Boom Boom......Ballard..... Hates California?

Saw some people pointing out something after Ballard's fight last game, so lets take a look his fights this season.




November 11th 2011 Ballard vs Perry (Anaheim Ducks)


January 17th 2012 Ballard vs Fraser (LA Kings)


January 21st 2012 Ballard vs Pavelski ( San Jose Sharks)

He is literally fighting for his spot on the Canucks lately but another observation is that Keith Ballard hates California. Why? What did California do to Keith Ballard?

In other news, yesterday at the Canucks Super Skills competition Ballard managed to beat Mason Raymond for fastest skater. I knew he was speedy from his end to end rushes that usually amount to nothing but I was definitely not expecting him to beat Raymond, even if just by a fraction of  a second.

If anybody needs me in the next couple of weeks I will be in the corner of my parents basement, in my underwear, clutching my Ballard t-shirt. I may return after February 27th.

Coffee with Ballard

 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.

Favourite Bally Moments Part 1

I need a pick me up....

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

BOOM

It's Almost That Time Again..

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.

I Have Boobs and I Find Men Attractive

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.

Guest Post: Heart and Mistakes

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 time kleine_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.

Make sure to Follow Kate on Twitter here   and check out here great photoblog Kleine Snowdrop's Journey

How The West Was Won

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.

This and That

• I looked at the Canucks app on my blackberry today and remembered something. It was a few hours before game 3 that I tweeted that I had finally taken Keith Ballard off the 'player pulse' because I was tired of seeing nothing happening. I also tweeted that I laughed at people who still held out hope that a miracle would happen and Ballard would play. I hadn't given up on *him* but rather AV ever thinking it would be a good idea to play him. Crazy how fast things can change eh? I have Kevin Bieksa on my player pulse now, and I'm tempted to change it back to Ballard, but I may just leave it. I am, however, rocking my Ballard shirt for the first time in weeks.

• This quote in Ben Kuzma's article today made me tear up (there's a reason I thanked Luc in my post after game 7 of the Chicago series)

"He's still part of my life and I think about him a lot," Burrows said of the fallen 10th overall pick in the 2005 entry draft. "I've learned a lot with Luc's accident to know when you're on the verge of accomplishing something to give it all you've got. He'd say: 'Go get it. It's your turn to shine.' "

• All this talk on the team1040 and such over what the Canucks will do if they win tonight is annoying me. Everyone is getting way to far ahead of themselves. Do I think they can do it? yes. Do I know they will do it? no. Am I so nervous I feel like my lunch is going to come back up? yes. 

• On that note, if the Canucks get to the Finals I may try to plan a get together with some Canucks fans for  a weekend game at Boston Pizza, or somewhere here in Edmonton. I'm tired of watching games alone. 

• Want to Watch Ballard's Hipcheck on McGinn over and over? Pass It To Bulis tweeted an easy way to do so  here

•  Quote of the day  "I think Chris and I did what was asked of us and we'll do the same thing tonight." - Keith Ballard. 

• Go read this - " Ballard Knows The Importance  of Being a Good Teammate..."

•  Finally, who doesn't love some one on one with John Shorthouse?!?

Blackhawks Down, Tennessee-ya

(wish I could take credit for that title, thank you Ron MacLean)

I'm not sure which, outside of the actual game, I enjoyed more... This:



or this:



or this:




First off, What a game, so happy they got it done in 6 and now some rest time and hopefully the Wings push a game 7. I have to admit though, I wasn't as excited as I was when they beat the Blackhawks. I'm more relieved that this second round is over and of course I'm happy but I was absolutely almost pee my pants ecstatic when they beat the Blackhawks.

Anyway, I did this at the end of the 1st round so I'll do it again:

Dear Keith Ballard,
I don't even have words, miss watching you play. Now they only glimpse we get of you is when you look like an excited little kid peeking his head around the corner to see who the next player coming into the room is in the post game celebrations (seen above). PITB is trying to get Bieksa on twitter, beat him to it!..Do it!..now!.

Dear Kevin Bieksa,
You have totally stole the funny award away from Ballard. That's right, I'll admit it. Although 4 is always 1 and 3 is 2 (it's not a math problem). I think I called you a sexy bastard after that interview with Scott Oake last night, I also called Burrows a french bastard last series so don't take offence. I really need to find a word to replace bastard, a nice word. I'd love to buy you some shots, shots, shots, shots, shots one day. You need to get on twitter, PITB says so.

