vs. Sabres - 2006/12/30

So you've got to hand it to Buffalo in their win last nite over the second best team in the Eastern Conference. It's clear that Buffalo's the better team in matters like this. More depth, more speed (like woah), and some amazing scenes of great teamwork all account for what could possibly be the best team in the NHL. While I missed the last contest between these two teams, it's a sure thing that when these two squads match up, it's going to be close and incredibly hard-fought.

Kari Lehtonen's ability to see the puck and anticipate where it's (most likely) going next keeps the Thrashers in contests that could easily be slaughters, i.e. Buffalo's first period onslaught earlier on this month against Washington. Of course, there were times that you simply cannot beat a scoring tandem like Afinogenov/Briere/Vanek, as displayed here (sorry, Kari):



Did I really think that the Thrashers outplayed Buffalo last night? To a degree, I can say yes. But there were times when Atlanta were putting the pressure on Miller and Co. and after a few minutes of heated pressure in Buffalo's end, there would be an amazingly quick surge of blue and gold heading towards Kari and getting off a chance or two. It was like for every five minutes Atlanta spent in the Buffalo zone, there was at least one or two high-quality changes Buffalo had immediately after to follow suit. Eventually things evened out over the duration of the game, but it was proven to me last nite that Buffalo has a knack for turning plays around to their advantage... and really making something happen from that. Between the Briere goal and the unnecessarily high amount of three-on-one opportunities Buffalo had (and eventually capitalized on with the second goal from Pominville on one such play), Buffalo's talent lies in how well they play as a team and that's kinda the most important thing.

But after speaking this much about the Sabres, it kinda makes me sick to an extent because I'm just gushing about the opposition, right? Ugh. I had to catch myself there.

Le Thrash did come out from the beginning and somewhat carried that kind of momentum thoughout the game. Early penalties from Buffalo created great chances for the Thrashers to come out on top in the first few minutes of the game... and that got me particularly excited. The Thrashers' power play, however, remains to be quite stagnant in these high intensity situations when, if there's an opportunity to make a powerhouse like Buffalo pay, you take the chance and put it on and get something out of it. I'm not discrediting their power play teams, but something's not clicking and it needs to be worked out. We all know the power play can turn it on (as was evident during their October rout of the Ice Cats), there's no doubting that. But to compare power play abilities against teams like Buffalo and Florida... that's ridiculous. Atlanta needs to keep this a constant element of their game in order to be regarded as one of the better teams in the conference, if not the league.

And there are always these questions about Atlanta's depth... about how they aren't deep enough once you get past Kovy/Hossa, or even Kozlov... and that their defense isn't that strong. Well, compared to the fortress that Anaheim has in Pronger/Scotty Nieds (don't want to spell it out, egh) or the tandem of Toronto's McCabe/Kaberle or Montreal's Markov/Souray, sure, Havelid and Sutton doesn't look that intimidating. But judging from the defensemen's recent play (and not just those two), they are keeping the Thrashers in games and playing a complete game. Goals from Havelid, Vishnevsky, and especially Shane Hnidy are holding up... from their own play (and probably the play of Kari, too, but whatevs) in their own zone. To talk about Le Thrash's defensive corps as something even close to high-and-mighty is astounding.

It's a shame that the score turned out to be 4-1 because that was not representative of a team that put up as much of a fight as the Thrashers did last night. What's not a shame is that the next two times the Thrashers meet Buffalo will be at Philips, February 6 and March 18. Depending on what happens in the next few months, those games will be huge regardless, but for positioning purposes in the playoffs and possibly home-ice advantage as well.

Can a Thrashers fan really talk about the playoffs and not be talking too much...?

Down and Out Again?

Here's a few quick points to get me started again since I've apparently fallen off the writing wagon:

1. While getting excited all day for the upcoming Thrashers/Sabres game "tonight" and turning on Turner South at seven and watching 10 minutes of lame college football, I finally realized that the game is TOMORROW night. Apparently I want 2007 over sooner rather than later.

2. Speaking of the Thrash, they're quite the streaky punks, aren't they? They either win five in a row, or lose four consecutively, or win five more... and then decide to have another five-game winning streak and attempt to go through Buffalo while in the process. Of course, we all remember what happened the last time the South invaded the North earlier this season... dare I say repeat performance? Ehhh... hush.

3. Games I've gone to in the past few weeks: the Anaheim game was unfortunate but could've been our's, the Pittsburgh game was lucky (and that pesky Crosby... ugh!), New Jersey was testy at the beginning but eventually went in our direction, and the Tampa Bay contest was something else (despite gnatty St. Louis getting his way for a goal). Up next on the agenda? Phoenix, at home, on the 5th. I really should look into getting season tickets.

4. Yeah, Christmas was unreal. After a few days of tweaking and getting pissy, it seems like I've finally gone the route of satellite radio (Sirius, seriously) in my car. It looks like I won't have much hockey going on (that's XM's thing), but it's still pretty neat. And I have yet to play around with my new camera that'll surely be something amazing. It also looks like I have to turn into a bowling professional with all the bowling supplies I acquired.

5. It was never in doubt that I'd make a return to Coachella next April, but trying a secure a place to stay for the thing is looking testy at this point. With the lack of announcements of any bands playing as well, I hope I'm not biting my nails come February when everything gets finalized in terms of the whole entire trip. Of course, there are some hopefuls that I'd love to see there, but we'll get to that in another post that's closer to the big day.

6. I'm a downloading fool lately because of OiNK not caring about ratios for the holidays. Initially, I had no idea what to do with all of this freedom, but I overcame it when I realized I was being a tool for not taking any action. Here's what I've got so far:

Emily Haines - Cut in Half and Also Double
The Knife - Silent Shout and Deep Cuts
Do Make Say Think - Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn
Final Fantasy - he poos clouds and has a good home
Goldfrapp - Supernature and Felt Mountain
Keane - Hopes and Fears and Under the Iron Sea ("they're for the girlfriend/sister/mom/female" - haha)
Ladytron - Witching Hour
Mono - You Are There
Silversun Pickups - Pikul EP
Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
The Stills - Rememberese EP
The Cardigans - Super Extra Gravity and Life
Supergrass - I Should Coco and In It For The Money
Talking Heads - The Best Of
The Thermals - The Body The Blood The Machine
TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Air - Pocket Symphony
Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

Do I think I'm done? I really don't think so. But I've gone effing crazy.

7. Sorry about the lack of posts... hopefully when things settle down in the next few days/week or two, there will be some more time to spend writing. Ugh.

8. And back to hockey... I'd like to congratulate Britt (of Nasty Nest fame, really) for making the cut over at Hockey Buzz and becoming the Thrashers' blogger on the site. That site definitely has some great people up there providing some great pieces on teams around the league and just on hockey in general, so for her to be a part of that is great. Check her column out here: http://v2.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?blogger_id=74

We're working our way back, kids. Just hold tight for the immediate future. We'll be back in full force in the coming weeks.

Recap: The Comas

It always keeps surprising me how often The Comas mix up their live lineups. The first time I saw them, they were a three-piece. The last time (which was a few years later) was a few months ago and they were... ugh... something... I probably can't remember because they were so effing loud then. But memory makes me want to say a four-piece. Cannot immediately recall. Well, last Wednesday, they were a five-piece... and probably the best I've seen 'em.

I got to the Drunken Unicorn a little early (as is the customary standard for shows when I'm flying 'em solo), downed a few beers, and got ready to be met with... something. The main draw for the night was New York band Asobi Seksu, with The Comas bookended by 1986, a band from Austin (by way of New York). I was not familiar with Asobi Seksu, only the fact that I've seen their name thrown around the blogosphere and there was never anything negative about them. And I never even knew of 1986 until they got on stage. Apparently they've had some arrangement problems because 1986 only appeared as a duo. According to the singer, some of their members were from Mexico and couldn't make the trip...? Don't know how legit that is, but that is what was said. Regardless, whether they were more than what they appeared to be on stage, they sure as hell rocked the place out and I certainly didn't expect it. You can only do so much with two band members, and they made the most of it, basically opening up the Unicorn and causing it to overflow with pure rock.

The Comas quickly set up and were on a mission to really win over the audience. When they last came around, I remember the set being really punctuated, crazy loud, and completely dominated by tracks off Conductor. Thankfully that wasn't the case this time as they mixed up the set and provided some great added elements to the older tunes.



The tandem of "Employment" into "Hologram" opened the gig and led into the always-charming "Tiger in a Tower". The set featured a couple of newies and they seemed alright, but it's hard to really invest anything into such tunes when you've only heard 'em once and that was it. "Sweet Sweet 69" featured Andy doing the vocals through a megaphone and that really made the live rendition come off rather true to it's album version. They bought the rock back, kicking everyone's ass with a red-hot "Wicked Elm" and ended with some more new material and then they were done. With the incorporation of those new tracks into the set, that lends hope to the idea that maybe a new record is on its way. Fingers crossed for that one.

