Friday, April 27, 2012
Thank you, Brandon Inge
Brandon Inge is no longer a Detroit Tiger. And I am sad. The face of the Tigers for so many years, especially the thin ones, is no longer on the roster. Maybe it was time. But I'm not sure the next time we will see a player with such a love and enthusiasm for the game play it with such pure athleticism. Inge has been my Tiger since Bobby Higginson last wore the Old English D. Thank you, Brandon Inge, for giving me a reason to watch, years ago, when the Tigers rarely won a game, just to see what amazing play you might make at third base. Thank you for supporting the community. And thank you playing your heart out, every day, with such a love of the game. You will be missed.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Hope Springs Eternal
I have been in a blog-subject drought lately. Work has been taking up most of my thinking time recently. But tendrils of creativity are swirling around in my head....
My hockey team won its rec league championship a couple weeks ago. Our new season starts back up Sunday.
NHL Hockey playoffs are in full swing (come on, Wings!).
The plants are growing at an amazing rate, thanks to the early Michigan spring. We even harvested our first asparagus last weekend. And it was good.
My perennial dining companion has given me a plethora of new cookbooks to explore.
And baseball is back. Go Tigers!
Life is good.
My hockey team won its rec league championship a couple weeks ago. Our new season starts back up Sunday.
NHL Hockey playoffs are in full swing (come on, Wings!).
The plants are growing at an amazing rate, thanks to the early Michigan spring. We even harvested our first asparagus last weekend. And it was good.
My perennial dining companion has given me a plethora of new cookbooks to explore.
And baseball is back. Go Tigers!
Life is good.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
The Last Game at Yost for the Season or the Thank You Seniors Edition
One of the things that makes college sports so special is that you know every year will bring change as the seniors graduate in spring and freshman join the team in the fall. Four years may seem like forever, but every year former freshmen, now senior leaders, graduate and move on.
College teams typically celebrate their senior players on "Senior Night", the last home game of the regular season. And Michigan's hockey team celebrated four of its best this year, that Saturday night in late February - all captains or alternate captains, all outstanding contributors to its team. But in my mind, due to the success of the Michigan program over the years, you can count on a couple more home games every year because the CCHA playoff games are played at the higher seeded teams' home ice. And Michigan typically hosts one round of the CCHA playoffs at Yost.
So while Senior Night was officially in February, tonight was Senior Night in my mind. The night when, for the last time, the four seniors took the ice as the team defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to move on to the semi-finals of the CCHA playoffs. Captain Luke Glendenning, and Alternates Greg Pateryn, David Wohlberg, and Shawn Hunwick played their last game at Yost tonight. The crowd was electric, the band spot-on, and Brady Hoke was in the house. You couldn't ask for a better atmosphere, and the Wolverines came to play, apparently recovered from the marathon double overtime game the night before, to sweep the series against Notre Dame.
But how bittersweet it was to watch Shawn Hunwick, perhaps the best goalie Michigan has ever had, perhaps the best goalie it ever will have, lead his team onto the ice for the last time. The last game was a victory in which he, as he has so many times this season, made spectacular save after spectacular save to give his team the chance to win. And then to be the last player to walk off the ice after the game was won, turning around to look backward at the ice one last time.
Thank you, seniors. But especially, thank you Shawn Hunwick. And with the grit and the talent of this team, we hope to see you playing in April. But never again at Yost. And you will be missed.
College teams typically celebrate their senior players on "Senior Night", the last home game of the regular season. And Michigan's hockey team celebrated four of its best this year, that Saturday night in late February - all captains or alternate captains, all outstanding contributors to its team. But in my mind, due to the success of the Michigan program over the years, you can count on a couple more home games every year because the CCHA playoff games are played at the higher seeded teams' home ice. And Michigan typically hosts one round of the CCHA playoffs at Yost.
So while Senior Night was officially in February, tonight was Senior Night in my mind. The night when, for the last time, the four seniors took the ice as the team defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to move on to the semi-finals of the CCHA playoffs. Captain Luke Glendenning, and Alternates Greg Pateryn, David Wohlberg, and Shawn Hunwick played their last game at Yost tonight. The crowd was electric, the band spot-on, and Brady Hoke was in the house. You couldn't ask for a better atmosphere, and the Wolverines came to play, apparently recovered from the marathon double overtime game the night before, to sweep the series against Notre Dame.
But how bittersweet it was to watch Shawn Hunwick, perhaps the best goalie Michigan has ever had, perhaps the best goalie it ever will have, lead his team onto the ice for the last time. The last game was a victory in which he, as he has so many times this season, made spectacular save after spectacular save to give his team the chance to win. And then to be the last player to walk off the ice after the game was won, turning around to look backward at the ice one last time.
Thank you, seniors. But especially, thank you Shawn Hunwick. And with the grit and the talent of this team, we hope to see you playing in April. But never again at Yost. And you will be missed.
