Tag: hockey (Page 7 of 19)

Good Dogs Gone Bad

6 December, 2009 / Kat

Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer.

This weekend, Agganis Arena kept running promotions for an event next weekend with Cesar Millan, the “Dog Whisperer.” (Aka, a dog behavior expert that dog owners turn to once they realize that raising a dog may, in fact, take actual work.)

My immediate thought during the first ad Friday night was, “Gosh, Jack Parker could use a Dog Whisperer. He’s got a whole roster of Terriers that keep giving him trouble.”

What would happen if during his Agganis visit next weekend, Millan spent some time analyzing the problems of this year’s Terrier team? I think it might go something like this:

Parker: I can’t believe I’m turning to you.

Millan: Oprah does.

Parker: Fine. I guess I’m desperate. As I mentioned in my post-game comments after Friday’s tie to Vermont, “my team does not know how to get ready for a hockey game.” They then went on to emphasize that point with a 4-1 loss against BC on Saturday. What changed between my 2009 national champions and this team?

Millan: If you watch my television show, you’ll know I am all about owners quitting babying their dogs. If you baby your pets, they’ll walk all over you and develop behavior problems that you’ll end up paying me thousands to fix. I see you with somewhat of the same problem – this team is walking all over you.

As hard nosed as you are, you lost a huge part of your bite when a coach’s dream of a captain, Matt Gilroy, graduated. His age and superhuman-esque determination gave you an extra coach in the locker room. And let’s not forget about John McCarthy, a quiet, but impactful leader, especially among his classmates. Then you had that whole senior class – essentially, you had five or six captains.

According to many accounts (including a close reading of Burn the Boats), Gilroy and McCarthy did a lot of your coaching for you last season. They called out guys when they got lazy. They set the tone at practices. They instilled the goal-setting mindset of the team as a whole. You also allowed them much more reign than other captains had. And with this age group, acceptance by peers can be much more powerful than by authority figures, giving your captains that much more clout. Continue reading

When Ex-Teammates Attack!

1 December, 2009 / Kat

Parker would be proud: Roche and Lawrence have at it Saturday night. (Photo: Flickr user amanda_hertel)

When former Boston University Terrier Jason Lawrence was traded from the Charlotte Checkers to the Gwinnett Gladiators on Thanksgiving Day, it wasn’t a huge surprise. Lawrence was not getting ice time, due to Charlotte being stock full roster wise. Their AHL affiliates were not calling up players as much as before, a problem not unique to Charlotte, but plaguing many ECHL teams this young season.

In Charlotte, Lawrence had been reunited with former BU teammates Kevin Schaeffer (often on loan to Lake Erie, aka BU AHL West) and Kenny Roche, both class of 2007. Roche and Lawrence had even spent some time on the same line during their short time together with the Checkers.

During his first game with Gwinnett, Lawrence faced Charlotte, his new old team, and scored a nice slapper goal, despite his last name being misspelled on his jersey. Saturday night, the two teams faced each other again, with Roche kicking off the evening’s scoring.

Then things became heated between the two teams. The Gladiators and Checkers combined for 47 penalty minutes, made up of multiple slashing, roughing, unsportsmanlike conduct and fighting penalities. (Maybe it was pent up anger at having to play hockey on Thanksgiving night in that hockey hotbed known as Georgia.)

At the midpoint of the second period, however, was the largest fight of the evening. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the fight that will join the John Curry Goalie Fight in the BU Alumni Minor League Hockey Fight Hall of Fame: the Jason Lawrence – Kenny Roche smackdown, courtsey of GladiatorsForum.org. (I literally tried for an hour to convert it to a better file type, but I do not have Quicktime Pro. You will need a DivX plug-in on your browser to view the video.) The fight was broken up by the refs the second a helmetless Lawrence was pinned to the ice by Roche. Both players made themselves comfy in the penalty box, earning five minute fighting majors for the fight.

The local Gwinnett newspaper commented in its game notes the next day that Roche and Lawrence were teammates in Charlotte, but neglected to mention that the two were college teammates as well.

Oh, former teammate fights, you always are special occasions.

Thank You Penn Quarter Sports Tavern, the Amerks and as always, Rian Lindell: What I’m Thankful for This Thanksgiving

26 November, 2009 / Kat

Last year’s “What I’m Thankful for This Thanksgiving” post came a day after my blog reached all time readership highs due to my live “Oh my gosh, John Curry is playing in an NHL game” blog. If I had only knew what would follow for my little ol’ blog…

So given all that has happened to me sports-wise in the past year, I have nearly too much fodder for a “What I’m Thankful” for post. I’ve whittled it down to some of the most amusing or important points – I apologize if I’ve left out anything or anyone.

