#plus people act like ‘entry level positions are just college kids and kids just out of highschool

[fatgirlsguidetodating]

Blog: Almost 40.

I’ve never been one for posting particularly introspective blog entries publicly. It’s not that I don’t contemplate things, or even write about them, but for the most part those meandering musings are confined only to my phone’s notes app- my most used app behind Facebook. And on those rare occasions that I *do* publicly blog about them I usually keep it on a relatively superficial level as I don’t necessarily like opening up my mind (and insecurities) to strangers.

But I’m turning 40 in less than a month and I think this is the catalyst that’s prompted a lot more thought about things than I’d ordinarily give them. I’d always considered 40 old but, as I approach it, I don’t *feel* old. And my family and friends would be rather quick to point out I don’t act it either. I always thought by 40 I would be much further along in life than I am. That I’d have a good job, a nice husband, a nice house, kids, that whole suburban dream. But... I haven’t.

And I started thinking if I’m a ball of mixed emotions about turning 40 maybe there’s other women- and men for that matter- who are feeling the exact same way so perhaps if I’m to break my self imposed cocoon of privacy around my innermost thoughts now might be the perfect time to give it a shot. So, with that being said, here goes nothing...

Here’s the thing: I remember my Mum’s 40th. I had just turned 10. I was sitting outside with my cousins, all of similar ages, and we were making fun of what we considered to be the appalling music taste our respective parents had. I even remember the leather pants Mum was wearing. She claims to have forgotten them but I think she’s faking that despite her bad memory. It didn’t even occur to me for a millisecond that my 40th wouldn’t be spent in a similar fashion. I just assumed life would follow the same path most women’s lives had followed for generations (with one caveat- I was planning to be the first one to go to uni): I’d find a job, I’d find a husband, we’d buy a house with a white picket fence, and we’d have 2.5 kids and a dog. And that all of that would be well and truly achieved by the time I turned 40. Just like it had been for my mum, and her mum before her, and hers before her. It was just the way things went, you know?

And then life happened. There’s a line in “Beautiful Boy” one of the John Lennon songs that I love that says “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” and it couldn’t be any truer in the 21st century than It was when it was written in 1980. (It’s a cruel twist of fate that it was written not long before he died and released after his death.)

For me “life” was all about my health, or lack thereof. I’ve mentioned the back issues before and the many hospital visits, and the 70 plus back ops. In essence this put things on hold: work, getting a home of my own, finding a guy (hard when you are always in and out of hospital and have problems losing weight) and having kids. So as I approach 40 without those things I’m not necessarily looking forward to it the way many do. (Plus if I get one “over the hill” card the person giving it to me shall be in a body bag.)

One thing I noticed when researching this blog post was Google searches about turning 40 seemed to concentrate on two things: what your health would be like post 40 and life as a Mum. Well what about those of us who are single and childless? Are we invisible? This didn’t particularly help with my mixed emotions about this supposed great milestone.

And it seems I’m not alone. Dr. Nancy Oreilly wrote about women’s aging anxiety that regardless of how you feel towards turning 40 you’ll still do what everyone does at this juncture and take stock of your life thus far. Things like “what have you done with your life? Are you the person you intended to be and are you living the life you want?” (1.)

In Lisa Bono’s interview with author Glynnis MacNicol about her book “No one tells you this” for the Sydney Morning Herald about life as a single 40 year old woman MacNicol admits she approached her 40th with “so much dread and shame" because she didn't have what she was "supposed" to have - a husband and a kid or two.... (because) we don't understand how to talk about women's lives as fulfilling unless we incorporate babies or weddings.” (2.)

Meredith Goldberg, in her article about age being just a number posed the question that if indeed age was just a number why was she feeling so apprehensive? Was it because she felt “like (she) had not accomplished enough in (her) 40 years on earth?” (3.) After all she hadn’t gotten married, hadn’t had kids, didn’t have another advanced degree.

Interestingly studies over the last decade or so have shown that the start of middle age (which, much to my chagrin given my belief I’m still like a much younger woman, is considered to be 40) often correlates with the time when people are the least happy, have the lowest levels of life satisfaction and highest levels of anxiety. A study at the University of Warwick and Dartmouth College attributed this to the facts that at this stage “adults are often faced with the pressures of raising children and looking after aging parents while simultaneously dealing with mounting financial and career pressures.“ (4)

Is it all too late for me- and other women turning 40 without a child- though? This is one of the most common thoughts going round and round in my head as I approach 40. I mean we all know about the whole ticking biological clock right? Even when I was doing my first postrgrad degree at 24, working part time, still single, still living at home, I still thought well there’s plenty of time. At 28 when I was finishing with postgrad, working full time but still single I *still* thought well there’s still a fair bit of time. At 33 it changed to well I guess there’s still time if I get a bit of a hurry on now. And now, at 39, single and childless, I think well maybe it’s too late now.

In her article about turning 40 whilst single and childless Bethany Jenkins wrote that it’s not only common but practically universal for a woman to expect and long for children, “to bring new life into the world; to put her hand on her belly as her baby grows; to wonder whether the newborn will have her or her beloved’s eyes; to hear “mom” not as a word uttered by her own voice to her own mother but as a call from her child’s voice for her.” (5) MacNicol in her book echoes that saying “as women, we’re taught to expect our stories to turn to marriage and children at a certain point in time (namely, before 40.)” (6)

Robin Deutsch, a psychologist and associate professor at William James College in Newton also points out that women reaching 40 tend to be more confident, have more wisdom and make better choices. (4) (Does she even know me?) But when you really think about it the whole “life begins at 40” theory has some merit. Julia Child didn’t publish her first cookbook until she was almost 50. Vera Wang didn’t start her fashion career until 40.

The fact that these women have the same feelings surrounding turning 40 whilst single and childless gives me some comfort. There’s a quote from Jung that I remember from philosophy at uni. He said that life begins at 40 and until then you’re just doing research. And maybe I’ve got to look at the positives in my current circumstances? One big upside I see is freedom. I plan to travel and return to uni to study something I’m passionate about and it’s doubtful I could do this had my life taken that path I was so sure it would.

