| May - Sept. 2007 Archives |
milwaukeehockey.com |
| 23 September 2007 |
The Boys Are Back In Town
Those wild-eyed boys that had been away Haven't changed, haven't much to say But man, I still think those cats are great ~ Thin Lizzy The Admirals training camp starts tomorrow. The first preseason game is Wednesday in Chicago (Vernon Hills). Yesterday, Nashville assigns 19 players to Milwaukee. Yep, hockey season is here. In a matter of days, we'll be experiencing the sights and sounds that most of us haven't enjoyed since April. The hum of the Zamboni. Skates cutting up the ice. The crash of the boards. The ring of the pipes. Canadian and European accents. The slam of the penalty box door. Chicago goalies with a red reflection glowing off the back of their helmet. Aahhh... ya gotta love it. The Admirals training camp is being held at the Kern Center, just a few blocks east of the Bradley Center at Broadway and Knapp. All of the practices are open to the public (see the team's web site for times). I doubt I will make it to a practice session due to my work schedule, but I should be at all of the preseason games. And if all goes well, I will have some great photos to share of the newest Admirals. The camera I've been using for the last 21 months started acting up last week. Last week, it began locking up... only responding if I turn it off and restart it. So, thanks to a bunch of Amazon.com gift certificates I've saved up, I was able to get a newer version of that camera for dirt cheap. I'm upgrading from the Kodak Z740 (10x zoom, 5 mega pixel) to the Z712 (12x zoom, 7.1 mega pixel). I promised myself my next camera would be an expensive one capable of incredible shots, but a lack of cash led me to this decision. The new model brags about several improvements over my old camera, so I'm optimistic that my picture quality will improve. It left a postal facility in a Chicago suburb earlier today, so I'll probably get it tomorrow or Tuesday, in time for Wednesday's game. If not, I'll bring my old camera and hope it doesn't completely crap out on me. Drop the puck! Drop the gloves! Let's go! |
| 16 September 2007 |
More questions than answers
After a busy week, I found time to read up on the Predators training camp. The team released their training camp roster last week (spreadsheet link), and I decided to update some of the information (height, weight, etc.) on my Players page with what was shown on the camp roster. Upon doing that, I noticed several differences listed under "Place of Birth". Every year, I find player bios with minor contradictions on where a player was born. Usually, it's a matter of one listing a small town, with another listing a nearby larger city. This year, I've now found some big differences. Ryan Maki born in Michigan and New Jersey. Dan Ellis born in Saskatchewan and Ontario. And the worst... Robert Dietrich born in Kazakhstan and West Germany. Part of me believes the fault of these differences can be pinned on players who do not fill out questionnaires properly at some point... recently or years ago. Once a player's bio is publicized, those details will follow the player around in their career. Another part of me believes many of the errors are caused by the person handling the information provided by the player. For instance, if the questionnaire reads "Hometown", and that answer is later cataloged as "Place of Birth". Many of you probably don't give a rat's ass, but I want my site to be accurate, and I hate having glaring mistakes on a player's bio. On a lighter note, I cheered for the Chicago Wolves last night... sort of. I endured a sloooooooow trip through Chicago yesterday on my way to Shererville, Indiana's Illiana Speedway. Former AHL and IHL linesman Stephen (Stevie) Campbell races late model stock cars and is sponsored by the Wolves. You can see photos of the car on Wolfkeeper's site. He races weekly at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris, Illinois, and makes occasional visits to other tracks in the area. Stevie started 6th in the 46th annual 100 lap Tony Bettenhausen Memorial. He stayed near the front early, but eventually faded to a 15th place finish. I also noticed the new Wolves billboard campaign along the expressway. It had an election theme. "Choose Wolves in 08" with a red, white, and blue backdrop in an attempt to lure Blackhawk fans to AHL games. And the whereabouts of Karl Goehring were learned after I read he was invited to Buffalo's training camp. He hasn't signed with anyone yet, but he may be trying to land a job with Rochester, which may be hard to do since the Amerks have a split affiliation with Buffalo and Florida. That leaves just Chris Durno and Victor Uchevatov as the only players from April's Admirals roster that are nowhere to be found. |
| 14 September 2007 |
I love the internet!
The game found it's way to store shelves this week, and fresh out of the box, you'll find the new jersey designs are not available. EA plans to release a code to unlock all of the new designs after they are all unveiled in real life. Of course, the code has been leaked and is on the internet if you search for it.  The first thing I noticed is the change in the road look. The darker gray is now replaced by a lighter hue, which should make the numbers and names more visible, a problem last season that led to much confusion, by fans and official scorers alike. I haven't bought the game yet to see how it looks on my PS2, but I will give my thoughts when that time comes. |
| 5 September 2007 |
Clean shirt, new shoes...