Dear Pekka Rinne,
Holy hell dude, I thought Crawford amazed me last round, you totally blew my mind. I never want to see the Canucks face you again, ever.

Dear Nashville Predator fans,
You guys are class acts, I enjoyed interacting with you guys quite a bit during this series. Wish I could say the same about other fan bases, I know there are assholes in every fan base but a few are worse then others. Be proud, your team brought the #1 team in the NHL to a game 6 and made many of their fans nervous. 

That's all I have for today, Can't wait for Sunday!

Lets Get Serious

Is Rome really better then Ballard?

Does Ballard have an undisclosed nagging injury?

Is there problems behind closed doors, and it’s not necessarily his play that are keeping him out?



I wish I knew because it’s driving me insane. I know I started this blog because he is my favourite Canuck, I do not know him and I do not know everything about him. I can’t imagine how he feels right now with all these ups and downs of good games, a few slip ups in the next game and being a scratch. I know the constant questions people ask me because I have this blog frustrate and sadden me because I don’t know why it’s happening, I can imagine it’s got to be 10 times worse for Ballard himself.


This is what I do know.....




When the Canucks acquired Keith Ballard, in a trade, during the draft in June, I didn’t know all that much about him, I looked to my forum friends* for more knowledge. Slowly learning things and in training camp, during interviews he mentioned multiple times that he was excited to be in a huge hockey market, in a city that cares so much about hockey. I was instantly hooked.


I didn’t expect a whole lot at the beginning of the season, he had  just come off of off-season hip surgery. Something that kept him off his feet for part of the summer so he was behind on conditioning coming into training camp. I expected a slow start. He also had a new city, a new country, new team mates and becoming a father for the first time to get used to. Some is just part of the life of a professional hockey player, I guess.


His season did start off slow, and only got worse when he suffered a concussion on October 15th in a 4-1 loss to the LA Kings. He missed 5 games due to this and returned to the line up November 1st in a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils. However, he played just 4 games before sitting as a ‘healthy scratch’ for 4 games. It has since been said that he still wasn’t feeling 100% when he came back, partly due to just the lack of exercise while dealing with the concussion.


On February 7th he suffered yet another blow when only 2 minutes into a game against the Ottawa Senators he was slew footed by Milan Michalek and an MRI revealed a mild knee sprain and he was said to be out 3-4 weeks. He ended up being back sooner then expected missing only 6 games in a 15 day span. It was said at the time that he hadn’t taken a single day off, from the day he was injured he spent every day rehabbing his knee until his return against the Montreal Canadiens on February 22nd.


Through much of January through March he was paired with young Chris Tanev, a promising upcoming defencemen who ended up playing a much larger roll with the big club this year due to The Canucks blue line injury problems.  I said a few times that I couldn’t wait for a healthy blue line so that we could see what Ballard could do when he wasn’t playing a ‘babysitting’ roll being paired with Tanev. However, looking back now I can see how much Ballard actually shined in that roll, I even joked about Tanev being Ballard’s adopted son because they just worked so well together. I now miss this pairing, and would much rather see it then Alberts and Rome, although the physicality factor isn’t there with bean poll baby Tanev.


From there it just seemed to keep going down hill, not that it was ever all that high to begin with. Shortly after he came back from his knee injury he talked about how he still felt pain, and may feel pain for the rest of the season. Jason Botchford also reported that not long after coming back he was suffering from an unreported groin injury. It was around this time that everyone really started getting going on the Rome vs Ballard ice time, debates and jokes. I used to get in on it as well, more of a half joke because I honestly was not that concerned. I was positive that come the end of season and playoffs that we would see a big jump in Ballard’s play and that he would have a huge post season.

Boy was I wrong. Clearly, Ballard did not have a good season even beyond the concussion and knee problems. Looking back on past seasons his point total (7) was very low even taking into account games missed. I wonder if it’s possibly to do with the fact he just couldn’t get going for a long enough pace to feel comfortable. Certain players need set amounts of ice time and a long playing period to get comfortable, his play was broken up all season.