So does this mean that the formula that my mum and all my ancestors followed, that unsaid life plan of when to get married, buy a home and have kids, is a thing of the past? We know women have children later these days. In fact the median age for a first kid these days is 30.6 as per the ABS reports

From the 1950s to mid 1970s, the fertility rates of women aged 20–24 and 25–29 were patently higher than that of all other age groups. Since then, the fertility rates for women in their 20s have been steadily declining whilst rates of those aged in their 30s have mostly increased since the early 1980s. Since 2000, the fertility rate of women in their early 30s has been higher than all other groups. It’s not just that women are having babies later but also the birth rate has declined. In 1950 the birth rate was 23.124. Its predicted 2020 will be at 12.561. (ABS yearly reports.)

We know women have children later these days, preferring to be settled and to have done the things they thought they’d not be able to do after before becoming a parent. Compared to our mothers, our grandmothers and so on we have more choices and not every woman’s first goal in life is having a child. (8)

The differences between say baby boomers and millennials are striking. It’s not just the fact that they settle down later but there are also other factors that mean by the time we turn 40 we may not have all the things our ancestors have but there are other priorities we have. For instance more women go to university now than they did when my Mum was turning 40. And after spending the time, work and money to get a degree it’s only natural that it follows that they want to get more out of their careers. Whilst baby boomers are more driven by loyalty, often staying at the same company for years, millennials are more interested in achieving more, whether that’s at the same company or not. (9) My father, for example, worked for the same company his entire life. He could have gone to many others with the knowledge he’d accumulated but he liked his job and he was happy there so it didn’t even really occur to him in more than a passing thought.

Then you look at things like buying a home. It’s ironic given that pay has increased that millennials are putting home ownership off longer than previous generations. Whilst people of my parents generation were content with a “starter home” these days more and more first home buyers want a bigger home, with bigger and better appliances, closer to the city than the suburbs etc. Research has found that rather than jump straight into a mortgage millennials look at travel, and spending their pay on things like Ubers and Lyfts, coffee, gadgets, clothes, and live entertainment and sports. (9)

Marriage is also something we do later. Consider the fact that whilst almost “50% of baby boomers were married between the ages of 18 to 32... a mere 26% of millennials are married in the same age range.” (9)

The fact that so many other women have the same feelings surrounding turning 40 whilst single and childless gives me some comfort. There’s a quote from Jung that I remember from philosophy at uni. He said that life begins at 40 and until then you’re just doing research. And maybe I’ve got to look at the positives in my current circumstances? One big upside I see is freedom. In the next 12 months I plan to travel and return to uni to study something I’m passionate about and it’s doubtful I could do this had my life taken that path I was so sure it would.

In an article published on mindbodygreen.com the writer spoke about how well-meaning friends had been asking her did she not want to have kids, did she not want to get married, etc, and she was quick to say that this can actually be the “most celebrated time of your life (and to) consider yourself blessed and enjoy the freedom.” (10) She listed some of the things to celebrate about turning 40 whilst single and childless. Like me travel was up there on her list as was the time to Perdue your passions. She also mentioned “(the) opportunity to nurture your friendships and relationships with family...(and that) the dating pool is large in your 40’s (given) a large majority of our population is divorced... there are so many

social media dating sites and social events in every major city... (and) you know what you're looking for.” (10)

So maybe instead of worrying about why I’m not where I wanted to be turning 40, worrying that it’s too late, worrying that my friends are further along than I am, I should be embracing it. The future is mine. I’ve just got to find a way to embrace it.

Fatgirl.

Sources:

1.) https://www.drnancyoreilly.com/40-2/

2.) https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/no-one-tells-you-life-as-a-40-year-old-single-woman-can-be-like-this-20180717-p4zs16.html

3.) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/1140197/anxious-about-turning-40/amp/

4.) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2017/06/01/seriously-now-what-traumatic-about-turning/UVnbdmxVvLSzwoB8Yo4wGP/story.html%3foutputType=amp

5.) https://ifstudies.org/blog/reflections-on-turning-40-while-single-and-childless

6.) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/single-at-40-glynnis-macnicol-interview/amp/

7.) https://aifs.gov.au/facts-and-figures/births-in-australia

8.) https://www.mamamia.com.au/average-age-to-have-kids/

9.) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessinsider.com/difference-millennials-baby-boomers-2019-4%3famp

10.) https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.mindbodygreen.com/articles/so-im-single-40-and-childless-now-what--10631

#dating #40 #almost40 #emotions #babyboomers #generationx #generationy #millenials #single #childless #worry #freedom #travel #university #howtocope #generationaldifferences #aging #anxiety #aginganxiety

[stevedonnellyfaith-blog]

Under Contract (Post 100) 8-5-15

My VA loan came through after being bureaucratically stymied for what seemed like forever.  I waited patiently and looked at houses with a realtor that my brother Sean had recommended. My dad had picked my banker.  Both are nice people; Cindy, our realtor, is a member of a Catholic parish in Cuyahoga Falls called IHM.  My life seems to balance that way.

Looking at houses was a balancing act as well.  It seemed silly to be looking for a four bedroom house at a point in my life when I feel I should be jettisoning my attached material possessions rather than collecting more.  It makes sense on one level; it is not like I can move into a senior community as long as Stephen Jr. lives with me … well, at least not for another 25 years. I received lots of advice concerning my house choice, a subject to which I remain largely ambivalent although I do have a strong preference not to live in a yurt.

Stephen’s needs were a consideration in where I was shopping for property.  It looked like Kent, Ohio was one community of my three targeted locals that fit his needs the best.  It is a college town with plenty to do and public transportation. On the other hand, Streetsboro was a good choice for Natalie and Nick.  A Streetsboro house would mean that Natalie would not have to change schools and it is pretty close to where Nicholas starts college in a couple of weeks. My father lobbied heavily for Streetsboro.  Abby reserved a personal veto for anything in the town of Ravenna, which was the closest to my work and seemed to present the best value with regard to pricing.  She argued that my dad-bod would not look presentable in the white muscle shirt that seemed to be mandatory for shirt wearing men in Ravenna Township.  I got uppity for a while, but eventually I realized that I really didn’t care enough to pipe my part of the tune in a duet of discord.  I preferred to let Jesus decide.

The process itself had become a barefoot marathon through a cactus desert.  Once the VA finally approved my loan, immediately, for some unexplained reason, the balance in my checking account began to hemorrhage. My cash flow seemed fine for a house purchase with the salary I now make and my expected expenses, but there was no way that I was going to buy a house without understanding where my money was leaking to.  I understood that I had made several recent weekend trips that were not freebees, but my dad was only charging me rent in Dairy Queen Dilly Bars so that ought not to have been a problem.  Despite my predicament, I went ahead and scheduled a last look through the properties that most interested me (mostly in Ravenna,) two in Kent on waterfront properties and a couple in Streetsboro, a town where the worthwhile buys tend to disappear like vapor almost as soon as they appear on the market. Out of the ten properties I requested to view, only three made the docket for the Tuesday afternoon tour-de-force on which Nick and my brother Sean offered to accompany me.

