http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php en Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:28:43 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=101 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:47:26 GMT Which one--my 6:30 game, my 8:00 game, or my 9:30 game?

At 6:30 I played with Buffalo Jump, where I'm subbing for their goalie for two months. We played against the Earthquakes, who kicked me off their team ten years ago for various reasons mostly having to do with political correctness--or my lack thereof. Anyway, we won 7-5 so I'm happy. Three of the players recognized me and said hi. The one who was instrumental in getting me kicked off the team did congratulate me on my win.

Then I got asked by someone whether I'm up for another game because their goalie can't make it. I said, sure. Then I got asked by someone whether I'm up for another game because their goalie can't make it. I said, sure. It turns out that both teams were missing their goalie and I had agreed to sub for both! But it worked out because the goalie for the second team that asked was only late. He eventually showed up in the middle of the first period. The team I subbed for is called the Gooch; their logo is a fist. They're a bunch of goons; I spent most of the game defending against penalty kills. Somehow the Gooch managed to consistently get two players into the penalty box at the same time. At one point one of the refs thanked me for subbing for the team. Did my boredom and frustration with the penalties show? Anyway, that lifted my spirits and I concentrated more on the game. We lost 3-2.

Then I got asked by someone whether I'm up for another game because their goalie is late. I asked, how late? He should be there by the second period, so I agreed. Indeed, about ten minutes before the game he showed up and started getting changed. (He's the stinkiest goalie I've ever met! Gaugh! Smells like Marlboros. Yuckola!) They asked me how the game went, so I told them the score and the story of the penalties. Someone said, "You subbed for the Gooch?" I laughed. I was really tired by that time, and relied principally on my training; I had not much strength to think. Toward the end of the first period, I let in a goal on a two-man deke.

Now I'm tired and hungry. Oh, man! ]]> Timberwoof http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=101 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=100 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:03:42 GMT Iam getting new pads soon and i need a little help on witch pads to get. Tps R7 or Itech Vamp 7.8? Iam getting new pads soon and i need a little help on witch pads to get.
Tps R7 or Itech Vamp 7.8? ]]> chuk. http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=100 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=99 Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:17:26 GMT Not too much to report today; I suppose that's a good thing, though.

I stopped by Isaac's grave on Friday, as it's become something of a habit for me to grab some food and have dinner with him. Mostly, I just enjoy his company, relax in the nice weather, and update him on the week's happenings. They finally got his headstone installed, and it looks wonderful. Nothing too fancy, just classily understated. The grass over his site looks like it's finally taking hold, which is good; for a while, I thought it might not rebound from the shock of being uprooted. It's starting to get its green back, so looks like all will soon be well.

My friend CG came up from Denver, so we spent the evening hanging out. We've been looking into getting a tattoo to commemorate Isaac, but hadn't been having much luck looking in Denver. For some reason, every parlor we talked to is booked through the end of the summer, sometimes into next year! We didn't want to wait that long, so we looked around Fort Collins, and found Tribal Rites. We went in with some concept art (thanks to adavis for that) and talked to one of the artists. We told him what we were looking for, and when we wanted to get it done. He got us in for an appointment on July 5th.

The weekend wasn't too bad. Just the regular ups and downs that I've come to know all too well over the last month and a half. At least I can recognize what's going on; that makes it a little easier to manage the lows, and not go overboard with the highs. Now I know why the really good artists throughout history have had tendancies towards mental instability; the urge to do something, anything, can be almost paralyzing at times. However, as I don't have very many creative bones in my body, I unleash myself on the dirt around my apartment. I'm telling you, I could eat off of my toilet, if I so chose. (Just so you know, I don't).

That's really all I feel like typing for right now. We (again) don't have **** to do at work, so I'm attributing my slight depression in mood to that fact that I'm bored stiff. I can't remember if I said it before, but I swear I've seen every site on the internet. If our workload continues like this, I'm going to be forced into website creation, for the sole purpose of making new sites for me to waste my time on.

Later. ]]> Holy the Goalie http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=99 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=98 Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:38:26 GMT Well, I still feel like throwing up this morning, but it's not as bad as yesterday. Which wasn't as bad as the day before. I guess I must be working my way through this, even if it doesn't always feel like it. I continue to talk to her, if only because I can't bear the thought of losing another friend in so short a time.

Whenever I start feeling too down about things, I try and remind myself that this was bound to happen. She wants to go to nursing school, and will probably have to live at home while doing so in order to make ends meet. Between her going to school all day, having to study at night, and having obligations to her family, there just wouldn't be time for a relationship. I get it, but it doesn't alwyas make it easier. Plus, I'm almost 25; I don't want to go back to the "high school" model of dating; having to work around her parents, not being able to show as much affection as I'd like, etc. Hell, just saying out loud why it wasn't going to work helps some; I just wish the the therapeutic affects of verbalizing it lasted longer, as I'm getting tired of having to go through it every couple of hours.

We had a hockey game last night; I wasn't in net (that league got canceled due to lack of interest), but instead I was skating out. I'm not very good, so my friend and I skate in the D league. I played absolutely horribly; I was tired, didn't have any jump in me, wasn't seeing plays, and wasn't making good decisions or passes. I don't know if the events of the past week were affecting me, or if I just had a ****ty game. I'm thinking probably a combination of the two, as I'm usually one of the better (crappy) players on the ice. Either way, it felt good to do something physical, and blow off some steam.

I talked to one of my married friends yesterday. We were roommates in college, and at one point, he had broken up with his girlfriend (now his wife) for about a week. He said that the thing he remembered most about it was that something would happen and he'd want to call his girlfriend . . . but he couldn't. With our game last night, I understood completely what he meant. I wanted to call her and complain/brag/vent, but I couldn't. And when you're a guy, you can't just call up one of your guy friends about random things like that. It reminds me of the Family Guy where Peter gets in touch with his feminine side.

Peter (calling Quagmire): Hey, Quagmire.

Quagmire: Hey Peter. What's up?

P: Nothing.

Q: Then why the hell'd you call me?

P: No reason. You wanna talk?

Q: *dialtone*

Good stuff. I was proud of myself, however, for not calling her this morning. I wanted to, and I'm so used to talking to her on my way to work that force of habit almost took over, but I restrained myself. It sucked a little, but I was strong. However, I'll probably call, just to say hi, just to feed my fix a little. That's the only way I'm going to get through this, is if I pace myself, and slowly ween myself off of her (which sounded better in my head than it does out loud). It's going to be tough, but I think I can do it.

Here we go . . . ]]> Holy the Goalie http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=98 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=97 Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:40:50 GMT The last 5 weeks have been the hardest 5 weeks of my life. As many of you may know, I lost my best friend to an ambush in Afghanistan a little over a month ago. He was my age, and only had a year and a half left in his contract. Getting through the initial shock, helping his parents receive the... The last 5 weeks have been the hardest 5 weeks of my life. As many of you may know, I lost my best friend to an ambush in Afghanistan a little over a month ago. He was my age, and only had a year and a half left in his contract. Getting through the initial shock, helping his parents receive the body, writing a eulogy for him, and getting through the funeral was extremely emotionally draining, and has taken a lot out of me. I count it as a divine blessing that I have had this site as an outlet for my pain, my grief, and my confusion; it has aided my healing in ways too numerous to list.

I've finally been feeling more like myself; I haven't cried for my friend in a while, and I can think about the good times we shared without becoming depressed. My girlfriend of more than 2 years was incredibly helpful in that aspect, providing a comforting shoulder for me to cry on, and generally helping me deal with the loss. I couldn't have done it withou her.

She dumped me a couple days ago.

Awesome. Just freaking awesome. Due to her career aspirations (she wants to go to nursing school) she's been living about an hour and a half from me, so we haven't had a lot of time together. Probably as a result of the physical distance between us, an emotional distance has developed - at least according to her. While I have had a difficult time not spending every day with her, I have tried to make the best of the situation. We talked several times a day, to the point that I even changed cell phone providers to accomodate the increased talk time. Apparently, she didn't share my convictions, as she decided to pull the plug on us, saying that she feels like we're friends, but not romanticaly linked.

In Isaac's absence, she had become my best friend. She was the one person that I could tell anything to. She knew me better than anyone, save for my parents. She has been such a big part of my life for the last two years that I find myself lost when it comes to even simple things like what movie to watch, or what to make for dinner. I feel completely lost.

I've spent some time thinking about everything; I think she's right, since she wouldn't have much time for me, after getting home from school and study time. I'll admit, I was having some doubts about whether or not we would be able to make things work. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think that I was probably only a couple of months away from coming to the same conclusion, but that doesn't really make this easier.

Perhaps this would have been easier if it hadn't happened so soon after Isaac's death. Perhaps this would have been easier if I had been the one to make the decision. Or maybe not. I don't know, and that's probably what scares me the most. I just don't know, what I'm doing, or what's going to happen next.

I'm going to do my best to move on; I can dedicate my time to hockey, Metal Gear Solid 4 (which I got in the mail yesterday), getting back into shape, and finding a new job. I think I'm going to be okay, I just can't stand the pain I'll be feeling until I get to the point where I KNOW I'll be okay.

Here we go . . . ]]> Holy the Goalie http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=97 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=96 Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:24:19 GMT I created the following thread to document my experiences with the thighguards built into my Vaughn 7400 leg pads: How Thighguards Affect the Butterfly (http://www.goaliestore.com/board/equipment-forum/77018-how-thighguards-affect-butterfly.html) I was surprised at just how much the thighguards... I created the following thread to document my experiences with the thighguards built into my Vaughn 7400 leg pads:

How Thighguards Affect the Butterfly

I was surprised at just how much the thighguards affected the butterfly, and I wonder for how much longer Vaughn will be including them.

