goal dribble out of my mouth. Yup, not the prettiest and I would have and still would give just about anything to be in Vancouver right now and for the next 2 weeks. I thought my biggest regret was not making it back to Vancouver for the Olympics, but that is nothing compared to how badly I wish I was in Vancouver right now. The scariest part is I don't think it has totally set in yet that the Canucks have made it to The Stanley Cup Finals, I think I still may be in a bit of shock about it all.
Last night this clip from the movie Hardball kept playing over and over in my head, (because you know....I am so a little black kid playing baseball)
Anyway, I've done it the last 2 rounds so I'll do it again. To any new readers, I am very aware they will never read this, it's just my way of getting my thoughts out.
Dear Keith Ballard,
Keith, Darling, we need to have a talk. For my own sanity, and the sanity of all your fans NEVER...EVER..again try to block or grab the puck with your hand when you are in front of your own net. I seriously face palmed myself on that goal last night, I wouldn't be surprised if I have a hand mark on my face today, I haven't looked in a mirror yet. I guess at least this time you didn't throw it into your own net, just deflected it. With that bit of crap out of the way, I am so excited and happy that you got to play in that game last night and be on the ice for the celebration. I think I saw you dancing in the corner of one shot, or maybe you were tripping over the stupid confetti crap but I'm hoping someone, somewhere has a clip of it. The t-shirts you guys got are grey, I guess that's a good thing since you apparently like grey shirts so much.
Dear Baby Tanev,
How the hell does it feel? I thought you had a crazy time when, last year you were undrafted, playing college hockey and then less then a year later you were part of the top 6 uninjured defencemen for the second half of the regular season for the Canucks. Then after (un)fortunate injuries to Christian Ehrhoff and Aaron Rome you get called up and play in 2 round 3 playoff games. This must be unreal for you, I was almost more excited for you last night then Ballard, and that says a lot. For the record, I will probably always call you 'baby' Tanev, even when..or if...you lose that little baby face you have.
Dear Mason Raymond,
Are you at the dentist yet? I keep getting the most disgusting scared look on my face when I look at this picture. I'm sure there was no pain last night, but that must be pretty sore today, wow. Nice to see you are finally getting some facial hair, I think my grandma still has more though.
Dear Kevin Bieksa,
Holy crap dude, I don't think there are even words to describe how I feel about you right now. I'll own up to it, I was calling for a Bieksa trade 9-10 months ago. Am I ever glad that didn't happen. I told my friend Paul before game 1 that you would be 'the guy' this series, I never dreamed just how true that would be.
Dear Luc Bourdon,
Once again, Thank you.
And now onto some others, I have no idea where my mind will be in approximately 2 weeks time, either way I doubt I'll get this out so I'll do it now. To some of the, somewhat , behind the scenes crew in The Canucks Organization
Dear Nicole Van Zanten (aka @VanCanucks),
I am so glad I finally caved and signed up for twitter last summer. The experience has been amazing and the Canucks twitter is the most interactive I've seen of any NHL team. You are rocking it, it's been a huge help with keeping up to date since I am a Canucks fan stuck in Edmonton. Thank you for all your hard work so far, and for everything still to come. If I ever get out to Vancouver in the near future I would love to buy you a coffee or something.
Dear Derek Jory (aka @Canucksgame),
You, my darling, are a thing of beauty. Not only do you keep me up to date when I have been unable to watch games, you have me laughing like a crazy woman the whole time. I can be in the worst mood ever, and I just have to look at a @canucksgame tweet, or something posted on Fort Nucks and I'm usually in tears laughing. You've also given me some great material over the season in my unintended apparent goal of making fun of Keith Ballard in every way possible with this blog.
Dear Tina Rogers (aka @tinarogers)
Thank you so much for sending me those playoff towels and that t-shirt. You made me day- you made my month. I usually have to beg people for months to get anything sent this way, whether from the team store or just Canucks stuff in general. It's been tough sitting here in Edmonton and watching everything going on in Vancouver, so thanks for sending me a little part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs celebration. Would love to thank you in person whenever I manage to get out to Vancouver again.
Lastly, to my main reporter man....
Dear Ian Walker (aka @walkerbigtalker)
You are the man. I can not express how much appreciation I have for you, obviously for running the little piece on my findings about Ballard inability to dress himself properly but for everything else you do to. As I have mentioned to you before, I love the different approach you take with what you write. You have managed to make me like and even shed a tear for a few players who, before I read your articles, all I wanted to do was slap. As I've said to the others being able to read what you write helps me keep up to date even though I am a province away from my team. I am excited for what these next 2 weeks hold and what you will be talking about.
The best bloggers around....
Dear Harrison Mooney, Daniel Wagner, and Qris Johnson (aka Pass It To Bulis),
You guys rock my socks. Thank you for Watching every game, and reporting about each accurately and hilariously. My little blog definitely looks up to your giant blog. When my son was in the hospital in February one of the things I was most pissed off about was the fact I couldn't get an internet connection in the hospital to read your 'I Watched This Game' about the games I missed.
Anyway, this may look like I'm writing this because something is over and done but as I said above this is not the case. In approximately 2 weeks, I am going to have crazy thoughts, either good or bad so I wanted to make sure I got these thank you's out of the way before then.
I promise to stop rambling soon but there is one last item of business. This is probably where any credibility I may have built up over the last 5 months of having this blog, gets shot straight out the window. However, I am female, but with the dirty mind of a male, so there is absolutely no way for me to go at this in an appropriate manner. Last night while everything was starting to settle down a bit after the win @kleine_snowdrop dropped this bomb in my inbox.
Like I said, no appropriate way to go at this picture, but it had to be shared because I laughed for a good 5 minutes. I have no problem admitting that I do find Keith Ballard good looking, it's a natural thing and if you're going to look at me the wrong way for it, so be it. People make jokes to me all the time regarding him and I usually make inappropriate comments right back. I think most of the time people are looking for a reaction out of me, so I give it to them. I don't really mean any of it, it's just how I am and the people who know me and talk to me on a regular basis know that. Know my actual hockey knowledge comes first. Anyway, I put this picture on facebook last night, going about my marry inappropriate way and I had to laugh this morning because the people to comment to me about it were my very own mom, and my Aunt. Both oblivious to where I went with it, at least at first.
Thank you to every single 1..or maybe the 1 person who actually made it through all this rambling. I'm still riding my high from the game last night. I am extremely excited for what is to come, and extremely excited to be along for the ride with everyone. Lets get 'er done.
