Sports news, and back to blogging

1)  First off, let me say that I don't know what I was thinking trying to write all them damn words in the month of November.  I hereby declare that anybody that tried to join me get together on an email discussion with me and we try to figure out a month for next year to try to do something like NaBlo WriMo the right way.  I've been busy as hell.  Holidays aside, of which I was travelling, I had to contend with Skyrim, Christmas shopping and working some overtime (for which I'm very grateful).  This is really the first time in the last week that I've felt like I can just sit down and write something.  So there.  I was wrong in trying to do something so reaching in a month like November.  And it also makes me think that whoever tries to get people to write 50000 word novels in November is a bit of a sadist.  November is busy.  I have however had a fun time with No Shave November.  I'm rocking some serious mutton chops at the moment.  And my wife is threatening to cut me in my sleep.

2)  The Penguins are kicking ass.  I still can't believe how much fun I've had watching hockey.  Seriously.  I'm mad at myself for not getting more into this earlier in life.  I've already got another Series One jersey card on the way along with an oversized card to get the collecting going.  Hockey has been good to me this year.  And today my cable bill showed up - I'm not loving that.  Like I've said before, living in a bi-lingual household allows me to admit here without fear that I totally hid the cable bill as soon as I got home.  I've got some overtime hours that will get that knocked out before she even knows it was here.

3)  The NBA is coming back.  No check that.  Nic Batum is coming back.  The NBA as a whole can kiss my ass.  Greedy bastards.  I'm just amped for Batum to show the world how far he's come.  To celebrate, I even went out and bought the first jersey card ever produced of Batum.  I'm really not a fan of the card design - but for Trivial Pursuit purposes, you can note that Nic Batum's first ever jersey card was made with the "Green Week" theme.  Thanks Panini.

As you can see, I have number 354/799.  And I don't plan on searching for anymore of these.  I have me piece of Batum history with the first jersey, but I'm still waiting to collect the BEST Batum jersey cards and patches.  Lot of room before we get to whatever the best may end up being.  C'mon Panini.  I need you to step your game up for the next Batum relics.  

On watching the return of Sid the Kid

NaBlo WriMo Day 22 - We take a blogging moment to comment on something great

Last night was a bit of a loud night in my house.  You all already know that Sidney Crosby scored twice and had two assists for 4 points against NYI.  You know that because every media outlet covered it through and through.  Versus even changed the game they were going to show to take their crew to Pittsburgh to cover the game.  But I was ready with my Center Ice package either way.  And seeing as how I'm still pretty new to regular hockey viewing, even I was stoked to be watching it just as a fan of the game.

There are Crosby detractors out there.  There are those that just hate Pittsburgh.  And there are those that think Crosby is overrated and too talked about.  I get it.  You don't like the guy for whatever reason.  I tell you what though, when he was playing and getting camera time, my wife even stopped to watch - and she couldn't have told you who Sidney Crosby was or that he was even injured for the last year.  There's something about him that makes even the passerby want to watch.

When Crosby hit the first goal only five minutes into it, I knew that the game was going to be special.  Hell, even my favorite guy Malkin was getting in on the scoring.  It was more of a celebration than an actual competition it seemed.

You know, there are very few times when you watch a game and fully expect something great to happen - and it actually happens.  It's like when Jordan played in a big game, you just knew that he was going to do something that would end up being a story you one day told to you kids.  There are few players like that.  Good times.  And hey, you really did miss out if you didn't see it live.  It was an electric moment.




NaBlo WriMo Daily Total - 338
Monthly Total - 6593

Box 2 UD Series 1 Hockey

NaBlo WriMo Day 17 - Hey, the Pens play tonight, might as well blog before the game starts

Well, a huge bonus for this product is that I bought two hobby boxes and completed the base set 1-200.  The second box gave me all that I was missing and still, no dupes.  That's huge in my book.  Having the base set in place is key.  Now I can focus on knocking out insert sets and jersey cards.  There's nothing worse than buying a couple of boxes and having to search for single cards which cost you more in shipping than they're even worth.  Again, kudos Upper Deck.  You make a shitty basketball line right now, but like everybody has told me, your hockey is spot on.  It's obvious that there has to be two different teams working within that company.