And I did stick around for Asobi Seksu's set. Some of what I heard, I liked... other things I heard, I really didn't understand. It's apparent that most of their sound derives from the shoegaze type of rock, but other than that, I found that probably a lot of the appeal is that there's an Asian girl fronting the band and that sometimes she sings in Japanese. We all love us some Asians, and, granted, she was cute, but other than that and the crazy guitar work going on, I really couldn't find much to their act that I really appreciated. Maybe if I was more familiar with their material, I would've liked the show some more. And maybe I should've done my homework with regard to them. But if they were expecting to win over some new fans from the show who would've been "BLOWN AWAY" by 'em, I really couldn't say that. And maybe there were some people there who instantly became a fan of their thing. I wasn't one of 'em. Depending on who they are playing with the next time they come to town, I might get a better understanding of what they do.

Fortunately, the main draw of the show for me was great.

Goin' Twisted Sister on TO's ass!

It's been a while. And I just thought I'd finally add my two cents and raise a pint to the Thrash for, well, going Twisted Sister on the Maple Leaves' rears and silencing them after all these years (you know, the Thrash aren't going to take it? Ugh, c'mon here!). A magnificent home shutout sure was nice, and the kicker was going absolutely bonkers in the Air Canada Centre and getting the home crowd to send the Leaves to the showers with a nice cacophony of BOOS. As a Thrashers fan, I greatly appreciated the victories and revelled in 'em for a few hours... until Atlanta got housed by Tampa Bay... yet again. When is this team going to get over the hump and persevere? Sure, a five-game winning streak is awesome and all, but to come off of that with an 8-0 defeat from a seemingly mediocre division rival? Something more competitive would've left a nicer taste in my mouth... but whatever. And I guess you can erase "seemingly mediocre" from Tampa's squad when Lecavalier and St. Louis and RIchards all showed up and really stuck it to us Thrash. We've all known that those three have amazing potential... and that they've kinda-sorta let a few down so far this season... but they sure came out of their shells for that game last week. Ugh. Hate to see things like that... especially against Tampa.

And not seeing any of that game on top of missing the Penguins matchup altogether really makes me feel like I've missed out... but not really. Sure, I'm there for everything Thrashers, whether it comes in the form of thrilling, life-changing victories or really bad hangover-esque massacres at the hands of hated division rivals. But I really can't say much about their play from the past two games... and I'm not ashamed of that realization... it just hurts that I can't be there for every second of it. Damned work commitments, I swear. This week proves to be quite different though. Well, kinda.

I mean, I am going to the critical matchup against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night. And just thinking about that game gives me fits. Is it the fact that we're going up against the West's (and possibly league's) best team? Is it the fact that we're going up against the league's best defensive pairing in Pronger-Scott Niedermayer? Or is it also a lingering bitter taste in my mouth knowing that we lost one of the league's top emerging young stars in Chris Kunitz early last season? It also could be that I have two people from the Ducks on my fantasy team (one of them being Kunitz, ugh). But whatever combination of all of that mess, a nervous anxiousness still casts over that game and really will see how the Thrashers matchup against the league's elite. The Ducks are no joke anymore (were they ever, really?). All the hype that surrounded them during the preseason has appeared true as the Ducks have met up all expectations and appear to be the clear front-runners in the Western Conference and do not look to be coasting any time soon.

What's also great about this game is that it is one of three which the Atlanta Spirit are handing out vouchers to fans who bring in unwrapped toys for those less fortunate. Through the Toys for Tots program, the Atlanta Spirit are letting fans have the opportunity to attend a game in January for free. It's always better to give than to receive, right? Sounds like a win-win situation for everyone involved to me!

And don't forget about the game on the 21st when Pittsburgh returns to Philips - it also marks the return of the Snyders to Atlanta on their tour across North America. Definitely not something worth missing, for sure.

Show Update! The Comas!

Even though the holidays are all over the place and my work situation is appearing to be a constant hell for the rest of eternity, I'm still finding time to, a) attend Thrashers games, and, b) even go to the occasional show. This week looks to be a little relaxing on the Thrashers front, but what I'm lacking with the Thrashers, I'm gaining in shows. As mentioned earlier, there is the AA Bondy/Duquette Johnston show at Bottletree Cafe in Birmingham on the 8th that I'll be attending. And there is also something else noteworthy that caught my eye last week, I totally forgot about it, and when I was printing out my calendar for next week, I suddenly realized what I was forgetting all this time.

And, wow, longest sentence ever. Or not.

Anyway, Wednesday night features the return of The Comas to Atlanta, and they are coming with bloggers' darlings Asobi Seksu to the Drunken Unicorn. Granted, I'm completely unfamilar with Asobi Seksu (but won't be after the gig), but I've known The Comas back to early '02 when they opened for the Breeders at the Echo Lounge during their comeback tour. Ever since that performance, I've attempted to follow the band as much as I could, getting their great albums A Def Needle in Tomorrow and Conductor, their most recent recording and possibly their best. Originally hailing from Chapel Hill, it seems as if they've relocated to New York and base themselves out of there. But I just love The Comas and hopefully they'll bring something new to the stage since it's been a while that Conductor's been out there.

For more on The Comas, check 'em out here:

website: http://www.thecomas.com/
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thecomas

On their myspace profile, "Tonight on the WB", "Invisible Drugs", and "Moonrainbow" are all noteworthy and definitely worth the listen, FYI.

Asobi Seksu / The Comas @ Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta - Wednesday, December 6 @ 9PM

Detroit? Toronto? Next! Carolina?

So let's see here - it looks as if the Thrashers are hitting their stride yet again. Following a four-game skid in the red, Blueland Nation is as vivacious as ever with four wins in the last five games, picking up nine out of 10 possible points in the process. This past week was nail-biting and completely triumphant with great wins against some hyped Original 6 teams in the New York Rangers and the (UGH) Toronto Maple Leafs. Marian Hossa just keeps getting better and better as the season progresses with two conescutive four-point performances during the two matchups and Kari Lehtonen has two shutouts in his past three games, including the amazing show he put on against the Panthers last Saturday.

With all the notoriety that Hossa gets for his stellar play, it makes you wonder if it has any impact on the ego that is Ilya Kovalchuk. In years past, Kovy was the apex of the team, trying to do everything (well, everything offensively) to win and/or score points (mainly crazy-ass slappers from the point that seemingly never are on net). He was the face of the Atlanta Thrashers and the youth of the NHL. Now, with his early season goal-scoring slump (that he eventually carved out of) and more defensive style of play, Kovy is still a tremendous asset to the team, but some of his contributions aren't necessarily showing up on the scoresheet each night. And with all of the fanfare that Maid Marian is receiving, do you really think that things like this make Kovy feel left out and looking to make the fans start up "KOVY" chants in Blueland? Let me say that it does make me scratch my head a little, only because I know how competitive that Russian is and how he lives for the team. It has to have an impact on him to an extent, but you start to think, you know?

Also, it cannot be said that it was such a pleasurable experience at the Arena Thursday night when the Leaves fans were silenced COMPLETELY. After going more than three years without making things competitve against the punks of hockey, the Thrashers started chipping away slowly, then had enough of that crap, and exploded in the third for a most triumphant win over a bitter rival. If you've ever been to a Leaves/Thrash game at Philips before, you know how the Toronto crowd makes their presence known. They are the most arrogant, in-your-face, and pig-headed fans out there (at least in the Atlanta area) and it just blows my mind how much representation they have here. But to actually give them nothing to cheer about was a complete treat for the Blueland faithful Thursday night. Darcy Tucker was silenced. Andrew Raycroft couldn't stop a beachball if he tried (in the third, at least). Mats Sundin's life was spared (due to the lack of Exelby on the bench). And there was absolutely no sign of Tie Domi, Ed Belfour, Eric Lindros, OR Pat Quinn - THANK GOD. Whatever... it just feels good to rip into the Leaves for a bit and not have any reservations about it either. Finally.

Up next on the schedule is a tiny road trip that features stops in Florida, Toronto, and Tampa Bay, with a matchup against the Penguins at home on Saturday to close out the week. Judging from the Panthers' recent play, Kari and Co. will be looking to hold back Florida even more. Florida's been scoreless in the past three, which included 1-0 defeats against Le Thrash and a shootout loss to Montreal. And we all know that Toronto will come out banging on home ice across the border, so we'll see how that one pans out. Hopefully the Thrashers will seek revenge/lucky bounces against the Lightning and try to make up for last week's miserable loss that occurred when the deciding goal in OT came off of Andy Sutton's shoulder and into the net. Gotta hate it when you're on the short end of plays like that.

Let's go Thrashers!

37 Rising Stars

One story that will continuously amaze me is that of the tragic death of Dan Snyder and how his family (mainly his parents) responded to it. If you're completely unfamiliar with the background, the Thrashers have a website still up that provides some links about the unfortunate events that surround the story of Dan Snyder. But the Snyders are just incredible individuals who continue to push forward in life in the name of their departed son.

I've always heard about the Dan Snyder Memorial Foundation, but I never could seem to come up with anything concrete... just donations. Surely there was more to it than just donating. And, of course, as all Thrashers fans are aware of, there were the "37" patches that were on the Thrashers jerseys immediately following his death.



While it still escapes me why I never attempted to donate to the group and secure one of these patches, I really regret it now. But maybe I have my chance now.

You see, the Snyders are travelling across North America, visiting every NHL arena and telling their story and sharing their experiences with anyone who wants to hear and/or appreciates such things. Going RV-style, the Snyders have finally set up a website for the Dan Snyder Memorial Foundation and are also documenting their journey from one city to the next through blog posts and photos. All information about the Foundation, the Snyders' cause (like it could even be questioned at this point), and their ventures can be found at 37 Rising Stars.

