Slightly Saucy

God bless 'em anyway

2009-11-06T01:02:00.004-05:00

I first got into hockey during the 2000 playoffs. The year the Flyers won the 5 OT game and came thisclose to winning the eastern conference. After the Flyers were eliminated, the headline was "God Bless 'Em Anyway," and that's pretty much what I'm feeling for the Phillies. In the words of my friend Ellen, who LOVES the Phillies, "They had a GREAT season." And they did. Too bad it didn't end as fabulously as last year, but god bless 'em anyway. (Hopefully, my mom and aunts will be okay... they're going through total baseball withdrawal!)

Despite the stressfulness of this week for Philly sports fans, it was comedy hour at our house on Monday!

Me (pre-game): Aaahhh! Grab your Phillies shirt and your rosary!

Pops (post-game): If there's a game seven...
Me: Oh no, I'll be in class!
Pops: No way! I'll write you a note! And it'll say, "P-H-U-C-K class."
Me: Hmm, somehow I don't think my professor will appreciate that...

Pops (watching snippits from the '93 World Series): Freakin' Joe Carter! There went my music career!

Little known fact! Pops and his friends wrote a song for the '93 Phillies that was actually played on the radio! They even had a P.O. box for cassette tape requests (and fan mail?). However, when the Phils lost that year, record sales crashed. They were on the verge of going ~~platinum~~ zinc, until Joe Carter hit that home run. Curses!

ANYWAY, with the end of the World Series, there is nothing to distract us from total hockey love! The Flyers continue their jacked-up schedule with a game tomorrow against the Sabres, and hopefully, they'll perform well on three days rest! (Though Soph and I do enjoy our beloved Craig Rivet, and we've welcomed Staffy and Pommers onto our fantasy teams with open arms!) Speaking of the Sabres, they'll be here on Black Friday, and I really want to go to that game. (Soph, Pops, and I had a fabulous time at the Black Friday game last year... even though I think the Flyers lost in OT?) I guess I better start twisting Pops' arm now!

I'm trying not to be Debbie Downer...

2009-11-01T15:43:00.004-05:00

Well, yesterday was a super Saturday for two of our faves! First, Braydon Coburn got two goals in the Flyers' 6-1 win over the Canes! Huzzah! I'm mostly glad to see that I have not, in fact, totally hexed the poor guy. Kind of like with Debbie Downer, my love is the number one killer of NHL defensemen (and not domestic cats, as far as I know). Coburn's goals break that streak (for now), in addition to making my heart happy.

Jayson, I think our relationship would be a real home run...

(Sorry Chase.)

Then, J. Werth added two home runs in the Phils game! I love that man... he's just so cool. And the cast of Glee sang the National Anthem. (Too bad they couldn't throw, like, "Bust a Move" or "Don't Stop Believing" in there too! They're always looking for new mash-ups, no?) Otherwise, that game was rather a downer. The only silver lining is that last night was take two of the Smooch Chooch Party, so I got to see most of the game with my crazy family, who were literally waving rally towels while standing in the living room. (There was also a pretty intense round of Pop Culture Trivial Pursuit going on during the rain delay... I know you're all jealous.) I've baked cupcakes, I've done my part... now the Phils just have to win three games! Come on, guys!

Also also: Today is November 1st, which means it's Day 1 of National Novel Writing Month! So break out your quill pens and typewriters and get writing! I highly doubt that I can bust out a whole novel in a month... but I'm going to try to finish a novella that I've been working on. (Which means I'll have to push through my usual problems of "Everything I write suuuuucks!" and "No! No! Too much schoolwork! Can't. write. ever.") We'll see what happens with that...

Randy Jones is coming back...

2009-10-30T00:06:00.005-04:00

Sike! (or is it "Psych"? I've never actually written it out before) The Kings stole him on re-entry waivers.

Now not only is he's not playing but the Flyers still get half of the caphit. It's perfect since the Flyers have so much cap space to work with it. Beeeeeautiful. I love paying for nothing. Love him or hate him, this is no good.

As You Dislike It

2009-10-26T01:55:00.008-04:00

How did they know Pops was coming?!

So last night, Pops and I went to the Flyers-Sharks game, and I had some mixed emotions going into it. I've been rather disenchanted with the Sharks this season, since they've blown up the team that originally captivated us in '07. I just don't know these guys anymore. As for the Flyers, something is wrong with them. I don't know if it's the bizarre schedule they've had so far this season or what, but they just don't all seem to be on the same page... Richards' really unnecessary hit on David Booth certainly didn't help matters. (That was so sad/scary to watch. Here's hoping poor David Booth has a speedy recovery! He was a former member of Slightly Sucky, so we obviously love him.) We're shocked Richards wasn't suspended because that hit was definitely questionable.

