Split personality. Liking the arts, especially opera, and hockey and Los Toros. I know, I know THAT one is non pc currently. But I can't help it saw some in Spain and got hooked, but good.
But on the other hand right now opera and hockey are in the forefront!
what a way to close the year, Aeros slid back into 7th with 2 losses on the road.
As much as I like almost every player on the team, it does seem to me that consistently successful talent is simpoly not on the bench.
Here and there are sparks: Earl, Noreau, Wellman, Almond, Prosser, Cuma, Rau, ... but.....
After 38 games played the team should have made better progress.
Take a look at the Texas Stars:
they started out mediocre but have battled their way into the 2nd spot right behind SA Rampage.
The last placed team, the Icehogs win over Aeros.
Everyone keeps blaming the horrible schedule, but.....
The team is tired, too much travel, but....
Yes, am sure that has an impact, as has the injuries tally, but....
Now let's also take a look at the parent team, the Wild.
They, too, seem unable to consecutively post wins.
Yes, they have, too, lots of injuries, but....
At least the games attended thus far have provided us
(with the except of THAT-one-better -be-forgotten) some interesting,
even exciting (remember the rarity of 4 goals by Wellman) entertainment.
Prognosis: absent a huge miracle, the Aeros, again, will not reach the play offs.
And that, again, does not just lie with the coaching!
Without the right talent, coaches can only do so much!
42 games to go for the Aeros!
Shake it up!
Maybe this will inspire:
Other teams have 43 or even more to play!
Thus more chances to better their standings.
AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL...
and Old Lang Syne..
as a real clarion call to remember!
It IS that time for the two Opera Companies to fly in singers and others.
HGO's Dead Man Walking and Lucia casts are arriving daily, despite the weather.
Opera singers really have to be hardy souls when the weather shortens their time for rehearsals.
Opera in the Heights singers for Don Carlo will be landing in a bunch next week.
And dedicated volunteers for both organizations are keeping cars polished, tanks filled and eyes on the flight status.
Staying calm...one never knows when Mother Nature decides to brew up more delays, be it blizzards, rainstorms, floods...this serene sound may help!
On the AEROS front: a loss vs Milwaukie after a hard battle, and the team is back in 6th. Chris Jerina will, so we are promised, post some on T3I and his own blog. .,
Spurgeon back, and
PASCAL MORENCY re-assigned from Bakersfield.. Winger, Shoots R, born 1982, at 5'10 and 196 pds he seems to be quite the scrapper, too.
In 2009 he was suspended indefintely by the ISLANDERS for jumping off the bench and fighting Phaneuf.
Here he is in his most recent fight for the Condors.
Today, just driving around the 'hood' gave me a rather deflating feeling!
Really!
All those balloon decorations are nothing more than puddles of deflated latex.
You'd thought, the 'Grinch' made his rounds and poked holes into all of them.
But then my tires are deflated as well, at least that's what the dashboard 'blinkies' tell me.
It has to be the freezing temperature for sure!
Remember your physics: if it's hot it expands, if it's cold it shrinks!
Guess that's what's happening to Christmas Balloons.. cold air deflation ..lol!
Do you have the Christmas blahs, too?
Feel let down after all the hype of give, give, give?
Well, never mind! Soon the New Year starts.
And you all want your best New Year's Resolutions to start as well.
are skating tonight with two Forwards brought up from the Rio Grande Killer Bees.
Sean Muncy and Aaron Lewicki have both been leaders for the Bees this season.
Sean Muncy, at 6’0 and 193 pds, from Missouri, shoots left, has 25 points in 28 games including 12 goals and 13 assists. Muncy has five goals in his last five games.
Aaron Lewicki, too
Aaron Lewicki, at 6'0 and 202 pds, from Michigan, also shoots left, has 22 points in 25 games including 12 goals and 10 assists. Lewicki is riding a hot streak with eight points in his last five games (4+4 =8).