It looks like the Snyders will be making three stops in Atlanta this season, and they listed below:

Thursday, 21 December - vs. Pittsburgh
Tuesday, 6 February - vs. Buffalo
Saturday, 7 April - vs. Tampa Bay

I know I'll be there, seeking them out to tell them how amazing they are as people and parents and to thank them for the support that they continuously display for the Atlanta community.

Deck the halls with... Coachella?

First things first (and this really cannot go without saying) - Coachella 2007 will be a three-day affair in the desert.



I mean, really? Enough said? By clicking on the lame-o teaser poster, you are brought to an article in Palm Springs' The Desert Sun newspaper about the announcement. Also, two-thirds of the line-up is committed? Whaaaaat? C'mon, who's gonna be the tool over at Goldenvoice that breaks into the safe and take a super-cool cameraphone capture of some of it? Rumors are already circulating that Prince (uh, yes?), Radiohead (oh, yes!), and The Smashing Pumpkins (YEESSSSSS.) are the three headliners, but who doesn't love Coachella rumors, right? Let's see how much these babies get blown out of proportion this year. We all remember 2006. It's just funny that when you google "coachella 2006" in google images, you see a fake poster more than anything else. Gotta heart it, I swear. Just stay tuned to this place because there are two things I really live for out of life - hockey and Coachella. What I might lack in hockey, I certainly have in being on top of stuff with Coach... and maybe vice versa.

Also, alpharuin is reporting a new Explosions in the Sky record in February. Time to get my instrumental post-rock (uhhh...) on, and stat!

And all music stuffs aside, while trying to decipher the Thrashers/Capitals game on 680 The Fan tonight, I could SWEAR I heard something about a trade between San Jose and Phoenix that would've been amazing - Sharks' goalie Evgeni Nabokov for Yotes' d-man Ed Jovanovski. Other than that bit of warbling I thought I could make sense out of, I haven't seen ANYTHING on that anywhere. I guess I was caught in some sort of weird fourth-dimensional hole in the Fayette/Coweta boundaries. Whatever.

What made that news worthwhile for me is that I have Jovo on my fantasy team (POLSKA KIELBASA) and moving him to San Jose would do wonders for the guy and for the Sharks' squad. Nabby's value would dip a bit in PHX, but he would remain a top goaltender in the west. But to know that Jovo would be a fixture on the blueline of the Sharks would be an amazing thing... all I'd say is that Anaheim better duck and cover... ugh, pun intended. Lame.

Le Thrash aren't doing so hot right now (well, presently, they're holding a 3-2 lead over Le Craps after two) with four straight losses and not much representation from the team. Playing behind in most of the games, you can't expect to win even half of those. Even though the Thrash are quite the resilient bunch of mates, they can't keep coming back from such deficits. The Dallas game from Saturday was just terrible to watch, even though the Thrash did keep in it. Kari's slack performance could've been the kicker, but going up against a Western conference stronghold was a good test for the playoff-caliber Thrash and they failed. Dallas held up for the entire game and you expect teams with that much skill and talent to do such. Pre-season speculations about the Thrashers living and dying on the back of Kari Lehtonen are appearing as such. There is definitely a positive correlation with Kari's nightly performance and the success of the Thrash. It's good to know that Moose is reliable enough to step up when Kari falls a little short. And that's to be expected with someone as young as Lehts. With all of the early pressure on the guy, he had to come back to earth eventually. Hopefully this is his grounding time and that things will get sorted out in the short-run.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and a safe holiday weekend!

Thrashers/Islanders pics, finally!

So when I mentioned that I'd post pics from my trip up north, I guess that meant I lovingly forgot to put 'em up here. Whatever. Those days of forgetting are over. Click on the pic for seven more, all hosted on my flickr site.

Fixation Focus: AA Bondy

You see, this blog doesn't entirely apply to hockey. And I'm OK with that... I just hope that you'll be too... whatevs. Either way, every once in a while I do these "Fixation Focus" write-ups. As a graduate with a psychology degree, I assume you can see where I'm coming from. In the event that you're psychologically inept, here's some insight - "Fixation Focus" tends to spotlight something (mainly from the music industry, it seems) that I'm either currently infatuated with (as was the case with the Lily Allen blurb I spat out a while ago) or what you should really pay attention to. Or both. I guess I leave that up to you, but these are things that I feel are worth merit and the time to research into if you are unfamiliar with them already.

All that aside, I came across this bit of information just a few minutes ago:

DECEMBER 8:
AA BONDY / DUQUETTE JOHNSTON / THE FELICE BROTHERS
BOTTLETREE, BIRMINGHAM, AL

The first name on the bill is AA Bondy, and that's the entire point of this post. AA Bondy is the pseudonym/alias/etc. of Scott Bondy, formerly of Verbena.



In case you don't know me, you might not know of Verbena. They were this, well, not-too-revolutionary band from Alabama, but what they did knocked me off my feet. They dabbled in boy-girl indie pop early on, going in more of a eff-the-world rock direction, and ended on a seemingly-high note with some nicely-crafted straight-forward rock. Like I said, nothing about this sounds life-altering, but they played the part so well. They lasted for about seven years, I'd say, and they gave it all they could. When things folded a few years ago (I think in either late '03 or '04), each member went their separate ways. And while I haven't heard much from bassist Nick Davidson, Bondy and drummer Les Nuby have been busy posting some of their own tunes on their respective myspace accounts. While finding the right bandmates to accurately portray his songs, Les still continues to just record and let the future dictate what happens next. Scott has taken a more active approach, actually performing shows and really putting himself out there. I've heard of Scott playing gigs in New York and in the Los Angeles area, never anywhere near the south. So I'm quite pleased that I'll be able to take in more of his solo material and see what happens from my experience with that.

Speaking about his solo material, it's really good. If you like nice, introspective songwriting with a bit of a lazy tongue and some spiritual imagery to coincide with simple guitar strumming, then this stuff should be right up your alley. Once again, his songs aren't ground-breaking, but they capture the mood perfectly. The pairing of his guitar playing with his voice is so appropriate. You'll find moments during these songs wishing you were swinging on your front porch during a steady rainstorm. And while that kind of feeling doesn't come over me that readily, it's good to know that it exists within my frame of mind.

So if you have the time, I strongly encourage you to check out AA Bondy's material over at his myspace. "american hearts" is just great stuff.

Also on the bill is Duquette Johnston, who I knew all along as Daniel Johnston, original bassist in Verbena. Should be good to see him there, too. His material is more along the lines of lazy Alabama porch rock. If you don't get the imagery, you don't get the south.

AA Bondy / Duquette Johnston / The Felice Brothers @ the Bottletree Cafe, Birmingham, AL - Friday, December 8 @ 9PM

Yeah, I'm excited.

Dirty, dirty rags

Tough loss tonite to the Rags, but I guess I could say that they deserve it. The Thrash just looked off this evening, despite the fact that they were playing their hearts out. I loved the physicality of the game, and definitely loved the Exelby/Hollweg duel... but would've loved a more bloody affair with Hollweg being taken off by a stretcher, but you can't have everything, right? Sad to see Kari not ever get himself settled. Between playing the puck in the corners once to nearly taking out Vishnevski, Kari couldn't find his footing and one puck after another went by him. How's that for coming back after a few games off, only proving yourself with a great "relief" performance during the Ottawa game Wednesday? We all have off nites - I mean, hell, DiPietro had a terrible nite against Le Thrash on the Isle a week ago - it just sucks that stuff like this happens to your own magical team, especially in front of a packed-out crowd.

It was also hard to get a good assessment of the game from my TVs only because apparently SportSouth is completely whitewashed on my screens... but elsewhere it doesn't seem to be. Awkward. Hard to follow the puck... or the opposition, in white jerseys... when you really can't control the brightness/contrast on your own television. Every other channel was fine, just not that one... weird.

Tonite was also a slaying against me on the fantasy front. The guy I'm matched up against has Jagr, Michael Nylander, and Martin Straka. Check out these stats:



At least there's no game-winner in there, but you really can't beat the contributions of those three tonite.

As I mentioned earlier (well, in an earlier post), I had some absolutely killer seats for the Ottawa game on Wednesday. You know, when you get emails from the Thrashers/Atlanta Spirit about ticket deals that are "less than 50% off all sections", you jump all over that. I figured the tickets I purchased were gonna be like the free ones I scored by writing 200 words (best price ever, by-the-way)... and those were behind the Thrashers net (attack... once?)... and were probably row J. Basically, not too bad. And when I got these tickets, all I knew was that I purchased lower bowl seats. No section, now row - nothing. But when I picked 'em up at will call, my mouth dropped when I found out they were row D in section 117... for 25$. Best seats for an amazing game.

I don't feel bad for Heatley getting booed and I don't care too much if others do it either. It could/should be a lot worse in other hockey environments. So considering this was my first Ottawa/Atlanta game since the whole TRADE TRADE TRADE last season, I didn't know what to expect. Well, seemingly every time he touched the puck (or even thought about it, actually), Heatley was treated with some BOOs. For a second I thought Hedberg was doing something monumental and that there was a lot of MOOSE going around the arena... whatever.

