Vokoun!

I know I'm a few days late on this but the Predators' goalie Tomas Vokoun was named defensive player of the week on Monday. I guess that's what should happen when you get 3 wins with 2 of them being shut-outs. Read more.

While I was looking for the link to that, I stumbled on this transcript of a live chat Vokoun did on the NHL web site last week.

And by the way... Tuesday the Preds beat the Deadwings in a shoot out in Detroit. I've thought all season that I'd like to see a Nashville shoot out go past the 3 initial shooters each team gets. I just wanted to see who all Nashville would use after Kariya, Sullivan, & Zidlicky. This game I got my wish & with the shoot out going to 6 shooters I was a little shocked by the next 3 players coach Trotz called on. In order, he used Timonen, Sillinger, & Erat. Of those 4, I would've thought Erat would have been the 4th shooter. Timonen wasn't a big shock but I think my mouth was on the floor when Sillinger came out. I actually expected to see Upshall before either of them and most of the team before Sillinger. It's not a slight against Sillinger's playing ability. He's a very good player. He's just more of a set-up man than a goal scorer.

It's Time For A List

Today's topic: My current favorite shows on TV.

These are in no particular order & like all my lists, the items are subject to change on a whim.

• House (FOX)- Dr. House is super sarcastic & you all know I love sarcasm.
• Grey's Anatomy (ABC) - I watched this the 1st time because there wasn't anything else on TV one Sunday night. It's very soap opera-y & I'd have to say it's my guilty pleasure.
• CSI (CBS)- I'm counting the Vegas, Miami, & NY shows as one show. I think just about all chemist want to be in forensics.
• Gilmore Girls (WB) - I've loved this one show from the get-go. Snappy & witty dialogue. And this season Lorelei got a neurotic dog she named Paul Anka. You have to see it to understand the humor there.
• 7th Heaven (WB) - As long as they aren't trying to promote something it's a nice family show. It bogs down a bit when they try to go all afterschool special.
• Numbers (CBS) - Using math to solve crimes. And that mathematician is just adorable.
• Related (WB) - I watched one night after 7th Heaven & really like the interaction of the sisters. Granted, some of the sisters are a bit... um... wild.
• Monk (USA) - I just want to protect Mr. Monk. He's so funny & neurotic.
• Bones (FOX) - ok, I admit, I watched this the 1st time because it has David Boreanaz (who was Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer) but I keep watching because it's good. I think there's a trend on this list with mystery shows.
• Mythbusters (Discovery) - sometimes you just have to prove & disprove a few urban legends. And laugh while you're doing it.
• Stranded With Cash Peters (Travel) - Cash Peters gets kicked out of a car with no money & no idea where he is & has to survive for 24 hours on the kindness of strangers. Granted I'm sure he has an easier time than most since he has a film crew tagging along. And I love his voice. Maybe he'll show up in Nashville & I can make him read my phone book in exchange for dinner.

Funny interview with Jussi Jokinen of the Dallas Stars on the Hockey News web site. I admit, I don't know much about this player but this interview is hilarious. Here's just a sample.

LC: Why did you choose the No. 36?
JJ: My favorite player growing up was Jari Kurri.
LC: But he wore No. 17?
JJ: And he played for the Oilers so wearing one of those jerseys would look really stupid wouldn’t it?

Thanks to Kuklas Korner for pointing it out.

The Lady Dunks

Finally! Lady Vol fans have only been waiting for this since the girl stepped on campus. The 1st dunk was what you'd expect if you've ever seen a woman dunk, on the break away. It seems like most women need a bit of momentum to get that elevation, so the break away is perfect to get that. Her 2nd dunk was the amazing one to me. It came in a half court set, a drop step on the baseline. And it looked effortless. I think we'll see more of these during her career.

Yesterday Was Busy

Yesterday was busy, even for me. It's beyond busy at work right now so I worked a couple of hours. Since my supervisor Betty had an extra ticket to 1st round women's basketball games being played at Vandy, I joined her for 2 afternoon games. I saw a very tight game played between Minnesota & Washington, followed by a blow-out game between LSU & Florida Atlantic. Betty had excellent seats & I could tell just how tall these girls are. Sylvia Fowles is HUGE! But the day wasn't over. I returned to the office & worked around another hour. Then it was off to the GEC to see a very fun hockey game.