 And I don't know where I'm goin' to Silk suit, black tie I don't need a reason why They come runnin' just as fast as they can Coz every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man ~ ZZ Top I've got to start this entry with an open apology of sorts. About 8 or 9 months ago it was announced that the NHL and AHL would use newly designed uniforms made by Reebok. They are a sleeker design that brags about being more aerodynamic, more moisture resistant, more durable, and keeps the players drier. On a few occasions since then, I warned people who may be 'on the fence' about buying their favorite team's jersey to do so before the conventional designed jerseys were sold out. I assumed the price of this new ultra-technical advancement in the world of sports fabric design would cost the jersey-buying hockey fan a whole lot more money. Well, it appears that I'm probably wrong. The NHL and AHL reminded everyone this week about the new design, showing off a few team's new sleek looks. Just for shits and giggles, I wandered into ahlstore.com and found the price of a replica new jersey to be $115. Shop.nhl.com also had a price of $115 ($170 personlized). I don't have reference of what the price of a jersey was a year ago, but I'm guessing the price went up only slightly. Honestly, I was expecting a new replica to cost at least $150. So, I'm sorry for scaring everyone. There I said it. Time will tell what an authentic jersey will run, but if the replica wasn't much more expensive than before, then the authentic will probably follow suit. Over the past few days, I've looked into the background of some of the potential new Milwaukee Admiral players, and reworked the 'Players' page on this site while I was at it. As I still do not know Nashville's plans for the recently signed prospects, my roster list probably has a few players who will not actually appear here, but I read into all of their backgrounds to some degree, just in case. A few things stood out. Goaltenders Dan Ellis and Dov Grumet-Morris both have worn #30 for most of their career. Assuming Ellis doesn't win the #2 spot in Nashville for the entire season, it will appear that one of those two will have to pick another number for their Admirals jersey. Most likely the younger Grumet-Morris will have to switch. With the Predators, both would be out of luck, as Chris Mason owns #30. I also noticed both Robert Dietrich and Alexander Sulzer were born in the same German city - Kaufbeuren. (Correction - the Predators training camp roster lists Dietrich's birthplace as Ordzhonikidze, Kazakhstan) Because Sulzer is about two years older, they played in different leagues until recently. I have no idea if they knew each other as kids, but they were both were on the German national team earlier this season, and they were teammates last season with Düsseldorfer EG. They are both under contract with Nashville, but it's not known if they are both planning to play in North America this season. Yesterday, Pat Leahy signed to play this season in Austria. That leaves just four players from Milwaukee's season ending roster that I have no idea of their future plans (Durno, Goehring, Kearns, Uchevatov). I imagine I'll see some or all of those names on training camp rosters somewhere in the next week or so. If anyone knows for certain where any of those guys are headed, drop me a line. |
| 29 August 2007 |
Tell us general, is it party time?
 If it is can we all comeDon't think that we don't know Don't think that we're not trying Don't think we move too slow It's no use after crying Saying It's a mistake, it's a mistake It's a mistake, it's a mistake ~ Men at Work Zzzzzzzzzzzzz... I haven't posted anything in awhile, because quite frankly, there isn't much to write about. That will soon change, as NHL training camps open in about two weeks, with AHL camps beginning soon afterwards. There are a few items I've come across in the past few weeks to share. On Time Warner Sports (cable channel 32), Admirals owner Harris Turer and new head coach Lane Lambert were interviewed on Dennis Krause's talk show a few weeks ago. I missed the first few minutes, but I still enjoyed the bulk of the show. Krause alternated questions between the two, with Turer promoting the entertainment value of going to an Admirals game, while Lambert gave us an idea of what kind of coach he'll be. No surprises from Turer. He came across just as you'd imagine... enthusiastically promoting the upcoming season. Krause brought up the future of a new arena someday replacing the Bradley Center and the uncertain future of the Bucks, with Turer denying he'd be interested in any ownership of the Bucks, and was hopeful that the Admirals would be included in any plans for a new arena. Turer also explained how the overall entertainment dollar in the Milwaukee area is limited, and the team is looking at attracting people from outside the immediate Milwaukee area to come to games. Having televised games on channel 32 all along the eastern part of the state doesn't hurt. Watching Lambert speak was more interesting for me, as I'm curious to see how he'll fare as our next coach. It was refreshing to hear him say that he will not copy the style of previous head coach Claude Noel. He expressed a desire to open up the game more to increase scoring. Lambert also described how he is an 'in-your-face' coach when dealing with his players. His decision to hire Brad Lauer as his assistant was made to provide a balance, as Lauer is more of a behind-the-scenes counselling type of coach. The theory is having that contrast will make it easier to get the most out of the players, as some guys respond to one approach better than the other. I came away from watching that show impressed by Lane Lambert and confident in Harris Turer's continued commitment to the team. I also caught part of a segment on a Milwaukee newscast about a new Admirals theme song we'll hear at the BC this season. A guy dressed like a pirate sings a song that goes something like "Yo ho ho, shot and a goal!". Seemed like something out of a children's TV show, which may be exactly the plan... another way to entertain kids so that families make a return trip for another game. The part of the song I heard wasn't as putrid as "Jump on it", "Put Your Hands Up in the Air", or "YMCA", but I guarantee I'll be tired of hearing it by the second or third game of the season. |
