Welcome Guest
[Log In]
[Register]
Jun 24
March Of The Penguins
On Friday June 12th, 2009 The Pittsburgh Penguins captured the most prized trophy in professional hockey - The Stanley Cup. The following Monday at 12 in the afternoon, on the corner of Grant St. and Oliver St., I waited for the parade. It was quite a season for my beloved Penguins. For the duration of the regular season it looked as if The Penguins, who just one season prior faced The Detroit Red Wings in a stellar 6 game series, were not even going to make it into the finals. Then, in the middle of the season, a coaching change as well as a few key trades/changes were made. Welcome Interim Coach Dan Bylsma, Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz, Mattheiu Garon, and Craig Adams. Before long the Pittsburgh Penguns began winning ... and winning ... and winning ... and sooner than later they were beating just about everyone. The team who appeared to be disengaged from the game (and the season) suddenly skyrocketed to levels of active play that nobody, not even the players, expected to see. They almost literally exploded with energy every game. The Penguins found themselves jumping from 10th overall to 4th ahead of long-time rivals The Philadelphia ("Filth"adelphia) Flyers. The series ended with Pittsburgh winning in 6 games. Next up was The Washington Capitals. This truly epic series went all the way to 7 nut-busting games and was one of the most exciting series many NHL fans had ever seen. In the end The Capitals seemed to completely lose interest in playing and Game 7 saw The Penguins win 6-2. Next up was the Carolina Hurricanes. Many of the series were underlined with great hype stories. With Philadelphia it was "Crosby vs. Richards". With the Capitals it was "Crosby vs. Ovechkin". Now with Carolina it was "Staal vs Staal" - two brothers on opposing teams who were, seemingly, expected to tear each other's heads off. It was anything but, and The Pittsburgh Penguins swept the Carolina Hurricanes in 4 games.
Now ..... to Detroit.
Not since the late 1980's have two teams faced each other in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals. The Detroit Red Wings would take on The Pittsburgh Penguins with the first 2 games taking place on Detroit ice at the famous Joe Louis Arena. Detroit would take the first two victories and sent a message to the Penguins, their fans, and the media (who had all been calling them "old") that they still had plenty of fight left in them despite being banged up and having a few major players injured. The next two games took place in Pittsburgh and saw The Penguins take two victories of their own to show The Detroit Red Wings that they weren't going down without a fight.
Then came Game 5. I can only describe that game as utterly dismal for The Penguins who suffered not only a 5-0 defeat on Detroit ice, but who seemed to be coming apart. Pittsburgh drew so many penalties in Game 5 that, as I fan, I was disgusted with the performance and nearly turned off the TV. The Pittsburgh Penguins were now down 3-2 and were facing elimination. It was hard, but I kept the faith. I couldn't explain it but my gut told me we were going to win this one.
Next was Game 6 and, Lord Almighty, what a fight it was. The fans in Pittsburgh rallied behind their heroes and The Penguins fought in a very tight, nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat game that could have given a dead man a hard-on. The Penguins, who last season fell victim to The Detroit Red Wings in Game 6, surprised many of the nay-sayers and took a much debated victory in Game 6. Just ask AlecPure, he'll tell you. The Penguins had survived The Red Wings and for the 2nd time in the Playoffs each team found themselves in yet another 7 game series. This, ladies and gentlemen, would be the test.
Game 7: Pittsburgh vs. Detroit. Sidney Crosby vs. Henrik Zetterberg. Marc-Andre Fluery vs. Chris Osgood. The ultimate underlying story in this series was one man - Marian Hossa. Hossa had left the Penguins last season for Detroit, turning down a multi-million dollar long-term deal for just one year with the Wings. Hossa said that he felt Pittsburgh could not help him achieve his goal of winning The Stanley Cup, but that Detroit could. The old saying "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" comes to mind. Hossa turned his back on a team that took him further than any other team could have that season and joined up with the Wings at the very last minute. It was a serious slap in the face for Pittsburgh fans and the team.
For Game 7 the "wild card" for Detroit was Pavel Datsyuk who returned from injury in grand fashion to assist the Red Wings in their victory in Game 5. The "wild card" for Pittsburgh (and perhaps the most underrated defensemen currently in the NHL) was Rob Scuderi who single-handedly saved Game 6 for the Penguins by blocking a near game-winning goal with his left foot. Game 7 would be what hockey was all about.
