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.