Milwaukeehockey.com Editorial

A rope, a tree, hang the referee

Todd — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:39:00 +0000

Yep, if you were at game 3 of the opening round playoff series against Chicago, you witnessed a very poorly officiated game by Brian Pochmara. In these tightly contested and obviously important set of games, you would hope the league would assign their finest referees. When the teams shake hands after the series is over, the last thing that should be bitched about is how a referee decided the outcome. Unfortunately, that will probably happen in the coming days.

After the first two games in Chicago, Wolves coach John Anderson was in the newspapers complaining about the officiating - game one by Shaun Davis and game two by Pochmara. Was the slanted officiating in game 3 an attempt to appease Anderson? If I were a ref, I wouldn't want Anderson's tobacco-laden spittle in my face, so I'd probably do what I could to keep that from happening. I doubt that conspiracy theory has any merit, but you never know.

Since the Admirals joined the AHL in 2001, I have been pleased by the performance of the refs. Sure, over the last seven seasons there have been some poor games here and there (mostly by Justin St. Pierre), but when I hear fans at the BC scream about a call/non-call... the ref usually made a correct (or close judgement) call.

Prior to 2001, the referees in the IHL made my blood boil on several occasions. There were games where fans littered the ice in protest (Derek Martin), and many in which the refs were screamed at along the tunnel coming off the ice. Pochmara called game 3 like an IHL ref.

Sigh... I'm not surprised this series against Chicago has been so tight and chippy. All three have been one goal games - two in overtime. Several group shoving matches and curse words thrown about. No matter who is on the roster, these two teams have always hated each other over the years.

I'm still wishing we could have finished 5th in the division to cross over to the North Division playoffs. Not only have I believed the Admirals would have an easier time against Toronto in the first round (Milwaukee won both games in the regular season), but even if the Marlies would prevail, it would not be as bad as a loss to the Wolves. Not many Toronto fans come to Milwaukee to talk trash.

In fact, I think San Antonio tanked it in the final regular season game to face Toronto instead of Chicago. After all of the other games in the league were wrapped up (and San Antonio's chances at a 3rd place finish were erased), they allowed Quad City to come from behind to win in the 3rd period. Smart move. Do not be surprised if San Antonio advances to the Conference Final.

The end is near

Todd — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:09:00 +0000

I know... it's been awhile since my last entry. Partly because I've been busy. Partly because I really haven't had much of an urge to write about anything in particular. However, today I have some time, and I want throw out my thoughts on the upcoming playoffs as the Admirals are currently in a tight race amongst the 2nd through 5th place teams in the division going into the final week of the regular season.

As I write this...
2. Rockford - 94 points, 4 games remaining
3. Houston - 92 points, 4 games
4. Milwaukee - 92 points, 3 games
5. San Antonio - 90 points, 4 games

Because the North Division is a wasteland this season, the fifth place team in the West Division will cross over to play as the #4 seed in the North. In fact, it's possible the entire 8 team West Division will finish with a better record than the four non-playoff teams in the North (Hamilton, Grand Rapids, Lake Erie, and Rochester).

As a logical fan, I'd LOVE to see the Admirals finish 5th and play in that weaker division. Of course, it wouldn't be bad to see Milwaukee fight on and finish 2nd, but I prefer our possibilities against Toronto than anyone in our division.

The one team in the North that scares me is Syracuse. They are on a 16-0-0-3 run, with former Admiral midget goalie Karl Goehring earning recent league hardware for Player of the Week and Goalie of the Month. Then again, they have several doormats in their division, making a run like that easier to accomplish.

But worrying about Syracuse is forward thinking... the Admirals would not face them until at least the 2nd round. As of today, Milwaukee could possibly face Toronto or any of the other four West teams in the first round. Bring on the Marlies!

I did some math to illustrate how dominate Milwaukee's division is...
Average points per team
88.75 - West
86.43 - Atlantic
84.71 - East
79.43 - North

Average wins per team
40.5 - West
38.7 - East
38.4 - Atlantic
35.1 - North

If Milwaukee doesn't finish fifth, I hope they climb to 2nd or 3rd in order to avoid Chicago in the first round. Houston, San Antonio, and Rockford are fairly equal in my mind. I really have no preference among those three teams.

Regardless of who they face, to go far in the playoffs, the Admirals need to put more pucks on the net, get more output from their anemic power play, win more key faceoffs, and get consistent goal scoring from guys like Ellison, Langfeld, and Pihlström.

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Last night, I began a project to change the layout of my web site. I've always kept my site friendly to people using a screen resolution of 800x600, aligning everything to the left with a text area at a width of 750 pixels.

That size was acceptable to me on my 1024x768 monitor. I had a small amount of blank space on the right side, but that didn't bother me much. It did limit some of what I could and could not do with my site, as I had to squeeze everything into that 750px wide space.

I now have a widescreen monitor (1440x900), and I found it painful to see all of that wasted space on my screen. So, last night, I changed the layout on the main page to feature a wider text area that is centered on the screen. In time, I will change all of the pages to a wider size - a task that involves not only widening the layout, but also creating different graphics and tweaking the presentation to make it look right.

Anyone using a screen sized at 800x600 will have to horizontally scroll to see the whole page. To those who are bothered by this, I recommend changing your screen settings, or better yet, upgrading to a high resolution monitor.

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I found it refreshing to see Claude the Happy Trumpeter at the games this past weekend... not that I'm a huge fan of his schtick... but rather it meant I didn't have to listen to as many annoying songs (Jump on It, Put Your Hands Up, YMCA, Everybody Clap Your Hands, ETC!)

The best hockey arenas mix in classic rinkside organ music, which is sorely lacking at the BC.

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Why do the BC cameramen search out shirtless boys in the crowd? In the times we live in, glorifying that is in poor taste... especially after the team was mentioned several times in the local newspaper for having an employee who really, really likes young boys. Chances are, there are a few gay pedophiles at every game who get their "inner drool" going when they see half naked kids up on the Jumbotron.

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Before I go, I want to warn everyone... if the web site stops getting updated, I probably died. No, I'm not suicidal... I've been getting signs that my time is approaching.

Recently I experienced a string of eight straight days of coming across a funeral procession in eight different parts of my hometown. The streak ended when I stayed home one day... but since then I've been seeing one every few days.

When the time comes, please don't send flowers... after all, I'm a hockey fan, not a nancy boy.

Entering the fourth quarter

Todd — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:07:00 +0000

The regular season is now 75% complete. 60 games down, 20 to go. And I have some real concerns of the Admirals chances to make the playoffs.

If the season ended today, they would make the playoffs by a single point in the standings. However, Peoria and Quad City have played fewer games and are within a few points of elbowing their way past Milwaukee.

For the Admirals to succeed at the tail end of the season, they will have to be better than they are at the tail end in a typical game. They tend to be outplayed in the final twenty minutes. If comparing an Admirals game to a horse race, the Admirals would be a thoroughbred that fades after the 3/4 pole.

In the first 60 games, the Admirals have only outscored their opponent in the third period 17 times (28.3%). And it's happened only 6 times in the last 29 games (20.7%). They are not battling back often enough when they are losing, and they are blowing leads too often.

