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Still Going: The Tour Continues

February 22, 2009 By

I haven’t updated here in a few days. If you have been following the west coast tour microblog (think twitter with the features of a blog), then you know what I have been up to for the past few days, namely two Bakersfield Condors games, one Condors Alumni game, and participating in a marathon hockey “tournament” that benefits a breast cancer organization in Bakersfield. I played five games (2 early early Saturday, 3 late Saturday and early Sunday) with a losing record (it’s for charity, so who cares. eh?).

I have a bunch of pictures from the Condors games, as well as the hockey tourney. They will go up in the next few days. If you want the “inside scoop,” or just want to follow along while I am on the road, I’m updating the microblog quite often. You can find it here.

More games, more pictures, more great drives on the way, as well as another famous hockey player sighting.  This trip is getting better and better as it goes along.  Even though I am really sore.

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Driving Post: San Jose to San Luis Obispo

February 19, 2009 By

You come to a hockey blog for hockey, I understand that. I don’t really want to bore you or anything, so I will tell you right now, this is not about hockey. There, you can move on.

I’m on a road trip through the hockey teams of the west coast of America, and that means driving. A lot of driving. I have been taking a day or two off in San Luis Obispo. The direct route takes you near the coast, but one of my lifetime desires has been to drive the Pacific Coast Highway, also known as Highway 1. Why?

Well, here’s one reason:

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That is just epic. Here, these speak for themselves.

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How now, brown cow?
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There are worst places to spend your days as a cow.
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Even though the drive is more treacherous at night, I had to stop for the sunset. How could I not?
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The next post will be about hockey, I promise. But this is what road trips are about.

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Swag Report: San Jose

February 18, 2009 By

I’m doing this one a little out of order, since I have to rush around this morning, and I have a ton of photos to sort through. But this is the puck I bought at the game. It combines my love of the hockey jersey with my mission to get a puck at every game.

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How could I turn that down? Really?

A recap of last night’s game will go up later this evening, and I have a lot of audio as well. Plenty to do, and no complaints.
If you want to catch up on my west coast hockey tour, you can find all the posts by clicking here.

And I have a microblog going, posting what is happening at the time. Think of it as twitter on my own space. Find it here.

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Swag Report: Armenian Heritage Night (aka Kings vs Thrashers)

February 17, 2009 By

Now that I have made it to San Jose, I can post the swag report from the Kings vs Thrashers game.

First off, the puck I wanted to get the first time. I got the last one at the stand. Apparently, they keep selling out. Gee, I wonder why.
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As part of Armenian Heritage Night, they were also handing out Armenian flags. Mind you, somewhat modified ones, but still:

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OK, it’s silly and cheesy, but you know my feelings on the night. So I’m going to hang on to this one.

During warmups, I was down low to interview Connie from Kings World Podcast, and afterwards, I stayed to watch and get a few pics of the star of the night for the Thrashers (hint: I am not talking about Kovalchuk). As I sat there, a puck came over the glass, caught the netting just right, and landed at my feet. All I had to do was reach down and pick it up. And I did.
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That is one piece of swag from an incredible night that I won’t forget for a long time.

If you are just finding this blog, and want to catch up on my west coast hockey tour, you can find all the posts by clicking here. My big post about Armenian Heritage Night, where I got all this swag, can be found here.

And I have a microblog going, posting what is happening at the time. Think of it as twitter on my own space. Find it here.

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Kings vs. Thrashers: Armenian Heritage Night was… Something Else

February 17, 2009 By

I don’t mean to offend you, but some of you are not going to get this post.

A hockey game is a hockey game. There are always people who are ready to remind you that a game is a game, the outcome is not going to have a major impact on the world, that is, unless it is the Miracle on Ice, or you are the guys sitting behind me at the game tonight (I’m sure every game is like that for them). In the game, hits are thrown, shots are taken, injuries happen, and glory is bestowed on one team until the next time it is someone else’s. It’s a hard perspective to keep when we “live and die” by our teams.

A hockey game may not mean much, but the events surrounding that game might. For me, tonight was one of those nights. In fact, it was one of those nights that is hard to put into words.

