blog statement...

day off,today... "Idaho Spud" time...

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i love NHL hockey,along with the true blue and beautiful,and yet,the simple game of hockey played by little kids,in backyards,and other places... that is the simple love of a true fan of hockey...

hockey throughout the world...

hockey is world wide... i even hear about it from Australia... they compete in various teams with the IIHF... the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League is a league composed of six teams(two teams each,based in Melbourne,Perth,and Sydney),and the league title was won by the Sydney Maple Leafs(now:Wolf Pack),in 2013...Hockey is under the banner,"Ice Hockey Australia",and has branches throughout the provinces of the country.... so you now have a glimpse of hockey in the world,and it is great to see...

comments...

it has been a long off-season for me... a rather miserable one,to boot... can not wait for the KHL,and NHL to start... the first Red Wings' preseason game is against the Pittsburgh Penguins,on September 22nd...YAY!!!!!! talking about something except hockey is quite boring at this time of the off-season...

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i enjoy blogging,but this off-season has been horrible for me,in more than one way... will be back shortly... go Red Wings go!!!!!

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i will be primed and ready to go for the NHL,KHL,and NFL,soon... right now,i am preparing for all seasons more mentally,than physically,because honestly,it has been a boring "dead" time,trying to come up with stuff every day has been darn near impossible,and i mentally have not been sharp with my blogging,lately... very,very sorry for that...

blog statement...

i am taking day off... "Idaho Spud" time... may be back later today...

an infamous moment in Chicago Blackhawks' history...

a funny thing happened to the way to a Chicago Blackhawks/Detroit Red Wings game in Chicago,on September 26,2007... the owner of the Blackhawks had died the previous off-season,one William Wadsworth Wirth... no disrespect meant to the family,but Wirtz had a nickname,"Dollar Bill",and it was well deserved... he absolutely refused to broadcast Blackhawks' home games,and banned the selling of peanuts outside the stadium,among other things,so when then-general manager Dale Tallon gave an eulogy for Wirtz that night before the game,there is video,and audio of what happened:they booed him out of the building,and even booed the moment of silence for Wirtz,"a great Chicagoan",in Tallon's own words... lucky for him,the arena happened to be dark,or it would have funnier to see things thrown on the ice...

blog statement...

"Idaho Spud" time,today... need some time to unwind,before hockey season starts... starting late this week,my preparations for both the NHL,and KHL(Russian)seasons will start in earnest,but i need a few more days to mentally prepare for both long seasons...

NHL news...

NHL preseason starts September 21st,for all NHL teams...

NHL news,and commentary...

veteran goaltender J.S. Giguere has announced his retirement from the NHL... why mention it??? i still remember his performance in the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs against every team he faced,in the Western Conference,including a four game sweep,of the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings,by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks,allowing only four goals,with two shutouts,against the Red Wings... he set a (still)NHL record low one goal against the Minnesota Wild,in a four game series,later on,that playoff year... even though,the Ducks lost in seven games to the New Jersey Devils,in the Stanley Cup Finals,Giguere won the Conn Smythe Trophy,as Stanley Cup MVP,with an amazing total of five shutouts,in 2003... a personal note:i "hated" Giguere for sweeping the Red Wings,that year,but as i look back now,it was a great playoff series of games,for him... i deeply wish the best for him,and respectfully tip my hat to him...

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still learning how to use this computer,so posts will be small in content,but i will be up to speed in a couple of days...

blog statement...

be back tomorrow... i have a very new computer,and i am learning how to use it...

blog statement...

starting tomorrow(19 August),i will take a few days off,because i am getting a new computer,and do not want to use this old computer anymore... it is on its last legs,and i have been waiting for my new computer... my birthday is Wednesday,August 20th,and i helped buy my own birthday present-a new MAC,and my family is picking it up soon... i really am very tired of this computer,so i will be off my blogs,unless breaking news happens...

blog statement...

it has been a very good day... "Idaho Spud" time today...

commentary...

people have taken the "Ice Bucket Challenge" to help ALS research,and that is great,but the Los Angeles Kings head coach Darryl Sutter,and coaching staff have added a twist to it-holding the Stanley Cup while doing it... way to go!!!!! i believe that i will donate $100 to it,next month,and avoid the ice bucket,because while doing it is great picture,you are supposed to show it on video,challenge someone,and donate $10,to ALS research,which is a too small amount to donate...

blog statement...

folks,i am very sorry that i have not been on here too often,lately... this time of the NHL calendar basically is "dead",and there is very little to really talk about,so i have taken some time off... this summer has been horrible,because the changing weather has given me many cluster sinus and migraine headaches,and they are very,very painful... i will be online very shortly,like a tornado of activity,but until then,it will be like it has been... however,i love the beautiful game of hockey,and am a true blue fan of the NHL,and the Detroit Red Wings... i hope that the NHL starts soon(laughing),because it has been quite boring!!!!!

Red Wings' news...