The property that most interested me was a Ravenna home that was priced really low because of some apparent damage that didn’t seem to amount to a hill of beans. Because my bank account had suddenly turned into angel food cake, a value property seemed the most sensible choice. Neither of the waterfront properties had made the list anyway, so I had already settled on continuing my life as a landlubber.  I did have fantasies about canoeing myself back into shape while humming the theme from Hawaii Five-O, but my aquatic dream had been scuttled in untimely fashion by someone else’s similar nautical interest.  

One Streetsboro property made the list as well, but it was located in a development that I had previously scoured clean without finding anything suitable.  Still I always tried to look at any Streetsboro properties that showed up on the three realty search engines that Sean had steered me towards.  I expected 1175 Delaware Trail to be another dud, because it had stayed on the market for a week and a half, something that does not happen with desirable Streetsboro homes.  Nevertheless, I had high hopes for the Ravenna property on Bent Oak Trail, with its strange support braces in its basement.  

Meeting the realtor’s assistant, Dee, at the first property I found that it needed quite a bit more work than I was willing to commit Nicholas to accomplishing so I ruled it out immediately.  On Home Hunters International and all the other house search shows that my Dad binge watches when Dancing With The Stars is out of season, the couple never seems to like the first house much so I was unconcerned.  I knew that the next house was the one I wanted anyway. It had everything that I thought we needed plus a low price with only the basement issue that I could let the house inspector tell me more about.  I pulled out of the first driveway with a feeling of confidence.

 As I cruised triumphantly into the driveway of the Bent Oak Trail property that I had been thinking about for weeks, I was immediately perplexed.  There was no coy pond.  I thought I remembered that the property had one of those over-sized outdoor fish tanks that end up getting all mucked up from the overhanging trees, but I couldn’t see a “water feature” as I approached the front door. Sean and Nick met me at the entry where Dee was fiddling with the combo lock on the door knob. They had missed the first property, but I explained that it wasn’t a viable property.  I asked Nicholas about the missing pond as I believed that he had previously looked at the basement damage house with Abby on a trip when I was tied up at work.  He explained to me that I was thinking of a different property just as Dee swung the door wide and opened the book to the second chapter of my disappointment. This address on Bent Oak was a property that I had looked at before but it was not a very interesting one to me. It was an obvious foreclosure where even the kitchen stove had been removed – another fixer upper that I had no energy or funds for repairing.  

Strike two left me in a fog.  I hadn’t seen anything viable and we were headed towards a neighborhood where the predominate decorating style seemed to be a last pocket or resistance by a misguided clan of people who were way too nostalgic for the set of the original Brady Bunch.  My “original” caveat is in place because I can no longer keep track of which shows have not been recycled and updated by lazy screenwriters to populate an increasingly pregnant channel line-up over bloated with specialty programming including unnecessary channels auctioning jewelry and kitchen gadgets.  I remain hopeful but not terribly optimistic that some charitable soul has bought the rights to Gomer Pyle USMC and Green Acres with the express purpose of preventing the victimization of a modern television audience with rehashed subject matter that was vapid the first time and for which there is positively no need to redecorate with new window-dressing.

So my expectations were pretty low for 1175 Delaware Trail; I was hoping for Petticoat Junction, but more than expected Sanford and Son or Chico and the Man (I really watched a lot of bad television growing up.)  The house looked pretty small from my caboose position in our four car caravan.  It seemed like we were headed towards another underwhelming experience. Dee opened the door and I entered with my hackles at the cringe-ready, and discovered that everything was very good. The house seemed to be well-kept with an adequate place to stash all the kids and dogs. It was the first good happenstance with regard to my house search in several days.  The experience totally confused me.  My brain now had only half a migraine.  I had been praying for a clear choice and my menu had now been limited to one entrée in a location heavily favored my youngest daughter and her grandparents.

I decided to go to Adoration a day early to contemplate the purchase and my financial dilemma.  Stephen, Nick, Natalie and I went the next night, a Thursday.  As I relayed last week, I felt very peaceful about making the purchase even though the money issue remained unsolved.  Natalie’s prayerful impression was also that the Delaware Trail residence would be a good house for us even though she had never seen it herself. So I trusted in God and told Cyndi, my realtor, that night that I wanted to make an offer on the house.  She confirmed that her feeling also was that it was the right house for our family.  She would prepare the paperwork for me to sign the following afternoon.

 Nicholas called me the next morning early as I sat at my desk working on a PowerPoint presentation that I planned on inflicting on some unsuspecting people the following week.  He had been reviewing our bank account and had discovered that my last two paychecks had not been direct deposited into our account, a likely root cause of my mysteriously plunging net worth.  We investigated and discovered that my direct deposit had somehow inadvertently been turned off, and my payroll department apologetically advised me that they had unknowingly issued me live checks instead of deposit slips.  Nicholas located the unopened envelopes and made an immediate deposit with a handy application on his cell phone.  So my prayers were all answered neatly in an organized fashion that resembled cards being shuffled and bridged.  I had been tested and apparently passed most probably because this realty search was purely for a nice place for our family rather than for a status symbol – I remember dancing to that cacophonous other song back in my so-called other life.

Because this process seems to be being steered with a hand other than mine on the rudder, I don’t have much worry about whether this is an exercise in materialism. As far as I can tell, Jesus has approved of what I am doing, or my path would have been blocked not bumpy.  After I was under contract, one of the waterfront properties in Kent that I had originally preferred popped back up on my search engine.  I chuckled about its sudden reappearance.  Somebody else’s contract had been created and dissolved in a convenient way that had placed me in Streetsboro where I can enjoy a close relationship with my parents, two siblings and three nieces.  I guess I didn’t get brought back across the country to see everyone just on the weekends.  Figure that.

#God #Jesus #The Holy Spirit #grace #hope #faith #love #IHM #family #choices #Eucharistic Adoration #prayers #materialism

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Tavares, Stamkos, Murray, Campbell, Dahlin, Barn Burners, & College Signees (March 26)

​

    Monday’s schedule was chalked full and Pittsburgh and New York got things started in an early affair. The lottery-bound Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead off the sticks of Brendan Lemieux and Vinne Lettieri.

