Back With a Brand New Edition

After almost a year’s absence, I am updating my blog again.  I was checking out some of the posts and got the motivation to update again.  I will try to update as much as possible.  Melissa and I are hard at work to plan the best wedding ever.  We are working hard on the football field to prepare for a new season.  There is a new sports team that I am starting to support.  The New Jersey Devils season is right around the corner.  There is a lot going on and I will do my best to update regularly.

Devils Coaching Dilemma

For the third year in a row, the New Jersey Devils were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by a lower seed.  To add insult to injury, Devils Head Coach Jacque Lemaire announced his retirement today.  It feels like this team is scrambling right now.  It is  not easy on their fans to get excited about this team either.  Since the lockout, the Devils have won 2 playoff series and a total of 15 playoff games out of a possible 37 games.  Since the lockout ended the Devils have lost veteran players such as Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Brian Rafalski, Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, and John Madden.  Those aren’t the easiest players to replace.  Although players like Zach Parise, Travis Zajac, Danius Zubrus, and Paul Martin have stepped up, this team can’t get over that hump to be successful in the playoffs.

The one constant in all of this is that the Devils will start from scratch come the off-season.  The Devils have had five different head coaches since the lockout.  Larry Robinson was to lead the team in the pot-lockout world in 2005 and didn’t get to Christmas.  Claude Julien was hired to get back to the basics of the Devils defense-first philosophy and was fired with four games left in the 2006-07 season.  Then came Brent Sutter, who we all thought would be that mainstay behind the bench that has been missing since Jacque Lemaire retired the first time.  After his second season, he left to be closer to his family in Red Deer, Alberta.  Then Lemaire comes back to the Devils and retires after one season.

I believe the reason for the Devil misfortune in the playoffs is in direct relation to their coaching situation.  There is no consistency as to who will be behind the bench year after year.  Come March the questions of, “Will he be here next year,” may start to creep in.  I doubt it, but this team has had that look about them.  Back to the fact of the three straight early playoff exits.  If you look at the last three years only, you may see a pattern.  Sutter was the coach for the 2007-08 season.  A first year coach whose team did struggle a bit in the regular season, you kind of expect an early exit.  But in the 2008-09 season, the Devils were basically unbeatable;e for most of the season.  Then Sutter began questioning whether he wanted to go back home or not around the beginning on March 2009 and that is when the wheels fell off the Devils season.  They lost 7 of their last 12 games to end the season and didn’t have any momentum going into the playoffs and lost in the first round to the Carolina Hurricanes.  This season Lemaire led the Devils to their best 30 or 35 game start in franchise history.  But at what point did he start to lose his focus and think about retirement.  He had to be talked into coming back to New Jersey instead of retiring last off-season.  When did the Devils start to slump this year?  The beginning of March, when the season was starting to come to an end and the questions in Lemaire’s head possibly became louder.

The Devils need someone who is going to want to be here.  Someone who is going to bring energy to the team game in and game out.  What coach is going to want to come to the Devils when if it doesn’t work out, they’ll surely be fired?  I think that man is in the organization and hs been for eight years.  That man is John MacLean.  He was passed over for the head coaching job for Sutter and Lemaire.  But Lou Lamoriello appointed him head coach of the Lowell Devils and all he did in Lowell was lead a Devils minor league affiliate to the playoffs for the first time since 2000.  He wants to be here.  He knows the system as both a player and a coach.  He will bring the energy this team desperately needs.  It is time for the Devils to make this move.  I feel they are making a mistake if the pass up MacLean again.  His time is now.

How About the Waterfront?

Over a month ago, I put in motion my plan to propose to my long time girlfriend, Melissa.  I getting advice from  my sister about what to do and when to do it.  Melissa was going on a bachelorette party weekend the weekend of March 25-28.  My sister, Deanna, said that I should wait until after the bachelorette party to ask Melissa so that I am not over shadowing the bachelorette.  I thought this to be good idea and planned accordingly.  It wasn’t until after a conversation with Melissa’s sister, Kristen, that things changed a bit.

