To The Keg!!

Saturdays epic battle between the Grave Diggers and Warriors turned into a Diggers classic game style. It was a game of puck position, making plays to take the puck away, and passing. The Diggers were able to put 33 shots on the net (the Warrior only registered 12). The dominance continued even when the Diggers went short handed due to penalty infractions by yours truly and others. Don't worry my penalty came when a guy did not like me pushing him out of my goalies way. He smacked my stick causing it to hit his own teammate in the face and giving me a highstick penalty (hey that's hockey ref's only see 25% of what occurs and only call 10% of that).

All in all we ended up with a 3-0 win. Giving our goalie the only shutout in the playoffs this session. Next up is the Keg game against the Chiefs. The Chiefs have advanced with an perfect undefeated record making us the underdogs (wouldn't have it any other way). The game will be Saturday 4/11 @ 8:30pm at the Dr. Pepper StarCenter in Euless.

If you can make it we would love to see you there. If you come you must yell loud and proud!

a moment of Reflection . . .

Sitting atop of mount Calvarious listening to the chantings of Coolio and Lady Gaga (a little old school with the new) I am reminded of how things meta morph and every dog has its moments of zen. Going into this year I knew that I would be making adjustments in leaving the board of directors for the homeowners association. A daunting task that I was looking forward to. Last week I was finally voted out and achieved the separation I was wanting. This freedom has given me some extra time to myself (and taken some worries away from me).

The second change that I planned to make this year was to reduce the amount of teams I am playing with at the rink. Three games in one night takes a beating on you. This coupled with the changes that were occurring with my teams gave me some concerns. Unfortunately the Komets took a big change late last year and went from a team focused on fun, learning, and gamesmanship to one focused on winning. Don't get me wrong winning is great but it does not help when you want to learn and become a more complete player. For me this development meant that I needed to leave my comfortable position as a winger and play as a center men. For those of you not familiar with hockey this is a position that requires you to be both on offense and defense at anytime. It's a lot of work and always requires you to be thinking ahead of the play. This season it has made me the best player that I have ever been. For me to make this change I left the Komet's and became a full time player of the Grave Diggers. The perennial "bad news bears" of the hockey rink (just remember this team was once called the Leftovers for good reason).

I knew going full time on my part time team would require me to be a more vocal member in the locker room, on the bench, and off the ice. I was concerned that this would be quite a formidable duty. To make matters worse the coordinator for the team was going to be away on business for most of the season and unable to participate in much of our games. This put added pressure on my friend Mel to step-up and fill this coordinators role. This now made me feel even more vested to perform at a higher level than ever. In the past I have always led by example and by the assertiveness in my actions. I knew that this alone would not be enough. I can stand here today and say that I have been able to transform into a vocal leader. I have even played better on the ice like a little kid skating with no worries in the world (even with two sore groins reminding me that they do not care for what I am doing). I have shared glorious moments with my teammates watching them score goals, make slick plays, or just simply skate with the puck.

Going into the season I expected to learn the nuances of a new position. Instead I have learned about how I can lead others in more ways than I am aware of. Knowing that I would be with team underdog I fully expected to see a mediocre season. Call it special leadership from Mel, mystical play, perfect timing, growth of teammates, or my efforts (I feel it is all of the above) the Grave Diggers have finished the season in 2nd place with a 6-2 record. It has been almost a week since the regular season has ended and I still cannot grasp the concept of how this team has turned around in such a short period of time. When I look at this team and its motley crewof players the most discernible fact is that they have HEART! They play with passion. Not the passion for the game but the passion of little kids out on the pond having a good time. Win or lose we have walked away all season saying "wow that was fun"!

This Saturday at 7:15pm we will be playing the first round of the playoffs. Winning this game would put us in position for the championship keg game. When I look at all of the teams out there I can't think of a more deserving lovable group than the Grave Diggers. If you have some free time and want to see the Rodney Dangerfield of hockey teams then come watch us play. Just remember it takes a special team to draft a player like Becky to play for them next season.