But don't worry! Once we got to the game, my mixed emotions got thrown out the window:

Me: Aaaahhh! PICKLES!
Pops: I thought you didn't like the Sharks anymore...
Me: Whatever, man!

Woo, woo, woo, Claude Giroux!
And Coburn, sneaking in past the camera

I would totally baby-sit Shelley's kid... getting paid to go on Facebook would not be a problem!
I also like Dan Boyle a lot, though I always forget he's on the Sharks now.

I enjoy Timonen's dramatic glance here.
I wonder if he can smile with his eyes like on ANTM...

Pronger always looks like he's in pain in my pictures.
Perhaps because Carter is about to mow him down?

Pops also decided to bring a sign for Soph:

Pops: I want the bald guy to find us on the Sharks' feed!
Consequently, during the game, Pops would ask when Drew was going to find us as he waved his little sign!

Here are some things that made me happy:

Powe-wow scored! I always forget that I like him, but I do. He brought a lot of energy tonight. And he scored for the famous CASE OF TASTYKAKES!!!111!!! Lucky him!
No propositions for the Kiss Cam. Woo!
They still play "Swagger Like Us" during warm-ups!
Coburn was a starter and didn't get booed! I was really worried for him...
When Syvret got his delay of game penalty for knocking the puck over the glass, Pickles immediately dimed him out, pointing frantically at the glass. Oh Pickles, what a tattle-tale!

Things that made me sad:

It was just a weird game overall. It went by really fast but had like no flow to it.
Coburn and Timonen were each a -3.
Timonen lost his stick for an extended period of time and no other Flyer gave him one. And then the Sharks scored. Aren't forwards supposed to give up their sticks to a defenseman in need?
I still have my death cough and thus spent most of the game coughing (and probably making the cute couple next to me fear for their lives).
Soph wasn't there with us. Major sad face :(

I guess Pickles got the last laugh:

Even with my mixed emotions, I can't wait to go to another game. I'm gonna have to face it, I'm addicted to hockey!

*Fun Fact! This post's title came from this conversation during the game:
Pops: The power-play looks like a high school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream...
Me: Um, what?! (seconds later) God, I hate that play! And As You Like It. More like, As You DISLIKE It!
(Ooh, BURN, Shakespeare! My B.A. in English will be promptly revoked, don't worry...)

Birthday wishes and baseball smooches?

2009-10-20T01:37:00.007-04:00

Whoa-oh here she comes... watch out, she's the birthday girl!

First of all, today is Soph's birthday! So, happy birthday to my other half, the Sam to my iCarly (since I'm the prissiest), the Vinny to my Marty (we'll be playing together now!)... well, you get the idea... Hope you have a fabulous b-day on the best coast! :D

Since the Flyers are off for another 8,000 days, let's talk about the Phillies! Sunday night, my mom's Phillies-crazed family gathered to watch the game at my cousin's Smooch Chooch Party. (Nobody actually kissed his framed picture of Ruiz, though, which is probably for the best!) In honor of this momentous occasion, I embarked on my most ambitious baking project yet:

Phillies cupcakes! (Or, good luck cakes, perhaps???)
I'm not a vanilla girl, but I took one for the team... literally!

J. Werth got another homer (way to hit it, playa!) in the Phillies 11-0 rout. During the course of the night, one aunt decided that Raul was "a cutie" (um... whaaaat?), the uber-religious aunt announced that she's been praying for the Phillies, and my cousin came clean about his various Phillies bromances. (Along with Ruiz, he also looooooves Chaaaaaase. Shocker! Chase is the ultimate man-crush, it seems.) As for Monday night's game, I really thought it was over when the Phils couldn't capalize in the bottom of the eighth. So imagine my surprise when Pops started freaking out about Jimmy Rollins knocking in the winning runs. Daaaaamn. You go, boys!

Red October

2009-10-14T01:09:00.004-04:00

Things I've done over Fall Break:

- ~~homework~~ (puh-lease!)
-bake Flyers cupcakes
-watch the Phillies advance to the second round of the playoffs!!!

I've got a fever (or, more accurately, a "phever")... and the only cure is more Phillies! Yes, it's true. Much like my mom and co., I've fallen victim to Phillies Phever and spent last night screaming at the TV and hiding under my Jayson Werth blanket in fear during the game. But they won! In dramatic, come-from-behind fashion! With our beloved J. Werth knocking home the game-winning run! (Let's hear it for the boy!) And even I couldn't keep myself from wailing, "I loooooove you Chaaaaase!" by the end of this game. My mom's Red October is not, in fact, in jeopardy, which is fabulous news.

