I love Google. I really do. They make life on the internet so much easier than it was way back when. This past weekend, I stumbled across something cool they are doing that will keep me occupied any time I get bored.

A few years ago (when I had a lot of free time), I liked to research the history of the Admirals by reading old newspaper articles on microfilm at the library. The task was a bit tedious. No keyboard search for what you need... I had to scroll through each day's sports section and try to keep my eyes focused on finding a good article. I could go a long time without reading anything worthwhile, and I usually left with a bit of a headache.

Well now, Google is providing some old newspapers to view online. Many of the articles are available on a pay-per-view basis, but fortunately, we're able to see several free editions of the Milwaukee Sentinel dating back to 1910.

This is a good place to start. At the top of the page, you'll see a timeline graph illustrating the availability. Click on a segment of the timeline to zoom in on specific years and dates.

You can also search the articles by plugging in keywords in the search box, but I've noticed the search results aren't perfect... I'm guessing it's because Google used some sort of text scanner to read and store the articles in it's search database. The newsprint is sometimes hard to read, and I've found some Admirals articles which did not show up on searches.... probably because Google's scanner didn't catch every word perfectly.

Find a date and click on the link. You'll then be able to zoom in and out using the magnifier icon. Click and grab the image to move it around the screen.

Here are a few examples to jump in and read:
Admirals Say They'll Press Charges (March 28, 1977)
Wittliff a winner as Admiral coach (December 13, 1979)
Admirals haven't decided what to do in Toledo incident (May 25, 1983)

The Admirals two hour radio showed aired earlier tonight. Former Admirals broadcaster Brian Manthey filled in for Aaron Sims. The show featured an interview with new assistant coach Ian Herbers and reminiscing interviews with former Admirals Mike Murphy, Peter DeBoer, and Marc Crawford.

DeBoer is the head coach of the Florida Panthers, and Crawford recently got the job as the head coach of the Dallas Stars. Murphy coached Milwaukee in 1990-91 and is currently the VP of hockey operations for the NHL.

All of those conversations were all well and good, but the big highlight of the show was some news delivered by Admirals exec Mike Wojciechowski.

[drum roll]

The 20(!) year old boards and glass at the Bradley Center are being replaced!!

I literally did my first happy dance since the Penguins won the Cup in June. I've been wishing for this upgrade for years, and it's now a reality!

During warmups, I often sit in the front rows for some decent pictures, but all-too-often a perfect shot was ruined by scratches and smudges on the glass. And partly because of the scuffed-up view, I've insisted on watching the games from higher rows which provide a view over the glass. Maybe now, I won't be as picky at the ticket window.

Unfortunately, we have to wait until game #7 before we'll be able to enjoy it. (Yeah, I'm still pissed about the schedule.)

The Milwaukee Admirals schedule was released today (pictured at right).

Here's what I don't like about this steamy bowel movement from Springfield, Mass.:

1. Daytime games on weekdays.

A 1PM start on Tuesday, April 6 at home and a 11AM game on Wednesday, January 13 in Chicago.

A sure way to piss off the bulk of your season ticket holders. The game in Milwaukee is still seven months away, so perhaps if enough of us complain, the team will buckle and change the game to a reasonable time or date.

Normally, I don't care what other teams do with their schedule, but I'm left scratching my head as to why the Wolves have a daytime game against a nearby rival. If they had a plan for this day (school field trip?), then why not make it against a team like San Antonio or Abbotsford? Many Milwaukee fans make the trip south to Smoggytrafficjamville to see the Admirals and Wolves battle it out on crappy ice, but few will make it to this ridiculously scheduled game.

2. Six game road trip to start the season.

Hockey teams have dealt with this before... but they usually have an excuse... like a brand new arena is not quite ready to open. Nope. The team is still at the BC. This delay is inexcusable.

3. Eight game road trip in November.

Hard to get casual fans to return to another game when you go weeks between home games. Outta sight, outta mind.

4. 17 games in January.

Injuries happen more often when players are fatigued. Losing streaks happen more often when players are fatigued.

5. Another home game during the Daytona 500.

The 10th time this has happened in the last 14 seasons. I'd accept it if it only happened every two or three years, but this trend is ridiculous. They only play at home on 6 of the season's 27 Sundays, yet they insist on choosing this particular Sunday year-after-year. I'll be staying home again in protest.