It might have been a bit much since I've been sick. I woke up this morning, fully intending going to church & then another day of work. Unfortunately I woke up & was coughing so much that... um... no, I think I'll spare everyone the details. Needless to say, I didn't get to do any of those things.

I Don't Like Technology

... sometimes. I keep trying to download pictures from my camera & it's just not working. I got this great camera for Christmas. The 1st time, I had no problems at all & I didn't have a clue what I was doing since I left the manual at my parents. The 2nd & 3rd times, I had to try a couple of times before it worked. Now I can't get it to do squat. I even tried to plug it into the port in the back. Three different ports & the computer isn't recognizing it at all. I think I'll take my camera to work & see if my computer there would recognize it. If it works there, then I know it's my computer and if not, then it's the connector. I guess it's a good thing that I have such a large memory card in the camera. Now if I can only remember the story behind some of these pictures by the time I get this problem solved. Oh, & if you have any suggestions, just leave them in the comments.

I Did It.

I just filled out the forms to get tickets for the 1st 2 rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs (& to be eligible for the later round tickets too). And in order to do this, I had to go ahead & renew my tickets for next year. That's where I took the really big plunge. This season I have an 11 game pack, which hasn't been nearly enough. So, Michelle & I decided to upgrade to an entire season pack. The bad part of going with a full season package is that I have to give up this seat & this view.

The budget just won't allow me to keep it. When you're only paying for 11 games it's one thing. It's much different when you're paying for 44 games. We've been told that we can upgrade for some games, so that will be good. But we're so spoiled. I looked for a picture from the potential seats (we don't get to choose the exact seats until later) but I couldn't find anything. But just imagine, this picture is from level 1. The new seats will be in level 3.

It's My 2nd Most Favorite Time of Year!

My most favorite time of year is late November to early December. Football is in full swing. College basketball & the NHL are just getting started with the promise of great seasons. Then there's Thanksgiving & the start of the Christmas season. And the start of the Christmas season is the best part (now that there aren't any small children in my family) - before all the last minute shopping stress sets in.

Only slightly behind that, is March Madness. And now, not only do I get to overdose with college basketball this month, I get to take in the playoff push in hockey.

Last night they released the men's field of 65 teams & tonight the women's field of 64 teams. You all know what comes next? Yep the office pools. And yes I play. But it's all for bragging rights for me. I absolutely love all the smack talk that comes with playing, especially that 1st weekend when you get all the upsets. It's the best when a person who knows absolutely nothing about basketball takes down all the guys who follow every minute of the season. One lady I work with one year used mascots to pick the winners & another year used which city she liked better.

So my suggestion to you is this: unless your office pool has a steep entry fee, go play, even if you know nothing about basketball. You'll get to know some of your co-workers better & even become friends. And if it is too steep or you find spending any money objectionable, play with your family & friends. Your terms could be that the loser has to do dishes for a week or pay for dinner or just something fun.

This was out of left field

I'm looking through the newspaper yesterday & stumbled upon this article. How bizarre is it that Jada Pinkett Smith is a metal grrrl?

I've got to check this band out. My curiosity has been peaked. I'll let you know what I find.

Invasions

This weekend I experienced 2 invasions. One by my family - which I loved. And one from some stinking virus or flu or cold - which I'm hating! Looks like I will actually have to break down & see a doctor on this one. And ya'll know how bad it must be to do that.

Any way, Mom, Dad, & my sister Sabrina came out to take my niece Trina to Lipscomb for a special scholarship winners weekend. Trina stayed on campus with some girls from her youth group that are freshmen this year. And they brought their cat Brooke. And Brooke discovered a hideaway that in my 5 years of living here, I never knew existed. The panic was starting to set in before we discovered the spot (after about 3 complete sweeps of every hiding place I know Scully likes to use). Who knew there was a empty space in my lower kitchen cabinets? And that a cat could crawl into it? Granted I painted my cabinets a couple of years ago & you would think I would've noticed it then. Thankfully we were able to coax her out, although I was starting to dream about what new countertops would look like.

A Favorite

One of my favorite columns to read each week is written by John Buccigross. He's got a great sense of humor & writes in a way that even a newbie like me can understand. Plus, he loves great music & like to incorporate up & coming bands into his column. This week he's got a great story. If you don't want to read everything, scroll down to the section called "State Tournaments". It's a cute story about his son, told only the way a proud & loving father could tell. And this statement made me stop & think.