Now the playoffs are here and it’s a very critical time and since he didn’t have a great season, he is on a very short leash for things he can do wrong before he is scratched. After 3 games of below average hockey he was scratched for games 5 and 6 of the Blackhawks first round series. He came back and had a great game, albeit only 11 minutes TOI, in game 7  in which the Canucks won to move onto the second round. He had a great game 1, again with only 11 minutes TOI, in the Predators series and I thought maybe this was the breakout I had predicted. Then game 2 came and he did not play so well, he made a critical giveaway to Jordin Tootoo with the game tied and then was out of position on the OT goal allowing the Predators to score and tie the series 1-1.


I’m not going to debate who the  better players are, who deserves to be in because that has been beat to death. I’m going in a different direction, how all this must feel for Ballard. The big thing Alain Vigneault has said that money doesn’t determine who he plays, or how much he plays a certain player. Understandable, however, a player is paid based on how well they play and are expected to continue playing. How does Ballard feel being paid 4.2 million dollars, and he is sat in favour of a player who is paid $750,000? Does he feel that he has sunk down that much as a player? He gets to sit in the press box and watch Rome play average hockey and make the same, if not more, giveaways but still get played over him. Perhaps Rome gets more lee-way because he isn’t expected to be a star defencemen and these mistakes are more acceptable in the mind of the coaching staff. Overall, this has to be affecting his confidence in himself.


His confidence has to be pretty low, even though in a recent interview he says it hasn’t effected his confidence. When you watch interviews from the beginning of the season, or even  from just a month ago you see a happy, joking, sarcastic guy. You look at interviews over the past  couple weeks and you see someone who doesn’t look at the camera, has no jokes and is giving short Ryan Kesler like answers. Not the Keith Ballard I remember, and not the Keith Ballard I want to see. Some may attribute this to the playoffs being a more stressful important time, but take a look at Kevin Bieksa, he's actually become funnier as the playoffs progress. I think a lack in confidence in himself, brought on by the lack of confidence from the coaching staff is leading to him being a different player. He is nervous, and he’s not going to think he can do everything right, this will lead to the mistakes we see with shaky passes, bad give aways and bad penalties. 


It looks to be pretty clear that this will be the only season we see Ballard on the back of a Canucks jersey unless there are coaching changes. We all know which one is more likely. This makes me extremely sad as I know the potential Ballard has if given the proper opportunity and would love to see it with him still wearing a Canucks jersey next season. Part of me hopes he demands a trade at the end of the playoffs, and goes to a team where he can shine like he’s supposed to. I will always be a Canucks fan, they will always be my number 1, but I am also a huge Ballard fan and if he does go, I will take some liking to wherever he ends up.  The other part of me hopes that this is all just craziness and he will be back as one of the Canucks top 4 defenceman next year, playing a strong confident game and showing the coaching staff he can play the way



Look at this Video, I want to know what happened to *this* Keith Ballard.  I want that player back










*I feel the need to make it clear by forum friends, I do not mean canucks.com forums, never trust a word from there.


Finally, a bit of a disclaimer of sorts:

 Dear Keith,

 I know from reading Brad Kuzma and Brad Zeimer's articles it would almost contradict some things I've said here, so I may be completely wrong, or maybe you're just being completely professional about it. I didn't come up with these thoughts on my own, it came from many conversations and e-mail exchanges with your biggest supporters. We are all rooting for you, hope to see you back in a playoff game soon, and of course in a Canucks uniform next year. I really hope you're in next game, with the chance to eliminate the Predators on home ice and you can be down there celebrating with the team. Which might I add, is a game I am probably going to miss. Thank god for @canucksgame and twitter updates, I really do not want to miss the game but not much I can do.

Christine

I Can Breathe Again

 I've watched this like 10 times now and still get butterflies and teary eyed each time.



What. A. Game. wow.  I have so many random thoughts I'm just going to go let it all flow the best way I know how.

Dear everyone,
I'm sorry for being such a downer in my past few posts, but I honestly could not let go of games 4 and 5. To all my twitter, facebook, SF, BBM peeps, thank you for some what keeping me sane. I said yesterday morning that I wasn't going to be on facebook until after the game, all the messages, texts, bbm's and such with people saying they wanted to hear my thoughts to keep them sane made me smile. However, my thoughts last night would not have kept anyone sane. I don't think my mom even messaged me, until after the game to ask if I was still alive. Ask @chellebelle87 or @ericjjohnson79 who had the (dis)pleasure of talking to me throughout the game, at one point last night one of them  told me I have a problem, and I couldn't even take offense to it. ......or take my facebook status update when Burrows scored as an example.  