I called Kristen to tell her the good news and keep her informed as to what the plan was.  She thought it would be a better idea to propose before the bachelorette party.  When Kristen got married and had her party, there were other girls who were engaged and made it that more enjoyable for her.  I liked that idea so much that my strategy changed and picked March 19, 2010 as the day to ask the love of my life to marry me.  I went to pick up the ring the Wednesday before, St. Patrick’s Day.  That night there was a Devils game and both Melissa and I were to attend.  Picking up the ring and keeping it in the house was very nerve-wracking and I could not sleep the next two nights.

Earlier in the week, Melissa asked me what I wanted to do that weekend because the weather was starting to turn for the better and she didn’t want to stay inside all weekend.  I asked her if she wanted to go down to the Jersey City Waterfront on Friday night, the 19th.  She agreed and the plan was on, full steam ahead.  The Jersey City Waterfront is a place that Melissa and I have gone before, often, and I knew Melissa would not pick up any hidden agenda when I picked the place.

When we got down to the Waterfront, finally after battling a ton of traffic, we took our normal stroll from Montgomery St., to the Colgate clock and back.  I had the camera with me and began taking pictures of the New York Skyline, of Melissa, and of the both of us.  It was a pretty windy night on the Hudson River and Melissa was getting cold.  She was sitting on one of the benches that faces the New York Skyline.  I took a seat right next to her and began the run down before I was going to “pop the question.”  I said, “I have been thinking about us lately.”

Melissa replied, “About what?  Is everything ok?”

“Yes,” I said.  I looked down and at that point there was no going back.  Then I said, “You know I love you, right?”  It was after that question that Melissa cupped her hands over her mouth and started to continually ask, “Are you serious?”

I said, “Yes.  Will you marry me,” and took out the ring from one of the side pockets of my jeans.  From then on was total madness.  Melissa called her mother and father, I did the same.  We called or texted everyone we could get in touch with.  I had told Kristen early on that I was going to ask Melissa to marry me at a certain time and to go to the bar that is around the corner from where Melissa and I live and to meet us there.  My sister and her two friends were there with my friend Kevin and his wife, and later my mother and father showed up get in on the celebration.

The best part of the whole story is that I was ab;e to surprise Melissa.  She had no idea what so ever.  We are going on a cruise in the middle of June and she thought that maybe it would happen then, but I had other plans.  We have a tentative date set for March 24, 2012.  We are looking forward to this date and really begin the rest of our lives together.

It’s Been A While

I know it has been a while since my last update.  It has been over a month.  There are two reasons why I have not been updating as much as I have.  The first that there really has been no motivation for me to update.  I understand that it seems selfish.  I have been unemployed since September and the only things I thought I should update about were the Devils and my football games.  The second is that there have been other things that have been going on.  I have been substitute teaching, spending a lot of time with Melissa, and putting together a playbook for football next season.  I have an interview in Edison, NJ next week, so I am look forward to that.  I just got a permanent substitute assignment at Snyder High School in Jersey City.  I believe that things are starting to look up for me now.

Maybe this will be the motivation that I need to keep up with this blog.  I really want to keep up with it.  When I started blogging last April, I wanted to update it as much as I could.  I know that I have been slacking with it, but I think I will start keeping up with it again.

Devils Struggles

For the first part of the 2009-2010 regular season, the New Jersey Devils had played nearly flawless hockey.  They were playing as a five-man unit and running on all cylinders.  Martin Brodeur was playing out of his mind and the Devils were the class of the NHL.  But even during the winning ways, the Devils were hit with the injury bug and there was no cure in sight.  It started in the off-season when winger Patrik Elias had surgery on his groin.  Then Paul Martin and Jay Pandolfo left a game on October 24.  Rob Niedermayer was next, then Johnny Oduya.  When Pandolfo came back, Dainius Zubrus broke his knee cap.  David Clarkson then broke his ankle.  In that time Elias, Niedermayer, and Oduya came back.  Martin and Clarkson remain out today and their returns were put off until after the Olympic break.  But even during all the injuries and the minor league call-ups, the Devils were scoring goals, playing solid defense, and Brodeur was shutting the door in net.