Kozlov's hatter was a sight to see and makes me question bringing a hat to the next game I go to, or the next succession of games, that is. And the great plays by Kari made the difference as the game was won by goaltending and perseverence. Glad to see a team that should be rather powerful (but with weak dudes between the pipes) go down to Le Thrash. Slater had a few great opportunities against Gerbs, and eventually he'll break through. And the game-tying goal from Kovy just blew my mind. How he continues (or anyone, for that matter) to just bypass other defensemen, breeze by everyone, somehow still have control, and let loose a nasty slapper and put it into the back of the net just floors me. I figured it was just a shot on goal... but either he knew exactly what he was doing (possible) or it was Thrashers luck (eh, perhaps). But when he tied it up, the place went nuts and I couldn't stop yelling... until my head felt like it was about to explode.

Yeah, it was an amazing game.

Next game is against the Tampa Bay (Threat of) Lightning. I haven't seen Marc Denis in net for them lately (I know this because he's on my fantasy team) and I'm wondering what the deal with that is. There's definitely trouble in HOCKEYBAY USA (ugh) with the sporadic scoring from St. Louis and the absent Brad Richards. We all know Lecavalier can produce big, and it appears that MSL has been on a hot streak, but I don't see it riding for much longer. I just wonder what he'll do when he gets pushed outta town to make room for the cap... thanks, Brad Richards. Wait - like I care!

Should be an interesting road game for the Thrash and then after that is time to rest AND to give Buffalo and/or Anaheim time to catch up to the Thrash in terms of games played. I just haven't felt that proud calling the Thrashers the "best team in the league" (in terms of points) when they have three more games played than both of those teams. When the schedules even up and there's still some kind of race for the top, then I can justify it. Not now though. Especially when you see teams like Buffalo pull out victories like they did tonite at home against Florida in OT. (:19 seconds into it and the Slugs pull it out? Ridiculous.)

Long Island pictures coming up shortly... or tomorrow. Yep yep yep!

and we have ourselves a title, it seems

Yeah, welcome to WE WANT DUNHAM!... finally.

Hockeyphiles, please stand up!

Yeah, I think it's time to come clean with my love for hockey. Do I ever try to hide it? Not so much, but I just want to make a public statement admitting my passion and drive for the sport. Does this actually correllate to the current skyrocketing success of the Atlanta Thrashers? Hmm... could we be on to something here?!

Ever since I came into contact with hockey, I loved it. I believe my first game was back in December 1991, when the Quebec Nordiques came to visit the New York Islanders. My dad got us amazing seats that seemed closer than I've ever been to any Mets game (my only frame of reference at that point)... tickets that you would only have if you got them for hella cheap or for free in the present. I wish there were records of games that far in the past, because I could swear that the Isles won that game and it also featured a hat trick from Derek King... I could be wrong.

Over the years, I attended a few more games at the Coliseum and grew to love the game more. I started collecting hockey cards, watching games on TV. What really threw me over the edge is playoff hockey. After sitting in the cheap seats for the Isles' run against the Pittsburgh Penguins in '93, I knew what it was like to be a hockey fan, not just a body in a seat. It was an incredible experience... and I'm fairly certain that was the last time I was at the Coliseum for a hockey game. Following that run, the Islanders became a joke and didn't produce at all. Mismanagement led to players being shipped around the league and allowed some amazing draft picks go elsewhere (do the names Zdeno Chara, Roberto Luongo, and Todd Bertuzzi ring a bell?). Their competitve absence on the Island led to my ambivalence in hockey... and other things dominated the time for me (high school, music, etc.).

When I moved to Georgia in 2000, I somehow took my love for hockey with me and greatfully never lost it. When the Isles made a push forward in '02 against the miserable Toronto Maple Leaves, something inside me clicked and I became absorbed in the sport again... and took a liking (and subsequent love) for the Atlanta Thrashers.

With that long story aside, last weekend I finally made my return to Long Island, home for my first 18 years. Granted, I haven't returned to town in nearly two years, but the bigger deal for me was coming back to the Coliseum... and this time not an Islanders fan. When I found out that I could arrange a trip, I planned to do it earlier in the year - sometime in late September or October would be great. That never worked out, but then I came across the hockey calendar and found that the Thrashers were making a northern stop on the Island during the first weekend in November. I knew my destiny at that point.

Never before have I been a fan of a visiting team... a full-on fan. Of course, in my early years as a Thrashers fan, my heart was torn between whether I'd give my support to the opposing Islanders or the Thrash, but I would never go to the extent of wearing an Islanders jersey to an Atlanta game. Over the years, it got easier to get in the Thrashers' corner and put off the Isles. But this matchup was of a different level. I couldn't just wear anything and go Thrash-crazy. So I opted to show the support and not only wear my Blueland jersey but also my Thrashers scarf for my arrival to the venue.

The Coliseum is one of the oldest hockey arenas in all of the NHL and it has a ton of heritage to go along with it. You walk in and you can't help seeing the championship banners and retired numbers (and bow-tie? Awkward...) hanging from the rafters. Once you see that, you know what this place, these fans have witnessed and experienced over the years. And it's been said that the Coliseum can either be the best arena in the league in terms of atmosphere (when full) or the worst (when lacking in fans) and I completely agree. Maybe it was because of the amazing seats we scored (much thanks to David for those!), but we lucked out that night and got a decent crowd, and everyone was rockin' there and it was loud as anything. Our seats were row G behind DiPietro's left side... so to be on an attack-twice side of an Atlanta game again, I couldn't ask for anything more!

We got there a little late and missed Vigier's opening goal, but once we got to our seats, the goals still kept on coming. Blunders from D.P. (lame chant, by-the-way) resulted in a snoozer of a goal from Hossa and D.P.'s inability to recognize where the puck was ended up in another goal by way of Brad Larsen/Bobby Holik. A 3-0 lead, still in the first period, resulted in chants that made Atlanta fans, well... perplexed.

"WE WANT DUNHAM! WE WANT DUNHAM!"

I couldn't help my laughter and immediately started in on the yelling. After his horrendous play last season, no Thrashers fan would ever dream of saying such a thing in a game when he is your goalie on the bench. It blew my mind. D.P. never got pulled, and the heckling ensued. Whenever he'd make a routine save or handle the puck, he'd get such a rousing applause... you know, because he was actually doing his job, but jeopardizing the game for the Isles. Hilarious! If Kari were ever having a bad game, no one would ever start a "MOOSE MOOSE MOOSE!" and plead that our franchise goaltender be pulled. It just wouldn't happen. So it still amazes me that people think that booing Dany Heatley when he comes to town is a little far-fetched. In any other hockey environment, it would be a lot worse, and I witnessed that on Long Island on Saturday.

The remainder of the game was more of the same. A Steve McCarthy power-play goal in the second sealed the deal and it wasn't hard to fend off any kind of weak rush the Islanders put forth. Moose held down the fort and le Thrash persevered and left the Coliseum with a 4-1 Atlanta victory... and made this Thrashers fan ecstatic.

There were other aspects of the game/environment that just made the travelling experience wonderful. It was complete unity when Thrashers fans connected during Hossa's goal, the second Thrashers score of the game, and it was even better chatting with the, say, two other Thrashers fans in attendance in between periods. Getting on the big screen was a loud happening and getting death-stares from 8 year-old Islanders fans was amazing. The absence of the kiss cam was a little disappointing, but the Lemon Tree promotion "Who Needs a Haircut?" (which resulted in my appearance on the big screen) was priceless. And I couldn't help but kinda gasp at the thought of paying only 6.50 for parking... who would've thought?!

After the game, and after I realized how awesome it was to be a vocal Thrashers fan in opposing territory, I immediately looked into possible road trips to Southeast rivals. I had a great time... even if the Thrashers lost the game, I think I still would've had fun yelling and getting deadly stares and being an ass... and being a part of a setting that I was a part of years ago.

This is without a doubt going to continue. Pics from Long Island to come soon and there's also gonna be an update of last night's phenomenal comeback victory over the Ottawas.

Hockey fashion? Auf wiedersehen!

I'm a complete sucker for anything that's close to hockey garb. Well, kinda sorta. For the past, say, six years or so, a staple of my fashion nearly each and every day is the sentimental band t-shirt. Starting back in '97, I got my first band t-shirt at a Smashing Pumpkins enormo-dome show and that trend continued until basically last year, maybe even earlier. It's time to give up that hobby/fashion accessory. The time for change is now, and it's obvious to me that such a change involves hockey. Duh!

Ever since I saw some sort of advertisement in an issue of The Hockey News a few weeks/months ago that featured logos from a bunch of minor league and junior teams, I instantly knew what my next mission would be - start collecting not your typical hockey team merchandise. Eh... change the wording... get shirts/anything else that represents not your typical team (i.e. NHL). It's time to support the Calgary Hitmen, the Peterborough Petes, and/or the now-defunct Greenville Grrrowl. With team names like those, random locations, and simply amazing logos, you can't go wrong sporting any kind of hockey pride! So I tried a little bit (and, of course, I do mean little) to search up some stuff and didn't get that far. And when I did come across something, I often found out that these shirts that I would want cost $20+. Maybe purchasing a shirt for a month could be cool, but I just didn't justify it, especially for shirt designs that didn't work for me at first glance.