Temple ]]> Temple http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=96 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=95 Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:10:01 GMT Hello all,

I'm Craig, 6'0" 210lbs. I'm coming up on 29 years old, but as they say "It's not the years, it's the mileage". I like movies, animals, and women who aren't afraid to really speak their mind. Er... whoops, wrong forum, back to hockey. :)

I was born in Vancouver, but spent grades 1 through 7 in NY state and Connecticut. As such, I had the crippling misfortune of never playing hockey. I played pretty much every sport but hockey. I played catcher in baseball and was pretty good at it.

In 2002 and 2003, I took a beginners co-ed hockey course. It was lots of fun, and I was hooked. I've been playing defense since then. A couple months ago, my beer league team was playing a very weak team in the playoffs, so I traded gear with our goalie. His gear was way, way too big, falling apart, and stank like death, but I had an awesome time! My girlfriend came out to watch the spectacle, and I wound up getting a 14 shot shutout (only a couple saves were notable).

I know I should have quit while I was a head, but I jumped in head-first. My plan was to get most of the gear used and buy new what I had to. I found this forum and spent hours and hours an hours on here searching and searching and searching, trying to figure out what I needed/wanted. Went to a few brick and mortars to try gear on to get an idea, then back to GSBB for more research. I looked on these classifieds and craigslist, but eventually came to the decision that I was going to buy pretty much everything new. It came down to how much did I want to buy twice vs once, how much longer would new last, and how much did I value gear that didn't stink.

I wound up picking up the following gear from several different stores locally. I think I've done alright:

Mask: Eddy GT Ultimate (Maltese gel on order)
Skates: Graf 750 Goaler Pro
Sticks: Sherwood 9950 27" Paddle
C/A: Vaughn Epic 8600
Pads: Vaughn Velocity 7400
Trapper: Vaughn Velocity 7400
Blocker: Vaughn Velocity 7400
Pants: Vaughn XP Custom
Jock: Vaughn Velocity 7500
Knee: Vaughn VKP 8000 (on order)
Neck/Clav: Maltese Combo (on order)

It seems I'm quite the Vaughn fan, but I got a very sweet deal on the 7400 set and the pants, jock, and C/A just happened to be the most comfortable that I tried on (each from different stores too). I'll post more thoughts and questions in the appropriate threads for my various gear.

As for my abilities, I'm an absolute beginner obviously, but I do have quite a bit of natural instincts for the position (physically and mentally). I'm looking to get as much ice time as possible over the summer and find my way onto a second winter team as a goalie.

I took Paul Fricker's goalie clinic earlier this month. It was my first time getting all my gear on ice. It was pretty good, and I took away from it some good fundamentals to keep in mind as I teach myself how to move and play. I've had three sessions with pucks after that, and have been getting more comfortable and having more fun each time. Though I do have two large bruises on my lower thighs from two of the sessions already (note that my knee pads are on order :) ), but that hasn't bothered me. As the man said: "Pain don't hurt".

The last thing I'll add to this opus is that I've noticed that for every ounce of experience I've been gaining over my short career, I've gotten more out of re-reading the advice and wisdom on this board. I'm hoping that will continue well on into the future.

Craig ]]> Temple http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=95 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=91 Fri, 16 May 2008 20:58:18 GMT Day 26....

Bet ya thought I quit. You all thought, 'sloth's too lazy and out of shape. He'll quit.' Guess what...you're wrong. I'm still at it, day in day out I am bringing it and getting through it.

Here's a little refresher for those not playing at home. I did not do the fitness test, and I did not take before pictures, nor will I take progressive pictures. However I may decide to take a few day 90 pictures to illustrate what has occurred. I just dove in. I weighed approximately 212lbs before beginning. I am 5'9". I don't know my BF%. But I should add that I was wearing a 36" pant.

So here we are today. I have dropped my belts back a full notch and might even be able to go back 2 notches, but that would be a little tight. My wife is elated at the results. I am slowly getting back to the body shape that I had when we met.

Some observations I have as to the results on my body. My overall body conditioning is much, much better for hockey. My flexibility has gone back to near the same level as in college. I also appear to be nursing some sort of groin tear that I noticed once a long time ago and it creeps up during some of the yoga poses. It hurts, but I push through it with no ill effects.

I've also taken note of how my body is 'hardening'. Every muscle is much more defined and firm. My balance is improved, and returning slowly back to my college days. And best of all my posture has improved dramatically.

Has this improved my goaltending??? Yes. Is this the best possible workout for a goalie??? I still say no. Will it help 90% of the goalies here, if not more??? Absolutely.

Some comments on the program itself.

Favorite video: Yoga.
Least favorite: Dunno yet, but the Kenpo is in the lead right now.
Best video for you: Core Synergistics

I've only done the Core Synergistics 2x but it is obvious that it is the most complete, whole body workout that the program offers. If you only could get one of the videos and do it...I'd say the Core Syn is it.

So some have suggested that this is the best thing out there. I will disagree and here's why. There are many programs out there that will get you the same or at a minimum similar results. It just takes dedication and putting in the time.

But what separates P90X from the others that might be out there....simple. It is prepackaged. It is simple. It gives you drop dead simple directions for what to do for 90 straight days to get to a desired result...or damn near it, or even surpass it.

I'm trying to get my wife into it to do the lean program, not that she needs it as she's about 114lbs on her 5'2" frame and just overall fit and thin. But I think she'd like it, and she asked how hard it is to follow it, and my answer to her was this....if you can make macaroni and cheese, you can follow this program. Just get the needed supplies(bands, DVDs) and just do it.

Some comments on Tony Horton... He gets a tad annoying from time to time, but he is positive, non-threatening in respect that he's not yelling too much and is understanding that all types of people might be doing the program. He also does a good job of motivating by keeping it simple with his mantras of 'just show up, just keep pushing play' and 'do your best, and forget the rest.'

I wont be updating this until probably I am nearing day 60 as it gets rather tedious to do daily updates.

If you have any questions fire away. ]]> sloth2946 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=91 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=86 Mon, 05 May 2008 04:47:32 GMT I'm always looking to improve myself in the net. In 2006 I really took a step in that direction. I've always been a self taught goaltender, from my beginning in minor hockey at age 13 in 1981. Community teams had volunteer coaches (still do) and nobody knew how to coach a goalie, so you were pretty much on your own. In my ealry days I played standup and flop when the puck was anyone near the net. I evolved through the years watching Ed Belfour in the paddle down. Which in turn evolved into a combination of the stand up and paddle down as I got older. At age 38 I decided to learn the new style of game. I took lessons along with a female friend that wanted to learn the position. We took lesson at The Goalie Shop in Calgary, in a mini rinl on real ice. You can see my lessons #4, 5 and 6 on my YouTube page:

http://www.youtube.com/user/pokey47

I am still not the goalie I want to be and I am still striving to improve only months from my 40th birthday. ]]> Pokey47 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=86 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=85 Fri, 02 May 2008 20:16:43 GMT My 26th season has just come to an end. I was a late bloomer, not starting organized hockey until the age of 13. I played pond hockey from an early age, but being the youngest of three and raised by my mom, I wasn't pushed into anything that I did. Hockey for me was an early obssession, I tried making goalie pads out anything, I even resorted to using elastic bands and wood panelling for a blocker (the "pads" didn't work out so well). The best street hockey pads i made though were made out of 4 inch thick foam that was at that time used for camping mattresses and shin guard straps or skate laces to keep them in place on my legs.
I remember walking to Crappy Tire (Canadian Tire for you non-Canadians) when I was 10 years old, I've since figured out it was about 10 KM (about 6 miles) one way. I was going to purchase some Cooper goalie pads and I was saddened to find out that they were out of stock (surprisingly, since it was the middle of summer)..being only 10 and pretty shy, I opted instead to by a back catchers mitt. I've always been a player and a goalie, I've also always thought of myself as being equally skilled at either position. But, as I grow older and slower, I think that my goaltending prowess has over taken my player skills and I think I am better goalie than player at this stage of my life. I can still play with players 15 years my junior when playing goal. I certainly can't do that when playing out, I just don't have the speed/stamina that I once had to keep up with the young ones. I currently play with two teams on a most full time basis and a third recruited me this past season when their regular guy went down with a knee injury. I've been told by many on that team that want me to return next season, but I can't take another's net away from him if he's able to play. I ended up playing multiple games for 6 different teams this past season. ]]> Pokey47 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=85 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=83 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:16:10 GMT P90X - Day 2 - Plyos

Again, this isn't preseason for me, this is the real dealio.

Lesson of the day...don't play two hard games on consecutive nights of around 40 shots a night and then attempt to do the plyo workout and think you'll be able to blow through it like the last time where you didn't have any games before it.

Lesson # 2 is don't think that you'll be able to play your 3rd game in 3 nights and doing 2 days of P90X and play up to your usual standards...thankfully I was playing defense.

I suffered from a lot of muscle fatigue yesterday while doing the plyos because of the above reasons. I worked VERY hard. Did higher jumps than before and paused less often and for less time.

Overall conditioning is improving day to day and I suspect I have dropped 2-4 lbs already this week with the hockey and P90X workouts.

I was able to during the 'mother of all plyo exercises' to be able to keep up with them when they upped the pace. My height on the jumps was a little less than desirable but the pace was what I was looking for. The hotfoots which have been a problem completing properly were much easier yesterday. The calves are responding nicely to the extra work and quickness required for that.