| 7 August 2007 |
Road Trippin'
 Road trippin' with my two favorite alliesFully loaded we got snacks and supplies It's time to leave this town It's time to steal away Let's go get lost Anywhere in the U.S.A. ~ Red Hot Chili Peppers The schedule for this season has finally been released, and that means the diehard fans can now begin scheduling their lives around this calendar. Family vacations, weddings, parties, dentist appointments, etc. (Hey, it's not fun going to a game with a mouth full of novacaine). We now know what days and weeks are good for that stuff... at least for now. All it would take is for a Cyndi Lauper tour to ask the BC to play on a particular night to find the Admirals forced to reschedule a game. We, as fans, can't control that, so we can only pray that when we make plans around the current schedule, that it stays that way. So, let's break down the upcoming season. The Admirals will play 60 their 80 games within a cozier division. With the addition of nearby Rockford, IL, and the relocation of Omaha to Moline, IL (Quad City), the Admirals will be closer to home much more often. In the division, Milwaukee will play 10 games (5 home, 5 away) against Chicago and Rockford, and 8 games against the rest (Quad City, Peoria, Iowa, Houston, San Antonio). Against the North division, the Admirals face Grand Rapids 8 times, Manitoba 4 times, and Toronto and Hamilton twice each. They will not play against three Western Conference teams - Rochester, Syracuse, and the new team in Cleveland (Lake Erie Monsters). The only Eastern Conference teams on the Admirals schedule are Providence and Manchester. The Monarchs make their Bradley Center debut on January 18. The Admirals play in Manchester for the first time on February 5. Of course, I need to insert my yearly bitchin' and complainin' about the fact the AHL coddles the New England teams by limiting the number of inter-conference games. Without looking it up, I think the only time Lowell ever left the Eastern time zone was to play in St. John's (1998-2005). The league continues to ignore the fans who have asked for more crossover. The negative effect of the unbalanced schedule on the Admirals is less this year than in the past, as we will see an extra rival, which spreads out the heavy part of the schedule. Instead of watching the same teams 6-7 times a year, it's now down to 4-5. Still, I'd like to see a few more Eastern teams each year. Notable road trips - November 9-10, both nights at Manitoba - November 23-30, fly to Texas, Houston to San Antonio, back to Houston, back to San Antonio, finishing it off in Quad City - December 8-9, mingle with the hosers on a weekend trip to Hamilton and Toronto - February 5-6, try the clam chowda in Manchester and Providence - April 2-4, two games in San Antonio, enjoy the River Walk on the 3rd - April 12-13, finish the season in Houston Other nuggets - The first ten games of the season alternate home and away. - The team doesn't leave the upper midwest for two long stints: Dec. 10 - Feb. 4 and Feb. 7 - Apr. 1. - For now, there are no early afternoon games. 7pm on weekdays, 7:30 on Saturdays, and 4pm on Sundays. - 8 of the 12 games in March are at home, including a 6 game home stand - The year's shortest month features the most games... 16 in February - The Admirals play in Rockford for the first time on Dec. 22, while the IceHogs make their formal debut on BC ice on Jan. 12... although you can argue that the Admirals were practically the IceHogs for several games in the past few seasons due to many callups. - Quad City comes to Milwaukee for the first time on Oct. 12 (home opener), while the Admirals travel to Moline for the first time on Oct. 26. - No games on Halloween or St. Patrick's Day, but the Admirals get to give the Wolves a heart-shaped butt-whoopin' on Valentine's Day. - New Year's Eve in Rockford. That might be fun. Or not. At least it's close enough to get back home by midnight (if you hurry). |
| 1 August 2007 |
It's been a long time
It's been a long time since I did the Stroll. Ooh, let me get it back, let me get it back, Let me get it back, baby, where I come from. It's been a long time, been a long time, Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time. Yes it has. ~ Led Zeppelin (Rock & Roll) I feel like an athlete who has gotten out of 'game shape' in the offseason and struggles to gather it all together as training camp approaches. With many obligations and distractions, coupled with the natural lull in the offseason, pushed me out of the hockey loop for awhile. But now August is here, and I'm going to get caught up. At least I'll try. The Admirals lost a member of the family a few weeks ago. Team founder Warren Fansher, known as "Auk" by those who knew him passed away a few weeks ago after a long battle with heart problems. After selling the team after it's first season, he remained connected with the team and sat in the press area at Admirals home games. I had a few conversations with him over the last few years, at first not realizing who he was. But I wish I would've taken more time to get to know him. A genuinely nice guy who knew more about hockey than I ever will. Bill Johnson wrote a great piece on Fansher for onmilwaukee.com. Read it before it goes offline. The Admirals coaching staff is in place after Nashville hired Brad Lauer to be the assistant in Milwaukee under Lane Lambert. Lauer and Lambert were teammates in Cleveland for two seasons ('96-98). Lauer is a familiar name to Admiral fans from the '90s. After his time in the NHL decreased after the 80's, he became an IHL journeyman with Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Cleveland, and Utah. He scored 53 goals in 67 games with Indy in 1992-93. He scored 51 goals in 357 NHL games (including playoffs) with the Islanders, Blackhawks, Senators, and Penguins. Lauer brings with him five years of coaching experience as an assistant with Canadian junior hockey's Kootenay Ice. In player news, Kim Staal has signed to play in Sweden. One of my preseason favorites a year ago, his season in Milwaukee didn't go too well, so it's no surprise he has returned to Europe. Edmonton signed T.J. Reynolds. Assuming he is placed on their AHL squad, he will be playing close to his hometown (Kitchener) with the Hamilton Bulldogs. Good luck to both of those guys. Nashville signed a pair of 2007 draft picks. Sweden's Andreas Thuresson, a forward who will turn 20 this fall and 21 year old defenseman Robert Dietrich from Germany. Kevin Klein also re-signed with the Predators, but it is unlikely he will appear in Milwaukee. He is expected to crack the Nashville roster, but even if he stinks it up in camp, he would have to clear waivers to come back to the Admirals... and you can bet another NHL team would pick him up. Here's how the Admirals roster is shaping up, mind you it's only August and this is only my guess. Goaltenders Dan Ellis and Dov Grumet-Morris Defenseman Alex Henry, Nolan Yonkman, Mark Matheson, Robert Dietrich, Cody Franson, Janne Niskala, Richard Stehlik, and Alexander Sulzer Forwards Rich Peverley, Cal O'Reilly, John Vigilante, Kelsey Wilson, Ryan Maki, Shane Willis, Matt Ellison, Antti Pihlstrom, Mike Santorelli, Oliver Setzinger, and Andreas Thuresson. That's 21 players, but the team can only carry 19 healthy players into the season. We'll certainly have a better idea in about 8 weeks. One last note... the AHL schedule should be released before next week. I'll throw together a new calendar for the site soon after it's announced. |
| 4 July 2007 |
I saw fireworks from the freeway...
 and behind closed eyes I cannot make them go awaycause you were born on the fourth of july, freedom ring now something on the surface it stings ~(Jason Mraz) Hope you all had a great Fourth of July holiday. Mine was uneventful... after all, I'm sitting here updating this page instead of doing something out and about. The week that has passed was an eventful one for Admirals and Predators fans. The free agency market opened for business on Sunday. A few of our players left. A few new players were signed. More news on the pending sale of the Predators. I'll briefly break these stories down for you... Before I get to that, I'll answer a question that gets posed to me several times every summer. "When is the schedule coming out?". I never hear an exact date, but it's usually released in the first week of August. Why not sooner? Because the league has to wait on the NBA to release their schedule. Milwaukee, Houston, Cleveland, and San Antonio share their building with an NBA team. The Admirals lost a few key figures this past week. Coach Claude Noel accepted an assistant coaching position with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Upon arriving in Nashville to conduct the Predators prospects camp last week, he got the phone call asking if he wanted to reunite with Columbus head coach Ken Hitchcock, who Noel worked under in Kalamazoo in the IHL. Best of luck to Claude. He has certainly deserved his shot at an NHL job. The big question now is who will take his place behind the Milwaukee bench. Admirals assistant Lane Lambert could be a canidate. His resume shows two years as an AHL assistant and one year as a head coach in junior hockey, but I'm guessing the Predators would rather pick someone who has minor league head coaching experience. Milwaukee also lost AHL Defenseman of the Year Sheldon Brookbank who followed Claude to Columbus. Signed to a two way contract, he will play in Syracuse if he doesn't earn a BJ jersey after training camp. And although Ville Koistinen re-signed with Nashville this week... it is unlikely he will see time in Milwaukee because he signed a $475,000 one way contract. Players with a one way deal only see time in the minors if they are on an injury conditioning assignment or are completely worthless in the NHL. The week before, Brandon Segal was traded to Anaheim. Hopefully he gets a look by the Ducks. I feel he played well enough to deserve a brief callup by the Predators this past season, but it never came. And with the recent salary-dump trade by Nashville of goaltender Tomas Vokoun to Florida, it effectively promotes Pekka Rinne to the #2 position on the Predators depth chart behind Chris Mason. Other Admirals may get a full time NHL position, such as Kevin Klein and Rich Peverley, but we won't know how that shakes out until after training camp. Bet the bank on Pekka spending the season in Tennessee. Good luck to Sheldon, Ville, Brandon, and Pekka. All will be missed by Admiral fans, including yours truly. Across the Milwaukee area, there are girls literally crying over losing one or more of those guys. Happens every summer. A few players were added to the Admirals roster. Alex Henry re-signed, although he could earn an NHL roster spot, and journeyman goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris was signed. Dov has played on six different teams in his two year pro career. A slew of new prospects were signed in the past few weeks. I haven't taken the time to learn much about all of them. The Predators lost a few top players as they are reducing player salary expenses as Craig Leipold is cutting his losses before selling the team in the coming months. Paul Kariya signed with St. Louis. Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell signed with Philadelphia. Peter Forsberg is out of Nashville's picture, but hasn't yet signed elsewhere, and as I mentioned, Tomas Vokoun went to Florida. Nashville re-signed Jerred Smithson and Scott Nichol; and added Radek Bonk, Greg de Vries, and Jed Ortmeyer. This season does not look good for Predator fans. But there might be some good news for the Predator fans. A group of local investors have put in a bid to buy the team from Leipold. Two other bazillionaires have put in offers with the plan of relocating the team in the future. The local group would keep the team in Tennessee. No word yet on how much cash they ponied up. Me thinks it will fall far short of the $200 million price range of the other bids. I'd also like to give a tip of the hat to Admirals president Jon Greenberg for winning the AHL's executive of the year honors. He and his staff have done a great job in his first two years running the team. I'm looking forward to what he has in store for us in the upcoming season. |