The Devils were in first place in the Eastern Conference when the calendar changed from 2009 to 2010.  On January 8, the Devils played host to the Tampa Bay Lightning.  The Devils were trailing 3-0 when the lights at Prudential Center went out.  The game was delayed for over an hour and half before the crowd was told that the game was going to be delayed and made up at a later date.  It also seemed like the Devils good fortune was about to change as well.  It seemed like after that game the Devils have struggled to find their game.  They were a team that always got out to a quick start and put the pressure on the opposition.  The Devils were now giving up the first two goals routinely.  The Devils went on a 5 game road trip and won two games.  They were also shut out twice; the first two times all year.  They have been playing sloppy defense and have been very predictable offensively.  But during their recent struggles Brodeur has been playing real well.  There was probably one game in which he did not look good at all.  The defense has been turning the puck over in their own zone and giving away goals.  Brodeur can’t really be blamed for that.  Since January 8, the Devils have played 15 games.  They are 6-8-1.  They have been out-scored 37-26 during that 15 game stretch.  The latter is what prompted Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello to trade Johnny Oduya, Nicklas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier, a 2010 first round pick, and 2010 second round pick to the Atlanta Thrashers for Ilya Kovalchuk, Anssi Salmela, and 2010 second round pick.

The trade could be the biggest deal the Devils have made since 2000 when they traded for Alexander Mogilny.  The Devils don’t usually make trades like this, so it was a big surprise when they did trade for a player who is concidered a top-five player in the league.  Kovalchuk will help the scoring woes of the Devils.  He is a dynamic player who, when on the ice, the opposing team has to keep an eye on.

The Devils cannot wait to get to the Olympic break.  They cannot wait to get healthy.  After the break, Martin and Clarkson will be joining the team again.  Martin is the Devils best defender.  He will help solidify the back end and help keep everything under control.  Clarkson will bring his energy and feistiness to the offense.  He is a pest and can get under the opposing team’s skin and help draw penalties.  I think the Devils will settle down and get back to what made them successful in the first half of the season.  If they don’t, it looks like it will be an early exit in the playoffs again.

O’Brien-Leno Controversy

In the recent days, NBC has informed the country that The Jay Leno Show will be canceled from its 10:00 pm time slot and moved to 11:35 pm.  That means that The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien will be moved back a half hour to start at 12:05 am.  I am a big fan of Conan O’Brien.  I have watched his show for over ten years and love the comedy that he brings.  That being said, I go to bed around 10:00 every night.  I watch The Jay Leno Show because we do not have cable in our bedroom and we only get channels 2-23.  There are TV dramas on in the 10:00 time slot and I don’t really watch dramas that aren’t on NBC that  much.  I do not think Leno is as funny as O’Brien.  But for some reason NBC absolutely loves Leno.  They think he is the greatest personality that they have and will do anything for him.  Leno’s jokes are uncreative and always fall short.  There are many times that he has made his guests look uncomfortable when they are being interviewed.  Leno did a bit called, “Earn Your Plug” in which his guests would have to show some hidden talent to get to show their video clip of a movie or TV show that they are in.  It was a great idea, but Leno and his writers just turned it into an awkward mess.

If no one is watch Leno at 10:00, what makes NBC think that people will watch him at 11:35?  Leno isn’t funny.  He will be no more funnier at 11:35 than he was at 10:00.  People watched The Tonight Show with Jay Leno because of the brand name.  When Leno got his own show, no one watched.  Conan O’Brien had his own show on NBC and people watched him.  His ratings were real good for the 12:30 am slot when he was doing Late Night.  The Tonight Show will still have the people who watch because of the brand, but O’Brien is bringing in more viewers because he is entertaining.

