Saturday, January 30, 2010

Komets Games

Yesterday I went to a Fort Wayne Komet's game with Sydney, her dad, and her brother Dever. This was the second of two games I've been to in as many weeks. But I can never get enough of hockey! Especially when we win!

The first game I went to I was accompanied by my dad, Benjamin, and his friend Joseph. It was definitely an intense game, and it went all the way to a shootout. It was a great shootout, and in the end the Komet's were the victors. This was great in two ways, because if a Komet's game goes into overtime, all the local Taco Bells give out free tacos within 72 hours of the game. So we took advantage of this and went to a Taco Bell at 11:20 at night.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch the last period of the second game, because Sydney had to get up early to perform her violin at ISSMA. When we left, the Komets were winning 3-2. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure that they held on to their lead for the remainder of the game.

The team we played last night, the Quad City Mallards, was very good, and frankly I'm surprised we managed to beat them. The Komets aren't doing so well this year. I don't know their record, but they definitely aren't doing as good as last year. I think they'll make it to the Turner Cup but not win. I don't mean to be pessimistic, I'm just trying to be realistic.

Monday, January 25, 2010

NFL Championship Games

This was arguably the best week of the 2009-2010 NFL season. Not only did the Colts beat the Jets, but the Vikings lost to the #1 ranked team in the NFL, the New Orleans Saints. Oh, how sweet it is. The Vikings season - and Brett Favre' s season - is OVER!

Rather depressing, isn't it, how all 32 teams in the NFL have one goal. A Super Bowl. And all 32 teams work their hearts out every minute of the day, every day of the week, to accomplish that goal. One team will have accomplished that goal in the end. 31 teams will have worked in vain. The season will have been a complete and utter failure if you do not win the Super Bowl. Brett Favre's season was a complete and utter failure.

Deep down - extremely deep down, that is - I feel sorry for Benedict Favre. After enduring so much ridicule and slander (from me), defying all odds, beating his old team twice, smashing several records, making it all the way to the NFC Championship, his remarkable season has come to an abrupt end. He didn't accomplish what he came back for, after coming so close. Yes, I have to admit it, I actually have sympathy for Benedict Favre.

I also feel sympathetic for all the poor Vikings fans out there. The game was a shootout; nobody led by more than a touchdown throughout the entire game. If one team scored, the other answered (If they didn't fumble the ball first. There were 6 fumbles, all of them made by the Vikings). It looked like the last team with the ball would win. Unfortunately, the Vikings were the last team with the ball.

With 7 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, Favre & Co. had the ball at the 56 yard line. They only needed a few more yards to reach field goal range. Favre took the snap, and. . . threw and interception. Just like in the 2007 NFC Championship game, when Favre was still playing for the Mighty Pack, an interception ultimately decided the game.


The game was brought into overtime. The Saints won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball first. They marched right down the field, lined up for a field goal, and ended Brett Favre's legendary season. It must have been frustrating for Brett Favre, watching his team lose the NFC title and knowing that there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

Moving on, the Colts beat the Jets 30-17 to claim the AFC title. But the game didn't start out on a positive note. The Jets scored two unanswered touchdowns before the Colts finally got on the scoreboard. And on top of that, Joseph Addai got hurt in the first quarter (fortunately he was able to play later on in the game).

But the Colts proved once again that they can play just as well, if not better, when they're losing. They came back all the way, lead by their dynamic offense, to win the game. The Colts win, the Vikings lose. . . It seems like everything is going my way.

Well, now we have the Super Bowl to look forward to in February. It certainly is going to be a good one. Go Colts!

Friday, January 22, 2010

End of Basketball Season

Sadly, my last few basketball games of the season were losses. We lost to Emmanuel by two points yesterday to end the season. On Thursday we lost to St. Vincent by six points, and two weeks ago we lost to Central by a lot. Please put into consideration that we haven't practiced since before Christmas. It certainly shows.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Playoffs 2010 II

Usually, playoff games are edge-of-your-seat thrillers, but there haven't been many nail-biters except for the Packers-Cardinals game. The Vikings killed the Cowboys on Sunday. The Colts killed the Ravens. Both games weren't very exciting. The only game that particularly caught my attention was the Jets-Chargers game.

It was a huge shock that the Jets even got a playoff spot. And now they beat the Chargers in San Diego! It would be pretty cool if the Jets went all the way to the Super Bowl, but first they have to beat Indianapolis. Yeah, Mark Sanchez has more playoff wins than Tony Romo, but he isn't a Super Bowl quarterback. Yeah, their defense has been playing great, but even the best defenses can't stop the explosive Colt offense.