"BURROWS YOU CRAZY FRENCH BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

For those who don't know me personally and don't have me on facebook, don't worry about the 'french bastard' part. If you knew my last name, you'd call me a french bastard to.  I am very happy to have all of you to talk to and cheer with moving on to round 2 and beyond.

Dear Keith Ballard,
How does it feel? I know you were 'pissed off' with the losses and being scratched. What a game last night! I LOVE your hip check, there's nothing quite like it...ok I lied...maybe an Alex Burrows goal in OT to advance to the 2nd round is a fair bit better but your hip checks are still a thing of beauty. Keep it up, I really hope I see you in every game for the rest of the playoffs, playing like you did last night or even better. I am still disapointed the jersey I won looked like crap and I had to return it. I'm going to start saving my pennies to buy one now.

Dear Roberto Luongo,
I can't lie, I criticized you and picked apart your every move over the past 7 games, but you were great. It must feel awesome to finally beat the Blackhawks. Loved your comment about it almost being better then when you helped Team Canada win gold in the 2010 Olympics, that is a lot of emotion to show through considering it's only the first round. Feel a little lighter this morning? that monkey is long gone, eh?

Dear Alex Burrows,
I hurt myself on your first goal last night. I jumped up and then realized my laptop was about to fly across the room and bent in a weird way to grab it. I can't turn my head to the left but at least, unlike last night, I can now stand up straight without crazy back pain. Not going to lie,when you took that penalty in OT I was ready to poke you in the eye but you redeemed yourself. I wanted to sleep in my Burrows jersey last night, but was pretty sure my boyfriend wouldn't be to impressed waking up to find me beside him curled up in it.

Dear Corey Crawford,
I had a love/hate relationship with watching you play, you stood on your head and I have no idea how stopped some of the Canucks shots. I was in awe watching you at some moments, and I detest everything about The Blackhawks so that is a huge compliment. You have a very promising future ahead of you, good luck (just hopefully not to much luck against the Canucks in the future, sorry)


Dear Theo Fleury,
When you made the comments the Canucks would be out in the first round, I laughed and moved on not thinking much of it. When *a few* rotten Canucks fans tried to personally attack you for it, I was disgusted. I have huge huge respect for you and admire your courage, but I have to say that I have lost some respect for you. I am in no way saying that what that fans have said to you is right, it is very wrong but you seem to be dragging it out. Is it really necessary to re-tweet everything said? and to lump all Canucks fans together as one? You seem to be finding joy in lumping all Canucks fans together with the assholes, I don't get it.  It is almost like you're doing it for personal gain, because the media has jumped on it and it's getting your name all over the place. Once again, I have read your book twice, have huge respect and admire you but lately I'm just kind of shaking my head.

Dear Dan Tencer,
What do you have to say now?

and Finally best of all....

Dear Luc,
Thank you.

Bring on round 2...and some more of this:

Getting to Know Keith Ballard

They say you don't truly know what someone looks like until you've seen them upside down....

Ok I don't think they do, and I'm pretty sure I just made that up  but I find this picture from yesterday's Behind The Lens gallery on Canucks.com highly amusing. I also love the fact that within 10 minutes of it being up I had 4 different messages either showing me the link or telling me to go look for it. I am also suddenly very aware of how short my finger nails are.

I've recently come across some other information that I feel the need to share.

Keith Ballard is a Psycho 
 I came across this article through his wikipedia page and I couldn't stop laughing. 

"While it may come as a surprise, Keith Ballard is a psycho. He has this eerie trait like Norman Bates, never knowing when he may snap on the ice. He has this split personality like Jekyll and Hyde, mild-mannered student by day, enraged enforcer game night. Some things just set Ballard off, and like the Incredible Hulk, he may just smash anything in his way " read more here

 I mean, really, it does make sense. You can sort of see it in him still but I'm glad he's not the player that that article kind of makes him out to be, specially that first paragraph. I can't imagine being given the nickname Psycho (ok, I'm still laughing at this). Not that 'Bally' is that great, I love the twitter world and his nicknames that include ' Hips' and 'jockstrap jesus'. Then again a few of my nicknames through the years have been ' Teen', 'Archie', 'Nucky', 'Can-Can' and 'Shorty' so I can't really talk.