Well, thanks to a post at the brilliant Off Wing Opinion, I think I finally stumbled onto something. As if you didn't figure it out by now (by clicking on the link), there are shirts from teams of yesteryear. Teams that I never even knew existed. I have heard about the Macon Whoopies, but the Saskatoon Sheiks?! I can't even begin to imagine the questions someone would get just for wearing such a shirt. And you'd get major points from true die-hard hockey fans.

So outside of the amazing stuff at Throwbackmax.com (and not just hockey, too), does anyone know of any other cool merch stuff for hockey teams around North America? Or, hell, why stop there? Even any kind of internation teams' merch would work as well. It's always great to walk around town and spot someone wearing the jersey of the Swedish national team... oh, wait, no one would know what that is in Newnan (unless you're a hockey fan, which is slim even in Georgia, sadly). It's a cool thought though.

But seriously, does anyone have any kind of experience with lower-level hockey (or international-level/vintage, too) merchandise? I'd love to have in on any kind of recommendations/secrets/tips that anyone has experienced. I can't help it but love this kind of stuff!


C'mon, would it be wrong to wear a Magnitogorsk Metallurg Evgeni Malkin jersey when he comes to town soon? ;)
Pic courtesy of Hockeytop.

Finding time to procrastinate

So I didn't end up getting the blogging gig over at the Blueland Blog. Such is life, I guess. No big deal, at least you can have 100% pure unadulterated, unrestrained foocow-related bloggings over here. And now that I think about it, I guess it's time to come up with a name for the blog since "foocow" really doesn't do much of anything. That sentence is somewhat fitting, too, but I won't divulge further. :P

I am kinda glad that I didn't get the position though. It's like I said - at least I have my own voice over here and I know that I can still generate some readers if I tried to. There is clearly a lack of Thrashers blogs around (only two to my knowledge, one of which being the one that I mentioned already) and there is a need for more representation in the internet community. Sure, there's the Nasty Nest and this new one that I came across the other day (thanks to Blueland, der), but nothing much. And there are some other sites that list the blogs affiliated with teams across the NHL, and it seems as if there are at least five blogs per team, with the Thrashers only getting publicity from two "official" blogs - those being Blueland (directly tied to the Atlanta Thrashers) and the AJC blog (directly tied to Thrashers beat-writer John Manasso, and has some great contibutions from fans as well). So I am well aware of the need to pay attention to this matter, or lack thereof.

Do I seem poised to step up to the challenge? Ehh... if you know me, you know that could be questionable...! But I'll definitely do my best at covering the team that I love as best as I can. I know I may not be the most humorous guy out there when it comes to putting things into words, but I can throw out something funny everyone now and again. And I may not have the best insight when it comes to hockey (or anything, really), but you can't deny the fact that the passion is evident in my personality and writing.

And speaking of writing, this is not to say that this is only going to become a Thrashers-related blog from here-on-in. There are other things that I enjoy that are mildly hinted at in the sidebar of links. Have I done my best to bring these interests to the forefront? Absolutely not! I do have a life outside of my interests and trying to be current with this thing! But I'm pushing myself to the next level now... basically, it's an attempt to prove others wrong. Or just prove myself right... or wrong? I'm getting lost in the mix of things at this point.

So what's next on the agenda here? Eh, probably a few updates, that's for sure. But I really need a title. I guess that's something that I can focus some attention to.

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Next weekend is my little excursion/return up north to Long Island. In case you didn't know, I'm originally from there and I actually haven't been there in nearly two years. I have quite a few friends there as well as some family members, so it's needless to say that I'm excited about flying up for the weekend. What always happens with these trips is that there's some sort of incentive involved. Usually, I fly up there for some amazing concerts (Radiohead at Liberty State Park, Zwan at Hammerstein, and the Pixies two-in-one-nite shows at Hammerstein instantly come to mind). This time is no different, but it is. One thing that I'm completely amped up about is my return to Nassau Coliseum. It's one of the oldest arenas that's used in the NHL, and I'm gonna be there for the Thrashers/Islanders game. Putting things into perspective, the last time I was there (for hockey) was during the Islanders amazing playoff run in '92-'93 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. I was only 11 at that point, and I thought it was the coolest thing to hear in the stands "Barr-asshole!" (in reference to the Pens' goalie, Tom Barrasso). The last time I was at the Coliseum was for the Smashing Pumpkins in '97. So for me to return to a venue, I'm incredibly sentimental with just about everything, but this visit will probably give me chills down my spine. As I read in the latest issue of the Hockey News, when the buliding is filled with fans, it's one of the best arenas in the league in terms of atmosphere. When it's lacking in attendance, it's downright miserable. Do I expect a playoff-type feeling once inside? No, but I know that Isles fans are ruthless and that's wonderful to know and be around that.

So I'm anticipating my trip next weekend. :)

ATL = Atlanta Thrashers Luck...?

Yadda, yadda, yadda - the Thrashers are nearly atop of the Eastern Conference. Should this really be expected? I mean, c'mon, who would've really thought that our own Atlanta Thrashers would be even leading the Southeast Division?

This team has been red hot and I'm surprised that they aren't blazing a trail on ice... wait, that can't even be possible...? Anyway, poor jokes aside, it was admittingly difficult to find out that they were down early in the game to an abyssmal (sp?) Panthers squad of guys who have either had better years in the league (i.e. Roberts, Nieuwendyk) or players who actually have some promise ahead of them (i.e. Horton, Bouwmeester). But somehow, the Thrashers tore it up, delicately pawing away at the Panthers penalty kill unit and ending up on top 6-3, with an astounding 83% on the power play. It seems like two players stole the show last nite, between Mr. "The Stoli's on Me Tonite, Guys" Kovalchuk and the rugged vet Steve Rucchin. Everyone's going nuts (well, Thrashers fans, and some others, I guess) over Kovy's hat trick and apparently he's making a comeback (after only nine games...?) like no other. And Rucchin's team play on the penalty kills appeared quite useful as Florida's "League-leading power play" was granted only a goal in the goose-egg department.

Am I ever glad to finally see this Thrashers team coming alive... even if it is early in the season. What really shocked me about last nite was that I ended up passing out with about 10 minutes left in the game. I can't believe I put that much faith in them to just fall asleep and believe that the game was their's. Things must definitely be on our side if that's the case.

This road trip that lies ahead does look intimidating. The Saturday nite game against Buffalo is officially circled in red on calendars across Blueland as that is the game that is whetting (sp?) everybody's palate. Yeah, we all know that the Sabres are strong and likewise can be said about the Thrashers, but what will happen when these worlds collide? Eh, just don't rely on Powerman 5000 to come up with an accurate answer to that question. It's a keynote game so early in the season and some are even claiming that this could be a preview for the Eastern Conference final. That's a bit of a stretch, but the idea that Atlanta is making that much of an impression (so early into the season, none-the-less) is telling.

And yeah! I was in the running for a fan correspondent position on the Thrashers' own Blueland blog. As a result, I had amazing tickets to the last home game, against the Florida Swamp Cats, all for free. For a minute I considered just writing to get the tickets, but I nixed that idea and decided to fulfill my half of the bargain. So I sent something in after the game and we'll see how that goes. To even be selected as one of the top six participants is a pretty big deal and I really hope that something can come out of my writing. Every once in a while it's good to receive some sort of validation for my crafts. So thanks to the web team over at the Blueland blog for the killer seats my girlfriend and I scored Saturday nite and we'll see what happens before week's end!

Six out of seven ain't bad!

The Atlanta Thrashers are 3-0-1. Yes, that's right. It's really the first time in their history that they have come out playing this well. Only does the start to the '03-'04 season mildly compare. And I even recall people in major media outlets (namely ESPN) name-dropping the Thrashers and questioning their play. Now granted, that decent start really fell to pieces come the New Year, but they played from the get-go. But this year looks different, it feels different. After the questionable preseason (which is always up in the air), the Thrashers are hitting their early season stride. Two things have been critical for this to take shape... and they are both rather difficult to come out of my mouth, mainly because these two elements have always been the hardest to come by for the team and their fans. Can you actually believe that their goaltending and defensive corps has been the strongest aspect of the team?! The away game against Tampa Bay (a one-goal nailbiter in which the Thrash prevailed) is proof of how their backlines are holding up. And after watching the Boston game from last nite, I have to dish out some credit to blue-liners Steve McCarthy and Vitaly Vishnevski for some absolutely solid play. And of course, do I really even need to mention the effort put forth by Kari Lehtonen? Leading the league in just about every goalie stat imaginable, this guy is getting it done. The fact that I'm gushing right now is representative of my excitement for the early get-go.

What's more amazing about the start is that things are still questionable. Ilya Kovalchuk has yet to provide anything representative on the scoresheet about his offensive play. But his defensive play is starting to come into effect and that, to me, is really more valuable than having him win the Richard trophy two out of the past three years. Also, there's still the pink elephant sitting there in the room about the position of center and who will emerge to actually lead lines. Metropolit's goal last nite made me proud in the fact that he's making his presence known to the team and the fan base. But there's also the veteran Rucchin and the durable Kapanen who definitely have the opportunity to go ahead and seize a spot on a line with a Kovalchuk, with a Hossa.