So it's Jets vs. Colts for the AFC title, and Vikings vs. Saints for the NFC title. I predict the Super Bowl match up will be Colts vs. Vikings, with Indianapolis being the winner. But I shouldn't get my hopes up. In the playoffs, the unexpected should be expected.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Packers Highlights 2009-2010

Here are all the Packers highlights for the 2009-2010 season, courtesy of NFL.com

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d81299ae0/Packers-21-Bears-15

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d812c6e2e/Bengals-31-Packers-24

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d812f38ce/Packers-36-Rams-17

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d81331f80/Vikings-30-Packers-23

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d8137ee47/Packers-26-Lions-0

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d813addc3/Packers-31-Browns-3

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d813df86c/Vikings-38-Packers-26

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d814082a0/Buccaneers-38-Packers-28

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d81438ca8/Packers-17-Cowboys-7

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d81464b8c/Packers-30-49ers-24

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d81481d70/Packers-34-Lions-12

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d814ce7aa/Packers-27-Ravens-14

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d814ed78d/Packers-21-Bears-14

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d81521289/Steelers-37-Packers-36

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d81549d1f/Packers-48-Seahawks-10

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d81576b22/Packers-33-Cardinals-7

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d815a56a2/Cardinals-51-Packers-45

It's The End of The World

Don't you just hate it when you get your hopes up, and you're all excited and happy, and then the tide turns and you watch you hopes and dreams crash down around you? Well, that's exactly how I felt when the Packers lost in overtime to the Arizona Cardinals, after coming all the way back from a 21-point disadvantage.

We blew past all opposition and doubt, beating the likes of Dallas, Baltimore, and coming this close to beating Pittsburgh, with Aaron Rodgers, Charles Woodson, and Donald Driver having phenomenal seasons, and the last play of the year is an interception for an Arizona touchdown. The shame.


At first the game looked like it would be a blowout. We were down by at least 17 points throughout the first half, but we managed to tie the game at the end of the third quarter, and when the Cardinals scored a touchdown late in the fourth, we marched right down the field and evened up the score once more.

Alas, our joy was short-lived, for they in turn marched right down the field and got in perfect position for an easy field goal with 14 seconds to go in the game (At this point I was so frustrated with our suddenly atrocious pass defense that I couldn't bear to watch anymore and I went upstairs to take a shower. A bit disloyal, maybe, but it was to painful to watch). My dad tells me that hope was rekindled when Arizona missed the field goal, bringing the game into overtime.

He was doubly excited when we won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. The game nearly ended with a bomb to Jennings for a touchdown, but the ball was slightly overthrown. And then. . . all our hopes were foiled when Aaron Rodgers threw an interception for - never mind, I can't bear to even type it. It's best that we just forget about the game and focus on the fact that Charles Woodson was named Defensive MVP of The Year!


I knew that he would win. He had a career-high 9 interceptions this year, 4 forced fumbles, 2 sacks, and 74 tackles. He also was elected to the Pro Bowl. He's probably my favorite Packer.

Another good thing about this football Sunday was that the Patriots lost to the Ravens! I hope those cheaters never win another Super Bowl with Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, or Randy Moss. They are conceited, vain, self-centered crybabies. As I always say, cheaters never prosper.

Well, we had an awesome season overall. It may not have ended the way we wanted, but there certainly were a lot of highlights. We'll get 'em next year.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Playoffs 2010

It all winds down to this. The NFL playoffs. I'm pleased to announce that the Mighty Pack made it into the playoffs this year, and they sealed it by crushing Arizona 33-7. We must put into consideration, though, that the Cardinals weren't playing their starters for most of the game, lest their best players get hurt right before the playoffs. Humph. Their loss.


Another team that didn't play their starters was Indianapolis, causing them to lose twice with a perfect season hanging in the balance. This has caused much dispute. Should the Colts have played their starters, thus winning, but risking their best players getting injured? Or did they do the right thing by resting Peyton Manning and the rest of their starters, thus letting the perfect season slip away, but keeping everyone healthy?

I think that Jim Caldwell has his priorities right. First and foremost on the list of importance is the playoffs and Super Bowl. If a team achieves the perfect season, well. . . that's great, but those 16 wins won't matter if they don't win the Super Bowl. The Colts need Peyton Manning if they want to win the Super Bowl. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that Jim Caldwell should rest him and guarantee that he's healthy for the playoffs.

