Friday, December 22, 2006

the wee hours

Ack, I’ve Fallen Behind On NaBloCoMo

I’ve fallen behind on NaBloCoMo, but I’m going to catch up in the next couple of days.  I guess it’s cheating a little because I’m not doing it every day, but December is a tough month for that.  November was much easier for daily tasks.  I was really great about it for two weeks, but I’ll catch up this weekend.  I have a couple of last minute holidayish things to do, then Xmas Eve at my parents (we had a Hanukkah buffet night out on Wednesday w/ the folks), Xmas Day with just us and our Diestel turkey & football, and possibly Boxing Day at our former neighbors’ new house across town.  Tomorrow, we might check out the new buffet at the Santa Fe and maybe they’ll have some noodle kugel for Hanukkah.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

late at night

Idiots of the Day - Mario Lemiuex & the NHL

Canadian billionaire, Jim Balsillie of BlackBerry, backed out of wanting to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins.  At first you might fault him for backing out at the last minute, until you read about what the NHL tried to pull.  He put up his offer for the Penguins in October, and the NHL basically told him that the deal would be rubberstamped.  Like, “Oh, no problem, Jim, we’ll get you that NHL team to do with as you please, asap.” However, on December 8th, the NHL came up with 24 last minute conditions on buying the team.  And lovely Mario wouldn’t give Jim a 30-day extension to examine these conditions.  You know, I’m no billionaire businessperson, but I wouldn’t even have to consult a lawyer before *I* backed out of the deal.  What a crock.  “According to sources close to the negotiations, Mr. Balsillie balked at a “side deal” that would have required him to agree, among other things, to allow the NHL to take over the hockey team if it was unhappy with arena negotiations, or if it became disenchanted with his ownership. The league also wanted to restrict the new owner from contemplating a move out of Pittsburgh under any circumstances until 2013 at the earliest.” If the NHL became “disenchanted” with his ownership?  What does that even mean?  Basically, it sounds like the NHL wants the right to take the team from him for any half-baked reason they pull outta their butts. 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, “However, Mr. Lemieux said on Monday that the Penguins’ current owners were “shocked and offended that Mr. Balsillie would back out of such an important deal at the last minute.”’ So, you give a guy some crappy conditions at the last minute and HE’S the bad guy for not just accepting them?  Yeah, whatever, Mario.  What a jerk.  And to add more jerkiness to Super Mario’s dumb statement, he adds this prize - For one, Mr. Lemieux has not spoken with Mr. Balsillie since the deal fell apart on Dec. 15. And yesterday, he said his ownership partners intend to keep Mr. Balsillie’s down payment—estimated at US$10-million and held in escrow—because “we believe him to be in breach of our agreement.” Hello, you offered him a crappy deal and instead of telling you to stuff it, he asked for a 30-day extension.  It sounds like he was being pretty darned generous.  If I’m on that jury, I’m telling you to give him his $10-million back AND I’m making you pay him a couple mil for your stupidity.  If you read the article that I linked to in the first paragraph, you’ll see how crappy Mario Lemieux and the NHL are treating Jim Balsillie.  Frankly, not only does it ruin this deal for them, but who would want to buy the team now?  Hey, want to buy this team?  We’ll let you hang for months, and then when it’s almost time for the deal to be done, we’ll throw in some super crappy conditions that no one in their right mind would agree to, and we’ll also keep your down payment.  Sound good? 

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

terribly early in the morning

Las Vegas Wranglers Midnight Snoozefest

The game was terrible.  The Wranglers were terrible.  They lost 5-1, and they played like really big ten year olds.  Blech.  The entertainment was a Billy Idol impersonator who was A-W-F-U-L.  He was so bad that people tried to boo him out of the arena.  Las Vegas is full of celebrity impersonators, so I find it hard to believe they couldn’t get anyone decent.  Ptooey.  I’ll show you a couple of pictures from the best part of the game.  The last ten minutes.