So what did we pull?

My two jersey cards were Lars Eller and Sergei Bobrovsky.  Not monster pulls, but I can't argue with this design.  I love it.  These cards just scream those team colors.

And for my Young Guns I actually pulled another card with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on it.  Score.  Actually, it's the checklist.  But that's cool because I needed the checklist as the printout I have still doesn't have the RC's listed.

And hey!  I even pulled a parallel card!  Yes.  I just used consecutive exclamation marks.  It's a rarity for me.  But to pull two hobby boxes off the shelf and only pull one card that was low numbered made this one of the more exciting pull of the two boxes.  Granted, I don't know that I'm going to be one of those guys to track down a parallel set /100, but it's nice to have pulled one.  And it's Stamkos.  So not a scrub, either.

I also pulled my Ultimate Team Card (Duncan Keith) and my All-World Team cards (Jaroslav Halak, Paul Stastny).  And my Canvas Cards and Hockey Heroes were present and accounted for even though I'll just make a spread sheet with the ones I still need for those.

It was a very fun box break to be sure.  So even though I'm looking forward to tracking down singles at this point, I'm still very keen on buying more unopened stuff - simply for the fact that you can stumble onto some very cool stuff here - and some stuff that could have good value.  Aside from the obvious Nugent-Hopkins pulls which can buy back the value of your box (at least until he cools off), there is still a great checklist of hard to pull patches and autos.  Put simply, there is always a chase card factor in play here - and not just chase cards that are meaningless 1/1's that have flooded the market.

I'll be putting up my list for what I'm looking for later.  For now, I get to flip through a completed base set to pass the time.

NaBlo WriMo Daily total - 406 words
Monthly Total - 6255 words

I still haven't opened that second hobby box...

NaBlo WriMo Day 14 =  Apologize to your blog day


So a perfect storm occurred in my life to keep me away from my blog for the last couple of days.  First off, my wife and I got smart phones; androids, if I'm being specific.  So every minute that I wasn't working or playing Skryim, I was staring at my thumbs like every other person in America.

And that brings me to my second element of the storm that I just mentioned...Skyrim.  Seriously, one of the greatest video games I've ever played.  My all-time favorite game is still Red Dead Redemption for the sheer cinematic element it had to it.  But Skyrim is climbing the ladder.  By the time I'm done playing it, I may have a new number one game.

My DVR is completely full.  I haven't watched TV save for the couple of Penguins games that were on this last week.  My comic book re-reading has taken a dip.  And I haven't even put the last box of hockey cards I opened into pages yet.  My life this week has kind of centered around a great game.

And I sat here for a minute and thought really hard about it and realized that I haven't opened up that second hobby box yet.  I was so excited that I pulled the Nugent-Hopkins card that I kind of waited until the bidding was done on that to proceed forward with the other one.

Oh that Nugent-Hopkins card more than made up for my box price.  The final sale price ended up being $87.  Not bad for a single card without being low numbered.  I'm not taking that money and buying another box straight away though.  We're travelling out of state for Thanksgiving and I'll use that money to make sure we have a better time with the girls on the trip.  Still, $87 is quite a bit.  I was impressed.

I have a feeling that this will be the set that I collect for a good long while.  I'm going to make this set my own.  I'll just keep taking chunks out of it the best I can starting with base and working my way down to the rarer stuff as I go.

Now, I have to prepare to send this gem to Canada.  Excuse me while I say goodbye and package it up.

NaBlo WriMo Daily total - 406 words

Monthly Total - 5851 words

Box 1 - 2011-12 UD Series 1 Hockey

I'd like to preface this post by saying that I pulled a card which will pay for this box and maybe part of the second box.  So it was fun.

This product was simply amazing to me on so many levels.  I don't just say that because I haven't opened up hobby product in a long while, I say that because I really had a great time with it.

