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erazonpo3 · 3 years

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Lance Strongbow Appreciation Week Day 6 - “The Original Strikers”

Lance hasn’t seen Stalyan since Vardaros, and he knows Rapunzel had run into her in Pincosta— but it’s been years since they’d actually had a conversation. What with the whole being used as an unwilling hostage by her father and poisoned within an inch of his life, they hadn’t really had a lot of time to catch up. They’d been friends, once upon a time, and even to this day those memories linger every time he rolls up to a jewellery stand and immediately picks out which rings she’d have liked best, or when he eats a macaron and thinks about how she used to only ever eat the pink ones.

So when Stalyan rolls up in Corona one day, Lance decides to pay her a visit.

Eugene and Rapunzel don’t know she’s here, and he’s sure she’d like to keep it that way, but Lance still keeps his ear to the ground enough to learn where she’s staying. The Dragon’s Roost is a tavern on the outskirts of the city with a finer reputation than The Snuggly Duckling, although it’s usually host to the sorts of high end criminals that have fingers in all sorts of dirty pies, but enough smarts to have alibis for the guards. He’s pretty certain the tavern itself is a laundering front.

And sure enough, there Stalyan is; safe in the knowledge that Rapunzel and Eugene would never betray the pub thugs by venturing into an enemy bar. He makes no attempt to sneak up on her— even if she hadn’t positioned herself so as to keep an eye on the entrance, he’s not exactly the sneaking type. So she simply raises an eyebrow at him as he walks in, and makes no comment when he sits himself down next to her at the bar.

“Stalyan.”

“Lance.”

“What brings you to town?” he asks, signalling the bartender for the house beer.

“I gotta take the heat off for a little while. Dad’s enemies are my enemies, but they won’t show their faces in Corona,” she answers cooly, taking a sip from her own half-pint of cider.

“You gonna drop in to see your dad?”

“Ugh, fuck no,” Stalyan sneers at him. “Why would I do that?”

“When in Corona,” Lance shrugs, and slides the bartender a crown in exchange for his own drink. It brings an odd thought to mind.

“You know, the last time we really hung out together we were stealing booze from your dad’s cabinet, and now look at us- buying it straight from the tap like grown ups,” he chuckles.

“Right. Before you and Rider ditched,” she says, leaving the ‘on my wedding day’ part unsaid. They’d been so young— way too young to get married— but Lance had also been too young to think very hard about what it would mean to leave Stalyan behind.

“I’m sorry, Stalyan. Really,” he sighs.

“Well, Dad did almost kill you, so consider us even,” she shrugs. They both take a silent swig of their drinks, washing away the bitter taste of old memories.

“I’m a father now, you know,” Lance says to break the silence.

“I heard.”

“Two girls, Kiera and Catalina,” he continues, and Stalyan is kind enough not to interrupt his spiel about Kiera’s new girlfriend and Catalina’s latest venture into playing hockey, even though he can tell she’s mostly tuning him out. She only lifts her head when he trails off, and realises he’s stopped talking just to look at her.

“You know, I look at those girls and there’s this tiny part of me that wants to put them in a little glass jar so that they’ll stop growing, and put them on a shelf where I can always see them. But then I think of you,” he admits, and Stalyan frowns.

“Why?”

“Because the Baron is what you get when you see your children as your things and not as their own people. And I try to remember that every time whenever they get upset with me, and I get scared that they’ll escape into the night. I just have to trust them, no matter how scary it is, because the last thing I want to be is like your dad,” he says.

Stalyan’s lip curls and she tilts her head to stare at the wall instead of his earnest expression.

“Well, it’s not exactly a high standard.”

“I’m sorry, Stalyan. And I’m not just saying that to clear the slate- it’s funny how fatherhood gives you a different perspective on things.”

Something in the perfect mask of her face cracks, but it’s been too long since he’s known her to be able to tell what it means.

“As lovely as this reunion has been, I gotta bounce. I’m taking the night cruise to Neserdnia,” she says, and hoists herself to her feet. Lance leans back in his seat and watches as she gathers her satchel and heads for the exit, catching her eye when she stops at the door and finally glances back at him.

“Take care of yourself, Stalyan,” he says.

“You too, Strongbow.”

#tangled the series #lance strongbow #stalyan #lance strongbow appreciation week #my art #my writing #cw alcohol

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virtchandmoir · 3 years

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Ice dance star Tessa Virtue happily out of her comfort zone in Queens EMBA program

November 30, 2020

Canadian Olympic athlete Tessa Virtue poses for a photo at the Olympic Summit in Calgary, Alta., Saturday, June 3, 2017.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

TORONTO -- Tessa Virtue doesn't feel the same sense of exhilaration or rush of adrenaline as she did standing at centre-ice after a gold-medal performance.

At least not on that scale or of that magnitude. And that's okay.

"There are so many things that are making me really content and joyful that were just impossible to experience as an athlete in training," Virtue said. "So, there's sort of something offsetting that where I might not be getting that adrenaline rush, there's so much that I feel passionate about and new goals that I'm striving for - which is both scary and exhilarating."

Virtue and Scott Moir were among the 114 athletes, artists, scholars and community leaders named to the Order of Canada on Friday. They're the most decorated ice dancers in history, capturing five Olympic medals, including a pair of ice dance gold in 2010 and 2018.

Virtue is swamped with school work these days as part of Queens University's Executive MBA program - one of the new pursuits that's pushed her out of her comfort zone.

She's typed out frantic text messages to retired Paralympic swimmer Ben Huot - who graduated from Queens' EMBA program - saying, "Have I made a mistake? What am I doing?" she laughed. "(Huot) been so wonderfully supportive.

"But I am so happy I did it. And it's an extraordinary cohort, everyone is so impressive and has accomplished such wonderful things and in such diverse spheres, and so the conversations are so exhilarating, and especially right now, I'm so grateful to have the chance to sort of expand my mind."

Virtue spent the first few months of the pandemic living in North Vancouver with boyfriend and Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly. The power couple joined Arkells frontman on an Instagram live stream back in March. They appeared virtually on the Great Kitchen Party: Home Edition a month later.

The couple is back living in Toronto now, and recently purchased a puppy they named Zoe.

Virtue and Moir's captivating free dance to music from "Moulin Rouge" in Pyeongchang will endure as one of the greatest Olympic figure skating performances ever. Just one of the numerous YouTube streams has over 1.3 million views.

But Virtue has barely watched it.

"I've seen parts of it here and there. And I love the feeling that it evokes in me," she said. "I'm still so proud of that moment of course. But I can't decide if it feels like it was yesterday or honestly if I feel just a few lifetimes away from it. So, it's like that disconnect, right, where I kind of hold onto the feeling that we had when the program ended.

"And when we reflect together, so much of our sporting life just seems so fresh that I'm sure there hasn't been enough time for perspective, right?"

Virtue and Moir, from Ilderton, Ont., competed for two decades. Earning Order of Canada honours, she said, was an honour that had her reflecting on their early days.

"This is not something we would have ever known to even dream for. We weren't seven and nine (years old) cruising around the ice together talking about this, it seemed unfathomable," she said. "And yet, we watched so many of our friends and peers along the way receive this incredible honour. I just feel humbled, and just so, so honoured."

Virtue talked by telephone Sunday before appearing virtually on Hayley Wickenheiser's "WickFest: Female Hockey Festival," calling a few minutes early to ensure she wouldn't have to duck out too soon.

Olympic athletes, both active and retired, have been front and centre in the battle against the global pandemic. Wickenheiser, of course, teamed up with actor Ryan Reynolds and others for "Conquer COVID-19," an initiative that delivered much-needed personal protective equipment to hospitals. Numerous other athletes have hosted virtual practices, information sessions, etc. for Canadian kids.

"It can be underestimated, I guess, what that kind of mentorship or connection with an athlete does," Virtue said. "I think about those kids watching the next Olympics and how invested they'll be and it's pretty neat to share that."

The international figure skating schedule has been a bust since last March when COVID-19 forced cancellation of the world championships in Montreal.

Keegan Messing is the only Canadian to have competed so far this season (Skate America). Skate Canada International was scrapped, and if Stockholm, Sweden does manage to host the world championships in March - organizers want to host it in a "bubble" - there's no guarantee Canada will even go because of lack of preparation, quarantine restrictions, etc.

"I think there's a caveat to everything in that it offers great perspective. You realize just how seemingly insignificant ice dance can be or skating," Virtue said. "But at the same time, in their relative spheres, and as far as their goals and pursuits go, it's huge to miss out on one competition, let alone a season.

"I think just changing that benchmark of knowing when to prepare for something, how a peak, how to maximize your time, the unknown, the uncertainty, like so many people are facing, must be really challenging. And my heart goes out to (the skaters)."

—The Canadian Press

#tessa #off ice #interview: the canadian press #this is a weird article #i think order of canada is meant to be the actual focus

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huttons · 4 years

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Never Really Was Enough, Pt II

word count: 3.9k

warnings: talk of homophobia, off-screen character death

summary: When Eva moves to Raleigh, it wasn’t a happy occasion. She needed to get away from her family and moving across the country was the quickest way for her to accomplish that. As she finds her place in Raleigh, she finds a new family with people she never expected to (especially with a certain red-headed hockey player).

authors note: written as part of FandomTrumpsHate for @antoineroussel <3

pt. one | ao3 link

~ ~ ~

“You can keep as quiet as you like, but one of these days, someone is going to find you.”

By the time November rolls around, Eva feels like she’s finally settled into Raleigh and can finally think of it as home. It’s a good feeling, one that she wasn’t expecting at first. But work has been going extremely well and she’s got a few friends now.

There still hasn’t been any word from her family, and while it isn’t surprising, it still hurts that they don’t care enough to reach out to her, especially with the holidays coming up. Eva is complaining about this when Sammy brings up the fact that the Canes are doing a Thanksgiving get-together in a couple of weeks.

“I just know that you won’t be going home, and Patrick and I can’t afford to go visit either of our families right now,” Sammy explains. “And don’t offer to pay for anything again. Just because you have the money for it doesn’t mean you need to spend it on us like that.”

“I know, I just want you guys to be happy,” Eva says. “But…if you really think that they would be okay with me coming, then yeah, I’d love to come.”

“Seriously, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s just a ragtag group of people who don’t have anyone else, so you won’t be out of place.”

“In that case, count me in. I was honestly expecting to spend Thanksgiving by myself, so I think I can handle hanging out with y’all.”

“Eva, did you really think that we would have you spend the holidays by yourself?”

Eva shrugs. “I mean, you guys have family, so it’s not like I was expecting for you to hang around here. And it would have sucked, but I wouldn’t have minded too much. I didn’t celebrate with my family too much anyways once I left for university.”

“That’s shitty,” Sammy says, bringing Eva in for a short hug.

“Yeah, but I got used to it, with it just being my brother and I for a while.”

“Well, consider us your new family. You’re going to be stuck with us forever.”

“I guess there’s worse things out there.”

~ ~ ~

Once the holiday party rolls around, Eva has baked what feels like a million different desserts. Sammy had been insistent that she didn’t need to bring anything, but it’s been a long time since Eva has been able to bake for a large group of people. Besides, it helps get her mind off of her nervousness of seeing Dougie again.

It’s not like she has a crush on him, but he’s exactly her type and if they continue to run into each other, then it’s something she has to get figured out. So, she bakes until she’s unsure of how she’s going to be able to transport it all. Surely there’ll be at least a couple of people who’ll be bribed into helping in exchange for extra dessert.

Once Eva arrives at the house that’s hosting the event, she texts Sammy to bring a couple of people to help her. As she looks at the cakes, cookies, and pies she made, Eva is starting to think she’s made it painfully obvious that she’s been stress baking. But she shrugs it off, knowing that they’ll all probably disappear by the end of the night.

“Jesus, how much did you end up baking?” Sammy asks, a bit of shock in her voice.

She looks over to see that Sammy has enlisted Dougie for help, and Eva is really wondering why this has to be the first time she’s seeing him today.

Eva shrugs. “You said there were going to be players here, I figured they could finish it all.”

“You’re not wrong there,” Dougie replies. “I’m sure we’ll find a way to eat everything, even if we shouldn’t.”

“Well, that’s good,” Eva says. “Let’s get going because this might take a couple of trips.”

When the three of them walk into the house, they’re greeted by a small group that’s hanging out in the living room. Within seconds, they’re there to grab the desserts from their hands, taking them to the designated table.

“Wow, where was the offer for help earlier?” Sammy snorts.

“You didn’t tell us what it was for,” one of the guys replies.

Sammy just rolls her eyes, before heading back out to Eva’s car to get the rest of the desserts. Dougie and Eva trail behind her, laughing as they head out.

“So, couldn’t fly back home?” he asks Eva.

“Oh, she could afford it, but she decided she would rather be stuck with us instead,” Sammy interjects, giving Eva an out from having to explain.

“It’s a decision I’m starting to regret greatly,” Eva says flatly.

Dougie lets out one of his infectious laughs as they get to her car. The walk back is quiet and once they’re all back, Eva gets swept up into conversations with some of the office staff that recognize her from the last two events. She’s a little sad she doesn’t get to see much of Dougie, but it’s probably the best if she doesn’t want to fall halfway in love with him.

Before she knows it, Eva is feeling full and tired. The day passes in a blur, but she feels more content than she has in a while. In a way, it almost felt like the holidays with her family, before everything turned out for the worse. As she gets ready to head out, Dougie comes over to say goodbye.

“Sorry we didn’t get to talk much today,” he says apologetically.

“It’s not a big deal, I get that you’re popular around here,” Eva replies jokingly.

“Still, I’d been hoping to talk to you a bit more. I was wondering if you’d feel comfortable exchanging numbers?”

And, well, Eva can’t say no to that. So, she ends up leaving with leftovers that will last for days and a new number in her phone. She isn’t really sure if anything is even going to come of it, but she can’t help but to hope that they’ll at least become friends. When Eva gets home, she flops on her bed and opens up a new message with Dougie.

Debating what to say, she simply texts, I hope you got a chance to try something I made today, I wasn’t expecting people to like them so much lol

Once she sends it, she just whispers, “Why the fuck did I send that ? It sounds like I’m fishing for compliments now.”

Only a few minutes later, he texts back, I think you definitely made enough for me to grab something in time 😉 you did good tho, def worth breaking my meal plan for

Oh that’s good then

Dougie doesn’t reply, and Eva decides she doesn’t want to come off as desperate for attention, so she doesn’t send anything back. Feeling a bit weird about the whole thing, Eva tosses her phone on her nightstand, then pulls up Netflix and falls asleep binge watching tv.

The next week passes by in the same routine that Eva has grown used to. She doesn’t hear much from Dougie, most of their conversations are just her congratulating him on playing well. As much as she doesn’t want to admit it, Eva is a little disappointed. When they exchanged numbers, while she wasn’t expecting them to become close, it would have been nice for there to be at least a little substance to their conversations.

“Look, he’s just someone who appreciates talking in person more,” Sammy says when Eva complains about it.

“Is that you hinting that I need to invite him to hang out in person?” Eva asks, scrunching her nose in disdain.

“Hanging out with Dougie isn’t a bad thing. He’s a pretty chill guy and doesn’t expect you to talk all the time. The dude is huge into museums and shit. I know Raleigh isn’t known for having those, but it’s worth going to.”

“Wouldn’t he have already gone to them if he likes them so much?”

“Yeah, but I doubt he’s gone with anyone. Hockey players aren’t much on casually going to museums with their bros.”

“I guess you’re right. And he won’t think this is like…a date or anything, right?”

“No, he’ll just take it as the two of you going to a museum, nothing more. He’ll probably appreciate the company.”

“Fine,” Eva groans.

“Again, if anything happens, I’m taking all of the credit.”

“I really hate you right now.”

“Love you too, Eva.”

~ ~ ~

Dougie seemed ecstatic going to the museum with Eva. He basically confirmed what Sammy has said, that nobody was keen on going to any of the museums with him. So, on a rare Saturday that he has off, Dougie is dragging Eva to the Natural History Museum. He’s excited about the exhibit that they have on display right now, which is something about puzzles.