  That was all the waking up the Pens needed as they rattled off five straight to take this one 5-2. Matt Murray stopped 33/35 for his third straight victory, and fifth straight quality start. The 24-year-old limped through the first 11 contests of the campaign with an 0.877 save percentage. Since that time, he’s 23-7-4 with three shutouts and a 0.931 save percentage mark.

  All is well with Murray.

  Jared McCann grabbed an assist on the fifth goal to give him 13 points in his last 15 contests. The 22-year-old former first-round selection is on his third organization but appears to have found a fit. McCann has great wheels, a heavy release, and loads of tenacity. He’s finally cracked the second power-play unit, but 31 of his 34 points have come at even-strength or while shorthanded.

  There remains some intriguing upside with this player, especially if he maintains his space in the top six moving forward. He skated alongside Phil Kessel in this one 

  **

Freddie Andersen has been an unmitigated tire fire during much of the fantasy hockey playoffs. Monday night’s games represented either the first or second week of the Championship matchups. Freddie owners were praying to the Hockey Gods to get their number one netminder back.

  The Leafs took on a flailing Panthers squad with hopes of righting the ship. They scored two goals on their first four shots and chased Samuel Montembeault. The first frame in this one has been clipped and sent to Webster’s Dictionary to be placed next to ‘firewagon hockey’. It wrapped with the Leafs up 4-2.

  If either coach gave their dressing rooms an earful after 20 minutes to get back to some tight-checking affair, it didn’t work. The final result was a 7-5 victory for Toronto. Andersen stopped 31 of 36 – not exactly the result that was hoped for.

  John Tavares owners weren’t mad though. The first-year Leaf scored four goals for the first time in his 10-year career. His 45 goals on the season trail only Alex Ovechkin. His 86 points are one behind a career-high. 

  Not a bad first act.

  A trio of goals plus one for the road.

What a game and @Enterprise hat trick for @91Tavares! pic.twitter.com/eVv7ZLVIzE

— NHL (@NHL) March 26, 2019

  **

Jonathan Huberdeau tallied two goals in this one to give him 19 points in his previous 10 contests. He’s just three goals away from setting career-highs in goals, assists, points, shots, power-play goals, power-play points.. you get the point.

  **

If the Leafs-Panthers game was a barnburner, the Bruins and Lightning were must-see-tv. The top two teams in the Eastern Conference met in Florida on Monday and got at it.

  Steven Stamkos scored two first period goals sandwiched between a Brad Marchand tally. The Bruins then scored three second period goals to head into the final 20 minutes up 4-2. Seems like a fairly safe lead, no?

  No.

  Victor Hedman brought the Bolts to within one, and then Nikita Kucherov did was Nikita Kucherov does. Absolutely snipe one while coming down the off-wing.

  Snipe. @86Kucherov pic.twitter.com/QkVxTxbIDw

— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) March 26, 2019

  That tied things with seven minutes left to play. All that remained was an Anthony Cirelli tally with under a minute remaining to steal win number 59. That places them as the third-most prolific team in NHL history. One win away from the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens, and three shy of the 1995-96 Red Wings.

  Granted, the Bolts have had the benefit of overtime and the shootout but their 53 regulation victories would still put them as a top-15 club. They have five games left on the schedule to push for history.

  Stamkos added two assists in this one as well. He’s now up to 93 points on the season, and the Lightning boasts three players with at least 90 (Stamkos, Kucherov, and Brayden Point). It's been seven long years since Stammer has been in the 90-point zone. It's good to have him back. 

  **

The Bruins top line each contributed two points in this one. Despite the loss, that trio is as deadly as they come.

  **

Another start and another victory for Jordan Binnington as the Blues defeated the Golden Knights 3-1 on Monday. The 25-year-old stopped 24 of 25 to improve his record to 21-4-1 with a 0.930 save percentage. This is some crazy mumbo jumbo that going on in Missouri these days.

  I’m up on back-to-back ramblings this week, so expect a bit of dive into Binnginton tomorrow attempting to evaluate him heading into drafts next fall.

  **

The Kings left Ilya Kovalchuk at home to work with the skills coach but brought their game with them to Calgary. LA knocked off the Western Conference leaders 3-0 with Jack Campbell grabbing the shutout with an impressive 42 stops.

  Campbell hadn’t posted a victory since February 5th, but that’s not such a damning portrayal of him as it is the Kings in general. The 27-year-old has outplayed Jonathan Quick despite receiving some of the worst run support in the league.

  Campbell: 8-13-1 0.926 SV%

Quick:  15-21-6 0.891 SV%

  It’s not as if the Kings are throwing softballs to Campbell. His last five starts have been against Calgary, Winnipeg, Arizona, Tampa Bay, Washington, and Boston.

  Who knows where the Kings go from here (they’re hoping right into welcoming Jack Hughes), but the crease situation is a clear as mud heading into 2019-20.

  **

Cory Schneider made a season-high 45 saves, and Pavel Zacha scored a goal an added two helpers as the Devils defeated the Sabres 3-1.

  Rasmus Dahlin grabbed a primary assist at even-strength to improve his total to 41 points in 75 contests. That ties him with Bobby Orr for the second most points by a U19 blueliner in the history of the NHL. He trails only his coach, Phil Housley’s 66.

  It’s been a remarkable season for the youngster. I’m not sure many people will be betting against him breaking the 50-point plateau next season. Maybe we should be talking about 60?

  **

Juuse Saros made 29 stops, Ryan Johansen scored a shorty, and the Pred blanked the Wild 1-0 to clinch their fifth consecutive playoff appearance.

  The Wild are digging themselves a hole. With five games left on the schedule, they sit two points out of the final wild-card spot. They’ve also played more games than Arizona and Colorado – the two teams they trail.

  To give some positivity to the realm, I’m quite enjoying the trio of Jordan Greenway, Luke Kunin and Ryan Donato. Those three have been lining up together at even-strength and on the team’s second power-play unit.

  All three possess decent multi-category upsides.

  **

Tyler Seguin and Radek Faksa each scored two goals as the Stars beat up the Jets 5-2. Dallas was the better team in this one – which unfortunately has been something of a common theme for Winnipeg’s opponents of late.