Winning in overtime is so much sweeter, or the what I wish my fellow hockey fans knew edition
Michigan had an outstanding overtime victory tonight over Notre Dame in their first game of the CCHA playoffs. I could have watched all night, And for awhile there, I almost thought I would until the tie was snapped a few minutes into the second over time to give Michigan a 2-1 victory.
That was a heck of a hockey game. And a heck of a long hockey game at that. CCHA playoff overtimes are sudden death (of course), but they go 20 minutes at a time with 15 minute intermissions. Which gave me a little extra time to listen and to ponder the comments about the game made from the folks sitting behind me. And made me want to offer a few suggestions. I wish I could claim they were my own ideas, but most of them came from listening and learning from other, more experienced hockey fans and players.
To my fellow hockey fans:
The next time you yell at a defender to shoot from the blue line, take a close look at the path between that player and the goal. If there is no clear path, it could be a disastrous play for that defender to shoot the puck (indeed, the worst play in hockey). If the puck bounces off the opposing team back toward our goal, the other team may very well have a breakaway.
Likewise, the next time you yell at a defender who failed to pinch in at the blue line while we are in the opponent's zone, consider what would happen if that defender pinched, and the puck popped out behind him, giving our opponent a breakaway. To pinch or not to pinch is always a judgement call, but I will rarely fault the defender who makes the safe play (which is not to pinch) to prevent a defensive disaster.
In CCHA college hockey, icing is when the puck is cleared from the zone before the red line and the team clearing the puck is not on the penalty kill and does not reach the red dot prior to an opposing team member.
If most of the players are one side of the ice battling for the puck, it is because nothing else matters until we gain possession of the puck. It may be good strategy to have one more player in the scrum for the puck than the other team. As long as one player remains more center to clear, we should be in good shape.
If a player fails to stay on his skates, that doesn't necessarily mean a penalty has occurred.
And probably most importantly, in the fifth period of hockey (after four intense 20 minutes periods), please do not yell at the players if they don't make a perfect move in front of the goalie before shooting.
Now get back out there and cheer again on Saturday! And let's get the job down in three stanzas this time. Go Blue!
That was a heck of a hockey game. And a heck of a long hockey game at that. CCHA playoff overtimes are sudden death (of course), but they go 20 minutes at a time with 15 minute intermissions. Which gave me a little extra time to listen and to ponder the comments about the game made from the folks sitting behind me. And made me want to offer a few suggestions. I wish I could claim they were my own ideas, but most of them came from listening and learning from other, more experienced hockey fans and players.
To my fellow hockey fans:
The next time you yell at a defender to shoot from the blue line, take a close look at the path between that player and the goal. If there is no clear path, it could be a disastrous play for that defender to shoot the puck (indeed, the worst play in hockey). If the puck bounces off the opposing team back toward our goal, the other team may very well have a breakaway.
Likewise, the next time you yell at a defender who failed to pinch in at the blue line while we are in the opponent's zone, consider what would happen if that defender pinched, and the puck popped out behind him, giving our opponent a breakaway. To pinch or not to pinch is always a judgement call, but I will rarely fault the defender who makes the safe play (which is not to pinch) to prevent a defensive disaster.
In CCHA college hockey, icing is when the puck is cleared from the zone before the red line and the team clearing the puck is not on the penalty kill and does not reach the red dot prior to an opposing team member.
If most of the players are one side of the ice battling for the puck, it is because nothing else matters until we gain possession of the puck. It may be good strategy to have one more player in the scrum for the puck than the other team. As long as one player remains more center to clear, we should be in good shape.
If a player fails to stay on his skates, that doesn't necessarily mean a penalty has occurred.
And probably most importantly, in the fifth period of hockey (after four intense 20 minutes periods), please do not yell at the players if they don't make a perfect move in front of the goalie before shooting.
Now get back out there and cheer again on Saturday! And let's get the job down in three stanzas this time. Go Blue!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
The Shoot Out - Musings on a Backup Goalie
Goalie. The last line of defense. The netminder. The keeper. There is no other position like it in sport.
In hockey, players are trying to score by getting a puck into the opposing team's net (or goal). There are rules about how the puck can get to the net (you can't kick the puck into the net, for example). And in hockey , there is a goalie who is in charge of standing in front of the net to try to keep the pucks out. The goalie gets to use special gear (bigger pads and helmet) and special rules apply (he or she can cover up the puck, for example). But the goalie is part of the team. The puck has to get by all other 5 players on the ice before it gets to the team's goalie.
That said, the goalie is highly visible. A team wins - the goalie is great! A team loses, and the goalie may feel the heat. The goalie is central to the team, frequently its best skater, and a huge key to a team's success. A team plays differently in front of a goalie in which they are confident, or accustomed.