My core is still terribly weak, and I am greatly disappointed at this, but it is pretty much to be expected with such a long period of neglect. Today I get to do the ab shredder again...should be tons of fun. ]]> sloth2946 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=83 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=82 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:38:10 GMT Chest/Back + Ab Ripper.

Making steady improvement from the preseason weeks. Upped my number of reps and weights in each of the exercises which was good. Wasn't too sore, but worked really hard. Got a good sweat.

Ab Ripper should be named you have no abs you flabby girly man.

Freaking A....I got further this time before crapping out, and did the best I could with each exercise. I figure in 2 weeks or less I should be able to get through it.

I also had a game last night where I got shelled. But I played really well. No ill effects from the intense workout. Kept hydrated, my wife made me a healthy meal of chicken, edamame and some brown rice, I topped it off with a banana and went to my game feeling pretty good.

Today is Plyos...and I have another game, that will be 3 in 3 nights...but this game I skate out. We'll see how wiped I am from the plyos.

I have no idea what my start weight is, but we'll say for argument's sake 210....We'll see where I end up at. ]]> sloth2946 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=82 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=80 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:05:26 GMT Hey fellow GSBB members.... Just wanted to leave a note that I will start contributing more and more. I`ve stayed away for a while but I feel it`s time I come back and contribute whatever I can to this board. Some exciting things are coming up, so stay tuned to my blog, I`ll be posting here and... Hey fellow GSBB members....

Just wanted to leave a note that I will start contributing more and more.

I`ve stayed away for a while but I feel it`s time I come back and contribute whatever I can to this board.

Some exciting things are coming up, so stay tuned to my blog, I`ll be posting here and there.

Take care

Steph ]]> Stephane Lawa http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=80 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=79 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:14:51 GMT Day 5. Plyos.

Hard, of course. I 'brought it' harder than the last time. Had to pause a couple times but all in all, it wasn't bad. Legs were jello but no soreness the next day.

I sweat like a whore in church which is good.

Bonus was I got to do the funny plyos with this smoking hot girl who works in another office watching me do stupid things while she was on the treadmill.

:o

Day 6 - Shoulder, bi's, tri's + ab ripper

This is something I struggle with. I cut back a little on the weight so I could get the reps up and not have to pause any during the workouts, but still struggle with the last few reps. Set my goals around 12-15 reps per exercise and achieved or exceeded my targets.

Got a good workout but I have a ways to go on this one.

Ab Ripper....One word explains the experience...

WEAK!

Not the routine....the person doing it. My core is shot....awful, embarrassingly awful. I had a lot of trouble with this and need to get through it a couple times. I expect that if I get through it once or twice more I will be fine and start to work on getting some nice abs again. ]]> sloth2946 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=79 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=78 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:20:35 GMT I went back to the well for the Chest/Back workout. Ran out of time to do the ab ripper again...sigh.... I brought it a bit harder this time. Upped all my pushups by around 5 per set or more. Upped the weight on the back stuff by 10lbs from the previous time through. Got a good workout, but I... I went back to the well for the Chest/Back workout. Ran out of time to do the ab ripper again...sigh....

I brought it a bit harder this time. Upped all my pushups by around 5 per set or more. Upped the weight on the back stuff by 10lbs from the previous time through.

Got a good workout, but I was having a sinus headache from earlier in the day which made me want to quit early...but I stuck it out.

A little sore again today, but I noticed that my baseline strength and conditioning are returning which is good.

A co-worker saw me doing it and asked me about it this morning. He's interested.

One thing I liked and paid attention to was Tony's statement at some point in this workout about 'just show up' and 'just keep pressing play'. It resonates. If you just keep showing up and doing what you can, while you may not get the results to look like the people in the video or even the others who have posted before and after pictures. But you will get something. ]]> sloth2946 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=78 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=77 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:49:14 GMT P90X - Preseason - Day 3 - Shoulders/Arms

So far I think this was the toughest of them for me. Reason being is that I've never been an arms guy and I've had problems in the past with my left shoulder popping out.

So fortunately over the last 2 years I've been doing yoga which has stabilized the left shoulder but I am still wary of beating on my shoulders.

Also, I've never really worked the arms much in recent years...so there is a lot of weakness in there.

I had to really be low on the weights...to me it was embarrasingly low considering where I used to be 10 years ago. 10 years ago, I used to do dumbell curls of 50lbs....how the might have fallen.

Unfortunately due to time constraints I again was unable to do the ab ripper portion.

I also wont be doing it today or through until Monday because of a lack of facilities over the weekend that I can do this. Annoying...but it will motivate me.

So here I sit after 3 straight days of P90X and I do ache. The legs ache more today than yesterday but they didn't bother my much in my game last night. My shoulders hurt like hell and my triceps are tight and sore too.

I came out the shower today and turned to my wife and mentioned that it looks like I already shed a couple lbs(lord knows I could stand to shed a whole lot more!) and I was looking thinner and tighter already. She was probably being polite but she agreed.

So with a perceived result like that, it becomes even more motivating. 10 years ago I was dating a girl and to that point she hadn't seen me shirtless or in my boxers yet and after getting out of the shower after hockey practice to go out that night with her to a party she said to me that I was, in her words 'a f***ing stud' with regard to my physique. I want that back. I will get that back. ]]> sloth2946 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=77 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=75 Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:25:08 GMT P90X - Preseason Day #2 - Plyos

The mother of all P90X workouts according to Tony.

To say the least, I was a tad disappointed but still got a good workout.

Bear in mind, I am not currently in what I would call good shape. But legs is something I've always worked hard and I have some very strong ones.

The exercises themselves were not hard to do or finish per se, but rather it was the amount of them with the low rest intervals that really got me working up a killer sweat.

A good workout for sure, but I did not like the lack of explosiveness in the plyos. I am used to doing full exploding plyos, not controlled slow ones. Of course I can do more later when I get used to the program.

Today I don't feel bad. Probably better than if I went to the gym and did my usual leg workout....no definitely better because when I do my leg workout for the first time I can't walk for 2-3 days.

But that could be a function of the workout. I noticed a trend in how the workouts are designed, and how they start easier and the middle few sets are the hardest, but the last of the block of 4 exercises is a recovery exercise to clean out the muscles.

One thing I have noticed is the burn and how it lasts. For the last two days, at night I have gotten hot flashes(no, I am not going through menopause) in the areas that were worked out as they are still burning calories.

I slept well and needed less sleep than previous nights. I can already feel my metabolism starting to kick up a bit, and this is good. It has been a number of years since I have been able to do workouts on consecutive days. It feels good to be back doing it.

I have some definite opinions on the program and its effectiveness for training goalies but I will suspend them until I get at least into phase 2. ]]> sloth2946 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=75 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=73 Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:08:49 GMT A bit of a preface.

I am doing this 'preseason' to get ramped up for the real deal in 2 weeks. Reason being is that I have some stuff going on the next couple weeks which will interrupt what I feel is the most critical portion of the program, the first couple weeks, so I figure I will do what I can the first two weeks to get used to the routines and build my baseline conditioning for it.

That being said, yesterday was Day 1. I did the Chest/Back portion but due to time constraints(see preface!) I was unable to get into the Ab portion of the day's workout.

First thoughts about it, is that is is not as demanding as I expected but that is because I set realistic goals for each of the exercises. Sure it was at times half of what the people on the video were doing, but it is what I felt I could do without getting to the point where I couldn't finish in the allotted timeframe I had yesterday.

And with that being said, I could have pushed harder.

I had trouble with only the 'heart' pushups. Every other exercise I met or exceeded my goals.

With regard to the back work, instead of doing pull ups, which I intend on doing when I go live in two weeks, I used a cable pull down instead. I need to use heavier weights on that next time.

All in all I finished the workout and felt pretty good. Not too rough. I even played a game last night, although I didn't play well but I attribute that to a shoddy warmup, there were no ill effects from doing the workout. To say the least I was a little unimpressed, but I think that has a lot to do with me not 'bringing it' as I should. There is some soreness in the shoulders and elbow tendons. This is to be expected but it is not debilitating nor should it pose a problem going forward.

I will try to keep this log updated.

FWIW, last time I weighed myself I was in at 212. I did not do the fitness test as they recommend, I just don't have the time for that. I know what I can and cannot do. I will be pushing myself to 'bring it' as I ramp up to April 21st, my official start date on the program. ]]> sloth2946 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=73 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=70 Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:24:40 GMT Played in a tourney on Friday - co-ed one. The final was a bit of a rough/choppy game. The guys were hip checking me into my posts, the girls were "falling" on me and ****... but my team did nothing about it. (mind you there were all drunk pretty much..)

After the game one of my teammates was like - well if you would have told ____ or _____ they would have taken care of them for you.

Im thinking.... does the goalie really have to ask someone to take care of someone for you? Shouldn't it be an automatic reaction?


... ]]> Rockhell http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=70 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=67 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 05:32:35 GMT I finally got the call up to my cousins team. It didn't go as planned.I was shelled with shots and let in 6 goals.

If I can remember correctly, 2 goals were breakaways, one was a rebound and the others were all tip ins or redirections. One of which went off my mask and in.

Overall, I played well, it was just that the other team was cycling the puck like crazy and we couldn't really clear from our zone.

My overall record is now 7W and 7L. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=67 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=66 Mon, 21 Jan 2008 05:55:04 GMT Another game in which I was lit up. I faced 30 shots and saved 23. The other goalie faced 14 shots. At times, I made some good saves but I always let in a few goals that I should stop. Not that our team deserved to win, as we were out played, I wish I could have kept the score lower.

I'll try my best to remember each goal. The first goal was from my left and it found a hole between my blocker arm and body. I should have stopped that one by going into a bfly instead of a split v. The second goal was a mccabe. It seems to me that my teammate shot the puck in our own net. It all happened to fast that I didn't have time to react.