  Connor Hellebuyck made 32 stops – a few bell ringers to keep this one ‘close’. Jacob Trouba continues to be leaned on heavily on a backend that sorely misses Dustin Byfuglien and Josh Morrissey. Trouba logged a game-high 26:37 while chipping in an assist, two shots, two hits, and two blocks.

  Of note, Byfuglien took part in the morning skate on Monday. He was wearing a non-contact sweater, but it’s a good sign. He’s apparently closer to returning than Morrissey, but it’s difficult to imagine the coaching staff rushing either back. Perhaps a game or two before the playoffs would be ideal, but they need them at full health for the second season.

  **

Despite controlling much of the play, the Sharks continued their recent slide by falling to the lowly Red Wings 3-2 in the late affair. That’s six straight losses for San Jose – four of which came at the hands of non-playoff teams. They're missing Joe Pavelski in a big way, and we haven't heard much on his condition. 

  Brent Burns was a minus-one but peppered nine shots on goal over 29 minutes. 

  Don't look now, but recently signed college free-agent Taro Hirose has four assists in his four NHL games while bouncing around the bottom six. He's been seeing a few seconds of second unit deployment as well. The 22-year-old tied for the NCAA lead with 50 points in 36 games this season, so he knows how to find the scoresheet. 

  He'll be an interesting one to watch in camp next fall to see if he can plant himself a secure job in the top nine and maybe even push for top six opportunities. 

  **

Some prospect talk:

  Tis the season for university squads to say farewell to their top prospects. Most schools hope and expect to hold onto a real asset for two seasons – three if they’re lucky. But every now and again, we see the one-and-done kid.

  That’s exactly what happened on Monday when Flyers’ top prospect, Joel Farabee signed his entry-level contract. The most recent 14th overall selection is expected to rehab an injury in Philadelphia before heading to the AHL for the Phantom’s playoff run. His NHL deal will kick in next fall.

  Farabee had a tremendous freshman campaign, taking home Hockey East Rookie of the Year honours after producing 36 points in 37 contests. That mark was the third highest for any first-year skater. He also led all freshman in shots (131) and shorthanded tallies (3).

  Making these totals even more impressive was the fact they were accomplished on a Boston University squad that struggled for most of the season.

  Those in keeper leagues should have Farabee firmly on their radar. The 19-year-old is already an accomplished two-way player which should allow him to see NHL ice quickly. His upside screams productive, top-six winger.

  Joel Farabee, ladies and gentlemen! Wow. #GoBU pic.twitter.com/qeeAol3ebX

— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) March 3, 2019

    **

  Farabee wasn’t the only Terrier to exit BU today. Dante Fabbro (NSH), Jake Oettinger (DAL), and Chad Krys (CHI) all signed pro deals.

  Fabbro signing in Nashville is big. Rumours had long swirled that the 17th overall selection from 2016 may consider playing his senior season and opt for unrestricted free agency rather than attempt to climb the gauntlet that is the Predators’ backend. Nashville is sure happy he didn’t.

  Oettinger, the 27th overall pick in 2017 wrapped up a junior season where he stopped 92.6 percent of the shots he faced over 36 games. He’s the clear option for the Stars long term and has definite upside.

  Krys, a 2016 second-rounder is an offensive, left-shot defender who will try and navigate the Hawks’ depth chart. He needs a good amount of seasoning.

  **

  Follow me on Twitter @Hockey_Robinson

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-tavares-stamkos-murray-campbell-dahlin-barn-burners-college-signees-march-26/

[wittywallflower]

So I clicked on some clickbait on FB, as one does, and started reading 25 Things Wrong With Gilmore Girls We All Choose To Ignore thinking “I’m not gonna get defensive on every little point because no media, even my faves, are perfect”. And several of the points made were actually good points that highlighted problematic elements of the show.

But. Plenty of the points still left me with Things To Say.

I’m not gonna touch on all 25, feel free to click the link to see them all. But here’s the ones I decided to nitpick about:

19. STARS HOLLOW'S WEIRD OBSESSION WITH RORY

"Seriously, were there no other cool kids in Stars Hollow for the entire town to creepily focus its attention on? Everyone is obsessed with Rory – Taylor basically forces her to be Queen of Stars Hollow and everyone else is thinks the sun shines out of her forehead for literally no reason.

Sure, she’s nice and the whole “it takes a village to raise a child” idea is endearing, but at the end of the day, the Stars Hollow residents’ level of investment in Rory Gilmore is creepy, inappropriate, and kind of annoying. What about Lane?"

I feel this entry has a little tunnel vision. The show is about the Gilmores so the focus is on Rory as the cool kid the town loves. But i see plenty of evidence the townspeople act similarly towards other kids, not just Rory. Everyone in town knows what Mrs. Kim is like but instead of respecting her parenting decisions, they are happy to slyly aid and abet Lane in breaking all her rules. They give her rehearsal space and hire her band for events. They dont tell Mrs Kim when they see Lane change into a Sex Pistols tshirt in a phone booth (example invented: we all know it was the Dead Kennedys) Dean is in town for like 2 minutes before everyone (including people who haven’t met him yet) know he is looking for a job and they all start comparing notes on where he should work. I think there is enough evidence in those glimpses to suggest that SH adults are like this with more kids than just Rory. We just dont see a whole about many SH kids. Frankly we get to see more about some of the Chilton’s kids (I know exactly where Louise’s father is (prison) yet no fucking clue about Mr Kim).

THE GILMORES ARE IMPOSSIBLY JUDGMENTAL

"Okay, we get it, the Gilmores were dysfunctional. It made sense that after the first few seasons of them getting to know each other again they would still hit roadblocks.

It took Emily and Richard nearly seven years to give Lorelai the credit she deserved.

We get that they wanted her to succeed on a higher level than she already was, but after seven years of Lorelai insisting on living her life the way she wanted to, the most Richard and Emily could do was basically give her a punch on the arm in the series finale. That made both of them seem more emotionally stunted than they actually were.”

This is where i started to wonder if the author of this listicle had actually… met real life people. They WERE emotionally stunted in more than one way, but also they were prideful. Pride will make it so people refuse to bend even when they know they are wrong. Especially when they know they are wrong. I find this completely realistic and it makes sense to me because I know people whose parents still haven’t forgiven them for choosing a different college than their parents wanted them to attend and well into their kid’s (successful) adult life were casting shade on their career choices because of it. This isn’t something that is “wrong with the show” (the entire premise of the listicle), this is something that is a negative personality trait of two characters.