On the other hand, the Colts fans were naturally disappointed that their team was all of a sudden losing when they had previously been undefeated. I don't blame them for being a bit upset with Jim Caldwell. They could've won, but he just chose not to play his best players, therefore not giving his best effort!

Oh well, at least the Colts actually made the playoffs. The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't. The Super Bowl champions didn't even make the playoffs. Funny, that.

The board is set. The pieces are moving (Gandalf quote). It's time for the playoffs! It's time to annihilate the Cardinals - AGAIN - in the rematch this Sunday! Go Pack Go!

Happy New Year, Birthday, Etc.

Please forgive me for not blogging in so long, but I have a very legitimate excuse, the excuse being: HOCKEY 2009/10 (among other things)! We had an unusually short, but great time up the at cottage with family. But before hockey, we spent a few days with my mom's family in Crown Point.

While there, we spent the night at my Uncle Dave and Aunt Michelle's house with my cousins Arriel and Eva. We watched the classic Wizard of Oz, opened some late Christmas presents, and my mom, Benjamin and I went to see the new movie Avatar. It was a very bizarre, weird sort of movie, but it had awesome special effects. If you're the chauvinistic type, I wouldn't recommend you seeing it, because the bad guys are the U.S. Marines. I found it hard to root against human beings and root for strange blue people with tails.

Anyway, after visiting for a few days, we headed up to hockey. On the way there we watched all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies on our new portable DVD players. We got to the cottage at around 8:00, giving us just enough time to unpack and spread out our sleeping bags (every inch of the living room floor was covered with sleeping bags).

As always, the adults got up early to go have breakfast at a local restaurant. And what do the kids get? Cereal and Pop Tarts. Oh well, at least we got to sleep in. I mean, that's what vacation is for, isn't it?

We enjoyed some very fun, exciting games of hockey and general shooting around while watching the adult games. Sometimes, though, my hands admitted defeat to the extreme cold and I went in early so that my fingers wouldn't freeze solid. Luckily, this didn't happen very often thanks to the miracle of hand warmers. I probably owe my hands to hand warmers, and I would like to shake the hand of the genius who invented them.


After morning hockey we enjoyed many games of Clue and Apples to Apples, reading Calvin and Hobbes and The Ultimate Book of Useless Information, and general lounging around by the fire. After several hours of this we would migrate upstairs to play (we broke a light fixture downstairs by jumping and running around so vigorously upstairs), tape "stunts" on Sarah's camera, or just talk.

After our lunch of ham sandwiches (I swear, we didn't have anything but ham for lunch all week) and the afternoon hockey session we headed over to Frieda's for dinner, pool, darts, Sundrop, and college football.


We always walked to and from Freida's across the lake, which is very fun. After Freida's, the cousins would play an intense game of "Horse Racing", which involves a whole lot of gambling, betting, shouting, and all around havoc. After the uncles got home, we would take out the crokinole board.



On New Year's Eve, we celebrated Jacob's 3rd birthday! We had some delicious donuts followed by some fireworks, put on by our amazing neighbors who graciously allow us to play hockey on their pond. After that, we went inside to make our Resolutions and Predictions. My resolution is to keep my good grades up, and my predictions are: 1. My basketball team will repeat as tournament champions. 2. The Komets will make it to the Turner Cup but not win. 3. I will be as tall or taller than my mom by next hockey.

Then, the countdown began. . . I suppose we weren't very official. None of the clocks in the cottage work, so Sam's iPod had to suffice as the official clock. After the clock - I mean, iPod struck 12:00, we all shouted, "HAPPY NEW YEAR" and welcomed a new decade.

Unfortunately, a few days after New Years my Uncle Dan got a puck to the eye in an intense game of hockey. His eye was black and completely swollen shut, and he was forced to go to the hospital. The doctor said he broke a few nose bones, as well. At least he gets to look like Rocky Balboa!



January 3rd was our last day at the cottage, but it was also Luke's 7th Birthday! We celebrated with some Panera bagels for breakfast and a ton of packing. Yippee.

On our way home we watched Horton Hears a Who and listened to the Packers steamrolling the Cardinals 33-7 (more on the NFL later, there is much to discuss)!

We stopped in Crown Point once more to shower and have a quick dinner. Then we hit the road. We were hampered by a flat tire, but fortunately we were back on the road in no time thanks to my dad's amazing tire-changing skills.

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful 2010! (Hockey pictures coming soon. . . hopefully)