I will follow Conan O’Brien to where ever he winds up after this mess is over.  I hope he does not give in and continues to host The Tonight Show at 12:05.  He has worked too hard to still be second to a talentless Leno.

Swish

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone!  I hope everyone had a great time celebrating the new year as well as the new decade.  I am looking forward to this year and this decade.  Let’s kick off the new year by blogging about a favorite; buffalo wings.  On Friday, Melissa and I went to my mother’s house for some dinner.  We had pork loin with maple gravy.  It was delicious.  We watched the Winter Classic, the annual outdoor hockey game, between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers.  The Flyers seemed to dominate most of the game, but Boston struck on the power play late in the third and then won the game in overtime.

After dinner, Melissa and I went home and got changed and we went to Swish on Riverside Avenue in Lyndhurst, NJ.  We were hanging out, drinking, watching the Florida Gators absolutely destroy the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl.  We decided to order some food.  Since I was in a new place and I knew they had buffalo wings, I knew what I was going to order.  Melissa ordered a bar pie, which wasn’t bad at all.  One of the best I have had.

As for the wings, I ordered them medium.  They came out with celery and bleu cheese.  People have asked me if I order them specifically to my taste.  I like ranch dressing over bleu cheese.  I don’t, and here is why.  I am looking to see what they can offer me.  I give bonus points for ranch dressing instead of bleu cheese and bonus points for carrots with celery or instead of celery.  Because I was still kind of full from dinner I ordered the six piece wings.  All six pieces were pretty meaty.  The were cooked all the way through and were very juicy.  The medium was not hot or spicy at all.  I could have definitely gone up a notch to hot, but I wanted to play it safe.  The sauce was very tasty, definitely something not familiar to me, as has been the case lately.  The sauce did have a good tang to it.  It was all around a very tasty group of buffalo wings.

I will have to give Swish high marks for their buffalo wings.  I am not too sure about the bar as a whole, though.  The medium was not hot at all, the wings were meaty and juicy, and the sauce did not have a familiar taste.  Some extra points for accessories because they came with wet naps.  But they did come with celery and bleu cheese.  No point loss, just nothing extra.  Out of five stars I give Swish 4.

The plate of buffalo wings from Swish.

Devils Freeze Penguins

The New Jersey Devils continued their dominance of the Pittsburgh Penguins last night at Prudential Center.  For what ever reason it seems that Martin Brodeur and the Penguins are dating because he has their number this year.  In a game that had a playoffs feel to it, the Devils were able to shut down and shut out the defending Stanley Cup champions in front of a sellout crowd.  The Penguins, with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were held to nothing once again.  Brodeur established the all-time shut outs record the last time these two teams played and extended the record by blanking the Penguins 2-0.

The Devils were able to get the first goal early in the game as Nicklas Bergfors fired a shot from a tough angle along the right boards that snuck through three Penguins and finally past Brent Johnson to give the Devils a 1-0 lead.  That would be all the scoring until the final 15 seconds of the game.  The Penguins best chance of the first period came with a scramble in front as Brodeur made the first two saves and ended up on his stomach.  Jordan Staal then tried to fire a shot past, what he thought was a vulnerable Brodeur, but muffed the shot as Dean McAmmond got his stick on Staal’s and Brodeur was able to grab the puck out of mid-air.

The Penguins turned up the heat in the second period and Brodeur was up to the challenge.  He made big save after big save against the best the Penguins had to offer.  Malkin broke in on a little bit of a breakaway and Brodeur stood tall and made two saves while never dropping to the ice.  Off of a face-off to Brodeur’s right, Crosby fired a pass across the crease to Malkin, he one-timed a shot but Brodeur was able to get across and stack the pads and deny Malkin to keep the Penguins off of the score sheet.

