Extended Vacation

Welp. Not much to say about this. I tried to ignore the fact that it could happen …. and that didn’t work.

However, the boys were nice enough to put together a little message for all the fans.

Lets just hope the season still starts on time.

*L

Anything Crosby Makes for a Good Day

Welp, we’re a day late posting…I know. But I saw this and went all “daaaaaammmnnnnnnn…” and then got distracted. I blame all the pain killers I’ve taken in the past two weeks. (getting your tonsils out sucks!)

nuuuughhhh….

Mr. 87 turned 25 yesterday. Our favorite Captain is growing up so nicely. Dont you think?

those eyes could burn a whole right through anyone…

Anyway, we’re about 65 days (ish) away from hockey season. The mornings are starting to cool down here in Boston. Enough to the point where I dont want to get out of the shower in the morning. That means two things: 1– it’s almost my birthday. And 2– it’s almost Fall.

Fall also means two things: 1. football. And 2– HOCKEY, BABY! Hell to the yeah.

So ladies, here’s some eye candy for you to enjoy.

xoxo

*L

Why is this so funny to me?

I can’t for the life of me figure out why I find this so funny.

I blame the sun. Today, I fell asleep on a float in the pool today and am now a lobster. Delirious.

But maybe you can share my amusement…

Sick moves, boys…

Now if only Tanger and his hair were involved in this gem. Life would be complete.

Happy Sunday…

*L

PS — I’m going to go bathe in aloe now…

Office Party!

That’s right. We’re throwing an office party.

IT’S S’ BIRTHDAY TOMORROW! HAPPY BIRTHDAY S!!!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 

Of course since everyone in the “office” is in a different part of the country — we’ll just have to make it work somehow. Skype, Phone calls, texts, etc.

I sent S a card on Sunday with SPECIFIC birthday instructions since I’m not in town to celebrate with her. I told her I’d be disappointed if she didn’t follow through. I mean, who wants to sit at home in their apartment by themselves on their birthday? I’d much rather sit at a bar by myself on my birthday. I have to admit, I smiled evily (is that a word?) while writing it. It went a little something like this:

1. Get home from work.

2. Throw on sweats.

3. Walk to Bleachers (a restaurant/bar down the street from her apartment)

4. Order Onion Rings & some form of an adult beverage. (Preferably that drink you had on our pub crawl that got you wasted — I forget what it’s called. I, too, was intoxicated)

5. Watch some sort of sporting event (i.e.- baseball, soccer, tennis, WHATEVER.)

Now, I do realize that her birthday sounds a little lonesome. Much like this:

Peanut Butter & Jelly for one?

But I was hoping it’d transform into something beautiful. Like this:

Pong anyone?

And then this:

Champagne shower!

And maybe this:

The idea is to walk into work hungover the next morning.

S is probably reading this and cursing under her breath. I told her my birthday instructions were harmless …. which they are. But she had no idea what evil thoughts were going through my mind while writing them down.

So. S. If I find out you’re sitting at home in your apartment tomorrow, I will jump on the next plane out to the Windy City. And if that happens — YOU KNOW your birthday party will not end with onion rings & an adult beverage. You’re better off just listening to what I said. :)

Send all your birthday wishes this wayyyy! She deserves them!

Love,

*L

xoxox

Dear Sidney

Must you do this to us? I mean, it’s hardly fair.

You got us all literally panting over here at the Hockey’s Finest Office.

________flatline__________

Please wear that shirt more often. And unbutton one more button. Or two. Or three. Oh hell…unbutton them all.

Love,

Us. 

xoxox

PS — for those who need more context to this photo, Crosby was at Game 3 last night with Matt Duchene. So if you wanna know where he is right now– it’s LA. Happy hunting, ladies.

 

Here We Go Again

I honestly never thought I’d see this many suspensions handed out during the playoffs.  Yes, there’s something to be said for the fervor and passionate playing that gets kicked up a notch at this time of year, but this is completely out of control.  I don’t even know where to start, but let’s go with the most covered of them all:  everybody and their brother on the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers.