6. Three home games in four days.

It starts to feel like a chore for me to make the 90 minute round trip that often in a short amount of time. The Admirals also have a stretch of four home games in six days.

7. Home game on New Years Day.

The same day as the NHL's Winter Classic, being held this season at Fenway Park. I'm guessing other fans will be skipping this Admirals game for college bowl games and/or recovering from hangovers.

8. No Eastern Conference teams.

This was known weeks ago, but it still bugs me. The Admirals are forced to travel to British Columbia, Manitoba, Toronto, and Texas; but the New England teams seldom need to spend money on a hotel.

Here's what I like about the schedule:

1. No Saturday afternoon games.

Like many others, I work on Saturdays. Besides, it doesn't feel right leaving a hockey game while the sun is still up.

2. The regular season ends at home.

Not a high priority for me, but if the team is in a race for a playoff spot in the final days of the season, I'd rather see it in person.


I had planned on posting the schedule on this site after work this evening, but I'm obviously not in the mood. You can check it out on the team or league's web sites.

Just a few brief notes as we continue to drag through the offseason.

Like many of you, I spent the better part of a day at the State Fair. I stuffed my face with all kinds of Fair food, watched the pigs race, and escaped the heat by walking through the vendor areas. In the main vendor building, the Admirals had their booth set up as they have done for several years at the Fair.

The Admirals Director of Ticket Sales, John W. Bitter, was there and surprised me with a free ticket voucher just for wearing my Admirals hat. If you're going to the Fair this week, wear your Admirals gear and you might also get lucky.

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Former hothead Chicago Wolves goalie, Wendell Young, has been named to replace Kevin Cheveldayoff as the general manager of the Wolves. Young is a former Admiral, having played six games in Milwaukee during his 1983-84 rookie season.

Cheveldayoff was one guy I had a ton of respect for. He'll have his hands full in his new job as the assistant general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks. One thing he oughtta stress in training camp is to always tip your cabbie.

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With the release of the season schedule just around the corner, I want to mention a project I'm hoping to add to this site for the coming season.

As part of my new job, I've been learning about database management, which has put the idea in my head to utilize a database on this site. My plans are to start small, focusing on the current season with thoughts of using it on the history of the team sometime down the road.

I won't know exactly what I'll be able to accomplish until I start getting my hands dirty on the project, but I hope to design a databse to automatically generate game reports and player stats pages. I have less free time to work on the site than ever before, so this project should save me time during the season, provided I finish designing it before the puck drops in October. If all works the way I want, the new pages will be a nifty addition to the site.

I have held off from starting the project until the schedule is released, so I'm more eager than usual to get my hands on that news. I've got several other database ideas in my head, but I'm going to start small and hope to expand later.

The Admirals search for a replacement of recently departed assistant coach Brad Lauer appears to be over. An article in a Johnstown, PA newspaper, reports that multiple sources have confirmed that Johnstown Chiefs (ECHL) head coach Ian Herbers has been hired for the assistant coaching position in Milwaukee.

Older Admiral fans might be familiar with Herbers, who spent the bulk of his playing career in the IHL. He was a 10th round draft pick by Buffalo in 1987. After four seasons of Canadian junior hockey and four years of Canadian college hockey, he was signed as a free agent by Edmonton in 1992.

In his second pro season, he earned a promotion to the NHL, playing 22 games with the Oilers in 1993-94. In his third season, he switched teams from the AHL's Cape Breton Oilers to the IHL's Detroit Vipers. He would spend six seasons with the Vipers.

On a side note, be warned that detroitvipers.com is now a porn site.

While with the Vipers, he was part of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization. In 1999-00, he made his second appearance in the NHL, playing 37 games before being traded to the New York Islanders for a 7th round draft pick. He finished the season on Long Island playing 6 games.

In the summer of 2000, he was picked in the Expansion Draft by the Minnesota Wild, who sent him to the Cleveland Lumberjacks for the entire 2000-01 season. A year later, he packed his bags for England and played two seasons in the UK. He finished up his playing career by playing four games with the Flint Generals in 2003.

Shortly after hanging up the skates, he was hired as the assistant coach of the San Antonio Rampage. After one season with the Rampage, he used his Michigan ties to get an assistant coaching job with the Saginaw Spirit junior hockey team. Three years later, he was hired for the head coaching job in Johnstown.

I'm guessing that Herbers does not frown upon physical play, as his end-of-season penalty minute numbers in his playing career were in the triple digits.