Keith Ballard Wishes He Could Play For Team Canada

I've mentioned before he is my first American born Favourite player, well this makes me feel better. He wishes he was Canadian and could play for Team Canada, so much so that he will even wash cars in a Team Canada jersey.(yes I do know the actual story behind the picture..shhh)


I'm pretty sure you lovely people that follow my blog already know more then you ever expected to, or ever wanted to know about him and I honestly never expected to still be going with this. I laugh every time somebody sends me something relating to him saying  they instantly thought of me and hope I can work with it.


 On a more serious note, I am putting my white towel on the end of my hockey stick and waving it around, I just don't get his lack of ice time. The last few games of the regular season Ballard really stepped up his play and I was excited for the playoffs, thinking it was going to be a big break out for him. I know as a bottom pairing he was only going to see about 15 minutes of ice time a game, so be it. Game 1 he had just over 14, game 2 he had just over 12, game 3 just over 9 minutes. I've had people messaging me asking why, and I honestly have no clue. I've been chatting with a few people and part of the reason could be he's not put out to kill penalties which could of limited his ice time last night. But that much? people are also starting to suggest he's hurt again, or still has lingering pain in his knee or another area. I...don't...know and yes I am quietly preparing myself for him to be a scratch soon. I can not hear the thoughts inside Alain Vigneault and Rick Bowness's head. I don't talk to Keith Ballard, although I do wish I could have like 20 minutes of his time one day to ask some questions. (I also really want to see what George looks like, I'm starting to doubt his manly-ness)

I don't know what's going on, but I really hope that through the rest of the playoffs and my wishful thinking for next season he is utalized as the player he is known to be before this season. Also as unhappy as it would make me to see him leave the team I live for, I guess I'd have to be happy if next season he was somewhere where he gets to see the ice time a player like him deserves, I'll have a small like for another team if I have to.

New Jersey

If you follow me on twitter, or have me on facebook or talk to me on blackberry messenger, you know how stupidly excited I was to receive my new jersey I won. Yesterday we had a snow storm but I trekked  out with both my kids because the jersey had been delivered to my mail box down the street.  As soon as I took it out of the bag I thought it looked off but couldn't put my finger on it. When I laid if flat out I noticed that the 4 seemed off centre, but 4 is a hard number to base things off of because of it's shape. I put it on and it just looks bad to me.

I've shown the picture to many people and only 1 person out of 30+ has said they would probably let it slide. The letters have almost double the space between them then the Burrows jersey I got last year. The 4 does look off no matter how much credit I try to give to the fact that it's hard because of it's shape for it to look proper. However, I think the spacing between the letters is bugging me more now. Am I over reacting and letting my OCD get the best of me? I thought I was but the more people I hear say yes it is off is making me believe my own thoughts more. Already have it packed up and ready to take to the post office to return hopefully this weekend if the snow clears away enough.

So...I'm back to having no Ballard jersey and a $160 electronic GC to the company that I have no use for. The Canucks better win today, I'm having a bad day. If I had a playoff towel I'd probably go cry into it for a few minutes because it's just the way things always seem to go for me.

I'd love to get back to regular scheduled programming but Ballard hasn't done anything I can make fun of him for lately.  I may need to write something serious about him soon......... I did however bug Dan Murphy and Jeff Paterson about their attire on the Playoff Show today, they were good sports. They may have to be careful though if Ballard doesn't do something for me to write about ;)

Random Observations Surrounding Game 1

That game was great, I expected a Canucks win in game 1 but the first period, at least, was better then I was thinking. Although, Canucks fans need to thank the hockey god's for the posts behind Luongo on more then a few occasions. I was hoping they would interview Ballard during the live post game interviews on Canucks.com, but no luck. Hoping there is something in the papers today, I want to know what he thought about his first playoff game. However, according to Jim Hughson Ballard was barely on the ice as apparently Dan Hamhuis wore both number 2 and number 4 last night. I couldn't believe the amount of people leaving the game early, I know traffic gets bad, the skytrain gets packed but it's a playoff game! I don't care if the team is up 2-0, stay until the end and cheer them on.

I am so glad I finally caved and signed up for twitter last summer. I've met some awesome people and being able to connect with other Canucks fans has been awesome since I live in a house of Flames fans, that don't even really watch hockey. It was great last night, within like 5 seconds of a goal or big hit I'd look at my twitter tab and see like 40 new tweets. It was fun to read through and see I wasn't alone with some of my thoughts. I also won my Ballard jersey thanks to twitter, although it's not here yet. Was really hoping it would be here in time for game 1 but hopefully it gets here today or tomorrow. I really want to go to one of the outdoor rinks before it warms up to much and get some pictures done.