Tonight, the University of Michigan's hockey team started its backup goalie against the visiting Lake Superior State Lakers (both teams part of the CCHA). The backup goalie played really well, stopping 34 shots and keeping Michigan in the game, letting in only 2 goals in regulation play. Michigan also scored two goals, and at the end of regulation time, the game stood at a 2-2 tie.
In hockey, depending on the league, after a game is tied in the regulation time allowed, an overtime period may occur. This happens in CCHA play - the overtime period lasts 5 minutes and the first team to score a goal wins the game (aka "sudden death"). Tonight, neither team scored in overtime.
Which leads to a shootout in the CCHA. Each team picks three skaters and each skater gets a one-on-one chance against the goalie to score. They go one at a time. If each team has the same number of goals after the first three skaters, additional skaters take shots on the goalie until one team has scored more shots than the other. A shootout in college hockey is something of a nebulous event. The outcome does not count for the NCAA. Not all conferences use shootouts. I don't like the shootout, especially in college hockey.
A shootout takes the game out of the hands of the team, and transfers it to the hands of individual players. One skater, one goalie. Is it exciting? Yes, it is. Many fans love the shootouts - a dramatic finish to the end of a close game, not to mention the display of skill (both shooter and goalie) during the event. I have not played goalie in hockey, but I have filled in as a goalie at soccer and there are few things in sport (even as a recreational athlete) like the excitement of a one-on-one between shooter and goalie. I loved being the goalie against a breakaway in soccer.
But a shootout changes the game. It takes the game from a team sport to a one-on-one competition, transferring the focus from the team to individuals. The best team may not win, but the one with the most skilled shooters with the best moves may. Or the team with the hottest goalie. But not necessarily the best team. And it is a team sport, after all.
Michigan lost in a shootout tonight and its backup goalie played a great game.
Play the hockey game. Play an overtime. Bet let the game stand as a tie if neither team wins at that point.
In hockey, players are trying to score by getting a puck into the opposing team's net (or goal). There are rules about how the puck can get to the net (you can't kick the puck into the net, for example). And in hockey , there is a goalie who is in charge of standing in front of the net to try to keep the pucks out. The goalie gets to use special gear (bigger pads and helmet) and special rules apply (he or she can cover up the puck, for example). But the goalie is part of the team. The puck has to get by all other 5 players on the ice before it gets to the team's goalie.
That said, the goalie is highly visible. A team wins - the goalie is great! A team loses, and the goalie may feel the heat. The goalie is central to the team, frequently its best skater, and a huge key to a team's success. A team plays differently in front of a goalie in which they are confident, or accustomed.
Tonight, the University of Michigan's hockey team started its backup goalie against the visiting Lake Superior State Lakers (both teams part of the CCHA). The backup goalie played really well, stopping 34 shots and keeping Michigan in the game, letting in only 2 goals in regulation play. Michigan also scored two goals, and at the end of regulation time, the game stood at a 2-2 tie.
In hockey, depending on the league, after a game is tied in the regulation time allowed, an overtime period may occur. This happens in CCHA play - the overtime period lasts 5 minutes and the first team to score a goal wins the game (aka "sudden death"). Tonight, neither team scored in overtime.
Which leads to a shootout in the CCHA. Each team picks three skaters and each skater gets a one-on-one chance against the goalie to score. They go one at a time. If each team has the same number of goals after the first three skaters, additional skaters take shots on the goalie until one team has scored more shots than the other. A shootout in college hockey is something of a nebulous event. The outcome does not count for the NCAA. Not all conferences use shootouts. I don't like the shootout, especially in college hockey.
A shootout takes the game out of the hands of the team, and transfers it to the hands of individual players. One skater, one goalie. Is it exciting? Yes, it is. Many fans love the shootouts - a dramatic finish to the end of a close game, not to mention the display of skill (both shooter and goalie) during the event. I have not played goalie in hockey, but I have filled in as a goalie at soccer and there are few things in sport (even as a recreational athlete) like the excitement of a one-on-one between shooter and goalie. I loved being the goalie against a breakaway in soccer.
But a shootout changes the game. It takes the game from a team sport to a one-on-one competition, transferring the focus from the team to individuals. The best team may not win, but the one with the most skilled shooters with the best moves may. Or the team with the hottest goalie. But not necessarily the best team. And it is a team sport, after all.
Michigan lost in a shootout tonight and its backup goalie played a great game.
Play the hockey game. Play an overtime. Bet let the game stand as a tie if neither team wins at that point.