"As mite hockey practice began last fall, I told Jack that Cammi Granato was cut from Team USA. Jack has spent some time with Cammi and the two share a bond that sometimes happens inexplicably, despite having little time together. When it was time for choosing uniform numbers, Jackson Buccigross chose Cammi's No. 21."

This is a child that most likely already knows more about hockey & hockey players than I may ever know. And yet he decided to take the number of a "girl". How often does that happen? It makes you wonder, do little boys start off thinking that "girl" sports aren't as good as boys? Or is it the influence of the adults in their life? I tend to think it's the later. Let's just hope there will be more men like my dad & John Buccigross in the future.

By the way, the section called "Third Period -- Life of Podes" is pretty funny too.

I don't care for this part

Here's the background. Growing up, my first exposure to big time sports was the college games, specifically Tennessee. You learned early on that you only had the players available to play for a maximum of 4 years. You learn so much about all the players . By their 4th year, you know their tendencies on the field (& court). And by the time Senior night comes along, there's might even be a few tears because, once you're a Vol, you're always a Vol!

Fast forward a few years & I started watching some professional sports. First, I became a fan of NFL football. Basically, I was following one of my favorite Vols (Tim McGee - I think) because I just wanted to see him play more. It was then I noticed that loyalty wasn't as important in the professional game. Teams would cut a player at the end of the season if they thought they could find someone who could play the position better. Then there's the whole salary cap. So now, a player could be cut just because they're too good (& expensive).

That was hard enough. Now that I've fallen for NHL hockey, I've discovered this thing called trading. Right in the middle of the season, teams decide that they really want someone playing for another team to play for them. So, they trade players currently playing for them (or the "farm" team) in exchange for them. Tomorrow is the final day this season that these trades can take place. I'm so conflicted. My brain is saying, a trade would be good. The team needs a big defenseman & some extra power on offense to make it deeper into the playoffs. My heart is saying, no! This is my team, my players. I can't think of a single player that I don't want on the team. I don't even like it when they send players down to play on the farm team. Can you imagine the Vols trade Manning, White, or even Tee Martin for anyone else? Or the Lady Vols trade Holdsclaw, Catchings, Lawson, or Parker for anyone? Even if it meant another national championship?

Oh well, guess I just have to wait & see what happens. So far, there's not been any movement by the Preds.

UPDATE (3/12/06):
The Preds made one move & picked up Brendan Witt in exchange for this years 1 round draft pick & Kris Beech, a minor league player. Half the "experts" say it was a good move & the rest say it was a bad move. And since he got ejected from his first game as a Pred, my opinion is still out.

Is it just me?

I work on the 5th floor, so every day I have to ride the elevator. Usually I have my keys in my hand & I'm so paranoid that the keys are going to drop into that gap between the landing & the elevator. Yeah, it's probably just me...

I Love Toys

This week on VH1. Tonight was #100-81. It was a fun trip down memory lane. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a good list show. This is the kind of stuff I love on VH1 - not all that reality junk they've been showing lately. So if you have nothing better to do this week, flip it over to VH1. I wonder what the number 1 toy of all time will be? Oh I hope it's not Barbie. Maybe it will be something cool like Legos or Mr. Potato Head. What's your guess?

Just as I always suspected

Cheerleaders are freaks! Read On

I saw the clip on Sportscenter last night & was in complete disbelief. The girl was not just laying on a stretcher. Her head & legs were strapped down. The EMTs were afraid she had broken her neck & there she was cheering as they were taking her out of the arena. Not waving or clapping - which I might actually understand. No she was doing an actual cheer. I've never understood these people.

Ok, ok. There was a time that I wanted to be a cheerleader (or a majorette) but I was 7. None of us were all that bright when we were 7. :)

At Least It Went To Overtime

The Preds lost this afternoon... in overtime. To those who don't understand how the NHL standings work, you'd think this would be a bad thing. And you'd be sort of wrong.

Here are the basics. The NHL is divided into 2 conferences (the east & the west). Each conference is then divided into 3 divisions with 5 teams in each division. The Predators are in the Central division of the Western conference. The NHL standings are based on a points system & at the end of the season the top team in each division automatically gets home ice advantage for the 1st round of the playoffs. The team with most points in each conference after the division leaders also gets home ice. The next 4 teams point wise also make the playoffs. That means a total of 8 teams per conference plays in the playoffs. All rounds of the playoffs are best of 7 games - so you get home ice, you get 4 home games per round.