Pittsburgh scored 2 goals in the final game of the series, both by Maxime Talbot, and Detroit netted one. In the closing 12 seconds of the 3rd period Detroit let loose with an onslaught of offense that was something to behold. Detroit tried everything in their power to score and just as the clock was winding down to zero one Red Wing took one a final, desprate shot at the net. Marc-Andre Fleury, who had been outstanding all year (aside from Game 5) used every muscle in his body to make a leaping save on the puck and secure the victory for The Pittsburgh Penguins.
How's that for journalism, huh?
Jun 07
The Whirlwind That Is Life
I had intended to write in this blog as much as possible, but over the last few weeks I've found very little to mention. At least, until right now.
Around 10:30am I got a call from my father. He said he was having a heart attack and that he needed 911. It only took the paramedics about 3 minutes to get there but it was one the longest 3 minutes I've ever experienced. The only comforting thought that I could hold onto at the time was that compared to the first time my father had a heart attack (this was his second) he looks a lot better physically. He wasn't as pale or as panicked, but I think that it was because he knew what he needed to do in order to help himself before the ambulance got there. He had his nitroglycerin tablets and his medication on stand-by, which was a very good thing, and he was able to get to them quickly. I had to call my brother away from his job to tell him what was going on and they let him go. If they hadn't I was going to go down there and drag him out myself.
I was going to ride in the ambulance with him since my mother was at work and we were having a hard time contacting her. She caries a cell phone but leaves it in her purse and she stores that in a backroom. What good is an emergency cell phone if you're not close enough to it during the emergencies? My father told me it wasn't really neccesary to ride with him and in-between talking to the paramedics he was giving me orders on what to do and who to call. We gathered all of his medication together so that the medics didn't inject or have him swallow anything that would cause him more damamge and off they went to the hospital.
I'd been visiting him daily since the attack on Thursday morning and he was released from the hospital this afternoon around 3pm. Before the trip over to the hospital to pick him up my mother tripped going to a flight of stairs and broke her toe. To the E.R with her. Now she's in a walking cast. My sister is nearly 9 months pregnant and due to have her child. Soon, to the E.R with her as well. I have a feeling that I'll be seeing the inside of hospitals a little too much this summer. I suppose my brother and I are next. Cue dramatic and scary music.
The plan for tommorow is to head to BestBuy for a brand-spankin-new computer so that I can get back to doing what I do and enjoying the time I spend here on the forum. This place ... it's the first thing I do when I connect and the last thing I do before I'm done. What else can I say? I love it here.
May 13
Now To Game 7
GAME 7: The Pittsburgh Penguins vs. The Washington Capitals
My hometown team The Pittsburgh Penguins lost on Monday night. I was so disappointed that I completely ignored everone and everything and even neglected to watch Monday Night RAW, a show I haven't missed one week of for the last 10 years or so. The reason I was so upset, aside from team pride, was because of how easily the Capitals scored the final winning goal in overtime. Fleury dropped the ball on that one and in a big way. When it is such an important game - one that is in your hometown as well - it really deals a seriously depressing blow to not only lose, but to lose to such an easy goal. It's like being slapped in the face and doing nothing about it.
One of the things that I had said to myself and to my friends before the series started between these two teams was that I wanted both teams at full strength because if any one of the teams should lose a player it could be used as an excuse to why the teams lost. Donald Brashear, who plays for the Capitals, had been suspended for attack a player in a previous series. This really didn't make much of a difference because Brashear's main role is as an enforcer and isn't a guy who'd put up much, if any, offense during the game. Even if he hadn't been suspended he'd have probably been scratched anyway. However, for the Penguins, Sergei Gonchar, one of our finest defensemen, was injured in a knee-to-knee collision by Alexander Ovechkin, and has been out since Game 5.
The thing that bothers me SO much about fans and their opinions is how biased they can be. There is NO doubt in my mind if the same thing had happened the other way around and it was Ovechkin who had been injured there would have been a shitstorm from the Caps fans so fierce that it would have crashed any server the rants were posted on. Ovechkin is not only the NHL's Golden Boy but he is a media money maker and if he were to get hurt the player who caused the injury would be sure to have been suspended since it takes away (and Caps fans can deny this all they want) the reason why anyone would watch that team play.
------------------------------------
There was a little girl raped in my neighborhood the other day. You can read the story here.