Monday, January 2, 2012
The Basement top plays of 2011
54-40 – Baby Ran
.38 Special – Hold on Loosely
The Beatles – Anna (Go to Him)
Humble Pie – I Don't Need No Doctor
Angel – Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore
Harry Nilsson – Good Old Desk
REO Speedwagon – Roll With The Changes
Humble Pie – 30 Days In A Hole (Live)
Foreigner – Feels Like the First Time
Humble Pie – Shine On
Harry Nilsson – Puppy Song
City Boy – (Moonlight) Shake My Head And Leave
Nirvana – Sliver
City Boy – The Greatest Story Ever Told
.38 Special – Hold on Loosely
The Beatles – Anna (Go to Him)
Humble Pie – I Don't Need No Doctor
Angel – Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore
Harry Nilsson – Good Old Desk
REO Speedwagon – Roll With The Changes
Humble Pie – 30 Days In A Hole (Live)
Foreigner – Feels Like the First Time
Humble Pie – Shine On
Harry Nilsson – Puppy Song
City Boy – (Moonlight) Shake My Head And Leave
Nirvana – Sliver
City Boy – The Greatest Story Ever Told
Friday, December 30, 2011
Lists, Lists, Lists - Songs I can't stop listening to, 2011 style
Again, the end of 2011 leaves me in the mood to make lists. Here are listed the songs I keep coming back to this year, not necessarily the most played, but my favorite. Some may be older than I am....
Life is a Highway - Tom Cochrane. This may be my life's anthem and the greatest song ever.
http://www.tomcochrane.com
Soldier - Ingrid Michaelson. This song makes me feel, even at my age, that I can accomplish anything
http://www.ingridmichaelson.com
You and Me - Elizabeth and the Catapault. Just love the groove.
http://www.elizabethandthecatapult.com
Rainmaker - Harry Nillson. For the days when Life is a Highway is not the best song ever, this song is.
http://www.harrynilsson.com
Dyamite - Taio Cruz. Because every time I hear it I think of hockey (either playing or spectating).
http://www.taiocruzmusic.co.uk
One Step Away - Ratt. Because I am true to my roots. And Ratt was a damn fine band.
http://www.therattpack.com
Without Me - Eminem. A little because he is from Detroit. But mostly, because I dare you not to dance. Seriously. At least if you are over 18.
http://www.eminem.com/splash
What's Victoria's Secret? - Rick Springfield. For too many reasons to name.
http://www.rickspringfield.com
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich - Lady Gaga. Again, I dare you not to dance.
http://www.ladygaga.com
Walking in Memphis - Mark Cohn. Because we saw him in concert at The Ark this year and he is as funny as he is talented.
http://marccohn.net
Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes. Because it has the best bass riff ever and because Michigan beat Notre Dame at football.
http://www.whitestripes.com
Tonight, Tonight - Hot Chelle Rae. See Taio Cruz. And The White Stripes. This song was also played at the greatest dance party ever (aka the Post-Game Celebration at Michigan Stadium after the 2011 Notre Dame Game).
http://www.hotchellerae.com/us/home
Radio Nowhere - Bruce Springsteen. No good reason - just that this song always sounds like a good idea. And it always rocks.
http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html
I'll get the top-played songs of 2011 out soon. But I wanted to get this list of the songs I loved in 2011 out as well.
Life is a Highway - Tom Cochrane. This may be my life's anthem and the greatest song ever.
http://www.tomcochrane.com
Soldier - Ingrid Michaelson. This song makes me feel, even at my age, that I can accomplish anything
http://www.ingridmichaelson.com
You and Me - Elizabeth and the Catapault. Just love the groove.
http://www.elizabethandthecatapult.com
Rainmaker - Harry Nillson. For the days when Life is a Highway is not the best song ever, this song is.
http://www.harrynilsson.com
Dyamite - Taio Cruz. Because every time I hear it I think of hockey (either playing or spectating).
http://www.taiocruzmusic.co.uk
One Step Away - Ratt. Because I am true to my roots. And Ratt was a damn fine band.
http://www.therattpack.com
Without Me - Eminem. A little because he is from Detroit. But mostly, because I dare you not to dance. Seriously. At least if you are over 18.
http://www.eminem.com/splash
What's Victoria's Secret? - Rick Springfield. For too many reasons to name.
http://www.rickspringfield.com
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich - Lady Gaga. Again, I dare you not to dance.
http://www.ladygaga.com
Walking in Memphis - Mark Cohn. Because we saw him in concert at The Ark this year and he is as funny as he is talented.
http://marccohn.net
Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes. Because it has the best bass riff ever and because Michigan beat Notre Dame at football.
http://www.whitestripes.com
Tonight, Tonight - Hot Chelle Rae. See Taio Cruz. And The White Stripes. This song was also played at the greatest dance party ever (aka the Post-Game Celebration at Michigan Stadium after the 2011 Notre Dame Game).
http://www.hotchellerae.com/us/home
Radio Nowhere - Bruce Springsteen. No good reason - just that this song always sounds like a good idea. And it always rocks.
http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html
I'll get the top-played songs of 2011 out soon. But I wanted to get this list of the songs I loved in 2011 out as well.
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