Not only was the Wranglers game terrible, but I got CREAMED in my fantasy football playoff game this week.  I believe it was something like 115-42.  Just brutal.  So, I’ll be playing Helly later this week for third place.  We’ll be playing for our pride and a wee little virtual third place trophy.  It’s a far cry from last year, where I won both leagues that I was in.  Oh, the glory of my past - we’ve heard that tune before.

Monday, December 18, 2006

the wee hours

A Very Merry Hockey Hanukkahmas

Leigh-Ann and I are going to our annual midnight Las Vegas Wranglers game tonight (11:59p) - it’s our only holiday gift to each other, since finances dictate that we explore only the giving to others this holiday season.  And even then, I think everyone might be surprised at the odd creativity that was necessary to get this year done.  Enough about that, here’s a story that was in the Canadian newspapers about our midnight hockey tradition:

Las Vegas prepares for annual midnight game

JEFF BRENNAN

Canadian Press

Leave it to a city that never rests to start a hockey game at midnight.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL will hit the ice for a home game at 11:59 p.m. (all times PST). This time they’ll play host to the Bakersfield Condors on Monday.

The organization came up with the idea as a way to reward a segment of its fan base that can’t always make it out for home games at the regular start time of 7 p.m.

According to some estimates, a third of Las Vegas workers are employed by the gambling industry. Since many casinos are open all night, some hockey fans who want to attend Wranglers games often miss the 7 p.m. starts at Orleans Arena.

“Some [casino] workers don’t have anything to do at midnight so they’re there at the game,” Wranglers president Billy Johnson said from Las Vegas.

While Johnson is into his second season as president, he’s become well acquainted with a holiday tradition that began in 2003.

The game is held on the Monday before Christmas.

“It was done to coincide with Christmas, so our goal was to get out as many different people as possible,” Johnson said.

The late December start is ideal as young fans are on their holiday breaks from school.

Johnson feels the game gives kids an opportunity to enjoy watching hockey at a time when they would usually be in bed.

“We’ve had the weirdest combinations. Grandparents, parents and kids. People in pyjamas,” Johnson said.

Marketing the game hasn’t required much effort, Johnson added. Since its inception, word of mouth from fans who have attended the game has helped get the news out. Yet the team still uses traditional methods.

“We’ll hit the airwaves with TV spots between 12 [a.m.] and 4 a.m.,” Johnson said.

ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna likes what the Wranglers are doing.

“Las Vegas is a unique sports market and the game has been quite successful,” he said from the league office in Princeton, N.J.

Since the ECHL has many teams in non-traditional hockey markets, unorthodox promotions such as the Las Vegas midnight game are more common.

“Some of it’s a little off the wall. But the last few years these things have worked for us,” McKenna said, citing an event like the teddy bear toss that more than a few teams have employed.

Johnson said the Wranglers have also toyed with the idea of starting some future home games at 10 p.m. to further capitalize on the casino worker demographic.

The players themselves don’t mind throwing their routines out of whack every once in a while.

Wranglers defenceman and captain Mike McBain is a veteran of the midnight games, having played in the first three.

What’s different about playing at that hour?

“It’s more of the unknown of getting out of your routine. Everything gets pushed back five hours,” McBain said from Las Vegas.

The pregame skate takes place at around 3 p.m., while the pregame meal is eaten between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

After that the 29-year-old from Kimberley, B.C., plans to take a quick nap at around 7 p.m. and arrive at Orleans Arena for 10 p.m.

“[The game] is good for the casino workers who are fans who don’t have normal shifts,” McBain said. “We like doing it for them.”

The Wranglers, the ECHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames, have a 2-1 record in the previous three midnight games. They beat the same Bakersfield team in overtime in the inaugural edition, lost in a shootout to the Fresno Falcons in 2004 and last season defeated the Long Beach Ice Dogs, also in a shootout.

the wee hours

Sometimes It Seems Like You’ve Been Friends Forever

T.J. adores Tie, even when Tie has a red & goopy eye.