9.23.2009

For His Purpose Holds To Sail Beyond The Sunset: Farewell, Olie

The long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends.
'T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,--
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
--Tennyson, from Ulysses
At least as a player, he's gone forever.
Everything we now have to say is redundant.
A little over a year ago, I wrote the
following:

Through thick and thin, fire and flame -- through rebuilding, the lockout, uniform changes,
rule changes, piss and vinegar grinders,
primadonna superstars,
bottom of the table finishes, the Cup Finals
, a Vezina, knee surgery, Abe Pollin, a King Clancy,
Bruce Cassidy, Bruce Boudreau,
the Olympics, charities, All-Star games, crease-clearings, brawls,
Chris Simon, Donald Brashear, rifts, bonds,
Bryan Muir as a first pairing defenseman,
Maxime
Ouellet as the next big thing, Peter Bondra as a draft steal, Adam Oates as a
first-line Centre, bitter rivalries, laughable expansion teams, the
Patrick Division, the Southeast Division, the shootout, triple
overtime, heartbreak, triumph, disappointment, and 301 wins . . . Olie
gave it everything in every match.





In the words of SkateFreeOrDie:
Kolzig, who played with
Langway, who played with
Maruk, who played with
Labre. . .

The torch is now passed to
Ovechkin.


9.21.2009

Pre-Season Sloppy Joe -- 9/21 Game Pics

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Pre-Season Home Opener 9/21 -- Pic of the Night

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Shot warmups on manual. Eat it, haters.
Post no. 400, by the way.

If I Were a Carpenter, Caps Edition: A Quick Break from Aesthetic Excellence

Hey, I’ve never claimed humility.

On the eve of the Caps preseason home opener, I present something truly unoriginal: A list that matches each skater to the song in my iTunes libarary that best encapsulates his on ice play. Those who disagree are unenlightened fops.

Ovechkin: Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Op 8/2, RV 315, “Summer” -- mvt 3
The tempo, the drama, the sense of desperation – this is a piece that has it all. Roberto Michelucci is a God.

Backstrom: The White Stripes – Black Math.
I’ve said before that the transition to the bridge reminds me of Backs’ ability to slow the tempo at his leisure.

Boudreau: Toto – Hold The Line
NHL employment isn’t always on time, either.

Green: Joe Jackson – I’m The Man
Questions?

Laich: Big Pun – You Came Up
While he wasn’t an unknown before, the fact that he sacrifices in front of the net like Kono has made him a fan favorite.

Bradley: Pixies – Rock Music
Gritty, nasty, searing riffs with a smack addled Frank Black’s vocal contributions. It’s beautiful.

Clark: The Clash – Janie Jones
Give me classic.

Erskine: Rage Against the Machine – Killing In The Name
The lyrics aren’t entirely off, either.

Knuble: Bush – Machine Head
Consistency over flash.

Semin: The Lemonheads – Rest Assured
“If I could, you know I’d try to/ Rest assured, I’ve half a mind to…” Sound familiar?

Flash: Neil Young – Old Man
For those who want to compare Flash to Bondra… The “Neil Young” argument’s for you. Jesus.

Varly: Run-D.M.C – My Adidas
Going with Tricky seems unoriginal. Gotta love his style.

Theo: Lou Reed – Such A Perfect Day
His play can be wholly depressing.

Fehr: Smashing Pumpkins – Tonight, Tonight
SP were never able to replicate the magic of Gish and Siamese Dream. For all the potential Fehr supposedly has, he’s a long way from being a top six power-forward.

Gordon: Elliott Smith – Angeles
Quiet, effective – he complements the team as the tracks on Either/Or complement each other.

Nylander: Joni Mitchell -- The Circle Game
Did anyone not see that coming?

Schultz: Billy Joel – It’s Still Rock and Roll
Is he an elite talent? No. Is he a flatfooted bitch? No.

Alzner: The Clash – Rudie Can’t Fail
Slow and steady.

I'll have game pics later tonight.

9.20.2009

One More Radar Lover Gone: Caps Cut Jasinsky

It's proof that the "power of positive thinking" is horseshit, anyway. I was rooting for you, buddy.

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9.16.2009

Training Camp -- 9/16: The Outtakes

Shooting Hockey w/ a wide angle lens is slightly more forgivable than shooting heroin w/ a dirty needle:
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Other stuff:
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Training Camp -- 9/16: Pic of the Day

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Rock The Magenta: Wednesdays w/ Nylander -- 9/16

"Rock the Fuchsia" sounds a little disingenuous.

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Green: Consecutive Exposures -- 9/16

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9.14.2009

Training Camp -- 9/14

Best of the lot:
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Others:

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When it rains, it pours: Every once in a while, life gives you a near perfect day. So, so good.

9.13.2009

Training Camp Pics -- 9/13

Camp Pics:
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9.12.2009

Best of Rookie Camp

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9.09.2009

Rookie Camp Pics -- 9/09

Best of the Lot:
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Others:

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Note: Screw Finley. Screw Varly. Screw Carlson.
Jasinsky is the goddamn man, and my new favorite prospect. When someone on the inside requests my pics... Good, good times. Loving the game-used twig, btw.

We at TTT are rooting for you.

9.08.2009

Rookie Camp Pic of the Day -- 9/08

Best of the Lot:
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Informal Veteran Practice -- 9/07:

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9.07.2009

Rookie Camp Pics -- 9/07

Best of the lot:
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Runners-up:
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Others:
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9.04.2009

Round 2: The Outakes

I was scrolling through my photobucket account yesterday (yes, I am that much of an egocentric asshole) and saw that either as a result of depression or apathy, I'd neglected to post some of my not exactly stellar shots from the Pens series.

Let's get busy. (Oooh, see what I did there?)

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