Anton Khudobin, on a hot streak, has stopped all but one shot by Kearns (Prucha, Stone) on a PP.
Aeros still 2-1 over Rampage.
McMillan with Prosser and Khudobin (!!)
and Earl, Almond with a shorthanded goal.
Montoya had an 'easier' time of it, Aeros ONLY shot half as many times,
but scored twice. ;-)
All 3 goals came in the First Period.
Out of several PP opportunities, only the Rampage made one work.
What seems almost incredible:
the attendance at the ATT center ON A MONDAY night is over 7000,
including (to my knowledge) 2 loyal hockey fans who followed their team from Houston, taking a day off work.
Final just now Aeros 2 Rampage 1.
The three Stars: Mc Millan, Khudobin and Kearns
Go AEROS.
Vaya con Dios del Hockey
on your road to Milwaukie, Wednesday
and Rockford, Thursday and back
home on January 1. for the Bikini Night Game,
eagerly awaited by some fans ;-).
Thanks to friends at swamphockey:
a real fight on the ECHL Level at an Everblades/Gwinnett game on 12/22/2010..
something that has become rare... for which I, for one, am thankful.
Watching it really made my skin crawl.
But some of my hockey loving readers do seem to enjoy this kind of thing....
On this Boxing day,
Aeros boxed in Bachman in the shoot out following a OT without a winning goal by either team.
Contrary to past games, Aeros put on quite a show of puck flurries on the Stars net minder in the 2.period 14 SoG vs Stars 4.
Peters got an early goal in the 1. which surprised BACHMAN, who then he made up for it by stopping 30 of 33 SoGs in regulation. Stars did not waste too much time to score 1 and 2.
Di Salvatore salvaged his rep as PP scorer by getting two PP goals: Aeros up 3 to Stars 2. (Lukowich, Sceviour) and Wathier, with seconds to spare, made it 3:3 and the game went into OT.
No goals in OT.
Shoot Out: Earl, Rau and Almond the scorers, while Stars' Gagnon and Spang did the honors there.
But Hackett stopped the others, as he did stop 22 of 25, in regulation.
So AEROS are back in 5.slot, but with 35 games already played. Rampage , Peoria and Ads lead the pack, Stars, Aeros follow. Icehogs still hog the last slot just behind Wolves.
A good game.
Even though a bit disappointing to the numerous Stars fans that swelled the crowd to 7513 attending
NO fight calls, some roughing and other minor infractions called by New (?) Referee Tudor FLORU.
What was really a very pleasant surprise, the National anthem was presented by a trumpeter.
Who, IMO, did an excellent job playing it and, even more so (was it on purpose)
as he 'shut out'(tee hee-pun intended) the usual STARS being yelled loudly by Stars Fans!
Anyway, someone must have read my previous blog in which I poopoo'hed the many awful sounding singers of the anthem. Just saying...or?
Due to the recent demise of my OLD computer (he lasted some 7 - 8 yrs.. miracle?) no photos until I can get "Newby" bought and up and running.
Also tried out a new camera and still need to work on kinks or return it!
Will see how that goes.
Since I can't upload onto my teensy notebook (no memory to speak of..like some I could, but will not, mention :D!
Happy New Year and let's meet again on January 1. to welcome the NEW Year,
a NEW (?) Aeros team standing UP against the SA Rampage,
while the Miss Aeros-Bikini Competition will, no doubt, usurp the attention of several fans....
ENJOY!
A game that should not have happened.
Bulldogs made 5 goals, two shorthanded, 1on a Powerplay, and if Desharnais would have gotten another goal instead of JUST 2 assists, HE would have had a Hattrick, too, in trhe TC!
Was it an omen when we saw two names, that we thought to be in Bakersfield, back on the roster?
Yes, Zingoni and Broda were back in town (for Christmas :-)?), although only Broda actually skated a bit.
As did Lampman, a bit that is, other then that he was not obvious, again...why did they sign him?