On this note Becky has already chosen number 29 to wear. She is doing this as she anticipates to be the Steve Ott agitator on the team. When I took her to the Stars game she became quite interested in Ott's move called clipping. It causes a penalty but definitely is a cheap way for a smaller player to make a giant impact on a bigger player. Watch for your self and then pray. Pray for Becky, pray for the other player, and most of all pray for all of the humanity that could come from this if she ever pulled something like this off (yes I actually envision that this would cause the world to turn upside down and for cats and dogs to start loving each other). I hope everyone is doing well, until next time . . .

What I learned on Spring Break

Well it's not been since 1995 that I have had a Spring Break and had no work to deal with. So what have I learned this year compared to 1995. In 1995 people would turn on their TV's to see the latest on OJ Simpson's murder trial. Now we tune in to see who has murdered the economy and Wall Street today. So in essence not too much has changed as someone is dieing one way or another.

I have learned that while looking for a job it's best to see if the company has taken any federal bailout money because I will need to seriously re-consider their ad that says "Salary + Bonus". I would hate to have Becky and I join some program to protect our safety because I took a bonus (or pay an unbelievable tax to the government). I guess it may come to these companies running job ads that say "Salary + Bonus + Money owed to Uncle Sam".

Another thing I have learned on Spring Break is that Hooters is now the family restaurant. It felt strange being there and seeing so many little kids. I kept wondering if I had walked into a McDonald's by mistake. Finally I have learned that no matter how much fun you have on Spring Break their is always a bunch of poop you have to clean up (thanks Haven).

It should be a busy weekend as we will be trying to sell our wares at the church garage sale on Saturday. I hope I can sell everything so that I can finally have room in my garage.

Some Good News!!

Last week proved to be a very difficult and emotional week. I was laid off from work last week ending a 10 year relationship. A product of the economy there is not much that can be done about it. Don't worry about me as my spirits have remained high. It's a new experience for me and it is a welcomed one. Of all the things I could think of that I could go through this one is not that bad. I have already started my job hunt and have heard back from several friends who have some contacts. If you know of anything let me know and I will jump right on it. Till then I will be focusing on my Anatomy and Physiology class. Oh yeah and some hockey!

Friday night turned into a real treat as my parents came up to celebrate their anniversary and have a belated birthday dinner with me. We ended up at Texas de Brazil. If you have never been there it is an all you can eat Brazilian Steakhouse. The waiters walk around with various meats on sabres that they serve to you at the table. My Dad has now classified it as the best lamb he has ever eaten. Becky and I wll agree to the "best of" statement but for us it is the steak. Mom fell in love with the Reisling wine (she can be so simple sometimes).

To top off the weekend I must turn it over to the eye in the sky report from the hockey rink who sums it up this way:

Ice Holes (0-3-1) 0
Grave Diggers (3-1-0) 2

The Holes were a force to be reckoned with for about three minutes, after having nothing to show for it they retreated into their zone depending on Jayson Jones. The returning netminder was up for the challenge, turning away nearly two periods worth of Digger offense. Stephen "Chilly Willy" Janis sinks the Ice Holes' battleship with his period ending goal. The Holes fail to answer the Chilly goal and end up allowing 29 shots on their own net, one more of those finds its way on to the waiting stick of Bob Barr who puts the game out of reach for the Ice Holes.

(I guess the hockey part is paying off I hope the Anatomy and Physiology goes just as good).

Wonder Woman and Birthdays

Well February always proves to be an eventful month as we celebrate Valentine's Day and my Birthday. I will back up a few weeks to Valentine's Day to tell you of all the fun and excitement we had.

For Valentine's Day this year Becky and I really did not want anything (though we did give each other some small trinket gifts to let the other know we had not forgotten). Becky decided that she wanted to give me a really big gift. The hockey rink had no games scheduled on Saturday the 14th to avoid the possible fight it could provide with spouses and girlfriends. Instead of having wasted open ice they allowed teams to be part of an open hockey session. Becky feeling brave and sassy decided that she would participate in this practice session.