In the second period, a player walked into the slot untouched and fired a low left shot. Another goal came from a deflection, I could have stopped that one. I saw the play developing but I didn't adjust myself accordingly.

In the third, they scored 3 goals. The first goal came from in tight on the left side. The player had plenty of time to shoot. The shot went off my right shoulder and bounced in the back of the net. The other two goals were breakaways. I haven't faced a breakaway in a very long time since I don't attend many shinnys lately. On both breakaways, my movement was poor and sloppy. I was easily beat on both.

My place was mixed. I face lots of shots and did a good job on not allowing rebounds or directed rebounds. But that being said, I let in some goals that I should have stopped. I've been lit up the past 2 games and lost the past 3. I need to tighten my game up and get back on the W column.

Things I did well: Rebound Control and controlling my emotions after the two breakaway goals. (I was furious with myself)

Things to improve: Attend shinny so I can face lots of breakaways.

My overall record is now 7W and 6L. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=66 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=65 Mon, 14 Jan 2008 05:11:02 GMT Tonight didn't go very well. We lost this game badly. To start, I had a really tiring weekend. I went skiing the day before with only 2 hours sleep. Although I wasn't sore today, mentally and physically, I was lethargic. My reaction and movements were off and it showed. On top of this, the team didn't have its best performance. All things combined along with some bad bounces, we (I) conceded 6 goals.

The first goal was on the first shot. A pass from the blue line was coming at me, I thought the player who was receiving the pass was going to redirected it but he stopped the puck and showed some patience and slid the puck through my legs. The second goal came in the 2nd period, it was a slap shot from just in the blue line, that was low and hard to my right leg, it went off the post and in. That goal broke the 1-1 score line. The third goal was another shot from the blue line in which I was partially screened, when I saw the puck, it took a deflection into the bottom corner of the net. I didn't have much time to react. We pulled one back just before the period ended.

The third period was similar to a Leafs' collapse. A 2 on 2 rush was developing. The puck carrier took a shot from the left side to the ride, it took a deflection and went right to the player on the left who had the whole net to shoot at. The 5th goal came when a player beat 2 players and cut in front to the slot. He went to shot but my player made contact on his stick, preventing him from releasing the puck. As that happened, I dropped down into the butterfly. The player fought off the check and skated around me and shot the puck into the net as I dove across. The final goal came from a shot from the blue line that went off my dman's leg and ended up going between my 5 hole. We got our third goal with 4 seconds left on the clock.

The game did not go well. If I wasn't fatigued from the prior two days, I could have prevented a few of those goals.

Things I did well: Didn't let my emotions show.

Things I need to improve: Once again, playing the puck, I could have helped my team a bit by stopping the puck behind my net.

My record is now 7W and 5L ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=65 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=64 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 05:35:00 GMT Tonight we played the Fat Cats. A team that hasn't lost in regulation. Their only two losses have come in OT. Needless to say, we were determined to hand them their first loss.

During the first period, we played really well defensively. My teammates were blocking shots, breaking up passes and clearing any rebounds I may have given out. I made a few saves in this period. Most of which were gut traps. We were rewarded with a goal. We took a 1-0 into the 2nd period.

In the 2nd, we did manage to apply some pressure but we ran into some penalty trouble and the Fat Cats began to gain momentum. However my teammates did keep their shooters to the outside but the Fat Cats did manage to get one by me. It was a shot from just inside the blue line that barely went through my body and my blocker. I thought I had in as the puck made a huge boom as it hit the upper portion of my pants. Little did I know it barely trickled past the line. I should have saved that one. Bad goal on my part. I'm starting to believe that the length of my stick might be costing me these types of goals as I have been noticing this happens frequently.

In the third we kept up with out defensive play but the Fat Cats did manage to get another one by me (Barely) The player shot just to the right of the slot to my low blocker side. I did make the save but it somehow trickled in. Another shot, I felt I should have kept out. Later on in the period, we ran into more penalty trouble. The Fat Cats got another one by me. A player skates out 4-5 feet from the top of my crease and backhanded the puck in the opposite direction I was moving, over my blocker shoulder. I could have stopped that one, perhaps I over played the shooter but the backhand was hard to read. However, as soon as I was skating to the bench for an extra attacker, we scored, making the score 3-2 with just under a minute left. In the next sequence of plays, we were applying pressure but it wasn't meant to be. We got a crosschecking penalty which was bogus. The Fat Cats have a few female members on the team and one of them was crosschecking our player in the lower back. Finally, my teammate had enough and gave are a crosscheck back. We got the penalty and were upset. To cut a long story short, our player was ejecting for chirping to the Ref, as he skated off the rink, the door didn't close behind him, the Ref thought our player purposely didn't close the door and instructed the time keeper to run the clock. That was the game.

Overall, we played well as a Team to come close to beating a team that should be playing in a higher league than us was nothing to be ashamed about.

Things I did well: Communicated with my teammates and tried to keep them working hard. As well as not letting any goals rattle me.

Things to Improve: Shots between my body and blocker need to be stopped. If I stopped the first goal, we would have had an excellent chance to gain at least a point. I'm going to change to a shorter paddle and see if I notice a change.

My overall Record is now 7W and 4L. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=64 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=63 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:50:59 GMT Another win for me but I felt that I didn't play my best. For some reason, I can never play my best with the Bush Pigs. I think its because of the huge loss I had with them. It still looms over my head when I play.

We took the lead in the first but the Hawks managed to tie the game before the end of the first. I botched a catch and the puck fell just in front of me. Someone in the scramble managed to squeak in between my legs. I should have caught the initial shot, I should have used the paddle down technique to prevent the goal. Overall, it was a weak one to let in.

We took the lead in the second that was similar to the first goal we scored. We took the 2-1 lead into the third but I did have a shakey moment. The puck was coming straight at me and an opposing player was skating their hardest to reach it. I paddled down and tried to cover it up with my glove. The puck went to my right and luckily the ref blew the whistle. However, I did have an active stick and I deflected a few shots to the corners and broke up a few passes.

In the third, the Hawks tied the game. We couldn't clear the zone and we were punished. The puck was lingering a little right in the slot, the player spun around and fired a low shot to my right side, the puck hit the post and went in. Once again, a shot I should have saved. Luckily the guys never gave up and found the GWG with 2 minutes left. That was the game. I did manage to make some key saves in the third without giving up any rebounds.

Things I did well: With the exception of the first goal, I did a good job on either deflecting pucks to the corners or gut trapping them.

Things to Improve: Stopping the puck behind the net when the puck is dumped in.

My overall record now is 7W and 3L. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=63 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=62 Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:11:22 GMT Not much to say here. The team we were playing hadn't won a game this season. I wasn't busy. I faced about 5 shots. Overall it was a boring game.

Overall Record is now 6W and 3L.

This is my second shutout. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=62 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=61 Wed, 02 Jan 2008 06:57:18 GMT Well, I have been thinking about doing this for quite a while now but have been too busy, until now. I decided I should start by presenting a couple of phrases myself and MTN Goaltending have been trying to correct or dispell. Why would I focus on the way some things are said throughout the... Well, I have been thinking about doing this for quite a while now but have been too busy, until now. I decided I should start by presenting a couple of phrases myself and MTN Goaltending have been trying to correct or dispell.

Why would I focus on the way some things are said throughout the goaltending world? Simple, I am a high school English teacher/goalie coach and understand how language influences our thoughts and understanding.

Incorrect statement #1: The goaltender must be square to the shooter.

No, the goaltender must be square to the puck at all times, unless the puck is behind the net. All sense of a goaltender's angles and positioning are based on the current and future position of the puck. Goaltenders need only worry about what the puck sees (the puck's perspective, which will be discussed later) and the angles the puck will take to enter the net.

Unfortunately, I have heard countless times how a goaltender must be "square to the shooter". In many cases goaltenders and other hockey people assume that a goaltender is really saying they are square to the puck. It is incorrect in many situations in life, including hockey, to assume that people may know the correct way of doing something while discussing it or explaining it incorrectly. George Carlin once said something along the line, "we think in language. So, the quality of our thoughts and our lives are directed by the quality of our thoughts." This holds true for goaltenders as well.

Many new and veteran goaltenders have heard or read, on this board, from coaches, in scouting reports or in the media the idea of being square to the shooter and may have been on angle with the shooter causing many other problems which only get worse over time unless they get the proper instruction. In order to continue the evolution of goaltending supremacy I think a change of some common ideas and language that is used incorrectly will help to keep goaltending evolving.