“So…is it like a history of puzzles?” Eva inquires, as they walk up to the museum.

“No, it’s all about brain games and engaging with the exhibit,” Dougie explains. “It’s all about being hands on.”

“Oh, that should be fun then. No wonder you seem so excited about it,” Eva replies.

“You should be good at them too, since you’re an engineer.”

“Just because I’m an engineer doesn’t make me smarter than anyone else. It’s not my fault society acts like I know more.”

Dougie just laughs. When they get to the ticket office, Dougie buys Eva’s ticket before she can do anything. She just rolls her eyes, and doesn’t say anything until they’re off to the puzzles exhibit.

“I can afford to buy my own ticket, you know. Engineering is lucrative enough for me to be able to buy my own ticket,” Eva says.

“Yeah, but I’m a hockey player, which is even more lucrative.”

“But have you considered that being a hockey player isn’t forever?”

“I’m one right now though, and that’s what matters.”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe I wanted to hang out with you willingly today,” Eva groans.

Dougie laughs loudly. When they walk into the special exhibit area, they both freeze as they take it in. He was right about it being an interactive puzzle exhibit, but apparently failed to notice that it seemed to be for young kids. Parents were standing around, watching their kids run through the mazes.

“Well, at least you’ll be able to solve them now,” Eva jokes.

“Is that a dig at my intelligence?” Dougie replies, faking offense.

“Maybe,” Eva says, a lip tugging at her lips.

“I’m sorry this was a bust, but do you want to take a look around at the other exhibits?” he asks.

“Sure, sounds good to me.”

And that’s how the two of them spend the rest of the morning looking around. As interesting as it is, Eva is more excited about being able to spend time with Dougie. He’s so much more down-to-earth than she was expecting and Eva feels her crush on him growing larger. While that isn’t what she was hoping for, she supposes there are worse people to have a crush on.

“Are you up for getting lunch together?” Dougie asks as they leave the museum.

“Yeah, if you let me pay for it,” Eva retorts. “Let me spend some of my money.”

“That’s supposed to be my line,” Dougie protests.

“Well, too bad,” she says, smiling widely.

“Fine,” he groans. “I guess I can let you get away with it this time.”

They end up going to a small café only a few blocks away and grab a small table in the corner. Conversation flows easily as they eat their lunch, and Eva finds herself enjoying herself a little too much. Besides Sammy and Patrick, it’s been a long time since she’s found someone she genuinely likes hanging out with. Sure, she hangs out with James and other coworkers on those late nights in the office (or diner), but it’s not the same thing.

“I had a good time,” Dougie says, as he walks Eva back to her car.

“Yeah, me too,” Eva replies. “We should do this again. I’m sure I can hang out during the week, as long as I make it up during the weekend.”

“You don’t have to do that for me,” he says, frowning. “I’m sure I can find some more weekends at some point.”

“It’s really not that big of a deal. I’ve had to come in during weekends before, it’s not an unusual experience.”

“If you’re sure…”

“Dougie, I wouldn’t be offering if I wasn’t sure.”

“Okay then,” he says, smiling softly.

On Eva’s drive back to her apartment, she feels herself smiling stupidly. She really enjoyed being around Dougie and the thought of them hanging out again warms her heart. When she gets back to her apartment, Eva notices that Dougie has already text his schedule for the next couple of weeks. They manage to find a time for them to get dinner the following Wednesday. No matter what Eva thinks, she keeps saying that it’s not a date.

~ ~ ~

By the time Wednesday rolls around, Eva is freaking out. While she knows that it’s not a date, she still wants to make a good impression. Sammy is teasing her about it, but helps calm her down.

“Look, you said that it’s not a date, so just wear what you would wear if we were getting dinner,” Sammy says.

“Right, of course,” Eva whispers.

This helps her settle on a casual outfit, and Sammy soothes her a little more before heading out. Dougie sends her a text not too much later telling Eva that he’s waiting outside her apartment. When she heads down to the curbside, she looks around, trying to find him. She hears a honk from a car nearby, and sees Dougie waiting inside.

“You know, I didn’t picture you driving a Yaris ,” Eva teases. “It’s smaller than I was expecting.”

Dougie snorts. “You’re not the first person to say that. But it was the only rental they had when I first came here and I got attached to it.”

“Only you would get attached to a car,” Eva jokes.

“Why is it that you always find something to tease me about?”

“Well, it’s not like you make it that hard.”

“I feel like I should be more offended than I am.”

Conversation continues to flow in an easy banter as they head to the restaurant that Dougie had picked out. It’s a small family owned Hawaiian place that has been around for a while, with great recommendations. By the time that they get there, Eva is feeling much more at ease than she had earlier in the evening. Dinner continues in a similar fashion, with small jokes and talking about what Eva does.

“So, I can come to you with computer issues?” Dougie asks.

“I guess I could try,” Eva replies. “But that’s more IT than engineering.”

“Thought I would ask anyways,” he says. “So, uh, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Uh, yeah?” Eva replies, a bit confused.

“So, um, I know that this might seem sudden, but I was wondering if you might want to go on a date sometime?” Dougie asks hopefully.

“Oh, Dougie, I…” Eva starts to say.

“Was I reading this wrong?” he replies, face falling.

“No, no, it’s just…let me explain,” Eva says, sighing. “I’m openly bisexual and while I figure that you probably have no problem with it, because you seem like a great person, but…I know how bad the sports community is about this kind of thing. And while I’m sure things might be fine; I also know that people go digging for things.

“I had a girlfriend back in university and I still have pictures of us on my Instagram together. We’re still good friends and those are still happy memories for me. I don’t want to have to hide that part of me and while I might be overreacting…I need to look out for myself, Dougie,” Eva explains. “So, while this isn’t a no, I do need to think about it. And I need you to think about it too, because if people end up talking about it…”

She feels like she laid herself completely bare, letting Dougie see more than she was planning on. But…Eva thought about this over the last few days, and wants to let her concerns be known. Dougie seems to still be processing the news, taking time to consider everything. She appreciates that he isn’t rushing to an answer.

“While I can’t say that I really get it, because I don’t, I understand why you would be nervous,” Dougie says, measuring his words carefully. “I’ll wait for you, though. I know that we honestly don’t know each other all that well, but I know that you’re worth waiting for.”

“Thank you,” Eva whispers. “It’s a lot to take in, I’m fully aware of that, but it’s something that I’ve been thinking about.”

“Oh, so you’ve been thinking about going on a date with me?” Dougie jokes.

Eva blushes. “Was that not obvious?”

“It’s just nice to get a little bit of validation.”

Eva just rolls her eyes. The rest of dinner continues in a comfortable silence, Dougie obviously processing everything that he was told. It was obviously a lot for Eva to trust him with everything she told him, so he decides to let her set the pace of what happens next. He doesn’t want to push her too much.

“We can still hang out if you want to,” Eva says softly, as they walk back to Dougie’s car.

“Yeah, I would like that, if you don’t mind,” he replies. “Even if we decide dating is off the table, I still want to be your friend.”

Eva smiles at this, and it helps ease her a little bit. Things are comfortable on the drive back to her apartment, and before she heads out, she gives him a tight hug. Once she gets up to the apartment, it feels like it’s only a few minutes later than Sammy is knocking on her door to get all the details.

“He asked me on a date,” Eva says.

“And?” Sammy asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I told him I would think about it. I just…I don’t want to have to hide my sexuality again, that’s why I moved down here to Raleigh. No matter how much I like him, if he can’t handle me not hiding it…I don’t want to date him,” Eva explains. “And I’m honestly not sure if I could handle shitty comments either. Like…I know it’s not all that likely, but there has to be a few people that’ll say something .”

“That’s shitty that you even have to think about that,” Sammy replies, hugging Eva briefly.

Eva shrugs. “It is, but it’s the reality of the situation.”

“Do you want to date him though?”

“Yeah, he seems like a great guy. If we didn’t have to think about all of this, I would have said yes in a heartbeat.”

“Then I think that’s something to remember,” Sammy says. “Well, I’ll get out of your hair, I just wanted all the deets right away.”

Eva snorts. “Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.”

“You always have me and Patrick, no matter what.”

Eva gives Sammy another hug before she leaves. Sighing, Eva gets ready for bed and mulls over everything that happened. She wants to say yes, wants to text Dougie about it, but she knows that she has to think about it more seriously now. And so does he, and Eva prepares for the minor heartbreak if he decides that she’s just not worth the trouble. But whatever happens, the end result will be worth it.

The more she thinks about it, she feels like she could handle whatever happens as long as Dougie is okay with it. Having his support would mean a lot to Eva, and as long as things don’t get too bad, she feels like she can handle whatever happens. Besides, it’s not like she’s a player that’s coming out, so things shouldn’t be nearly as bad.

A couple of days pass before Eva gets a text from Dougie that just says, I was wondering if we could meet up to talk about what’s going on?

Yeah, but could we do it at one of our places?

I could come to your apartment. I feel like you’d feel more comfortable there

Oh, yeah, that would actually be nice. Are you free any time tomorrow?

I can come over in the evening, once you get off work? I can bring dinner.

See you then 😊

Time seems to either go too fast or two slow. Eva barely remembers anything that happens at work the next day, and James doesn’t ask if she wants to work late, seeing that she’s a little bit out of it. Once she gets home, Eva paces aimlessly around her apartment, unsure of what to do. When she hears a knock on her door, she practically runs over to open it.

Dougie is standing there, with a bag of takeout. Whatever it is, Eva guesses that it isn’t meal plan approved. But she considers that with the conversation they’re having tonight, a bit of junk food won’t be too bad.

“Uh, come on it,” Eva says, stepping to the side to let him in. “You can set this down in the kitchen.”

Once he’s set down the food, Eva leads him to her living room, and they both take a seat down on the couch. It’s quiet for a moment, neither really knowing what to say. She’s unsure if she wants to go first, since her answer depends on what he’s thinking.

“So, I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” Dougie says. “And I can only imagine how hard it was for you to tell me what you did. You being bi, it’s a big part of who you are, but it’s not going to impact how much I want to date you. I want to date you because you’re an amazing person and that hasn’t changed. I know that it could turn out badly because people are shitty, but…we can figure that all out together. Admittedly, I don’t know what I can do to support you, but whatever that looks like, I’ll be there.”

“Thank you,” Eva whispers. “I’m still a bit scared, it’s hard not to be, but I want to date you. You’re a good person and I feel like things could be good between us.”

“So, you want to date me?”

Eva snorts. “Yeah, I think I could do that.”

Dougie smiles brightly, then it dims a little. “Does this count as our first date?”

“I don’t see why not,” Eva says, shrugging.

“This isn’t how I imagined it going,” Dougie replies, scrunching his nose. “But I guess there’s no time like the present.”

“I admire your positivity.”

Dougie laughs, and Eva smiles brightly. It’s good to hear his laugh again, and Eva gets excited thinking about how she can hear it even more now.

“You know, I think your laugh is my favorite part of you,” Eva says.

“You’re really picking my laugh over my dashing good looks?” Dougie asks, feigning offense.

“Unfortunately,” Eva sighs.

There’s still so much that Eva has yet to tell Dougie, about why she left home and why she’s scared for people to find out about them. But there’ll be time for that in the future, and she doesn’t want to ruin the moment.

#dougie hamilton #carolina hurricanes #nhl imagine #hockey imagine #hockey rpf #fic #mine

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chillmichelle · 5 years

Text

Princess

Y/N finds out that Shawn calls her princess because of his inability to get over his ex, whom he also called princess.

Very angsty

Word Count: 4K

“Hello princess.”

A pair of warm lips presses against Y/N’s forehead. The second she feels the light from the window glare through onto her tired eyes, she rushes to lift the sheets onto her face to hide herself from the painful rays.

Shawn laughs at her actions, swiftly lifting them before climbing in under the sheets right next to her. He grabs at her waist, and just as she thinks he’s about to pull her into him like he always does, he instead squeezes at her sides, making her laugh and jump up out of the sheets.

“Shawn!” She squeals, grabbing the nearest pillow to hit at him with the fluffy material. He flinches at the crisp material thudding against his bare chest, grabbing the pillow under his head and sitting up. He’s wearing nothing but his boxers, allowing Y/N to admire the tattoos along his arms.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He raises the pillow in his grasp. Y/N widens her eyes, slowly backing away from the bed and then quickly sprinting into the restroom before Shawn can catch up to her.

“I’ll get you back princess!”

Y/N is flipping pancakes on the stove, spatula in one hand and the handle of the pan in the other as she focuses on turning the pancakes golden brown. The smell of buttery goodness fills the air and her stomach grumbles.

“Something smells fucking amazing.” Shawn declares as he jogs out of his bedroom, finally wearing some shorts but still lacking a shirt. Y/N didn’t mind, though.

“Morning princess.” He lays a kiss to her lips, their lips making a small smacking sound as they both pull apart. Y/N smells the scent of coconut body wash on him, the same kind she’s just recently purchased and placed in his bathroom.

“Shawn, did you use my body wash?” She humors. Looking behind her, she realizes he stands frozen, the water bottle he was going to drink out of frozen in mid air as he searches for words to speak.

“...no?” He tries to reason, even though they both already know the answer to her question.

“You’re adorable.” She presses on, poking at his toned stomach before turning back around to flip at her pancakes.

When she pours the last of the batter into the pan, she throws the dirty bowl into the sink to be washed later. Shawn leans onto the counter, eyes switching from admiring her to flicking onto his phone.

“Do you have any plans today?” He asks, breaking the comfortable silence. Y/N watched bubbles form on the uncooked side of the pancakes and begins lifting the edges of the floppy disk up.

“No, I think I finished all of my homework yesterday. Why?”

Shawn leans forward, wrapping one arm around her waist as he elaborates, “My friends are hosting a little get together, and Brian can’t have it at his place because his brother is coming into town. I thought maybe I could host it here? Unless you’d be uncomfortable with that. In which case I definitely won’t.”

Y/N is quick to respond, “No, Shawn, it’s your place. Of course you can host it here, you shouldn’t even have to ask.” She smiles, tilting her head up to stare at him. He nudges their noses together softly and Y/N almost feels like awwing at his cuteness.

“I can’t wait for you to meet my friends.” He tells her, his lips brushing against hers at their proximity. She lets out a hum of approval, tilting her head forwards to flip the final pancake. She figures the remaining heat from the pan will cook it, and reaches forward to switch the heat off.

After she flops the final pancake onto the stack, she walks over to place it in the center of the table. She grabs the pitcher of syrup from the counter, and sits in the heavy chair that she’s sure probably costed an unreasonable amount.

“So what are they like?” She asks. Shawn raises an eyebrow, looking at her in confusion before she elaborates.

“Your friends, tell me about them.”

Shawn’s face quickly switches in realization as he smiles and begins speaking.

“Well they’re the best. I mean, i’ve been friends with them since I was practically a baby. Brian, Matt, and Ian all go to Trent. And they can be just a tad bit stupid, but so can all college guys, so just forgive them if they act a little off.”

“They may bring some of their own college friends who I don’t even know, but if they’re anything like the boys they’ll be cool with whatever.”

Y/N giggles, cutting into her stack of syrup soaked pancakes before replying, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a bit nervous.”

“You’re amazing baby, I know they’ll love you.” He reaches across the table, one hand lifting a forkful of pancakes up to his lips as the other grips her slim fingers in his own. She reaches for the can of whipped cream, spraying some all over her pancakes and then pressing the nozzle onto her lips and spraying some into her mouth.

He leans across the table, long legs making him able to press his lips to here that are lined with whipped cream.

“You missed a spot, princess.”

People start crowding in at around 7. A few boys show up with two six packs of beer and some glass bottles of different colored liquids. Y/N stands near the kitchen counter, lingering as everyone converses. They all know each other, and Shawn’s disappeared into the crowd of people, so Y/N shyly sips at the glass of bitter liquid in front of her.

Most of his friends, including Shawn, seem to be seated on the couch, laughing away at their old high school memories. Just as they’re done discussing a particular high school hockey game, she notices Shawn motioning towards her.