Here's how the points are awarded. For each win, a team gets 2 points. For each game taken to overtime, each team gets 1 point. The winner in overtime gets 1 more point (for a total of 2 points). And as expected, each loss is zero points.

So as yucky as a loss in overtime is, it's still a point. Currently the Preds are sitting in that last home ice advantage spot. As long as the team keeps getting points, they keep that cushion over the next team nipping on their heels. But still, 2 points provide more of a cushion - so wins are still very important.

SEC Champions!

The Lady Vols are the 2006 SEC Champions. It was a very tight back & forth game... and of course my stress was high. So I started watching Lord of the Rings & just checking in every few minutes. But what I did see was great!

It's The Details

Last night, I was channel surfing & saw that The Prince & Me was on TV. I'd seen this movie before & thought it was cute so I decided to watch it again. For those who haven't seen it, the basic premise is the playboy prince of Denmark decides to enroll at the University of Wisconsin after seeing some seedy girls gone wild type video. Once there, he finds a serious girl, changes his way & falls in love. (Actually after re-reading what I wrote, if you want to see the movie, stop reading now - I give away too much.)



Only last night when I watching, I noticed that the weather & location & time of year did NOT match. The girl (& no, I can't remember her name) invites the prince home to her parents farm, in WISCONSIN, for Thanksgiving. When they arrive, the grass is green, there are green leaves on the trees, & they're all wearing light jackets. Now I've never actually been to Wisconsin, but my college roommate's was from there & that's not how Cindy described November in Wisconsin. It was such a problem for me, that I double checked to make sure she the character said "Thanksgiving" & "Wisconsin". So I decided to go with it, that maybe the director was making a subtle commentary on global warming & it's a mild winter.

But then, they return to campus & all the drama happens when she finds out who he is during finals. You know - guy gets girl, guy loses girl, girl decides she can't live without guy. The scene where she decides she can't live without him is while she's taking a class final (a final for a class she was taking before Thanksgiving). If I follow that clue, it should be fall semester finals, so around Christmas. Anyway, by this time, the Prince has returned to Denmark, so of course she follows him. But the Denmark she goes to looks nothing like I'd imagine Christmas in Europe. Not only are there no decorations or mention of Christmas, it looks like springtime. Everyone's in short sleeves, there are flowers & green trees everywhere. The only logical conclusion I could think of was that maybe it was a 2 semester class & was finals for spring semester. But then that doesn't jive with the newness of the relationship.

I just realized what a long post this has become, but you know, it rather bothers me when people forget the details. You'd think at least one person would've questioned the weather of Thanksgiving in Wisconsin or how it suddenly becomes spring in Denmark. Maybe this is why I don't watch a lot of movies...

Lipscomb Is Not Going Dancing

I had hoped to title this "Lipscomb Is Going Dancing" - which I thought would be very funny. And all my fellow alumns understand why. Today was the finals of the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament. One more win over that nemesis Belmont would've meant an automatic invitation to the big dance (the NCAA tournament for my non-sporting friends). Unfortunately the guys just didn't hold on. I give them props to taking the game to overtime but now Belmont has bragging rights on who made it to the big dance 1st. That stinks. At least the women have bragging rights - they made it to the dance 2 years ago. And the Bisons get an automatic bid to the NIT...

Are We Still On Olympic Break?

Looks like the Preds were thinking that tonight. Argh. What a sloppy game. I couldn't even bear watching the 3rd period. And losing to one of the worse teams in the league. Not only losing, being shut out. Let's hope they get their minds off their vacations by tomorrow night. I just had a thought, isn't there a saying about March coming in like a lamb & out like a lion. Or is it just the opposite. Anyway, let's hope that since the Preds have decided to come into the month like a lamb, they'll go out like a lion. Oh no, I just remembered, I teased the Redwing fan at work today because the wings lost last night. Got to learn to just keep the mouth shut - karma.

Oh & Tennessee men lost to Kentucky tonight. And I already had decided what I was going to say to my co-worker who's a KY fan. Karma - it's all karma! I've got to learn to say nice things about other teams. The Redwings are a great team. Kentucky is an elite powerhouse. Oh, this is sooooo hard! But, I draw the line at saying warm fuzzy things about Geno & UConn.