I have a number of these I will discuss in the future. Feel free to discuss. ]]> harri1 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=61 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=59 Mon, 31 Dec 2007 06:12:15 GMT I hate yard work. I hate all aspects of it. Mowing. Weeding. Mulching. Watering. But I can appreciate a nice looking yard especially one I helped push, pull, shovel, and piss on. I appreciate that stuff even more now. Two years into a six year lockup yard work sounds great, it sounds like... I hate yard work. I hate all aspects of it. Mowing. Weeding. Mulching. Watering. But I can appreciate a nice looking yard especially one I helped push, pull, shovel, and piss on. I appreciate that stuff even more now. Two years into a six year lockup yard work sounds great, it sounds like heaven. It sounds like independence. It sounds like freedom and still sounds like ****. I’m being held at the Hiawatha Correctional Facility in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I deserve to be here, and that sucks. That is where this begins. It might take me a minute to get there, but I have to catch you up on some stuff first.
In 2010 I was convicted of an assault that was alcohol related. I had a wife at the time, and we have two kids together. Alcohol related is how they say it in court like it’s some innocence lynchpin, truth is I was stinking drunk and beat the **** out of some guys. They had it coming, my wife didn’t. I got six, two and a half with good behavior, plus the knowledge that my life outside these walls had expired. When I was sentenced I thought good behavior would be impossible and then I met Troy. Troy is big, black, and religious. He’s also one of my roommates. It’s different than TV would have you believe. Very little sex, very little drugs, just guys sitting around watching TV bragging about who they were and bitching about what they aren’t. Personally I dug the weight room, dug the yard and dug the no booze. Why working out, planting **** and not drinking was so hard for me outside of this **** heap will always be a mystery to me. You hear it all the time in jail, guys bitching about what could have been. You can wake up from this nightmare you just have to serve your time in hell first. The hell of jail is the monotony.
I wake up every day at six thirty with nothing but contempt for the dreams in my head. I always dream of living with my family in my parents’ old house that they sold when I was twelve. After a few months of having these visions I visited the prison library, which depressingly enough had a number of books on interpreting and analyzing dreams. I wasn’t the first inmate to wonder about escape, even if for only eight hours a day. It turns out that it’s common to associate your dream home with the house you were happiest in. Which is just plain old ****ed for me because the happiest I ever was in a house was when we first got married and the little bulge of pregnancy was just starting to show on Jen’s belly. We lived in a rat’s nest, but it never felt that way. The bigger our houses got the worse I felt about everything, debt was never easy for me. I don’t think it is for most people, but Americans have learned to accept it for some reason. My first car loan made me feel like I was drowning, and owning a house made me nauseous for about a month. But it was what I thought I wanted, and it was certainly what Jen wanted. I just hadn’t figured on all the ****ing yard work.
When I first got to prison I was terrified, I’d been in county before but that’s nothing like the sprawling supermax prison I saw as the bus pulled up. It was enormous and completely isolated from the real world; any thoughts of escape were dashed out of the heads of everyone on that bus. Not only would you have to get through concrete, razor wire, guards, dogs and police, you would also have to survive a very forbidding wilderness. It wasn’t quite Alcatraz, but it looked enough like an island to me. The first few days were a blur, and the schedule was absolute hell. But the longer I went without getting raped or stabbed or even ****ed with the more I realized this place was full of a lot of guys just like me. Not to say it didn’t house its share of murderers and rapists, it just seemed that most of us were more interested in getting through our time quietly than in dying behind the walls. I met Troy and the rest of the hooligans when I first got to my pod, we briefly made eye contact and I put my **** away. Troy and I didn’t actually speak for about week or so which was perfect for me, I didn’t have anything to say. The rest of my new roommates weren’t nearly as shy.
Here is how the regular parts of the Hiawatha facility are set up: Units of 60 men that spend yard time and social time together that are broken into groups of six men into each room or pod. Your pod is where you sleep, ****, and hang out when the unit is closed. I never found out just how many units there were at Hiawatha because I couldn’t bring myself to care but it was a big place and it was always full. My new roomies all seemed like a decent enough bunch and my worst fears were somewhat alleviated upon introduction. Charlie was a couple of years younger than me and had been trafficking (and certainly using) methamphetamine. He was the first person I met who was in for meth but not the last, that drug had taken over rural Michigan the same way gin took over Holland a few hundred years ago. Sam was busted traveling into Canada with a large amount of prescription pills. He had obviously missed the memo that drugs of that sort were much easier to obtain legally in our northern neighbor. Dan’s conviction seemed eerily similar to mine. He was drunk and smashed a guy outside of a bar; he just had worse luck than I did, his late night punching bag fell on a curb and landed him in a manslaughter conviction instead of an assault. Matt was the odd man out. He never really talked about what he did to end up here. We all knew it was rape; the Internet is why most prisoners don’t lie or keep quiet about that **** anymore. There are lots of rapists in prison, why be a rapist and a liar?
“I’m here because I killed my wife”
was the first thing Troy said to me.
“I just want to get that out of the way. I don’t want to talk about it so don’t ask.”
Then he picked up his book. We didn’t talk again for another day or so; I think he was just trying to see how I’d react to being locked in a room with a murderer. Troy had been an idiot just like me it turned out, lots of bull**** and no end of it coming until he walked in here eight years before I did. Since then he’d gotten his GED, a bachelors in finance, and been born again. He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met and we agree on just about everything. Our religious views don’t jibe so that’s a subject I don’t bring up, any dissenting opinion I have as far that goes gets met with scripture and I heard enough of that growing up. One thing we definitely agreed on was the war. It was obvious even to us that the war wasn’t working, it was a complete cluster **** before Iran showed missiles and from then on it just got worse. It’s weird, when Bush was president everybody **** all over what he was doing in Iraq but when the Democrats took over things just got worse over there. First we tried removing troops and then we tried sending them back. Popular opinion got worse as the bodies and years piled up. I thought the idea of war with Iran would die when Bush left office but they changed that in a hurry. When Iran revealed mid-range nuclear missiles the whole region panicked and so did we. Instituting a national draft seemed like it was just around the corner when we started bombing missile launch sites, voluntary military enrollment was at an all time low. It turned out that being at war for ten years with no end in sight puts a damper on kids signing up for the army, G.I. bill or not and the possibility of getting turned to dust by an ill made nuke from Iran put even more of a hold on new soldiers.
The rest of the guys in my unit all had differing opinions; they basically went from “just nuke ‘em” to
“build a fence, **** ‘em” with a whole lot of politically incorrect middle ground. The only unifying opinion was
that there was nothing further we could do there, not too surprising considering most of the guys I met at Hiawatha either had a dad or uncle who’d done a tour in Nam or Iraq
or had been there themselves. It was tough getting a real read on what the rest of the world was up to. Every guy there had a little black and white television and CNN was the jam if it wasn’t movie night, it was something for all of us to agree on. The war was ****ed, is ****ed and will probably be ****ed in a year. The Dear John letter equivalent of 2010 was getting some mail from your son or kid brother that he had signed on, and “It’s going to be really exciting” was the new death knell. I was watching my TV when Iran revealed missiles, I was watching when we took all of the launch sites out, we were all watching when a missile nailed Israel and didn’t detonate, and we were all watching when with Israel at our side we turned the Muslim nations against us by invading Iran.
From what I could tell on my ten inch TV World War Three was getting underway. From what I could tell by talking to the older guys in the unit World War Three had started the second we walked into Iraq and I’m not sure I believed that but I knew we were knee deep in a hornets’ nest. Three weeks in I started having mental lapses, I kept
waking up at home. Troy somehow was always awake and we’d talk about it. He helped me so much in those first months. The other guys in that pod were meatheads, they had what was on the surface and that was it. Troy was different, and he made me get clean (I was there physically but not mentally). I wasn’t deep enough in Hiawatha yet to have a good handle on how to get high but it never really came up, my friend handled that. “Do you get to touch a woman tomorrow?”
“What movie you gon’ see next week?”
“Memorial day’s comin’ up, where you goin boy?” ]]> adavis http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=59 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=57 Mon, 24 Dec 2007 14:33:52 GMT Last night was my bday and I couldn't figure out a better way to celebrate with a OT win.

I was tested early and often in the first. I made some good saves including a tip. I managed to cover up the rebound before anyone could bang in the loose puck. I also made some good stick saves by directing a few shots to the corners.

The second period was similar to the first with the exception that they beat me twice in 30 seconds. The first goal squeaked under my blocker arm as the player came in on my left. He didn't have any net to shoot at as I dropped in my butterfly but it found a hole. To be honest, this seems to be happening quite often. My next stick will be shorter. I think my 27 inch paddle is keeping my arms from squeezing close to my body. The second goal was a intight onetimer in which the pass game from a player doing their best 99 impression.

In the third period, the Lynx (the team I play for) took over. We found 2 goals mid way through the third and came close to getting the winner in regulation. I wasn't very busy in this period. My team did a great job at keeping the play in the other end.

It was a 3 on 3 overtime. There was lots of ice for players to work with. I made a glove save and a nice wrap around save with my blocker to keep the game at 2 a piece. We finally put the game to rest with less than a minute in OT. A nice pass from the left wing over to the right. Our player had the patience to wait for the goalie to make his move and the puck ended up in the net. It felt good to come back and win this game.

Overall my performance was so so. I could have saved those two goals.

Things I did well: Directed shots to the corner with my stick and blocker.

Things to remember: Check out in front while the puck is behind the icing line. I felt as the second goal was a result of not looking over to see if a player was coming in.

My overall record is 5W and 3L. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=57 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=56 Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:04:19 GMT I've been on a bit of a slump with the Bush Pigs. I was desperate to get back to the win column and I managed to do so tonight.

Gatewire wire came out flying in the first period. Since they were short players, I figured their strategy was to build up some lead and protect it in the final stages of the game. I made some good saves in the first. The one that sticks out in my mind is a pass from behind the icing line game out in front, I met the shot with a butterfly slide and the puck hit my square in the pants. However, once again, I gave up a goal with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first. It was a slapper from my right that beat my just above my left pad. The first period went well, I made some good saves, had some luck with the puck hitting the post and gave up a goal which wasn't weak.

The second period began and it was obvious gatewire were tiring. They did manage to get some shots off but I held my ground. The Bush Pigs took tied the game and soon after took the lead. By the end of the second, we had a two goal lead. My goal now was not to let them back in with a goal.

The third started and I continued to play well. They had a chance early on in the period in which a player on my left shot a puck to my blocker. I made the save but gave out a rebound that was lying around in the blue ice. Luckily I covered up just before a player streaking in was looking to tap it in. Soon after we scored another goal to make it 4-1. We didn't look back and won 5-1.