Tonight, the L.A. Kings held Armenian Heritage Night. This isn’t the only heritage night they held this season, they had nights for Russia and other nationalities (sorry, I can’t remember them off the top of my head). At first, it sounded like a joke, or a cheap promotion. The post-game entertainment was Armenian hip-hop artist R-Mean (seriously), and there would be Armenian beer at the after party. All of this because it was Atlanta Thrashers rookie Zac Bogosian’s first game in L.A., and he is the first Armenian to play in the NHL. It sounds like a cheap gimmick, and it could have been a cheap gimmick.

It wasn’t. In fact, it is going to be hard to top this night on the rest of the tour. Let me show you what I mean.

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That is Zac Bogosian on the left. He doesn’t look like your typical Armenian. For one, he’s tall. Armenian men are not that tall (I am 5’10″, which makes me a giant by comparison).

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Zac had a great post on the Blueland Blog (which I would not have found if not for Kukla’s) about his Armenian family and heritage. Here is an excerpt:

It’s pretty special for the Kings to have Armenian Heritage Night while I’m playing there. My grandparents are Armenian and that part of my background is really important to me, because even though I’m not from there it’s always good to go back to your roots and understand where you came from. Plus it’s special to my family so it’s special to me. I’m pretty proud to be Armenian, and there are a lot of them out in LA, so my grandfather is really excited about it. I think there’s something like 2 million of them in the LA area, which is crazy since there are only about three million people that actually live in Armenia. As far as I know I’m the first Armenian player to play in the NHL, so there’s going to be a lot of them there rooting for me. That’s going to be pretty cool.

…

I don’t know if I really look Armenian. Most of them are 5’9″ with dark hair and dark skin- kind of Persian looking I guess. I might look more Armenian with a buzz cut, but I’m too tall. They’re known for being strong though. There are a couple Armenian guys in the UFC that fit the stereotype better than I do- Kenny Florian is 5-10 and fights at 155 lbs. Karo Parisyan is 5-10 and 170.

I look a little more Armenian than Zac. Just a little. OK, a lot, but not nearly as Armenian as some of the people at the game tonight.

Yeah, about that. The Kings did not mess around with this. At first, I thought I would be the only guy in the place who cared. I couldn’t have been more wrong. There were Armenians everywhere. They would take one look at my Armenian National Team jersey and nod and smile at me in that approving way. There were Armenians everywhere. Even the Armenian consul was there, see?

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Here are a few more (click on the pics to make them bigger).
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How about these guys?
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Or this guy, who was part of the Armenian National Team (the one on the left, of course):

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Yes, members of the Armenian National Team were at the game, and the after party. Talk about doing this thing right.

Fine, you didn’t come for this, I understand, but this is something that was not only important about the night, but also important to me. So here is what I am going to do. Pictures of the game and after party are posted after the jump. You get to choose, but know this. There is a big time picture at the end. You want to see this.
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Swag Report: Ducks/Reign Double (Bobble) Header

February 16, 2009 By

Just a quick update on the swag I get at the games. Super busy day today. Here we go.

The Reign game on the fourteenth was Anti-Valentines Day. Not that you would have known, aside from the Scrubs and Friends breakup scene clips. What everyone cared about was this:
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A bobblehead of the Dark Knight mascot. Complete with head feather.
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Yeah.

I bought one puck from the game, but there was an unexpected surprise in my ticket pack. A voucher for a free USA Hockey puck. Of course I was excited. Then I picked it up:
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Oh well, it was free at least.

I was only going to get one puck from the Ducks, but I decided to get two. I couldn’t pass up the Stanley Cup champs puck.

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There should be plenty of good swag from tonight’s Armenian Heritage Night at the LA Kings. If you are going, it should be easy to find me. I will be wearing the Armenian National Hockey Team jersey in the lower bowl.

Pictures from the game will go up either tonight or later tomorrow. Like I said, a very busy day is in store for me. Podcast recording, blogging, a game, and the afterparty. See you there.

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Ducks vs. Thrashers: Well, All Right, Then

February 16, 2009 By

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Sometimes, things play out as are expected. Sometimes the predictors are all correct, and the tension is let out of the room, and nothing can stop that momentum from carrying things to a final known destination.