16 THE STARS HOLLOW VORTEX

“Part of the charm of Gilmore Girls was the idyllic town of Stars Hollow. It was adorably and sometimes painfully charming, but at the end of the day provided a dreamy backdrop for the real-life difficulties Lorelai and Rory faced regularly.

The show made it seem as though no one in Stars Hollow had any ambition to do anything else but to live out their lives in Stars Hollow.

Neither Lane nor Dean go to college and both settle there, and none of the adults have lives that take them out of Stars Hollow. It’s completely self-contained and kind of weird.”

This is making so many assumptions about characters whose backstories were never developed. Did Gypsy live in SH all her life? Did Sookie and Jackson? Did the town troubadour? For all we really know, Taylor backpacked through Europe and served in the Marines before he turned into Taylor...

Lane toured with her band, which was her goal from the second she fell in love with that drumset. Who knows what else she would have done if she hadn’t gotten pregnant? (blame the babies, not the town!) Dean got married and then divorced. He talked enough about college that I feel he probably would have gone if he hadn’t decided to get married too young.  

Patty was on Broadway. Michel is from France. At what age did Mrs Kim move to Stars Hollow, even? the other characters were not the focus and so we never learned about their ambitions or their past. This entry gives me a vibe of coming from someone who just cant understand why life in a small town would be so appealing to so many different people. I cannot shake my assumption that OP is younger than i am by a decade or so.

15.LORELAI IS ACTUALLY REALLY UNGRATEFUL TO HER PARENTS

“Lorelai had a point about not wanting to live in her parents 'world, especially given how insistent they were that she do so while she was young. But once she struck out on her own and they had no choice but to accept that, she should’ve softened a little toward them.

Any help they offered she resented, to the point of hurting Emily’s feelings on a regular basis. Richard had to point out to Lorelai how devastated Emily was when her only daughter ran away because Lorelai had never thought to ask. It’s just too much.”

She should have softened to the people we were just saying were way too judgemental of her for Rory’s entire childhood? Accepted their help that always came with strings? And where would young Lorelai learn that emotionally mature tactic? From said emotionally stunted parents? She is Emily’s daughter as much as she doesn’t want to admit she is anything like her mother. The example she was given as she grew up was that if someone displeases you, you freeze them out. Hell, Lorelai even does that to her own daughter when Rory drops out of Yale.

Parents or not, Lorelai making nice to people who have berated her probably her entire life (if we judge by the flashback of Lorelai’s coming-out dress fitting), and definitely since she got pregnant is unreasonable to expect. They have criticized every choice she made up until midway through the series. Why does she owe them gratitude for anything except “thanks for feeding and clothing me till i started doing it myself literally as young as i legally could?

Also throwback to my talk about pride: Lorelai learned pride from her parents. She is less officious about it by far, but she still has the Gilmore pride. Plus she was a literal child herself the first couple years of Rory’s life. There were things she just couldn’t understand (like Emily’s devastation) until she experienced parenting a teen herself.

10.RORY'S ANTI-DIGITAL ATTITUDE

“Let's discuss Rory’s performance at her job interview with SandeeSays, the Buzzfeed-type company she considers a job far beneath her.

She shows up completely unprepared, she has no pitches to offer, and she generally comes across as completely entitled.

Her interviewer at SandeeSays was totally courteous, and Rory was totally shortsighted to act as though she was too good for a job there. That job has benefits, Rory Gilmore! Just who do you think you are and when did you start exemplifying entitled rich people stereotypes?”

Who does Rory think she is? The person who already got the job. Rory very clearly thought she had been offered the position, not offered the chance to interview for the position. Whether she thought that because of a misunderstanding, because of an unconsious sense of privilege, or because SandeeSays doesnt have a hiring manager to run these things smoothly, we don’t know… i’d guess a combination of all three. But SandeeSays repeatedly contacted her and asked her to come to them even when she kinda blew them off about it. That is just not normal for people to do for someone they just want to interview. But Rory though she was showing up for her first day on the job, not a job interview. We know Rory, she would have been over-prepared. She never would have worn that dress, she would have wore her Conde Nast dress. But she arrives and is asked to jump through a bunch of hoops for a job she didnt even want in the first place. They are reasonable hoops for a job interview like that. I would think someone showing up for a job interview in journalism without being prepared for that is a fool. But Rory didn’t know it was a job interview!!!

Also her interviewer at SandeeSays was pretentious and smug af, don’t lie.

9,WHY DID PEOPLE TOLERATE TAYLOR?

“Oh, man was Taylor Doose a a pill. He was pushy, selfish, vindictive and weirdly obsessed with his town. We can forgive the last one – everyone has a thing, but the rest of his behavior is rude at best and abusive at worst.

Yes, Stars Hollow is a magical fairyland that allows for everyone within it to live their idiosyncrasies, but Taylor Doose crossed the line.

He demanded whatever he wanted, abused his position by using it to push people around and then had the gall to get all mopey and depressed when Jackson beat him in the town selectman election. Get a job, man.”

Why do people tolerate Taylor? Because he is a white man with political power. (Granted its only a tiny bit of power that applies only locally. Taylor makes it seem like he controls a lot more than he does… or maybe not, since we do find out he owns like half the rental properties in town)

The author of this listicle seems young, like they havent been around. Its pretty realistic for people to put up with a shitty white man throwing his weight around. The only unrealistic part was that brief moment where he was mopey and depressed, but then Taylor did the realistic thing: he belligerently doubled down when he asked for a recall election.

That’s 100% authentic believable Shitty White Man behavior there. If anyone could explain why people tolerate it in real life, we wouldnt have Trump destroying the country rn. Art is just imitating life here.

6.MICHEL WAS NEVER FIRED

“While Sookie was brilliant comic relief, she also did her job fantastically well. Michel was great comic relief, but also literally the worst person to work customer service in the hospitality industry.

We almost never saw him do his job well.

In fact, we saw him shirk his duties so often it stopped being charming and started becoming ridiculous. There’s a way to write someone who hates working customer service but is actually good at customer service and make it funny. Michel just stopped making sense after a while. We still love him, though.”