The third period saw the Devils take it to the Penguins a little bit.  The defense didn’t allow the Penguins any big scoring chances and created some of their own.  In a scramble in front of Brodeur, the puck got behind everyone and into the slot where Zach Parise collected the puck and began toward Johnson.  Mike Mottau joined the rush for a 2-on1.  Parise fed Mottau, who gave it right back and Parise fired a wrist shot off the cross bar.  The Devils had their chance to put the game away with 3 power plays in the third, including a 5-on-3.  The Penguins were able to stop the Devils and avoid getting behind too much.  Travis Zajac took a penalty with 1:26 left in the game and the Penguins pulled Johnson to make it a 6-on-4.  The Penguins did generate some good chances, but Brodeur and the Devils stood their ground and Jamie Langenbrunner capped the game but scoring an empty net shorthanded goal with 11 seconds left.

Star of the Game: Martin Brodeur was, hands down, the reason the Devils won the game.  He made big save after big save against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the rest of the Penguins.  For Brodeur it was his 105th shutout.

2009 in Review

I have gone back and forth a bit about how to go about writing this post.  I started this blog on April 18, 2009.  Do I write about what has happened since the blog got started; or should I write about the whole year in review?  I decided that I will write about what has happened since the blog was born.  This review will be about what has happened to me in the last eight months.  The places I have been, the things I have seen, and buffalo wings I have eaten.

The blog was started as a way for me to give my point of view on things I have seen; specifically, the New Jersey Devils.  I am a season ticket holder and I go to about 35-40 games a year.  I wanted to express my feelings about the games I go to, how I saw the game was played in my eyes, and my opinion about the direction of the team.  I started before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal against the Carolina Hurricanes.  The series was a back and forth affair with the teams trading wins every game until Game 7.  In that game the Devils held a 3-2 lead with less than two minutes to go in the game.  Jussi Jokinen scored to tie the game with 1:20 left in the game.  Then Eric Staal scored from the right circle with less than a minute left to seal the deal.  It was one of, if not the most, heart breaking loss I have ever witnessed as a Devils fan.  Then the offseason came with the departures of Brian Gionta, John Madden, Mike Rupp, Scott Clemmensen, and Brent Sutter.  Jacque Lemaire was signed to replace Sutter.  Johnny Odyua was resigned and eventually Brenden Shanahan, at least for a short while.  The most prized free agent the Devils sign was Ilkka Pikkarainen.  You could tell that the Devils were content with having younger players come in and fill big roles for the team.  As the Devils fans do every year, they moan about what a horrible job Lou Lamoriello did in not signing any free agents and letting guys like Madden and Gionta walk away.  But as it stands here today, the Devils are one of the hottest teams in the NHL and show no signs of cooling off just yet.  Every year the fans question Lamoriello and every year the team is right at the top.

This year was also the first time Melissa and I went on a real vacation.  Melissa, her sister and husband, and I went to the Bahamas at the end of July.  It was, without a doubt, the best vacation I have ever been on.  The weather was so nice, it wasn’t overly hot, the water was crystal clear, and the place where we stayed was great.  We swam with the dolphins and snorkeled in shark infested water.  Whether we just hung out at the beach, watched the entertainment at night, or went to the pool, we had a lot of fun.  What else can I say about it?  I am literally lost for words about how much of a good time the Bahamas were.  Probably the thing that made it so much better is that Melissa was there with me for this one.  She is a lot of fun to be with and there was no way she would allow us to not have fun.

I got to see the funniest movie I have ever seen this year as well.  The Hangover passed Wedding Crashers for that title.  I actually saw a lot of good movies this year: Julie and Julia, The Blind Side, A Christmas Carol, to name a few.  Melissa and I also went to New York City and enjoyed a street fair.  We saw The Little Mermaid on Broadway for my sister’s birthday.  Green Day released 21st Century Breakdown, which was awesome in and of itself.  But the best CD I heard all year was the Kings of Leon’s Only by the Night.  That CD is one you put on when you just want to chill out and relax.  I understand it was released in September 2008, but it got heavy play in 2009.

