Laughs 2 Loud Celebrates It’s First Anniversary!

Thanks guys!

It’s hard to believe but I started this little adventure a year ago on July 1, 2008.  My life literally has not been the same since.  Things have been so busy around here that I almost completely missed this auspicious occasion!  When I started this I thought it would be a little this and a little that.  Little did I know that my obsession with the Stars would quite literally take over here.  But I’m quite happy with it that way. 

When I started this blog, I was a full time stay-at-home mom and had been for going on eleven years.  I thought I would have lots of time to research and write stories about all of the Stars players.  But as it turns out, I went back to work not quite 2 months later.  So much for research.  But I did have time to write a solid entry on Brad Richards.  I think I chose well.  That post has by far been the most popular post of all time for L2L’s 123 posts.  He has received 813 views and now nearly a full year since I posted it, it still gets hits almost everyday.  The dude is really popular.  He is by far the most searched for person as well.  “Brad Richards girlfriend” is the number one search term used to find my blog with 191 hits.  The all-time list of search terms for hits on my blog includes 30+ variations of “Brad Richards”.  Like I said the dude is popular.  I think he must have had a few stalkers along the way.  Poor guy.  (For all you people wanting to know where his house is, you will never hear me discuss anything like that, so don’t bother looking here.  )  Anyway, I’m glad it’s been so popular.  I really enjoyed doing the research and am thankful that for once, it’s the good guy getting all the attention.  Unfortunately, another player, who-shall-not-be-named and is thankfully no longer a Star, got the second most hits.  Bleh.  My favorite search term is still “Fisty blondes on their first time”.  I still think I need to thank Mark Fistric for having the nickname responsible for that little jewel. 

Besides search engine terms and number of hits, the other thing I enjoy tracking is where the hits come from.  I’ve had hits from Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Russia.  I keep wondering what they were looking for.  I have regulars from England, Denmark, France (hi Grrreg!) and Norway(hi Ingrid!).  There are Stars fans who drop in regularly from all over the US (hi Kena and Sarah!).  I have a couple of visitors who come by regularly but I don’t think have ever left a comment and I really wish you would some time!  One is from Rowlett, Texas and the other sounds soooo exotic, Kapolei, Hawaii.  Please don’t be afraid to stop in to comment or chat, you guys!  I only am mean to nasty commenters, never nice ones.    (Oh and don’t worry, all I get to see is what city/country the IP address is coming from, so your identity is safe.)

I had big plans for posts this summer but I’m afraid moving offices and launching a new website at work have done me in so far.  We’ll see.  I’ll be back soon with my thoughts on the Stars latest acquisitions and the schedule will be out before we know it! 

With over 16.000 views and nearly 3000 comments, Laughs 2 Loud has lived up to it’s name for me.  It has been so much fun!  Thanks to you guys for making it that way!

CELEBRATE!

Just a Little This & That

My two favorite summer acquisitions?

Well, we survived another ten days of Nieuwy as GM with no major changes coming down.  So that is good.  I’m still not convinced about the whole Crawford as coach as being a good thing.  Hearing that Joe did not have this in mind when he came here did not make me feel any better.  The idea that he decided to fire Tipp,  researched available coaching options and decided on Crawford in less than ten days, makes me more than a little crazy.  I’m a pretty cautious person, this kind of decision making does not instill confidence for me.  Enough on that for now.

I must say I was pretty pleased with the out come of the Stanley Cup and more than a little surprised.  I was hoping the Pens would win it but I never really believed that the Wings would actually lose it.  Of course, as a Stars fan, I’m not particularly keen on  the Red Wings.  And I am a big fan of Sidney Crosby.  I know he can be a terrible whiner during games but he is by far not alone in that category in hockey **cough**Gretzky**cough**entire Red Wings organization and fans**cough, cough**.  The fact that he has remained as stable and consistent a player with all that he has had thrown at him, is pretty amazing.  The dude just turned 21.  At 21, I was fumbling my way through my junior year of college.  He is captaining a Stanley Cup winning hockey team.  What a pressure cooker that must be.  Anyway, all of this is to say, I was thrilled to see the Kid lift the Cup.  The actual presenting of the Stanley Cup and watching each player getting to skate with it, is by far the coolest major sporting event trophy presentation out there.  Oh and as to the whole handshake issue.  Everyone has been giving Sid grief about it but I couldn’t understand why they started the handshakes without Sid.  Shouldn’t they have waited for him?  Whose idea was that?  Just saying.  Hmm.