One thing that really melted my butter last night were some of the Oilers fans, they feel the need to bitch and whine and claim #1 about EVERYTHING. (Yes, I know there are many great Oiler's fans out there, as there are many bad Canucks fans) I don't know how often I have to sit here and listen to ' Oh we did this before Calgary', ' we were first at this'. Last night, some felt the need to call Canucks fans singing the national anthem pathetic and crappy. Apparently they started the whole arena singing the anthem thing first. Who the hell cares if you did? Why do you need to call it pathetic and crappy? I'm sorry but I don't care who's fans are singing it, who did it first. Point is you have 19,000+ people singing OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM in unison. I don't give a crap if it's Oilers fans, Flames fans hell even if it was Leafs fans I'd stilll appreciate the fact that there are that big of a group of people singing our countries song. Show some pride for your country in general, Edmonton is not the center of the universe.

On a national anthem note, I love Mark Donnelly probably more then he loves cake. I'm also pretty sure Richard Loney is brought back from the dead each time he comes to sing.

I suck, but It's Playoff Time!!!

I haven't updated in a week, I am a horrible blogger. I'm going to blame it on the fact I've been off in lala land on pain killers dealing with an abscess tooth and trying to write something while like that is like asking Keith Ballard to score a goal. The pain is disgusting, I've had 2 kids, broken every finger on both hands, cracked my head open, broke my wrist twice and suffer from migraines that can hospitalize me, and NOTHING compares to the pain of a damn abscess tooth. The little bastard is gone now so I'm ready to move on, get off the pain killers and get back to business. I promise better stuff over the Playoffs.


Playoff time!... What does that mean for me? Not eating on game days. Sometimes I can get down breakfast and some lunch but dinner is definitely a no go, my stomach is way to crazy from being way to excited about the game. Perhaps I get a little to excited, but that's just me. I am more excited about this year then any other year in my 24 years of being a fan. I am not afraid of the Blackhawks, at all, one major reason for this is Dustin Byfuglien. I wasn't on twitter last year, which is a whole new exciting thing I'm seeing come this time of year, but if you are on my facebook you know my dislike for this guy. I believe my mom even had to tell me to watch my mouth after one game when I went off about him, and she never usually cares. However, in this game he 1. Scored a goal, 2. Screened Luongo which lead to a goal. 3. Drew a penalty (Shane O' Brien) which lead to a power play goal. That guy just makes my skin crawl, I can't stand him. I don't even like what I've seen of him off ice, but then again I usually avoid it, so maybe he is a decent person. (kind of like good ol' Patrick Kane. Ian Walker managed to change my views on him today, take a look)

Keith Ballard says he doesn't know how it can get much louder then it already is in this great piece by Jeff Paterson. Well Keith, you have no clue what you are in for, prepare your ears now.  The playoff atmosphere at Gm Place Rogers Arena is absolutely crazy, I've been there, done that. I wish I could experience it again, or just the hype in the city this time of year. Instead, I will sit alone in my living room with my (hopefully. Canada Post is going to be sorry they ever accepted my call if it's not here today) Ballard jersey on cheering my little heart out. I'd be  waving a towel to, if I had one.  Perhaps I'll even crack open a beer, it's been a long stressful week and I need it.

From @VanCanucks "Ballard on making his playoff debut: "This is what we live for. I have some butterflies, but that's natural, this is huge."


I'm ready....are you? 

Dear Keith

Dear Keith,

I said I wouldn't be doing anymore Dear Keiths for a bit, but then Canucks.com had to post this:




Were you drunk when you recorded this?... where do I even start. "he's all man, hes 14lbs  he's tough'. I'm sorry, my cat weighs more then that. I'll give you credit for the name George, its veeeery creative.  I have a cat named Nuckena, Canuck sounded to masculine to me and Athena was a nickname of a friend, put the 2 together and I got Nuckena. I thought it was a good idea but maybe I should of just named her...I don't know.....Martha, by your standards. "All man, he has a camouflage collar"so THAT'S my mistake, I better go and return my Victorias Secret camouflage capris, I might come off as  manly, damn that manly camouflage. I give you actual credit for the fact you never put him in one of those damn doggy backpack things, those are absolutely ridiculous, kind of like the fact Aaron Rome actually scored a (empty net) goal last night. I'm really glad you are protecting your dogs identity because it's not like we don't see your face every game,  your face isn't plastered all over the place online and around the city so of course people don't know what you look like. I understand people would totally see the dog first if you showed pictures  and think "Hey thats George!" and mob him for pictures and pawographs, not recognizing you first.