The photo at the top of this entry is of a piece of paper posted in the Admirals locker room to teach the team how to play with a lead. One paragraph. To me, it comes across as a statement that you would hope a pro hockey player would already be aware of.

Then again, there are postings in my workplace that state the obvious. Stuff I don't bother reading more than once. Let's hope the coaching staff is passing along the message by doing more than just putting stuff on the wall.

Another concern I have is with the power play. Ranked 19th in the league, and all too often we see the team struggle to even gain the zone with a man advantage. At times I wish they could be allowed to decline a penalty and continue playing 5-on-5.

If the Admirals hold on and make the playoffs, I hope they finish 5th in the division and get to cross over to play against weaker North division teams in the first two rounds. Anything can happen in the playoffs, but I like their chances in the first round against Toronto a lot better than Chicago right now.

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Somebody posted a comment on my previous entry pointing out the story of the Bradley Center seeking a title sponsor for the building.

The Bradley Center was a $90 million gift to the city by the late Admirals owner Jane Bradley Pettit in 1988. Many feel that it would insult her generous legacy by giving her gift a corporate-sponsored name.

Wanna be angry at someone about it? Blame the Bucks.

To keep the NBA team from leaving to a more lucrative market, the BC grabs it's ankles and bites it's lips while the Bucks use and abuse it. Not only do the Bucks play rent-free, the BC payed them over $7 million dollars last year!! A number that increases each year.

In addition, the Bucks receive 27.5% of concession revenue from all events at the BC, as well as revenue from merchandise and suite sales. Because of this, I haven't spent one dime at the BC food stands in almost 2 years.

The Bucks are spending $62.6 million dollars on their 15 man roster. Eleven players make more than a million. Eight players make at least three million. Michael Ruffin makes over a million and averages 1.3 points per game.

I feel that if the BC secures a few million a year in corporate sponsorship, then the Bucks will want even more money to stay put. In fact, it's inevitable. They have long term contracts with five players that generally increase in price each year. Next season, ten players are already under contract for about the same amount as the fifteen from this season, meaning that five more player contracts will blow that total up even higher.

It's just a matter of time until that growing fiscal irresponsibility becomes too much for the blue collar Milwaukee market to endure. The sooner the Bucks leave, the better.

Regardless of whatever name shows up on my ticket stub in the future, I will always call it the Bradley Center.

Ten years and counting

Todd — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:35:00 +0000

Sunday marks the 10 year anniversary of my Milwaukee Admirals web site. That statement just blows my mind.

Back in the 1997-98 season, I connected to the internet for the first time. It was my fourth season as an Admiral fan, and when the idea of creating a web site entered my mind, my first thought was to make one on the Admirals.

In the early days, the site was very crude. I spent a little bit of time every day tweaking it and coming up with ideas... some that worked, and some that didn't. I experimented with graphics and layouts and learned from my mistakes.

Back then, the Admirals were still an independent team in the IHL. Eric Fenton, Mike Tomlak, Shannon Finn, Ken Sabourin, and Danny Lorenz were a few of the team's key players.

A lot has happened since then. The NHL affiliation with Nashville. Two major logo and jersey changes. The passing of one owner and the long search for a new one. The move from the IHL to the AHL. Nine playoff runs. Two division titles. Two Finals appearances. And the 2004 championship season.

Yep, it's been a wild and memorable ten years. And I'm glad to have been able to share it all with you.

The original title of the site was "The Admiral's Log", a name that I never really liked. I adopted the easy-to-remember rhyme milwaukeehockey as my domain name and site title in 1999. You can view what it was like back in May 1998 on the Wayback Machine at archive.org.

At times, the site held so much information, that it completely consumed my free time to maintain. Recently, I've had less free time to devote to it, so there is less content now than in the past, but I fully intend on keeping the site going for as long as I am a fan.

It's only appropriate that I take this time to thank all of the readers and contributors from the past decade. All of the kind words of encouragement I have received has been the fuel to keep me doing what I do.

Here's to the next ten years!

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Anyone notice the new paint job on the mask of Dov Grumet-Morris? I didn't realize it until seeing a few photos from the last game, but it appears that he has the old Admirals logo used from 1982-98 on the top of his mask. The Predators logo also appears on the chin of the mask. Very cool.

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Flipping through the channels the other night, I came across Wolves highlights on a Chicago newscast. In a game against Manitoba, the Wolves lost the game in overtime after Steve Martins sent the puck the length of the ice into his own goal. On a delayed penalty, Chicago pulled their goaltender for a sixth attacker. Martins intended on passing the puck back to a defenseman, but it missed his intended teammate and cost his team the win. Manitoba goaltender Drew MacIntyre got credit for the goal as he was the last Moose player to touch the puck.

Here's the replay on YouTube...

Conflict of interest

Todd — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:45:00 +0000

For 7 of the last 11 years, the Admirals have scheduled a home game on the same day as the Daytona 500 (98-01, 05, 07-08). Possibly 8 of 12... I could not find a 96/97 Admirals schedule.

That's a shame. My two most passionate sports interests are hockey and auto racing, and for the most part, they coexist without too many conflicts. Local race tracks generally hold their seasons from April-September, which fits nicely with the hockey calendar. One event I always look forward to watching on TV is the Daytona 500. NASCAR's biggest event kicks off the season on a mid-February Sunday afternoon.

Honestly, if the scary winter storm the local news glamorized for the past 72 hours would have actually happened (10-16" - "Run for your lives!!"), I would have stayed home to watch the race. I've only missed one Admirals home game in the last seven years by choice... which was to go to a Predators game in Chicago.

If you look around the crowd at any given game, you'll see racing hats, shirts, and jackets in the crowd, and decals in the parking lot. The Admirals work hard not to compete with Packers games when making the schedule, even rescheduling the hockey games if Green Bay manages to make the playoffs. I wish the Admirals would recognize the number of NASCAR fans who fight with the decision of staying home on that particular Sunday afternoon and keep that date open. (psst... next year it's on February 15)

In 2001, I had to learn about the death of Dale Earnhardt on a muted TV screen in the concourse of the Bradley Center. I remember being in a daze for the rest of the game, wishing I was at home. Next year, I hope I will be.

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I know I usually use this space to complain. This season, there hasn't been a whole lot to be positive about, but I will applaud a few things this time...

- How about the turn-around by Cal O'Reilly lately? Shortly after Rich Peverley was promoted to the NHL, Cal stepped up his game and has been on a tear. Six goals and 21 assists in the last 14 games, which included a nine game scoring streak and an AHL Player of the Week Award. I mentioned in the mid-season report card that he was in a sophomore slump, but maybe he's kicked it to the curb.

- And Amen and Hallejuleh that the gloves have been dropped on a regular basis again! Another item I criticized earlier this season, but lately, the boys have not let themselves get bullied around. Alex, Kelsey, Nolan... well done! Hell, even Antti and Cal each got into a scrap! After only 11 fights in the first 28 games, the team has had 21 in the last 27, and they would have had more if Kelsey didn't break his nose last month.