Next up was the NHL Awards Show.  It was the first time I’ve actually seen the whole thing.  And I must say that aside from being able to make nonstop snarky remarks about over on IPB, it was pretty much a stinker.  The entire production from top to bottom was just plain old bad.  I’m not going to go into detail other than to say Tim Thomas was the best thing about the whole show.  And I hate the Bruins, if that tells you anything.  Patty has a post up that sums things up nicely. 

Our next stop on the hockey calendar is the draft.  I really have had no time to research this year so I will not be weighing in with my two cents on that.  I do know that Brandon from Defending Big D and Sarah from The Unofficial Mathieu Schneider HomePage are both planning on attending the draft.  I’m looking forward to hearing the two’s probably very different perspectives of it.   

I’m looking forward to Prospects Camp which starts July 6th.  I’m hoping we will be settled into our new offices by then and things will have evened out there.  It’s been pretty crazy for a while, trying to get things ready for the move.  The president keeps asking me where we are on the website as well.  Ugh.  Anyway, I’m hoping to take off a couple of days to got watch camp.  I loved it last year.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed. 

I got my letter from the Stars telling me when we could come to pick out season tickets.    I know we wouldn’t buy a full season but I sure want to get partial season tickets again.  Unfortunately, that is on hold like so much of the rest of our life right now.  Hub has not had any luck finding a new job.  We are at two and a half months at home now.  It is really starting to wear on him.  There just aren’t that many things out there for chemical engineers who specialize in polymers.  He is expanding his search to Houston and Atlanta.  So if any of you out there have any connections, please email me at lafs2loud@gmail.com!  (I know from my Sitemeter that someone from Duluth, GA stops by on occasion!  Hint!  Hint!)  My company has offices in Houston and Atlanta (Duluth), so I could continue to work for them in some capacity in either place.  If you are the praying type, please pray that Hub finds something soon.  Thanks. 

There are not enough hours in the day and that is why I’ve had very little time to post here with any real content.  I did just see on Defending Big D that Joel Lundqvist has signed a six year deal with Frolunda in the Swedish Elite League contingent upon his not signing with a NHL team.  I’m glad to see him having plans.  I still hate to see him go but understand the move.  When he was on his game, he was so much fun to watch.  I know we will be hearing more and more news like this over the next couple months and I’m not looking forward to it.  I get so attached to all the players.

I’ll end by saying Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there and especially to my sweet Hub.  The Kid is very blessed to have a dad like him.  (I got him a new lawn mower, the Kid got him a pair of black Converse sneakers.)  And I want to send a Happy Father’s Day up to my dad.  His daughters love and miss him dearly and we were very blessed to have him as our dad.

I’m in Denial.

I’ve been avoiding dealing with this.  I am in complete denial.  But it is time to face facts.  Life is change.  Change is life.  And the Stars ownership has decided it is time for some serious change.  I was excited when Mr. Hicks brought in Niewy.  I thought a fresh pair of eyes would be a good thing.  Plus, I had not been particularly thrilled with some of the choices that the previous GM pair had made.  Namely, choices involving Hagman and Avery.  I was excited but a little apprehensive.  Just a smidge.  Because I was afraid of just this sort of thing happening. 

They decided to fire Dave Tippett. 

I say “they” but I guess it was Joe Nieuwendyk’s decision.  And that decision is what I am in denial over.  I am a huge fan of Dave Tippett.  Huge.  They say he is a “players’ coach”.  I don’t know about that, but I do know what I have seen.  He has always kept his cool and kept his mouth shut, at least in public.   I know he has always treated us fans with respect and good humor.  From what players have said, it seems that he cares about his players and their families.  I grew up during the best of the Tom Landry Cowboys years.   Coach Landry will always be my “gold” standard for how a coach should behave.  Tipp meets the Tom Landry standard of behavior. 