Meanwhile, Pops has decided that our house needs a Phillies mascot. But we don't have a Phanatic handy, so this is Goonk:

He's from Ikea, and we found him last summer while cleaning out my old toy chest. I guess he could be the Phanatic's Swedish cousin?

In other news, Soph and I were doing some bicoastal J. Werth research tonight, and we discovered that our fave Phillie used to to look like a total dork! Which only makes us love him more! (Seriously, I think I had those glasses in like third grade.) He looks like the type of guy you could have played Legend of Zelda or Earthbound with for hours... which is awesome. From uber geek to B.A. chic... a pretty impressive transformation. Just one more endearing side of Jayson Werth.

Cards, cards, cards, yeah!

2009-10-10T01:58:00.006-04:00

Apparently, the Flyers-Pens game was bananas? Soph and I saw exactly zero minutes of it (thank you, time differences and school), so we missed out. Moving on, the Flyers play the Ducks tonight, which means that this guy is coming to town:

Yes, that's my TV.
I actually took the picture in my euphoria over having Center Ice this week...
Sibsa just happened to be on-screen at that moment!

Remember when I was secretly in love with Sbisa? Yeahhh, well, I haven't really been following him, but I imagine he'll be playing tonight, along with Joff Lupul. Pops has a gig tonight, so there's a good chance I'll miss all of this game too. Curses!

In other news, I stopped by my favorite sports memorbilia store today, to celebrate the first day of Fall Break! The owner and I are like BFFs these days. When I came in over the summer, he found me some Claude Giroux cards and told me that "my friend" (aka Soph) would be jealous. I guess he doesn't get a lot of hockey-crazed girls dropping by the store, so we must be pretty memorable! Today's visit wasn't the most exciting, but I did get some packs. One pack contained both a Malkin card AND a Mike Richards card, so I think we know who that was meant for... Aside from that, the highlights were Marty and Vinny cards ("We have a song!"), along with Joe Sakic and Sergei Fedorov for Pops.

High hopes

2009-10-08T00:51:00.009-04:00

So today was my first ever baseball playoff game! Cliff Lee pitched a complete game, our beloved Jayson Werth had some big hits, and it was pretty much pandemonium! My previous games this season included copious rain delays and a Yiddish version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," and today's game was not without its craziness... For starters, it was so ridiculously windy that I half expected to see a cow fly by like in Twister! And I'm still losing my voice, so my cheering abilities were limited. (Though I did manage a few rounds of "Rauuuuuul!!!") But the most amusing thing about this game was our section. Pretty much everyone around us was drunk, which made for some AWESOME observations, such as:

Man behind us: Oh, the bongo cam! If I make it on there, I can die happy! LORD, TAKE ME NOW!!!

Also, I've noticed that, when drunk at the ball game, twenty-something guys really like to profess their undying love of certain players. A few years ago, these guys in my section kept wailing, "I love you, Chase! I... loooooove... Chaaaaaase..." Today, the love connection was with Cliff Lee:

Guy behind us: I love Cliff Lee! I love Cliff Lee! You get 'em, Clifford, you big red dog, you!

Hilarious! However, I did have an, um, interesting offer from the rather wasted old man sitting beside me:

Old Man: Is that your boyfriend?
Me: Huh???
Old Man: Is that your boyfriend or your dad?
Me: Oh, it's my dad. *weirded out*
Old Man: Oh. Then he won't mind if we're on the Kiss Cam.
Me: AAAHHHH!!! *ULTRA weirded out*

I've never been propositioned for the Kiss Cam before. My fear in life is being on the Jumbotron anyway, so this was like a double whammy of terror! At the time, I was traumatized, but now I can laugh about it... I think...

ANYWAY, onto pictures!

Our fave Phillie skips out to join his teammates

J. Werth! From our sweet seats in right field
Moo: "I'm keeping an eye on him for Sophie..."

I love you, Chase! I... loooooove... Chaaaaaase...

High-fives all around! Game one is in the books!

Rally towels and assorted chaos

Good times! Now I'm even more eager for my first hockey game of the season, which hopefully will be the Flyers-Sharks game... fingers crossed!

Prophetic Pops

2009-10-06T21:58:00.002-04:00

Scene: Living Room, third period

Pops: "Danny Briere's gonna get the game winner on his birthday..."