Not knowing what else to do, she walks over to where he’s seated on the couch, resting her hands on his relaxed shoulders.

“We met a few months ago and I didn’t grow the balls to ask her out until a month ago, she’s kind so don’t try to corrupt her like I know you all will do.” He shoots a playful glare at his friends and they let out friendly insults towards him.

“Nice to meet you.” She pathetically and awkwardly waves, immediately cursing herself after. Shawn grabs at her hands on his shoulders, pulling them forwards to kiss one of her knuckles before intertwining his fingers with hers around his neck.

The two of them stay like that for a while. Shawn’s friends talk about a number of subjects, Starting from Ian’s first kiss in 6th grade, to the time Brian got drunk for the first time and threw up the next day in one of the biology beakers from his hangover. Y/N laughs along with them, not conversing but absorbing the moment. She hears a small buzzing sound and her eyes shoot down to where Shawn’s phone is buzzing from a phone call.

“Excuse me gentlemen.” Shawn says, lifting himself from the center of the leather couch while using Ian and Matt’s knees for support.

“I’ll be right back, princess.” He tells Y/N, leaning forward to give her a peck on the lips. She lingers on the way how lips are soft, and slightly tainted with the taste of cheap beer.

When he walks away, she notices two girls at the corner of the room shooting her a confused look while talking amongst each other. She notices that the look doesn’t look disgusted, or angry, just simply confused.

She walks to the kitchen area, trying to wash the regrettable taste of whiskey off of her lips. Just as she’s poured herself a glass of water, one of the girls from before walks into the kitchen.

“Would you mind pouring me a glass as well?” She asks politely. She’s beautiful, short brown locks framing her small face perfectly. Her baggy button up shirt is fashionably tucked into her baggy jeans.

“No problem.” Y/N smiles, she could use a friend, especially one who was close to Shawn as well. She knew she’d be going to more of these ‘get togethers’ (excuses for friends to get drunk and talk about the dumb things they did in high school), and it would be good if she had people aside from her own thoughts to interact with.

She quickly fills a clear glass with water, handing it over to the girl who towers over her by a few inches.

“Y/N? I think your name was?” She asks, making small talk.

Y/N takes a sip of her drink, “Yeah, I don’t think I caught your name though.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” She laughs, “I’m Leah. And I was going to say I love your name, it’s beautiful.” She compliments sweetly. Y/N smiles, thanking her before asking her how she’s doing.

“Oh, m’alright. Finals week is really kicking everyone’s ass but I finished last week so i’m just a little less stressed than everyone else.” Y/N nods, her having studies for upwards of five hours the day before. Luckily Shawn had made her dinner, and reminded her to eat between study breaks.

They continue talking to each other about simple things. Y/N learns Leah was one of Shawn’s close friends from back home, and Leah dishes on all of the embarrassing things Shawn did as a child. She talks about the time he fell off of the tree that was in the playground of the elementary school, and how all the other kids praised him for his bravery. About how they all called him curly for a year in high school from the change in his hair, something he hates remembering.

“Shawn’s the sweetest. Did I tell you about the time he accidentally dropped an entire cake on Belle? It was their anniversary too, poor thing.” She laughs, “Probably why she dumped him.”

Y/N laughs initially, the realization not hitting her yet. But then she backtracks on Leah’s words and she can’t help but question, “Belle?”

Leah, who’s clearly just a bit tipsy as she’s been sipping on gin all night, answer quickly “Yeah, the model girl Shawn dated. Really kind, brunette, models in LA.”

Y/N’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, her thoughts jumbling up. As far as she was concerned, she’d never heard of Shawn dating a girl named Belle before. She was familiar with Lauren, his first real girlfriend, and she was familiar with his publicity relationships and his flings, but not with this girl.

“You know, I assumed he had a type. She was so incredibly nice and he’d always be wrapping his arms around her and PDA-ing at all of our get togethers. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t adorable, really reminds me of you two actually.” Y/N knows Leah doesn’t mean to deepen her confusion, as she continues to senselessly ramble without knowing what she’s saying.

“Weird. Shawn’s never mentioned her to me.” Y/N quietly says, staring at the floor tiles and shuffling with her sock clad feet. Shawn hadn’t ever even mentioned the name before.

“I think we were all a bit surprised when he mentioned he’d been dating a girl for a whole month. Belle dumped him, what was it? 2 months ago I think?” She sips at her glass again, “He was devastated, Brian told me he even thought he loved her.”

Leah reaches for a different glass, one with a caramel colored liquid and she pours it into what was initially her water glass, “Want a pour?” She asks hazily. Y/N shakes her head, her mind hurting from processing all of the new information.

“I’ve never heard of her before.” Y/N doesn’t want to face the facts but it seems as if they’re laid out right in front of her. She can’t help it when her stomach twists up into knots, soaking up the information.

He’d started talking to her around two months ago. They’d become official in just a month, Y/N knew that there was no way he would’ve completely gotten over a girl in that time, especially one who seemed that serious.

“And he calls you princess too, that was so…” Leah stumbles on her words, slurring a bit, “...confusing”

“Why’s that?” Shawn had called her that for as long as she remembered. She could recall him opening the door to his jeep for her on the first date and calling her by the name, could remember him sneaking up behind her on dates and calling her that name.

“Well, you see Belle is the name of a Disney princess. Belle loved those movies, that’s why he called her that.” Leah explains, and Y/N can feel her heart practically break. She doesn’t want to believe it, really doesn’t, but she can’t help herself.

“He even took her to Disney world for her birthday. He’d call her that so much that people would think her name was actually princess.” Leah laughs to herself, “And it’s like...like..you two are so similar and now he calls you that too?” Her eyebrows raise, “Awkward.”

Y/N doesn’t listen to any more before shuffling quickly out of the kitchen into the living room where his friends are all drunkenly singing along to some song on his couch. Her fingers are shaking with fear, and she tries not to showcase it by tucking her hands into her pockets.

“Have any of you seen Shawn?” She asks, and all of them are too inebriated to give her an answer. They continue either talking, laughing a bit too loudly, or singing along to the out of date song.

“Haven’t seen him since he picked up that phone call.” Geoff tells her, his arm around a skinny blonde woman. They seem to be sober enough to keep their minds intact, and Y/N walks towards the door to Shawn’s bedroom, hearing his voice speak.

She stops, pressing her ear onto the crack of the door softly.

“I thought you would be here”

Y/N isn’t sure who he’s talking to, but she mentally battles inside her head whether she should barge in or not. On one hand, her mind is practically exploding with thought, but on the other, she wants to talk with her boyfriend to discuss things with him.

“You’re in Toronto right? When do you go back to LA?”

She snaps out of her thoughts, listening in more intently on his conversation. She knows she shouldn’t be doing this, eavesdropping on her boyfriend’s conversation, but she catches herself looking for answers.

“Princess, everyone wants you here.” She hears him say and her heart breaks just a little bit. She unwillingly feels tears well up in her eyes, hand shooting up to her head as she feels herself getting worked up.

“Belle I miss you.” She hears through the doorway and she knows there’s no way what Leah said was wrong. She hopes she misheard what she said, wnts to wish for the best. She thinks any tragic event would be better than what she feels right now, but instead she scrunches her hands up in her hair, tangling it up as she lets a tear fall.

Leaning her body against the door to his room, she slides down it. Her back presses against the cool wood and she doesn’t want to cry, really doesn’t want to let her tears fall, especially on the night when she’s meeting his friends for the first time but it all hits her at once.

She was a rebound.

It was clearly there to see, and now Y/N understands. She notices why, of all the times he’d walked into the bookstore she studied at, he chose that one to ask her out. She understood why he was so incredibly kind to her, so understanding and caring. She knew now why he’d chosen her of all the girls he could possibly have. Because she was easy.

She cries as she remembers every moment they shared. It all makes sense, that time he asked if she wanted to have a Disney movie marathon. She thought he was being sweet, but instead he was selfishly bathing in his own fantasy of what he used to have.

“Princess, you’re the only girl who’s made me feel this way.”

She can’t help but think he closed his eyes, not to bask in the moment, but to pretend the girl he was saying those words to wasn’t her.

“Princess, you’re my favorite person.”

Right after they’d been intimate for the first time, she remembered him gently caressing where her back met her neck, cradling her in his arms. She imagines that’s what he must’ve done with someone else, someone he probably really loved.

She doesn’t have time to think, however, because the door abruptly opens from behind her and she last minute pushes herself up by her hands, sitting on the ground as Shawn towers over her, startled.

“Y/N, what are you doing here?” Hs eyes are wide as he studies her expression carefully, and his features turn to concern.

“Princess, are you crying? What happened?”

Princess.

Y/N almost scoffs. In fact, she would scoff if it weren’t for how dry her throat was from all of the sobbing.

“Belle, huh?” She croaks out, lifting herself off the ground to stand in front of him. She sees Shawn noticeably gulp and she lets herself dribble a few more tears. She knew his answer at that point.

“Was I just a rebound?” She asks quietly, her eyes looking anywhere but at him. They’re bloodshot, and there are tear stains on her navy shirt as she questions him.

“Of course not. Let me explain, you know I wouldn’t do that to you.” He grabs at her hands, trying to uncross them from her chest.

“Princess, pl-”

“Don’t fucking call me that!” Y/N snaps, flinging her arms forward to shake off his grasp. Shawn steps back startled, because he’d never seen his girlfriend act that way towards him before. She was always more quiet. She cared for other people, and seemingly never got angry, no matter how much she had the right to be.

“Don’t call me that when-” She gasps for air through her sobs, “Don’t c-call me that when you only do b-because of h-her.” She swipes at her tears with the back of her hand.

Shawn’s heart breaks in front of him. He’d gotten off the call with Belle, yes. And he’d said he missed her, yes. But he only invited her so he could tell her in person she didn’t hold a place in his heart anymore. For the past week, she’d been trying to contact him to get back together with him, but Shawn knew that what he had with Y/N was undeniably special. So he’d invited her, yes, and he’d told her he missed her, yes, because he did, but he didn’t miss her to get back together with her. He missed her because he needed to talk to her. To tell her that she shouldn’t call anymore, and to perhaps show her that he was happy with someone else.

He never meant for Y/N to find out this way, or at all. His palms can’t help but sweat a bit as he sees her crying in front of him because he doesn’t know how to fix it. He doesn’t know how to explain to her that, while at first, he did use her to get over someone else in a twisted, devious way, that he had fallen for her completely in the process.

“I feel horrible, Shawn.” She sniffles, fists uncurling and curling again at her sides, a tactic she uses to try not to cry.

“You used me, and when that wasn’t enough you tried to pretend like I was her to make yourself feel better.” She grips her teeth into her bottom lip, something Shawn would find attractive and adorable normally, but something that stresses him out now.

“Let me explain, please, you have to let me explain. Let me talk to you.” He reaches forward to hold her but she flinches and backs away.

“Please, I-”

She cuts him off, “And if that wasn’t enough, you proceeded to fucking - to just lie to me about the whole thing? As if I wouldn’t find out? As if I wouldn’t find out that you call me princess because of her and that you dated me because of her and watched Disney movies with me, because of her?” There’s venom in her words as she fires at him.

“What can I do? Tell me what I can do to fix this?” His voice quiets and he practically whimpers when he talks to her. He knows she’ll leave, and that’s the last thing he wants, especially after being dumped carelessly by Belle, he doesn’t want to lose someone else he genuinely cares about, especially from his own actions.

“I thought you liked me.” She pathetically squeaks out, almost laughing to herself, “I actually thought you were different.”

Turning around, she immediately struts back to the living room to grab her purse and leave. Shawn races right behind her, and when his friends notice the tears streaming across her face and the puffy red skin on her cheeks, they all quiet down their drunken chatter.

“Please don’t leave.” Shawn calls out behind her, tears matching her own. His friends noticeably widen their eyes. Even when him and Belle had broken up he never publicly cried in front of everyone else. In fact, he hadn’t publicly cried at all, really. It was more of him sulking for a bit before he looked for ways to get over her.

Meeting Y/N had made him realize that relationships weren’t supposed to be constant adventure, but were also supposed to be a certain level of comfort. Something she provided to him when she actually listened, and showcased her care for him.

“It was nice meeting you all. I don’t think i’ll be coming back here though.” She tries to smile past puffy cheeks and swollen eyes, slipping on her shoes and trying to open the door. When she swings it bac, she sees Shawn reach out to stop the door from opening fully.

“You’re not her, you’re better. Let me explain.” He asks her, and he receives an answer when she walks out of the condo and lets the door click right behind her.

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes imagines #shawn #shawn mendes blurb #shawn mendes oneshot #shawn mendes one shot #shawn mendes angst #shawn mendes fluff #angst #inagine #fanfic #fanfiction #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes fanfiction #imagine #angst imagine #fluff

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itisyay · 4 years

Text

Kobe.

I used to be a huge NBA fan, before I moved to the Bay Area and got consumed by hockey. I was a fan of Magic and Kareem, of Jordan and Pippen, of Robinson and Duncan. I guess I was old school. I was never a Kobe fan. In fact I stopped being a Lakers fan when he and Shaq joined the team. To me they didn’t represent what the Lakers were about. They were arrogant and didn’t seem to care about tradition. And the NBA couldn’t promote them enough. It was too much, and from his first day in the league I knew he wasn’t for me. That didn’t stop me from acknowledging what an incredible player he was - Shaq, too. In fact, it was infuriating how good he was. Clearly he was exactly what the Lakers needed. What did I know?

Fast forward to today - January 26, 2020.

I was at work when I heard the news. My mom called and asked if I’d heard about the helicopter crash. I couldn’t imagine what she was talking about and then she said it. “Kobe Bryant was killed.” I was stunned. I couldn’t believe it. While I talked to her I went to the CNN and ESPN websites and there it was. As big as life. Kobe Bryant Dead at 41. I saw that I had a couple of texts from a friend about the tragedy, and then another came in. We were all in some sort of shock. And then the rumors came about his kids being on the helicopter as well. Unfortunately, as we all soon learned, those were partially true as his 13-year old daughter also died along with seven other people, although at that time the total was five. I felt sick.

And then I opened Twitter. And the stunned tweets were pouring in from fans, teammates, coaches, other athletes, celebrities...everyone was in shock. It didn’t seem real. I got lost in the tributes and memories for a bit then forced myself to get back to work. But after a couple of hours I realized I was struggling to focus so I packed things up and came home where I read more and shed a few tears for this person I never knew. I decided to watch a movie to focus on something else but realized quickly that my choice - a movie I thought was a comedy - was primarily about the relationship between a father and his daughter. So that wasn’t all that helpful of a distraction.

I turned on the Grammys, wondering what sort of tribute they might do since the ceremony was being held in Staples Center, otherwise known as The House that Kobe Built. And while Lizzo dedicated her incredible opening number and the night to Kobe, it was Alicia Keys and Boyz II Men that absolutely destroyed me.

Alicia was subdued when she took the stage as host and talked about what we were all feeling, the overwhelming sadness, the irony of being in the middle of the Staples Center...and then they showed Kobe’s jerseys hanging in the rafters with spotlights shining on them...and she started to sing It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday...and then Boyz II Men joined her...and I was a weeping mess. I watched a little while longer than left the house to find other ways to distract myself.

I’m still not clear why this is hitting me so hard. Like I said, I wasn’t a fan. I didn't really pay much attention to Kobe but I was obviously aware of him. I just saw him on Ellen and on the Kelly Clarkson show. He just gave praise to LeBron for moving past one of his records. He was just here. And now he’s gone. And so is his daughter. And so are several others. But he’s the face of this tragedy because of who he was. I can’t even imagine what those of you that were his fans are feeling, much less those of you who truly knew him as a person. I am heartsick for his wife and their other daughters and for the families of the others lost.

As I was wandering around Barnes & Noble I realized that losing a celebrity of his stature affects us because even those of us who weren’t fans felt like we knew him. Kobe was everywhere during his career. He was in every conversation about basketball and a lot of them about sports in general. It was impossible not to feel like you knew at least a little bit about him. When he retired he was in every conversation about the best athletes of all time. He will forever be in those conversations. At the end of the day he seemed to be a genuinely good person and was doing some incredible things in his community. He was coaching and helping others, and he was clearly a great father. Of the people who knew him that have posted something today, they’ve all talked about how much they’ll miss the conversations, how much they’ll miss talking about their kids, how much they’ll miss him.