As far as his actual hockey coaching skills, I’m completely partial because Tipp is all I’ve know as a Stars fan.  So I guess I can’t be a real judge there.  There were times when I didn’t always agree with his coaching decisions, the goalie situation comes to mind.  But I had faith that he knew a whole lot more about the situation then I did and therefore could make better decisions than me.  (That is a concept completely foreign to most commenters on the Mighty Sweater Vest’s blog.)  Anyway, I was definitely in the “let’s give him one more season” camp.  But knowing me, even then, I still would have wanted to keep him.  I’m nothing if not loyal.  I found this link on Puck Daddy yesterday.  It’s an excellent read and covers things way better than I ever could.  I know Tipp is going to have great success wherever he ends up and will truly be missed by us!

Oh and Joe made another decision, to hire Marc Crawford.  I don’t really know much about him.  What I am hearing from others is not very positive to say the least.  The Bertuzzi incident is especially troublesome.  Joe, you’ve only had the job ten days and you fire and hire the head coach?  That does not seem to be adequate time to fully evaluate all of your options.  Was the list really that short?

Bottom line, we’ll have to wait and see.  I just hope these moves turn out better than the Stars blockbuster moves from last summer.  Ugh.

The Robi and Otter Workout Show

Otter & Robi

Ok, I can’t resist this.  I was surfing through my usual blogs when I saw this on Defending Big D.  And since it features our family favorites, Robi and Otter, I couldn’t not watch it! 

It confirms what we already knew, Robi is such a badass.  And no wonder Otter broke both his ankles, they are tiny.  Not that I mind, Hub’s are even smaller (classic runner’s legs). 

Enjoy.

THE STANLEY CUP FINALS BEGIN TODAY!

The Stanley Cup Finals begin today, but I won’t get to watch.  It’s not a bad thing.  We have tickets to see “The Happy Days” musical tonight.  It’s the first of our season tickets to the Dallas Summer Musicals.  The Kid is old enough to see most of them now so we added her to our seats.  I can’t believe it’s already summer.  The Kid’s last day of school is Thursday. 

I completely missed writing about the third round but all of my picks from round two won.  Not so with round three.  I really wanted to see a Canes vs Hawks Stanley Cup.  Since it’s the Wings vs Pens, we are going Pens all the way.  I’m predicting Pittsburgh in 7.  That maybe more wishful thinking than anything but we’ll see. 

To all of you who have continued to drop by, thank you and sorry for the lack of posts.  I have been crazy busy with work and not much in the mood to face more time on the computer at night!  June doesn’t look much better, so don’t expect much here.  I’ll probably be mostly absent until Prospects Camp begins in July.  I’m planning on taking off for the last day for sure. 

The Hub has been home since the end of March and is still job hunting.  If any of you know anyone who works for Frito-Lay in Plano and can put in a good word for Hub (particularly in R & D in packaging), PLEASE let us know!!!    And please continue to pray that we can find something here and not have to move!  We will be broadening our search to Houston in the next couple of weeks.    (No sisters and no Stars in Houston, but I would still have a job with my company there and the job market for chemical engineers is much broader there.)

For now I’ll leave you with my favorite picture from the past season (thanks to the SHR girls for posting it).

Robi and Son at the ASG

Stanley Cup Playoffs — Round 2 Begins

Hello everyone!  No I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  But I have been sick and swamped with work.  Even as I sit here typing, I should be working on a project for work.  But tonight is the first night of Round 2 and I just have to take a break for HOCKEY!!!  Tonight we are blessed with the battle of the hockey eye candy teams.  I don’t there are two other teams in the league with so many sweet young things on their rosters.  Since I think they are both quite pretty, I’m going to back the team that I like to watch play the most and that would be the Chicago Blackhawks.  They play a clean fast paced game.  The Canucks can get a little mean and drive me crazy with all the unnecessary penalties.  But they are very very pretty.  So at the very least it should be a fun game/series “to look at”. 