Red Wings sign general manager Ken Holland to a four year contract...

commentary...

there is an article,and an interview,on NHL.com,with San Jose Sharks' head coach Todd McLellan explaining from the club's viewpoint on what is going on,in San Jose... unfortunately,in my opinion,it is the same thing for year after year... it is changing small things,over and over,and expecting a different result every year,but things do not change too much... the Sharks have a very good core of players,but they still lack secondary scoring(third,and fourth line scoring),they are not getting any younger on the defensive blue line,and their goaltending depth is not what it should be,but again,this time of year,you can say the same thing about goaltending,in the NHL... they are a playoff team,but there are too many teams that has improved on paper,and their journey through the Western Conference will not get any easier,because they are clearly not the best team in the Pacific Division,with the Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings,in their division...

what is going on,in Detroit???

anyone has phone number to Red Wings' general manager Ken Holland??? i have a shaken head syndrome,because i can not figure what the Red Wings is doing this off-season,because they are a team that has had very few playoff wins,since the retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom,and they have done very little in free agency,and will be basically the same team that struggled to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs,last season,and then got steamrolled by the Boston Bruins,in five games,winning their only playoff game,1-0,but then having the team get bulldozed,with only Pavel Datsyuk playing like normal,and everybody else taking a real nap throughout their series,with the Bruins... if you are a real fan,of the Red Wings,you must be shaking your head... i am,folks!!!!!

commentary...

a team with 111 points last season,and a team that had an epic collapse,against the Los Angeles Kings,in the first round of last season's Stanley Cup playoffs... a team who has had seventeen playoff appearances,in twenty years,but has won only one Western Conference Finals' series,in two straight years,in recent years... now,they are trying to blow smoke up the fans' collective "skirts",saying that they are redefining the term "rebuilding", in trying to get fans' season tickets requests up this off-season... before you believe that i do not believe that the Sharks are not a playoff team,in the top-heavy Western Conference,you are dead wrong... however,they still have no clue on how to build a consistent playoff series winner,because they even have me confused in trying to rate the team's chances,next season,but honestly,their team history of playoff failure,and collapse makes me shake my head,in wonder... flip a coin,on what is going on,in San Jose???

comments...

i will catch up on the NHL,starting tomorrow... note:the KHL starts the same day as the Packers play the Seahawks,on September 4th,2014... i really do not know what the league will do about the team in Donetsk,Ukraine,because of the turmoil around the city...

blog statement...

will be back online tomorrow... "Idaho Spud" time today...

blog statement...

i need a few days off,because i am just mentally tired,but will be back within a couple days... "Idaho" Spud" time,until Sunday...  NFL football(Packers'-Titans preseason game)is tomorrow night...

blog statement...

tomorrow,i start some hockey facts,and trivia,along with stories about the early days of hockey...

blog statement...

very sorry,folks... have been very,very tired,and not enough sleep,recently... so my blog has been basically absent... i did have a very nice day,but i am having trouble sleeping... hopefully,i will catch up on sleep,tomorrow... be back,shortly...

commentary...

Washington Capitals' head coach Barry Trotz coached the Nashville Predators for years,and was known for team defense... he was their first head coach,and the problem with Nashville over the years was that their team was difficult to play(examples:Red Wings/Predators games,in general-games that were tough to play)... the Capitals were known for an explosive offense,but their goaltending,and team defense was very bad and,sometimes,non-existent... honestly,that will change because Trotz is a very,very good defensive coach... watch out for the Capitals,this season...

true blue,and beautiful game of hockey...

the beautiful game of hockey is quite easy to play,but,honestly,was very,very hard... the best players are in the NHL,but there are other leagues around the world that were very good... remembering that the game started with a kid shooting a puck,ball,and other things into a goal,when very small on very cold days outside,or on an ice rink,indoors... people may see the NHL player on ice skating,but attention was given day by day,doing small things that may seem to be very trivial,and do not seem much to other people,but to the players in the NHL,and other players,in other leagues,the small things mean so much to them... they may be ingrained in them almost to the point that people may not think that they are important to the player,but the small things do count more than you will ever know... that is true blue,and beautiful to watch,even when the game may be 1-0...

correction...

i corrected the slight mistake,on previous post:Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in 1955,and not again,until 1997,42 years between Stanley Cups...

Red Wings' history...

on December 26,1996,the Red Wings played the Washington Capitals,and beat them in overtime,5-4... funny thing is that only one Red Wings' player scored that night... it honestly should have read in the newspaper the next day:Sergei Fedorov 5,Capitals 4,because he scored all Red Wings' goals,including the game winner,at 2:39,of overtime... later on that season,the epic Red Wings/Avalanche brawl happened on March 26,1997,and Patrick Roy said that night that the Red Wings had just won the Stanley Cup,because that he meant that the Red Wings were a team that was talented,and one that simply refused to back down... only months later,the Red Wings won the first Stanley Cup,in 42 years,dating back to 1955*,and is the last Stanley Cup winner to repeat,as they won the Stanley Cup,again,in 1997-1998... * oops,i accidently stated it wrong...

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i just hope training camp starts soon... it has been very boring this summer...