Author of listicle has clearly never had a shitty boss that was terrible at their job and also a jerk. These people dont get fired nearly as often as they probably should.

the actual way this is super unrealistic is the fact that Michel didnt get fired despite being a black, gay, foreign man. If he was a white American dude, i wouldnt question it at all. (It would be more realistic for Sookie to get fired because despite being an amazing chef, she clearly hemorrhages money in the kitchen, scrapping entire menus when the perfectly edible vegetables aren’t perfect enough for her.)

And its not true we never see Michel do his job well. He did a great job as concierge in that scene when Lorelai and Sookie go to visit him at the other hotel he is working at while the Dragonfly is being built.

4.RORY COULDN'T HAVE GRADUATED ON TIME FROM YALE

“Rory took nearly a year off from Yale after a major breakdown – sometimes you need to take a break. But realistically, Yale is a demanding school. There is no way Rory could’ve made up all the credits necessary to graduate on time without taking summer classes, while still putting in considerable hours at the Yale Daily News as well as having a boyfriend and a social life.

While it was ultimately very realistic for her to finally crack under some pressure, the fact that she didn’t have to pay for the long break she took speaks to the inherent privilege at work on the show.”

IIRC Rory only missed a semester. (Remember she points it out when they are talking about electing a new head of the Daily News? when they nominate her she says “I did miss that semester so i dont have seniority”)  Which would be difficult to make up, but far from impossible... Rory has experience coming from behind and catching (Chilton). I don’t know exactly how credits work at Yale but in my own university experience, you’re only take a couple classes a semester. Remember Rory being upset that she had to drop a course because 5 classes was more than she could juggle. If she missed a semester of say 3 classes (a reasonable number if one of those courses was a lab or a difficult upper level course), she would only have to add an extra class to on to 3 semesters: her first semester back and then each semester the next year. She mentions taking extra classes (and being stressed by that). Things like independent studies also exist. Some schools give credit for internships (shadowing THE Mitchum Huntzberger would be worth one credit at least for a journalism major). The extra courses and eventually cracking under the pressure WAS Rory paying for the long break.

2.JACKSON LYING ABOUT HIS VASECTOMY

“This was so messed up. Not only did Jackson lie to his wife about something incredibly important, but he didn’t take other precautions to make sure she wouldn’t get pregnant. Sookie didn’t basically got pregnant through no choice of her own the third time and that is not something that is funny at all.

The show made light of it because Sookie and Jackson were never anything but comic relief, but this is a part of the show that absolutely does not hold up in any way shape or form. Shame on you, Jackson.”

I ain’t here to dispute this one but to chime in and agree. Shame on you, Jackson. This show is largely pretty wholesome and tbh i consider this to be one of the worst things one person does to another in the series. Completely devoid of any maliciousness, yes, he 100% did not intend it to happen but it did. Rory can steal a yacht and I’m like “whatever, they got the boat back intact, Rory probably even filled the gas tank later cuz she felt bad for stealing it” But Jackson knocking up a woman who did not want to have that baby because he was too cowardly to get snipped and then too cowardly to admit he didnt do it… is super uncool. (idk what kind of pressure exactly Sookie was putting on him to have the vasectomy. trying to force him into it would also be super uncool. But did Jackson even really try to make Sookie understand how very much he didnt want to do it? Neither party is innocent, but Jackson didn’t have to grow a whole baby so frankly, he gets my scorn)

1RORY ENDING UP BACK AT THE BEGINNING

“Part of what made Gilmore Girls so successful in the first place is that Rory and Lorelai went through very different experiences. That's why it made sense that they would relate on a friendship level as opposed to butting heads like Emily and Lorelai did.

Rory getting pregnant at the end of A Year in the Life kind of undermined a lot of the show.

It also felt really tacked on and contrived. Considering there was no second season promised at that point, it was a really strange way to end. It seemed odd to make Rory so driven and career-minded, only to lead her back to same place as her mother.”

Author of listicle is charmingly naive. That’s just life sometimes, kid. Shit happens to screw up our plans and goals. A lot of us end up more like our mothers than we wanted to when we spent out teen years swearing we wouldnt. Given Rory’s lifestyle of living out of boxes stashed at three different houses, jetsetting between Stars Hollow, Hartford, New York and London, being so stressed out that she continually forgets she has a boyfriend… who is surprised the girl missed a pill or two??

Accidents happen. There’s at least 3 major accidental pregnancies in the series that have life-changing consequences for the woman. 4 if we count Lorelai’s teen pregnancy that kicks off the entire premise of the show. I don’t see how it undermines the show when the show has clearly made an minor theme of this. They show that it can happen to anyone in any situation from a brand new bride like Lane who had dreams she wanted to pursue, to a happily married mother of two who wasnt planning a third, to a relationship that is actively in the stage of crumbling (a la Sherry).

Its not contrived. Its realistic. OP just hasn’t experienced enough reality to see that.

#gilmore girls #gilmore girls meta

[mizbabygirl]

Blackhawks’ diligence paid off in Tanner Kero’s unlikely journey to the NHL (from The Athletic.com) [04\20\2017]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — If a college free agent has any traits that could potentially make him an NHL player, general managers normally swarm in his direction.

Finding NHL talent outside the draft is like finding money on the street. There’s also little risk in the case of college free agents. Teams have to put resources into scouting and then recruiting them, but not much is lost if they don’t work out. They can be evaluated in a shorter window because they’re older and can be quickly judged on whether they’re worth keeping. If they do happen to succeed and become NHL players, their benefit-to-cost ratio is quite favorable for teams.

And because there are so few players who slip through the cracks, NHL teams often fall over each other trying to sign them. It’s common for 20-plus teams to be after a college free agent even as front offices understand it’s unlikely those players even ever appear in an NHL game.

Knowing all that, the fact Tanner Kero will again be on the ice for the Blackhawks in a Stanley Cup playoff game Thursday is a true story of someone defying the odds.

Kero flew under the national radar throughout most of his youth career. He played for his high school in Hancock, Michigan, spent a year in the North American Hockey League and a year in the United States Hockey League. He had solid numbers, but was bypassed during his NHL draft-eligible years.

Kero was optimistic, but wasn’t surprised not to be drafted.

“Right away after the draft, you’re just kind of a little upset,” Kero recalled. “You’re not really sure if you’re going to make it [to the NHL]. You have to have that belief from Day 1 to stay positive and prove to yourself you can make it.”

Kero decided to attend Michigan Tech and began a progression. He increased his point production every year in college and was catching some NHL teams’ attention by his senior season.