So while things have yet to be worked out, everything is starting to look rosy in the Thrashers corner. But could this really be young, naive excitement at something that should've happened years ago to this team? Absolutely! Personally, I am thrilled at the prospect of knowing that this team is getting things done and attending to the problems that have plagued them in the past. Am I still hesitant about what's to come? C'mon, why shouldn't I be? As I said above, there are still lingering concerns this team needs to address. Thrashers fans know that anything could happen at any point during the season. We're all used to the constant 180s that occur to anyone at any position. But with the way things are looking right now, this team is only going to get stronger, faster, more productive, and flat-out better.

Tomorrow nite they face the almighty Carolina Hurricanes, a team out of Raleigh that somehow (well, not really) captured hockey's ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup, last season. Quite the opposite of the Thrashers, Carolina has only mustered up a single point in four games. Is that cause for concern in 'Canes country? Not yet, but things are appearing kinda hazy for 'em at this point in time. We'll see if they can get out of their funk... NOT! Of the games I saw last season, the Thrash OWNED the 'Canes. Hopefully this matchup will be no exception as Carolina looks a little out of focus with the ambivalence of Cam Ward's goaltending (sophomore slump, perhaps?) and the seemingly lack of production. But it can easily be said that the Hurricanes are getting to the point that they are due to have a win, as the Thrashers are due to come back down to Earth. Regardless, tomorrow's battle will be well-fought and of course well-deserved. We'll see what happens.

See you there!

ilounge.com - Yes!

Ok, so after I finally received my first (and only, so far) iPod back in February, I came across the website ipodlounge.com. I was looking for some kind of silicone-type cover for it so that it wouldn't look too tacky, but still be protected from scratches/drops/other miscellaneous damage. Needless to say, I came across the website lajo.biz and hence my current selection of iPod covers. From the very beginning, I've loved this website. It's like a Consumer Reports for iPods. And we all know how I love (and swear by) CR.

Since then, the website has changed domains to ilounge.com, but it's premise remains the same - the be the best source of information for anything related to any kind of iPods.

Well, as of late, my 4G monochrome iPod has been on the fritz. I'd wonder why there would be some extremely short-lived skipping before songs were played. And then the bottom fell out. When I'd plug my iPod into my computer, it went unrecognized and said that the hard drive was corrupt (file error 1418, if anyone's checking). Whenever I'd go to start it up or restart or whatever, all that would show up on the screen was the file folder with an exclamation, with a link to Apple's support page for iPods. That site didn't get me far, only to tell me that it would cost $275 and change to send it in to get it repaired. I figured I might as well give up on that prospect and just get a new one for about $240, or whatever the 30 gig cost on Apple's website.

Then I remembered ilounge.com and found it bookmarked. Surely something was mentioned about my problem. After quickly browsing a few areas of the website and random forum topics, I didn't come up with much. Then I found something out about performing a disk scan, and since my hard drive was deemed "corrupt", this could work. Well, couldn't get that to work. So I searched that up on ilounge and stumbled upon this thread:

http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?t=135673

C'mon, opening up the iPod and slapping the hard drive? Could that really work? Of course, I was skeptical as anything. But at this point, there was no return. Either my iPod was done for or I suddenly had a free, DIY repair.

After using this site for tips on how to safely open my iPod (which was flawless, BTW), I did what was mentioned in the thread and took the hard drive and tapped it a few times. While I had it open, I wanted to see if this really did work. So I started my iPod up and it was ok. The next step was to hook it up to my computer and do the real test. While the original message that my iPod was corrupted did pop up on screen again, I still chose to restore it. This time it worked like a charm! My iPod was recognized by my computer for the first time and something just worked!

It sounds ludicrous to actually open up a piece of machinery and just slap around the what-was-thought-to-be super-sensitive hard drive. But you know what, it works!

So if you ever come across this kind of behavior with your iPod or someone else's, this is the trick! Now hopefully this is a somewhat reliable fix that lasts for a few months. As to how long this remedy lasts is unknown. But it immediately saves you some cash on something that really shouldn't be such a problem. Who would've thought that something that seems like the be-all-end-all for your iPod could be repaired so easily? This is truly a blessing... at least in the short-run!

Huge props goes out to ilounge.com and everyone who's a part of the site!

Stayin' busy but being free, simultaneously?

Here's some shorties for y'all, especially since everyone's been wondering, "What's going on with foocow?!" Hmm... something like that! :P

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The Wrens came to town last weekend and it was actually one of the best shows I have been a part of. While the vocals were not in the mix way up front (where I was), the music was still there and so was the performance. This is band that consists of late 30, early 40-somethings and they bring the energy like kids half their age. It was pretty intense. Mediocre pics can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foocow/sets/72157594300907490/

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The live draft for my fantasy hockey league was insane. I have never been a part of a live draft before so it was a learning experience, as well as a lesson in awareness. All managers had 90 seconds to pick players and before you knew it, it was your turn to have your take at the remaining players in the pool. I did fairly well, though, coming out with a few big names as well as some repeaters from last season. Here's what my roster will look like on opening day:

CENTER

Robert Lang - DET - I had him for a sizable chunk of the '03-04 season and he really came through. He started out with Washington, I believe, then moved to Detroit midseason and really took form. Hopefully he's not getting up there with age and can still provide great stats in the assists department as well as the power play.
Jeff Carter - PHI - one of the "lower-class" rookies from last season that was outshined by the rest of the rookie class that included Ovechkin, Crosby, and Phaneuf. The tag team of him and Mike Richards should provide some good numbers on the power play in Flyerdom and he should have a pretty standard season for a wishy-washy team.
Ryan Getzlaf - ANA - There was a nice write-up in The Hockey News about the drafting and rookie class out of the Ducks from last year and this guy got a lot of buzz, so I'm really banking on him to turn it on with a team that has amazing potential for success in the West.

LEFT WING

Henrik Zetterberg - DET - One of the more consistent forwards in the game (definitely in the West) who will team up with Pavel Datsuk and have a tear on the opposition and make it hard to defend against such a great playmaker.
Mark Bell - SJ - Really benefitted from the rules changes last season and somehow came out on top in a terrible situation with Chicago. I remember there were a few times last season when I knew I lost weekly matches against a certain manager, simply because of this guy.

RIGHT WING

Marian Hossa - ATL - Of course I have to have a Thrasher on my squad... and what better of a player to have than the great Marian Hossa?! There's one thing that's certain about Hossa and that he will produce, no matter what. He's someone you can always count on to have some sort of say in the game.
Marian Gaborik - MIN - After his hold out from a few years ago, he hasn't quite materialized to be worth the hassle since. But with a new line-mate in Pavol Demitra, he's sure to produce some serious firepower in the great white north.
Colby Armstrong - PIT - Without a doubt Armstrong will go on an offensive slaughter with Sidney Crosby on his line. Anyone who will play with someone as gifted as Sid the Kid will benefit and Armstrong will be the go-to guy on this team when it's crunch time.

DEFENSE

Wade Redden - OTT - One of the top defenders in the game on one of the top teams in the league. Probably playing on a line with Andrej Meszaros, his plus/minus ranking will fly through the roof.
Zdeno Chara - BOS - It'll be questionble with him in Beantown this season, but he's sure to remain one of the top fantasy picks for defensemen. As a defender, he's still an offensive threat, and he's not afraid to get physical and rack up some penalty minutes.
Marek Zidlicky - NSH - I never intended to draft him, but at the time, I needed a sure-fire defenseman. I couldn't do any better and with him on a team as powerful as the Preds, you really can't go wrong. Not too bad.
Ed Jovanovski - PHX - There has been a lot of buzz about his signing in Phoenix in the offseason and I'm hoping that it's right. While he is aging, playing for Coach Gretzky, what's a better source of motivation for a player who can be an opposing offense's worst nightmare?
Niklas Kronwall - DET - Heir to the thone that is currently held by Nicklas Lidstrom. In the few games he played last year (as well as the Olympics), he displayed flashes of what's to come and this season will be his time to shine in Hockeytown.

GOALTENDERS

Mikka Kiprusoff - CGY - The cream of the crop when it comes to goalies. Last season's leader in shutouts. Last season's Vezina trophy winner. Possible contender for the MVP award. This guy is what kept the Flames afloat last year. He is a sure thing... at least I'm really hoping for it. I see no reason why to even be mildly considered about his status as one of the league's premier goalies.
Cristobal Huet - MON - Had one hell of a second half of the season. When Theodore was struggling, Huet siezed the opportunity and ran with it, subsequently causing Theodore's exit from Montreal. While there is wonder about his status about whether or not he is a one-hit-wonder, Huet has shown what he is capable of and I think he can shine throughout the season.
Mark Denis - TB - Talk about a gamble. He was the bee's knees when he was signed by Tampa early in the summer. After having a few rough seasons in Columbus, he finally gets the chance he's been looking for - to provide a reliable job in net and let the crazy offense of Tampa take over without worries. As opposed to their terrible situation last year, Tampa finally has an actual number one goaltender. Even if he isn't what everyone is making this guy out to be, he'll be getting a load of starts and providing stats when necessary.

--

Project Runway's decision to go with a "final four" last week surely left some viewers with their mouths open. While some wonder why couldn't they boot someone, it is still a great remaining foursome to prove their worth. There's already talk about their Bryant Park shows and I'm staying away from those as much as possible. My pick for the winner? At this point, and because I love her personality, I say that Laura slays everyone and barely edges out Jeffrey. Michael Knight has the amazing potential to do some mindblowing fashion (yes, those two words can co-exist), I don't think he can pull through. And as for Uli, I'm just concerned that she's too much into patterns and "funness". We'll see. There are a few weeks ahead of us, and next week brings the much-loved reunion episode... can't wait!