My overall record is now 4W and 3L.

Things I did well: Kept my focus on the puck at all times.

Things to improve on: Not giving up goals late in the period. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=56 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=54 Wed, 19 Dec 2007 06:16:34 GMT I've been doing the autobiographical thang lately. Here's a few pages of an early draft:

I hate commercials in the down time. Lexi resplendent new and bound in ribbon, toys made cheaply with prices not corroborative and husband after husband gifting shill wife after shill wife with diamonds foisted from a country bleeding to death due to western necessity and materialism. Most of me wants nothing to do with this crap but a part of me loves the idea of presenting family members with cars larger than necessary, overpriced and unfunctional toys and stones with no real value beyond the one presented to us by companies gaining through oppression. I’m American and so even though I resist this sensory assault I sure wish I could afford to take part. I have a feeling that if I was fiscally capable I still wouldn’t but to be able and not is different than being too poor to partake.

It’s three weeks from Christmas and I’m broke, like dead broke and for what? Three more shops opened up in the last month and not a single one is worth a ****. I’d kill to be the worst piercer in town instead of being the best and going broke because of ****ing carpetbaggers horning in on an industry they know nothing of. It’s criminal to care so much for what you do and be so good at it just to have it all made irrelevant by some piece of **** using impure metal in a dirty environment with no training. Beat me because you’re better and I’ll never complain, beat me because you’re cheaper and you’re breaking my heart. I keep at this job for other people and because I’m terrified to do anything else. I have no passion anymore for something that has enriched my life as much as my daughter does and unlike the love I’ll always have for her my love for modification and the industry surrounding it is dead because of money.

A few years ago I took up cooking as a hobby and after catering a wedding and helping friends host other like minded gatherings I had people asking me on a daily basis when I was going to start work as a chef. Never was my constant answer, piercing professionally has killed a passion already and I don’t want to kill another. Not that piercing isn’t doing a fine job of squashing that bug on its own merits, it’s been months since I had the money to make a good home cooked meal for my family, haute or otherwise. I think of all the people whose lives I’ve positively affected because they got good professional work and advice from me even if I was uninvolved with their original piercing and who were unappreciative and of the two careers I’ve launched for others asking nothing in return, monetary or otherwise and I wonder why I bother. People are making good money with a lot less love and talent than I have for modification. In doing so they ruin someone who may have someday become enthusiastic for the hobby had their first job not been so botched and they rob a good practitioner of this work of both a current customer and a future one as well. That makes no mention of the hard healing, scarring and potentially life threatening diseases they dole out with crooked and improperly placed dirty work.

I don’t want you to think I’m big headed, there are many body piercers and scarification artists with more talent than me and I take my hat off to those people. I’ll make my head cold as well for all those who are not as good as me but still charge a fair price, use good jewelry/techniques and always try to better themselves. I’ve never said once that I’ve done a perfect piercing and I’ve done over one hundred thousand of them; good chance I never will. The only perfection I want is looking at it on you, thinking that it sits right and having you smile at me and mentioning that it makes you happy. I’m used to not getting tips, working an eight-hour shift for no money, dealing with smelly rude people and drinking too much when its all done. What I’m utterly unable to wrap myself around is you coming to see me, telling me what you want, approving of the markings and then when all is said and done saying you don’t like the work. One woman questioned why she should pay me for the job when she was unhappy with how the piercing looked on her face and my response was as chipper as I could manage.
“You liked the marks right?”
“Yes…”
“And we hit those marks?”
”Yes…”
“So what don’t you like about it?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you’re unhappy enough that you don’t think you should pay for it?
“Yes.”
“Did I show you the jewelry?”
“Yes.”
“So what don’t you like?”
“I don’t know.”
“It might take time to get used to…”
“Ooh I don’t know, I just don’t see why I should have to pay when I’m not happy.”
“What are you unhappy with, is there anything I could have done to have made this smoother for you?”
“No you did a great job, I just don’t like it. Can I talk to a manager?”
“You are. I can get an owner for you?”
“That sounds great.”

So I did and he backed up my line of thinking. The sick thing is that I don’t think she was trying to run a scam at all, she just didn’t see why she should have to pay when we did everything she asked and she still wasn’t happy. Had I sold her tainted food I’d get it but what belies this kind of thinking? Some of you people I’ll never understand, I can’t prevent your insecurity about yourselves. It’s like asking for money back on a perfect haircut bitch; you said short.

A similar situation arose from a couple but in this case the finances were fine. Same time period as the past one just a different year and the monetary situation on my end was similar; I’d endured another day of no work. The situation seemed normal enough, happy husband wanted to buy nipple piercings for the wife and she was game. Might sound weird to a normal person but in a line of work where I actively screen forced situations as best possible this one was as normal as boob adornment for Christmas could ever be. They did paperwork and we went to the prepared room. She removed her shirt and lay prone on the table as I prepared supplies and the three of us made small talk, her breasts had been augmented and quite obviously so to someone like me who is paid to notice. The job was clean and without much scarring but still clear enough through matching scars to a trained eye. I cleaned the tissue and made marks to verify symmetry, both for them and myself. That done she stood and they were pleased so she returned to the table. This is where the issues began, with jewelry. Female nipple piercings pose a unique difficulty in that if one is using a post or barbell to do the job than said post needs to contain a diameter slightly longer than the actual length of the piercing. I explained this as I always do and showed the length of the pieces of steel in relation to the presumed distance of the piercings on calipers when the male of the group interrupted the normal discussion being held by the woman and I.

“Those are too long, they don’t fit her tits at all.”

I explained in as nice of tone as possible at this point once again exactly why they needed to be fitted in such a way.
“You’re trying to rip me off.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean you’re saying I have to buy this **** now and then after six months of my wife’s tits looking ****ed up I have to spend more money just so they finally look right?”
“No, what I’m saying is that if you want your wife’s piercings to heal correctly they need to be done with proper jewelry.”

She interrupted our repor:
“Let’s just go honey, your getting angry and I don’t want you to take it out on this guy.”
“I’m fine with the situation, I’m just trying to rationalize my reasoning.”
“My husband can get violent, we need to leave before that happens.”
I looked at this useless piece of man with his store bought wife and her store bought tits, and for one of the only times in my career I was aghast. I’m not a tough guy but unless this trumped up pile of **** had a gun there’s no way he’s going to thrash me and then six co-workers on his way out. Yet they both seemed to believe they could just physically threaten people. The pair left after she dressed without incident aside from him calling me a con man. I hurt my hand punching a wall; it was December 19th.

This kind of crap always happens before Christmas, when even my veins are running with dreams of green instead of red. Unfortunately December is the month least likely for one to spend selfish moneys on things like piercings and instead to furnish Debeers and its fellow rackets with the necessary cash to continue functioning. Twelve years in and I still hate Decembers, someday I hope to enjoy Christmas again but not while I’m working a commission only job for a pay scale that diminishes to nothing as the days close on the holiday. The grand finale is the week before the big day, more than once I’ve spent that time working my shifts for no money. On one of those occasions a co-worker and I (who is now my brother in law) left work early on Christmas Eve and pooled our money for comestibles resulting in a purchase of two thirty packs of very cheap beer. Christmas arrived bleary and earlier than necessary but the combined income spent did take some of the holiday edge off, regardless it’s not a stunt I’ve needed to pull since. I guess I’m not as broke as I used to be. ]]> adavis http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=54 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=52 Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:25:18 GMT This year I tried out for a few teams that were very permitting on the circumstance. First I tried Fort Erie near me waiting to see if they would have a goalie shortage for a chance to play. then I heard about a Grimsby team that I would not have to worry about numbers as it was an age group older... This year I tried out for a few teams that were very permitting on the circumstance. First I tried Fort Erie near me waiting to see if they would have a goalie shortage for a chance to play. then I heard about a Grimsby team that I would not have to worry about numbers as it was an age group older (major midget) and the coach had invited me out as he tried to sign me last year but couldn't due to league regulations (no goalie shortage in my agegroup).

I am only 5'3" and playing with major midgets I was instantly the underdog, I even heard people in the dessing room talin about how much they though I would suck. As it turns out I played soem top notch hockey and was really in a groove. The coach basically told me I had a spot on the team before the last tryout. But when I found out practice schedules I realized it would not be possible without quitting school. Then the A coach in Niagar Falls myu city invited me out. I had not played in Niagara Falls lately or wanted to after what I went through with the last coach who cut me through a vendetta with my dad. Eventually we went down to three goalies and I felt I was the best goalie in the tryouts. But as it turns out I was cut because the coach is not knowledgeable to the goaltender position and had never seen us in game situation. So he picked the other goalies in main part due to hieghtand asked me to attend practices to keep game ready if need be. I took the icetime knowing it could really only help me.

I have gone to almost every practise held so far exept for one bag skate because I am not even on the team so shouldn't be punished as roughly. Now I am stuck going up and down, working my ass off every practise and continually show there goalies up, I have still been fighting to get on the team but the coach seems to have no real interest. December 10th was the last day for me to physically have a chance to make the team. Obviously nothing happened. so three times a week I go up continue to work hard while thes other two goalies relax and are obviously at a lower level than me. The one goalie cannot b-fly slide to his left and is constantly beat with players moving that way. While the other goalie is just a giant who cannot move anyway.