So off we go showing up at the rink with our gear in hand. Becky started getting second thoughts when she saw some of the skaters on the ice, but she still went ahead with getting dressed. I figured once I got her to the bench our friend Supergirl would be able to get her on the ice. Unfortunately Becky forgot her jersey so I had to give her my extra one (yes it looked like a dress on her and if it was not for the hockey gloves she would have looked like a ghost with no hands). This left one problem as I did not have my extra black jersey, so she and I would have to be on opposite teams.

When we got to the bench Becky decided to sit and watch and try to figure out what she got herself into. It was at this time that Supergirl swooped in and joined her on the bench. After some coaching Becky took the jump. This led to her transformation from the sweet Becky we know to Wonder Woman. That's right she quickly became a force to recon with on the ice as she collected a pass from Supergirl and then skated with it until she passed it off to Chim Chim (the monkey from Speed Racer, aka Coach of the Grave Diggers). It made for a super play as I sat proudly on the bench cheering her on.

After her debut it has many people asking what's next for Wonder Woman? Does she go back to her normal life, venture into crime fighting, or secretly wait planning her next hockey moment? Stay tuned to find out.

Becky in pink gloves next to Supergirl.

As for my birthday I spent a wonderful day of relaxation followed by spending some time with Charles, Melody, Mel, and Becky. It was such a wonderful evening as we went to Twin Peaks for dinner. The next day I was treated to special seats at the Stars game (too bad they lost, but the up close action was wonderful) and a wonderful game with the Grave Diggers.

The Grave Diggers played against my other team The Silverwings. I played center for the Grave Diggers and enjoyed a wonderful game. I started off strong and then found my weakness, my stamina (yeah go ahead with the old age jokes). I was glad to see this as it gives me something to strive for to improve before my next game. So if you see me working out extra hard this weak its because yes I am trying to turn back time and bring my youth back (or bring sexy back either way I win).

Thanks to everyone for the gifts and gestures for my birthday. I appreciate all that you have done for me and I look forward to returning the same someday.

Why so Quiet

Well I have spent the last two weeks now fighting bronchitis. This is all do in part to our neighbor's kid sharing this with me. Sharing of this variety I definitely do not need. I am almost back to full capacity. I still have a cough, congestion, and worse part of all a terrible sore throat. If you need a Hall's throat lozenger I have bought 3 bags since this has started. Good news is my asthma has not bothered me as of late so I should be back playing hockey this weekend. Last weekend was the opening weekend of the new season. I ended up helping to coach the Silverwings to a shootout loss. This weekend I hope to be on the ice with both the Grave Diggers and Silverwings.

If you have some free time this weekend and want something to do come on down to the ice rink in Euless. The first game is at 5:30pm and my last game of the night is at 9:15pm. Please see below for the schedule for this season.

Becky has returned back to full duty from her surgery. She will be testing her recovery this Friday when she goes rock climbing with the youth group from the church. Ahhh the luxury of being a nurse that you can help out a youth group while enjoying the time as well.

Well must be off, hope you are doing well and we hope to see everyone soon.

What a week

Well this past week was actioned packed. Let me back up and give you some background information. About 4 weeks ago Becky started experiencing pains in her lower abdomen. Once they continued for longer than a week she went to the Doctor to see what was going on. After some tests and review by a specialist it was determined that a cyst had developed on her ovary and was the cause of her problems. This cyst had grown to a size of 4cm and was causing her to be uncomfortable. Unfortunately with the cyst she had it will only grow and get worse and cannot be treated any other way than with surgery to remove it. So off we went last Tuesday to get it removed.

Becky was gracious enough to pose for this wonderful picture previous to her surgery.

After everything was all said and done she came through with flying colors. Though this after picture clearly shows the effect that pain medicine and anaesthesia have on you.
Keeping smiling Becky it's about time that I finally got some payback for the pictures you took of me.

I hope these pictures made you chuckle. I also hope this posting finds you doing well. May God bless you as we move into this new year.