Rick Comley, a former Division I college coach who works for the Blackhawks in player recruitment, was living in the Michigan Upper Peninsula area at the time and often saw Michigan Tech. He recognized Kero had potential and brought him to the attention of Blackhawks player recruitment director Ron Anderson.

Anderson concurred with Comley’s assessment and began his research on Kero. From Kero’s early junior days to his family life, Anderson dug deep. The Blackhawks were also fully tracking Kero throughout his senior season. Everything came back positive.

“He had the ability, but he was certainly mature, poised, and then he was trending in his on-ice performance,” Anderson said. “He was trending positively even as he went from the North American junior league and then the next step up is the U.S. junior league and he got better when he went to the U.S. junior league, then next step up is college.

When he went to college, he was a freshman, sophomore, his junior and senior years came along and he got better again. In the playoffs, and we followed him at the end of the year, he got even better. We felt he was really trending. He wasn’t one of these guys who was really good coming in and then leveled off. He kept getting better and getting better as the competition got better. The importance of the games got stronger, his game seemed to improve even more. The bottom line is we felt he was strong emotionally, very, very mature, and we saw he had no problem taking his game to the next level and being comfortable in doing that.”

Not every NHL team was seeing the same thing, though. Kero wasn’t one of those college free agents who was drawing an abundance of suitors. The Blackhawks were ultimately one of six teams that offered Kero an entry-level contract after his senior season.

According to a league source, Kero wasn’t as desirable as some college free agents because he didn’t excel in one specific area. His value was being able to contribute in a variety of ways.

“I think one of the things normally with any type of free agent, there’s one kind of distinguishable characteristic of a player,” the source said. “Maybe it’s speed, maybe it’s size, maybe it’s goal-scoring ability, maybe it’s skating. With Tanner, it was a number of things.”

Those number of things included playing bigger than his size at 6-foot, 185 pounds for a center, playing solid defensively and having some offensive ability. He had 20 goals, 26 assists and was a plus-22 in 41 games his senior season.

The Blackhawks had multiple people at Kero’s final college game and made a point of talking to him afterward. The Blackhawks hosted him for a home game shortly after. Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman and others explained how they felt Kero’s game fit the organization and how he could ascend to the NHL.

It didn’t also hurt Kero got to meet Tony Esposito, a former Michigan Tech star.

“That was pretty special to meet him,” Kero said. “He’s such a big figure through Michigan Tech. It was pretty cool.”

The whole package sold Kero, and he decided to sign with the Blackhawks.

“You kind of see what they need and compare what style game they play,” Kero said. “I think I really liked the style that Chicago plays. I think I could emulate my game around that. You look at what they need and kind of the style they play, some of the little things behind the scenes, weigh the pros and cons and go from there.

There’s a few teams that reached out and I think Chicago is one of the top teams we had that came out and were really great right away. They had me come down for a game and had me meet everyone. They were great kind of filling me in what they do and all the little things they do for the guys in Rockford and everything and just all that behind-the-scenes stuff, just a class act organization and such a good team that it was hard to pass it up.”

Kero beat the odds signing an entry-level deal after going undrafted, but actually playing in the NHL was another hurdle. Kero’s pro clock started ticking as soon as he joined the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL at 22 years old.

The Blackhawks were going to give him time to adjust to pro hockey, but this wasn’t a development period like an 18-year-old prospect. The Blackhawks wanted to gauge quickly whether he could play in the NHL for them.

“He was 22 years old when we signed him,” Anderson said. “Your own players you drafted at 18 a lot of times you’ve given up on them at 22. You got to come in and put your best foot forward. You’re signing him as a pro. You’re not signing him as some kid coming out of junior, some kid coming out of high school and we’ll see if they can play. You’re signing him as a pro with the idea that he’s going to play pro.”

Kero impressed as soon as he got to the IceHogs. He caught some puck luck, scoring five goals in his first six games with the IceHogs in 2015.

But more than that, IceHogs coach Ted Dent recognized Kero could handle himself in all situations. That all-around game Kero built at Michigan Tech transferred over to the AHL.

“With Kers, he had a real good foundation defensively and with his habits when he came to us,” Dent said. “He’s just a responsible player that doesn’t cheat the game defensively at all.”

Kero began the following season, the 2015-16 season, in the AHL, and his first chance with the Blackhawks came in late October. He played 17 games before returning to the IceHogs for the remainder of the season.

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville liked what he saw in Kero in that first stint, and the Blackhawks decided to give him another chance in December when Artem Anisimov suffered an injury. Kero played well enough then that he’s been with the Blackhawks ever since and has even played on the top line as a left winger and centered the second line at times.

The Blackhawks were so pleased with Kero and foresaw him being a future piece to their puzzle that they offered him a two-year extension. He agreed to it in March.

“Well this year, particularly, showed more consistency in his game, predictability defensively, killing penalties,” Quenneville said after Kero agreed to the extension. “He’s reliable in ways and still think there’s room for growth in his game on the offensive side and with the puck. But he’s one of those reliable guys who you can find ways to use him.”

Anderson and the Blackhawks scouting staff spend hours upon hours on evaluating players who never make it to the NHL. Finding the next Kero is what drives them to keep looking.

“Obviously Tanner took an unlikely path to get to the league,” Anderson said. “Not to say people haven’t done it. You’re playing North American League first, USHL and then four years at Tech. Not a lot of free agents spend their entire career in college and make it. The reason for that is simple — the window is so small for overage/free agent players coming out of college, that is most colleges are bringing in 19, 20, 21-year-old freshmen. If a guy stays for four years, he’s 23, 24, 25 when he graduates. That really shrinks their window of opportunity.

In Tanner’s case, he was a little younger, but still to stay four years and graduate and then turn pro at 22 and then within three years be in the league is kind of a remarkable accomplishment for him. When I say unlikely, when you combine the whole thing, where he was playing prior to the college and then the fact he actually stayed four years and graduated and then was able to make the adjustment, players like Tanner, players in that group, guys coming out of college, overage free agents, they don’t have a lot of opportunity, a lot of time to show what they can do. They have to recognize the opportunity when they get it and seize it.”

Kero doesn’t minimize his accomplishment either. It took a lot of work, confidence and perseverance to get to where he is now.

“Everyone has a different out,” Kero said. “You just got to stay positive and keep believing in yourself. It doesn’t matter what other people say to you along the way or what they think. As long as you believe in yourself and work hard every day, you can make it wherever you want to go.”

#tanner kero #chicago blackhawks