- I gotta admit, I was mildly amused by the Valentine's Day visit by Roscoe's girlfriend. Who knew he was getting some action away from the BC? In case you missed it, they dusted off the spare Roscoe costume, and dressed it up with a skirt and a long blond wig. She could have used an Admirals jersey, but instead she wore a sweater.

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A couple more thoughts before I go...

Someone ought to advise the youth hockey groups that participate during intermission that they should not take it too seriously. Many groups waste a minute or two of their alloted time by making sure all the kids are in their proper position before letting them play. Even worse, some groups will sit a couple of players on the bench instead of playing 7-on-7. Let the kids have fun. No one is keeping score. Just drop the puck and let them enjoy their five minutes of ice time.

The cheer stick fad is not dying soon enough. I had to move from my seat on Sunday after enduring ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, just over my right shoulder.

Those who use cheer sticks show a lack of respect for the people they sit near. In most cases, the blame lies on lazy parents who encourage their kids to use them, as it keeps them occupied, giving the parents an escape from, well... actually being parents! The cheer sticks ought to come with a ziplock bag of earplugs to be handed out to anyone within earshot.

Better yet, I encourage the use of your hands. The sound of natural applause is louder and more pleasant than the annoying ping. There is no need for plastic toys that will find their way to the area's landfills.

Ok... so I couldn't resist a complaint... but I still have the headache 12 hours later.

A View from the Road

Todd — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:52:00 +0000

Not really a hockey post today, but something many of you might find interesting...

I am a frequent contributor at virtualglobetrotting.com, where people share cool and interesting scenes found on Virtual Earth and Google Maps. As someone who loves to travel, but doesn't get to do so as much as I'd like, this is the next best thing... Picking a random area and exploring it using the internet. Google and Virtual Earth keep expanding their sites, and earlier today, Google added Street View scenery of much of the Milwaukee area.

Sometime last summer, a car fitted with a 360 degree rooftop camera drove around the area, taking a panoramic photograph every few seconds. Those photos were then married with the Google Maps web site, allowing users to go on a virtual drive around the area.

A small view of the Bradley Center...

View Larger Map

Click and drag your mouse to experience the panoramic photograph. Click on the arrows along the street to advance to the next panoramic scene. For best results, when viewing Street Views using the Google Maps site, press your F11 key to get a larger image to appear. (Press F11 again to exit that mode).

Click here to see what parts of southeastern Wisconsin are available.

There are now 30 metro areas in the United States with Street View coverage available. Most of the cities, including Milwaukee, are in low definition, but some cities (Bay Area, Phoenix, Tuscon, San Diego, and downtown Chicago) can be seen in a higher resolution. The difference... when zooming in on something in low definition, it does not become easier to see... in high definition, when zooming in, things appear much more clearly. Google adds a few cities every month, and soon cities in Canada and Europe will be available.

Feel free to send me links of any cool scenes you may find in the area.

Rewriting history

Todd — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:49:00 +0000

I received an interesting email this week. Someone noticed that the Wikipedia entry on the Dayton Gems stated that the Gems became the Admirals after the 1976-77 season. That reference has since been removed, but I was asked if I could clarify if there was any substance to that statement.

My first reaction was "no way". The Admirals were formed in January 1970. The Pettit's bought the team in 1976. Just another Wikipedia mistake. But then a possible scenario hit me...

1977-78 was the first season for the Admirals in the International Hockey League. They stepped up from a lower-tiered United States Hockey League. The Gems stopped playing after the 1976-77 season.

Is it possible that the Admirals had to buy their way into the IHL in 1977? Perhaps they purchased a dormant franchise license from the Gems to gain entrance to the IHL. It's the only possibility that gives some bit of truth to the since removed Wikipedia entry.

It's not an unheard of situation. Just look at the Rockford IceHogs. They purchased the dormant Cincinnati Ducks franchise in order to join the American Hockey League. History books will show that the IceHogs have been around since 1999, but it will also be mentioned that the Cincinnati Ducks "became" the IceHogs in 2007.

I dug out a few 1977-78 programs that I own to see if I could prove or disprove this theory. Nope. Some interesting reading, but nothing that helped to answer my question.

If I have to, I'll try to plan a trip to the library to pour through reels of microfilm to find an answer... a time consuming task for which I don't have the time. So I'm hoping someone reading this can shed some light on any connection between the Gems and Admirals. Let me know.

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While paying some attention to the history of the Admirals, another thought came to mind. Milwaukee had several hockey teams in the 40s, 50s, and 60s before the Admirals came around in 1970. The Clarks, Sea Gulls, Chiefs, Falcons, and Metros played in various leagues, such as the IHL and USHL.

My question... where did those teams play? The Milwaukee (U.S. Cellular) Arena opened in 1950. I'm curious to know what other rinks existed back then.

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Recently, I missed my first Admirals game in years. Not by choice. Sunday, January 20th, that frigid cold day on which the Packers would lose to the Giants in the NFC title game later that evening.

I just hopped onto I-94 in Kenosha to make my way to the game, when I saw a cloud of steam in my rear view and a climbing temp gauge on my dash. I quickly turned off the engine and coasted down an off ramp. I found that my upper radiator hose had slipped off my radiator, leaving me stranded on the shoulder.

Adding to my misery... I didn't exactly bundle up before leaving the house. I figured I would be ok with my regular winter jacket as I would just have a quick walk to and from my car in Milwaukee... and my car had not been running long enough to heat up the car, so I didn't have much protection from the bitter cold temperature as I waited for help to arrive. Yep... I was frozen, miserable, and pissed off.

Just a few days before, I had my radiator flushed at a place that rhymes with 'Sniffy Boob'. Turns out, they left my hose clamp loose, and a few days and a few potholes later, the hose worked itself free from the radiator, spilling all of the antifreeze I just paid for all over the highway. They later denied responsibility, so I will deny them my future business.

My brother arrived to help about an hour later, and we spent about fifteen f'n frozen minutes trying to reattach this hose, which is in a real tight spot under the hood. One broken socket adapter and a few scraped up knuckles later, I was ready to roll. A little hesitant on the reliability of my car, I chose not to risk driving to the BC for the last half of the game, instead settling in to watch 6 hours of football with my brother.

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Although it really doesn't affect me, I have to raise a practical question. Why do so many of the in-game giveaways at Admirals games only involve people sitting in rows C-H? T-shirt tosses seldom get more than a few rows up, and Roscoe always makes his way down to those rows for whatever he has to hand out.

Sure, the blimp drops coupons (and whatever else) in the higher rows, but I feel like a butthole if I grab one while a mob of unsupervised kids are climbing over seats around me in a fit to get at whatever is falling from the blimp.

I don't go to games to get free stuff. I do not need a t-shirt or a pizza. I'm fine if I leave the game with what I brought with me. Still, the people who prefer a clean view over the scuffed up glass should be shown the same amount of love as the up-close crowd. Am I wrong here?

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Former Admiral Kris Beech had a busy month. The Columbus Blue Jackets tried to send him to their farm club in Syracuse, when the Vancouver Canucks claimed him off waivers on January 10th. Two weeks later, Vancouver waived him, and he was claimed off waivers by the Washington Capitals (meaning that Columbus passed on reacquiring him). Over the All Star break, Washington tried to send him to their farm club in Hershey, when the injury-plagued Pittsburgh Penguins claimed him off waivers.