Scene: Living Room, OT

Pops: "Who's gonna score?"
Me: "I don't know... Coburn!" (I like to think outside the box...)
Pops: "I'm sticking with Danny Briere."

Needless to say, Pops is very proud of himself...

In other news, the Flyers are 3-0! Wooooo! And the home opener was craziness! Quite a see-saw affair. If I were there, I'd probably have no voice left! (And I'm already kind of sick, so I sound ridiculous as it is!) I pretty much want to go to every other game this season... yeahhhh...

Speaking of games, I'm going to the Phillies playoff game tomorrow because my mom's family has caught Phillies phever this season. (Seriously, I now get texts from my mom that say things like,"My Red October in jeopardy. Find some pitchers. ") Weird things have happened at every other game I've gone to, so tomorrow should be interesting...

Is this the year? (fantasy league edition)

2009-09-28T12:23:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was the draft for K-Mart's fantasy league. Last year, we made some... interesting... choices, but now, we're wise, learned fantasy leaguers, and it wasn't quite such a rough draft. (Though I did unintentionally draft 2/3 of the Flyers roster. Whoops! Maybe I should actually be at the draft one of these years?)

In case you forgot, Soph capped off a fabulous year by winning the Stanley Cup last season. Everything she touches turns to silver! Is this the year for her to create a dynasty??? (cue dramatic music) Here's her team:

Slightly Sucky

Keepers: Joe Thornton, Cam Ward (just for you, Kristin!)

Centers: Vinny Lecavalier, Anze Kopitar

Left Wingers: Patrik Elias, Milan Michalek (her beloved), Ville Leino

Right Wingers: David Backes (her fantasy league beloved), Jason Pominville, Drew Stafford (Staffy!), Phil Kessel

D-men: Jay Boumeester, Kevin Bieksa, Lubomir Visnovsky ("Vote for Lubo, don't forget!"), Bryan McCabe, Ryan Suter

Goalies: Evgeni Nabokov, Ray Emery

I did not fare so well in fantasy hockey last season. Consequently, the Killer Cupcakes ~~were bought by Jim Balsillie and moved to Hamilton~~ have become Foxy Lady Byng. (Though, judging by some of the guys I drafted, that name is no longer applicable...) Is this the year when I'll make the playoffs???

Foxy Lady Byng

Keepers: Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Backstrom (Datsyuk and Backstrom... they sound like a European pop duo!)

Centers: Brooks Laich, Stephen Weiss

Left Wingers: Thomas Vanek (my requisite Sabre), Ryan Malone, Alex Tanguay, Antoine Vermette

Right Wingers: Marty St-Louis (wooo! Soph and I need to have Marty and Vinny!), Claude Giroux (...sorry Soph!), Jason Williams, J.P. Dumont

D-men: Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn (sensing a trend?), Rob Blake

Goalies: Roberto Luongo, Henrik Lundqvist

This should be funny to look back on in April...

Training camp part deux... sort of

2009-09-21T00:30:00.000-04:00

Today, Pops and I attempted to reprise fun times at Flyers practice. The only problem? Today's practice was canceled at the last minute. You know who told us?

Paul Holmgren. I kid you not!

Pops and I rolled into the Skate Zone late, as always (these 9 AM practices are killing me!), and we saw a few people scattered through the parking lot, including a couple sitting at a table with their dog. When we got out of the car, a girl was like, "Oh, practice is canceled," and then a man walked by and said, "Yeah, Flyers practice is canceled, but some other guys will be practicing at ten." At which point, I was like, "Holy crap, that's Homer!" Weeeird... He wandered off, and that's when I realized that he had been with the woman and (absolutely adorable) bulldog puppy at the table. He's not someone I expected to run into this morning, believe it or not!

ANYWAY, Pops and I decided to stick around for the 10 AM practice, which was mostly Phantoms. Certainly not as exciting as last week's wall-to-wall hockey, but it was a fun time nonetheless! They ran a lot of drills, including one that I guess simulated a really fast turn-over? A d-man would pass the puck to a forward and then immediately have to turn around and defend against an incoming forward. I love watching d-men skate, so it was like the coolest drill ever. And the Phantoms seem like pretty affable bunch, joking around and sneaking pucks to kids, as Matsumoto is doing here:

Oh! Speaking of pictures... yesterday, I was finally able to get some of my pictures from last week's practice onto my computer. And apparently, my camera was holding some decent pictures hostage! For starters, a double whammy of Giroux and Danny for Soph and Giggles:

French Connection... Ouais, ouais!

