An educational experience

so i went to minnesota for the NCAA tournament and i came back learning a lot more about real life than i did about basketball. i learned a heck of a lot about the economy in the US and how much it sucks. it started off as a joke but then turned more serious everytime we left the hotel, until eventually our jokes aroused no laughter and we were all in the car silent and pondering...

examples of the how much the economy has affected (effected?) the US and minnesota in general...

1 - company names on buildings were not there...you know office buildings downtown where you see huge letters on the top of buildings....well there was no letters just outlines because the letters have been taken off. obviously companies can't afford rent

2 - tons of new cars in an overflow parking lot not even near a dealership. during these tough economic times nobody can buy new cars.

3 - going into a deli and not being able to see because there were no lights on...no fresh meat...no fresh food at all...with the 3 workers (i presume) silently sitting around a picnic table in the store looking depressed.

4 - people gathered around a TV set in the middle of Minneapolis cheering at a basketball game...it was weird to see this because it illustrated how sports is the only thing that can make people smile anymore.

5 - random people just stopping their cars and getting out and puking all over...

6 - a total lack of newspapers. you know the side of the street newspaper machines...?? yes, well there were no papers in them...and we were there for 4 days and there were none. obviously during these tough times people cant afford the news and/or the newspaper company is out of business and/or people dont wanna buy the newspaper because they dont wanna read about the tough economic times....the one paper that i did see was for 3 days!!! i mean one paper was the news for thursday, friday and saturday. depressing.


so that was my trip i wish i would have taken pictures but it was too depressing, for real.

it was a debacle of monumental proportions to see such a horrid scene but oh well


xoxo, gossip girl

march madness

here we are...march is upon us and it is my favorite time of the year...for one reason. The NCAA basketball tournament. its a time when suddenly everyone is a big fan of college hoops, but i'm ok with that. as long as people are actually talking about college hoops then i'm cool.

this year is the first year of our new annual trip to see 1st and 2nd rounds games of the tournament. me and 3 buddies are driving...yes driving...to minnesapolis to see 6 games. i cant wait. although a part of me would like to be at my home sitting on my couch watching all the action. but you know what? this is the tournament man, and i cant wait to be a part of it live.

we are seeing:

north dakota state vs kansas
dayton vs west virginia
usc vs boston college
robert morris vs michigan state

i have kansas, west virginia, usc and michigan state all advancing...

PS. i also started a new NHL 09 franchise with the Toronto Maple Leafs and my record is 8-10-2

My laptop and Cellphones

My laptop is a mixed bag of good and bad. I have wanted one for a long time and now that I have one, I cant believe that I didn't own one before. Its like a cell phone in that way. In high school, I didn't have a cell phone because I didn't even think of it. But when I was 19 years old I got a cell phone for the first time and now have had one for the past 6 years. I wonder if i'll ever not have one...probably not. So whats the age when cell phones are appropriate? We have all heard of kids who are no older than 14 that have cell phones. I dont know what to make of this because on one hand, if my kid took the bus or walked to school then I might want them to have a cell phone in case of an emergency. But on the other hand, I dont want them to have it because for one, they cost money and I couldn't trust my kid to not text message. There is no doubt that the text message and day time talk bill would be through the roof. Second, they would be texting and talking during school hours and this would surely make their grades go down.



This brings me back to my laptop. Last year, without one, I felt in control of my studies, I was more on top of school than I had been in my whole life. But this year, I have a laptop everyday at school and it seems like I am falling behind in school. Every spare moment that I have I am on the computer, checking out http://www.espn.com/ or on facebook. It definitely is a time killer. However, it is also good to have a laptop because if I need to write a paper or check my email, then I have that luxury at my disposal. So I ask the question...is a laptop really worth it to have my GPA drop by .3 points? I would have to say yes.

SEASON #2

The 2009-2010 season opened up with a 4-2 victory against Colorado.

hemsky - 1 goal, 1 assist
roloson - 33 saves
horcoff - 1 goal, 2 assists

Record 1-0-0

Game 6

Game 6 in Vancouver...
Vancouver 3 Edmonton 2

Game preview
Vancouver has won 3 in a row to take a stranglehold on the series...Edmonton has scored just 1 goal each game for the last 3. The first two games of the series they scored 8 goals.

roster changes for Edmonton...
Tom Gilbert takes Bret Hedican's spot in the lineup

1st period
-At the 8 minute mark, Luongo makes a ridiculous save on Gagner to save a goal. WOW!
-With 8:34 left in the 1st, Cogliano opens the scoring with a shot from the slot that Luongo gets a piece of but not enough. Its his 1st of the series and the assist goes to Tom Gilbert! 1-0 EDMONTON
-Staios gives the puck away and then gets called for tripping with 3 minutes left in the 1st period.
-SHORTHANDED GOAL!!!! Cole jams a Savard rebound past Luongo to make it 2-0 EDMONTON. his 2nd of the series, Savard and Souray get the assists.
-the Oilers penalty kill is again rock solid, they kill it off and the period ends with EDMONTON up 2-0
-shots...Edmonton 12...Vancouver 9