In other former Admirals news, enforcer Raitis Ivanans signed a two year contract extension with the L.A. Kings. He is one of just a handful of true enforcers left in the NHL.

Former Admirals goaltender Tomas Vokoun and defenseman Kimmo Timonen represented the Eastern Conference in the NHL All Star game this past weekend. Vokoun stopped 18 of 20 shots in the second period of the 8-7 victory.

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Some of you may have caught a recent item in the news about an Admirals employee who has been charged with several counts of felony sexual assault of a child. The media has chosen to make mention that he was an Admirals employee, thus casting some unjust negativity towards the hockey team.

The Admirals, or any employer for that matter, can only do so much when hiring a person. Background checks work to a degree, but they do not weed out every potential criminal.

If someone commits a crime, their employer shouldn't be dragged into it, unless they are part of the story. In this case, the Admirals are innocent victims of an overzealous media.

Midseason report card

Todd — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 04:11:00 +0000

Tonight marks the midpoint of the regular season for the Admirals. 40 games down, 40 to go... and this is typically a good time to reflect on what's passed, and look forward to the stretch run towards a playoff berth.

The team finds itself in a crazy divisional fight. Unlike the other divisions, the West does not have a couple of obvious doormats. Rockford and Chicago have pulled away from the rest of the pack, but the other six teams have pretty much won about half of their games. Because of this, Milwaukee's games within those other five teams are crucial if they are to climb to at least fifth place in the eight team division. Four teams from each division make the playoffs, but because there is an extra team in our division, the fifth place West division team with a better record will replace the fourth place team in the North division, which appears very likely.

So what will the Admirals have to work on to extend the season beyond 80 games? Plenty.

1. Eliminate defensive meltdowns. There have been 10 periods this season in which Milwaukee has allowed three or more goals... six times in the third period. Only once did they manage a win after a meltdown. The team doesn't light the world on fire on the offensive end, so when the puck gets into their own zone, they need to get the job done.

2. On the flip side, the team doesn't have a killer instinct on offense. Only four wins by more than 2 goals, and only two since October 24. Injuries haven't helped... Shane Willis, Josh Langfeld, and Jason Guerriero have missed a combined 70 games, but the team has enough talented players who could step up to fill the void, but it hasn't always been carried out. And no one on the team has notched a hat trick.

3. Power up the power play. The team ranks 21st in the league with a man advantage. I do not see enough creativity. Not enough one-timers or slick back door passes. More often than not, the team's intentions seem to be easy to read, and thus easy to defend. The team also lacks a big cannon from the blue line.

4. Two Europeans have defected. Are they the only ones, or will someone else abandon ship? How many other players on the team don't give a shit? The Admirals need to find a few depth guys with some heart.

What is working?

1. The penalty killers have been great... ranked fifth in the league. They've only allowed more than one power play goal in six games.

2. The team is one of the least penalized teams in the league, largely because the team only has one guy (Kelsey Wilson) willing to drop the mitts on a regular basis. Still, I do not see too many stupid penalties.

Some player evaluations...
- Maxime Daigneault has not gotten many opportunities (6 games played), and it's hard for backups to excel in that situation... he has a 2-4 record and a 2.56 GAA
- Matt Ellison is having a career year offensively. His pro career milestone is 14 goals, and he already has 10.
- Cody Franson has been a slight disappointment. He's still young and is improving, but I expected more from him based on his reputation in juniors.
- Jason Guerriero's season has not lived up to last season (2 goals in 24 games). With the Cinderella story of an undrafted teammate making it to the NHL (Peverley), I'd expect him to be motivated to follow that lead.
- Alex Henry appeared to step up as a veteran leader after being named captain. His game remains consistent... not real flashy, but effective.
- Josh Langfeld has missed half of the season due to injury, but has been as effective as I had hoped... 11 goals in 21 games.
- Ryan Maki has not shown much... in fact nothing at all on the scoreboard, but he's not getting very many minutes, and is after all a rookie.
- Mark Matheson has often been a healthy scratch and has an average game at best when he does play.
- Janne Niskala has performed up to his reputation... if Nashville wasn't fully stocked with defensemen on one way contracts, he probably would have gotten a brief callup to the NHL.
- Cal O'Reilly... I really like the guy, but he's in a sophomore slump. Still one of the better playmakers on the team, as 4 of his 7 goals have been shorthanded, but a disappointment with only 2 even strength goals. I really thought he would elevate his game to the next level this season.
- Antti Pihlstrom has been the best new player... he has used his blazing speed to score a team high 16 goals... I was disappointed he was not named to the All Star team.
- Pekka Rinne has been the workhorse goalie on the team... still doing a great job, but his numbers are off a little from last season.
- Mike Santorelli is having a decent rookie season with 10 goals.
- Bryan Schmidt has been alternating with Matheson as the team's sixth defenseman... average at best.
- Alexander Sulzer seems to be adapting to the North American game... he plays confident and usually makes a good pass out of the zone.
- Andreas Thuresson... he looks like he's doing a lot, but he's not... seemingly out of control on the ice.
- John Vigilante has matched his rookie scoring totals already and is playing more confidently in season number two.
- Kelsey Wilson seems to be getting more minutes than last year... although he's scoring less, he seems to be making fewer mistakes with the puck than last year.
- Nolan Yonkman is staying healthy (knock on wood), and is playing at about the same level as last season.

It's not too late for the team to gather steam to make a strong postseason run, but I'm not too confident it will happen. Perhaps Nashville will acquire a player or two at the trade deadline that will make a difference. Anything can happen - just look at Hamilton last year.

In case you didn't see it, here's a clip of a fight between former Admirals Raitis Ivanans and Zack Stortini from last night.

Time for a timeout

Todd — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 05:20:00 +0000

I've had a pet peeve for several years that comes out to piss me off from time to time. It has to do with the strategy of when to call a timeout in a hockey game.

Now, I do not pretend to be smarter than a hockey coach, and perhaps some things can be explained to me, but I gotta believe it's one of those things that is not given much thought by the coaching fraternity.

Why do almost all timeouts get used in the final few minutes of a game? Each team gets one to use in regulation, and it's fairly rare to see it used in the first 3/4 of a game.

I've heard it's good to use late in the game to give exhausted players a break before a last ditch effort to tie a game... but if you always save it until then, you may either be in too far of a deficit for a comeback, or on the winning end with no reason to slow down the game. I really believe it can be used effectively earlier in a game to turn the tables in a game that is not going your way.

In the game against Chicago last night, the Wolves scored three goals in less than four minutes in the second period. In my head, I'm screaming at Lane to use the timeout and get the team to regain it's composure... point out their flaws... or perhaps come up with a new game plan to stop the bleeding. Didn't happen.

Sure enough, it was used in the final minutes of the game as the Admirals yanked the goalie and attempted a panicked comeback attempt from a two goal deficit, ultimately resulting in an empty netter. Way too little, way too late.

------

One thing I liked about the pre-game Goo Goo Dolls concert arrangement was the on-ice tickets sold for twenty bucks to people who wanted an up-close view of the concert.