I know this might not be a very popular opinion with everyone, but hear me out.  As a hockey fan that does not like the Flyers in the least bit, I’m honestly so disappointed in the Penguins for their behavior during that game.  You know what Philly is going to bring to the game:  grit and aggression.  They’re known around the league as a team and organization that likes to push its opponents’ buttons.  With that said, Pittsburgh gave an uncharacteristic and inappropriate reaction to them.  I mean really?  You’ve got Sidney Crosby picking fights with Claude Giroux now?  Kris Letang and Kimmo Timonen both got tossed out of the game before it really started.  It seems like Pittsburgh wanted to let their fists do the talking instead of their skill, which only hurt them in the end.  Philly instigated maybe one or two of those fights.  They sat back, chirped, and let the Penguins come to them and take the fall.  Now you’ve got Asham out for 4 games, Neal is suspended for 1 which, to be honest, could be the last game of the Penguins’ season if they don’t clean up their act.  It’s just disgraceful.  And again, I know this might not be the most popular of opinions, but that’s what it is.  Take it or leave it.

New York Rangers vs. Ottawa Senators

Matt Carkner got into it with Brian Boyle in Game 2 in New York to start his team out with a little more energy.  However, I don’t think this was the right way to do it.  It’s a completely one-sided fight.  Carkner takes down Boyle, who doesn’t respond, and throws these sucker punches at the bottom of an 8 player pile-up.  I understand fighting and its place in hockey, but I thought there was more of a mutual respect between players in terms of fighting.  If Boyle doesn’t respond, you let him go.  You don’t take him down to the ice and start punching him around.  I didn’t think there should be a suspension here, I just thought it was uncalled for and inappropriate.

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Phoenix Coyotes

So I have two bones to pick with my team:  one in favor, one against.  This hit by Andrew Shaw on Mike Smith wasn’t, in my opinion, dirty in any way.  However, I completely see how this hit requires review by the league and, ultimately, a suspension.  If this had happened to Corey Crawford, I’d expect a suspension too, strictly because goaltenders are like the quarterbacks of hockey:  you can’t touch them.  And no matter how much I like Andrew Shaw and think he isn’t a dirty player, if anyone else did this I’d expect to see the same punishment for them, too.

Now, on a more serious note, I was absolutely furious last night when I saw the hit that Rafi Torres laid on Marian Hossa.

If he doesn’t get at least 4 games for this hit, Brendan Shanahan needs to have his head examined, because this was dirty in every sense of the word.  Torres left his feet, targeted the head, and is a repeat offender.  Hossa was carted off on a freaking stretcher, and there was NO PENALTY CALLED ON THE PLAY!  I couldn’t believe it when I saw it.  Torres did this last year too, with Vancouver, on Brent Seabrook.  This feels like last season when Aaron Rome laid that hit on Nathan Horton.  But, in case you forgot, here’s a video:

There is no way the refs can play ignorance on this.  Skip to 2:48.  The ref, who is standing right in front of the hit, lurched back as a reaction, then did NOTHING.  Absolutely disgraceful.  I’d like to think that players were past this, but it seems that Torres missed that memo.  I would love to see what the league does with this, because I think they need to treat as they did Matt Cooke.  He was a repeat offender, and after being suspended repeatedly, he switched up his game.  Torres needs to do the same.

What do you guys think of the scrappy nature of this first round of the playoffs?  Let us know in the comments!

-M

Umm. Yeah.

I have nothing to say. My jaw is on the ground.

Just watch and see for yourself.

*L

Sweet Cherry Pie

Last night at the Gahhhhden:

Pens + Bruins = death of L

Thanks to my AMAZINGLY AWESOME cousin, we had 2 tickets to the game. 5th row (maybe 6th row). And I got to witness my boys win 5-3. I’m now 2-0 when it comes to going to Pens games…..not that I’m saying I’m their good luck charm or anything….. ;)

Few things to recap

1. Tanger and Flower flirted with each other the entire night. Laughing like little girls and whispering things in each others ears while sitting on the bench. I’d like to think they were talking about me…but I’d be lying. It was probably along the lines of “Wanna braid each other’s hair later and watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s?!”

2. Sidney Crosby scored a goal (make that 2).

duuuuuhhh. when does that NOT happen?!

And instantly I get a text from S talking about how I’m no longer  a Crosby Goal Virgin …. nice S, real nice. (She’s so right though– I had never seen Crosby score in person. It was as glorious as I imagined it would be. Suck it, Crosby haters.)