And I have to give an e-pat-on-the-back to the guys at the Admirals Short Shifts blog who had Herbers on a short list of canidates for the job last week.

Just as I love to see former Admiral players advance their career to the NHL, it's equally rewarding to see the coaches get promoted as well.

Today, Admirals Assistant Coach Brad Lauer was hired as an Assistant Coach with the Ottawa Senators. He will be reunited with Head Coach Cory Clouston. Lauer worked under Clouston for five seasons in Kootenay of Canadian junior league from 2002-07.

Lauer joins a list of former Admiral coaches in the NHL which includes Todd Richards (Minnesota), Claude Noel (Columbus), and Peter Horacek (Nashville). Former Admiral players Marc Crawford (Dallas) and Peter DeBoer (Florida) are also current NHL head coaches.

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A quick note to all of you. A few weeks ago, I started a great new job. I say 'great', not only because the boss reads this site, but because I'm really happy with the opportunity.

I'm still working at my old job on Saturday's. Between work and commuting, I'm away from home about 54 hours each week, which is preventing me from updating this site as often as I have in the past. I'll continue to add to this site whenever I can, which will mostly be during the evening hours... so don't waste your time checking it throughout the day for updates.

The pool of players who will make up the Nashville Predators and Milwaukee Admirals rosters for the upcoming season is slowly filling up. In the last two days, three players signed the bottom of a Nashville contract. All of them were signed to one-year, two-way contracts.

Milwaukee's captain in 2008-09, Nolan Yonkman, will return for a fourth season as an Admiral. Unlike in previous seasons, the Predators have been releasing details of how much they are paying players at the minor league level. Yonkman is set to make $115,000 in Milwaukee. His NHL salary is set at $500k.

Nashville also re-signed Ryan Maki. This will be his fourth season as an Admiral (note - his first "season" consisted of a few games after completing his college career at Harvard in 2007). Milwaukee coach Lane Lambert praised Maki on several occasions this past season for improving his game after a less than stellar rookie season in 2007-08. He will make $52,500(AHL)/$500,000(NHL).

The third player will be given a serious look at a spot on the Predators season opening roster. Center Ben Guite was signed as an unrestricted free agent. The soon-to-be 31 year-old spent the last three seasons with the Colorado Avalanche. He will make $105k/$550 this season.

I'm assuming everyone reading this is familiar with Yonkman and Maki, so here is a brief story of Guite's career:

Guite was drafted in the seventh round of the NHL Entry Draft by Montreal in 1997. After finishing a four year college career at Maine, he spent his rookie pro season in Tallahassee (ECHL). He was then signed as a free agent by the NY Islanders. The Isles traded him less than one season later to Anaheim in March 2002.

Guite played against Milwaukee as a Cincinnati Mighty Duck in 2002-03. Myself, I only have a vague recollection of him being there. After a full-season in Ohio, he signed an AHL level contract with Bridgeport, where he played two years prior as an Islander prospect.

During the NHL lockout, he signed with Providence. Boston took notice and signed him in 2005. He was called up for one game with Boston - his NHL debut in January 2006. Colorado signed him in the summer of 2006. That was his break-through season, as he managed 39 games with the big club. The Avalanche rewarded him with a two year contract in 2007, and he remained on their NHL roster the entire time. He missed several games this past season with a rib injury.

His story is one which should inspire prospects who do not make it to the NHL early in their career. It took his 5th NHL organization and two AHL-level deals before landing a full-time NHL spot in his 9th NHL season.

Nashville still has some free agents to re-sign, and more new faces could very well join the mix. I'll continue to track the offseason player moves on the front page of this site during the offseason.

The NHL free agency signing period began today.

Here are today's deals involving Nashville...

Joel Ward re-signs with Nashville - two year deal worth $3 million.
Vern Fiddler signs with Phoenix - two year deal worth $2.2 million.
Greg Zanon signs with Minnesota - three year deal worth $5.2 million.
Steve Sullivan re-signs with Nashville - two year deal worth $7.5 million.
7/2 Update
Ville Koistinen signs with Florida - two year deal worth $2.4 million.

No word today on any of the Predators AHL free agents.

Overall, this seemed to be a buseir day than usual... especially with how many goaltenders were signed around the league. Several players received contracts at five or more years in length. Perhaps the biggest joke of the day... the Chicago Blackhawks signed Marian Hossa to a 12 year contract. Hossa is 30 years old.