1)  First off, there are 200 cards in the base set - I pulled 171 of them, for a completion rate of 85%.  Now that's really not that bad.  I'm hoping Box 2 will fill in those gaps.

2)  Secondly, I didn't pull a single numbered parallel card.  How great is that?  I actually found myself looking for one, really hoping I'd get one.  This isn't a product with a ton of parallels, but they are there and they're rare.  Other products seem to desensitize you to the fact that rarity should be....rare.  I think everything Panini produces now has a parallel per pack doesn't it?  That's a low blow, I know.  But the truth is, I got RC's with some actual value, and inserts that were fun - but the stuff that is short numbered is hard to come by.  I love a good chase.  It'll be fun trying to get my favorite players parallel stuff.

3)  Young Guns RC's are the most fun I've had pulling rookies ever.  Not only did I pull the best of them, but I looked up the rest of them, and hey, they're all inherently with some value.  I like that you only get six RC's per box.  Good design, simple and non-numbered RC's that have value.  I didn't think that existed anymore.

4)  For only getting two jersey cards - out of a checklist of 100 - I realize that I may be taking a while to build this set.  But the jersey hits weren't the centerpiece to the box breaking, so it was fun when they popped up.  It's good that I was looking for parallels and RC's - and not just hits.

5)  For the money, I actually felt like I had a good deal.  Granted, you always lose money busting new product.  But it felt like this was a product that had some real gems in there that make the busting at least worth the chase.

6)  No dupes.  Seriously.  Congrats to Upper Deck for giving me 24 packs of 8 cards where EVERY SINGLE CARD IS DIFFERENT.  You want added value?  Don't give people the same card three or four times over in a single box.  This is actually one of the only times I can remember not getting dupes in a box.

So what did I pull?:

I pulled six regular Young Guns (one not listed here) and one of my four canvas cards was a Young Guns version of Erik Gustafsson.  So much fun searching for these in the box.

My three other canvas cards plus my two All-World team cards.  I like that UD made a limited number of inserts and gave the inserts much more depth.  Though this is simply a matter of preference.  But in other collecting, especially with NBA players, it seems like you get ten different inserts per release with the same 12 guys in all those sets.  I prefer fewer inserts with deeper rosters.

Not the greatest names here for the pulls, but there are 100 names in the jersey list.  I like these jersey cards because the entire card is team based with the color scheme.  It looks like the entire card is centered into a giant patch.

And finally this scrub here, Mr. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.  This was the second Young Guns card I pulled.  I had no idea that a non-numbered RC could sell as well as this one.  I wasn't even planning on selling it since I'm building the set, but with the craze around this kid right now, I had to put it up on eBay.  I started this card on a 0.99$ auction, and in less than 24 hours the card is up to $51.00 with 13 watchers.  I've never, ever ever, had a card get such an immediate response or bidding before.

I figure I'll sell the card, either buy another box or buy jersey cards while the selling is still at it's peak.  I can always pick this card up again during the offseason when the fever subsides.  Other copies of this card in auction were selling into the $80-$90 range.  But it makes me want to bust more product simply to chase this kid.  Can you imagine pulling the low-numbered parallel of this kid?  Or a printing plate?  It's like the Derrick Rose RC's from Bowman.  You start to open product to really be part of a true chase card mania.  But along the way, you get to enjoy a really stellar product.

Well done, UD.  Well done.  This will be my new collecting obsession for sure.

NaBlo WriMo Daily total - 865 words

Monthly total - 5445 words

Two hobby boxes are in my hands!

NaBlo WriMo Day 10 - It's give your blog a present day!

Well I finally went and did it.  I'm putting my money where my mouth is again.  I didn't get one, but two, boxes of 2011-12 UD Series One Hockey.  And I couldn't be more thrilled about it.  I plan on opening one box today for sure and posting the results tomorrow.  The second box?  I'm hoping I have a bit of self-control and can open them bit by bit and post what I get as I go.  We'll see.