| 27 June 2007 |
You can't judge a book
 Oh, can't you seeWhoa, you've misjudged me I look like a farmer but I'm a lover You can't judge a book by lookin' at the cover (Bo Diddley) At work this week, I had to do a double take. The Hanson Brothers were on the cover of the latest Sports Illustrated magazine. In June... A double issue... Wow. And yes, I made sure this wasn't some sort of Canadian edition... it is the Sports Illustrated. And as much of a fan I am of the Charlestown trio... I'm not sure I'll be buying myself a copy of this issue. I don't think I can force myself to do it. Doing so would break a boycott I've had on SI for several years. After reading one-too-many articles slamming auto racing (my other passion in sports) back in the mid-90's, I stopped my subscription and convinced myself not to bother buying it at the checkout lane either... including the swimsuit issues! Five years ago, my friend told me to read his copy reporting on the story of the 13-year old girl who died in Columbus after being hit by a puck. I became livid. I can't remember exactly what was said in that article, but it had me cussing for several days.... and I vowed not to even read another SI article again... in fact, I've even avoided their web site until today. Ok... I admit... I'm guilty... I peeked at their site today and read the article about the Hanson Brothers. A good article. Almost as if Dickie Dunn wrote it himself. The article mentions that Steve Carlson lives in the area (Kenosha), but doesn't make mention of his brief stint doing Admirals TV games. I could give out the link to the article, but I won't. It's there if you look for it. At least for now. Still, I have to wonder how slow of a news week it is in sports for these guys to make the cover. I'm certainly not complaining... I'm just in a deep state of disbelief. |
| 19 June 2007 |
All we hear is Radio Ga Ga
 Radio blah blah Radio what's new? Radio, someone still loves you! Those who have visited my site over the years have read my moaning and complaining of not being able to tune into Admirals radio broadcasts when I am unable to listen to the games online. I live in the far southern corner of the state in Pleasant Prairie (south of Kenosha). Not very far from Milwaukee, but too far for many of the city's AM radio signals. Several years ago, the games were on WISN 1130AM, which came in clear in the daytime, but the signal was turned way down after sunset, at which time St. Louis Blues games (1120AM) would bleed all over Doug Pettit's call of the Admirals. Kinda funny actually, hearing parts of two games at once. Sometimes they would finish each other's sentences. The team switched to a Christian music station (WJYI 1340AM) three(?) years ago. Weak signal. I could maybe catch every third or fourth word from Kyle Schultz. I rarely bothered to tune in if I was south of highway 20. Two years ago, the team was added to ESPN Radio's lineup. "1510 days, 1290 nights". At the time, I thought that announcement was pretty cool. ESPN Radio... had a nice ring to it, as if the Admirals finally found a perfect home. It turned out to be a little less than perfect. I still couldn't hear the games at night, and even if I was travelling where the signal was available, the games were often tape-delayed due to conflicts with other sports events. Once again, I rarely bothered to try to tune in the games when I was away from my computer. But it was a positive step for the Admirals. 1290 hosted a weekly call-in show, and the station exposed and promoted the Admirals throughout the day to other sports fans. Last week, the team announced a change to Sports Radio 1250 (WSSP). According to radio-locator.com, 1250's nighttime signal should reach me. I've been too lazy to actually turn off my newly-acquired XM radio and test out the 1250 signal on my car stereo to see how much static I'll have to endure, but for now, I'm trusting the web site telling me it's a stronger signal than previous Admiral radio outlets. The call-in show will also be carried on 1250. It will be interesting to see how often the Admirals are tape-delayed, as 1250 is the alternative station for Brewers and Bucks games, when they cannot be heard live on 620AM. UW hockey and basketball is also carried by 1250. A few people sent me messages asking for my opinion on the radio switch. I'm taking a wait-and-see stance. A stronger signal is a good start... now we'll have to see if they get preempted by other events. But whether it works out great or not, it can not be considerably worse than I've dealt with in the past. A thumbs up to the Admirals for trying to "right the ship" on this one. Hopefully, most of you realize the thinking behind most of my recent blog entry titles. I try to pick a song lyric pertaining to the topic at hand (changing words when needed). Most of you younger fans probably do not realize this, as my taste in music often goes back to when MTV actually played music videos (and earlier). The title to this post is from a 1984 Queen song... scrolling down, you'll see references to Van Halen, Pink Floyd, Frankie Valli, and David Bowie. And I will include subsequent lines to the song in italics at the beginning of the blog entry if they are relevant. Why do I do this? Thinking of catchy blog titles isn't always easy, and this way it adds a little quirky fun to the site. |
