More than autographs

As much as I enjoy being a hound, I've learned along the way that there's more to it that simply loading up on signatures. Sometimes, such as this past Saturday, it's just as fun to take in a baseball game from a different perspective.

If you haven't checked out Baseball Mondays, a baseball hounding blog that occupies my time during the hockey offseason, now is as good of a time as any. Soon enough, hockey season will be back.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

Well, well, well

It was more than a hunch that our last day of Colin's summer vacation yesterday might include getting some autographs from NHL players. What I didn't know, though, was that it would involve Dallas' Brad Richards and Tampa Bay's Marty St. Louis.

But that's exactly what happened, as we took in the final minutes of an informal workout by a handful of NHL players at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon. Richards, a former Bolts player, and St. Louis were among those skating. Other confirmed sightings were Tampa Bay defensemen Brett Clark and Mattias Ohlund.

Colin hustled to have Richards and St. Louis sign the pucks shown above. St. Louis, who was in a downright jovial mood, signed the new 2004 Stanley Cup champions puck in the top left corner. Richards signed the others.

I didn't get shut out, either, as Richards and St. Louis signed this photo, showing Tampa Bay's old Big Three celebrating Canada's championship in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Now, all we need is for Vinny Lecavalier to complete this photo.

Each and every one

Not that I'm any sort of technological genius like my good friend Moody, but I couldn't figure out why the old Vault wouldn't list our complete collection of autographed pucks.

Hopefully, that's all been taken care of now.

The Vault, Part I: Pucks A - L
The Vault, Part II: Pucks M - Z

Card show

Once Colin completed his Florida State League team ball project and loaded up his Dunedin Blue Jays batting helmet, we're down to getting cards signed as we start to close out our 2010 Summer of Baseball over at Baseball Mondays.

Minors accomplishment

As our 2010 Summer of Baseball winds down, we're putting the finishing touches on some of our summer projects. In this case, it's a game-used Dunedin Blue Jays batting helmet signed by 31 members of the Florida State League squad.

You can read about the helmet, as well as another summer project, at Baseball Mondays, our hockey offseason hounding blog.

Boys will be boys, but men are still boys

Editor's note: Just making sure that Hound Central readers know this post is by Moody, not Puckhound. I'm thinking Moody may have gone a little batty waiting for the season to begin. Still, though, the man makes a point:

My wife tells me this all the time, and, as a man, it frustrates me to no end. I work hard, I provide for my family and always try to do the right thing.

Well, after looking over some photos of the Stanley Cup, I realized just how juvenile a grown man can be. I can now agree with the missus everytime she says those words.

Take a look at Hall of Famer Frank Selke's title as it's printed on the Stanley Cup. (Editor's note: Even better, how about Arc Campbell's? Figures, too, that it's the Loafs.)

Yes, I realize it's a bit childish to giggle at this, but I did and I still am as I write this post. I also chuckled a bit when I noticed that even the team's mascot even got his name on the Cup.

I apologize now for this immature post, but man, oh, man.

What it's all about

Take a moment, please, to read a letter from Dan Goldie, one of Moody's recent TTM successes. It's a good hockey story.

Goldie's a Buffalo kid to boot, too.

Caught up

It may have taken more than five hours, but all 147 pucks that needed to be catalogued and cared for can now consider themselves done. To be honest, I expected it to take a little longer.

With only a 30-minute break for dinner, I spent most of my afternoon off sitting at the table shown above, processing the pucks that we'd collected, some as far back as last November, over the 2009-10 hockey-hounding campaign.

In a way, chronicling a collection is much like a production process. Each puck gets logged into a master file (really, it's just a piece of paper), receives an identification card (another piece of paper), like this one for a puck signed by Tampa Bay's general manager Steve Yzerman, and put into a case.

From there, most end up in a 72-case box that's put in storage. A handful, though, find their way into one of our two burgeoning display cases.

I may not be ready for the upcoming 2010-11 campaign, but I'm considerably closer. I'm sure the bag will be packed by the time Lightning players start their informal skating sessions this month.

Catching up

Every so often, I get asked what I do with or how do we display all of our autographed pucks. Lately, it hasn't been all that well. Between being a Daddy and a husband, work, freelance work and enjoying Colin's company this summer, I haven't had much time since early April to put away the fruits of our labor.

Today, though, will be different when I asked Colin what he wanted to do today, he suggested we have a "chill out" day, where we do nothing but hang out at home. To me, it was a good idea.

Now that he's busy working yet another Lego creation, I've started putting away pucks, some from as far back as last November. As you can see, I have my work cut out for me:

Pucks obtained during the Tampa Bay Lightning's Young Guns camp;

These pucks were signed during the last 10 days of the regular season;

More from our late-season hounding efforts; and

The first batch of pucks I'll put away.

With any luck, I'll complete this project tonight.

Twelve down, none to go

Thanks to the Fort Myers Miracle, Colin completed his main 2010 Summer of Baseball project -- getting team-signed baseballs from all 12 Florida State League clubs. Check it out at Baseball Mondays.