Life is short.

Don’t take it for granted.

Have the dessert.

Stay up late.

Sleep in.

Buy the shoes.

Go on the trip.

See the show.

Tell them you love them.

Hold on a little tighter.

Live.

Love.

Laugh.

Rest In Peace, Kobe. Rest In Peace, Gigi. Rest In Peace, Coach Altobelli. Rest In Peace, Coach Mauser. Rest In Peace, those we don’t have names for. Love to the families and friends left behind wondering what to do next. Love to everyone hurting tonight.

#kobe #life #live

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gotham--fc · 3 years

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yeah I get you playing without the stress of losing is good cause then you don’t have to worry about relegation or feel really bad about each loss.

Yeah playing long and getting stuck in the D zone sucks , especially when you’re just stuck in a cycle and it’s like omg just let me clear it and get a break / get a change (In my case). I reckon with the heat and stuff your saying about they should’ve allowed breaks and stuff cause it sounds sus playing in a lot of heat. I love how teammates have each other’s back and offer to cover for each other when they need it (I may of had to get a teammate to cover a shift from when I took a weird knock to the head and needed a minute to just settle, and I’m pretty sure that day we were short benched so she was pretty much double shifting lol (I was fine like I didn’t get a concussion 😂)) and Ive played center a few times on training games cause my line mates wanted to go wing (center is so hard man I can’t even) .

I’m glad the surgery went well and the cancer is gone that’s amazing!!

😂that’s a mood you should play hockey with that readiness to fight and it’s crazy they’re letting someone a year older ref would’ve thought you needed a few years on them unless it’s adults. I generally avoid refs or be overly nice cause then in my mind I’m like they’ll make better calls on me 😂

Oh my god that sounds really interesting I love history and love seeing how society impacts different things in life. Can’t say I know anything about Canadian history (like at all, I only know when the English found yall)

Yeah I get you, I was doing a lovely bit of European Union law which is interesting but difficult (cause lots of stuff is in different languages and I’m not gifted in language speaking (i try i just suck lol)) and probably missed it. I remeber the hosts talking about turnbull but I just assumed it was bc she was still injured cause they’d just mentioned spooner.

Mate I didn’t even know about the Kingston and Ottawa games, who are they playing, let me know what it’s like I’m well jealous 😂 😂 I’m gonna just have to keep watching the players instas😂 (I want them to play more in Europe so I can watch at sociable times)

Yeah cbc is showing it thanks I thought tsn for some reason lol and it wasn’t working 😂 I tuned in after I read this lol. (Just saw Montreal score 2 in the first (Go Montreal! ) (I don’t like the New Jersey’s tho -or that bauer switched from Montreal to Boston but didn’t change the jersey (I look like I have a Boston poulin jersey now , crying I don’t like Boston hockey teams (unless it’s the pride (not sure why they’re ok in my mind but we move )☹️ 😂) 🏒

Also omg I’m getting Canadian ads on that stream and the Tim Hortons one is so cute 🥺🥺

Also sorry if this is all over the place mate😂😂

We did get water breaks when it was really hot or if we asked the ref for one and they felt like being nice, and yeah I love how teammates are always like don’t worry I got you like even if you’re not friends or you’re not close like it doesn’t matter you’re a team and you’ve always got each other’s backs

The problem is we just don’t have enough refs, like for my entire life it’s always been the same 5 refs doing my games and they’re old like they’re old af and I’m sure they’re like I don’t want to run around with these children anymore but we just don’t have any more adult refs so they have to use the kids sometimes but the problem is the other cities near me pay their refs more so people are willing to drive 30-40 minutes away for a couple extra dollars a game

But yeah I do get quite aggressive and angry when I play 😂 I should probably have played hockey but it was too expensive for my parents to sign me up 😂

Yeah I’m really interested in Canadian history and Canadian literature but that’s because I live here 😂 I just think that the history we learned in high school just had very little to do with Canada and I’m Canadian so I want to know about Canadian history and the same thing with lit I read I think one book by a Canadian author in school before uni and it feels ridiculous that we don’t read world written by our people and there’s so much and I’ve read a lot more now by Canadian authors and I haven’t read one I didn’t like and it’s criminal that these parts of our culture are just not taught

But that sounds awful and no offence boring 😬 but yeah a lot of history is written in either very old English or a language that’s not English and I’m bad at languages so it’s very hard, but the worst is old English or like scots English because it’s English but it’s not the English I know, at least with French or German I can google translate it

The Kingston and Ottawa games are part of the rivalry series! So Canada’s playing the US on November 21 in Kingston and November 23 in Ottawa, I bought tickets for the Canada soccer game at td place and the hockey’s at td place too so it was listed on their upcoming events when I went to buy the tickets and I was like umm fuck yeah I’ll go to that too

I understand that them playing in Europe would be better for you but games in Europe are early for me and I love sleep

No TSN is understandable they should a lot of hockey, if you had asked me to guess who was showing the pwhpa I would said TSN first I think cbc would’ve been my last guess 😂 I think the Montreal jerseys are funny because it’s Harvey’s and I think the Harvey’s colours are funny it’s orange 😂 Harvey’s we have the meats *read this is a really deep tough voice okay*

Oh yes the timbits commercials, tims sponsors a lot of youth sports in Canada, the little kiddie soccer like under 10s it’s called timbits soccer, I was a timbit for years 😂

Don’t worry about it I’m following you 😂

#asks #anonymous #hockey anon

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carey-pricemas · 7 years

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Can you help me out? I need an NHL team support, I barely/don't watch hockey and I wanna start watching next season. I'm from Virginia, so I feel like I'm obligated to go for the Washington Capitals, but I personally like the Montreal Leafs. I feel as though I would be considered a bandwagon fan even though they didn't win The Stanley Cup. Help me out here, who are other teams I can support?

TYou do you boo!!!! I’m from Virginia too!!!!

The Caps are a good team, but if you’re just not into them (let’s be real loving them is hard especially during the playoffs) then let’s go over good options!

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a GREAT TEAM (small bias I’m a Leafs fan). It’s not bandwagoning... I think that’s stupid anyway... Our little Leafs are in the swing of a rebuild (an upswing I think but we’ll see next season)!

The Montreal Canadiens are a good team too. We have Carey Price (considered the best goalie in the world)!

The Carolina Hurricanes are also close to Virginia (in NC) and they have a small hockey market so they could use support!

Let’s see... The Philadelphia Flyers are super orange, but they have an adorable baby goalie in Carter Hart!

The Pittsburgh Penguins have won the Stanley Cup two years in a row and they have Sidney Crosby!

The New Jersey Devils... well we’re struggling but we’re very underappreciated and need more love!

The New York Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist (a very good, handsome, hilarious, Swedish goalie) and they play football on the ice.

The New York Islanders have just adopted me XD They have some good players and are struggling with fans right now because of location issues.

The Boston Bruins have VERY TALL Chara (like 6′ 7″) as Captain and Tuukka Rask who is a very angry goalie (he’s working on it though).

The Buffalo Sabres are just a very underrated team as well I think. Sassy Jack Eichel is gloriously fabulous!

The Ottawa Senators made it farther this season than EVERYONE guessed they would. Their main goalies wife also kicked cancers butt so I was rooting for them!

The Detroit Red Wings have Dylan Larkin whose a homegrown boy and fastest skater in the league and doesn’t know what an extension cord is!

The Columbus Blue Jackets have BOB (their goalie) and he and their captain hug after each win and it’s the most adorable thing ever!

You have the Nashville Predators... didn’t really cause a huge splash until this season. We love them for PK Subban and their pettiness (they had a car they painted in the opponents colors each round of the playoffs people took a sledgehammer to)

The Chicago Blackhawks have several Stanley Cups under their belts recently and their Captain is nicknamed Captain Serious.

The St Louis Blues have Colton Parayko and MY ROOKIE SANFORD THAT GOT TRADED THIS YEAR I’M NOT OK.

The Winnipeg Jets have Patrik Laine drafted second overall last year and they have Laine is better chants (not a good idea if you’re a Leafs fan, but hey whatever works for them)

The Minnesota Wild... I don’t know anything about them but I hear they’re a good pure team so...

The Dallas Stars... welll.... we have a lot of drama surrounding Tyler Seguin and we are up and down with seasons and let’s be honest we don’t actually know what we’re doing but love us anyway!

The Colorado Avalanche have SO MANY AMAZING PLAYERS BUT SUCK I DONT UNDERSTAND?!?!?! But they’re cute and funny.

The Vegas Golden Knights are going to be a new team this season and they’ll need love and not the bitter love most of us will have for taking our players.

The Arizona Coyotes are just pure boys who want to hockey and no one appreciates them enough!

The Edmonton Oilers have Connor McDavid who’s like super good and paired with super good Leon Draisaitl and the two make each other laugh otherwise they’re so serious with the pressure of the franchise on their shoulders.

The Calgary Flames have Johnny Hockey who is literally like a child who looks like he lost his dad and has questionable eating habits, but he’s good at hockey so the Flames love him anyway. Also they have Matthew Tkachuk who is making a name for himself.

The Vancouver Canucks are in a rebuild as well. They also have the Sedin twins... who baffle their game show host.

The San Jose Sharks... hands down the best beards in the league. Good solid guys... always wear shorts and flip flops... or at least good Canadian goalie Martin Jones does.

The LA Kings also have several recent Stanley Cups to their name... hard fought season after their primary goalie went down like a month into the season.

The Anaheim Ducks... well if you want a physical team this one’s for you.

The Florida Panthers have the oldest player in the league (like seriously is Jagr ever going to retire?) and they have Ekblad who’s just... ridiculously good looking and good at hockeying.

And last but certainly not least... The Tampa Bay Lightning... Nikita Kucherov is literally my favorite person ever and I’d love to be his friend because he called out the whole team for not preforming this season.

So no matter who you choose... it’s your decision. Pick one, or many or heck even all, but there’s no such thing as bandwagon fans. Just pick teams and go wild. Let me know who you go with!

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mitchbeck · 5 years

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CANTLON: WOLF PACK MAJOR THREE-IN-THREE DIVISION WEEKEND

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The wound needs time to heal. The loss of captain Cole Schneider via trade on Monday had far more impact than the trade last year of Joe Whitney. The loss was palpable. “The first practice (Tuesday) was tough. It was like losing a family member as Cole was a big part of our family,” said Pack head coach Keith McCambridge, who wore the C the last three years with the defunct Alaska Aces (ECHL). “Your leaders wear letters for a reason. Whenever you take those pieces out of your dressing room those are big shoes to fill. We're gonna have to fill that void in leadership. The person who wears the 'C' has a strong voice in the room. We do lose the many things Cole brought to the table, but we get a player back with significant AHL experience." Before the question was finished, McCambridge laid out the leadership equation for the remainder of the regular season. “We're going with three A’s. Peter Holland will have an A on his jersey (Friday) night. When you set and design your team, you have a captain, but we're now past the halfway part of the season. We have the structure in place. It really is a credit to them that we have had such a solid leadership corp this season. It’s like an eight-cylinder engine. You lose a spark plug and trying to fill it in. Time will tell how this new leadership structure will work. Cole was a hard working individual who poured his heart and soul into this. The tough business side of things is never easy.” Whether it works or not is anyone's guess, but one thing for sure is that telling the players on a way to move forward is not an easy task. “I told them he was a part of our family starting from September and you hope till early June (Calder Cup Final time) you're together as a family. I really like this group. They get along well together, and a piece of our family was taken away. I always speak from the heart to the team,” McCambridge said. McCambridge was channeling his captain’s player role, not so much being their head coach “I liked Cole a lot. He was a good man. I like what he represented. Now, we have to pick up the slack in a leadership void and what he brought (to the team) on the ice as well.” Holland has eight years of pro experience and this never gets easy. "We're bummed out for sure. That is the tough part of the business, and we signed up for it, and we all know the possibilities," Holland said. "Our lives can be tossed into a blender and get traded away.” Holland has felt the sting of trades as well. “It’s a big hole in the locker room for sure.“ The loss of Schneider is genuinely being felt throughout the locker room. “He’ll be hard to replace and missed. He was a vocal leader and he held guys accountable in a good way, guys respected him. It’s gonna hurt in the mentoring role we have had with the younger guys, this is a big lesson to learn. Certainly, his offense will be missed, so, it means we all have to step in in our own way to fill that void. It does suck that’s for sure.” Holland was one of the first to learn Schneider had been dealt. “I got a text from him saying that he had been traded and I really thought he was joking because there was inkling this was coming. I tried to Facetime with him and got no response for awhile he was talking with family and friends and it started to dawn on me this might be more real than I thought. We live in the same building and it’s a short elevator ride down…it was kinda crazy. He was very surprised by it.”. When Holland was traded from Anaheim to Toronto he was in a different place than he is now. “First time I got traded I was 20-21 years old. A young guy, a single guy and I thought it was a big deal, it wasn’t. You pack up one place and away you go. It gets a lot harder as you get older, It gets to be a bigger deal. You have live-in girlfriends, pets and in some cases kids or kids in school. The amount of (anxiety) increases tremendously, and it’s a huge change in your life when you're traded in the next 12 hours you're gone! You need friends and family to pick up the piece when you have to leave, it’s a big scramble.” He saw the same thing while in the NHL. “I was with the Leafs when Dion Phaneuf got traded. Even if you know it might be coming, it’s still a shock to the system. One day there's a nameplate on the locker, and the next day it's empty. Teams are like family. It's tough.” Now, sporting the "A" stitched to his jersey, a few more bricks are riding on his shoulders. “We have a good leadership group. It's an opportunity for everybody to take on new roles within the team. It adds a little more pressure to do some of the things Cole did here.” For Connor Brickley, he was on the other side of the trade. His adventure was equally wild. He arrived in Hartford at midnight and had his first practice Thursday. “I had woken up from my pre-game nap. We're in Winnipeg to play the Manitoba Moose. I was waking up around 4 pm (Central time) my phone was going off with text messages from friends and (management). I don’t have a Canadian phone plan, so it wasn’t dialing out. So, I had to borrow my roommate's (Jared Tinordi) phone to make a few calls and found out I wouldn’t be playing that night." Brickley was tempered in responding to how much he knew. “There had been rumblings, but I really didn’t expect anything. It's always nice to get a new opportunity and it's nice to be wanted. It’s a fresh start for me and gives me a chance to show the Rangers what I can put on display.” Brickley is familiar with the XL Center having played for the Portland Pirates for two years. Brickley is playing for a contract since his current one-year deal expires in June. “Fans will see a fast, hard-working forward who can play physical and get the puck to the net and get some gritty goals," Brickley said. "I’m really looking forward to it.” The deal caught people by surprise, but those on the inside, this was in the works in two stages, one in November, and the other over the past two weeks. A knowledgeable source filled Cantlon’s Corner in on the details. “Nashville actually was offered Schneider back in November, but they declined. The Rangers really had zeroed in on Brickley in the last month, and over the last two weeks things got serious and the deal was made.” McCambridge was able to say out loud, in a dark-humored way, what everybody is thinking. “Players are smart. They know what's going on around them. When you have that many people (captains) traded in a row it does become the proverbial “kiss of death." Sadly, the captaincy in Hartford once so revered has become just that. BIG WEEKEND No way to underestimate how important this three-in-three is. It cannot be overstated. The Wolf Pack are above the .500 mark at 18-17-2-2 (40 points) and sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division. They are four points behind the Springfield Thunderbirds, and three points behind the current eighth place, Toronto Marlies. They want to keep in the hunt for the final playoff spot. On this weekend they'll have three solid chances to make a dent in that pursuit as they host Lehigh Valley Friday, Springfield Saturday and Monday afternoon in Providence. Holland is keenly aware of the importance the second half of this season and its overall importance to the younger players developmentally. “I can speak from experience. When I was with the Toronto Marlies in my third year as a pro, we had a phenomenal run. We lost in Game 7 to Texas, who went on to win (the Calder Cup) against Keith (McCambridge's) team when he was in St. John’s. It's so much fun playing hockey at that time of year. You work all year to get there, and if you don’t make the playoffs, you don’t know what you're missing. For guys who have been there, you gotta sell the guys who maybe had some experience in junior and college, its different at this (AHL) level.” We know all three teams this weekend very well. They all bring very strong offensive teams and we're gonna have to beat teams that are ahead of us (to make the playoffs). We have to focus on what we need to do, playing good sound team defense is key.” These are huge divisional games for us and at this point, there is just a half season left. We need the points.” McCambridge is keenly aware of the standings and the big push is now on. “You have a lot of teams jockeying for that position in our division. There is an opening there and everybody has their eyes on it. We were happy we beat Springfield. We lost the two games with Providence, so we didn’t do ourselves any favors. We have to be consistently gathering points at this stage of the season. Lehigh Valley is a really good team, offensively-minded, and we had a very good game against them last time. They remember it. They're a transition and fast team and all the more reason we have to have a strong start.” The Pack lost Ryan Lindgren to recall to the Rangers, and the Wolf Pack will have just six defensemen with Sean Day, who will be in the line-up, but the recall for Lindgren (now wearing jersey 55) brought a smile to McCambridge’s face amid dealing with the fall out of the Schneider trade. “I’m happy for him. You're happy when they get that call and for myself, it's nice to watch him play his first NHL game, and as many times you make those calls, when guys get the opportunity to achieve their lifetime goal to play in the NHL, those calls never get old.” NOTES: UPDATE: Sunday’s game with Providence has been postponed to MLK Jr. Day Monday at 3:05 pm at the Dunkin’ Arena in Providence.*** Brickley will wear the number 23 for the Wolf Pack. Schneider wore 25 in his first game with the Admirals. He had three shots on goal and no points in Winnipeg. Lehigh Valley reassigned goalie Brandon Komm, who played his first AHL game last time the Phantoms were in town. He goes to Reading (ECHL) and Anthony Stolarz was sent down for a conditioning stint by the Flyers. He will likely start in net against the Pack. Dustin Tokarski gets the call for the Wolf Pack. Another day, another AHL-style trade as Lehigh Valley will receive Justin Bailey from Rochester, a big forward who heads to upstate New York, Tyler Leier. Since Christmas nine AHL level trades have been made and were now just five weeks out from the NHL Trading deadline. Usually, these trades occur just before or after the deadline. This is an inordinate amount and shows how much cap tweaking is going on in preparation for a potential work stoppage in 2020-21. Steven Fogarty (concussion) is listed as day-to-day. McCambridge is hoping he gets clearance and can get in one game this weekend. Shawn O’Donnell (upper body) is doubtful for the weekend, but he is hoping he might be ready by mid-week (against Springfield) next week. Terrance Wallin is back from Maine was signed to a PTO deal. “He’s been a very reliable player for us, important centerman for us and has stepped into several roles for us and he will be in the lineup this weekend.” Springfield lost JT Brown to recall by Florida. The Sound Tigers reassigned former Yale Bulldog Ryan Hitchcock to Worcester (ECHL), and goalie, Alex Nedejlkovic, was recalled by Carolina from Charlotte. A lineup addition possibility for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms could have been ex-Wolf Pack/CT Whale Dale Weise, who cleared NHL waivers on Wednesday, and is now eligible to be reassigned to the Phantoms. As of Noon, Friday Weise has yet to be assigned by Philadelphia who scratched him from the Boston game Wednesday night. He was on waivers at the start of the season and not claimed. Weise’s now 30 years old. His only AHL duty was in Hartford in 2011. He played 194 games with 57 goals and 111 points and since then he has played 481 NHL games with Vancouver, Montreal, Chicago and Philadelphia. The always verbose Winnipegger has one more year left of a four-year $9.4 million dollar deal he signed with departed Flyers GM Ron Hextall at a $2.5 million cap hit next year. Ex-CT Whale and friend of Weise’s, defenseman, Michael Del Zotto was traded by Vancouver to Anaheim Max Jones, the son of ex-Nighthawk Brad Jones, was recalled from San Diego by Anaheim. Ex-Pack Ryan Graves was returned to Colorado (AHL) by the Avalanche and ex-Pack Caleb Herbert departed the Colorado Eagles to Utah (ECHL). Ex-QU Bobcat Jordan Samuels-Thomas (South Windsor) who had been playing with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia-EBEL) signs a PTO deal with Hershey. Former Sound Tiger Nino Niederreiter has changed NHL addresses going from Minnesota to Carolina. Goalie Callum Booth (Salisbury Prep) was reassigned to Reading (ECHL) by Charlotte. Ex-CT Whale defenseman and all around good guy Pavel Valentenko was traded from Uzhny- Ural Orsk (Russia-VHL) to Yugra-Khanty (Russia-VHL), Lukas Znosko (Stamford) was let go by Zaglebie Sosnowice (Poland-PZIHL). Read the full article