I found the best buffalo wings I have ever had in 2009 at The City Lounge in Lyndhurst, NJ.  They had the best overall sauce taste and meatiness.  I highly recommend them.  Honorable mention to Atomic Wings, Jim Dandy’s, and Wee Willies.  Melissa and I, but mostly Melissa, will be making our own wings for the New Years party at her sister’s tomorrow night.

Here is to a great year.  One that will be hard to top.  2o1o has the potential to be a great year, but 2009 might be tops for a while.  I would like to wish everyone a very happy and safe New Year!  Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!

Devils Hold Off Thrashers

The New Jersey had their first home game after the Christmas break last night at Prudential Center against the Atlanta Thrashers.  The Devils did not get off to a great start after the Christmas break as they played a lack luster game against an elite team in the Eastern Conference in the Washington Capitals.  The Thrashers are not the bottom dwellers we have come to know about them.  They currently sit in the eighth spot in the East and are 2 wins away from the sixth spot.  They have a strong offense led by superstar Illya Kovalchuk, but lack a dominant defense.  Their defense has good offensive players, but no one that can play against and shut down the stars on other teams.

They game got off to a good start as the first period saw most of the scoring.  The Thrashers got the first good chance of the game when a shot in front was deflected and goalie Martin Brodeur had to make a sprawling save to keep the puck out of the net.  The play went to video review, but the call on the ice stood for a no goal.  But it was Kovalchuk and the Thrashers that struck first mid-way through the first period.  A cross ice pass from Marty Reasoner hit David Clarkson’s stick and the puck bounced around a bit, but Kovalchuk was still able to get a slap shot off and beat Brodeur high to the glove side.  Only a minute later, though, the Devils struck back.  Nicklas Bergfors was checked hard into the boards at the offensive blue line, got up and made a play to Zach Parise, as it seemed every Thrasher was admiring the hit.  Parise chipped it on goal and stuffed the rebound passed Johan Hedberg for his first goal in 13 games.  That play seem to wake the Devils up a bit and with about 3:30 left in the first, Colin White shot the puck on net that got passed Hedberg to give the Devils the 2-1 lead.  The shot seemed to have been deflected in front by Parise, but White got credit for the goal.

The second period didn’t really have much in it at all.  There were some end to end play, but only a few good scoring chances.  The best chance came off a play by Parise.  He crossed the blue line and was one-on-eon with the defender and went to his back hand, stopped went to his fore-hand and fired a shot on net.  Hedberg directed the shot off his blocker and out of harms way.  If Parise connected it would have been a beautiful goal.

The Devils started the third period on the power play.  59 seconds into the third, they added an insurance goal.  Jaime Langenbrunner carried the puck over the blue line and fed a pas to Patrik Elias along the left boards.  Elias skated toward the goal line and fired a pass across the crease to Parise who was standing on the right side and one-timed a shot past Hedberg’s glove for his second goal of the game.  The Devils took control of the game from there until Reasoner crossed the blue line and fired a wrist shot past Brodeur, who reacted like he wasn’t expecting a shot, to make it 3-2.  That is how the game would end as the Thrashers pulled Hedberg fr the extra attacker, but didn’t have a quality shot and Langenbrunner cleared the zone with under 5 seconds left to seal the victory.

Star of the Game: With out a doubt the star of this game was Zach Parise.  He had gone 12 game without scoring a goal and then got two of them.  He hadn’t been playing poorly by any stretch, as he was able to get 10 assists in his scoring drought.  It was good to see him get back on the goal scoring sheet and lead the Devils to the victory.  After his first goal, the Devils seemed to be lifted by it played well the rest of the game.  I guess that is why he is wearing the “A” on his sweater this year.