I also found some good shots of Mike Richards, per K-Mart's request:

Standing around, being all captainly

...I don't know what to say about this.
Baby got back?

There's also The Pronger from Meet the Flyers for Kristin:

"Tell us about yourself."

"Well, I'm a libra..."

(Watch Meet the Flyers, you'll see what I mean!)

And then one of Coburn for me... However, I forgot to zoom in, so it looks like when they filmed Marla Hooch from about twenty feet away in A League of Their Own. To add insult to injury, my mom saw him on the news last week and was not too smitten with "Brandon" Coburn. Gawd! Mothers... always drinking that hater-ade.

Poor Coburn :(

While talking to Giggles on the phone tonight, it occurred to me... the NHL season is only a week and a half away! Woooooo!

From training camp with love

2009-09-14T00:04:00.008-04:00

Since Soph is mourning a sad day in Sharks territory, Pops and I decided to go to Flyers training camp today, so we could get pictures of Soph's fave east coast team and cheer her up! Considering practice commenced at 9:00 AM, we clearly love you, Soph! ;)

Flyers training camp has changed a lot since I was like fourteen. For starters, there's lots of pomp and circumstance on Day 1 now, and the Skate Zone was PACKED. Apparently, they split all the potential Flyers and Phantoms into two teams that practice in the two rinks, so there's practically continuous on-ice action for three hours. AWESOME. Also, attendees can stick around for the taping of Meet the Flyers, which will air on Comcast in a few weeks. Pops and I had no intention of doing so, but we inquired about Meet the Flyers anyway and were given the last two available wrist bands. (I have been freakishly lucky lately! I should really play the lottery...) So we also got to watch the taping, which featured most big name players including The Pronger (of course!), Carter, Richards, Danny, Coburn, and GIROUX, to name a few. And Coatsey wound up asking Hartnell and Simon questions right next to us! Consequently, my best picture of the day was of Hartnell. FAIL. But I did get some of Soph's actual faves at least!

Claude Giroux! Just for you, Soph!

This is one of my better pictures... sigh.

If someone wants to Google search "Claude Giroux blurry," their needs will be met, at least!

Pops: "Giroux is a responsible boy..." as seen here!

Timonen! Yay!

But he and Coburn were unfortunately in the other rink, sans Giroux...

At least I got one decent shot in the brief time that I saw him!

As a sidenote, The Pronger kind of terrifies me... He's huge! And scary! But he was hilarious during Meet the Flyers, and I was oddly mesmorized by him during practice! So this one's for you, Kristin!

I had almost figured out "blur reduction" at this point...
But that can't mask the fact that he looks ready to keel over!

A lot of my other pictures either turned out realllllly blurry or were deleted by my camera's selective transferring. Curses! But I did manage to get a semi-decent shot of my fave Flyer these days...

Coburn! Standing around bashfully while Boosh and Emery were being interviewed

(He's joined here by Timonen and Tollefsen)

Flyers training camp Day 1? A total blast. (Though it would have been better with Soph there, of course!) I highly recommend it to any Flyers fan who's dying for hockey after a loooong summer!

Fuck my life

2009-09-12T16:59:00.001-04:00

I never even wanted Dany Heatley.

Later Gator

2009-09-04T13:02:00.004-04:00

Cue the sad, walking-away music...

(Someone is even helpfully pointing to Gator in this shot as well!)

On Wednesday, while I was innocently reading for my Dickens class, I received a very sad text from Soph, informing me that our beloved Gator/Zebulon Pike aka Jason Smith has retired.

Sigh.

Our time with Gator the Flyer may have been short, but it was such fun during the Captain Super Tough days... How many other guys can pimp out butterscotch krimpets, beat up bitches on the ice, and hypnotize you with his fantastic black eyes? Heck, mutual love of Gator is originally what brought us together with Kristin! And Soph could even forgive him for pushing Milan around during a Flyers-Sharks game in '08, so obviously Gator's a god amongst men. In fact, for the longest time, the picture Soph and I took with Gator at the '08 Carnival was prominently displayed in our dining room, along with family pictures and a photo of the Pope. Clearly, Gator was in good, godly company. But all things must come to an end...

We'll miss you, Gator!

Hmmm...

2009-08-29T11:27:00.007-04:00

First of all, I want to say that yesterday was Jess' birthday, so this picture I pilfered off the internet is for her :)

You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too, yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you

(Jess, just because you're on the other side of the country
don't think you got out of our "Birthday" tradition!)

