Sunday, January 3, 2010

Sunday morning homily XIV

Well, I did it. I came out of retirement last week, for what I'd thought would be one game only, and played a little street hockey with Colin's teammates. Don't believe me? Well, I got a fat lip to prove it.

Early on in the "game" at the Police Athletic League's recreation facility in St. Petersburg, pulling a shift as a defenseman, I took a street hockey ball right in the kisser. I saw it coming, but didn't have time to flinch.

Thankfully, I had my mouth shut, so there was no damage to the chiclets. Just a little cut inside a swollen lower lip. Like a real hockey player, though, I spit once to check for blood (didn't notice any) and kept on playing. Didn't embarrass myself, either. Well, maybe just a little.

The fat lip, as well as some minor aches and pains the following day, won't deter me from joining Colin more often in playing hockey. Mostly, though, I have to drop another 50 pounds or so before I dare get back on the ice. Until then, street hockey will have to suffice.

Maybe, next time, I'll wear a helmet and cage.

Just curious?

So, how did everyone do hounding the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday down here in Hockey Bay? Did I nail the situation on the head, validating the decision to avoid the circus, or did the reigning Stanley Cup champions make a fool of out me, and sign each and every item placed in front of them?

I'm particularly interested in hearing if anyone got autographs from Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury. Of the three, I'd expect Fleury would be the one to sign.

If anyone had a good day with the Penguins, send me an-email and I'll include it in the upcoming Your Turn II.

Dang, it's cold out

Thank goodness the Tampa Bay Lightning hit the road this week. If not, Hockey Bay hounds would have to bundle up before venturing outside. All this week, we'll be lucky if daytime highs reach 60 degrees. Overnight lows in the 30s are expected, too.

No, I'm not whining, as it wasn't all that long ago that I dealt with true bone-chilling cold of wicked New England winters. And, yes, I know it gets much colder up North and in Canada. It's just that we're used to much warmer temperatures -- such as the 70s -- in early January down here in Florida.

I blame it on the snowbirds flocking to Florida. They arrive in such great numbers. I believe, that they create a vacuum and bring the cold temperatures with them.

6 comments:

  1. Well here it reached a balmy 17 today So when I hit powerball still moving to florida or maybe Phoniex if they still have a team then as long as I dont have to drive on the ice

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  2. I'm interested in how the Penguins sign on the road. In all honesty, Sidney signs the most out of Him, Geno, Staal, and Fleury. Fleury told me hes sick of seeing bags of jerseys out around here where we get him. It's nice that i pretty much do only pucks.Check out my page for more details.
    -Nick

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  3. Nice page, Nick. You're doing a great job loading up on Sidney. Nice touch to get him on so many different pucks.

    I've yet to hear from anyone on how the Pens were, so I'm taking that it was no different than in the past -- a three-ring circus that I'm glad we avoided.

    Their next visit is on a Sunday, the same day that Colin plays his games. I imagine, though, it'll pretty much be the same.

    For the first time in years, I'll miss/skip both trips.

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  4. I wasn't able to hound the Pens the day of the game, but was there the night before. Had some of the smaller names sign- Talbot, Dupuis, Fedotenko. Guerin and Gonchar both signed. Fleury signed when he got back from dinner, and chatted with us for a few minutes. And I was also able to get my first ever auto from Malkin. No Staal or Crosby though.

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  5. Thanks, Scott, for the report. Good scores, too. It's smart to find different times to hound teams like Pittsburgh. I can only imagine what Saturday was like, though.

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  6. Saturday was nothing to write home about although a few of the normal non signers came over (Kennedy & Godard) and signed for the crowds. Highlight of their trip here was Jess' coincidental run in with Sid in the downstairs garage and the signed jersey that resulted. In all we ended up with 2 Crosbys, 2 Malkins and 3 Fleurys for the trip...not to bad i guess ;)

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