The important thing is that I have an active role in the hobby again.  Murad is nearly done, but that project kept things fun for me even when not so fun stuff was going on in the hobby in general.  And these are the first two boxes I've purchased that weren't online in years.  I went to the shop that TJ is always talking about north of me and the guy gave me the boxes for $10 over online prices.  And for that, I think it's worth it.  Finally, somebody who was upfront about the fact that he needs to make money, but can't afford to have boxes sit on his shelf because he wants to try to sell them for $30 over base market price.  Truthfully, I had no problem paying the extra $10 per box if I get to have them today and didn't have to worry about paying shipping.  It was a good day all around.

So let's game plain this thing.  What am I looking to build here?

1)  First, I'm going to build the base.  That much is obvious.
2)  Second, I'd like to collect the various insert sets, including the Young Guns
3)  Regular jersey cards are a must.  But the patches /15?  Probably out of my range.
4)  Signatures may be collected, but only if they're not as short numbered as the patches.
5)  I'd like to have a collection of case hits.  Maybe the acetate cards in this set would be worth chasing.  Granted, the bigger names will cost more, but over the course of a year, it could be a fun project.  Plus, I miss the thrill of the chase and the joy of a well-priced find.  Anybody who was reading when I snagged the SP Scottie Pippen Murad jersey knows that good deals can be had if you're willing to wait.  I'm that guy who's willing to wait.

So here we go.  I'm about to bust the box and I'll post the results of box one tomorrow.  Fingers crossed folks.  Maybe I'll pull a base 1/1 or Sidney Crosby or something else ridiculous.  Anything is possible before the shrink wrap is taken off.  I got 24 packs of joy coming up.

NaBlo WriMo Daily Total - 485 words

Monthly total - 4580 words

Beer Me, I'm bettin' names

NaBlo WriMo Day 8 - Let's take our blogs to the races!

You ever go to Target and just get a blaster box for no good reason?  You know you're not going to build the set, you're not going to pull a great hit; but you end up plunking down the cash hoping against hope.  I'm in one of those sorts of moods.

I'm sitting here, trying to think of something to write on this blog.....and nothing.  So what do I do?  I turn on some hockey and drink a beer.  Then what happens?  I start watching a little horse racing on TVG network.  And then I say to hell with it.  I'm going to play the odds, play the connections and maybe bet a name or two.

My first race I try out is Penn National Race 8.  A horse, the 3 horse named Buzz Town, is taking all the action at 1/2.  I pick a horse named Blade Martin, the number 7 horse with 3-1 odds.  I put a $2 win bet on him to see what we can see.  And...

Buzz Town wins and Blade Martin finishes 4th.  Down 2 bucks.  Damnit.  I only picked Blade Martin because blades are used in hockey and I traded for Martin Brodeur in my fantasy league.  Hey, sometimes you bet the names when you're playing with a couple of bucks.  If it hits, you have a story to tell the fellas at work the next day.  If you miss, it isn't enough that you have to tell the wife about it.  Think about that.  There's a lot of truth in that.

Alright.  I've got $7 in my online account.  What to do now?

I'm switching it up and going to harness racing and moving into Yonkers Raceway for Race 7.  If the thoroughbreds aren't hitting, I'll try standards.

There's a favorite horse in this field named Western Edge and he's running out of the 4 hole.  I don't really feel like sitting here all night watching these ponies, so I'm putting $4 to win on him and taking $2 for him to place to cover a bit of the first bet.

Granted, I'm not going to win enough to take the wife out this weekend if it hits, but by golly, looking at this blog page, I've at least met my goal for today and done some writing.  Beer and betting, always good to get the juices flowing.

So how'd we end up?  The favorite Western Edge finished 3rd by a nose.  Hey, when it's not your night, it's not your night.

NaBlo WriMo daily total - 476 words
NaBlo WriMo montly total - 4095 words

Makes me wish UD Artifacts Hockey was a set builder's release

NaBlo WriMo Day 7 - Got ideas?  Get a blog.

Can I just say that I'm getting a bit antsy waiting for UD Series 1 to come out already?  I've gone full-immersion hockey, and all I have left to do is start to build a card set.  I've already bought a couple of packs of O Pee Chee hockey.  And now I went and bought a few rack packs of UD Artifacts Hockey.  I mean how could I not?  Look who's on the packs?