That is all,

Christine

So....
A quick run down of what we have learned today. George is 14 pounds, tough, and all man. He's white with a little bit of brown. He's  a Twins fan and  he requires a smaller bed than a big dog. He can sit, it's the only trick he knows to get a treat, and he loves cheese and Pupperoni. He loves big dogs, but he can beat them up, if one gets in  his face he's not afraid to defend himself. Wait.....are we sure Ballard's not talking about himself?


There may be an upside, notice Ballard is practically begging the Pup-Peroni people for free bags of treats. MAYBE that means he spent all his money on getting his pants hemmed, finally. Poor George, but remember, I did offer to do it for free. 




Disclaimer: George really is a cool name,  animals with 'real' names are awesome...like Nick.

Keep Calm

All morning on twitter I've seen people complaining about ticket prices for playoff games. Personally having been to a couple over the years I can honestly say I would not think twice about paying those prices, it's like nothing else you will ever experience, game wise. To add to that, this year is 10 times more exciting then past years, there is a lot more hope for this years team.

I, however, don't have this option because of mistakes and wrong turns I've taken in life I am stuck in Alberta with no chance of ever going 'home'. I think all these Canucks fans need to realize just how lucky they are to live in the city, you can feel the electricity in Vancouver come playoff time, the atmosphere is absolutely amazing. That should be enough, if you can't afford to go to a game so be it, grab some friends and sit in your living room with a couple cold beverages. Grab some friends and head to a bar and enjoy it with other fans, it's still super exciting. On that note I really need to find a babysitter and a couple Canucks fans in this city.



Anyway, I guess in this situation, this new motivational poster I found is perfect.

check out http://keepcalmcanucks.tumblr.com/ for others

 

In other important news, I am not keeping calm about the fact that Dan Hamhuis has another concussion, I got 5 bbm messages while I was eating dinner about it last night and couldn't even finish eating. I sat there in a state of shock for awhile, 2nd concussion this season and 4 in his career doesn't sound good at all. Also, Hamhuis being out means baby Tanev is back in paired with Ballard, this leads to Ballard's ice time going down AGAIN.

Dear Keith

Dear Keith,

I read this in Ben Kuzma's article this morning and spit my coffee across my laptop.

When the mass media stormed the dressing room Friday night, Keith Ballard hung around, stood alone and wondered aloud in his best sarcastic tone if he was one of the three stars.

Well Keith, you can be 4th star. 4th is good, it's better then 5th. You had a great game, only thing missing was a goal, a hip check and a punch or two, and like I said I have a confession coming but not until you get a goal. I have to admit that I'm enjoying the Ballard/Rome pairing, it means almost equal ice time, so people don't constantly talk about it. I do miss poor baby Tanev though.  2 points in 4 games, that has got to be a season best for you, you need to celebrate. I did, I won a contest and was able to get a free jersey. I can't wait for my new Ballard jersey to get here, it can kick my Matt Cooke jersey right out of the closet and into a trash bag.

2 things I noticed when watching videos post game, first:

Ok, that....is not original. You are not listening to me, or at least YOU have to be the one to do it. I think what makes the whole thing funny is Kristin Reid's giggling at whatever was said or done before,  and  Dan Murphy's smile.
Second:



"you guys aren't allowed to play" and taking off with the ball? how old are you, 10?. Sedin should of slapped you, and no I can't tell which one it is. Then to add to it, you play and miss. "Uh oh" is right, I see you can't play basketball either, it's looking more and more like baseball might actually be your sport. I guess to be fair I've read you are a decent football player and golfer as well. Ok, so maybe you just can't play basketball. The whole ' I'm going to pretend not to see my camera as I stick my hand in front of it', total fail.