#AlaskaAces #AlaskaAces(ECHL)#AnthonyStolarz #BradJones #CalebHerbert #Chris #ColeSchneider #ColoradoEagles #DaleWeise #DelZotto #DionPhaneuf #Dog

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asfeedin · 4 years

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Friday Finds & Reader Recommendations – 05-01-2020

HAPPY FRIDAY and… It’s MAY!!!!! Today’s Friday Finds today provides is another batch of awesome sounding books to choose from and book news to squee about!!!

NEWS!!! So much awesome news!!!

1.) Twilight author, Stephenie Meyer HAS AN ANNOUNCEMENT SOON & maybe it’s about our long awaited “Midnight Sun”? OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember when I was so obsessed with this series (it’s what re-started my love of CONSTANT reading and… my blog!!) And I read what was available of this (loved it so hard) and felt like CRYING when I realized it wasn’t coming out. AND NOW…. it is?!!??!!!!!! P.S. Here’s a blast from my blog past about this: When I first read Twilight… a look into the start of my book obsession (and THIS blog).

OMG IT’S TRUE!!!!! When you click on “Midnight Sun” on my blog post reading order (that linked to what Stephenie Meyer had up on her website for it) it NOW goes to a countdown!!!!! *thud*

2.) Jewel E Ann news (“Fortuity” Transcend book #3!!) <— OMG YOU GUYS!!!! I THINK this is book #3 in the Transcend duet (coming out in June!!!) YES IT IS & I want to say THANK YOU to the author for this!!!!!!!! OMG OMG OMG I LOVED THAT DUET like crazy!!!!!!!! Now it’s a trilogy? Our book crew lost our minds over this duet!! And I 5-starred both books!!! P.S. Book #3 “Fortuity”, is going live JUNE 1st 2020 (so do NOT read #3’s synopsis until you’ve read #1 & #2. <—Trust me on this). !!!! So this is now… a trilogy. P.P.S. Book Review – Transcend – 5 stars & Book Review – Epoch (The Transcend Duet Book 2) – 5 stars

3.) M. Robinson “El Diablo” #2!!! <— DARK READ ALERT + BREAKING NEWS UPDATE!! Guess what has just been announced?? Book #2 is up for preorder my friends!!! And each one can be read as a standalone. P.S. Many in our crew went CRAZY for book #1!!

Samatha: I’m so excited for this!!!! My heart is exploding with happiness!!

TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE FOUND FOR THE WEEKEND !!

And…

Artful Lies (The Hunt Legacy Duology Book 1) by Jodi Ellen Malpas <— LIVE!! JODI ELLEN MALPAS ALERT!! “...When aspiring antiques dealer Eleanor Cole is handed the chance of a lifetime to work for the Hunt Corporation, the renowned antiques dealers, she doesn’t think twice. Only to discover she’ll be working up close and personal with the notorious and insanely irresistible Becker Hunt. He is a man famous for getting what he wants, and Becker wants Eleanor. But as Becker pulls her deeper into his world, she discovers there’s more to him than meets the eye...”

The King and the Quirky by Heather Siegel

#RedTeam Attack: A techno thriller (Darknet series Book 2) by SJ Grey

Truth Game: Ocean Bay #3 by Chloe Walsh

Socially Distanced: A Quarantine Novella by Shay Savage <— LIVE!! QUARANTINE RECENT RELEASE!! “…Locked away in an isolation facility in Atlanta, Sean exists but doesn’t really live in his silent, bleak environment. When Kendra moves into the quarantine pod next door, Sean finds meaning in his life again. Separated by a wall, they can only communicate across a balcony, and she helps him find some creative ways to relieve the tension and monotony. Together, they’ll find a new normal...”

Immortal Divorce Court Volume 1: My Ex-Wife Said Go to Hell by Kirk Zurosky

Three Blind Dates by Meghan Quinn <— COMEDY ROMANCE!! Laurie LOVED IT!

Laurie: I just finished Three Blind Dates by Meghan Quinn. Lots of flirty texting with the perfect touch of comedy.

Insta Lovers: A Collection of Steamy Novellas by J.L. Beck & C. Hallman <— LIVE!! FIVE STEAMY INSTA-LOVE NOVELLAS!!! “…If instalove is your jam, then welcome to the party. Five steamy-novellas that will melt your panties and your heart. Each book contains an alpha hero, a heart-warming heroine and a happily ever after that will leave you deeply satisfied...”

J.L. Beck: Insta Lovers by J.L. Beck and C. Hallman …We would love to do a $25 amazon gift card.

Maryse: YAY!!! So here it is everyone!! They are sponsoring today’s newsletter and celebrating with a giveaway, so don’t forget to check out this latest release and to leave a comment on the giveaway post. It’s open to INTERNATIONAL! ➔ J.L. Beck & C. Hallman’s “Insta Lovers” is LIVE and they’re giving away a $25 gift card!

Becky: I am also obsessed with Alyson Santos. I’m reading Falling North right now. …Love those angsty rocker books.

Kathy: Samantha Christy has a new book out today and it is the start of a rock star series. It is called Reckless Obsession. I loved her Perfect Game Series which was about baseball.

The Devil: A Paranormal Vampire Romance Novel (Devil Series Book 4) by Raven Steele

Dance For Me: Club Avalon Book 1 by Kay Elle Parker

Almost Never by Melissa Toppen <— LIVE!! UNREQUITED LOVE ALERT!! “…Alec didn’t notice me. At least not in the way that I wanted him to. He noticed my best friend instead. I stood by and watched their relationship blossom. An outsider looking in, wishing things were different. Torn between my loyalty to my best friend and the boy who had unknowingly stolen my heart. Weighted by feelings I could never express out loud, I wrote them all down. Every thought. Every feeling. I poured them all into a letter. A letter he was never meant to read…”

After Sundown by Linda Howard <— Kathy is enjoying this one!!

Kathy: I’m reading Linda Howard’s After Sundown and enjoying it so far. I have never read any of her books. It is about a catastrophic solar storm that takes down the power grid. Fitting right now as the town has to survive with limited resources.

Maryse: Oooooh I love books and movies about stuff like that. Not that I ever want to live that… (but this books always fascinated me). And yes right now, it’s fitting.

Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan <— RECLUSIVE HERO ALERT!! OMG ONE OF MY 5-STAR FAVORITES IS SUPER-BARGAIN priced right now!!! THIS IS A MUST READ!!

Diana: Ahhh, one of my many favs.

Heather: One of my favorites! I always recommend this one when I’m asked for a book recommendation

Nancy: I loved this book & another I found through your recommendation.

Niki: Read this book already and it was darn good

My Midnight Moonlight Valentine (Vampire’s Romance) by J.J. McAvoy <— LIVE!! J.J. McAVOY ALERT!! VAMPIRE THINKS SHE’S HIS SOULMATE… “…Druella Monroe is a vampire, but she hasn’t been one for long. Ever since her rebirth a year ago, she’s done her best to live a quiet, peaceful life as an art conservator and restorationist at The National Gallery of Art. All she wants is to blend in with the humans. However that all gets thrown out the window one night while hunting in Great Falls Park, where Druella comes across a naked vampire with no memory of how he got there, or the last century for that matter. All he seems to be sure of is that she is his soulmate…and he won’t leave without her…”

Zack (Carolina Cold Fury Hockey #3) by Sawyer Bennett <— HOCKEY STAR ROMANCE & one of Mony’s favorites!

Mony: One of my favourites is part to this series. Zack (Cold Fury Hockey #3) by Sawyer Bennett was fantastic. 5-star read…one of my top sport romances.

Harvest of Sighs (Thornchapel Book 3) by Sierra Simone <— LIVE!! SIERRA SIMONE ALERT!! “…Delphine Dansey carries her heart on the outside of her body; she’s looking for love and chasing dreams. She’s spoiled and selfish, the kind of beautiful that’s made for money and fame. But somehow she’s ended up in my keeping: a pretty submissive I can’t seem to resist, a lover who obsesses and tempts me. I thought I’d locked my heart away a long time ago, along with all my other weaknesses. But some doors won’t stay closed, no matter how hard I fight to keep them shut. She unravels me, just like our friends are unraveling…”

So That Got Weird by Amelia Kingston <— BACK ON THE LIST ’cause Shara loved it too!

Shara: Just finished “So that got weird” by Amelia Kingston. She’s a new author to me and I really enjoyed the book! Completely recommend.

The Host by Stephanie Meyer <— WE LOVE THIS ONE SO MUCH so when the big news was hinted at for Stephenie Meyer, many were hoping it might be for more of this! Not that it NEEDS a sequel (it reads well as a standalone but… we loved it so much, how could we not want more?)

Meredith: Don’t get me wrong because I loved Twilight but I would much rather have a sequel to The Host. The first time I read it it, I closed the book, hugged it to my chest and tried to figure out what to do next….which was to immediately start rereading it. I still get the same feeling every time I read it now, I 100% don’t want it to be over.

Taylor: Meredith, I was literally here to say this. I WANT A HOST SEQUEL

Bonnie: Meredith, by far her best book. There’s so much potential there, even if the sequel was a totally different group in the same universe.

Maryse: OMG I CRIED AND CRIED during the Host. One of my favorite books ever!!!!!!! I even had to stop in the middle – watched a funny movie – and when I picked it back up, I immediately started sobbing again.

Erin: Meredith, saaaame. The Host was great.

Viola: I agree. …I would rather have more of the Host. I have read that book too many times to count. Just love it.

Meredith: Viola, I’ve read it so many times, I own the hardcover (which I actually bought after borrowing it from a friend for my first 2 read through a and needed my own copy), the paperback (which had the extra scene) AND the kindle (because I wanted to read it and didn’t have either physical version on hand).

Viola: Meredith, yep brilliant.

Heather: I love The Twilight Saga but I have yet to read The Host.

Meredith: Heather, OMG GO READ IT!!!! You will not be sorry. Maryse linked her review up above and it’s spot on. It does start slow but it’s like a slow burn love story. Takes a minute to get there but once you are it’s perfection. I remember I had raved about to both my sisters and when they were reading it they both texted being like when does this pick up. I told both to just keep going and when they got to the end they understood why I loved it so much. I promise you won’t be disappointed!!

Jessica: Meredith, yes! I was thinking this as I read the post! I need a Host sequel!!

AUDIOBOOK LVERS!

Not a member of Audible yet? Get a free 30 day audible trial (which includes 1 free audiobook + 2 audible originals)

AND! Audiobook Matchmaker!! <— Find out which of YOUR Kindle books are available as audiobooks at a BARGAIN-PRICE! This is how it works. Click on that link & Amazon will show you all of your Kindle books that are also available as an audiobook at a seriously discounted price. This way, you can switch back and forth, seamlessly between your ebooks and your audiobooks. VERY COOL!

➔➔ Audible now has an “Escape” package membership (30 day free trial) – used to be called the “Romance” package <— this one is SO cool, and worth it (unlimited listening for all of the audiobooks in the program, and there are tons – kind of like Kindle Unlimited)!!

and…

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier <— PSYCH-THRILLER & SHIRLEY LOVED IT!!

