Much News

Well, Karen and I finally own our new house. We had the POD delivered yesterday and were able to empty it out with the help of some family and friends. Thanks to all who helped. It sure made the time go by quicker. Luckily the rain held out until today or we might have had to hold off. We aren't living there yet because we still need to unpack everything, but that should be happening soon. I'm really looking forward to settling in. It shouldn't take too long, but I don't want to overextend Karen. She needs to remember to take it easy...

The sports world is getting crazy. Ricky Williams has returned to the Dolphins and is saying all the right things. He apologized, but he still can't really explain why he just took off. That would worry me if I were one of the Dolphins.

Terrell Owens is planning on going to camp, but he's not going to be happy about it. This guy is such bad news. It frustrates me to no end when ball-players hold out when they have signed their name to a contract. So, what we have learne about TO is that he is selffish, arrogant, and his word means absolutely nothing.

Hockey is in the news again, but I can't figure out if ESPN is leaving them far down the list on their site for spite, or because they don't see it as important as the other sports. The schedule should be out today for the NHL. I'm not sure if I will be able to attend any games this year, but it is my goal to try.

Later,
PJ

Hockey FAQ

So, on ESPN's NHL site (my favorite destination for hockey news, there are a lot of good articles about the upcoming season.

Here is a FAQ for the post-lockout fan.
This is the team by team list of how many are signed, etc.. that I posted yesterday.

I'm hoping that there is a player list soon that shows the status of each. If so, I'll post it here.

That's it for now,
PJ

Stuff - Random and Hockey

So, since I've been without my favorite sport for over a year, I think I'm going to indulge in a little extra hockey stuff today, BUT... before I begin, can you believe Kenny Rogers? I mean he's being booked for his run-in with a camera man, and while that is going on, he's actually threatening another one. Was this guy harmed by a camera in his early life or something? It just doesn't make sense. The other thing I don't get is how he is now being painted by many as the victim in all of this. I know that being a sports figure is tough. I know it's frustrating to have just about every little thing you ever do caught on camera, but Kenny is in his 40's. It's not like this is new. And from what I've seen, the cameramen (that's right, don't forget that incident included two cameramen) did nothing to provoke him. I never thought I'd agree with Jim Rome, but he had a comment about those who said how brave it was for Kenny to voluntarily go to the media during the All-Star game. It was something along the likes of Congradulations, you were able to control yourself enough not to punch a camera or cameraman for 5 whole minutes. Let's create a statue in honor of this guy. (Not an actual quote, but as good as I can remember.

Well, now that I've got that off my chest, here is some cool stuff I found out about the next season. A list of dates has been released regarding the next few events in the NHL:
July 21 - Draft Lottery (aka the Sidney Crosby sweepstakes - I still say this "happens" to go to the New York Rangers)
July 22 - Board of Governors expected to ratify the agreement
July 23 - Period for initiating buyouts begins (This lets a team pay a player 2/3 of his remaining contract after the 24% roll-back without counting toward the cap
July 23 - Period to negotiate and sign 2003 draft picks begins
July 23 - Period to negotiate with own club's restricted and unrestricted free agents begins.
July 28 - Deadline to exercise club and player options
July 28 - Deadline to sign 2003 draft picks
July 28 - Deadline to make offers to 2004 draft picks
July 29 - Deadline for initiating buyouts
July 30 - Entry Draft
August 1 - Free-Agent signing period begins.

All in all, this is going to be a very interesting time in the life of the NHL. I can't even imagine the players who will be in new cities once the season starts. Here's a good article about each team and the players they have under contract. It really looks in depth at the situation for each club. I think the main goal for the Stars is to get Mike Modano under contract. Even if that means buying out Turgeon and Guerin. I've heard that they are planning on kepping Guerin because his buy-out would be too expensive. One thing is for sure and that is the Stars are going to look a lot younger next year. The Thrashers on the other hand are in probably the most enviable position out there. They have 12 players signed for next year and only account for 14 million (Did I just say only and million in the same sentence?). A good chunk of that will go toward signing Heatley and Kovalchuk, but that will still leave a lot of room for acquiring that center that has eluded Atlanta to this point. The rest of the NHL has a lot of haves vs have nots and the only thing I can say is that I am glad I do not work for the Rangers (6 players signed responsible for $21.7 million). I really hope the Stars land the draft lottery number 1 spot, but if not, please let it not go to New York.