Fleury is definitely a way to seal the deal.  So I picked up some packs.  So what?  I know that I'm not going to build the set.  I know that I'm not going to pull a relic or an auto.  Sometimes you just need to open a sealed pack simply for the smell of it.  Those of you who know what brand-new card smell is can relate.  They only smell that way once.  After they've been in the air for a while it's just not the same.  And at best I can hope to pull a Penguins player.  And look here, I did.

I got Fleury on the wrapper and Sidney in the pack.  Only Evgeni eludes me.  But I'll get him.  The thing is, I really like the design, it's the product itself and its target audience that confuses me.  First off, it's not really a set builders set.  For hobby boxes you only get 4 cards per pack with ten packs per box.  It says that for a hobby box you should get 4 hits and all this for around $80.  There are only 100 cards in the base set, but even under perfect conditions you'd need at least 3 boxes - or $240 bucks to build the base yourself without shopping for singles.  Obvisously, it isn't a product to build a base set.

But then again, the hits aren't really going to be on the level of something like "The Cup".  So you're paying $20 per hit, three of those hits being mem cards.....I just don't get it.  I'm trying to figure out who this is catering to as far as box breaking.  I really like the simple design.  I like the backs of the cards.  But I can't figure out based on price points and box contents who this is appealing to.

The product would've been great as a set builders set.  I like the design and it could've easily been turned into a $60 product with more base and three times the checklist.  But then again, if you're going to make it a product for hit-chasers, you'd have to bump the price up, low number all base and throw a ton of patches in it.  I want to like the product.  I want to buy more.  But I'll probably end up snagging a base set on ebay for around ten bucks and let somebody else chase the hits.  Maybe I'm missing something?  Anyone care to fill me in on what this product is exactly?

NaBlo WriMo daily total - 528 words
NaBlo WriMo monthly total - 3619 words

Thoughts on a Sunday - 11.6.11 edition

NaBlo WriMo Day 6 - If your blog calls, should I take a message?

1)  Well, I figured that in the midst of a wedding yesterday right after work I wouldn't be able to blog.  It was tough, but I did the wife a solid, so I've bought myself some goodwill down the road.  I was still able to catch the Breeders Cup and the entire Penguins game (more on those in a bit).  The wedding was interesting, but hey, it was a wedding.  It's hard to be in a bad mood when you gather for a wedding.

2)  I got my promotion at work.  So not only do I get a bit of a bump in pay, but I also get guaranteed overtime.  I see box breaks in my future.  Well, not right away, but it's always a good thing to make more money.  I figure now I can get caught up on my kids' dentist stuff, pay the card all the way down to zero and maybe enroll the kids in an ice skating class.  Or karate.  They're debating right now.  The major change?  I have to be up at 4am to be on the road by 4:30.  Yeah.  But my family has a long history of Sanchez' being up before the sun.  I'll handle it.  I'm teaching myself to drink coffee right now.  I typically settle on a green tea and chamomile blend in the morning.  Time to take it to the next level.

3)  I'm getting set to watch the Steelers play the Ravens.  As I'm watching the intro, I have to say that Faith Hill just doesn't do it for me.  I don't know why either.  I feel like I should feel something akin to attraction.  But I'd rather they just got to the game already.

And speaking about the game.  It's so on.  I can't wait to watch the Steelers get a bit of payback against the Ravens.  F'ing Baltimore.  Yell all you want Ray Lewis, you can't fix 'old'.

4)  But even as I'm into this game tonight, I'm still checking the hockey games back and forth and back and forth.  And I've permanently got a tab open to my fantasy matchup.  I will dominate a new fantasy sport by sheer attrition to my free time.  Do you hear me world?  I aint backing down.