That created a less awkward experience for the band, who is used to having people in front of the stage. In past concerts, you can sense that many acts were uncomfortable in playing towards an empty sheet of ice.

And as those tickets did not gain admission to the game, that also results in a more pleasant experience for the hockey fans in attendance. I've seen friction in past crowds by non-fans making it a miserable night for the people who are there to see the game... people from upstairs moving down to sit in the lower level... people constantly getting up from their seats while the game is underway... people who generally show the sport no respect.

The team sold out of the on-ice passes (I'm guessing about two hundred). I hope that more on-ice passes are available for future concerts. Heck, fill the rink if possible. It's money in the bank.

------

A request was made for my opinions on the outdoor NHL game held on New Years Day between Buffalo and Pittsburgh. Held at the Buffalo Bills football stadium, a crowd of over 70,000 people braved a cold windy day with snow and sleet to see this much anticipated game.

As a native of the Pittsburgh area, I've been a Pens fan since the mid-80s, so I was geared up to see this game, even though the Pens wore the powder blue colors of the team's darkest era.

While I was watching it, I made a short mental list of positives and negatives of how this game affected the league...

On the plus side
- Great national TV exposure on a holiday can lure in some new fans
- The game created a buzz within sports media outlets that normally ignore hockey
- It was a rewarding experience for existing fans, especially for those of the teams involved

And the negatives
- the winter weather slowed down the play and resulted in a game that would not impress non-fans of the sport
- there were several unfortunate delays due to problems with the temporary ice surface, as well as the extra stoppages to switch sides at the 10:00 mark of each period... the broadcast lasted about four hours

The uncertainty of winter weather makes this a gamble by the league if they choose to make it an annual event, and I would hope they can guarantee a better ice surface in the future, as it's also a gamble for the players to avoid injuries on less than ideal ice conditions.

A few suggestions
- Instead of having the players walk a mile in their skates from the locker rooms to the rink, they should have created an icy path for the teams to skate in on (as seen in "Mystery, Alaska")
- Play the game in a more intimate venue... football stadiums have plenty of seats to sell (ch-ching), but I'd prefer to see fans sitting closer to the action... perhaps using a baseball field, where the rink could rest along the infield wall, allowing for rinkside seats, and temporary grandstands can be set up along the far boards

Of course, I was happy Pittsburgh won. Appropriately, the face of the league, Sid the Kid, was the hero of the game in the shootout. Besides, they need every point they can get this year if they want a realistic shot in the playoffs.

Shootout frenzy

Todd — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 04:20:00 +0000

The Tennessean (Nashville's newspaper) printed an article on Christmas about shootouts in hockey. If you haven't already, check it out. You'll notice that I'm quoted within the piece.

The writer of the article, Jessica Hopp, emailed me about a week ago asking for feedback about the controversial tie-breaking procedure. I gave a lengthy response, knowing that little, if any, of my reply would make it to newsprint. To my surprise, I saw that she not only quoted me in the article, but mentioned the web site. And you can say I'm jazzed at seeing my thoughts printed alongside those of people like Mike Keenan, Colin Campbell, Marc Crawford, Bob Miller, and others. A copy of this article will go up on my wall.

While I have the opportunity, I want to share some of my thoughts that were not featured in the article.

NHL shootouts are often criticized as being "crapshoots"... that they do not reward the better team. Because the NHL uses a best-of-three shootout format, that tends to be true. I think the NHL should go with the best-of-five format that we have seen for 18 of the last 21 seasons in Milwaukee.

The five round format is more of a "team" game. Five skaters and a goaltender. Teams that rely on a pair of sharpshooters can excel in NHL shootouts. Two rounds and it might be over. Add a few more teammates, and it rewards a more well-rounded team. Also, the extra few rounds gives a better indication of the better goaltender.

In my opinion, the article gives too much credit to that NHL preseason game in 1998 for creating a buzz that led to the introduction of the shootout in the regular season years later. As most of you realize, the shootout has been used in the minors since the late 80's, and it has always excited the crowd for as long as I can remember. You can bet every GM in the league was aware of how shootouts worked prior to 1998.

People will continue to bash the shootout format. They are in the minority. For the price of an NHL ticket, fans deserve to see a winner and a loser. Ties suck. And because of time restraints for travel, multiple OTs are not practical in the regular season.

The best part of shootouts - the tension in the air. The weight of knowing that the game is on the line. Every sport has those moments, and it's why we are fans. The last second hail mary pass... bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th... the crucial putt on the 18th green... a boxer in trouble against the ropes... the jump shot at the buzzer. Moments where we all hold our breath and prepare to scream or groan.

Other than a last minute attempt to tie a game in regulation, hockey doesn't have many drawn out moments that have so much tension in the air. Instead, we get short blasts of excitement at random moments in a game when a player unloads a nice shot on goal. Thrilling, but in a different way.

-------

While whipping up this column, I am watching the Predators playing in Chicago on Comcast SportsNet. Another shaky start, but this time by Dan Ellis, who was replaced by Chris Mason late in the first period. Quite frankly, it has been a boring game until the Preds began getting some decent opportunities in the third period. An empty netter gives Chicago a 5-2 win.

With each passing game, I'm becoming less and less of a fan of Dan Hamhuis. Nice guy... Ok defenseman... but over hyped. All too often, I see laziness in his own zone and overcommitment in the offensive zone. Why he leads the team in ice time (by more than 2 minutes per game) is beyond me.

-------

I've had several people ask why I am not keeping a Fight Card page on the site this season. I could pat myself on the back by saying that I knew this team had less muscle than in past seasons and would not provide much of a list (yeah, I said it), but I've got a few other reasons...

The main reason... I was criticized too often for my description of the fights. Because I'm usually taking pictures of the fights, I do not see everything that happens. In addition, my view differs from someone sitting across the rink who might see a few rabbit punches that are not visible from my angle. So, blame the anonymous complainers if it's something you enjoyed in the past.

Other reasons... knowing I would have less free time to work on the site this season, I felt it was something I could eliminate. Also, my new menu layout allows for 8 pages, meaning that I would have to remove one of the 9 links I previously listed.

-------

And yes, it's been awhile since I've posted here. Work for me gets crazy during the holiday season, leaving me with less free time and less mental energy to work on the site. Those who have visited my site over the years know that I go through spells like this from time to time. I simply do what I have time for.

Happy New Year. Drive Safely.

Streaming audio

Todd — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 03:00:00 +0000

The Admirals moved their radio broadcasts across the dial to SportsRadio 1250AM this season. When the announcement was made in the offseason, I was all for it. 1250 offers a webcast of the games, as well as a stronger over-the-air signal than any of the recent stations that aired Admirals games. It was also noted that the team would have a higher priority and would not be preempted very often... another plus.

A few months later, my positive thoughts about the new station have tamed a bit. A few issues have touched a nerve, but I'm still in favor of the new station... just not as much as I thought I would be.

To be honest, I haven't listened to every road game this season... probably 8 of the 12 games so far this season.

When I listen, it's always online. I do not have an AM radio in my "Cave of Entertainment" (my bedroom). Internet, XM radio, TV/DVD/CD, and PS2. No need for an old fashioned radio in that environment as long as I can get the hockey games online.