Anyhow, on a more hockey related note, I'm kind of upset because yesterday the Sharks ~~gave away~~ traded away one of my favorite Germans, Christian Ehrhoff, thereby making the team German-less (I know that Tommy-Boy Griess technically is a German but, in my mind, he doesn't count). I mean they let Marcel Goc go (Note to Homer: Sign him please, he can actually win a face-off) and now no more Christian. And I love my Germans. I love how serious they are and I love their accents. I'm sure the defense will suffer without his speed and his wicked slapshot. At least I can rest assured that he got moved to a team I already enjoyed and not one that I despise (coughpittsburghcough).

This got me thinking and I realized that at this very moment I only really like two players on the Sharks. Only two seasons ago I loved basically the entire team. Granted the same is basically true with the Flyers and I understand that it's the nature of the beast, all sports teams change from season to season. I'm just a little worried what effect this may have on my fandom. Granted I will always cheer for the Sharks and the Flyers and always want them to do well, but I'm kind of up in the air about which team will capture my attention next year.

This could just be my offseason blues and I could be singing an entirely different tune come October. I'll just have to wait and see.

Good times never seemed so good...

2009-07-16T12:01:00.000-04:00

So good! So good! So good! (I hope the tradition of playing "Sweet Caroline" at Red Sox games spills over into the Winter Classic this year.)

So yesterday, the NHL finally made an official announcement that the Flyers will play the Bruins at Fenway in the 2010 Winter Classic. Woo! I've loved Fenway ever since Pops and I went to Beantown a few years ago and took in a Sawx game from the Green Monsta. We've been psyched that there will be a Winter Classic there at all... the fact that the Flyers get to play in it is just icing on the cupcake! Apparently, some of the Flyers flew up to to Bahston for the occasion, and Coburn got to do the ceremonial puck drop:

Coburn looks pretty dorky here, thereby further endearing himself to me!

Also, why do Bergeron's jeans look like hand-me-downs from Tommy Lee, while Coburn's rocking the dress pants?

Yesterday was also a momentous occasion because the 2009-10 NHL schedule was released. I was really way too excited about this, though there are some legit highlights, like the Sharks (Pickles!) coming to Philly on Oct. 25th, and Vancouver (Big Bear!) visting in December. Soph is thrilled that the Flyers (Giroux!) and Sabres (Princess D!) will be stopping by San Jose this season, and she's already planning to get good seats with her wing man, Greej. I think we both want to try to go to the Flyers and Sharks respective home openers, to make up for blackout night at the HP Pavilion, aka the Sharks 2007 home opener!

Can the season start today? Please, please, pretty pleeease?

Phillies' Phever... it's contagious!

2009-07-14T12:48:00.004-04:00

Slightly Saucy's official fave Phillie Jayson Werth has been named to the MLB All-Star Game! Hooray! I found out about this while I was down the shore last weekend. My aunt had the news blasting at 2 AM, and as my mom and I were trying to go to sleep, this is what we heard:

News Anchor: AND THE PHILLIES ARE SENDING JAYSON WERTH TO THE ALL-STAR GAME TOO!!!

Me (in a sleep-addled stupor): Did they just say that Jayson Werth's going to the All-Star Game?

Moo (in a sleep-addled stupor): Yeah, I think so.

Me: Oh. YAY!

Soph was even more thrilled to hear this news, probably because she was fully awake when I told her. Oh, Jayson Werth, we love you and your hockey player-ish ways! Even my mom (Moo) is considering forsaking her beloved Cole Hamels for Jayson Werth. What is this world coming to?! A bunch of us are actually going to the Phillies game on my birthday next month, so when we passed Citizen's Bank Park on the way home from the shore, my mom couldn't help but exclaim, "We'll be back!"

The Flyers have upped the ante...

2009-06-26T19:39:00.005-04:00

The Pronger is going to be a Flyer next season.

Your move, Kristin ;)

The Draft's a-commin'

2009-06-25T13:23:00.003-04:00

So, Jess and I are pretty excited about the Draft tomorrow, even though we know next nothing about the potential draftees (although we know that in John Tavares' case, heaven must be missing an angel. Ha ha.). I'm looking forward (in a anxious-excited way) to seeing what goes down in terms of trades. The Sharks were apparently shot down when they asked about Hartnell or Giroux and the Flyers are still very much interested in Bouwmeester and every goalie that's ever played ever. It should be pretty good times.

Ugh. Really?!