My favorites from the first round did not fare too well.  In the WC, San Jose, Columbus and St Louis all lost.  Only Chicago won.  In the EC, Montreal and New Jersey lost with Washington and Pittsburgh winning.  I still can’t get over the last minute meltdown of the Devils, that was a gut wrencher.  And I feel really bad for San Jose, that is going to be a hard hill to climb back up for them.  I was soooo relieved to see the Rangers lose.  If I had had to hear one more thing about how great Avery was, I was going have to cut somebody. 

As for this round, I’ll be backing the Hawks, which probably means they are doomed.  My other favorites and I use that term loosely because I don’t have too much interest in any of them, are the Pens, the Wings and I almost forgot the Canes.  I will be really pulling for them, even though they did beat the Devils.  (How bout that Jussi!)  I would loooove to see them beat the Ruins. 

In Stars news, unfortunately, it continues to be sad around here.  First, Joel Lundqvist gets hurt in the Worlds and then we hear that he will not be returning to the Stars next year.  I’m not terribly surprised by this because he has had a really rough year and when they signed Sudsy, I kinda felt it didn’t bode well for Joel.  I hope he rehabs well and lands somewhere where he can really come into his own, like Winchester in St Louis and Jussi for the Canes.  We have always adored Joel, best smile on the team and a real sweetheart to the fans.  We wish nothing but the very best.  We’ll miss you, Joel.

In other more scary than sad news, our young stud, Real Deal James Neal had a stick find it’s way under his shield and into his eye.  Causing a cut to both his upper and lower eyelid.  Sounded like a really frightening experience for him.  I’m glad Dave Tippett was there, since his parents hadn’t come over yet.  His eye is alright and I just hope and pray his beautiful eyelashes are as well.  One of the best things about HDTV, James Neal’s eyelashes.  We wish you a full and speedy recovery, young Mr. Neal. 

The game has begun so I’m signing off for now.  I’ll check back in later.

Just 2 minutes in and the Canucks have already been called for boarding.  Are we surprised?  Anyone?  Anyone?

Fun fact, Chicago has 20 players on their roster that are 25 or younger. That means I’m old enough or should I say, they are young enough for me to be their official team mom.

Ok, Hawks, you are not supposed to be the team getting all the penalties. That is supposed to be the Canucks job.

If you want ice cream after the game, no more penalties.

Well, we go to first intermission with the score at 1-0, Canucks.  The Hawks need to settle down, now that they know how the refs are going to be calling it.

Playoffs — Round 1, Game Day 3

Tonight I’m half watching the Pens/Flyers Game 2.  My observations so far.  Hartnell is always on the ice, I must look up how many minutes he plays.  I love his hair.  I didn’t think I would but pregame, when it is in its full curly and red glory, love it.  And I can’t believe he got away with throwing his stick earlier. 

I still love Marty Biron’s eyes.  And I still think the Flyers coach is a fox. 

I have no history with Bill Guerin, so I have no trouble saying I think he is very attractive (I love Harry Connick, Jr. too), so I was glad to see him score.  Also, he is taking care of our little Sid, so I have to love him for that.  I’ve always felt sorry for Sidney Crosby.  I just feel like he has been set up to fail by being so over hyped and made team captain at such a young age.  No one should be team captain at his or Tazer’s age.  It’s ridiculous to put a kid in that role.  Sorry, I always go into a rant on that.

Bottom line.  I pretty much like both teams.  Crazy, I know, since most people seem to hate both teams.  The EC effect perhaps, since I don’t have to see them much and they rarely play the Stars.

My favorites have not fared very well.  In the WC, San Jose, St  Louis and Columbus all lost but favorite to go all the way, Chicago won.  In the EC, I fared a little better with the Devils and Pens winning and Montreal and the Caps losing.  Ah, well, I’m my father’s daughter, I always like the underdogs.