I have been very frustrated lately as all hardwork is unnoticed and I am just practising with a team I should be not only on but the starter. I am feeling very unmotivated lately and don't know what to do. I know I should continue to attend the practices to get me ready for next year but I am so frustrated. I don't know what to do anymore and am in a rough situation. I feel like yhe third dtring to Broduer never getting a chance to play but I have to keep showing up and woking hard, day in, and day out. ]]> TAS33 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=52 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=51 Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:49:15 GMT Tonight was an odd game. Due to the weather, both teams only have 7 skaters and a goalie. From my research on this team, they had two main threats. One guy had a 5 PPGA and the other wasn't too far behind. I made note of their jersey numbers.

I step onto the ice early and do stretches/warm up shots. I started to feel drained. I had a long day, I got up early and spent a lot of time shoveling snow. The game started and I noticed their second best player made the game, their best did not. However, I still felt drained and it seemed obvious (to me at least) as I was making some shaky saves. The first period was coming to a close and a player skated just past the blue line and released a howitzer that went over my shoulder, and hit the underneath of the crossbar and into the net. It was a good shot but I should have challenged a bit more. I was already out on the white ice, another foot out would have stopped the shot.

The second period starts and my team (The Lynx) finds an equalizer from a shot from the blue line. The score is now 1 - 1 and I was still feeling very tired. I was taking on quite a bit of shots but I was no longer shaky. I did very well in not letting out any rebounds.

The third period begins and this is where the Stingrays really started to take over. It seemed like a 10 minute power play. I was peppered with shots but I was making the saves and more importantly, not giving up any second chances. I made at least 3 glove saves and 4 gut traps in the third period (along with many others). Every face off in our end we would lose and a shot would come in. I was really standing on my head and I no longer felt tired. BUT with 40 seconds left in the game, my d-man couldn't clear the puck from our zone. a shot came in from the point but it was slightly blocked. I was moving to my left and I quickly had to move back to my right in a butterfly slide, as I did the player jumped on the loose puck and shot it in the opposite direction I was traveling. They finally solved me. The game ended 2 - 1 but I was very happy with my game. I felt that I played my very best game thus far in my young beer league career:p.

On the game sheet, its says that I only faced 22 shots and the other goalie faced 21. That is a bunch of BS because I made at least 10-15 saves in the 3rd period alone. I guess they really didn't keep track.

Things I did well: Gut traps and my glove didn't have any pop outs. I have a love/hate relationship with my KOHO/RBK glove.

Things to work on: I really need to learn how to cushion a weak shot with my stick. Tonight, the puck would be coming right at me, I would drop down to the butterfly and let the puck hit my stick. The puck either bounced up and hit my mask or went out just in front of me which allowed me to cover. I need to perform this save much more comfortably.

Overall record is now 3W - 3L. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=51 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=50 Fri, 14 Dec 2007 02:26:07 GMT Tonight was my first game back with the Bush Pigs after my brutal game last Thursday. My goal was to redeem myself and win the game for the team. Things started well in the first as we took the lead 1-0. Later on we were on a 4 minute PP. Things were looking good as we were buzzing in their zone.... Tonight was my first game back with the Bush Pigs after my brutal game last Thursday. My goal was to redeem myself and win the game for the team. Things started well in the first as we took the lead 1-0. Later on we were on a 4 minute PP. Things were looking good as we were buzzing in their zone. However, there was a 2 on 1 rush coming at me. My D-man skated hard back and was all over the puck carrier (to myt right) but he managed to get a shot off and I lost myself in the crease and a bad goal that went glove side beat me. I was really disappointed with this goal, there should have been no way he could beat me from that angle. I shook the goal off and tried to clear my head.

The second period started and once again we were buzzing but we couldn't find a second goal. For a moment, it looked like we took the lead but the net was dislodged. This was a theme in the game, whenever the puck was down low and there was a scramble, the net would always get dislodged. It must have happened 3-5 times. Anyway, getting back to my play. An opposing player skated around my D man on my right and came across my crease. I got down in the split V position and went to travel across my crease with the player. Perhaps I cheated a bit and moved too fast to my left because the player got a shot of which went off my blocker, pop up in the air a bid and landed in the net. It was another goal that I wish I could have back.

The shots that I did save were usually at me. I either gut trapped them or they fell just behind the thighrise of my pads. The game ended 2-1 and I felt that I let the team down again. For some strange reason, I never really feel like I'm myself out on the ice on Thursdays. I know I can play better but I manage to let in some weak goals. I really need to eliminate this from my game.

Things I did well: Didn't give any bad rebounds.

Things I need to improve: My angle play was off again. Recognize that when the team has a penalty call, that I have to skate my arse off to the bench and not watch the aftermath of the penalty that was just called.

My overall record is 3 wins and 2 losses. My next game is on Sunday and I plan to play shinny on Saturday in order to works on a few things. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=50 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=49 Mon, 10 Dec 2007 04:48:58 GMT Tonight was all about bouncing back for me. My last game on thursday night was terrible so I was looking to put a solid game together. On Saturday night, I went to play some shinny to work on a few things but the guy who sharpened my skates severely messed them up so I didn't have too much playing. I pretty much just stood there.

So I got my skates fixed up and drove to the rink. The game started and my focus was not to let in any bad goals. The entire game I had this fear. I'm not sure if how this effected my game. In the first period, I made a key stop on a break away and a one timer blocker save. It gave me a boost in confidence. At the end of the first is was 2-0 Lynx.

The second period began and my good play continued. I made a point blank save from a pass that came out front and I made a good one time save moving left to right with my right pad. However the Sunday PM Indys did manage to get 2 by me. The first was a wrap around in which the player skated around my D man on my right and scored down low on the left side of the net. For some reason as I tried to push to my left to meet the player there, my skates got caught, I suppose my edge control let me down there. The second goal was a complete screen that found its way under me. It was a shot from my right side. I had at least 3 players in front of me. None the less, I should have fought harder to find the puck and make the save.

The third period began and all I thought was don't let in a soft goal that will cost the team. During the third, I was peppered with shots. I made some one timer saves, and some other saves in which I released no rebound or directed them to the corner. I stood my ground and kept the score level and 2 goals a piece. With 1:30 left in the game, the Lynx scored to take the lead, a few moments later, we scored an open netter. After words, it felt great to win the game especially since we scored late on.

Overall my record now is 3 wins and 1 lose. Hopefully I can carry this momentum into thursdays game. I really need to win this one since my play last week was poor.

Things I did well: Made key saves when I had to. (one timers and breakaway)

Things I didn't do well: Lately I'm experiencing pop outs with my glove but only when I drop to the butterfly. I have to track these pucks better so that they land in the pocket. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=49 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=48 Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:51:13 GMT Well today was my third official game (Bush Pigs vs Fickle Fish). It couldn't have gone any worse. The game started off good as I made a glove save from a player cutting in tight, the next play up ice, my team takes the lead. However, things got bad....really bad. The final score was 10 - 4. This game was lost really due to my poor performance. I must have let in 3 to 4 goals that were along the ice and required a right pad save. I think that I just wasn't aggressive enough on cutting down the angle as it seemed like they were always finding the post and going in. The other goals were shots that either squeaked under my arms or just were banged in from in tight.

After the game, I really felt like ****e. I apologized to the team for my poor performance. It's kinda tough because I'm filling in for someone and I know I didn't play to my abilities. Entering the game, I should have sharpened my skates, I think they would have helped me with at least two goals and would have boosted my confidence.

Things I did well: Contained my emotions despite the score line.

Things I didn't do well: Not aggressive enough on cutting down the angle.

I really want to shake this game off. I think I'm going to get my skates sharpened early tomorrow morning and head to a 3 hour shinny session. Hopefully the team hasn't lost confidence in me as I'm determined to win the next game with the Bush Pigs.

Any comments are welcomed. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=48 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=47 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 03:40:51 GMT Tonight was my second game with the Lynx. Turns out only 5 players showed up. Apparently the rules state you need 6 to play. The other team donated a player in order to get the first whistle.

So I thought to myself that we could still get something from this game, perhaps a tie. Well, I didn't set the tone early. One of the first shots came in along the ice, I drop down to a butterfly and the puck hits my stick. The problem was I was trying to deaden the puck but it rebounded out and the guy who just took the shot, picks it up and skates around me for the first goal. It was one of those shots where I wasn't sure if I should deflect to the corner or cushion it.

The second goal was a break away, I got a piece of it but it found its way to the net. Some other goals that I could remember were 2 deflections, one of them by my team mate. Another goal scored on me was a 2 on 1. I was thinking pass the entire time and I cheated a bit and got burned. Overall, I felt like I could have played better, I made some alright saves but I still think that I could have kept the game close. The final score was 7-2. Anyway, I get home and I want to check the game sheet to see how many shots I faced and it turns out the game was called a forfeit. So this brings me to my last question, should this count in my overall record???

Things I did well: Not sure:confused:

Things to improve: Rebound control was off tonight. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=47 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=44 Fri, 30 Nov 2007 05:28:08 GMT I just finished my second novel, it's a shorty but I love it. New doors sliding open? We'll see. ]]> adavis http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=44 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=43 Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:55:43 GMT Tonight was my second league game. It was for the Bushpigs. It was a D league team in Etobicoke. Tonight we faced the 1st place team and won 6-0. The opposing team wasn't very good and the Bushpigs played awesome in front of me. I didn't face more than 10 shots and my most difficult save was a breakaway save that I shut the door down for the fivehole. Even though I didn't have too much work to do, I was glad I preserved the shutout.

Things I did well: Kept my focus in a game with very little action.