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/19399852/detail.html
You'll notice the church and the long set of city steps that lead up the hillside. I walked those steps every single day to go to school when I was a kid. I know that church and I know those houses. The home where they found the man - I lived 9 houses down from there and as a kid had been inside the house where the crime was commited. I know the people who were interviewed. The only thing that could make this feel like it hit any closer to home would have been if the girl was a member of my family. These people .... these men who kidnap and assualt children ..... I can't find the words to describe how evil it is. Evil doesn't even fit. If there was ever a word to describe a repulsive, disgusting, vomit-inducing, worthless, and repugnant human person that's what I would use to describe this man.
The area of Greenfield that it happened in is called "The Run". It's true name was "4 Mile Run" but I don't remember why. It used to be connected to Beechwood Blvd which led into upper Greenfield but "The Run" was isolated thanks to the parkway cutting it off. They closed the only other road off and after many years the hillside grew trees and became blocked. Now there was only one way in and one way out. When I was a kid I lived in the very back of The Run. You couldn't drive any further back before you started leaving again. Imagine looking at the road from the sky. I looked like a backwards P. The base of the "P" was where you came in. My house was at the top of the "P". The rest of the "P" was a back street that other houses were on. I'd walk to that set of very long steps to go to school every day. That place was so isolated that it is no surprise to me whatsoever that something like that happened. It almost happened to me as a kid.
My sister and I walked to school every day when we were kids. We'd have to use those steps to get to upper Greenfield where our school was. One day a big truck pulled over to the side next to my sister and I. A man said to us, "Do you guys need a ride?". At the time I was only about 6 or 7 and I didn't want to walk those steps any more than I had to. I said "Yes" but my sister said "No". He told us that he knew our Mom and Dad and that it was okay if we rode with him. My dad had a ton of friends thanks to his business. I beleived the man. He opened the passenger side door and said to get in. I got in and was waiting for my sister to join me but she grabbed my arm and pulled me out. I was mad at her for pulling me out because I wanted a ride and she yelled at me that I wasn't supposed to get into cars with strangers. The man drove off and that's the last I remember of it. It still scares me to think about what would have and could have happened. I might not be here right now typing this.
Apr 28
May I Help You?
When I think of a World Heavyweight Champion I think of a man, or a woman, that immediately stands out from the crowd. I think of a unique personality, superior charisma, and the ability to perform with contenders of all shapes and sizes. I think of brilliant ring psychology. I think of presence. I think of a person who has the natural ability to get the crowd to hate him or love him, by whatever means, and who can carry that responsibility. I think of John Morrison.
When I look at Morrison I'm reminded of Shawn Michaels. Michaels wasn't the biggest, he wasn't the baddest, but he was great inside that ring. He had the athletic ability, the attitude, and the amazing charisma that placed him in the front of every viewers minds even if you hadn't seen him wrestle. You knew he was something special just by looking at him. Morrison has these qualities. His gimmick might not be flawless (who's is?) or a reference to anything in today's current pop-culture, but he's original. He's unique and he plays his role well. Many of the men and women in professional wrestling will tell you that the best gimmicks ever made were extensions of the performer themselves. They call it being "self-amplified", which simply means being yourself with the dial turned up all the way. I don't know if Morrison behaves like a "Shaman of Sxy" in his real life and I highly doubt that he talks like the late Jim Morrison in normal conversation, but Morrison is a shining star that needs to be thrust into the psyche of every WWE viewer that they have.
Morrison has the total package and at such a young age it's really amazing how talented he is. Morrison can sell, he can act, he can work stiff, he can work soft, he can mat-wrestle or high-fly, take bumps and perform amazing offense. I see Morrison becoming a HUGE success in the near future once he graduates to being a top-tier performer on one of the two major shows. Smackdown is a place to grow with RAW being the place to shine. I think it's safe to say that Morrison, after already being multiple time tag-team champion and ECW Heavyweight Champion is on his way to becoming a major player in the WWE's main-event circle.
Now that my quick evaluation of Morrison is out of the way I can get down to the real blogging ...
Photography:
I've taken an interest in proffesional photography. I guess that there is something about finding "beauty" in a place where it might be overlooked or unseen. I spend a decent amount of time looking a photographs of natural landscapes, sunsets, or images of light breaking through clouds or trees to remind myself that there are still amazingly beautiful things in a world that often seems like a living nightmare.
Cheesy? Yeah, a little bit.