Pens vs Flyers — Round 1/Game 1

Good evening folks, anybody been going through hockey withdrawal yet?  I know we are.  We are looking forward to getting to see a little hockey tonight.  Our playoff watching will be limited to what is on Versus and NBC, since we do not have Center Ice.     So we will be watching the Pens/Flyers series and Blues/Canucks.  I don’t really have a preference in the Pens/Flyers matchup but will probably be leaning towards the Pens because of former Star, the lovely Mr. Boucher.  As to the Blues/Canucks series, I’m backing the Blues.  I think the Canucks are very pretty to look at but I hate their style of play. 

I’ll be commenting on the games here tonight and posting Hub’s picks for the first round of the playoffs.

Ok, I have a hard time getting into games on Blersus.  Bleh.

So here are the Hub’s picks:

EC

Boston in 6

Washington in 5

New Jersey in 7

Pittsburgh in 6

WC

San Jose in 6

Detroit in 7

St Louis in 7

Chicago in 5

As for me, I just can’t wrap my mind around figuring out how many games it will take for someone to win a series.  Too much work!

So instead I’m just listing who I want to win or more accurately, who I want to lose:

WC

San Jose — because I hate the Ducks.

Columbus — I just love Steve Mason and who isn’t tired of the Wings winning?

St Louis — because I hate the way the Canucks play, too many penalties and I love BJ Crombeen.  Darn GMs for letting him get away.

Chicago — because I love, love, love their PR department with all the crazy videos they post and Adam Burish, need I say more?

EC

Montreal — because I loathe the Bruins, Jack Edwards and all their whiny bloggers.

Washington — Sean Avery, nough said.  The mere thought of him winning anything makes me nauseous.

New Jersey — I adore Zach Parise and Martin Brodeur.

Pittsburgh — I love Sidney Crosby, probably even more since everyone else has started hating him.  But I also love Martin Biron, so I’m a little torn on this one and I think their coach is a total fox in an accountant turned hockey coach kind of way.

Stars 3 vs Ducks 4 SO — Turn Out The Lights, The Party’s Over

Welcome everybody to the last game of the season.  Sigh.  Some are saying could be Lehts last game.

No pre-game.

Lines for the night:  Ribs with Ott and Bunny                   Mo with Lehts and Sudsy          

Tommie with Loui and Nealer                  B-Mo with Bégin and Conner

Nisky and Fisty again                                                Grossie and Hutch

Vish is back with Syd!  Looking forward to see what he’s got tonight.

Stars going on the Power Play.  Can’t wait to see what Vish does!!!  Rats, make that the Stars go on PK.  Survive the penalty but give up goal afterward.  Ducks 1-0.

Ok, now we are going on the power play.  Vish out at point,  yes!  Ribs, Loui, Nisky and Bunny on first unit.

Second unit, Syd, Hutch, Tom, Neal and Ott.  Get nothing.

Brookbank tries to take Ott’s head off.  Otter was seriously mad.  Don’t see that very often.

Getzlaf give Fisty back his head.  Right now. 

First Intermission:  Brenden Morrow interview!  Bright spots:  Neal, Loui and Otter!  Can’t wait to see Morrow back on the ice.  I hope this summer flies by (and Hub gets a new job here so I can get partial season tickets again)!

Second Period:

Survive the penalty kill. 

Nieder, the younger, gets called for hooking on Neal.  OTTER SCORES!!!  Gets a juicy rebound!  1-1!  Me thinks the Ducks don’t like Ott very much judging by the crowd reaction.

Corey Perry gets called for tripping.  Power play uneventful. 

Stars are gaining momentum, I think.  B-Mo goes to the penalty box to end the second.

Second Intermission:  Otter interview is killing me.  He’s been pretty quiet the last few games.  I think missing the playoffs has been really hard on him.  NEED..MORE..TISSUES.  I’m going to miss him saying, “Absolutely!”

Otter sitting next to the Ducks bench.  With the crazy man stair down.  The kid never ceases in finding ways to make me laugh.  Killing me.

I think Fisty has been ruffling some duck feathers, too, tonight.

Pooh.  Nieder, the old, scores.  2-1, Ducks.

I really don’t like Getzlaf.  Goes to the box for holding.  Power Play is on.  I don’t care what they say, I don’t like Ribs on the power play. 

