It's -- WEEKEND!

For the first time in, like, forever I actually have a weekend off. That's the price you have to pay when you sell your soul work retail. Such is life, I suppose. However, I'm making the most of this weekend. Tonite I'm heading up to the North Georgia State Fair in Marietta and then somehow going to get a sufficient amount of sleep for the following day.

Saturday is, uh, Super Sports Saturday...? Putting the lame alliteration to a halt, we all know (as you are avid readers of WWD, I AM SURE) that tomorrow is the opening day of the Atlanta Thrashers training camp, held at their practice facility in Duluth. I do this every year and it's sooooo great. It's always great to reacquaint myself with the familiar - Ilya, Kari, Slava, etc. What's really awesome about training camp is all of the new people that will cause much head-scratching. Last year, there were questions about Bryan Little, Brett Sterling, and Tobias Enstrom (among some others, I'm sure). This year, it's time to get to know Marty Reasoner, Ron Hainsey, Jason Williams, and, of course, ZACH BOGOSIAN.

Really, all anyone has done during the summer is get high on Zach Bogosian, the Thrashers' first round draft choice. Some say he is the next coming of Christ (eh...), others (not many) say they would prefer him to hang out in juniors for a minute before just being tossed into the man-eating "waters" of the NHL. I mean, the kid is only 18 and he has the Thrashers' defense on his shoulders. It's kinda ridiculous.

Note my skepticism. That's what makes training camp so wonderful. Finally all of the bullshit-talking during the off-season ends and the real business is attended to. A good deal of questions will be answered during the next couple of weeks. Thank God, I say.

So that's my Saturday morning. Totally fun, right? I come back down south for a second and then make my way BACK up to Atlanta to catch my first (and only) Braves game of the season as they take on my faves, the Mets. Before publicly displaying any kind of animosity against the Mets, please keep in mind that they are the team that brought it home during my younger years... you know, the mid-80s. So, yeah, you can definitely say that I have an attachment to them. Also, it's just fun to yell "LARRY!" whenever that third baseman of the Braves takes to the field.

And then my Sunday is spent quietly selecting my fantasy hockey roster in my killer league (ID=17007, password=blueland), probably blogging about it, and then blogging some more about the camp experience from the previous day. Totally rad, right?! Like, so totally!

It's always difficult to get decent pics at the Ice Forum, so I'll do my best, but I make no guarantees. It's worked in my favor in the past years (2006, 2007). I just can't wait for this weekend! And it's already started!

OMG, SO EXCLAMATORY!