--

With PR and hockey taking over my life for the past few weeks, I am ashamed to admit that something got swept up in everything else... and that is the glory of Lost. Wednesday night at nine is the premier of the third season of this thrilling drama and I know I'll be glued to the television for sure. What will happen to the three who were captured? And the others - who exactly are they? And how will the rest of the survivors of Oceanic 815 deal with the loss of their three leaders - Jack, Sawyer, and Kate? And the arctic stuff at the end of season two?! Where will it start/stop?! I don't know, but I absolutely love cliffhangers and this show shells 'em out like no other.

--

Thursday the fifth is opening day for the Atlanta Thrashers hockey season, and they'll start their campaign for the playoffs against hated division rivals Tampa Bay. Puck drops a little after seven, but I'm sure there will be a bunch of opening day theatrics in store for the fans and believers of Blueland. Do I even have to say how excited I am about the reality of another hockey season on the horizon? I mean, really?

--

Slowly but surely that time of the year is creeping up on us. Halloween? Nope. The holidays? Nah. Coachella line-up speculation and rampant extreme rumors? Absolutely! While the line-up for the great desert event won't be announced until mid-February, ridiculous amounts of rumours (i.e. scrawlings on the bathroom walls of the Knitting Factory... in either NYC or LA!) will fly on the official message boards over at the Coachella website. Who will be the headliners in '07? There has been the perpetual thought that Billy Corgan is up to something in 2007... could this be it? Or will David Bowie and/or Portishead finally take the deserty by storm? And Gnarls Barkley played mid-day in the Gobi tent last year - could they make a triumphant return to close the Outdoor Theater in April? And we all know about Daft Punk's legendary set last time around... could they make a comeback and be the object of much swooning by, well, everyone? And is this the time for Boards of Canada to come out of their turquoise hexagon sun and reign supreme in the closing slot in the Sahara tent? Who knows?! But the rumors will circulate with much vigor in the coming weeks/months. I know I have my eyes open for something interesting.

--

Wait, I've actually been listening to some new music, besides the same old rotation of Smashing Pumpkins and something from '01-'02?! You don't say? Here's what's tickling my fancy lately:

Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
Darkel (JB Dunckel, from Air) - Darkel
Snowden - Anti-Anti

For years (and I do mean years), as a member of the Atlanta music scene, I've heard bits and pieces about Snowden. Did I ever really subscribe to any of it? Not so much. But after hearing "Black Eyes" on WRAS the other day (for probably the 10th time, at least), I thought that it would be a good time to actually see what the deal is with these local darlings. After listening to the disc for the first time today, I have to give it up to Jordan and Company for providing such a new touch on the scene 'round here. I've never been too satisfied with the bands around town, and Snowden really provides a sense of hope for others to succeed and pound out something valuable locally. And I've even seen that they will tour with the new bloggers' sensation, iForward Russia! (yes, I used an 'i' before Forward because I am lazy and don't want to take the time to find an inverted exclamation point... but then I still have the time to write this massive parenthetical... how odd), in the coming weeks/months (can't recall immediately). Maybe one of these days I'll be able to catch Snowden at their home base of the Earl in East Atlanta. We'll see. But kudos to them for making the Atlanta scene a little more sonically interesting.

--

So much for keeping this short!

Oh, Jesusssss

- Cat Power was a good time. Chan behaved for the most part, the band sounded great, and she even did some stuff solo, which was a little unexpected. Although my pictures turned out terrible, I got a copy of the setlist... which did not include the off-the-cuff cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy". Sounded weird, but quite stirring.



- Thrashers training camp opened on Friday, the 15th, and I was there in all of my glory. For the first time since April, I got to be feet away from the working Thrash, including Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa, and Kari Lehtonen. I also got my sneak peek at new members of the squad and some of the kids in the lower ranks of the organization, including recent draft picks. Overall, it was awesome. It's not everyday that you have the opportunity to be this close to the players as they are playing... and to be able to do that, for free, is so amazing. There are more sessions of camp that go until the beginning of the season. For more info, check this out at the Thrashers' website.

- The Atlanta Spirit promo caravan came to town (i.e. Peachtree City) last nite and, needless to say, it was totally lame. Other events included appearances with head coach Bob Hartley, broadcaster Dan Kamal, and n00b Michael Garnett. I guess the caravan lost some members as there was NO ONE there last nite. Well, a bunch of PTC kids were there; Thrash was there; a few inflatables were set up. Unfortunately, that was the turn out. Now, granted, I can understand that the players/coaching staff are tied up with the start of the season, but at least have someone present from the team. Oh, and may I add that there was almost zero representation from the Atlanta Hawks? Yeah... well, I guess it's good to know that the priorities with the Atlanta Spirit in this part of town are with hockey. But the event as a whole was quite the letdown.

- Tonite marks the return of hockey to the Atlanta area as the Thrashers take to the ice, pre-season style, against the Florida Panthers at Phillips Arena. The lineup for the evening can be found here. It's reassuring that I'm also hearing that the student ticket prices are returning this season. I'll have my fingers crossed until we arrive at the box office that this deal still stands. The puck drops a little after 7PM.

- Project Runway is getting dicier and dicier. And I love it. How I love it. Kayne's obsessively bitchy character is finally removed from the show... and now we're left with four. And it seems that everything is gonna change... HOW SURPRISING. But, once again, how I love it. What I don't love is how there is not a new episode airing tonite. What I'm hesitant about loving are the clips/stills from all four designers' Bryant Park appearances... found elsewhere on the web. I have yet to involve myself in such things and I'm wondering how long I'll continue holding out. What I do love is a fourfour sum-up. Oh, Jesus!

Things going on this weekend:

- JapanFest at Stone Mountain Park. For what seems like the ump-teenth year, I'm missing out on it. Apparently it's a celebration of Japanese culture, which I am quite fond of, and I'm assuming that it's probably a great time of the year to make it out to Stone Mountain as well. Both excuses work for me, quite honestly.

- Paste Rock-n-Reel Festival at venues all over Atlanta. While it's been going on since Saturday, there are still some pretty noteworthy artists still performing, including the French Kicks (Sunday @ the Earl), Jose Gonzalez (Saturday @ the Earl), and The Wrens (Saturday @ the Variety).

- 80s revivalists Ladytron make their stop at the Variety Friday nite. Light and magic commence at 8PM.

- Big City Burlesque stops at the Punchline Comedy Club Saturday nite at 11PM. Granted, I found out about this yesterday and cannot do anything about it because my girlfriend and I are already going to see The Wrens that evening. But considering how we were looking forward to catching something burlesque during our summer trip to New Orleans, I guess this could work, too. Something about these kind of shows curiously appeals to me. It's not quite as goth or depressing as the Suicide Girls, so I guess that's a plus? It's good to know that there is a local burlesque troop though... for future reference.

- For the historians in the audience (myself included), there's a regrettable moment in Atlanta history being acknowledged this weekend. The 1906 Atlanta Race Riot set this city back what seemed like decades in its race relations department. Completely perpetuated by the local news media, several innocent African Americans were murdered due to local newspapers printing outrageous and wildly inaccurate stories about black men attacking, kissing, or even acknowledging white women. This weekend marks 100 years since that terrible stretch of days and there are numerous events around town that are remembering such a blight on the history of a seemingly progressive city in the Southern U.S. For more background on the events from 100 years ago and further info about what's going on, consult atlantaraceriot1906.org.

- For local Cowetans (ugh, myself included), there's the Coweta County Fair. If you're a fan of funnel cakes, bumper cars, the gravitron, and fair culture, this is the event for you. I know I'm hoping to make an appearance this weekend, if things work out alright.

And to speak frankly on the matter, I'm making a return up north during the first weekend of November. Carry on!

This Just In - Nothing Shocking! And other hockey tidbits...

Upon waking up this morning and trying to fumble my way around the networks, I saw a ticker on ESPN that mentioned that Islanders' fledgling goalie Rick DiPietro agreed to a 15-year contract. You know, considering the off-season that the Islanders had, I wasn't surprised in the slightest. I mean, that 10-year contract for Alexei Yashin has worked out so well for the team and rewarded a player who rightfully deserves each incentive. Riiiiight. And must not anyone forget about Smithgate, or How I Learned to Love My Back-up Goalie and Drop the Respected, er, Reknowned, er, Experienced (!) GM. Everything is getting mixed up in this once-respected franchise and that's a shame. At least all of these goof-ups are making it much easier to find a need to seprate my ties with the team. I can't even begin to imagine if they were my hometown team... oh, wait. Hmm.

--

It's only a few days before training camp opens for the local Atlanta Thrashers and am I getting stoked beyond belief. With things up in the air for this season (namely the a ownership struggles and my own worries of the status of student tickets), I'm unsure as to how much first-hand exposure I will have of my favorite team. In past years, there was never a concern or even the blink of an eye as to whether we would be able to get into a hockey game. Only up until last season was there a legitimate worry about whether weekend games would sell out or games against reputable teams would do the same.