As a matter of fact I've just picked up the BBC series called "Planet Earth" on DVD and it's more awesome than I can describe in words. My vocabulary isn't too great, so just trust me when I say that if the kinds of programming you see on The Discovery Channel or National Geographic is "your thing" than these DVD's are for you. I've already watched the "Fresh Water" and "Caves" parts of the DVDs and I can't wait to watch more of them.
Hockey:
The Pittsburgh Penguins won their 1st Round series against the Philadelphia Flyers in The National Hockey League on Friday. If you're not familiar with the NHL or the rivalry between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia you might not recognize the importance of this victory, but every fan in either city realizes just how important it was for their team to win. For myself personally it was more than just bragging rights or an "I told you so" to the Flyers, it was about silencing the nay-sayers of Philadelphia who, since 1975 (the last time they won a Stanley Cup), have been spouting about conspiracies against their team by the referees and NHL officials. Philadelphia and it's citizens take pride in a team that is nicknamed "The Broad Street Bullies" and, more often than not, find themselves being the team that leads the NHL in penalty minutes. They also commonly find a member of their team being the individual leader in penalty minutes. The Philadelphia Flyers play a form of hockey that is undisciplined and unprofessional. It's players, time and time again, intentionally do serious damage to players on the opposing team to gain their victories instead of using skill and teamwork. The worst part about The Philadelphia Flyers team is it's fans who consistantly and deliberately encourage violent and ruthless playing from the team. They absolutely thrive on seeing their team seriously injure other players.
If there was ever a team who had their "number" it was the Pittsburgh Penguins. This "Cross State Rivalry" has been going on for so many years that most fans don't even know why it started, they just know that it has. Time and time again, back-and-forth, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have tested each others limits. If there was one team that was able to play just as brutal as Philadelphia, while still using it's superior skill to gain the victory, it was Pittsburgh. I have no respect for the Philadelphia Flyers team members, or it's fans, who encourage the kind of reckless and animalistic game playing that the Flyers seem to attempt to play. The fans' desire to be known as the "toughest team in the NHL" means very little when the wins aren't piling up. Victory isn't always everything, but when your team has not won the leagues most prized possesion in 34 years it's time to change their strategy. All you have to do is look at a team like The Detroit Red Wings as the model of what a real hockey team should look like. The Red Wings are probably the closest you can get to a perfect team. They simply have everything a hockey team needs to win and they win ALL THE TIME.
Work:
I suppose that I am a little less spontanious than others and wouldn't rush into moving to another country before learning the language, but there was an idea being tossed around at one point that in order for citizens to move to other countries a person would be required to pass a test. This test would be somewhat like an equivilency test for citizenship. A person would be required to have a certain degree of knowledge of a country's history and a certain grasp of it's language before citizenship is granted. This helps stop the language barrier and, aside from personal benefits, allows for better interaction and social conditions. After the incident I went through tonight I am ALL for this idea. A man came into the store today and said, in decent enough English, "Help."
Me: "Yes sir, can I help you?"
Man: "Uhhh, ti ...... uhh ...... pi ..... sah."
Me: "What?"
Man: "Uhh .... pi .... sah."
At this point I'm thinking the guy is asking for pizza. There are no pizza shops around so I tell him, "I don't understand."
Me: "What are you looking for?"
Man: "Uhhh ...."
Now he picks up an empty box I had laying next to me and begins to play charades. GREAT!! [sarcasm] He motions like he is setting a tablecloth over the box and I'm just staring at this man angrily because I don't have time to play games or ask 20 questions just because this adult middle-aged man cannot speak English. I tell him we do not sell table cloths and that I cannot help him. He grabs my arm at the wrist to keep my attention and says, "Help". Now I'm furious. I looked the man in the eyes and said, "Sir, keep your hands off of me. I can't help you." He decides it's time to play charades again. I call my manager and he asks what the problem is. I tell him that the man doesn't speak English and just as soon as my manager begins to talk to him the customer notices a roll of tape on a dispenser on one of the counters and motions like that is what he wants. I walk him over to where we keep the tape, show him all the types, and ask "Like this? Is this what you want?" The man looks at me and rolls his eyes in frustration. At this point I've decided it's time to walk away regardless of whether this guy continues to talk or follow me and that I will spend NO more time trying to decypher what it is that he wants. This happens at least twice a day because of the heavy Russian and Asian citizens who have moved into the surrounding areas.
Lucky me.
 1:47 PM Jul 30
|