That's it for now,
PJ

The Locks have been broken!!!

It's almost as if the NHL decided to end the lockout the day before my anniversary so that I could focus tomorow solely on my wife. Thanks guys.. I appreciate that. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, The NHL and NHLPA reached an agreement Today! While it still needs to be ratified by both sides, it's pretty much a certainty that the agreement will be met. So, here's the thing... Rather than speculate on why this wasn't done 6 months or 10 months ago, I'm going to simply concentrate on one thing. We will have the NHL again this next season. I'm very excited because the whole landscape is going to change. Following on the lead of the NBA, the buy-out option will be there for clubs which means that some stars with big contracts and not-as-big results (Jaromir Jagr) will be bought out. I wonder who of the Stars will remain with the club. For those who do not know, my favorite teams are the Stars, Thrashers, Bruins, and anyone playing Detroit or Edmonton. I'm starting to get excited for the game again and I'm awaiting the announcement of the draft to see who will win the chance to draft Sidney Crosby. Not sure who he is? Well, one Wayne Gretzky has pronounced him as the person who will break his scoring records. I'd bet a lot (if I had a lot that is...) that he ends up in New York. (Can you say weighted draft lottery?)

I'm worried a little bit however, that I will not have as many options to watch hockey as I used to. I used to watch almost every night on ESPN, Channel 27, or Fox Sports SouthWest. I may have to get the Center Ice package just to catch all of the Stars games now. So, I'd like to see an answer to that question.

Back to the Buy-out thing, If Dallas does not keep Modano at any cost, they are foolish. I know that he isn't getting younger, but he has the opportunity to finish his career with the franchise that he started it with (albeit not in the same city), and that is rare these days. I hope he stays. Later, I'll be doing a run-down of most likely candidates for the buy-out. And, does anyone else think that Paul Kariya would look great in a Stars Jersey? I mean, he would be the Left Wing that the Stars have wanted for years.

Well, that's it for now, (It's so great to talk hockey again.)
PJ

Some Nice Stuff

So, it's been a weird week and I thought I'd share some good stuff. My daughter has been crawling for a while, but now, she is really moving. It's like herding cats to try and keep her contained in a room. It's really neat to watch her reason out solutions to problems like you know... Daddy's legs being in the way of her path to the TV. She does pretty good and sometimes, it's amazing to see how fast she can get around. We're gonna need a serious gate soon in order to keep her contained. She's almost 1 year old and I can't believe that. It's really neat to watch her learn new skills, etc...

Did you hear about the girl in Little league that threw a perfect game? she became the only girl to ever do that. And now, her jersey is going to be put into the Baseball Hall of Fame. At age 12, Katie Brownell struck out every batter she faced in order to earn the first perfect game for a girl in little league history. Click here for the rest of the story.

The NHL might have a new labor agreement soon, but this has grown into such a farce that they cannot even decide if they are close to having an agreement or not. Every report that they have reached an agreement is followed by one that says they have not reached an agreement. At this point, I think they are close, but it will be interesting to see what happens in the days to come.

Wishing well for friends who are headed off to follow God's call. Eric and Summer, we wish you all the best as you head to Nederland. We will miss you, but you will always stay close to our hearts.

That's it for now,
PJ

What is up with our world?

I'm sorry in advance for this being the most depressing blog I've written to date. Terrorism has hit our world again. The helplessness of watching the footage on TV this morning before I came into work was too familiar. I feel like this happens far too often as people have devalued human life. How horribly ironic that this should happen at the end of the Live 8 concerts that were created to promote helping eliminate poverty. How even more sad that Tony Blair was the one most interested in making poverty in Africa a thing of the past. I hope that this situation resolves itself fast, but I think we've seen how this sort of thing has gone down before. It's so frustrating because if it was a country who was attacking us our our allies, then that country would simply be a parking lot by now. But instead, these terrorists cowardly go into hiding after the "brave" ones carry out their suicide runs against un-armed civilians and children. I pray for peace on Earth, even though God may not grant it in my lifetime. Times like these make us question, but they also serve to strengthen faith. God be with those who have been most directly affected by these horrible actions. God be with all of us in the days to come.

PJ