Things to work on: Once again playing the puck. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=43 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=42 Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:04:01 GMT I’m sitting on the couch, in a pair of shorts, staring and poking at the enormous bruise on my thigh. An enormous bruise that I got from playing men’s recreational hockey at the local university for free, heck I have paid a good portion of my wages to be spanked black and blue by that frozen rubber... I’m sitting on the couch, in a pair of shorts, staring and poking at the enormous bruise on my thigh. An enormous bruise that I got from playing men’s recreational hockey at the local university for free, heck I have paid a good portion of my wages to be spanked black and blue by that frozen rubber puck.

Why would I be fascinated with a game and a position, if I continuously come home to ice, giant hemotomas the size of grapefruits. I stare at it, fascinated by the mixture of colours that rival only the gay pride flag.

I don’t know how it started but I do know when. The most common stories are of the little brother who was forced to be a target for the older siblings, or the kid who was asked to play goal when the regular guy didn’t show up for a game, or even the little guy who wanted to be on the team so bad he was willing to take galvanized rubber disks to the melon.

I on the other hand was a defenseman up until the age of 12 at least. But I was always fascinated by the equipment these warriors would wear. I didn’t quit understand why they would want to do this to themselves, block hundred mile an hour shots that is. But the gear was the coolest thing in the world.

When I made the change to play between the pipes, there weren’t any of these multi-coloured pads, with graphics of rabid dogs on them. The all white pad had just started to peak its head out of the leather tan coloured clouds. And I was hooked from that moment on. I had to play goal, just to get the chance to wear those cool looking deer hair stuffed leg warmers. Little did I know that they were going to ask me to stop pucks as well. I thought I was just going to sit in the net and look pretty. This is how my personal philosophy on goaltending got its start, “It doesn’t matter if you stop the puck, as long as you look good doing it.”

I was shocked and appalled to find out that my first pair of goal pads were not going to be that cool. In fact they were going to be far from cool. So damn far from cool, I was going to be the President of the AV Club of goaltending equipment.

When I started playing goal, my parents weren’t sure whether or not I would stick with the position. They couldn’t understand why a child would willingly put his life at risk, especially at such a young age. Most minor hockey associations purchase goalie gear so that they can make sure there are no excuses and someone will be between the pipes. It also takes some of the financial burden of the backs of the parent, who wants to drop a couple grand on equipment, and then have their son or daughter quit the position because they take one shot off the melon, most likely from their own teammate...... ]]> Houndsize http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=42 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=41 Mon, 26 Nov 2007 04:20:46 GMT Tonight was my first ever ice hockey game. For the past two years I have been playing shinny and attending a few goaltending clinics. Needless to say, I was pumped up about this one. I played in Division D with the Lynx at York U. I was covering for the injured double00. Overall I was happy with... Tonight was my first ever ice hockey game. For the past two years I have been playing shinny and attending a few goaltending clinics. Needless to say, I was pumped up about this one.

I played in Division D with the Lynx at York U. I was covering for the injured double00. Overall I was happy with how I played. I made 20 saves from 22 shots. The other team finally cracked me in the 3rd period. It was a shot from the slot. To be honest I probably over reacted. I was expecting more from the shot but it dipped under my glove just as it was coming towards me. The second goal was on my left side, the player came out and jammed it in. I wasn't used to this part of the game since the guys at shinny don't bother jamming pucks in the net. I'll have to watch out for that next time. The team played great in front of me. I didn't really have to make difficult saves. My best save was on a 2 on 1. Pass from my left to the right, I slid across and it was underneath my pads.

Things that I did well: Directed shots to the corners and gave very few rebounds.

Things to work on: Playing the puck. ]]> Steven http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=41 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=40 Sun, 25 Nov 2007 05:07:33 GMT When The Ultimate Fighter Season 6 was first announced I was disappointed to see the welterweight division put on hold, mostly because I was eager to see George St. Pierre attempt to retain his title. Instead of George getting his shot shortly after his shocking loss to Matt Serra the UFC... When The Ultimate Fighter Season 6 was first announced I was disappointed to see the welterweight division put on hold, mostly because I was eager to see George St. Pierre attempt to retain his title. Instead of George getting his shot shortly after his shocking loss to Matt Serra the UFC management decided that they were going to give Matt Hughes a shot first and subsequently decided to build the fight on the reality show. Now that the title has already been on hold for 7 months, Serra anounces that he is too injured(Herniated Disc) to fight and will have to withdraw from his match with Hughes on the 29th. I'm not aware how long Serra will be out with this injury but it sounds fairly serious.

The only bright side to this whole situation is that St. Pierre will now be replacing Hughes in this fight but it just wont be the same without a title on the line.

And just for fun here is a compilation of Dana White doing what he does best
WARNING lots of swearing
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vIoAe3IK6AA ]]> MikeT http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=40 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=39 Wed, 21 Nov 2007 06:58:19 GMT Not good here, a second job seems inevitable. We'll see how it goes.

Thank God for Madeline. I'm one bogged down son of a bitch. ]]> adavis http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=39 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=37 Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:20:36 GMT It seems that phone book season has started. This morning was the third time in a week that I found a phone book at my front door. For the life of me, I cannot understand why phone books are still being printed. I certainly don’t need one because I think this internet thing is going to take off... It seems that phone book season has started. This morning was the third time in a week that I found a phone book at my front door. For the life of me, I cannot understand why phone books are still being printed. I certainly don’t need one because I think this internet thing is going to take off and I can quickly find phone numbers with the Yeehaw! and the Googly, or whatever they’re called.

Unless there is a large subset of society made up of extremely short people who own tall and wobbly furniture, there is no need to keep printing these behemoths. It’s 2007, folks. If you need a phone book, then you probably don’t have an internet connection. In that case, you have bigger problems to take care of and should probably call a local psychologist. You can find one in the –

Oh, I get it now. ]]> MetropolisPt31 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=37 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=36 Thu, 08 Nov 2007 22:00:25 GMT (Entry taken from the 'NHL players to use heated blades' thread. Since it deals with a variety of topics on the state of hockey today, I thought it would make a nice blog. Enjoy. Comments welcome.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by spidergoalie:
I completely agree with BC on all points.

Greater speed from all players will reduce scoring opportunities not increase them.

To be honest I think technology, on almost every level, is ruining the game not helping it.
I'm going to have to second that.

Hockey is chiefly a defensive game by nature. Any better technology simply exacerbates that discrepancy by making each player better at defense. The more skill/technology/strategical advancements you add into that equation, the more defense will continue to dominate the sport.

The NHL is beginning to remind me of the games we used to come up with at recess. We'd have a fun new game until somebody came up with a crazy strategy to kill everybody. But when we tried to bring the game back to what it was before this happened, we found it was difficult or impossible not to take important elements of the game with it.

What if we could somehow turn back the clock and make us all forget about the butterfly? That alone would make a huge difference, imo. But trying to make it illegal would be ridiculous. It's not only unenforcable, (when exactly do two legs down make a butterfly?) but stupid. When there's an efficient way to do something, you do it that way. Fosburry proved that well enough and that competition, for better or worse, was never the same, either.

As much as I hate the new passing rules, what else could be done? In its purity, hockey mandated that if the goalie handled the puck out of his crease, he could be checked like everybody else. Which makes every ounce of sense. But then you have an epidemic of people trying to pound goalies. So to try to preserve it as it was, we said 'no more checking the goalies. Trying to hurt them is unfair.' But then the goalies were effectively granted immunity whenever they had the puck, and goalies with good stickhandling found ways to exploit THAT to their advantage. So now we have the trapezoid. I hate it, but if you aren't willing to let the goalies risk being hurt, and you don't want them to have so much passing power, what else do you do? It'd be great to just say "Go back like you were. You don't have any rules restricting you, but you can't handle the puck so much." But that's impossible without concrete limits. And concrete limits hurt the game in other ways.

Goalies really ARE bigger than they used to be. But we don't want to force them to use equipment that allowed constant injury.

What if we could make the trap illegal? Eliminate the excellent rise of systematic coaching? Eliminate better nutrition and vastly larger organized pools from which to draw skilled players? Eliminate internet boards where people share their knowledge at an unprecedented rate?

So defense will continue to dominate increasingly until something gives.

For the record, I hate most of the "solutions" the league has come up with (I do like putting the goal lines back, tag up offsides and legal two-line passes). But there really are some things that we just can't go back to, and some substantial differences in today's game from yesteryear.

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What are the better solutions?

- I say let people be able to touch the goalie incidentally while trying to steal the puck and the refs use judgement as to what that means like they do other calls.

- Let go of the instigator rule. Everyone likes fighting. Especially the Americans we're supposed to be trying to market to.

- Trim down chest pads and pants all you like, but pads were always 12" once the deer hair settled and I don't think the gloves have ever been all that much smaller, except maybe to eliminate sidebars and cheaters.

- Allow unlimited stick curve. The Europeans have been doing it for some time now, and in practice, so are we. Maybe force goalies to use straight blades.

- Call holding and interference. Why can't we get that to happen...

- Bigger ice would be better, but not all the rinks want to or can do it. Personally though, I say let go of that, too. Baseball fields have different dimensions in the outfield. I don't see a problem if hockey had different sized rinks within reasonable limits. It happens in college leagues all the time.

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Honestly, that's all I can see without damaging the integrity of the game. And as much as I hate to admit it, when I sit back and think about it I'm not sure that would be enough. I don't know if we can ever truly legislate the game back to what it was. Even if we take extreme measures such as changing the goal size, that damages the integrity of the game even more fundamentally.

What else can we do?

~Brent ]]> Threeleggedyoyo http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=36 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=34 Tue, 06 Nov 2007 07:13:26 GMT Read my blog here: www.billyramirez.com Read my blog here:
www.billyramirez.com ]]> MetropolisPt31 http://www.goaliestore.com/board/blog.php?b=34