Anyway, my mom says I need to be nicer to you, I believe her exact quote was 'Lay off the poor guy....you are going to give him a complex before the playoffs start....remember positive feedback brings positive actions!'. I guess I'll listen to my mom - so- good game, keep it up, you're a champ, blah blah blah. This is my last Dear Keith for awhile. (for the record, my poker face could beat your poker face any day)

Christine

Roberto Luongo is Afraid of Keith Ballard

"I'm trying not to make eye contact with him, he might snap at any time." Roberto Luongo (via @BenKuzma )

It's ok Roberto,I'd be afraid of him to if I was you.  Remember the whole deal with you playing further back in your net, keep that in mind tonight. I did mention his great baseball like swing he has the other day. If you haven't seen it, check it out. He just needs to learn to hit baseballs, not heads.

If you don't know what happened after, it really wasn't all that bad, Vokoun's ear required some stitching but that's it. It looks a lot worse seeing him being carried off on a stretcher.  Since the Canucks are playing hockey tonight, where Ballard thought they he was playing baseball last year,  I guess he's been bugged a bit, something I am a strong believer in.

I mentioned this on twitter, but I have a confession to make..HOWEVER  it will not come until Ballard scores a goal.

Dear Keith, Congratulations.

Dear Keith,


I'd like to congratulate you on your  son, I'm a little late I know, but I'd also like to give you some advice if I can. I know many people didn't know that besides that adorable little girl of yours you also have a son,  but I know all, really I do(n't). Since some people didn't know this, I thought I'd share a picture I came across.

He's adorable, good job on the adoption. Since you didn't send out announcements I'll give everybody the details.

Name: Chris Tanev
Born: December 20th 1989
Weight: 183lbs

Height: 6 ft 2in

You guys look absolutely adorable together, great combo. I know all good parents will tell their children that they should wait to 'score' until they're married. I ask you to give your big Chris the opposite advice, tell him he can score as much as he wants, please, he needs that first time. I honestly can not wait for his first goal, purely to see your reaction, how quickly you'll scoop up that puck and have it gold plated and hung on your wall. I wish I had been able to hear the segment on you two between periods a few games ago, however the place where I watch games puts music on during intermission so I couldn't hear it. Also, please, please, please start feeding this kid, he's 3 inches taller then you and over 20 lbs lighter, he needs some meat on his bones.

Once again, Congratulations.

Onto the next order of business. I've kind of looked like this the past 2 games:

Your play has been steadily improving the pasts couple games, even if your ice time is still up and down. An assist last game? that deserves a high five. You now have 6 points on the season, only 15 away from your previous lowest point season, you've got 10 games to fix this, jump on it. Apparently people think I know everything about you, and why your playing time is the way it is. I've been trying to blame it on your reported sore groin and banged up knee, but no matter how I try to explain it, people seem to take it the wrong way. Specially since there are people thanking ME for your improvement in play the last few games but I guess really, I can  pretend it's because you found out about my blog. I am  tired of constant messages asking me why Aaron Rome gets more ice time then you when you are clearly the better defenceman. I mean, really, obviously  I think you are, this isn't ' Rome sweet Rome'. People seem to think that I have Alain Vigneault on speed dial and can just parle some francais with him and find out all these answers (yes, I know, according to my last name it would appear as though I can speak and write in french, but I can't).

One last thing, Pass It To Bulis pointed out that you have been pranking your wardrobe all year, after they saw my blog.  So I guess this explains the lack of stories since the Bieksa failure, but please I need you to  do at least one thing. While the kesler bombings (or keslurkings as some people insist on calling them) are hilarious, somebody really needs to put him in his place. I saw that Luongo tried but, in my opinion, it wasn't that good. This is YOUR TIME, step it up, make it huge, wipe that damn cocky smile off Kesler's face. Nobody will remember anything about your pants then.


Sincerely,
Christine

p.s. Score a damn goal already.


On a totally unrelated note, because I like to do that. I am a huge military history geek, when I'm reading or watching TV it's always hockey or military history related. You'd also probably be surprised how much hockey and different things in Canada's military history have effected each over the years, maybe I'll get into that some day. Some of my favourite geeky times  have been wandering around Canadian Forces Bases checking everything out. Anyway,  I'm not going to get completely into it right now but I ask you all to remember a simple phrase for me, 'Don't love the war, love the soldier'. You don't have to agree with or understand the war, or the politics behind things happening throughout the world, soldiers don't always either but it is their job to protect and defend, and  THEY need the support. Remember when you see that fighter jet with CANADA stamped on its side, flying through the air, someone's dad, son, husband, brother, cousin, friend....someone who matters to people somewhere... is flying it.