Love those zebras

It may have taken hours for me to get Stevie Y and I may have looked a tad bit foolish while doing so. That's okay in my book.

I decided to speed things up a bit in my last hounding outing. I went over to the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon because I knew that Jonny Murray, an NHL linesman, was running a power skating camp there. In less than five minutes, my patience paid off.

Jonny signed four photos for me on his way in to the forum and even took the time to ask where I got them. He even went through the work-in-progress "Officials" team sheet, below, and tried to name the others who'd signed.

There are still plenty of camps going on this summer. Take the time to research your local ice rinks and see what kind of gems you can haul in.

Welcome back, Rocco

For those of you outside the Tampa Bay area, the news that former Tampa Bay Rays player Rocco Baldelli is attempting a comeback might not be that important. For Rays fans, though, it's a big deal that he's playing with the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Florida State League.

Over the past few weeks, we've watched Baldelli play in a couple of games, serving as the Stone Crabs' designated hitter. Of course, his presence draws a crowd, ourselves among it. Though he signs only after games, he doesn't leave fans disappointed.

Among the postings at Baseball Mondays:

~ a signed 8x10 showing Baldelli's first-ever FSL hit -- a double against the Clearwater Threshers;
~ a single-signed baseball from Baldelli;
~ the 11th team-signed ball of Colin's 12-team FSL team ball project; and
~ Colin's first FSL team sheet of our 2010 Summer of Baseball.

A little toasty

So, how warm did it get last week during a Florida State League matinee between the St. Lucie Mets and the Clearwater Threshers? Try 113.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Thankfully, it was only 90 degrees in the shade.

Even better, Colin knocked out his 10th team ball of our 2010 Summer of Baseball. He can complete his 12-team FSL team ball project Wednesday, when we travel to Dunedin to watch the Fort Myers Miracle play the Blue Jays.

Read about these feats, as well as many more, at Baseball Mondays.

Good for laughs

Now that Moody has told his story of getting autographs from Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman, it's time to spill the beans on what happened just before the new Tampa Bay Lightning general manager made him feel like a 14-year-old girl at a Jonas Brothers concert.

Because it was hot that day during the Lightning's Young Guns player development camp, we braved the outside elements tucked inside the air-conditioned comfort of Moody's truck. It was, after all, summertime in Florida.

As we sat inside, soaking up the AC and trying to stave off an afternoon nap, we spied someone walking down a sidewalk. At first, the person's identity was obscured by bushes and we dismissed it was Yzerman because the person appeared to be wearing a touristlike fanny pack.

Boy, were we ever wrong. Not only was this person not wearing a fanny pack (it was a cell phone holster), but it was, indeed, the Red Wings' legendary captain. The alarms, so to speak, were sounded.

In what can be accurately described only as a jailbreak or a scene from the Three Stooges, the three of us (Moody, Colin and I) sprung to action. Colin nearly climbed over Moody trying to get out. In return, Moody nearly sent Colin back into his seat. Me? I was fumbling through my bag to grab the pucks shown above as well as two paint pens.

Moody was the first to leave the truck, scrambling up a small incline to the sidewalk and begin the chase. Colin, only seconds behind in his departure, ran along the incline, issuing his request.

"Yzerman," he shouted, "can you sign for my friend and Dad?" (It's nice to know where I rank, isn't it?) No "Mr. Yzerman" or "Steve." Just "Yzerman."

Thankfully, Stevie Y stopped.

After gathering the four pucks and pens, I nearly fell out of Moody's truck, getting a foot tangled up in my hounding bag, to join the chase. Despite my girth and age, I made up lost ground as quickly as I could, most likely causing seismic activity from my heavy feet.

As you can see, our reward was well worth the comedic effort. In less than five minutes of actual hounding, coming within a nearly three-hour-long wait, we knocked out one-third of our primary hounding project this season, The Yzerman Project.

For the record, Colin scored the Red Wings and Lightning pucks. Given Yzerman's and Team Canada's success at the 2010 Olympics, I had Yzerman sign the top pucks in gold.

Back into the fire

Last week, we spent quite a bit of time inside a comfortable St. Pete Times Forum, watching the Tampa Bay Lightning's Young Guns development camp. This week, however, will be a little different.

On Wednesday, we'll conduct an experiment, our second in as many years, on how hot it gets during a matinee baseball game down here in Florida. Last season's experiment, also conducted in July, found temperatures that topped 110 degrees.

You can read about our upcoming experiment and more at Baseball Mondays, our hockey offseason hounding pursuit.

No longer a tough guy

I like to think of myself as a secure man with very few insecurities. I am 6-foot-2, 240 pounds in stature and climb 300- to 400-foot cellular towers for a living.

All that went out the window last week when I saw my childhood hero, Steve Yzerman. I immediately turned into a 14-year-old girl at a Jonas Brothers concert as soon as I saw the Tampa Bay Lightning's new general manager walk by us during the club/s Young Guns development camp.