| 13 June 2007 |
Summer nights and my Playstation
 That's all we need baby don't cha know It was revealed this week that the EA Sports NHL 08 hockey video game will include AHL teams and players. It will be available for PS2, PS3, XBox, and PC's. Expect it to be released near the beginning of the season. This is not the first video game to feature the AHL. Gretzky NHL '06 was the first. Unfortunately, that game only allowed use of the AHL teams in individual games, and not in any type of season or playoff mode... and because of that, I grew tired of the game a little quicker than I normally would have. I'm not a hard-core gamer, so this news doesn't blow me away, but I will likely pick up a copy in a few months and get what fun I can out of it. The first few days I own a hockey game, I spend most of the time updating the rosters... a tedious task, especially on console systems, as you have to go one player at a time through various menu screens... and not having a view of the entire roster at a glance... scroll, scroll, scroll... "nope, he's not on this team"... menu, menu, scroll, scroll, scroll... rinse, lather, repeat. Not only would I save a version of the real-life updated rosters, but I also like to make up an Admirals Past-and-Present Superteam using the players available in the game. In the Gretzky game, I think I remember counting more than 100 current and ex-Admirals to chose from, so it wasn't an easy task to choose who made the Superteam, and what line combinations were most appealing. The last PC hockey game I owned (02?) was a lot easier to update, as I found a utility program (Blomman's), which allowed me to move players from team-to-team much easier and gave complete team rosters onscreen without endless scrolling and menu-hopping. Not sure if such a utility still exists (Blomman's was around from 99-03), but I would love to find one for the 08 game. For information on the upcoming game, visit the official site. Not much to see on that page right now, but I'm sure it'll explain more as the game is about ready to hit the store shelves.  Former Admiral goon Jeremy Yablonski made his mixed martial arts debut at an event in Idaho last month. Before becoming a pro hockey player, he was a Golden Gloves boxing champ, and the only useful part of his hockey game is dropping the mitts, so it's no surprise he has an urge to enter the octagon.He played with the ECHL champion Idaho Steelheads this season, but did not participate in the playoffs. You can watch the entire bout on Youtube. Perhaps we'll see him on one of the many televised MMA series in the near future. Program alert - now that the short final season of the Soprano's is history, I now look forward to tonight's season premier of Rescue Me on FX. Denis Leary plays a hockey-playing FDNY fire fighter who has so many problems in life, making everyone watching the show feel better about themselves afterwards. Good stuff. |
| 31 May 2007 |
New car, caviar, 4 star daydream.. think Ill buy me a hockey team
Part of me is disinterested. I know I shouldn't be. Something like this can cause shock waves to our part of the hockey universe and affect the future of the Admirals. Still, I've only casually followed the story. For those of you who haven't heard much about it... here's the story in a nutshell: - Original Predators owner Craig Leipold, a Racine businessman who married into the wealthy S.C. Johnson family is selling the team to Balsillie for $220 million, pending league approval. - Leipold cited overall losses of $70 million as his reason for selling. Take away what he originally paid for the franchise, and he is making about a $50 million profit from selling the team now. - Balsillie tried to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this season, with thoughts of moving the team to Ontario... Kitchener and Hamilton were possible destinations. - Balsillie recently told NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that he would not move the Predators, although published reports of him renewing talks with city officials in Hamilton surfaced this week. - Due to a clause in their arena lease, the Predators can get out of their lease early and move if they manage two consecutive seasons with an average attendance less than 14,000. Because of the lockout season, there are arguments stemming over what 'consecutive' means. City officials claim the team cannot exercise that clause until after the 2008-09 season. My thoughts on Leipold... I don't blame him for selling. I wouldn't want to lose that much money when the market is ripe to make a decent profit on his investment. Perhaps he could have sold the franchise for more money in a few years. Perhaps not. My thoughts on Balsillie... he comes across as being a tool. As a longtime Penguins fan, I followed the story of him trying to buy the team from Mario Lemieux. He backed out of a deal to buy the Pens at the last minute, leaving Lemieux scrambling to form a plan B. Lemieux was so upset, he refused to refund Balsillie's multi-million dollar deposit on the sale. My thoughts on whether the Preds should move or stay... Honestly, it doesn't matter to me personally. I know there are several Nashville fans who read my site who aren't happy about reading this, but it's how I feel. If they stay in Nashville... good for fans in Tennessee. If they move to Canada... good for fans in Ontario. Either way, they will have Balsillie as an owner... I'm more concerned aboot how and if he'll continue to work with the Admirals, regardless of where the Predators end up. On to lighter news, congratulations are in order for a couple of guys. - Future Admiral Cody Franson and his Vancouver Giants mildly upset the world of junior hockey by winning the Memorial Cup on their home ice. The annual CHL Memorial Cup championship tournament pits the three league champs (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) along with the team of the host city. The Giants weren't slouches though, as they were the runner-up in the WHL tournament held earlier this month. - Former Admiral tough guy Ryan Tobler's Colorado Eagles won the CHL title for the second time in three seasons. He has been a fan favorite in Loveland, CO, for the past four seasons. The AHL announced the divisional format and schedule matrix this week. The West Division will have eight teams - Milwaukee, Rockford, Quad City, Peoria, Iowa, Houston, San Antonio, and Chicago. 