Yeah, I already knew I was a bastard....

Roller hockey has started again.

I was astonished to see a new team name - we're now the Green Bastards. Don't believe me? Check it out.

We've begun the season with a 9-8 loss. I had at least one point, our second goal of the night.

I nearly tied it at the death, as a last-ditch attempt bounced off two skates before hitting the post.

The entire team has returned, save our defending top goalie. Our new goalie played the game prior to ours, so some goals against were a tad dubious.

I think I might freeze on the last days of summertime

Summer roller season is officially over. We were, just like the Sharks, an excellent regular season team, finishing behind the first place team by one lousy point.

The top seed in the playoffs got one game on Monday night against the lowest seed. Winner goes directly to the Monday championship next week.

The second seed(us) had a potential double-header. We beat the fifth seed at 6 p.m. and went on to battle the third seed at 9.

The 6:00 game was nothing special. We beat up on them 9-2 with both conceded goals being flukey. I had one decent goal and two assists, one being actually a funny behind-the-back pass on a two-on-one.

The 9 p.m. game was my time to shine.

After nailing our goalie in the throat during warmups and being too afraid to shoot on him anymore, I scored three goals, but we went down 7-6. We traded the lead back and forth a few times, but ended up beaten by a teenager who just skated circles around us. I've no idea how many goals he got, but he really scored when they needed it most.

So, now we retire for the season and wait for the winter term to begin, likely in three or four weeks.

For all time....

Nothing more needs to be said.

The names are on the Cup for all-time.

Time to defend it.

Drop the damn puck already.

Let's go Pens.

My goal-scoring drought ends.

I had two, but only got credit for one - bastard refs.

And so, i finish the season on 12 goals, 4 assists, i believe. Not good enough to be an all-star, but my team will cruise into the playoffs as heavy favorites.

What happened?

After such a bright start to my season, I've hit a really nasty scoring drought.

I haven't put a puck in the net since Aug. 17. I've played in two games since then and only have one assist to show for it.

We lost last night and it was the first game I participated in, in which we lost. We're still in first place, but need to win next week to cement the number 1 seed in the playoffs.

If we play the playoffs with our full squad, no one can beat us.

But I have to find some more stamina. I was dead after the first period last night.

DIY Update

I am constantly working on my DIY sewing.

I recently finished another spate of name/number shirts for my dad.

Here's a gallery of 'em. You've seen some of these here, some you haven't. Click on the thumbnail for a full-sized image.













Yes, these two are different!

Boy, am I glad the Pens took Staal...

Bruins fans now know about Phil Kessel's attitude problems as he was finally traded to the Leafs.

Now, do I leave the Leaf bandwagon? Kessel's taken Roenick's spot as my least favorite player in the NHL.

Apologies to the Dixie Chicks, but just so ya'll know, I'm not proud that Phil Kessel is from Wisconsin.

Gotta get back on it!

I've neglected this poor old blog. Yeah.... but there really hasn't been much going on. My Pens finally won a cup and I've been trying to keep my diary of personal hockey achievement going, but so much life stuff has trumped thoughts of hockey....

I've had three weeks off from roller hockey. Went to see Ted Leo one Monday night, went to Wisconsin on another and then Labour Day... In that time, my place on the scoring list dropped like a lead balloon. Our 14-year-old wunderkind passed me up in team scoring and added another six points Monday night, when I only got an assist... that pretty much excludes me from the Summer all-star festivities. Oh well.

But, the playoffs approach and we've got a strong team. With all hands on deck, we should be able to zip through to get our names on the trophy.

NHL-wise, I fully expect San Jose to exceed expectations. Especially with Dany Heatley. I'll go on the record, in fact, and say that the Sharks will win the cup this season. Sorry, Penguins. It's been more than a decade now, since any team has won it two years on the bounce.

"C'mon TEEDER!"

A true legend of hockey has passed away.

Ted "Teeder" Kennedy, the five-time Cup-winning captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs - and for my money, the best Maple Leaf of all-time - has died at 83.

Reading about Teeder's career 50 years after it concluded, inspired me to create my first DIY hockey sweater.



He was one of those players who wasn't the best at skating, shooting, scoring or hitting, but was one of the best at WINNING> His tenacity continues to inspire me today.

Read about him here: http://mapleleafslegends.blogspot.com/2006/05/teeder-kennedy.html

http://www.riponrollerhockey.com/complete_stats/bm_fullstats.pdf

I guess, I'm still just a goal-scorer.

ONE bloody assist in five games.

But, I have 10 goals in that same time frame. That's good enough for second in the league, but sixth in overall scoring.

And I'm going to be missing two games this month, so I really need to suck it up and score some more on the 14th to fortify my position.

The good news, I suppose, is that if I lose ground, maybe I won't be forcibly moved from the Bronze league. That's a real possibility, as my team is 4-0, winning by more than four in each game and three of the top six scorers are on this team. Our goalie has a GAA of 4.

That's in roller hockey!

Parity is not really happening for us this season. We're literally, rolling over everyone. A lot of it is happening with teamwork. None of us are skating right around everyone. We're working the puck around, backchecking and coming off when we're tired. It's a good season thus far.