Don’t know what I am talking about? Here is a quote from Earl Sleek at his post before today’s game at The Battle of California:

You might think that I’m confident about the Ducks’ chances tonight against the 14th-ranked Thrashers, but don’t forget: the Ducks have lost their last three games against teams ranked 14th or worse. Anytime they feel like bucking that trend, I’m ready to support that.

They did not buck that trend tonight, losing to the Thrashers 8-4. Before the game, I was lamenting not going with the ticket upgrade for better seats (my seats were cheaper than Doug Stanhope’s dates, ZING!). But after what we witnessed, the pain of the game would have only been closer to see.

And even though the genius of Mr. Sleek has already been on display here, it wasn’t over. As the game sat with sixteen shots for the Ducks, Earl said that the seventeenth shot would be “glorious.” And the Ducks scored on that shot. And then, cool as ice, Sleek said the nineteenth shot would be excellent. And the Ducks scored on that one. Everyone who heard his predictions looked at him with our mouths open. All of us looked like Tyler Arnason only we could probably win faceoffs. Sleek called the shots. I was planning to phone him with his predictions before the Kentucky Derby, but his next one didn’t hit. Still, two out of three is good enough for the ponies, and was good enough for me.

Let me say this about Mr. Earl Sleek. He was great. It’s always strange when you meet someone for the first time that you only know from their blog. You wonder if you will have anything else to talk about other than hockey. You wonder if they are going to be closet cases, head jobs, or just plain droll. Earl was one of a handful of bloggers I talked to a lot when I started Jerseys and Hockey Love. He was a lot of fun online, and always good for some chat. Then the season started, and we all had to follow our own teams, and like the old gang at the soda shop, we went our separate ways. It was good to finally meet the man who leads the best “battle blog” out there, and I’m glad that Mirtle was smart enough to pick him and his crew up. I was not disappointed.

Enough of that, on with the show.

I hadn’t been to the Honda Center since it was Arrowhead Pond and the Ducks were Mighty. Not much has changed, except the entire color scheme.

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This guy was freaking me out.
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He did repel from the rafters (grid) but didn’t have a very smooth landing. Who am I to criticize? He had to land on hockey skates. That can’t be easy.

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No, the scoreboard is not on fire.
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Fuzzy GM will… do something EVIL!!!! Yeah!!!
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He looks a little too relaxed for what is about to happen.

Now this is Ducks hockey.
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More after the break.

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Reign vs Wranglers: Yeah, OK

February 15, 2009 By

The Citizens Business Bank Arena is nice. That’s really all I can say about it. There isn’t any character, there isn’t anything really special about it. The seats are fine, the site lines are fine (except for where my first seat was), the food is OK, and the beer is your normal selection (but they did have Stella, so that was nice). If this all seems a little saccharine, it’s mostly because I am used to barns with something identifying about them. The green ceiling (grid) in Corpus Christi, the old time feel in Kalamazoo, MI, or the wood seats above the rink in Port Huron, MI. One of my favorites is in Glens Falls, NY, and even Elmira has some character to it. The thing with this arena is that it’s nice enough. I have nothing bad to say about it, but I don’t have anything interesting to say about it.

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Warmups:
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Folks, I’m here to tell you. The national anthem is not your American Idol moment. If you add more than one extra syllable in a line of the song, much less a word, go home. We don’t need you to do this. Don’t stick your arm out like a country star putting their all into it. Just sing the song. Yes, I’m talking to you.
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Fight night!

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Three fights with not much action in between. In fact,the first fight was two seconds into the game.

Think this guy is a fan or a mascot?

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Actually, they gave away bobbleheads of this guy. They should have given us bobbleheads of this guy.
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I mean the guy in the middle, not the guy on the left.

Over all, the game was a little bit dull. The Las Vegas penalty kill was really good, aggressive and coordinated, which you don’t find in the low minors that often. Number 21 for the Wranglers was a hitting machine. He would float to the middle of the zone, read a play, make a hit, float back to the middle, and do it all over again. All he did was hit.

The Reign won the game 2-1 in overtime. At first, I had questioned how wise it was to move a team here. But when you think about it, being a Kings affiliate, they have a solid built in audience, and one that isn’t going to pay through the nose for a game at the Staples Center. Like I have for another game on Monday.