I have never been nervous or goofy around any player I have met -- and I have met a lot. This, however, was different.

Photo taken in Detroit from an advertisement for my former employer while I lived in the Motor City is now signed by the Hall of Famer.

Photo taken of the tribute on ice after Yzerman's number was retired is now added as an autographed shrine on my wall.

I chose these two photos to get signed because I wanted to make sure that no one else would present the same items to him this year. They needed to stand out in my collection and not be a mass-produced mimic of the usual.

As much as I want a Stanley Cup photo or HOF induction photo (I do plan on adding those) the "14-year-old JoBro fan" in me wanted my first time to be special.

Gone camping

Florida hounds camp a bit different than typical folks. Instead of the deep woods, we venture into the concrete jungle. Instead of birdwatching, we keep an eye out for hockey players. Most importantly, instead of a musky old tent, we rough it at the Marriott Waterside in Tampa.

All in all, it was still a good time spent with my little girls and our pals, Ron and Colin.

I used last week's Tampa Bay Lightning Young Guns development camp to hone my skills for finding non-NHL photos for players to sign. In my opinion, I did pretty good.

That will be the theme for the upcoming season when I hound. I will make an effort in my 8x10s to only use college, juniors and international photos.

Andrew Agozzino: Camp invitee

Carter Ashton: 2009 first-round pick

Mark Barberio: 2008 sixth-round pick

Brock Beukeboom: 2010 third-round pick

Brett Connolly: 2010 first-round pick

Mitch Fadden: 2007 fourth-round pick on game-used jersey

Scott Jackson: 2005 second-round pick by the St. Louis Blues (Photo also signed by Fadden)

Radko Gudas: 2010 third-round pick

Joe Hartman: Camp invitee

Alex Hutchings: 2009 fourth-round pick

Brandon Hynes: Camp invitee

Adam Janosik: 2010 third-round pick

Jaroslav Janus: 2009 sixth-round pick

Jim Johnson: Norfolk Admirals coach

Zane Kalemba: Camp invitee

Alex Killorn: 2007 third-round pick

Tom Kurvers: assistant general manager, at the time of this camp

Jonathan Lessard: Camp invitee

Tim Marks: Camp invitee

Matt Marshall: 2007 fifth-round pick

Brendan O'Donnell: 2010 sixth-round pick

Richard Panik: 2009 second-round pick

Kevin Quick: 2006 third-round pick (Go Blue!!)

Geoffrey Schemitsch: 2010 fourth-round pick

Dustin Sylvester: Camp invitee

Dustin Tokarski: 2008 fifth-round pick on a game-used stick

Dana Tyrell: 2007 second-round pick

Pat Verbeek: Lightning head pro scout

Luke Witkowski: 2008 sixth-round pick

Ty Wishart: 2006 first-round pick by the San Jose Sharks

Michael Zador: 2009 fifth-round pick

Teigan Zahn: 2010 seventh-round pick in the greatest fight photo ever!

Look familiar?

A week ago, I knew the 2010 Tampa Bay Lightning Young Guns camp would get the hockey-hounding juices flowing. Baseball's been fun. So have Colin's summer hockey scrimmages. But I've started to look forward to these development camps.

Think of it as the Midsummer Lure of the NHL (or close to it) Rink.

More than anything else, the camp was a fun break, a time to hang out with Colin, watch some hockey, learn some more skating drills and, whenever possible, add to the autograph collection.

Because the wish list wasn't too long, it was pretty easy to knock out:

Brett Connolly, the Lightning's No. 1 draft pick last month, inked the obligatory Tampa Bay Lightning and 2010 NHL Draft pucks. Though this isn't a knock on the kid, there's far less buzz this season that in the past two prospect camps with Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman.

Goalie prospect Dustin Tokarski signed this pair of pucks. He must have thought I wanted more than one signature on each puck. That can be the only explanation for signing off to the side, though his signature, as you can see below, isn't all that big.

Cards signed by Carter Ashton, Connolly and Alex Hutchings (on an Ontario Hockey League All Star set card) and a trio of cards, including one for the Threads collection, from Tokarski.

Of course, these weren't the only items signed over our two visits to the St. Pete Times Forum.

Perfect sense

As hard as I try, I can't think of any reason for Colin not to use a team sheet any time we go out hounding. C'mon, just look at this one. In less than 45 minutes, Colin scored autographs from 28 of the 32 Tampa Bay Lightning prospects (plus one coach), including top 2010 picks Brett Connolly, Brett Beukeboom and Adam Janosik.

Team sheets are perfect for these kinds of opportunities.

Other notable signers, per Lightning fan standards, were former 2009 draft picks Carter Ashton and James Wright. The Norfolk Admirals, the Lightning's AHL affiliate, are represented by Mitch Fadden, Jaroslav Janus, Richard Panik, Kevin Quick, Dustin Tokarski, Dana Tyrell, Ty Wishart and former Admirals coach Jim Johnson.