Thank you, Rian Lindell (#9). (Photo: BuffaloBills.com)

– Like last year, I am thankful for Rian Lindell. He is the only consistent part of the Buffalo Bills. I still do not understand why more baby boys born in the Western New York area are not named Rian. He’s made 90% of his field goals this season, and is a perfect 100% on point after touchdowns. He’s trick play savvy, and may actually be a better quarterback than any other quarterback currently on the Bills roster (just kidding…I think.)

– I am thankful for the Penn Quarter Sports Tavern, located in Washington, DC. This tavern became our home base while in DC for the Frozen Four. The bartenders were accommodating, hysterical, and can handle large crowds of somewhat rowdy college hockey fans extremely well. When I was back in DC for some work travel in August, I went inside and the bartender – who is known to wear either a UNH hockey jersey or a Normar green Red Sox jersey when he tends bar – remembered me and got excited because another New Englander was at the bar. Penn Quarter, hands down, is my favorite sports bar of all time. Thank you for taking good care of us college hockey fans. Continue reading

And They Shall Lead Them With Jersey Gimmicks and Bobbleheads: I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

17 November, 2009 / Kat

In an effort to make myself post more (don’t I lead a post with that phrase at least once every six months or so?), I bring you yet another reoccurring series: “And They Shall Lead Them With Jersey Gimmicks and Bobbleheads,” a look at interesting sports promotions. I’m always noising around the web for creative event promotions, especially when the office I work in full-time is asked to collaborate with Athletics in promoting soccer, basketball or hockey games. I’m not going to always bring you the funniest promotions – Deadspin and Puck Daddy do that far better than I ever could – but I will bring you promotions and teams that catch my eye for a number of reasons.

For those of you who follow my Twitter account, you will know that I have recently become obsessed with the ECHL. Sure, as a good hockey fan, I followed the minor league a little in the past. But this year, since my favorite Terrier of all time is playing in it, along with what seems like nearly every single college hockey player from the last two years, I’m following the league with much more gusto.

bakersfield_condors_2007 The ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors, located out in that Terrier-freshmen-class producing state of California, gets a lot of press for their inventive promotions. Already this season, they have held a Michael Jackson jersey night, which was featured all across the blogosphere. The Condors wore MJ styled jerseys with one white glove, and auctioned off the jerseys to benefit Children’s Miracle Network.

The promotion that caught my eye, however, isn’t as bold as the Condors’ tribute to America’s favorite petafile. The Condors announced this week their “Who Ya Bringing” program, where the encourage existing season ticket holders to bring friends by giving them a free ticket per every seat they own per month. For example, if you own two season tickets, you are eligible to claim two free tickets per month during the length of the promotion.

The hope of this promotion is to convert these guests of season ticket holders to ticket plan holders themselves. The Condors will offer $100 to any season ticket holder whose guest subsequently purchases season tickets, and $25 if a guest purchases a flex-plan. Continue reading

The Program

10 November, 2009 / Kat

!Bbz)vCgBWk~$(KGrHqUOKjkEq5UJorjkBK)yUIyNkg~~_1 In my parents’ pink insulation filled crawlspace in Rochester, NY, there is an entire Rubbermaid underbed container of programs. Ice show programs. Football programs. Hockey programs. Huge 11×17 full color programs. Black and white home inkjet printer printed programs.

When I was a fifteen year old, there were three things in this world I obsessively saved my babysitting money for: tickets to sporting events, programs at said events, and the amazingly delicious hot-out-of-the-oven M&M cookies baked at the deli next door to my dance studio. And when you were making three dollars per hour babysitting in the Rust Belt, those three things were the only meaningful things one could save up for.

stars96 Programs were one of the reasons I would attend games and shows. When I was really young, my hands would shake nervously when I would hand over my hard-earned money for a hockey or ice show program. I would insist on getting to events right when doors opened so that I would have as much time with the program prior to the puck drop, first pitch, kickoff, or opening piece. I would devour the program the minute I sat down. I loved the smell – that toxic ink plastic-like brand new smell that graced the pages, especially if this was the beginning of the season or tour or the first one in the box. The pages would stick together upon that first read through, which made me develop this unconscious habit I still have today of flipping through the program at a rapid pace at first to separate all of the pages before settling in to fully digest the content.