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Paramount Iceland and the First Zamboni

February 14, 2009 By

The Zamboni is such an icon, that it’s brand has transcended any other ice resurfacing machine like it. There are Olymipa’s and the new Finnish Icecat, but like the Kleenex and the Q-Tip, the brand has taken over the item. Nothing is called an ice resurfacer. It’s called a Zamboni. When the word is used, only one thing comes to mind, the big box on wheels driven in slow circles around the ice. Children are mesmerized, and adults dream of throwing it all away for the peace and quiet life of a Zamboni driver. I hated mowing the lawn on our riding lawn mower, but get me near a Zamboni, and I think, “yeah, I could do that.”

The first Zamboni (which has been restored to it’s original glory) sits in the Zamboni family owned rink at Paramount Iceland (where part of an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was filmed, don’tcha know). This was the rink where Frank Zamboni revolutionized the ice freezing process (which you can read about here, since I am not going to get into it. Needless to say, it was so obvious, it was genius).

Enjoy the pictures.
It was a little rainy, so the outside doesn’t glisten and shine like I’m sure it normally does. I’m sure rays of sunshine beam down from the heavens and point the way to this holy of hockey shrines. Sure, why not?

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This is the rink from the front entrance.

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And from the back of the building. The roof is free of leaks, something that plagues many of the rinks with this sort of construction I have been in.

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The rink itself isn’t super impressive. It has some issues along the boards that need attention, those things that are called “character” but not in a good, old fashioned, quirky way that make you love an old rink. The boards and glass are separating in a few places allowing pucks to get stuck in between, and the boards at the benches are torqued and bent out towards the ice.

Click the pictures for more detail.
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If you look at that first rink picture, you can see something orange floating above the ice. That would be the Wurlitzer organ. It’s played every Tuesday for public skate, by a man who has been playing for years (he’s in his 80s).
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But you didn’t come to see organs and rinks (that is another thing entirely). You came for a piece of hockey history.
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I am warning you, this may be a little shocking. Ready?
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Wow. The thing is huge. You can see the seat on the back of the machine, which is a normal tractor seat. Here is some of the detail underneath.

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There are actually two Zambonis on display at the Iceland. This Model A Zamboni, and a Model E.
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There are a lot more photos, with details of the Model E, which also reveals on of the “secrets” of this machine (but you can probably figure it out if you look). Click on to see more.

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WCHT: LA Kings Swag Update

February 13, 2009 By

I took a similar road trip a few years back through the old UHL (back in it’s glory days of 14 teams, before becoming the unimpressive 6 team IHL of today), and I wound up with a lot of neat stuff along the way. I always bought a puck at every game, but this being the minors, there was often something extra. A caught t-shirt, a magnet schedule, some signed item, or something unique. Part of the fun of going to all these places is having something to take home with you.

This is what I got last night.

First off, let me say that overcharging for a puck should be a federal crime. I understand that beer prices are going to be high when consumed indoors out of a plastic cup, and you will shell out more for food than at your local Denny’s, but pucks aren’t that expensive to make. I remember complaining about paying seven dollars for a Roanoke Valley Vipers puck, only to be told that it was the inaugural year, and that’s why it was more than the average (around $5 on that road trip). Know where the Vipers went after that season? The slush pile, never to be seen again.

L.A. Kings, $10 for a puck is criminal.

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Ohhhh, official. Who cares? Actually, I wanted one with the new 3rd jersey logo, but it wasn’t to be found.

Mind you, something a little different, now that will get my attention, and make me complain a little less. Such as…

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That’s right, game used net, with what I assume is a puck mark. Mind you, there were a ton of these still there, but I got it because it was interesting, not to sell on ebay.

A little reading material as well. I don’t expect this to be deep or anything, but I haven’t read a hockey book in a little while.

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This final piece came gratis. I got to the counter to check out, and that was when I saw the sign. If you bought more than $25 dollars of stuff, you got this:
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Yeah. After last night’s game, I think fans wanted to use it like this:

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BOOM!!!!

And I just want to say this about last night’s game. I felt like I was in some sort of bizarro hockey land, where Mike Cammalleri was booed, but Todd Bertuzzi was not. I can’t figure people out sometimes.

If you want the quick updates, I started a microblog for the trip. You can see it here, as well as subscribe to it’s feed. There should be a lot of content there along the way.

And all the West Coast Hockey Tour posts can be found by clicking here.

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