For his ability to make face offs? And do a bit of gentle passing? Whilst standing way off any melees?
Khudobin was pulled again and replaced by Matt Hackett, who to his credit, did stop all that the Bulldosgs threw at him...
Another Hackett save-but of course too late
Rau and Daoust trying so hard
Chasing the elusive puck
Even the fight between Bonneau and Kassian did not help - other than getting fans to yell and scream "Mash him"-yes, the rather old 'lady' (?) did so She must be a real fight fan, LOL!!
Aeros Bulldog sandwich? And they spit them out, too....not a chance in hell for the Aeros, they were outskated, outfoxed {if one can use this metaphor when speaking of Bulldogs:-) }and the Aeros looked it. They huffed and puffed, they slowed down in the 2nd, picked up a smidgeon energy in the 3rd. But no go!
No Comment needed
Scrimmage Nr. ??? in front of Sanford who made 38 saves!! A well deserved SHUT OUT for Sanford.
Hey, just looking to sneak one by you, Hackett! Did NOT work Hackett, once he replaced Anton Khudobin, stopped all thrown at him.
Sacrificing for the teams' good? Or let's just take a break, eh?
Who is getting the puck in the net? Sure looks like an Aero. but NOT!
Guess, she HAD the right idea, why watch this massacre, have a chat with ??? instead.
Bulldogs, despite having played two games (Rampage and a Loss, and Stars with a hard fought for Win in OT) played furiously, fast, aggressively. And they may have out psyched the Aeros.
For whatever reason, they skated in at the very last seconds to start the Third.
While Aeros quietly sat on their bench like admonished school boys, and waited, and waited!
Bulldogs running, ahem, make that skating, loops around the Aeros.
Playing 'cat and mouse' with the hapless team.
Having a grand time outwitting the slowing-down Aeros.
And they were. Truly slowing down.
Seemed out of breath, pumping up and down with exhausted legs.
Even the waving of their sticks seemed in slow motion.
With much less enthusiasm than they have shown at other times.
Khudobin was most definitely off his feed, so to speak, but why?
He has been getting the go ahead to start in the net, only to be pulled off again, and again.
He really ought not to be 'rusty' and needs to get his head together to play as can play!
Another Goal by a Daoust type skater - just faster - Bulldogs #51 Desharnais
and so it ends!
A sad ending. A frustrating ending.
Fans are asking why, what gives?
Have we offended Santa Claus, perhaps?
Now that sounds familiar! Seems as if the "media" electronic, or otherwise, all around Texas ignores Hockey. That came out in last night's Tailgunners' (Aeros Boosterclub) session with the 'new' PR Guy.
And this morning I read the quote, used in the title, in a Rampage blog by Tony U.
So what gives? Is Hockey too difficult to follow for the uninitiated, soaked in football and baseball reporters? Is it perhaps, that the speed of the game is such, that few commentators are able to rapid fire talk the action? Or is it because too few ad minutes can be slotted into this speedy game, which would disrupt the flow of the on ice action?
Hmm, maybe that is IT! Just think how annoyed we all are when referees call a large number of penalties and/or stops the game to confer, to sip water, to dry their sweaty brows. And let the ads roll or the unrelenting LOUD noise (someone dares to call it MUSIC!) take over and burst eardrums.
Which was another of the comments peppering the beleaguered PR guy.
WHY, WHY must the noise level be retched up to the unbearable?
Let me outta here!
Not forget to mention the repetitive nature of songs of the numerous kiddie choirs, which are usually "undermiked"! Although, after the gadzillionth time of America, the Beautiful, or some such other 'patriotic' song warbled more or less in tune by piping little voices....
well, maybe it IS a good thing they can't be heard, really!
Especially considering how many players aren't that patriotically American :-)!
There IS other music out there these choirs, barbershop quartets, and soloists could perform... even a drum corps (loudly beating- hopefully in tune) would be an amusing alternative, occasionally!?
and so it ends