5)  So, I had a twenty spot on one of my favorite horses in the Breeders Cup Classic yesterday.  Uncle Mo really is a good horse, but he wasn't prepared and wasn't running a distance that he liked.  Where this video picks up, my horse is in second.  I was happy.  But the end of the video, he finishes tenth.  And who was the winning jockey?  Mike Smith.  Who's Mike Smith you might ask?  The jockey who rode Zenyatta nearly every race of her stellar career.  The same Mike Smith who rode last year for Zenyatta's only loss by a nose.  Feeling good for Mike.  Feeling bad for my twenty that wanted to multiply like a Mogwai.


NaBlo WriMo daily total - 533 words
NaBlo WriMo monthly total - 3091 words

Further proof that Beckett doesn't give a shit about you or this hobby

NaBlo WriMo Day 4 - Hey, give you blog a hug.  You need each other.  Never forget that.

OK.  Who thought I'd go the entire month of NaBlo WriMo without giving Beckett the business?  Truth is, they really have this one coming, and nobody seems to think this is a big deal.  And if they do think it's a big deal, they're not up in arms about it.  So here goes.  Let me lay out a timeline for you:

1)  I start by checking Beckett's website today.  I do this to try to find some general pricing D-Baggery or some videos with really lucky pulls.  You know, standard fare.  But instead, I find this post of theirs about their new baseball grading service.  Go ahead and click over there with a new tab and see what I'm talking about.  But don't leave here yet, I'm still walking you through this story.

So, once you see that a Babe Ruth signed baseball has a 9 grade for the ball and a 9 grade for the autograph, you'll notice that the authenticator is none other than JSA (James Spence Authentication).  And in the comments section of this post by Beckett's Chris Olds, a reader chimes in and says, "Isn't JSA under investigation by the FBI"?  Why, I think I remember something about that too.

2)  My next step is to very simply go to google and type in JSA under FBI investigation.  First thing that pops up....Beckett's own forum has an entire thread dedicated to this very topic.  Crazy how Beckett hasn't taken down the negative publicity about their new bed mates yet.  You can find that thread here.

3)  Within that thread is a link to many of the crappy autos that JSA has authenticated and some information to some of the investigation.  It's a really informative article.  You can find that here.

4)  Not satisfied, I find this great video here about more of the company's shenanigans.  The guy does a pretty good job with it.



So what about it people?  Am I the crazy one who just thinks that Beckett should be left alone?  They're going to bury this damn hobby of ours before it's all said and done.  I guess all we can do is enjoy it while it lasts, right?

But what do you guys think about this ball that Beckett has kicked off their grading with?  Ruth died in 1948.  So this ball would have to be at least 63 years old if Babe Ruth did indeed sign it.  But chances are he would've signed it years before he died.  But we'll say that the ball has to be AT LEAST 63 years old.  And Beckett gave it a '9' grade.  Holy shit, if this ball is 63 years old, that's a damn fine looking ball.  But they learned their lesson with the Strasburg perfect 10 grade (still hurts my head, by the way) - so they hedged their bets and gave this 63 year old flawless ball a '9'.

Maybe I'm just out of line.  Maybe JSA is really on the level.  Beckett gave this ball a great grade and the hobby will benefit.  Or maybe the FBI is really onto something with JSA and Beckett's grading services are a perversion of what makes an autographed baseball truly a gem.  One reader of Beckett's article actually asked if getting a game-used baseball signed would hurt the grade.  Are you serious?  Is that what Beckett's prices have done to the next generation of collectors?  Getting a game used ball is great.  Getting it signed is a life long piece of family history.  But they've now got people worried about hurting the grade of the ball?  I reiterate my title.  Beckett doesn't give a shit about you or this hobby.

NaBlo WriMo Daily Total - 659 Words
Montly Total - 2558 Words

Penguins game prep, inside the mind of a sports addict Part 2

NaBlo WriMo Day 3 - have you said hello to your blog today?

It seems like the Penguins haven't played a game in like two weeks.  It's been less than that, obviously, but the feeling can't be helped.  I got spoiled when the Penguins played the busiest schedule to start the season because there was always a game on.  Now things are starting to level off and I'm having to wait entire work weeks before I see them play again.  The NHL must not realize that I'm an impatient sports fan.  C'mon already.