60 of Milwaukee's 80 games will be played in the division (10 games against Rockford and Chicago, 8 against each of the other five teams). The remaining 20 games will be against four of the six North Division teams and two Eastern Conference teams. The Admirals will not play Rochester or Lake Erie (the new Cleveland team), and will see Manchester and Providence. The schedule will be released, as usual, in late August or early September. It's about what I expected with the matrix as far as the division goes, however I'm disappointed not to see Lake Erie included, as that's a road trip I've taken in the past to catch an Admirals road game near my father's western Pennsylvania home. I am encouraged by seeing two Eastern Conference teams find their way to our building. Ideally I would like to see a few more (4 or 5 a year on a rotating basis), but I'll try to be content for now. And in transaction news... Mark Matheson has signed a deal with Nashville that will have him playing in Milwaukee next season. He ended the season on an amateur contract with Milwaukee. In college (UMass), he played both defense and forward, but will likely be used as a defenseman with the Admirals. If you're out at the Milwaukee Mile for the IRL race this weekend, look for me in the infield or walking along souvenir alley behind the grandstands. I'll be wearing a blue IndyCar hat. I usually see a handful of familiar faces from Admirals games at the big races. Let's hope the weather cooperates. |
| 25 May 2007 |
Oh what a night!
 The Rockford Icehogs - 2007 UHL Champions. And I saw the deciding game 7 last night in Rockford. The third time in my life I've witnessed a pro hockey Cup winning moment (along with Chicago in 1998 and Hershey in 2006). After realizing a game seven would happen after Rockford's loss Tuesday night in Kalamazoo, I went online and bought tickets for last night's guaranteed Cup-hoisting game. As the Admirals UHL affiliate, I naturally was there to support the Hogs, but would not have been devastated if the Wings would have pulled it off. I was simply there to see a pretty cool hockey moment. Rockford dressed 13 of their 15 former Admirals, but unfortunately, not Paul Brown (pictured with the Cup). Kalamazoo had one former Admiral (Kory Karlander 1997-98). A decent (but not sold out) crowd of over 6200 loud and proud fans were on hand hoping to celebrate after the final horn. I'm guessing there were at least 200 fans from Michigan cheering on their Wings. I was disappointed that there was not any Colonial Cup merchandise on sale. You would think with strong buying power of the Icehogs fan base, a t-shirt commemorating the final series would have made some money. And I was surprised (but not upset) that the supply of rally towels being handed out at the turnstile ran out after about two minutes. The game itself was good by UHL standards... and despite what was on the line, there were plenty of hard hits. Neither team created many stellar scoring chances, but it was still an exciting game to watch. The Hogs struck first less than three minutes into the game as playoff MVP Kevin Ulanski connected on a shorthanded breakaway, beating rookie netminder Ryan Nie. The Wings power play unit tied it up in the middle of the first, but I didn't see exactly what happened as several fans in front of me stood up as the puck bounced around in front of goaltender Frederic Cloutier. No jumbotron... no replay. Jason Notermann put the Hogs up for good in the second, and that led to a frustrating to watch third period... just as the Admirals were guilty of all season... playing prevent defense with a one goal lead... seldom sending more than two players into the offensive zone. The tension broke as Nicolas Corbeil sent the anxious crowd into a frenzy by scoring with 1:33 left in regulation. Final score... Rockford 3 - Kalamazoo 1. After the final horn, the textbook player mob celebration... never gets old. Chaz Johnson did some sort of dance move at center ice, as his teammates exchanged high fives and hugs followed by the postgame handshake. The league commissioner spoke for a few moments and handed out the MVP award to Ulanski and the Colonial Cup to team captain Nathan Lutz. Girlfriends, wives, family, and friends joined the team on the ice as the Cup was passed around. Fans in the arena were overjoyed. As I exited the building a good half hour after the final horn, we were treated to fireworks and the sounds of car horns echoing throughout the main parking structure. Good times... but my time as a Rockford 'fan' ended as I left the downtown area, as the Icehog's AHL Era begins now. I wish the Icehogs good fortune (towards longevity, not on-ice success) in the AHL, however, I hope their fans also 'upgrade' from the UHL to the AHL. It was quite embarrassing to see hundreds of fans throw a fit anytime an Icehog player lost an edge or was (legally) checked out of the play... pleading for penalties and insulting the ref... (or 'refs' as I heard fans say several times that night). Yes, officials do miss things from time to time... and it's acceptable to give the referee grief when it's warranted, but the crew I saw last night did a decent job (referee John Searle and linesmen Peter Cichy and Al Stensland). The crowd has reacted the same in every game I've ever attended in Rockford. Still... congratulations Icehog fans. Soak it up and enjoy this time. It may be a while until you can recapture that feeling again, as the odds are against you in a 29/30 team league. |
| 16 May 2007 |
Turn and face the strain...
