Anger Rising

The longer this goes on, the angrier I get.  I thought I'd become increasingly ambivalent, but the opposite has happened.  Each night that I can't flip on the TV, grab a bowl of Cap'n Crunch and watch some late night hockey my frustration level increases.  I end up watching something like "Doctor G, Medical Examiner", learn about a ruptured bowel (that no one expected except the genius coroner) and spill my crunchberries all over the couch.

I only hope that this anger doesn't spill over into other aspects of my life.  If I start lashing out at innocent people around me, only Donald Fehr and Gary Bettman are to blame.

You Got Me

I told myself I would have "tempered enthusiasm" whenever good news was heard about the CBA negotiations.  It's all part of the process; sides don't bargain via the media.  But when I heard about the NHL's proposal yesterday afternoon I immediately accessed the NHL schedule for November 2nd and started pining for the scheduled match-ups.

Now this morning after reading Fehr's response I'm a bit crushed.  This is not done yet, but hopefully a step closer to being complete.  How big a step is to be determined.  Until then, I won't keep November 2nd's calendar free.

Ease His Pain

There's a scene in the film "Field of Dreams" where Shoeless Joe Jackson picks up a baseball and throws it for the first time in nearly 70 years.  After throwing the ball, a smile comes to his face and he says "I did love this game."  This is how I feel about hockey.

When news of the impending lockout spread last spring, I told myself it wasn't a big deal.  I convinced myself that I could fill the void left by the NHL by watching baseball, football and reading more books.  Hockey doesn't start to get interesting until the playoffs, I attempted to believe.

The football season started, I watched a few games and got annoyed by the many commercial breaks.  I sat down and gave baseball a real shot too; these were the playoffs, right?  No dice, I fell asleep on the couch night after night.  I have managed to read a bit more, but even that got a bit boring for me.

But when I flipped on a meaningless college hockey game last weekend between the University of North Dakota and some school from Canada, it all came rushing back.  I did love this game.  The NFL, MLB and Amazon cannot fill the void.  There is a hole in my life until this silly CBA is figured out.

Tryouts

With the NHL seemingly ready to cancel some regular season games today, my thoughts shift to other hockey areas. Tonight begins my son's quest for Pee-wee hockey stardom. The first of six (yes, six) sessions is tonight and I'm expecting a combine-like scenario.

Bert (name changed to protect identity) is skilled in skating fast, eluding defensemen and playing COD, but has trouble receiving passes and shooting the puck with much velocity. My plan as a parent is to pour 20 ounces of Mountain Dew Code Red into him an hour before icetime to ensure a speedy kid.

I have no expectations, only hopes. Hope that he does well, has a good time and that his skates can make it through the season. Seriously, how fast can feet grow?

Consistently Inconsistent

I have a bad habit of dropping and adding back people I follow on Twitter on a daily basis.  Occasionally someone will tweet something I disagree with and I'm quick to unfollow them.  Then, a day later, I'll add them back when I see an interesting tweet by them retweeted by someone else I follow.  In the past month I've dropped and added-back Hillary Duff a thousand times.

If I were a hockey coach I'd be changing goaltenders at least twice a period.  Over the course of the past year I think I've cancelled Netflix 3 times, only to restart the following month.  While I value consistency in others, for some reason I don't hold myself to the same standard.

My wife will be stopping by Chipotle on the way home and call me for my order.  Life would be much, much simpler if she knew I got the Carnitas burrito with pinto beans, medium salsa and cheese every time.  But that's not the case.  Some days it's steak soft tacos; other times I get the Barbacoa Burrito Bowl.

Here I quote the words of Sheriff Rick when he finally got the kiss from Keira Knightley in "Love Actually":  Enough.  From this point forward I pledge to stick with the same 60 people I follow on Twitter and get the Carnitas every time.  And when KFAN "personality" Brandon Mileski tweets something about the WNBA I will not unfollow quicker than a 2003 version of Wes Walz.