Unfortunately, the webcasts of the games are a bit disappointing. Aaron Sims is doing everything the same as before. I have no complaints with his work. He does a fine job. My issues deal with technical issues with the radio station and webcasts.

- When going to commercial, Sims is usually cut off in mid-syllable... as if whoever presses 'play' on the commercial machine jumps the gun by a half second or so.
Minor irritant.
- The webcasts do not air the commercials heard on the air, instead we hear 15-30 second promos for other shows on the station. I really dislike a few of those clips. I'd rather listen to the ads of those businesses who choose to support the Admirals.
Medium irritant.
- One of the annoying station promos has background music of an early-80s rap song in the background (wicky wicky wicky wicky... from "Jam On It"). I hated that song then, I still hate it now.
Medium irritant.
- I also can not stand Jim Rome, whose nationally syndicated show is advertised several times during a session of listening to a game.
Medium irritant.
- And on some occasions, like tonight, I lose the webcast connection completely. Dead air. Not sure if it's an issue on my end, or from the source. I have no problems accessing other web sites with streaming audio or video, and since it's an intermittent problem, I'm leaning towards a problem with the source. **Update** - as I type this, the feed magically reappeared on it's own, about a half hour of dead air. Definitely not a problem on my end.
Huge irritant.

Hockey in Hi Def

Todd — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:50:00 +0000

I've gotten dangerously jealous at my brother in the last week. He bought himself a Sony Bravia 32" LCD HDTV and upgraded his cable box to get the hi-def package from Time Warner. Thanksgiving was spent watching hockey, football, and just about anything else we could dial up in HD. Not only did I drive home stuffed from a big meal, I came home pleasantly numbed from that awesome TV viewing session. Best Thanksgiving Ever.

I had a strong urge to go shopping for an HDTV on Black Friday, with a bigger screen of course. As brothers, we have always been competitive, and this will be no exception. If I'm going to do it, I'm getting at least a 40" model. But after sleeping on it, I came to the realization that it's not quite in my budget, so the experience will have to wait awhile.

Yes, I have seen hi-def television a few times in the last few years. Mostly at sports bars. Usually just football or baseball. But until last week, I have never enjoyed a hockey game in glorious HD.

Hockey was made for watching in wide screen HD. The super crisp video makes the puck come alive. I could write a few more paragraphs trying to describe how many more details you can see in HD, but it would not do the experience justice. The wide screen format is also a big plus, as you see more action behind the play. When the puck is deep in the zone, you can still see what's happening in front of the benches.

As expected, Time Warner's HD lineup is anemic. 19 channels, most of them duplicates of what is already available in standard-definition (over-the-air channels, ESPN, ESPN2). Over time, that number will surely grow. Unfortunately, the NHL Centre Ice package and the Versus channel are not yet available in HD from Time Warner.

Hockey fans can see two games each week on the HDNET channel. Former Chicago Wolves radio/TV guy Judd Sirott does the play-by-play along with former NHL goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck. On Thanksgiving, HDNET featured the Predators hosting the Red Wings, in a game that Nashville came from behind to win 3-2.

Sirott did a decent job, although at times he seemed biased towards Detroit. He seemed especially surprised at the shot-blocking abilities of Greg Zanon, which made me question why he didn't remember that from the dozens of games Zanon played against Chicago from 2003-2006.

Vanbiesbrouck also did well, making several notable observations. I was surprised to see him working for HDNET, as he was driven away from the sport after using a racial slur on Trevor Daley (now with Dallas), when coaching him in juniors four years ago.

How many years before the Admirals TV outlet, Time Warner Sports, is available in HD? 3? 5? 15? I will wait patiently, making sure not to hold my breath.

Coverage like it ought to be

Todd — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:55:00 +0000

One of my daily routines is to find and read news articles online about the Milwaukee Admirals. It keeps me much more informed than what little I find in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

On an average day, I find a few articles mentioning the Admirals through a Google News search. Some of the articles I find are local, sometimes they are from an opponent's newspaper, and occasionally I come across miscellaneous pieces about former Admirals.

With the Admirals playing a pair of games this past weekend against the Manitoba Moose in Winnipeg, I found several articles from the Winnipeg media, most notably from the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press.

Both of those papers truly put the Milwaukee Journal to shame. Game preview articles (not just an abbreviated paragraph), decent game reviews, and even an article about Manitoba's morning practice between the two games! Let me repeat. An article on the team's morning practice!!

The Sun even had an article about the Vigilante brothers playing against each other (also covered this week by nhl.com). When was the last time the MJS wrote a human interest story about an Admirals opponent?

The city of Winnipeg is roughly the same size as Milwaukee (both in the 600,000+ population range). Last season, the Moose averaged about 2,000 more tickets sold than Milwaukee... very good, but only about half of their arena's capacity. Am I comparing apples to apples?

No. I'm not stupid. I realize Canadians love hockey, and Americans largely ignore it. The Milwaukee media will never compare to any news outlet in the Great White North. However, I could bring up several examples of American news outlets who put the MJS to shame, even at lower levels of hockey. The lack of local coverage is nothing new, but I will bring it up any chance I get in hopes that it makes someone who can do something about it budge a little.

Before I end this entry, I'd like to acknowledge Veteran's Day. This day is for us to recognize those who have proudly served our country and to think of those who remain in harm's way overseas. It's easy to live our lives without giving much thought to the sacrifices made by those men and women who have fought to defend our freedom. Make every day Veteran's Day and keep them in your thoughts.

Hot Juicy Burger

Todd — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 06:35:00 +0000

It's a wonderful time to be an Admirals fan! Five straight wins. Two straight shutouts. Unbeaten at home. Several players contributing. Yep. Life is good.

It's too early to predict a fantastic season, but it's certainly a great way to start.

While I'm in a good mood, I'd like to take the time to acknowledge the great work by the team on their web site. It's no longer something to be ashamed of. Speedy updates, great photos, expanded content, and video highlight clips.

When I first dabbled with creating a web site almost 10 years ago, I chose to make one on the Admirals, as there was very little on the net about the team, and the official site was a bit of a joke... even by 1998 standards. For several seasons, it was neglected and was obviously a low priority for the team.

Over the years, I've been told countless times, "your site is so much better than the official site". I'd usually just shrug and mention that I do what I do because I love the team.

Recently those comments have tapered off because the team has taken their site seriously, and I'm certainly OK with that. I'm looking forward to seeing how it will continue to grow.

And as happy as I am in this column today, I do have one thing bothering me (two things if I include the annoying cheer sticks on Saturday).

Like a fun day at the beach, it sucks to have sand in your shoes on the way home, and that's how I felt the day after the Admirals 8-1 win over Quad City last week.

The Admirals have a new promotion this season in which fans can bring their ticket stub to Wendy's to get a free Frosty the day after the team scores 5 or more goals.

Still buzzing from the previous night's awesome victory, I brought my appetite to my neighborhood Wendy's location (I-94 & Hwy 50 in Kenosha). I was set to buy a couple of Hot Juicy Burgers to preface my free treat. After a long wait in line, I asked if they were aware of the Admirals promotion. The manager had no idea what I was talking about.

Instead of enjoying a cold sweet treat, I left with a sour taste in my mouth.