Shirley: Little Secrets was ABSOLUTELY AWESOME! Highly recommend on audio…the narrator was terrific. SO many twists and turns, I could never guess what was going to happen next! This will definitely be one of my fav’s for 2020! Maryse, you have to read/listen to this. 5++++ stars!

PREORDERS (going live soon!!! )

➔➔➔ Get Maryse’s Book Blog updates delivered by email (you’ll get one daily email that will have each post from that day consolidated on it).

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flauntpage · 6 years

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Your Friday Morning Roundup

The Sixers had an 18-point lead. They blew it.

The Trail Blazers used a 19-0 run early in the fourth quarter for a 114-110 come-from-behind victory in Portland. It was awful to watch. Portland also didn’t have Damian Lillard and outscored the Sixers 42-25 in the final frame.

Despite Joel Embiid scoring 29 points and hitting six three-pointers, CJ McCollum went off for 34 points. Shabazz Napier had 23 points and a really sick assist, and Jusuf Nurkic put up 21 points and 12 rebounds despite having five fouls in the fourth quarter. Amazingly, the refs never called a foul on him in the fourth.

But don’t blame the refs, it was another bad Sixers collapse.

That's the third 16+ point second-half lead that the Sixers have blown in nine days. That's gotta stop.

— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) December 29, 2017

How does this happen again? Games that look like the Sixers have a grasp of gets out of hand quickly, and results in a major collapse.

And it happened on a night where Dario Saric scored 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting. A great night of shooting went to waste because of a god awful collapse.

Let’s bring up the Brett Brown hot seat question. If this continues, his status should be closely examined.

Finally, let me explain how bad Jerryd Bayless was. We were already screwed with Reggie Miller on the call. Bayless made it worse. He had two rebounds, a steal, a turnover, two fouls, a late three-pointer that didn’t count, and a -20 in 19:59 of playing time.

I am a:

Male Female Sixers fan

Seeking:

Male Female A way to get Jerryd Bayless off this team

— Chris Jastrzembski (@CFJastrzembski) December 29, 2017

The Sixers take on the Nuggets in Denver Saturday night at 9 PM. They’ll play the Phoenix Suns the following night at 8 PM. Joel probably won’t play in one of those games.

One injury note: Robert Covington left for the second straight game after injuring his left middle finger.

The Roundup:

The Flyers also returned to action for the first time in five days. And they picked up where they left off, a loss. They fell to the Florida Panthers 3-2, and couldn’t get anything going on offense until the 12:28 mark of the third period. Scott Laughton and Shayne Gostisbehere had the two Flyers goals, and Brian Elliott made 24 saves on 27 shots.

Gostisbehere has a close relationship with the Panthers organization when he played for their Junior Panthers team:

“The Panthers did a great job of instilling hockey in Florida. It’s not a hockey state per se. but as the game grew they offered kids my age a chance to play it. All my best friends are still playing hockey. And I’m here. It’s cool. It’s very unique. People ask me where I’m from, whether I’m from Canada. And I say I’m from Florida and you get a look.’’

He was the first player from South Florida to play an NHL game. A few have trickled in since, but it has done little to spike prolonged interest in the Panthers, who just three seasons ago finished first in the Atlantic Division with 103 points. That year, the Panthers finished ahead of just six teams in average attendance.

Tampa Bay, by contrast, has finished in the top 10 over the last four seasons, even when the team failed to reach the playoffs last season.

“I mean, Florida has been a bandwagon state for a while,’’ Gostisbehere said. “Especially down south. I’m pretty sure if you go to Miami Heat games right now they’re not going to be packed. But a couple of years ago they were.’’

The Flyers play tonight in Tampa Bay against the Lightning at 7:30 PM. With Michal Neuvirth off IR, could he get the start in goal?

—

The Eagles had a walk-through practice yesterday, but Brandon Graham did not participate. On Tuesday, Doug Pederson said his injury was “day-to-day.” Wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t play Sunday.

Kevin Kinkead delves into Alshon Jeffery’s bad Monday night and if he and Nick Foles need to build more chemistry.

Remember when Patrick Robinson looked awful in training camp? Well now he’s one of the more important pieces on defense:

The slot takes a much bigger toll on your body than playing outside, particularly when you’re in your eighth pro season like Robinson.

“It’s just a matter of being consistent with your body,’’ he said. “Sometimes guys, they start out pretty good. Cold tub every day. Then, as the year goes along, they start to slack off. You start to get a little lazy.

“When I was younger, I didn’t really need to do any of that, to be honest. Now I try to go in the training room and do the cold tub. Do my stretching. And get a lot of rest. I try to get as much rest as I can.’’

Dannell Ellerbe is starting to feel comfortable after his first game with the Eagles after weeks of practice.

Frank Fitzpatrick profiles Carson Wentz’s surgeon, James Bradley.

An interesting post on how important home field advantage is to the Eagles without Wentz.

Jimmy Kempski ranks the playoff teams he would want to face, from most to least desirable:

5) Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons didn’t just get hot during the playoffs last year. They were really good all season long and rode their success to a near Super Bowl win. Matt Ryan was the NFL’s MVP in 2016, and the Falcons had outstanding skill position players around him in Julio Jones and Devonta Freeman. That set of triplets is still there, and this remains a dangerous team with big-time weapons.

However, when comparing this year’s team to last year’s, for whatever reason, the Falcons have not been as potent offensively. In 2016, they led the NFL with 540 points scored. In 2017, they have 331 points scored with one game to play. That’s 10th in the NFC, behind the Redskins. That is a drastic difference.

Divisional playoff tickets will go on sale Thursday morning at 10 AM. They’ll only be available through Ticketmaster, and there’s a limit of four per household.

Here’s some fun Eagles videos for you. Happy Friday:

.@LG_Blount was cheering for his @Eagles teammates on the sidelines… Literally. #SoundFX #FlyEaglesFly http://pic.twitter.com/x1xq5xUFdz

— NFL (@NFL) December 28, 2017

Fletcher Cox, Wolf of Broad Street#FlyEaglesFly http://pic.twitter.com/ZltcYp56Gb

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 28, 2017

—

In college hoops, Temple opened up AAC play with an 85-75 home loss to Tulane. Quinton Rose and Shizz Alston Jr. each led the Owls with 17 points. It’s their third loss in the last four games.

Today, Penn hosts Toledo at 4 PM at The Palestra. On Saturday, La Salle hosts Saint Louis in their A 10 opener, Drexel plays Elon on the road in their CAA opener, top-ranked Villanova plays guest to Butler, St. Joe’s faces off against George Washington in their A 10 opener, and Temple is at Houston.

—

In other sports news, James Harden committed two offensive fouls late as the Houston Rockets blew a 26-point lead to the Boston Celtics. He ripped the refs afterwards.

The New York Giants brought back Dave Gettleman as their new general manager after spending four years as GM of the Carolina Panthers. One decision he’ll have to make involves Brandon Marshall, who missed the final 11 games of the season with an ankle injury that required surgery.

A photographer who took pictures of the Minnesota Twins says she was sexually assaulted by third baseman Miguel Sano.

In the World Juniors, Slovakia upset the US 3-2 thanks to a late goal by Samuel Bucek. But Casey Mittelstadt may of had the goal of the tournament:

Absurdly filthy goal from Casey Mittelstadt to tie Slovakia late #WJC18 http://pic.twitter.com/o0VesFyL9Y

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) December 29, 2017

The Americans play Canada today at 3 PM at New Era Field, the home of the Buffalo Bills.

It was also a bad day for this guy:

Not a good day to be this guy. #WJC2018 http://pic.twitter.com/5zanqDHnoS

— Alex Nunn (@aj_ranger) December 28, 2017

The Miami Marlins are now listening to offers for Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto.

—

In the news, despite the extreme cold, the Mummers Parade is still on.

At least 12 people died in an apartment fire in the Bronx.

Apple apologized for slowing down iPhones and is offering battery replacements for $29.

Your Friday Morning Roundup published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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amtushinfosolutionspage · 6 years

Text

DGB Grab Bag: A Wedgie for Wedgewood, Inflamed Calgary Fans, & Espo’s Night

Three Stars of Comedy

The third star: This Hawks/Panthers glitch – I won’t lie, I’ve probably watched this three dozen times and I enjoy it more each time through.

The second star: This Coyotes fan – Apparently she likes Scott Wedgewood? I really hope that’s what this means.

(Needless to say, he was thrilled.)

The first star: Jozy Altidore – He’s a soccer player, for MLS champions Toronto FC. That’s what got him invited to handle the ceremonial faceoff before the next Maple Leafs game. And, uh, the handshakes did not go well.

Altidore was too busy on his phone to notice that he left Maple Leafs alternate captain Leo Komarov hanging on a handshake. (He later apologized, and it was accepted.)

Trivial Annoyance of the Week

The NHL is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the league’s first ever games this weekend. The main event is in Ottawa, where the Senators will host the Canadiens in the season’s first outdoor game. It’s a rematch from that very first opening night back in 1917, when the original Senators hosted the Habs and George Vezina outdueled Clint Benedict in a 7-4 Montreal win.

It’s a pretty cool. There’s just one minor problem: Saturday isn’t actually the 100th anniversary. That would be December 19, which is Tuesday.

You can understand what the league is doing here, of course. They want these outdoor games to have as big an impact as possible, and that means holding them on weekends. Sure, you’d make the history purists happy by holding the event a few days later, but you lose out on ratings and revenue. Besides, as everyone who lives here could tell you, Ottawa is closed on Tuesday nights.

So yes, of course you have the big outdoor game a few days early. But check out the schedule for the league’s official anniversary on Tuesday. Do you notice anything unusual?

Neither do I. It’s basically a typical Tuesday night slate. And that’s kind of odd, right?

The league’s only other surviving original team, the Maple Leafs, are at home that night, but it’s against the Hurricanes. The Senators are hosting the Wild. And even though the league launched with half its teams in Montreal, the Canadiens are on the road, in Vancouver. They couldn’t have given us a Leafs/Habs game as a nod to the other opening night matchup from 1917 that saw Toronto beat the Wanderers in the league’s very first game? They didn’t even do that NHL thing where they pretend that history started with the Original Six and give us one of those matchups.

It’s not like the league hasn’t spent the last year bathing itself in history. They’ve done ceremonies and fan votes and Top 100 lists dating back to last season. And for the most part, it’s been great. I’m the last guy who’ll ever complain about a league celebrating its history.

But when it comes to the two anniversary dates on the calendar that really matter—the formation of the league on November 26 and the first games on December 19—the NHL just kind of shrugged. It’s weird. It’s like your annoying friend who tries to turn their birthday party into a week-long event, then forgets to schedule anything for the actual day.

Throw us a bone, NHL. At least make the Leafs play by 1917 rules, with no forward passes or backup goalies and three-minute minors. Have half the Senators sit out the first period in a contract dispute. Burn down the Montreal arena. Something.

Or we could just have a few pre-game ceremonies on an otherwise typical Tuesday. I guess that works too. It just seems a little anti-climactic after all this buildup, no?

Obscure Former Player of the Week

Other than the 100th anniversary, the NHL’s other big news this week is that it now seems inevitable that Seattle will be getting a team at some point in the next few years. Let’s combine those two stories with this week’s obscure player: goaltender Harry “Hap” Holmes.

Holmes isn’t necessarily all that obscure in the big picture sense, or at least he shouldn’t be—he’s in the Hockey Hall of Fame. But it’s probably fair to say that most modern fans don’t know him. After all, he played a century ago, and his name isn’t often remembered in the same tier as stars from the era like Joe Malone or Cy Denneny that at least some of today’s fans may recognize.

In fact, most of Holmes’s success as a pro came before the NHL existed. He won his first Stanley Cup in 1914 as a member of the Toronto Blueshirts of the NHA, the predecessor of the NHL. But it was his second that made history, as he backstopped the Pacific Coast Hockey Association’s Seattle Metropolitans to a 1917 win, the first time the Cup had ever been captured by an American team. (Feel free to see how many of your hockey expert friends know that Seattle won a Stanley Cup long before places like New York, Chicago or Detroit.)

That 1917 Cup also marked the last one before the NHL arrived, and Holmes initially joined the new league’s Toronto franchise. (That team didn’t have a formal name, although they’d later be known as the Arenas.) That team went on to win the league title as well as the Stanley Cup, Holmes’s third. He’d play just two more games for the team the following year before heading back to the Metropolitans, and later joined the Victoria Cougars of the Western Hockey League. He made some history there too, winning his fourth Stanley Cup in 1926 by beating the NHL’s Montreal Maroons. It was the last time that the Cup was won by a team outside the NHL, who gained exclusive control of the trophy beginning in 1927.

That made it four Cups for Holmes with four different teams; to this day he remains the only NHL player to ever do that. (His former teammate and fellow Hall-of-Famer Jack Marshall did it too, but never appeared in the NHL.)

Holmes eventually returned to the NHL for a two-season stint beginning in 1926 when the Cougars moved to Detroit and joined the league after the WHL disbanded. In all, he played 103 games in parts of four NHL seasons, one of the five major pro leagues of the day he suited up for.

And perhaps my favorite Hap Holmes fact of them all: According to Wikipedia, he sometimes wore a cap when he played to protect him from objects thrown from the stands by the era’s fans, who found that “his shining bald dome presented a tempting target.”

Outrage of the Week

The issue: With expansion to Seattle looking like a done deal, the Flames seem intent on making Calgary fans think that a move to Houston is looming unless a new arena deal gets done.

The outrage: Nobody seems to believe them, and fans aren’t happy that the subject is coming up at all.

Is it justified: The idea that the Flames could move if they don’t get an arena deal isn’t new—Gary Bettman suggested as much a few months ago, although he was vague on specifics. That was part of an effort to turn Calgary fans and voters against the city’s mayor, who was seen as an obstacle to an arena deal. It didn’t work.

The story resurfaced this week thanks to a column from Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun that skipped the subtleties and went straight to outright predicting that the Flames would be in Houston within three years. We don’t know how much, if any, of that piece was based on information coming directly from the Flames. But even if Francis was simply presenting his own views, the fact that the Flames didn’t immediately push back on the report suggests that, at the very least, they don’t mind having this stuff out there. (Full disclosure: Francis and I both contribute to Sportsnet.)

Seeing such a bold prediction of an imminent move had to make Flames fans nervous. But plenty of others took issues with the Francis piece, with Kent Wilson posting an in-depth takedown at The Athletic. Wilson’s argument, in a nutshell, is that a move just doesn’t add up, financially or otherwise. Calgary is a great market, and it wouldn’t seem to make sense for the Flames to abandon that for an unknown market like Houston. And as Wilson points out, plenty of teams have played this game before that we now know were bluffing.

And that’s the big problem here. Even if the Flames really are eying a move and trying to send warning signals to their fans before it’s too late, this ground has just been trod too many times. NHL fans have heard this before—in Pittsburgh, in New Jersey, in Raleigh, and in just about every market that ever wanted a new area and didn’t get it right away. It’s a game that’s playing out to varying degrees right now in Ottawa, Brooklyn, and (as always) Arizona. Once those situations are resolved, it will be someone else’s turn.

This certainly isn’t an NHL problem, and if anything the league has been more stable when it comes to franchise movement in the last two decades than the NFL or NBA. But when it comes to dropping threats, the NHL seems to view them as just part of how business is done in this league.

And that gets exhausting. The Flames aren’t going anywhere unless this whole situation is misplayed by all sides so badly that it goes completely off the rails, and they’ll end up with a new arena that will be partly funded by taxpayers. And within a few years, most of us will have forgotten all about this.

Most, but not all. Because you have to wonder how many diehard Flames fans, who’ve been with the team through good times and bad, are feeling just a little less enthusiasm for the team right now. The NHL is a business, as we’re constantly reminded. But it’s a business that charges a lot of money for an inconsistent product, and that means it relies on an awful lot of loyalty. Putting even a fraction of that at risk is a dangerous game.