To have the opportunity to observe the Thrash at their rawest moments is pretty awesome, I must admit. The best way to do such is to make a stop at the IceForum in Duluth starting Friday morning, the 15th of September. Attending the training camp sessions will be well-known players like Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa, recent additions like Steve Rucchin and Johan Hedberg, fan-favorites like Garnet Exelby and Jimmy Slater, and up-and-comers such as Alex Bourret and David Caruso. It's a great opportunity to get a sneak peak at the team and all involved with the decision-making process that is involved when determining the roster for the season opener next month. And for freaks like myself, I love trying to get autographs and great opportunities to take pictures of the guys in action up close and this is also an ideal place to do such. There are a bunch of fanatics (*cough*Nasty Nest*cough*) that go all out when it comes to these kind of happenings in the Thrashers world. It's just a neat time to get acclimated with hockey all over again and witness true professionals in an environment that is rarely found in sports.

--

It's also been quietly mentioned that Thrashers radio personality Billy Jaffe has departed the Thrashers for the more relaxed pastures of Long Island... hmm. Have fun dealing with Mr. Wang in between segments, Billy. It was nice knowing you!

Any word on the replacement? There's nothing but speculation at this point, but I suppose we can rule our OLN's/Versus' Ray Ferraro. He would, however, make an excellent replacement as he does bleed True Blue some. There is a hint that perhaps the Artful Odgers, Jeff Odgers to be exact, could suit the position. I know I'd love to see that 'stache on a regular basis... it'd be a hit for the in between period interviews and such. And I dunno how his english is, but I'd love to see Pasi Nurminen back in the Atlanta saddle with some position... and what better than announcer?! I guess that's a little too much to ask (either that or it's just nonsensical), but I love the Pasi-nator. Can't deny it, for sure.

Fixation Focus - Lily Allen

In case you couldn't discern from the subject from the previous post, I am quite caught up with Lily Allen. Hm, maybe that's not an accurate assessment... or even phraseology. Regardless, she tickles me the right way and for that I am relieved. You see, her album Alright, Still has only been released overseas and it appears that she is a force to be reckoned with in the UK... and rightfully so, if you ask me. This girl has an amazing talent that is captured through her witty and quite hilarious lyrics. The music styles explored on her album are diverse and packed with jams... seriously!

When I initially read up on her earlier this past summer, someone instantly popped in my head and that was Nellie McKay. Being quite the songwriter herself, McKay is actually really nuts when she performs and writes... often misquoting her own lyrics and her songs go from zero to sixty at an alarmingly quick pace. But this isn't the case with Ms. Allen. Not at all. Where McKay tends to stumble up on her theatrics, Allen makes up for it in sheer cuteness. Ok, and there's a bunch of FUN thrown into the mix.

Not being that eclectic in my listening habits, I haven't listened to someone who's been so comfortable with their lyrics as Lily Allen is. And to casually comment that her album is the perfect summer album doesn't even do the stuff justice. As it is September in Georgia, there are days when the temperatures can still get kinda high... but those days are fading fast. Realizing that, it seems like Lily Allen season is taking a backseat to the more cold, more dark, more sharp sounds that will make the winter season more bearable. But, with any good album, you'll find that these tracks still hold up even if there is a threat of cold rain for the next three months. The sun and light, breezy air definately doesn't hinder tracks like my personal favorite "Everything's Just Wonderful" or the what-should've-been summer anthem (had we been in London, this would've taken the cake, easily) "LDN". If you haven't done so already, it's time to familiarize yourself with this dollop of cuteness:

The myspace that started it all: http://www.myspace.com/lilymusic


Candy for the senses - Lily Allen on Top of the Pops 11/06/2006

Yeah, baby, yeah -- you're alright, still!

Tomorrow nite's the super-cool (fingers crossed!) Cat Power show at the Variety. We've gone over this before. Needless to say, I'm still excited and I'm anticipating it greatly. I'm thinking this show will either make or break my relationship with Chan Marshall. We'll see. And hopefully I'll bring in a camera... that's the thing about the Variety - you never know if you're gonna be able to sneak one in there and, if you do, whether you'll catch any flack once it's inside.

Also, Vincent finally got auf'd from last week's Project Runway. About time, I say. Never liked the guy from the get-go. Now that both he and Angela are gone, it's time to let the talent shine and not have to worry about any other weird moments of insanity to conflict with everyone else's skills. But now that I think about it, today's Monday... and we all know what that means - fourfour time!

In Thrashers news, with the signing of Kari Lehtonen (I want to say "yay!" but at the same time I'm quite hesitant to do so, imagining that my outburst will have some sort of effect on his groin, thus taking him out of the first half of the season), comes the quietly-mentioned departure of ECHL goaile juggernaut (hmm, or not) Adam Berkhoel. While I am somewhat sad to see Berkie take the high road to Buffalo, I must admit that I really don't care. Had Atlanta not had so much of a demon hellride in net last season, the average Atlanta fan (well, average in my circle, not average on the Atlanta street) would never know of Mr. Berkhoel. Same goes with Michael Garnett, but he was already higher on the depth chart... so at least he would've had a small 1"x1.5" headshot in the gamenite program.

What I am excited about, though, is the coverage that local prospect David Caruso is getting (recent article, for example). Granted, it's hockey coverage in Atlanta, but at least the guy is getting some press. Seems like the Wayne Chrebet of the Thrashers if you ask me... and, if you're a sports/football/NYJ fan, you know about Mr. Chrebet. We'll see how he pans out, but I completely welcome him with open arms. Could be a great story for Georgia/Atlanta hockey if he even makes a ripple in the organization, let alone a splash.

Oh yeah, let's not forget about fantasy hockey! It's looming on the horizon... and soon!

More to come tomorrow, scouts' honor!

Drum Licks and Hockey Sticks

OMG, gotta appreciate the rhyme scheme. RIIIIIGHT! My lack of wittiness is painful, this I know. At any rate...

Yeah, there's this rumor that there's a fantasy hockey league a-startin' in a few weeks. Well, cast aside the rumor, because this one's so solid that it's an e5, baby! Speaking in relation to the participants, an announcement is coming soon.

--

Lately I've been digging into my back catalogue of tunes from which I listened to years ago. It felt like sophomore year all over again when I pulled out The Breeders' Title TK and The Gloria Record's Start Here, but the record that's really coming into full swing is Unwound's Leaves Turn Inside You.



There's just something special with this album that makes it flow together so seemlessly. The whole project just seems like a test of the listener's palate. Two minutes' worth of a layering of single notes start the double album and that's when you begin to wonder what's about to happen... especially knowing the history of the band. As a more loud, in-your-face group that seemed to nightly kill audiences by their punkish approach, Unwound (hate to say it, but...) matured on their final masterpiece. Maturing ain't that bad, either, as can be figured out by giving this record a listen. Once you get past the bombarding of notes from opener "We Invent You", you begin to get a sense that, "Ok, I'm thinkin' this was worth it now," when "Look A Ghost" takes over and brings you to your knees. It's kinda fortunate that happens because it's less of a distance for your jaw to drop.

As a fan of other Unwound records (namely Repetition), this record caught everyone off guard. And rightfully so. Something like this just doesn't happen as if it were supposed to. A bunch of their previous song arrangements tend to start and stop on the dime and are dramatically punctuated. Leaves' tunes are more elegant, graceful, flowing ("Radio Gra" instantly comes to mind), but that doesn't mean that there is a lack of tension felt on the record either.

It's hard to believe that I missed this band before I could truly appreciate them. I'm sure we can all say that about something.

--

I also downloaded a copy of the latest Emily Haines solo effort, Knives Don't Have Your Back. Throughout my first few listens of the record, I really feel like that the problem here is that these "knives" won't have "your" (i.e. Ms. Haines') back.

Confession time, kids. I'm a pretty big fan of Metric. Shocker, right? Even though my girlfriend played the crap outta their first record, Old World Underground Where Are You Now?, I still find myself coming back to it every month or so because of its freshness and vivacity. And even though initially their last one appeared to be a "sweep-under-the-rug" effort, hearing Live It Out's stronger material live did the trick and makes the album more memorable than its predecessor. So when I heard that Emily was drinking from the same water that other influential "bandheads" were (i.e. Corgan, Amy Millan, Thom Yorke, Jenny Lewis, etc.), I genuinely got excited, just as I had about all the mentioned performers. Turns out I was bummed out with the end product... just like all of the other mentioned performers.

All I hope for from a true "solo" record is a beautifully crafted album that features great songwriting, dominating lyrics about something involving LIFE, and acoustic guitars... really. Nothing technological, nothing gimmicky, and absolutely nothing sleep-inducing. And this is where Emily falls into, unfortunately. With her, I didn't necessarily expect what I had just mentioned, but something along the lines of, "Hey, I put a bunch of thought into these older, crappy songs and then I put them in a rock tumbler and I came out with these gems... you know why? BECAUSE I CARE!"



Initially hearing "Our Hell" on her website, I got a little antsy. It was enough of a tease to form assumptions, but enough of a tease to really start chomping down at the bit and drool a little bit. The rest of the album just doesn't pan out like that as it often doesn't get off the ground. Which is a shame because she is a true character in Metric and that kind of personality doesn't even appear to touch the record. And maybe that's the entire point of releasing Knives. Desperate-for-attention piano tracks just doesn't do it for me for 10 tracks.

Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton (featuring members of Metric, Broken Social Scene, and Stars) /// Knives Don't Have Your Back /// To be released 26 September, 2006