I have a guest post up at Shooting for the Show. It is a look at the traditions in the Cornell Hockey program. Totally different from my post here yesterday. Hope you go check it out.
If you are a hockey fan, you should bookmark Justin’s site.
Tag Archives: hockey
Visiting Shooting for the Show
I am heading out for a full day of high school homecoming activities today. Throw into that mix a re-dedication of our newly remodeled high school and it is going to be a busy Saturday. To keep you all up on what I am doing, I had a guest post yesterday at Shooting for the Show. Go visit my friend Justin’s blog about college and minor league hockey and read a piece I did on Binghamton finally getting a championship.
Let Hockey Season Begin
As a tribute to the 2011 Calder Cup champions – the hometown Binghamton Senators – I am posting some photos taken while waiting on the bus to return the players from their winning game. Tonight the banner goes up and these will all be in the past and a new season will being.
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October Means One Thing
The calendar has once again turned to October. Good news! My fall marathon is over. Better news!! The temperature is going to warm up a bit. Best news!!! October is the start of hockey season!!!
On my recent trip to Pittsburgh for my daughter’s college graduation, we had the chance to visit the Consol Energy Center and attend a preseason skate and inter-squad scrimmage for the Pittsburgh Penguins. While I was sad to think that the Igloo – directly across the street – would eventually be torn down, the Consol Energy Center is a beautiful arena. I can imagine there is not a seat in the house that is bad for hockey. On top of that, it was wonderful to be in a city that supported its teams. This particular Sunday was the home opener for the Steelers and yet, there were plenty of people at this skate.
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Sports Fanatic
I admit it. I am a sports fanatic. The unfortunate truth is I do not necessarily like the average sports that most Americans spend hours watching. I do like college football and admit to watching a pro game here and there but I could really care less.
On the other hand, I will plan my nights around hockey games. I was jokingly told, during this year’s conference playoffs, that I was a bad date. Now, first, I was only out with a friend so there was no date going on at all. Second, the problem was I was not paying attention to his pool shots. I would literally walk away from the pool table to watch the hockey game on the television. Reception was not great so I did move closer to the TV to be able to see. It wasn’t like I was throwing the pool game – at least not the first couple. I was close to winning. I was shooting as best I could. I am not a huge pool player so I was happy when it was a challenge.
Needless to say, this summer has been a big sports fest for me. The World Cup soccer tournament has just recently finished up. Since the last World Cup tournament in 2006, I have become a runner. Consequently, I was running a race on the day of the final championship game. That is okay with me. Had I not been running, I would have been watching.
Then, overlapping with the end of the World Cup was the start of the Tour de France. Do not ask why I like this but I do. I hate missing coverage so much I watched coverage on my computer when I was not near a TV. I am enthralled with the stamina and skill that these athletes have. None of the stages are easy. None of the mountains are small. I love the idea of the team yet individual competition.
Do you like sports? Which ones would you watch?
NCAA Sports
I have written about collegiate sports on many occasions. This particular occasion comes to you via an ad that the NCAA is running during the current basketball tournament. I have to write about something having to do with the Madness and my bracket is not the thing as it is dismal after two days of play.
People frequently will be heard complaining about the cost of tickets to this sporting event or that sporting event. I do it myself sometimes. I have never complained about admission prices for a college game, though. Sometimes, it is expensive for college sports but most times, it is barely enough to cover upkeep of fields, rinks and courts. I thought, and now I have seen the ad below several times, the NCAA had hit the nail on the head the first time I saw the ad below. It gets across the point that the monies collected through broadcast rights do not just sit in some big organization.
To see more about my NCAA rantings and ravings, check out the links below.
Academics, Athletics and the University
Go West!
My mind and my eyes have been turned to the Northwest this week. Once the spectacle that was the Super Bowl was over, my thoughts immediately turned to Vancouver! You see, I am Winter Olympics fanatic!
There are many reason I love the Winter Games. One goes back to my childhood. I thought Jean-Claude Killy was hot! My guess is he is still hot as he is approaching 77.
Another reason I love the Winter Games is ice hockey. I have always been a huge hockey fan. I watch every chance I get and love college hockey. My daughter (#3) was never a big hockey fan until going to college. Now she misses being able to go to hockey games all the time.
Probably the biggest reason I am a Winter Games fan is Lake Placid. I was in Lake Placid for the 1980 games. I worked food service in Olympic Village – now a NYS prison in Ray Brook, NY. I worked housekeeping on the college campus where I was attending classes. We housed telecommunications personal in new dorms – apartment-like dorms. I went to medal ceremonies on the lake. High school marching bands from around NYS – including one from Norwich, NY where my father, step-mom and two half-sisters lived – played at the awards ceremonies.
And, yes, I was there in the arena for the Miracle on Ice. I was also in the streets of Lake Placid following that wonderful win.
I have never looked at Winter Olympics the same since 1980. Lake Placid closed down the streets of town. Shuttles came through but regular traffic was not allowed. People wandered around the streets, in the streets all the time. I thought it was like a village in the Alps – at least from pictures I had seen.
I still dream of going back to Lake Placid. For years, I swore I would retire to that village. I am not married to that idea any longer but I do want to visit – in the winter – some time soon.
Here Comes the Plaza
For those of you who don’t know it, I am a huge hockey fan. Worse than that, I live in upstate NY and am not a big Buffalo Sabres fan (they are okay and if they are the last team left standing I would be fine with that). I am also not a NJ Devils. Nor am I a NY Rangers or NY Islanders fan. I am, and have always been, a huge Detroit Red Wings fan.
That having been put out there, the closest NHL arenas to me are in Buffalo (HSBC Arena – which I have only been to for last year’s Soul 2 Soul concert), NYC (Madison Square Garden – which again I have never been to for a sporting event), Long Island (I think it is the Nassau County Arena but not sure), Philadelphia (Wachovia Arena in the Sports Complex), or NJ (I think the Devils play somewhere near Giant Stadium in East Rutherford but have never really cared).
My 20 year old son is now in school in Buffalo and his twin sister is at college in Niagara Falls. Both have become huge Sabres fans. In order to keep up with them, I have taken to watching Sabres hockey – two reasons behind this: (1)Being in NY, more of the Sabres’ games are broadcast than Red Wings games; and (2)I like to talk to the kids about things they have done.
In the process of watching Sabres’ hockey, I have become a huge fan of the patio outside HSBC Arena. There is always a huge crowd of people there watching the game for free on a huge television. Second round of the playoffs, I was set to go to Buffalo for game seven between the Rangers and the Sabres if it got that far. I am sure the seats in the arena are well sold out in advance but I was going to the patio.
Last night my son called. Graduation at UBuffalo is today. Most everyone has left with few exceptions. He is staying in Buffalo for the summer to work and take classes (as a transfer student, he is a tad bit behind). He and a few friends that haven’t left are going to the patio for game two of the Ottawa-Buffalo Eastern Conference finals (this use to have a nice name of someone but now it is just eastern conference).
I am soooo psyched at least one of us is getting to go and I am going to encourage his sister, once she has her car up there, to try it also.