Getzlaf takes out Corey Perry.  I don’t think Corey Perry can say Corey Perry three times fast right now.

YES!!!  BUNNY SCORES ON THE REBOUND!!!  2-2!!!

Dangit!  I didn’t even get to update the post and the Ducks score.  Ugh.  3-2, Ducks.

I was really starting to enjoy this last period.  Starts off with premium Otter shenanigans,  Getzlaf gets a penalty, Getzlaf takes out Corey Perry, Bunny scores for the tie and then the Ducks scores.  Sigh.  BUT WAIT OTTER IS NOT DONE YET!!!  With 13 seconds to go, OTTER SCORES!!!  That was a freakin’ great third period!!!

Overtime:  No goals. 

Shootout: 

Corey Perry–no goal

Bunny–no goal

Bobby Ryan–no goal

Nealer–GOAL!!

Getzlaf–goal

Mo–no goal off the crossbar

Teemu Selanne–goal

Loui–no goal

Win goes to the Ducks.

That final highlights piece was amazing!  Still some great moments there.  I can’t believe it’s over.  I’ll be around during the playoffs for sure.  And don’t get freaked if you see some baseball talk.  Depends on how bored I get and how well the Rangers do.  After today’s game, not too sure I want to go there. 

I do want to take moment to thank Sarah, Teri, Life, Patty and the SHR girls for hanging out with me all season!  It really has been fun to have someone to watch the games with! 

So for one more time….GO STARS!!!

Stars 3 vs Avs 2 SO — Ribs is Totally Sick!

Well folks, here we are, our next to last Stars game of the season.  It’s hard to believe, the end is so near.  Sigh.  I think the Stars have a great chance to win tonight.  The Avs have had about the same luck on injuries, see Andrew’s Stars Page for Mark’s great post on the man-games lost to injuries.  I’m excited to see Climie in goal again tonight, get to see a little more of what the kid can do.  I didn’t get to see much of Vish’s game the other night so I’m looking forward to seeing what he’s got, too. 

Right now, I’m watching the Flyers/Rangers game on Yahoo.  I’m not sure how long I can stay with it though.  The announcers are having a Sean Avery Love Fest.  Ugh.  I was so hoping the Flyers would beat the Rangers and somehow the Panthers would end up in the 8th spot or Buffalo or anyone other than the AveryRangers.  Blah.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to be rooting for Chicago and Columbus from the West and the Devils and I’m not sure who else in the East. 

Catcha back here at game time.

Pre-game:  Not a lot going on there.  Nice piece on Loui.  Loui and Ribs are the only two Stars left who have played every game this season.

First Period:  Climie is starting with Turco as back up. 

Ribs with Ott and Bunny                 Mo with Lehts and B-Mo

Tommie with Loui and Nealer            Joel with Parrish and Bégin?

Grossie & Hutch                   Vish with Syd              Niskie with Fisty

Niskie goes to the naughty box for slashing.

Have Vish out on PK along with Fist, B-Mo and Bégin.  Penalty Killed.

Thought Ott had one for sure, fired a little too soon. 

Stars on power play after some Av gets called for cross checking.  Got Vish on point as well.  Hmm.  Rookie power play unit?  Neal, Tommie and Vish.

Ooo.  Just saw Sudsy back in. 

First Intermission:  Nothing interesting what so ever.  Boo.

Second Period:  This is soooooooooo boring.  I’m losing all will to blog. 

Niskie goes to the box again?  Still playing the young ones on the PK.  Not bad.

Hutch goes to the box for hooking?  Weak. 

“An eventuallity” from Razor.  Avs score on the power play.  1-0.

Second Intermission:  Nealer interview.

Third Period:  Stars pick up the pace.  Bunny scores!  Tied.  Bégin scores to take the lead with around 3 minutes to go.  Then in less than a minute the Avs score and tie it up.  Argh! 

Goes through OT with some fast paced exciting play but no goals. 

Shootout was amazing!  Pretty goals by Bunny and Nealer and then an amazing one by Ribs.  He is just sick.   

What a fun ending!