Too Much Fun?

The other day I finished reading 'The Best of Down Goes Brown' and I MUST say it is one of the funniest books I have read in quite some time.  Of course, anyone who follows the blog KNOWS how funny Sean McIndoe is, but I needed to inform those who haven't caught on yet.  I had to choose the times I read this book very carefully, as I would wake The Husband with my hysterical laughter and that is never a good thing.  So, if you haven't pre-ordered the book yet--or gotten the ebook version--do so right now.  You won't be disappointed!  Happy reading.

NOT Hockey Related...

...but far too good to pass up.

From our local police log:

--5:20 PM:  report of a disturbance; subject swearing in a residence, unknown if it is a domestic disturbance; no domestic; subject was setting up home gym equipment and it was not going well.

And how is your day going?  :D

For many reasons, I could never be a GM.  The biggest reason I couldn't do it is that, by now, I would have called Parise and Suter and told them to go f*** themselves.  These two guys have pretty much held the NHL hostage these last few days and continue to do so while they make their decisions.  Hey guys, there ARE other players that would like to get contracts signed, too, and get on with their lives--you two aren't the only ones!  I am thoroughly disgusted.

I can't for the life of me believe that these two didn't have any discussions with their families, mentors, friends, loved ones, etc, before Sunday.  Both of these guys knew they were going to be signing new contracts this year, so they MUST have talked/thought about what they were going to do.  Granted, until they knew the particulars, no decision could be made, but they both knew they were going to be offered more money than God, so the only decision needing to be made was WHERE they wanted to go.  So, I can't see where the problem is.

These guys are going to get enough money that they will live extremely well for the rest of their lives.  They will make this money by playing a game.  AND they will only have to work for less than half the years most people will before they get to retire.  At this point, they are acting like divas.  Maybe if one of the GMs offered to remove the brown M&Ms from every bowl, then an agreement could be made.

Really, Parise?!?!  I mean, REALLY??  I know people who have decided on their life-long professions taking less time to make the decision.  It took me less time to decide, plan, try, and become pregnant--and I had fertility issues!  This is ridiculous.

I wouldn't care one way or another about this whole thing if it wasn't for the fact that Parise's non-decision is affecting so many people/teams.  It is obvious that everyone is waiting on him before spending for the 'B-list' players.  This is selfish of him in so many ways.  I would love to see all of the GMs come together and agree that no one would sign him until every other player was signed--see how HE likes to play the waiting game.  (Yes, that is childish--no need to point it out.)

While I realize this is quite a decision this young man has to make, it's not as if he woke up on 30 June and said, "Holy shit!  I've got to figure out tomorrow where I want to play next year!"  He has had months--if not years-- knowing this was going to happen, so what is the hold up?  He has to decide what city he will spend the majority of the year in, playing a GAME, and getting more money in one year than most of the people who will watch can hope to make in a lifetime.  It's time to end this, NOW!

Que Sera, Sera

I try to live my life with the philosophy that 'everything works out the way it should' and 'what will be, will be.'  Of course, anyone who knows me knows that I fall far short of this most of the time.  Yet, there are times that I can be calm about situations and the next few days don't bother me much at all. I am one person who is not about to slit her wrists with a wet noodle no matter where some of the available players happen to sign.  But I also know that there are a lot of people who WILL be ready to slit their wrists if things don't turn out the way they want.

To begin with, I have to say that I am sick of hearing about Zach Parise.  I was sick of hearing his name early in the playoffs.  Enough already.  However, I realize he is a big deal and will be talked about, so I deal with it.  Now, as for my opinion--which no one asked for--I don't think we will see him in a Red Wing sweater next year.  The Red Wings don't sign big-name players, they build them.  (The last time the Wings made a huge splash was when they signed Hossa, so I don't have much faith with this one.)  As long as he doesn't land in Pittsburgh, I don't really care what happens to him.

Ryan Suter is another story, for me.  With the retiring of Lidstrom and Stuart's leaving, the Wings desperately need to add to their defense.  Not only would it be nice to have someone of Suter's ability, it would be nice to be able to kick Nashville to the curb a bit.  This one I will watch a little more closely.

It most certainly will be interesting to see what happens over the next few days.  I already know that Twitter will explode when 'the news' comes down and I only hope that it doesn't break.  But for me, I probably will be sleeping and catch up on what's happening way after the fact.  So, I will be sitting on the sidelines watching others live and die with the announcements--for me anyway, I'll wait and do my worrying come October.

Untitled

{sigh}

Yes, I'm Bitter

Wow.  After playing only 8 games in the past 1+ year, Sidney is still better than every other player in the NHL. Amazing.  So, when do the "Nominate Sidney Crosby for Sainthood" petitions start circulating?

And The Winner Is...

From what I've been reading on the interwebs, the Stanley Cup Finals really don't need to be played.  Actually, the entire playoffs don't need to go on.  With Crosby (possibly/probably) coming back this week, the Penguins are guaranteed to win it all.  I'm thinking these same people are certain the world will end on 21 December 2012.  Time will tell...

I Am Not Thrilled

I'm not a hateful or mean person--despite what The Family thinks.  I don't wish ill health or misfortune on people, even those I don't particularly like.  That being said, I am not looking forward to Crosby coming back.  Don't get me wrong, I would hate for anyone to have their career cut short at such a young age and it would be very sad for someone to have to live with 'concussion-like symptoms' for years on end and I wouldn't want anyone to have to go through that.  But, I am not happy that he is returning.  It has been so nice to actually hear about other players in the NHL this season--players who would have been ignored (to a certain extent, anyway) if Crosby would have been playing.  The amount of time that has been devoted to Crosby stories over the years is mind-boggling, but the internet and print 'reporters' have had to come up with some new material this year and it has been refreshing.

I have been sick of hearing about Crosby since about two years before he even played an NHL game.  The Hockey News had at least one article/mention of him in every issue for at least two years prior to his being drafted* and it was tiresome.  Some people think that he is good for the NHL, that he brings a fan base to the game, and that may be, but I am not convinced.  With or without Crosby, hockey will grow or die out--especially in the US--and there isn't much that can be done about it.  Maybe promoting one player above all others gets a 'face' that new fans can follow, but it also alienates long-time fans.  I'm sorry, but I wish Crosby would go away and never come back--or that the 'love affair' far too many in the hockey world have with him would just die out.  Unfortunately, I don't see this happening, so the mute button on my TV will be getting an extra amount of use for the rest of the season.


*I didn't research this, so I can't verify this as fact.  Let's just say, at the very least, this SEEMED to be the case.