2009-06-10T11:36:00.004-04:00

I mean, I heard the rumors and everything. But I was kinda hoping that's all they were, rumors. But no. Ray Emery is signing with the Flyers for a year. Oh great, a player with attitude. I'm sure everyone is thinking that he'll be the Perfect Flyer, since they're all dirty jerks, bullies and scum. Although, here's to hoping that the year in Russia calmed him down a little and knocked him off of his high horse. Although if he's throwing stuff at the staff, I'm feeling like he hasn't.

If Marty ends up re-signing, things will be pretty interesting, to say the least.

So when and where does this real world occur?

2009-05-28T21:57:00.001-04:00

We're not dead! No, we only graduated... and we don't know what we're doing with our lives! Woo! Soph has been helping out around her house with her new puppy, and I've been avoiding my house since it's kind of under construction. Double woo!

Hockey just hasn't been as thrilling since the Flyers and Sharks got eliminated. Soph and I are all out of sync with the hockey world now. One day last week, we both independently went to watch a game on TV... only to discover that that was an off day for the NHL! Ooops. I thankfully missed most of the Pens-Canes series, which I imagine must have been depressing for non-Pens fans. (Although I did catch the end of the series clincher, and what's up with Cindy toting around the Prince of Wales Trophy?! Almost as dramalicious and awkward as the Jon and Kate + 8 season opener! Pops and I were relieved to see that Zetterberg left the Campbell Trophy on the table and fled immediately after pictures!) Soph and I will once again be cheering for Detroit in the Finals. Geez, when is the last time the same two teams played for the Cup in back-to-back years?

Also, does this mean that Marian Hossa is like Adam Banks in D1, when he played for the Hawks and then had to play against them in the championship game???

So that's what's going on in the playoffs. What's been going on with our faves...

-Pickles and his lovely girlfriend are driving to Quebec from Cali. (Yikes! Although they are like the cutest couple ever, so they can probably handle a lengthy road trip without killing each other.)

-Danny Briere and Simon Gagne both got corrective eye surgery. That's the in-thing, it seems. (Hey, can that surgery fix color blindness? Because my impending color blindness has been a running joke with Soph and Giggles for months. Months! It all started when I bought a navy blue sweater solely because I thought it was purple. And Monday, I bought sneakers that I was totally convinced were dark gray in the store. Once Pops and I got home, I saw that they were black and asked the only nonsensical question that can be asked at a time like that: "Why didn't you TELL me they were black?!" Guys, what is wrong with me?! I'm going colorblind, AND I'm not tough enough for black Chucks! Eeep!)

-Big Bear Steve Bernier signed an extension with Vancouver. Huzzah!

-So I've recently become smitten with the nerdy toughness that is Braydon Coburn. He may look like a hot mess, but I guess there's something endearing about a guy who takes a puck in the eye and comes back to play like he's always got a bee in his bonnet. ANYWAY, the ever-charming (in a "Does he drink heavily before interviews?" kind of way) Bill Clement recently sat down with Coburn to discuss serious matters, like Kimmo Timonen's short legs. Bill Clement is pretty well-behaved through the interview, but towards the end, he becomes unglued, proclaiming, "Guillaume La-ten-dresse. You take Braydon Coburn, take all of him and get hit in the corner!" Um, what? I wish they showed Coburn's reaction to that remark!

Well, I guess that's enough excitement for one post. Much like Kris Versteeg, our lives are super g-l-a-m-o-r-o-u-s.

We love you Kristin!

2009-05-06T23:21:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago, Kristin e-mailed Soph and me with a very interesting offer that went something like this... "So our teams are out of the playoffs... time to meet up for dinner and drinks!" (Except that Soph and I gag over most drinks that taste remotely like alcohol... minor technicality...) Obviously, this was an offer we couldn't refuse... so tonight, we had our big rendezvous! (Definitely the best part of finals week!)

We spent most of dinner giggling, causing trouble for our poor server, and talking about hockey. But here are some highlights:

-Soph couldn't decide what to order so Kristin, the ever helpful gal that she is, made notes on bits of paper to theoretically pick out of a hat. Awesomeness.

-Kristin also ordered my drink for me after I wasn't quite feeling the windex margarita. I'll just have to take her everywhere with me now: "And I'll have... I don't know, you tell 'em Kristin!"

-Is it so hard to get whipped potatoes? Sheesh!

-I basically got an ice cream cone full of french fries with my dinner. Awesomeness part two.

-My latest Flyers love was outed... it may or may not be another Flyers d-man... one who took a puck to the face, but he came back... This is a pretty recent development, confirmed by my "Yay!" reaction when I flipped my calendar to May and saw it was him. At least the Flyers have Carle, which will keep me from loving the entire defense corps!