Later that day, I went to wendys.com's feedback page to inform them of this broken promotion, but instead, I was greeted with "Our feedback system is currently under construction and we hope to get it up and running very soon."

Next time I have the urge to go to Wendy's, I'll head to Culver's instead.

What's in a Name?

Todd — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 04:19:00 +0000

I had to do a double take when reading about a player on theahl.com yesterday. His name caught me off guard. It gave me an idea to go through the league and pick out some of the oddest names sewn on this year's jerseys. The guy I read about is ranked #1 in the following list.

17. Niko Dimitrakos (Binghamton). Just rolls off the tongue.
16. Kyle Greentree (Philly). Filthydelphia could use some more green trees.
15. Codey Burki (Lake Erie). Hockey players often add a 'y' to turn a players name into a nickname. His names come already equipped.
14. Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre (Lowell). Two hyphens! He could shorten it to J-L G-P.
13. Cam Cunning (Quad City). Like a Canadian fox.
12. Jay Beagle (Hershey). Just call him Snoopy.
11. Rosario Ruggeri (Lowell). Another one to give announcers a fit.
10. Johan Ryno (Grand Rapids). He could get piss-drunk without spending a dime at Wrigley Field.
9. Mitch Love (Lake Erie). I laughed when Matt Moore overemphasized his last name on the BC PA last year.
8. Rob Klinkhammer (Norfolk). Fun to say with a harsh German accent.
7. Kris Chucko (Quad City). "Chuck-o-puck".
6. Maxime Fortunus (Manitoba). That's Latin for "billionaire".
5. Ryan Dingle (Portland). Hope he fights Rick Berry.
4. Jon Insana (Grand Rapids). He's not quite right in the head.
3. Wacey Rabbit (Providence). Does he have a brother named Waskly?
2. John Vigilante (Milwaukee). Couldn't leave him off this list!
1. Cal Clutterbuck (Houston). An omen for the Aeros season?... a total Clusterfu... I mean Clutterbuck.

I have taken some time to change up the main page of the site this week. The old screen was getting a little stale, and it was hard to think up interesting poll questions. A benefit of the new layout is the news is easier to read.

Check out the photos page to see how I'll be presenting my pics this year. Instead of slide shows, I'm going with a big page of thumbnails. That may be cumbersome for dial-up users, but we're in a broadband world now.

I've also moved the Memorial page to the History section of the site. Thankfully, that page doesn't get updated too often, so I felt it didn't need to be spotlighted on the main menu.

Let me know what you think.

Simon Says

Todd — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 01:47:00 +0000

A former Admiral is making a good impression in the NHL so far in this young season. After being sent to the AHL at the conclusion of training camp, Simon Gamache was called up to the Maple Leafs after one game with the Marlies.

After three games, he has two goals and two assists, with a point in every game. Monday night, he scored against Buffalo's Jocelyn TeaBag in a nationally televised game on Versus.

Those of you who watched that game, or saw him mentioned on a sports highlights show (yeah, right), you may notice the announcers pronouncing his first name "Sigh-mon" instead of "Sih-moan". At first, I thought it was a mistake by the announcers, but they are right. Gamache decided last month to change how his name is pronounced.

After a blistering season in the Swiss league last year (20 goals and 46 assists in 44 games), he decided to give it another shot at earning an NHL paycheck. After getting called up last week, he told the Canadian press that he did not come back to North America to play in the minors.

I wish the quirky little dude luck at sticking with the Leafs. It's always great to see former Admirals perform well in the NHL.

In other former Admirals updates... Sheldon Brookbank has yet to play for the Devils, as the team has eight defenseman on it's roster. Randy Robitaille was signed by Ottawa this week. Philadelphia's Scottie Upshall broke his wrist in preseason and is expected back in a few weeks.

Home sweet home

Todd — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 01:18:00 +0000

It was great to get back to the BC last night, as the Admirals skated to a 4-2 victory in the home opener against Quad City.

This was the first ever game between Milwaukee and Quad City, but the Flames had a familiar lineup with 15 players returning from last season, when the team was in Omaha. Considering how well Omaha manhandled Milwaukee last season, last night's impressive performance carries even more weight.

The Admirals showed plenty of speed in the offensive zone, and effectively kept the Flames from having many quality scoring opportunities in the first two periods. Sure, there were some awkward passes and clumsy moments, but that happens in the beginning of every season. These guys have the potential to be friggin awesome as they get familiar with each other.

And off the ice, I have a list of things I liked...
- The roster handout at the turnstile has been expanded to include player stats. Very nice.
- The intro music. Saliva's "Ladies and Gentlemen". Great choice, can't believe I didn't think of that one myself. It was followed up by another hard rock song that I didn't file to memory. Hockey and rock music are a perfect marriage.
- Jumbotron sponsor ads featuring Roscoe (eating at Subway, seeing a movie at a Marcus theater). That shows that the Admirals marketing team isn't satisfied with just selling a place to display a corporate logo on the sideboards. Those ads give the sponsors more bang for their buck, while providing something different on the jumbotron for the fans to soak in.
- Change of colors for the numbers on the jersey sleeves. Last year, it was black on black and next to impossible to read. This season, the black sleeves feature white numbers that are easy on the eyes.
- Late in the second intermission, the lights in the arena were turned off to excite the crowd as the final period was about to get underway. That was unexpected, although the presentation could use a little work. The jumbotron and graphics ring showed a pulsating #3 for about two minutes. Nice idea, but it needs more than just a 3 graphic to be effective.
- And although I was initially disappointed by the small size of the opening night crowd (5,882), it was about a 1,000 more than what last year's home opener achieved. In fact, it took until mid-December (and a $2 ticket promo) to get a crowd over 5,000 last year, so this year appears to be off to a good start.

And two things I didn't like about last night...
- The new electronic parking meter on State Street wouldn't take my quarter. I felt like giving the new ATM-like machine the Hanson Brothers treatment, but instead I swiped my credit card for the 40 cent transaction and walked away muttering under my breath.
- I'm not a fan of the socks worn by the Admirals. Normally, I pay little attention to the design of a hockey sock, but these are so different than any I've ever seen. White socks with vertical black stripes along the sides. Admirals radio announcer Aaron Sims describes them as resembling a baseball player's stirrup sock. With the 'culture shock' of the new Edge jerseys for the fans to absorb this year, it's not the best time to roll out an experimental look like that, in my opinion.

Last night was the first real 'test drive' for my new camera. I used it in preseason, but the lighting is much better at the BC, so I was anxious to see how the first batch of pics would turn out. I experimented with the settings, and will continue to fine-tune them in future games, but I was happy with the outcome.

On the front page to this site, you'll see a thumbnail link to a Photo of the Day. Until today, it's been a Photo of the Week since August. And unless I find more free time, I'll be creating a slide show once a month, instead of for each game. I know that disappoints many of you, but it was a very time consuming task last season... pick out the decent photos, crop them, airbrush out the underwear dude ad, resize them, upload them, create the slide show, and update the index page. I simply do not have that much free time this year.

I will include as many photos in the monthly update as I can... ideally a dozen or so from each game, maybe more. I'll upload the Photo of the Day either before going to bed or first thing in the morning.