3. James Neal + Andrew Ference = FIGHTTTTTT!

Once again, S sent me a text. “Did you just get pregnant? Because I think I did…” I basically had front row seats to one of the BEST things I’ve ever seen at ANY hockey game. James Neal. Fighting. Right in front of me. *swoon* And if I wasn’t busy drooling, I would have grabbed video. But I was trying to restrain myself from jumping over the glass and bashing Ference’s face in for picking on my boy.

The Real Deal.

The entire game James just got under every B’s players’ skin. You know how he’s the ” little brother we all love” to the Pens? Well, he’s the “little pain in the a$$ that we all hate” to the Bruins.

4. Joe Vitale took a puck to the face. And to make matters worse — it came from Zdeno Chara…which ends well for NO ONE. But, like the amazing man he is, Big Z was the first to the scene of the accident making sure Joey was alright.

5. Johnny Boychuk had a knee on knee collison with Arron Asham and went down faster than a sinking ship. He had to be carried off the ice by his players. Poor guy. But it leaves me with this question: “Does Asham have a knee made of steel?”

ouch.

Good luck, Johnny. Hope it’s nothing too serious. To make Bruins fans feel better — I hear he walked out of the arena without crutches last night. One can hope that’s a good sign.

Anyway, few other small things. I feel the need to defend the 2 people I heard getting bashed the most last night (besides Crosby).

6. Jordan Staal is hated in Boston. Or maybe it was just my section of people. Thankfully, S wasn’t around. If she was, the bail money she set aside for me would have been used on her instead. An old woman behind me said “Someone just needs to end him for the night.” UMM — HOW RUDE!

7. Also, no one likes Kris Letang either. Look, just because he’s an AWESOME actor and can fake an injury to get a penalty called — doesn’t mean he’s the worst player in the league. That only just means the Ref’s are suckers.

Welp, that’s my 2 minute break down of the madness that occurred last night. I can’t wait till next October until S & I are reunited in the ‘Burgh for a couple games.

*L

#CrosbyWatch2

Today.

This.

Happened.

Can you believe it!? We’re back on the CrosbyWatch train.

Again?

Annnnnnnnnnnnd cue Hockey’s Finest Office dance party. I’ll bring the chips & dip.

So much for a productive day at work. Geez. One thing happens & all of a sudden my focus is completely gone. But for good reason!

This news has EVERYONE excited.

Stop it, Staalsy! I'm ticklish there!

Hugs and kisses for everyone today.

As for the rumor that he could come back as early as Sunday– I pray not. Sunday, the Bruins play the Pens. And if you all remember what happened last time they played each other……..

Yeah. I’d just rather him stay off the ice for that game.

BUT!

Congrats Sid! Glad you’re making progress. We’ve missed your beautiful face.

Smile puuuurty for the camera.

And in other news:

"feeling better"

That’s a good sign, right?! I keep having to remind myself to breathe in & out. I’m waiting to hear the diagnosis. If it says “concussion” … I’ll go into depression. Someone needs to wrap all these boys in bubble wrap. I’m not playin’ around. Line ‘em up. BUBBLE WRAP FOR EVERYONE.

But, Kris has some help on his side:

TEAMWORK!

Good lookin’ out, Sid! Someone’s gotta take care of my man while I’m away.

*L

PS – S & I have cleared our calendars for Nealer’s appearance on NHL36 tomorrow. I pray they show us something we don’t already know. But even if they don’t…it’ll still be the best half hour of television. EVER.

 

Baby come back.

Seriously, I can’t take it anymore. Not only did I have to leave the Sunshine State (and S) to come back to this frozen wasteland…but there is still NOTHING new on the Pens injury situation. I know I’m a little late in posting this…but now that I finally am back to having NO life besides hockey & work I figured I could vent.

No Crosby. No Letang.

A team without Crosby or Letang is like forever without Sun. It just isn’t right. Sometimes I’m  not even excited to watch a game anymore. GASP! A serious depression is beginning to set in and there’s only 1 cure.

This face.

sexi boi

And this face.

those damn squats--gets me everytime.

And these faces better show up soon. Preferably BEFORE the All Star Weekend–which is only 26 days away. L does not like. I will pack my bags….AGAIN (and S knows how much I hate packing) to go nurse these boys back to health myself. Chicken Soup cures all…right?

*cries in a corner*