That would be worth thinking about for NHL teams. It might already be too late for Calgary. If so, we’ll have to wait and see whether their current threats come with a cost. And if so, whether the next teams in line learn any lessons

Classic YouTube Clip Breakdown

Last week marked the 30-year anniversary of one of my favorite moments from the 1980s. It didn’t involve a goal or a save or a fight, or anything else that had anything to do with the game being played. But it did take place on the ice, and you won’t hear a building get much louder than the old Boston Garden did back on December 3, 1987.

Yes, it’s the legendary Phil Esposito jersey retirement. Our clip begins with Ray Bourque being called on to “make a presentation.” That’s fitting, since not only has he assumed Esposito’s mantle as the Bruin’s best player, but he wears the same #7 that’s being retired. For a few more seconds, at least.

By the way, if you’re thrown off Bob Wilson announcing Bourque as the Bruins captain but wearing an “A,” he shared the duties with Rick Middleton that season. Middleton wore the “C” at home, while Bourque got it on the road.

It was always kind of weird that the Bruins gave Esposito’s number to Bourque as a rookie. But it was even weirder that they also gave it to guys like Bill Bennett and Sean Shanahan in between. Remember, there was some bad blood between Esposito and the team after he was traded to the Rangers in 1975, which might explain why it took six years after his retirement for the Bruins to get around to officially honoring his number.

But to their credit, they eventually do it right. Bourque skates over and shares a few words with Esposito, then hands him a No. 7 jersey. You kind of sense Esposito accepting the gift with a “Yeah, thanks, I already have dozens of these” sort of vibe, but it’s just the setup for the bigger moment to come.

With Esposito momentarily distracted, Bourque yanks his own No. 7 jersey off to reveal a second one underneath, this one bearing what would become his iconic No. 77. It takes a second for everyone to realize what just happened—Esposito didn’t know this was coming, and seems genuinely stunned—and the crowd goes nuts once they clue in.

The back story here is that apparently Esposito thought Bourque was going to keep wearing No. 7, and was fine with that. But Bourque had never wanted the pressure that came with the number, so he jumped at the chance to swap it out while honoring an all-time great.

I feel like we don’t give Bourque enough credit for (literally) pulling this off so smoothly. You put me on live TV in front of 20,000 people and tell me to take a sweater off, there’s a 100 percent chance it’s going to end with me showing my bare tummy to the world for an awkwardly long period of time. Not Bourque. He sheds his jersey with near-Baumgartner speed, and still remembers to do a little pirouette so everyone can see what just happened. He wasn’t one of the all-time greats for nothing.

Esposito throws on the jersey and starts his speech. Man, Phil was as cool as they’d come. How cool? Oh, roughly “wears tinted shades at his own retirement ceremony even though it’s being held indoors” cool.

He thanks Bourque, and then mentions the Rangers, who are the visitors for this game. At the time, Esposito was their general manager, and whoo boy was that ever a fun time. I’m pretty sure that this two-minute speech is the longest period of time he managed to go as Rangers GM without making at least one trade.

Espo gets the cheap pop from a Bobby Orr mention, mentions exactly nobody from management or ownership, and then thanks the fans. We end with a shot of his number going up to the rafters. It’s helpfully labelled “Philip A. Esposito,” just in case some other Philip Esposito came along and everyone got confused.

At one point, the number is going up so crooked that it’s nearly sideways, but they get it straightened out by the end. Near miss there. That would have been right up there with the night the Canucks honored Markus Naslund, shone a spotlight through his No. 19, and turned it into a giant frowny face.

To this day everyone’s favorite Bourque memory is the Cup handoff from Joe Sakic, and rightly so. But the Esposito number swap should absolutely be a close second. If Gordie Howe gets to be Mr. Hockey, Bourque might have to start going by Mr. Ceremony. He’s like the polar opposite of this guy.

Years later, Esposito would be on hand when the Bruins retired Bourque’s #77, although he did not disrobe during the ceremony. At least as far as we know.

Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you’d like to see included in this column? Email Sean at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @DownGoesBrown.

DGB Grab Bag: A Wedgie for Wedgewood, Inflamed Calgary Fans, & Espo’s Night syndicated from http://ift.tt/2ug2Ns6

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flauntpage · 6 years

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DGB Grab Bag: A Wedgie for Wedgewood, Inflamed Calgary Fans, & Espo's Night

Three Stars of Comedy

The third star: This Hawks/Panthers glitch – I won't lie, I've probably watched this three dozen times and I enjoy it more each time through.

The second star: This Coyotes fan – Apparently she likes Scott Wedgewood? I really hope that's what this means.

(Needless to say, he was thrilled.)

The first star: Jozy Altidore – He's a soccer player, for MLS champions Toronto FC. That's what got him invited to handle the ceremonial faceoff before the next Maple Leafs game. And, uh, the handshakes did not go well.

Altidore was too busy on his phone to notice that he left Maple Leafs alternate captain Leo Komarov hanging on a handshake. (He later apologized, and it was accepted.)

Trivial Annoyance of the Week

The NHL is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the league's first ever games this weekend. The main event is in Ottawa, where the Senators will host the Canadiens in the season's first outdoor game. It's a rematch from that very first opening night back in 1917, when the original Senators hosted the Habs and George Vezina outdueled Clint Benedict in a 7-4 Montreal win.

It's a pretty cool. There's just one minor problem: Saturday isn't actually the 100th anniversary. That would be December 19, which is Tuesday.

You can understand what the league is doing here, of course. They want these outdoor games to have as big an impact as possible, and that means holding them on weekends. Sure, you'd make the history purists happy by holding the event a few days later, but you lose out on ratings and revenue. Besides, as everyone who lives here could tell you, Ottawa is closed on Tuesday nights.

So yes, of course you have the big outdoor game a few days early. But check out the schedule for the league's official anniversary on Tuesday. Do you notice anything unusual?

Neither do I. It's basically a typical Tuesday night slate. And that's kind of odd, right?

The league's only other surviving original team, the Maple Leafs, are at home that night, but it's against the Hurricanes. The Senators are hosting the Wild. And even though the league launched with half its teams in Montreal, the Canadiens are on the road, in Vancouver. They couldn’t have given us a Leafs/Habs game as a nod to the other opening night matchup from 1917 that saw Toronto beat the Wanderers in the league's very first game? They didn't even do that NHL thing where they pretend that history started with the Original Six and give us one of those matchups.

It's not like the league hasn't spent the last year bathing itself in history. They've done ceremonies and fan votes and Top 100 lists dating back to last season. And for the most part, it's been great. I'm the last guy who'll ever complain about a league celebrating its history.

But when it comes to the two anniversary dates on the calendar that really matter—the formation of the league on November 26 and the first games on December 19—the NHL just kind of shrugged. It's weird. It's like your annoying friend who tries to turn their birthday party into a week-long event, then forgets to schedule anything for the actual day.

Or we could just have a few pre-game ceremonies on an otherwise typical Tuesday. I guess that works too. It just seems a little anti-climactic after all this buildup, no?

Obscure Former Player of the Week

Other than the 100th anniversary, the NHL's other big news this week is that it now seems inevitable that Seattle will be getting a team at some point in the next few years. Let's combine those two stories with this week's obscure player: goaltender Harry "Hap" Holmes.

Holmes isn't necessarily all that obscure in the big picture sense, or at least he shouldn't be—he's in the Hockey Hall of Fame. But it's probably fair to say that most modern fans don't know him. After all, he played a century ago, and his name isn't often remembered in the same tier as stars from the era like Joe Malone or Cy Denneny that at least some of today's fans may recognize.

In fact, most of Holmes's success as a pro came before the NHL existed. He won his first Stanley Cup in 1914 as a member of the Toronto Blueshirts of the NHA, the predecessor of the NHL. But it was his second that made history, as he backstopped the Pacific Coast Hockey Association's Seattle Metropolitans to a 1917 win, the first time the Cup had ever been captured by an American team. (Feel free to see how many of your hockey expert friends know that Seattle won a Stanley Cup long before places like New York, Chicago or Detroit.)

That 1917 Cup also marked the last one before the NHL arrived, and Holmes initially joined the new league's Toronto franchise. (That team didn't have a formal name, although they'd later be known as the Arenas.) That team went on to win the league title as well as the Stanley Cup, Holmes's third. He'd play just two more games for the team the following year before heading back to the Metropolitans, and later joined the Victoria Cougars of the Western Hockey League. He made some history there too, winning his fourth Stanley Cup in 1926 by beating the NHL's Montreal Maroons. It was the last time that the Cup was won by a team outside the NHL, who gained exclusive control of the trophy beginning in 1927.

And perhaps my favorite Hap Holmes fact of them all: According to Wikipedia, he sometimes wore a cap when he played to protect him from objects thrown from the stands by the era's fans, who found that "his shining bald dome presented a tempting target."

Outrage of the Week

The issue: With expansion to Seattle looking like a done deal, the Flames seem intent on making Calgary fans think that a move to Houston is looming unless a new arena deal gets done. The outrage: Nobody seems to believe them, and fans aren't happy that the subject is coming up at all. Is it justified: The idea that the Flames could move if they don't get an arena deal isn't new—Gary Bettman suggested as much a few months ago, although he was vague on specifics. That was part of an effort to turn Calgary fans and voters against the city's mayor, who was seen as an obstacle to an arena deal. It didn't work.

The story resurfaced this week thanks to a column from Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun that skipped the subtleties and went straight to outright predicting that the Flames would be in Houston within three years. We don't know how much, if any, of that piece was based on information coming directly from the Flames. But even if Francis was simply presenting his own views, the fact that the Flames didn't immediately push back on the report suggests that, at the very least, they don’t mind having this stuff out there. (Full disclosure: Francis and I both contribute to Sportsnet.)

Seeing such a bold prediction of an imminent move had to make Flames fans nervous. But plenty of others took issues with the Francis piece, with Kent Wilson posting an in-depth takedown at The Athletic. Wilson's argument, in a nutshell, is that a move just doesn't add up, financially or otherwise. Calgary is a great market, and it wouldn't seem to make sense for the Flames to abandon that for an unknown market like Houston. And as Wilson points out, plenty of teams have played this game before that we now know were bluffing.

And that's the big problem here. Even if the Flames really are eying a move and trying to send warning signals to their fans before it's too late, this ground has just been trod too many times. NHL fans have heard this before—in Pittsburgh, in New Jersey, in Raleigh, and in just about every market that ever wanted a new area and didn't get it right away. It's a game that's playing out to varying degrees right now in Ottawa, Brooklyn, and (as always) Arizona. Once those situations are resolved, it will be someone else's turn.

This certainly isn't an NHL problem, and if anything the league has been more stable when it comes to franchise movement in the last two decades than the NFL or NBA. But when it comes to dropping threats, the NHL seems to view them as just part of how business is done in this league.

And that gets exhausting. The Flames aren't going anywhere unless this whole situation is misplayed by all sides so badly that it goes completely off the rails, and they'll end up with a new arena that will be partly funded by taxpayers. And within a few years, most of us will have forgotten all about this.

Most, but not all. Because you have to wonder how many diehard Flames fans, who've been with the team through good times and bad, are feeling just a little less enthusiasm for the team right now. The NHL is a business, as we're constantly reminded. But it's a business that charges a lot of money for an inconsistent product, and that means it relies on an awful lot of loyalty. Putting even a fraction of that at risk is a dangerous game.

That would be worth thinking about for NHL teams. It might already be too late for Calgary. If so, we'll have to wait and see whether their current threats come with a cost. And if so, whether the next teams in line learn any lessons

Classic YouTube Clip Breakdown

Last week marked the 30-year anniversary of one of my favorite moments from the 1980s. It didn't involve a goal or a save or a fight, or anything else that had anything to do with the game being played. But it did take place on the ice, and you won't hear a building get much louder than the old Boston Garden did back on December 3, 1987.

Yes, it's the legendary Phil Esposito jersey retirement. Our clip begins with Ray Bourque being called on to "make a presentation." That's fitting, since not only has he assumed Esposito's mantle as the Bruin's best player, but he wears the same #7 that's being retired. For a few more seconds, at least.

By the way, if you're thrown off Bob Wilson announcing Bourque as the Bruins captain but wearing an "A," he shared the duties with Rick Middleton that season. Middleton wore the "C" at home, while Bourque got it on the road.

It was always kind of weird that the Bruins gave Esposito's number to Bourque as a rookie. But it was even weirder that they also gave it to guys like Bill Bennett and Sean Shanahan in between. Remember, there was some bad blood between Esposito and the team after he was traded to the Rangers in 1975, which might explain why it took six years after his retirement for the Bruins to get around to officially honoring his number.

But to their credit, they eventually do it right. Bourque skates over and shares a few words with Esposito, then hands him a No. 7 jersey. You kind of sense Esposito accepting the gift with a "Yeah, thanks, I already have dozens of these" sort of vibe, but it's just the setup for the bigger moment to come.

With Esposito momentarily distracted, Bourque yanks his own No. 7 jersey off to reveal a second one underneath, this one bearing what would become his iconic No. 77. It takes a second for everyone to realize what just happened—Esposito didn't know this was coming, and seems genuinely stunned—and the crowd goes nuts once they clue in.

I feel like we don’t give Bourque enough credit for (literally) pulling this off so smoothly. You put me on live TV in front of 20,000 people and tell me to take a sweater off, there's a 100 percent chance it's going to end with me showing my bare tummy to the world for an awkwardly long period of time. Not Bourque. He sheds his jersey with near-Baumgartner speed, and still remembers to do a little pirouette so everyone can see what just happened. He wasn't one of the all-time greats for nothing.

Esposito throws on the jersey and starts his speech. Man, Phil was as cool as they'd come. How cool? Oh, roughly "wears tinted shades at his own retirement ceremony even though it's being held indoors" cool.

He thanks Bourque, and then mentions the Rangers, who are the visitors for this game. At the time, Esposito was their general manager, and whoo boy was that ever a fun time. I'm pretty sure that this two-minute speech is the longest period of time he managed to go as Rangers GM without making at least one trade.

Espo gets the cheap pop from a Bobby Orr mention, mentions exactly nobody from management or ownership, and then thanks the fans. We end with a shot of his number going up to the rafters. It's helpfully labelled "Philip A. Esposito," just in case some other Philip Esposito came along and everyone got confused.

At one point, the number is going up so crooked that it's nearly sideways, but they get it straightened out by the end. Near miss there. That would have been right up there with the night the Canucks honored Markus Naslund, shone a spotlight through his No. 19, and turned it into a giant frowny face.

To this day everyone's favorite Bourque memory is the Cup handoff from Joe Sakic, and rightly so. But the Esposito number swap should absolutely be a close second. If Gordie Howe gets to be Mr. Hockey, Bourque might have to start going by Mr. Ceremony. He's like the polar opposite of this guy.

Years later, Esposito would be on hand when the Bruins retired Bourque's #77, although he did not disrobe during the ceremony. At least as far as we know.

Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you'd like to see included in this column? Email Sean at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @DownGoesBrown.

DGB Grab Bag: A Wedgie for Wedgewood, Inflamed Calgary Fans, & Espo's Night published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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flauntpage · 6 years

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DGB Grab Bag: A Wedgie for Wedgewood, Inflamed Calgary Fans, & Espo's Night

Three Stars of Comedy

The third star: This Hawks/Panthers glitch – I won't lie, I've probably watched this three dozen times and I enjoy it more each time through.

The second star: This Coyotes fan – Apparently she likes Scott Wedgewood? I really hope that's what this means.

(Needless to say, he was thrilled.)

Altidore was too busy on his phone to notice that he left Maple Leafs alternate captain Leo Komarov hanging on a handshake. (He later apologized, and it was accepted.)

Trivial Annoyance of the Week

It's a pretty cool. There's just one minor problem: Saturday isn't actually the 100th anniversary. That would be December 19, which is Tuesday.

So yes, of course you have the big outdoor game a few days early. But check out the schedule for the league's official anniversary on Tuesday. Do you notice anything unusual?

Neither do I. It's basically a typical Tuesday night slate. And that's kind of odd, right?

But when it comes to the two anniversary dates on the calendar that really matter—the formation of the league on November 26 and the first games on December 19—the NHL just kind of shrugged. It's weird. It's like your annoying friend who tries to turn their birthday party into a week-long event, then forgets to schedule anything for the actual day.