2nd period
-Visnovsky takes a ticky-tack holding penalty 2:30 into the 2nd period
-with 35 seconds left in the 1st PP, Staios takes another tripping penalty...Vancouver will have a 5 on 3 PP for 35 seconds.
-the Oil kill another penalty...definitely the best part of their game in this series
-Immediately after the penalty kill, Moreau gets called for cross checking...the ref is obviously from Vancouver.
-The Oil kill another penalty...the Canuck PP has been awful all series long...or is it just good penalty killing??
-FYI - Roloson has been very good today, very solid, no big rebounds
-with a couple seconds left in the 2nd...Horcoff takes a bad tripping penalty
-END OF PERIOD - STILL 2-0 EDMONTON
-shots...Edmonton 15...Vancouver 20

3rd period
-Oil kill another penalty...Canucks now 0-5 on the PP tonight
-Another penalty, Horcoff for cross checking...what a crock...6 penalties for Edmonton, 0 for Vancouver
-finally Canucks score on the PP, its Ryan Kesler, his 2nd of the series, making it 2-1 EDMONTON
-this is getting stupid...Pisani makes the penalty margin 7-0 when he gets called for tripping...unbelievable. 11 minutes left in the 3rd.
-Vancouver scores...2-2. Bieksa fires one from the point and Daniel Sedin tips it past Roloson...his 3rd of the postseason
-2-2 TIE...9 30 left in the 3rd
-Stortini gets called for tripping...with 5 minutes to go...ridiculous
-Demitra scores...3-2 Canucks...8-0 in powerplays for Vancouver...so stupid...4 51 left to go
-Daniel Sedin feeds his brother Henrik for a wide open net to make it 4-2 Vancouver...2:55 left in the 3rd...this is the most frustrating game i've ever played.
-of course Cole gets called for tripping with 40 seconds left...unbelievable!!!!!!
-4-3 VANCOUVER...the Oilers get their 2nd shorthanded goal of the night when Moreau roofs a spin-o-rama move past Luongo...31 seconds left

Vancouver wins the series 4-2. Winning 4 straight games to take the series. the reffing was stupid...oilers got called for 9 penalties and the Canucks 0. i am really mad and now i go into the off season. i had high hopes for the season...i really wanted to bring back the cup to Edmonton but its not gonna happen this year.

game 5

Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers
Series tied 2-2...back in Edmonton for Game 5

1st period
-1:30 into the game Hemsky gets called for a cross checking penalty but the Oilers kill it off
-With 4:35 left in the 1st, Moreau has a chance to put away a goal but Luongo makes a diving save to prevent a goal
-The Canucks were buzzing at the end of the 1st but Roloson stays solid and the period ends at 0-0
-Shots...Edmonton 8...Vancouver 11

2nd period
-2 minutes in March Savard puts one past Luongo wih a shot from the left faceoff circle...its his 3rd of the playoffs and Visnovsky gets the assist. 1-0 EDMONTON
-1 minute later its Demitra for Vancouver who fires one under the glove of Roloson...his 3rd of the series. 1-1 TIE
-Smid gives it away in front of his net with 13 minutes left but Roloson makes a beautiful save to stop Mason Raymond. The Smid, Hedican defense pairing is struggling.
-More sloppy play from Smid and Hedican almost gives Vancouver a goal but at the end of one its a TIE 1-1
-Shots...Edmonton 17...Vancouver 16

3rd period
-1 minute in Daniel Sedin goes five hole and puts in past Roloson to make it 2-1 VANCOUVER...his 2nd of the series
-Ryan Johnson makes it 3-1 Vancouver with 9 minutes left in the 3rd. 3-1 VANCOUVER.
-Luongo was a brick wall the rest of the 3rd and the Canucks win 3-1.
-Shots...Edmonton 21...Vancouver 25

Vancouver has won 3 in a row to take control of the series as it heads back to the West Coast.

3rd star - Luongo - 20 saves
2nd star - Daniel Sedin - 1 goal
1st star - Pavol Demitra - 1 goal 1 assist

game 4

my edmonton oilers finished 2nd in the west with a 47-27-8 record, good for 102 points.

I won the northwest division.

First round of playoffs I am matched up with the vancouver canucks...the series is at 2-1 for the oil.
game 1 - Oil 4 Canucks 1
game 2 - Oil 4 Canucks 0
game 3 - Canucks 2 Oil 1 - OT

GAME 4

The 1st period
no scoring...6 shots aside with both teams playing fairly defensive, not wanting to make mistakes.

2nd period
Cogliano had a wide open net on the Powerplay mid way through the period but sent the shot over the net...this was the best chance for the Oil all period long. Canucks open the scoring at 16:09 of the 2nd...darcy hordichuk scores his 1st of the playoffs. prior to that the canucks hit 2 posts...so one was bound to go in. overall this period was very even except the canucks buried a goal and the Oil didn't. the shots at the end of the 2nd are Oil 21, Canucks 18. Luongo is playing great.

3rd period
The Oilers tie the game up at 1-1 when hemsky pounces on a rebound to beat Luongo. Heatley gets credit for an assist, his shot set up the play, as does Marc Savard. Its Hemsky's 3rd goal of the playoffs.

The Canucks go up 2-1 when Ryan Johnson scores on a nifty move around Bret Hedican with 9:43 left in the 3rd.

2 minutes later, Pavel Demitra capitalizes on a turnover by Sheldon Souray and pots his 2nd of the postseason. 3-1 canucks.

Daniel Sedin scored an empty net goal to make it a 4-1 final

SERIES goes back to Edmonton 2-2