-We discussed Kristin's former seats at the Wachovia Center, where her view would often be obstructed by a large, obnoxious man in Gagne jersey. Somehow asshole + finesse player does not compute for me, but whatevs... And apparently, when Pops went to the Tampa game with Soph, he befriended like half of Kristin's row. Because he's not Chatter McBox or anything...

-We missed the train, so Kristin graciously agreed to drive us home, where we had the pleasure of riding with the Phillie Phanatic. Aren't you jealous?!

Thank you so much for dinner, Kristin! And for the lovely cards! (With lovely Flyers tatoos!) You're the bestest!

Doing our loyal duty as fans...

2009-04-27T20:01:00.004-04:00

By not watching tonight's Sharks-Ducks game. We've been jinxes. Don't believe us?

Lets look at the playoff stats from this year:

Watching the Sharks: 0-3
Not watching the Sharks: 2-0

We're doing everyone favors here by taking one for the team.

i'm lovin' it 'cuz i'm not watchin' it
(does that make me a bad fan?)

PS - Whatever happens tonight, thanks for winning on Saturday. I couldn't have dealt with two handshake lines in one day.

Game 4 Open Thread!

2009-04-21T18:41:00.002-04:00

So Soph and I have managed to secure a lounge/TV! (And we didn't even have to bring the blood, hits, and pain as K-Mart suggested! Or did we...?) Feel free to join in on the fun!

Let's go Fly-ers!

Hungry for more playoffs!

2009-04-21T00:02:00.001-04:00

To quote Kristin, game three was bananas. I think the fans were ready to will the Flyers to victory. They booed Cindy. The booed the Pens in general. In fact, they booed the pucks that were tossed onto the Pens side before warm-ups. Thank god they didn't also have to boo the Flyers off the ice!

After a rousing rendition of "God Bless America" with Lauren Hart and Kate Smith (after seeing that on TV for so many years, I LOVE watching it live! I wish they did it more often!), the game got underway. I think I spent the entire first period with my hands clasped together in prayer. And I definitely covered my eyes when the Pens took some shots. (Sitting where the Pens shot twice... not so good for the nerves.) When the Flyers got their two early goals by Carter and Richards, I sent Kristin a very eloquent text that went something like, "Aaaahhh, this is insane, aaahhh!!!" And then Hartnell tackled Kunitz for hitting Timonen, and Giroux started throwing down with Kennedy... I don't know how Soph and I survived the first period. When the Pens bookended the first and second periods with goals, it was the revenge of the nerves. Thank god Giroux and Simon took over at that point. That short-handed goal was sick, along with the two minutes chewed off the clock on a delayed penalty. We probably stood up and cheered for it, because our section was all about the standing ovation.

Soph's bf is pretty ~~BAMF~~ BA.

(I often use BAMF and BA interchangably. Soph does not appreciate this.)

Giroux's gone and totally redeemed himself after that unfortunate OT penalty.

I'm glad to see the Flyers showed some heart, going after the Pens for their repeated hits on Timonen. He's only their best d-man... protecting him might be a good idea, call me crazy. There were definitely some scary epic fail moments in this game, but the Flyers looked like an inspired team that might have a chance. And their offense was on fire. Another effort like this tomorrow, and the Flyers are right back in this series. Come on boys!

Here are some other random notes and quotes from the game:

-Boy sitting behind us (talking to friend on the phone): Hey, maybe you'll see me! I'm wearing orange! Aww, well, everyone's wearing orange...

***

-Kristin, tell Rod, hands off Claude Giroux! Soph does not share well.

***

-After the game, Soph and I headed to Fan Gear, which was almost as packed as it was on Valentine's Day. (I guess everybody wanted to buy a souvenir for their sweetheart that day...?) Soph bought the Flyers' "first star" hat. You know, the really bright orange trucker hat the first star of the game has to wear in post-game interviews. It's pretty awesome... (I may or may not steal it from her every five minutes.) Speaking of awesome, Soph and I also got shirts that are so tough I think we'll have to give ourselves black eyes in order to wear them. They're gray and say things like, "Blood, pain, hits, blood, sacrifice, hits, blood..." (you get the idea) with "Flyers Hockey" at the bottom.

***

-As Soph and I were waiting around for Pops, we were first seranded with "High Hopes," and then some other guy came skipping outside, shouting, "It's OUTTA HEEEERE!" Aww, Harry Kalas' spirit is alive and well! But perhaps the most amusing moment occurred a few minutes later when a guy came outside, spotted Soph in her Giroux jersey, and told her, "Good game." She earned that first star hat after all!