Or we could just have a few pre-game ceremonies on an otherwise typical Tuesday. I guess that works too. It just seems a little anti-climactic after all this buildup, no?

Obscure Former Player of the Week

Outrage of the Week

The story resurfaced this week thanks to a column from Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun that skipped the subtleties and went straight to outright predicting that the Flames would be in Houston within three years. We don't know how much, if any, of that piece was based on information coming directly from the Flames. But even if Francis was simply presenting his own views, the fact that the Flames didn't immediately push back on the report suggests that, at the very least, they don’t mind having this stuff out there. (Full disclosure: Francis and I both contribute to Sportsnet.)

Seeing such a bold prediction of an imminent move had to make Flames fans nervous. But plenty of others took issues with the Francis piece, with Kent Wilson posting an in-depth takedown at The Athletic. Wilson's argument, in a nutshell, is that a move just doesn't add up, financially or otherwise. Calgary is a great market, and it wouldn't seem to make sense for the Flames to abandon that for an unknown market like Houston. And as Wilson points out, plenty of teams have played this game before that we now know were bluffing.

Classic YouTube Clip Breakdown

But to their credit, they eventually do it right. Bourque skates over and shares a few words with Esposito, then hands him a No. 7 jersey. You kind of sense Esposito accepting the gift with a "Yeah, thanks, I already have dozens of these" sort of vibe, but it's just the setup for the bigger moment to come.

With Esposito momentarily distracted, Bourque yanks his own No. 7 jersey off to reveal a second one underneath, this one bearing what would become his iconic No. 77. It takes a second for everyone to realize what just happened—Esposito didn't know this was coming, and seems genuinely stunned—and the crowd goes nuts once they clue in.

Espo gets the cheap pop from a Bobby Orr mention, mentions exactly nobody from management or ownership, and then thanks the fans. We end with a shot of his number going up to the rafters. It's helpfully labelled "Philip A. Esposito," just in case some other Philip Esposito came along and everyone got confused.

Years later, Esposito would be on hand when the Bruins retired Bourque's #77, although he did not disrobe during the ceremony. At least as far as we know.

Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you'd like to see included in this column? Email Sean at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @DownGoesBrown.

DGB Grab Bag: A Wedgie for Wedgewood, Inflamed Calgary Fans, & Espo's Night published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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flauntpage · 7 years

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DGB Grab Bag: Line Brawls, Goal DNA, and Teemu Selanne's Singing Debut

Three stars of comedy

The third star: Torey Krug and David Pastrnak – The spin is nice, but don't sleep on the synchronized stopping.

Hey, speaking of Bruins pairing off in interesting ways…

The second star: Brad Marchand and Leo Komarov – Look, the heart wants what it wants.

(Here's Komarov's response.)

The first star: Tomas Tatar – The clip is from a few months ago, but Tatar only posted it publicly this week. It's of his first time on the ice at the Red Wings new arena. Literally. He takes on step, and he's on the ice.

Yep, it's the old "forget to take off my skate guards" mistake. We've all been there, Tomas. Good to know if happens to the pros too.

The NHL Actually Got Something Right...Maybe...Depending on Your Perspective

One of the biggest stories of the week was a line brawl that broke out late in a game between the Flames and Red Wings on Wednesday night. The situation began with a fight between Luke Witkowski and Brett Kulak, and it escalated when Calgary pest Matthew Tkachuk tapped Witkowski on the leg on his way to the locker room, causing the Red Wing to return to the ice. That helped lead to another fight that spilled into the tunnel thanks to an open bench door, plus several other scrums and some players getting involved from the benches. At one point it looked like it might include a goalie fight.

Witkowski will probably get ten games for coming back after leaving the playing surface, Tkachuk somehow got a spearing major for that tap, and we can expect plenty of fines and maybe even an additional suspension or two. You can watch the whole thing here.

The brawl has been variously described as "chaotic," "crazy," "out of control," and "an old-fashioned dust-up." References to old-time hockey were plentiful.

So since everyone's talking about the Flames and Red Wings, let's take this as an opportunity for a reminder: Holy crap, has the NHL ever come a long way when it comes to getting fights and brawls out of the game.

I mean, the Wings and Flames thing was bad, there's no doubt, especially when it briefly spilled into the tunnel. Somebody could have got hurt there, and it's fortunate that the officials were able to get things under control before things erupted even further.

But the fact this is headline news in the hockey world right now just shows how much the game has changed. It's easy to forget now—or not to even know, if you're a relatively new fan—but stuff like this used to happen all the time. A line brawl or two used to be standard issue for a night's worth of NHL action. And it wasn't rare to see things get far more out of control.

An old-fashioned dust-up? I'm not so sure it was. I mean, this is what a brawl looked like in the 1960s, featuring a player attacking a linesman and fans throwing punches from the stands.

Here's one from the 1980s, which spans an intermission and includes a career-ending sucker punch.

Heck, here's Dave Manson taking the same 10-game suspension Witkowski will probably get. It's from a brawl that's best remembered for two of the players not fighting. We thought this was funny back then, even though it features a dangerous cheap shot, a linesman getting crushed from behind, two players pummeling one defenseless opponent at the same time, and only stops short of becoming a full bench-clearer because John Kordic of all people pulls Wendel Clark back to the bench.

And of course, I don't have to remind Red Wings fans about this:

Look, I don't want to go all cane-waving grandpa on you kids, but there's a very good chance that if this week's Flames/Wings brawl had happened in, like, 1991, it wouldn't even have made the highlights. You'd have watched your nightly sportscast without ever hearing about it, until it got mentioned in passing when the Wings came to town and they had to explain why Witkowski wasn't playing.

And yes, I realize that your view of whether all of this a good thing or not will vary based on your perspective. Some of you will see this as a clear sign of progress, of a league getting the silly and often dangerous sideshows out of the sport and letting the actual game take center stage for a change. Others will mumble about how the league was better back when this stuff happened from time to time, even though you're well aware that you're not supposed to say that out loud these days.

And maybe others are like me, stuck in the middle between being glad that we've got a far safer and saner league today while also vaguely missing a time when we could enjoy the sideshow stuff without realizing how dangerous it could be.

But whichever group you fall into, it's worthwhile to take a moment every now and then to understand and/or appreciate how much the game has changed, because we've come a million miles on this stuff. The Wings and Flames gave us that chance this week.

Obscure Former Player of the Week

This week's obscure player is Hannu Virta, for reasons we'll get to in a bit.

Virta was a Finnish defenseman who was drafted by the Sabres in the second round of the 1981 draft after coach and GM Scotty Bowman had snuck over to see him play overseas. He was viewed as a bit of a steal at the time, although that was before we realized that the blue-liner the Canadiens grabbed two picks later would turn out to be slightly better. Virta came over to North America and debuted for Buffalo later that season, playing three games before settling into regular NHL duty in 1982-83. That first full season was his best, as he scored 13 goals and had 37 points as a rookie. He'd play three more seasons in Buffalo before heading back home to Finland at the age of 23 to complete his military service. He stayed, and quickly became a star in the Finnish Elite League. He'd earn top defenseman honors four times, and also became a regular on the national team. After retiring, he became a head coach in the league.

But despite all of that, the unquestioned highlight of Virta's hockey career came in 1991. And we'll get to it in the Classic YouTube section. Here's a hint: It involves ice hockey.

New Entries for the Hockey Dictionary

Goal DNA – A neat historical project that I'm guessing readers of this column might appreciate, especially as the league's celebration of its own history kicks into overdrive this weekend. Goal DNA is the work of Twitter's @suicidepass, based on a similar idea used in baseball by Jesse Spector, and has been unfolding over the last month or so.

It works like this: Take any player from any point in league history, and figure out who he scored his very first NHL goal against. Then you take that goaltender, and figure out who he gave up his first goal to. Then you keep going, alternating back and forth between goalies and players, and see how far back into history you can reach.

Sometimes, it's not all that far—if a player and goalie had their first goal against each other, for example, then that kills the thread. And sometimes you can run into problems with the historical record, which isn't always clear about who was in net for a specific goal.

But sometimes you get something really cool. For example, here's Erik Karlsson, who's Goal DNA stretches all the way back to the first game played by the original Ottawa Senators 100 years ago.

Or here's Auston Matthews, whose chain links to Maple Leaf legends Terry Sawchuk and Syl Apps, by way of Hall-of-Fame forwards Paul Kariya, Mike Bossy and Marcel Dionne.

Here's the Sedin twins, who sadly don't turn out to have identical Goal DNA but do converge in the 1960s thanks to Cesare Maniago. (For reasons that aren't completely clear, Cesare Maniago shows up in a lot of these.)

So far, efforts to find a Goal DNA that traces all the way back to the NHL's very first goal—scored by Montreal's Dave Ritchie against Sammy Hebert one minute into the first ever game—have come up empty, but it's out there somewhere. You can follow the fun on Twitter with the #GoalDNA hashtag.

Classic YouTube Clip Breakdown

Teemu Selanne was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, and everyone has spent the week saying nice things about him. And rightfully so – he's one of the most talented and popular players of the modern era. But it's not like the guy is perfect. So today, let's head back to 1991 as we remind ourselves that even the greats occasionally do things they'll regret.

(A huge thanks to reader Niklas for sending in the clip. Remember, if you have a clip you think I need to be aware or, email me.)

So it's 1991 and Team Finland is preparing for the World Hockey Championships. They're the host country for this year's tournament, and are seeking what would be the country's first ever medal at the event. The team features plenty of talent, including a certain winger who's about to head to the NHL, and they're feeling confident. But how best to show that to the world?

Yes, by now regular readers know the answer: With a terrible song. Here we go.

As best I can tell, the three wacky characters at the start of the clip are from Kummeli, a Finnish comedy crew. I'd make some sort of crack about the humor being lost in translation, but my country is responsible for The Love Guru, so I can't throw stones.

Last chance to hit mute if you don't want a Finnish hockey song stuck in your head for the next week. You've been warned.

We see some mysterious hands working a sound mixer, and the music begins. We're quickly introduced to our singers: five guys in Team Finland jerseys and a guy I'll just refer to as "Way Too Enthusiastic Dude." The hockey players include national team members Esa Keskinen, Pasi Huura and Sakari Lindfors, plus our old pal form the obscure player section, Hannu Virta.

The final player looks vaguely familiar, in the sense that it's Teemu Selanne and he looks exactly the same as he did at Monday night's induction ceremony. Seriously, he and Paul Kariya were best friends, teammates in Anaheim, followed each other to Colorado when they were free agents, went into the Hall of Fame on the same night and also neither one of them has aged a day since the early 90s. If everyone else wants to just pretend this is OK then I'm fine with that, but don't act surprised when this all turns out to be the plot of some weird Stephen King novel.

As per terrible hockey music video bylaws, shots of our singers are interspersed with clips from one and only one game. In this case, it's a matchup with Finland's top rival, Team Sweden. It's a real mixed bag, featuring genuinely cool highlights of a Swedish player being checked into the bench and a nice Finnish goal, as well as shots of guys winning faceoffs or just falling down. Look, it was 1991—if you wanted highlights of Team Finland in international tournaments, you took what you could get.

We also meet the star of the video: Whoever did the "ICE HOCKEY" text animations. I think that guy burned through all 16 fonts we had back in 1991.

My very favorite moment in the video comes about a minute in, when you can pinpoint the exact moment Selanne realizes this is a bad idea:

Here's my best attempt at transcribing the lyrics:

Ice hockey, ice hockey!

D'oh! That's hockey.

Ice hockey, ice hockey!

And teriyaki.

Ice hockey, ice hockey!

Gopher hockey.

Senior homes taste yucky.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's bang on, no need to google this any further.

I've got to be honest, they reeled me in a little with the dramatic bridge. They even feature a clip of Finland scoring a goal, which would be inspiring it they hadn't already used that same goal a minute earlier. Had…had Finland only ever scored one goal against Sweden? I think they may have.

Don't go getting cocky, Team Sweden, this isn't any worse than your song from 1989.

We close out with a few more closeups of our smiling singers and their, let's just say it, absolutely impeccable Finnish hockey hair. We also see a few more shots of those hands working the sound board, but never find out who they belong to. I was so sure the camera was going to pan up at the end and reveal that it was Neil Sheehy all along. Or, as he'd be known in Finland, Neeiil Sheeeehy.

We get one more Kummeli appearance, and we're all done. Finland would go on to fail to medal at the 1991 tournament. But they'd get their first medal the next year, and win gold in 1995, so this song may well have been the turning point.

As for Selanne, he stayed in Finland for one more year and then signed his first NHL contract with…Calgary? Yeah, it was a weird time. He wound up with Winnipeg, and soon he was scoring 76 goals as a rookie to kick off a career that spanned two decades. Now he's in the Hall of Fame. And he still isn't getting any older.

(That's probably a good thing, actually. I'm told that senior homes taste yucky.)

Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you'd like to see included in this column? Email Sean at [email protected] or find him on Twitter @DownGoesBrown.

DGB Grab Bag: Line Brawls, Goal DNA, and Teemu Selanne's Singing Debut published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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flauntpage · 7 years

Text

DGB Grab Bag: Line Brawls, Goal DNA, and Teemu Selanne's Singing Debut

Three stars of comedy

The third star: Torey Krug and David Pastrnak – The spin is nice, but don't sleep on the synchronized stopping.

Hey, speaking of Bruins pairing off in interesting ways…

The second star: Brad Marchand and Leo Komarov – Look, the heart wants what it wants.

(Here's Komarov's response.)

Yep, it's the old "forget to take off my skate guards" mistake. We've all been there, Tomas. Good to know if happens to the pros too.

The NHL Actually Got Something Right...Maybe...Depending on Your Perspective

The brawl has been variously described as "chaotic," "crazy," "out of control," and "an old-fashioned dust-up." References to old-time hockey were plentiful.

An old-fashioned dust-up? I'm not so sure it was. I mean, this is what a brawl looked like in the 1960s, featuring a player attacking a linesman and fans throwing punches from the stands.

Here's one from the 1980s, which spans an intermission and includes a career-ending sucker punch.

And of course, I don't have to remind Red Wings fans about this:

Obscure Former Player of the Week

This week's obscure player is Hannu Virta, for reasons we'll get to in a bit.

But despite all of that, the unquestioned highlight of Virta's hockey career came in 1991. And we'll get to it in the Classic YouTube section. Here's a hint: It involves ice hockey.

New Entries for the Hockey Dictionary

But sometimes you get something really cool. For example, here's Erik Karlsson, who's Goal DNA stretches all the way back to the first game played by the original Ottawa Senators 100 years ago.

Or here's Auston Matthews, whose chain links to Maple Leaf legends Terry Sawchuk and Syl Apps, by way of Hall-of-Fame forwards Paul Kariya, Mike Bossy and Marcel Dionne.

Classic YouTube Clip Breakdown

(A huge thanks to reader Niklas for sending in the clip. Remember, if you have a clip you think I need to be aware or, email me.)

Yes, by now regular readers know the answer: With a terrible song. Here we go.

Last chance to hit mute if you don't want a Finnish hockey song stuck in your head for the next week. You've been warned.

We also meet the star of the video: Whoever did the "ICE HOCKEY" text animations. I think that guy burned through all 16 fonts we had back in 1991.

My very favorite moment in the video comes about a minute in, when you can pinpoint the exact moment Selanne realizes this is a bad idea:

Here's my best attempt at transcribing the lyrics:

Ice hockey, ice hockey!

D'oh! That's hockey.

Ice hockey, ice hockey!

And teriyaki.

Ice hockey, ice hockey!

Gopher hockey.

Senior homes taste yucky.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's bang on, no need to google this any further.

Don't go getting cocky, Team Sweden, this isn't any worse than your song from 1989.

(That's probably a good thing, actually. I'm told that senior homes taste yucky.)

Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you'd like to see included in this column? Email Sean at [email protected] or find him on Twitter @DownGoesBrown.

DGB Grab Bag: Line Brawls, Goal DNA, and Teemu Selanne's Singing Debut published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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