 Minor league hockey in the summertime can be summed up by one word. Changes.Roster changes, logo changes, affiliation changes, league changes, city changes. Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. News broke this week of the Omaha Knights possibly moving to Moline, IL, current home of the UHL's Quad Cities Mallards. QC has had close calls in recent years to get AHL hockey. San Jose was interested two years ago, but chose Worcester instead, and Edmonton expressed interest in moving their dormant AHL franchise there last year. FYI - 'Quad Cities' is the name of the urban region, including the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf, and the Illinois cities of Moline, Rock Island, and East Moline. (Yes, five cities... Bettendorf did not grow until after the phrase was coined.) The hockey arena is in Moline along the banks of the Mississippi River. The news isn't official, as nobody involved is willing to confirm or deny it, but there are strong signs. Omaha is co-owned and affiliated by the Calgary Flames. Calgary GM Darryl Sutter and other Flames employees were seen in Moline this week, and Omaha's attendance has been among the worst in the league. Anonymous sources broke the story to the local media. We'll have to wait and see how this pans out. Other recent team news... - The Hartford Wolf Pack appear to be back for another season, as the city appears to be ironing out the final details on a new arena contract with MSG, who owns the Wolf Pack. The future of the team has been hinging on this deal, which has been up in the air for the last few months. - The Lowell Devils may be moving to Trenton, home of an ECHL team that would make the step up to the AHL. This would place the New Jersey prospects closer to their NHL home. The web address trentondevils.com currently forwards people to the Trenton Titans ECHL site. Back to the Omaha/Quad Cities story... This is nothing but positive news for the Milwaukee Admirals. Along with the addition of the Rockford Icehogs (Quad Cities' biggest UHL rival), the division is becoming much more cozier and brings the travel costs down, as Moline and Rockford are close enough to Milwaukee to warrant a drive home after the game instead of getting hotel rooms. Granted, any time a team moves, the fans (and employees) of the team that moved get the short end of the stick, and I mean no disrespect to them. I met a group of very nice Knights fans in Milwaukee last fall. To them, I express my condolences. |
| 13 May 2007 |
Happy Mother's Day
Been a busy work week for me. Still trying to play 'catch-up' with the web site, but couldn't get much done. I should have more free time to work on it in the coming week. In the meantime, I would like to encourage Admiral fans hungry to see some great playoff hockey to consider taking in a game in Rockford, as they are trying to win their first Cup. They are the Admirals affiliate, and I've given them my support for years now. That ends in a week or so, when their UHL era comes to a close, and they begin the transition to the AHL as a divisional rival to the Admirals. I may even take in a Chicago Wolves game, as they have advanced to the Conference Finals. If they advance to the Finals, it would be a great chance for Admirals fans to see an Eastern Conference team, up close and in person. Too bad we can't do that more often in the regular season. My brother came up with an observation this week that I gotta agree with. Why is it when you see people out and about in a Detroit Red Wings jersey, that it looks like they are wearing one a few sizes too small? This generally does not pertain to people you see at a game... but rather for the types who call themselves fans, but never go to a game. I'm guessing many of those 'fans' go to the mall and try one on as if they are buying a t-shirt. I had a boss who was a Detroit 'fan'... never saw him in a jersey, but I don't think they make them in his 'Jabba the Hutt' size. And this reminds me, next season, the new Rbk performance jersey will be used in the NHL and AHL. Expect a steep price increase to buy the new type of jersey, so if you want a jersey of your favorite team, get one soon before the convential style sells out. |
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