Tag: college hockey (Page 13 of 14)

To Buy a Jersey, To Not Buy a Jersey

19 October, 2008 / Kat

Brief note before I begin – I may be the only person on WordPress not writing a blog post on Sarah Palin today. Logging in just now, every single post on the WordPress front page was about her Saturday Night Live appearance last night. Come on, Bloggers of the World, stop copying one another.

(And yes, I’m hoping just by slipping her name in there, I get 6-10 extra hits on my blog today.)

On to our regularly scheduled sports related blog, because while I may have been named Most Political in high school, it was because there was no “Overly Involved Wanna-Be Sportswriter” superlative, not because I actually like politics. (American politics is faker than the WWE, as far as I’m concerned.)

Two and a half weeks ago, I found myself on NFL.com pricing a Trent Edwards jersey or t-shirt (call me cheap, but I prefer the t-shirt fake jersey because of price and because I can wear it more places.) I believed Edwards had shown enough over the previous four weeks for any serious Bills fan to consider buying his jersey. It would be the first time since the Drew Bledsoe era that a Bills fan could consider buying a starting quarterback’s jersey. Sure, the cheapest option would set me back at least $29.00, but one’s weekend wardrobe can’t consist of her three Gabe Kapler and one Jason Bay shirts through the entire baseball off-season. (And that’s not a new thing for me – I wore my 49ers, Bills, Amerks, and Steve Young shirts all through high school. That was before this whole women’s sports paraphernalia thing was accepted. No wonder I didn’t have a date until college.) Continue reading

More Last Name Fun and Lerg Love from the Icebreaker

12 October, 2008 / Kat

If you thought yesterday’s featured Icebreaker tournament player last name was fun (Ben Blood from North Dakota), may I interest you in the entire Michigan State roster?

They have a freshmen defenseman named Tim Buttery. Yep, as in the dairy product. They also have a senior forward named Tim Crowder (rhymes with chowder), a freshmen forward with the last name Warda (like how Bostonians say “water”), and their senior assistant captain’s last name is Gentile (which hockey is not.)

You may think I am a horrible person with no heart by pointing these names out. I argue otherwise. As someone whose last name is affectionately known as “The German Monstrosity,” who still sometimes has to spell it to herself after almost 27 years, I can be critical of others’ last names because we’re all buddies in the “Bad Last Name Club.” At least these guys’ names are spellable. At least they don’t have random silent vowels thrown in their last name just to make things difficult. When I got engaged last week, one of the first things people asked me (after “When are you getting married?”) was, “Are you changing your name?” I didn’t skip a beat when answering: “What, are you kidding me? You think when given the option I’d keep The German Monstrosity?” You’ve got to be serious. It’s more gone than Brett Bennett. I might not be getting married until after this economic depression is finished, but heck, let’s start the last name change now. My French-Canadian-ness gets confused often for Italian-ness, and now I’ll have an easily spellable Italian last name to go with it, instead of a way too long German word that literally translates to “rabbit killer.”

But I digress. Continue reading

The Arizona Cardinals Hate Me, But I Love the Icebreaker

11 October, 2008 / Kat

Excuse my hiatus from the blog the past two weeks. Not only have I been pursuing other projects in my spare time, I also have been overcome with work. This is not unexpected, as any reader of my blog for the past few years knows, because when the Red Sox make the playoffs, the whole “make sure students don’t riot” responsibility gets added to my job (and several others in my office and at the university.)

I have two blog entries upcoming – one on jerseys (no, I’m not turning into UniWatch), and the other on biking. Both should be finished shortly. But here are a few short notes to tide you over.

The Arizona Cardinals hate me – In late September of 1999, Arizona Aeneas Williams slipped by San Francisco 49er center Jeremy Newberry to level a devastating hit to an already concussed Steve Young to knock him unconscious (although Young would never admit to that, the tape proves otherwise) and end Young’s career. I watched it live on Monday Night Football, and I doubt I’ll ever forget that hit.

Fast forward to October 5, 2008. Arizona Cardinal Adrian Wilson slips by a distracted Buffalo Bills offensive line to level a late hit on Bills quarterback Trent Edwards, by some reports knocking him briefly unconscious and taking him out of the game with a concussion. Thank goodness Edwards is young and the Bills have a bye this Sunday.

Dear Arizona Cardinals: What have I ever done to you? Continue reading

Dear Mr. Favre: We Also Like Cheese, Beer and Lots o’ Snow (with random thoughts at the end)

20 July, 2008 / Kat

Dear Mr. Favre:

I understand you currently have a tad bit of drama in your life. A few months back, you thought it best to retire from the sport you loved, because everyone was chomping at the bit for you to. All of us football fans had been anticipating your retirement for the last eight years, as all of your contemporaries hung up the cleats. But over those years, you still had the skills and desire to play, and fortunately, weren’t racked by debilitating concussions or other injuries that have forced some quarterbacks out too soon (gratuitous Steve Young reference of the post.) So you stayed in the NFL, losing some of your effectiveness as a quarterback and as a leader in the locker room (your teammates grew up watching you play – you’re from a completely different generation as yours) but still leading the Green Bay Packers to respectable seasons.

Better Know a Compliance Rule #2: Should I Stay or Should I Go?

6 July, 2008 / Kat

First, my disclaimer – I am not a compliance official of any sort. I have a weird fascination with NCAA compliance. The material below is just my interpretation of the rules in a easily digestible form for fans. It should not be used by student-athletes or athletics officials for any formal use.

All of Boston University is still abuzz with the future of rising sophomore Colin Wilson’s potential jump to the NHL after the Nashville Predators drafted him 7th in this year’s NHL Draft. Everyday, there seems to be a different opinion about what he will do – stay another year in college or make the jump to the pros. Yes, he was Hockey East Rookie of the Year last year, and that’s indicative of his immense potential, but his offensive production left a bit to be desired and he took a while to find his footing in the college game. Because of that, everyone’s opinion about what he’ll do seems valid – it’s totally up to him at this point. He’ll be a fun and powerful hockey player wherever he plays next season.

But how can Colin Wilson even entertain a professional hockey team holding his rights and attend Predators development camp while he is still deemed an eligible student-athlete by the NCAA? Because in certain sports, the NCAA makes provisions for professional teams to draft currently eligible players. However, there are quite a number of provisions placed on the drafting of student-athletes to maintain their amateur status. Continue reading