A quick side note about the Photo of the Day before I finish this entry up... Many browsers resize large photos to fit the size of the window. I'm displaying the photos at a size of 1024x768 pixels (larger than most browser windows). Internet Explorer has an option to turn off the resizing feature:
Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > Enable automatic image resizing (unchecked)
If the photos appear awkward, that may be the problem.

Touch of grey

Todd — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 01:45:00 +0000

Oh well a touch of grey, kinda suits you anyway,
That's all I had to say, but it's all right.
I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive.
~ Grateful Dead

I've got to point out a correction to something I wrote in an earlier entry. After seeing the new Admirals RBK Edge jerseys in person for the first time, it appears as if the Admirals road colors feature the same shade of grey they used last season.

In an earlier entry, I displayed a screenshot of the new uniforms as seen in EA's NHL 08 video game, in which the grey appears to be a lighter shade. Well, that was either an optical illusion, or a mistake by EA. Honestly, I was hoping for a tweak of the road look.

My first impressions of the new jerseys are a little mixed. I'm not a fan of the vertical blue stripes. I like the idea of adding more blue to the color scheme, but those stripes appear awkward. The RBK design itself is growing on me. After seeing a handful of NHL games using them, I have accepted them. The fights seem to be 'cleaner'... less jersey pulling, which may lead to more punches thrown.

And although he hasn't suited up for a game yet, kudos have to go out to Brandon Segal. He made the opening night roster for Anaheim... the defending Cup champs. Mark Mowers is another former Admiral to play for the Ducks this season.

And Sheldon Brookbank was claimed off waivers by the New Jersey Devils, of all teams. As an offensive defenseman, I wonder how he'll adapt to the dull Devils defensive scheme. I wish him and Segal luck towards sticking with their new NHL teams.

The Admirals made what is probably their last roster move before the first game by assigning goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris to the team's affiliate in Cincinnati. That leaves Maxime Daigneault as the backup to Pekka Rinne.

Milwaukee's jersey numbers have also been released (see my players page). Alexander Sulzer will be possibly the first Admiral to ever wear #52. My historical records of the team are incomplete for uniform numbers, but I'm willing to bet he's the first.

And as promised, here's a brief opinion of some of the new players based on what I've seen in preseason play...
Mike Santorelli - a real play maker. Hard to say what line he'll be on as we have 5 great centers (along with Peverley, O'Reilly, Ellison, and Guerriero)
Richard Stehlik - scored twice from the blue line in the third preseason game with a heckuva slap shot. He didn't seem too physical for his size (6'4" 248 lbs.), but that's hard to judge as players sometimes take it easy in preseason.
Shane Willis - savvy veteran looked good. I expect a consistently solid game from him.
Cody Franson - reminds me of Shea Weber in his rookie year. But I won't be disappointed if it takes him a little while to get accustomed to this level of play.
Andreas Thuresson - hard worker with some speed and willing to throw his weight around a little bit.
Antti Pihlström - speedy blond kid will be easy to spot on the ice. He'll have to adapt to the North American style of game, as he seemed a little 'disconnected' in exhibition games. He could become a gem by midseason if he finds his game.
Maxime Daigneault - had a rocky game in Hartland, as he wasn't tested often, but allowed a few goals. He looked better in the next game against Chicago, so my opinion of him is undecided.
My thoughts on Alexander Sulzer and Oliver Setzinger are fuzzy. They played in the first game, but I didn't focus on their game enough to judge. Not to mention their names are a little too similar.
I also liked what I saw from relative newcomers Ryan Maki and Mark Matheson, both of whom joined the Admirals late last season.

But as enthusiastic as I am about this team, I have to remain cautious against high expectations, as Milwaukee is now in an 8 team division. Admiral fans are accustomed to being in 6 or 7 team divisions, and hoping for a division title is a lofty goal. You have to look all the way back to when the IHL was a 9 team league in 1984-85 when the Admirals played in a division this large.

And a reminder as we approach the first road game of the season. The Admirals are on a new radio station. SportsRadio 1250AM. But no worries... Aaron Sims returns as the voice of the team, and the new station has a stronger signal than previous Admirals radio outlets.

I'll leave you with a three part documentary on the 2006-07 season I found on YouTube. Made by two high school students. A job well done, worth saving to your hard drive. Total run time is about a half hour.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Preseason recap

Todd — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 01:04:00 +0000

Work and computer issues have kept me busy this week, so this entry is overdue, I know.

I made it to every preseason game last week, and I am feeling very good about our team. Granted, these exhibition games use a bunch of UHL and ECHL guys hoping to impress the coaches for a future call up, but I liked what I saw from the guys who will begin the season in Milwaukee.

The trip to the game in Vernon Hills, IL, on Wednesday was a short one for me, as I live near the state line. I enjoyed an easy drive down Highway 41 (avoiding the toll road), but I ended up in a frustrating traffic jam on Kennedy/Townline Road. It took me 20 minutes to go two miles. I honestly don't know how people can live like that... sitting in traffic morning, noon, and night. No wonder why Chicagoans can be so testy.

Once there, I grabbed a seat in the top row, and later realized I was sitting next to Admirals goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris' family. Dov was born in the northern Chicago burbs, so this exhibition was a homecoming of sorts for him. His younger brother kept track of the shot/save totals on a pad of paper, and kept me entertained with his enthusiastic conversation with his friend about all things hockey.

The Admirals won that game 8-4, but the score didn't matter much for me. I went into the evening with three purposes.
1. Enjoy a hockey game.
2. Learn the tendencies of the new prospects.
3. Experiment with my new camera.

The pictures I took at the first game weren't the best, as I this camera has many more settings than my last one, and learned a lot of what not to do at a hockey game. Not to mention, the lighting in the building was poor. The picture quality improved greatly in the final two preseason games, and I cannot wait to see how well it performs at the BC.

And I gotta say, I feel for Pekka Rinne. I really thought his chance at the NHL had come. It must be a let down for him to lose the job in Nashville to Dan Ellis. Nothing against Ellis, mind you. I'm jazzed to have either one of those guys in Milwaukee, but I think I can speak for most Milwaukee fans who want to see Pekka succeed at the next level.

Unfortunately, I will not be at the season opener at Peoria. Saturday's are a long day for me at work, and I would have trouble making it to the Carver Arena in time, so I will have to wait until the home opener on October 12 to see the entire team in action.

If I can find the time, I'll give my first impressions of the new guys on the team in another entry later this week or after the weekend.

The Boys Are Back In Town

Todd — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:04:00 +0000

Guess who just got back today?
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!

I love the internet!

Todd — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:54:00 +0000

Chance, an Admirals fan now living in New York tipped me off to the new look of the Milwaukee Admirals RBK sweaters for the upcoming season, as seen on the EA Sports NHL 08 video game.

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.

Clean shirt, new shoes...

Todd — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 21:16:00 +0000

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.

Tell us general, is it party time?

Todd — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:26:00 +0000

If it is can we all come
Don'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.

Road Trippin'

Todd — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 17:07:00 +0000

Road trippin' with my two favorite allies
Fully 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).

Well, off you go... update your day planners.