Seeing as how I haven't seen the Penguins play in a while, I decided to make a real evening of it.  First thing I did - I baked cookies.  Chocolate chip cookies.  I went to the grocery store and bought the semi-sweet chips, flour, sugars and vanilla and got to mixing and baking.  My wife's the cook.  I'm the baker.

This move serves two purposes.  First off, the kids get to help and get to enjoy cookies with me while I watch the game.  Secondly, women love to see their men in the kitchen.  Baking doesn't sound manly.  But it has a better effect than you would think.  It's the gift that keeps on giving.  And now my house smells like fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and it's fall outside and the air is crisp....Damn.  It's enough to make a grown man cry when things come together so perfectly.

So what else did I do?  I went out and got a Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout beer while I was grocery shopping along with some Jubelale holiday brew.  I'm so set.  Cookies and beer.  It's the new cookies and milk for a more refined age.

To finish the whole thing off, I've got a Partagas sabroso cigar to finish off my evening.  A little something I've got left over from my 30th birthday party.  What else could I possibly need?  How about a win?  How about my number one draft pick Evgeni Malkin nets me a second hat trick this week?  I'll be cheering either way.

Hey, believe me when I say that I take my sports viewing very seriously.  See?  That's serious.

Did I also mention it's Movember?  I'm trying some new things.

NaBlo WriMo daily total:  372 words


Monthly total:  1899 words

Hat Trick of writers, and other various hat tricks

It's NaBlo WriMo Day 2.  Have you given your blog some love today?  Show you care.  Write.

So I've managed to snag two fellow bloggers to my cause of National Blog Writing Month - and I'm glad that they chimed in, otherwise I'd never have found their blogs.  And wouldn't you know it, both blogs feature hockey cards.  So in case you haven't seen these guys yet, I'd ask that you give them a look as well.

First is Robert at $30 a week habit.  Good writer that features both baseball and hockey and has quite a bit for trade.  He's at 915 of 15000 words so far - so wish him luck.

Next is Kazi at Hockey Kazi.  I'm going to use his blog as a good reference point to start to learn things about hockey I didn't know before.  He's probably at around 700 of 15000 words so far.

Both blogs are great and I appreciate them for giving the 15000 words blogged in a month a try.  If nothing else, we leave more material for future readers to read.  And that's really what's important.

So now that that's out of the way, I just passed a milestone today in fantasy hockey - I had a player with a hat trick, and I think that I totally lucked into it.  Joffrey Lupul had 5 goals before today and had been a real fantasy stud for me, but with his explosion tonight of 3 goals, +3 in the +/- and 5 shots on goal, he pretty much gave me a good leg up on my current matchup going forward into this weekend.

I don't know if I can say it enough, I'm a fantasy hockey addict at this point.  I love the numbers.  I study them and try to anticipate them.  I look at schedules and watch games I shouldn't be watching.  You know what I'm doing right now?  I'm watching Phoenix play Colorado simply because Milan Hejduk is on my team and I might as well watch him and scout some other FA players.  It's madness.

The other strange thing that's happened to me since I've started watching hockey is that I've found that Canada has some really cool TV stations.  I know that sounds arrogant of me.  But I guess I just assumed that Canada just got the same feeds of ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX that the rest of us got.  I had no idea that the CBC even existed, much less how much cool stuff they have on their.  And how do I know this?  Because on my Center Ice package, I tend to watch a lot of Canadian feeds that show all sorts of cool stuff during intermissions.  I want the CBC.  I think I'd watch a lot of their shows.

But even little news blips that I wouldn't have seen otherwise seemingly expand my world.  It might sound funny, but this little clip I found from CBC kind of made me realize how much more is out there.



NaBlo WriMo daily total - 530 words


Month Total - 1527 words

Inside the mind of a sports addict - NaBlo WriMo day 1

I have a problem.

No, my sports addiction isn't my problem.  My problem is a serious scheduling conflict this Saturday - a conflict so huge, that short of shitting my pants in the car, my wife isn't going to let me have my way.  Actually, I've never crapped my pants in the car - so if I had to use that as an excuse, I'm saving it for when she schedules some BS birthday party during the playoffs.

My wife has committed us to go to a wedding on Saturday - and there's nothing I can do about it.  Nothing.  And wouldn't you know it, I'm one of the official witnesses.  I don't know how I got drafted into that.  But somebody put me on their docket and is awaiting my official signature.

Am I against love?  Would I stand by and say that these two people shouldn't be joined in holy matrimony?  No.  Of course not.  I just wish I had been informed a bit earlier about this development because I had a huge day planned for Saturday.  What's so huge that I'd rather sit at home and watch my TV instead of go to a wedding?

Uncle Mo.

Uncle Mother F'in Mo.  That's what.  The odds on favorite to win the big race this weekend.

Saturday is the Breeders Cup.  It's the Horse Racing Super Bowl.  And the race, where my personal favorite, Uncle Mo, is racing is post time 4:00 pm PT, and the wedding is at 6:00.  Let me be clear that I don't plan on missing that race for anything.  And I'll still get to watch it - just not like I originally wanted to.

My wife has Saturday off.  I get off work at 2:30.  I was planning on going to the pub to watch it while placing my bet at the OTB.  Now, I'll have to watch it at home with my TVG account - while my wife is nagging me to hurry up and put my tie on so that I can help the girls find their shoes and make sure they put them on the right feet and make sure they don't mess up their hair while my wife changes her own shirt ten times and has the gall to get mad at me because I picked out the first shirt and jacket I touched when I opened the closet.

That last sentence is punctuated correctly, by the way.  That's how it's going to feel.

Many of you are not horse racing fans.  I get it.  But imagine, if you will, that you had Super Bowl Sunday planned EXACTLY how you wanted it - pub, beers, friends, HD big screens, hot wings - and then your wife told you to watch it at the house, with NO friends, while nagging at you about what shirt to wear.  So much better, right?  Wrong.

The person who isn't addicted to sports will look at this as glass half-full and say I should be happy I get to watch the race.  This article isn't geared to that person.

I'll get to see the race, then we'll be off to the wedding at about 5:00, mix and mingle, shake hands, smile and nod.  I'll need to be on my best behavior.  Hopefully, the wedding will start at 6:00.  But being a latino event, I'm not holding my breath that anything will be on time.  But it's a Justice of the Peace ceremony, so they're pretty short.

The next part of my evening is tricky.  I'll have to be surgical in my approach to pull it off.  The Pittsburgh Penguins play at 7:30, but I can stretch that to 7:40 or so because pre-game can run long.  So, the dilemma is getting from the wedding to my couch in time for the game.  I made a commitment to watch all 82 games, and I'd rather keep that commitment than hang out with people I barely know.  I've devised three options to get home on time.

1)  Fake a fever.  This shouldn't be hard to do.  Suit and tie, small venue, probably too many people and the stress of missing the game might actually give me a temperature.

2)  Put my foot down and say we're leaving.  This is the 'nuclear' option and can only be pulled off by picking a fight with my wife.  This would be a dick move though since I will be at a wedding, and even if I don't know them that well, they still wanted me around.  Plus, picking a fight with the wife?  What if the Pens' lose?  Then I got in trouble to watch a loss.  Again, 'nuclear' option.

3)  Schedule something for the children.  This is risky, but could be well worth it.  There is a family fun center right near my house that has a ton of games, bowling and more big screen TV's than you could count.  If I tell the kids that we're going to this place to play after the wedding, they won't stop nagging until we get there.  We could take the kids there, give them some tokens and soda and I could watch the first period of the game at the sports pub that's built in.  After 1st period, we run to the car like our hair's on fire and race home to catch the 2nd period.  Now, my wife may get mad at the kids for nagging or she may be inclined to go since she'll already be dressed up.  The only drawback to this plan is that it always costs me at least $40 every time we go in.

Hi, my name's Guy.  And I'm a Sports Addict.

Nablo WriMo daily count:  997 words


Nablo WriMo month word count:  997 words