The Vig

Despite all the hooey of the summer, this year’s opening night was kind of cool.  I mean despite the bagpipers during player intros, and the ongoing saga of the video screens (more on both down below), this year’s opener seemed like a fresh start.  Gone was Jack Donovan’s opening night comments.  Heck, for the first time during the new reign, I didn’t see Donovan in the building at all!

I think the fresh start can be summed up in two separate conversations I had yesterday.  I remarked how semi-embarrassed I was to be there despite declaring not three months ago that I’d washed my hands of the franchise.  Others were equally embittered.  Yet there we all were.  Liz T. was there.  Dwight Jaynes?  He was there.  John G. and Jerry H. were there too.  Despite everything, the regulars showed up.  Of course, no one else did (3200 on a Saturday night?  Wow. Nice work, ticket office!).  And we got to see some pretty decent hockey to boot.

It appears that we’re only a few short weeks away from the end of the Goldsmith/Donovan/Other Guy-era.  The regulars have made their peace with that and want the next few weeks to be about hockey.  Good on all of them.

Thoughts:

White: Back during the trade deadline last season, there was talk of moving Mucha.  In fact, I seem to recall someone telling me the deal was done, but it fell apart at the last second.  Either way, the operating theory was White would be a capable goaltender while we groomed the next guy.  And last night he showed that.  Yeah, he didn’t face a shot for the first 17-minutes of the first period.  The shots he did see, he handled well.  He gives me confidence that life will go on should Mucha get moved at this year’s deadline.

Hutt: John G. said he’s got a little Marty Standish in him.  That’s like three jokes all wrapped into one.  John G. is a funny funny dude.  Seriously though, he’s a scrappy guy.  I think we’re going to cotton to him just fine.

Brett Freaking Ponich: I think they announced him last night at 6′8″.  The Hawks site has him at 6′7″.  Either way, that dude is a monster.  And he was in a lot of good places last night.  Here’s hoping he takes a big step forward this season.  Lord knows there’s opportunity out there.

Valchar: Radim Valchar has no use for your offsides rule.

Kerr: “That guy can’t skate!” declared Jerry H.

“Maybe so”, I replied, “but he’ll punch you in the mouth.”

I said this early in the third period.  It’s called foreshadowing.  I remember in his first game here last season, he came through and cleared the crease on his first shift in a way that hadn’t been done in a few years.  That alone made him one of my favorite players.  Last night cemented his place in my heart.

Eeewwww…..

I see in the scoresheet this morning that he indeed picked up a game misconduct last night.  It was hard to see how he didn’t, what with the attempting to charge the Chiefs’ bench then slamming his helmet on the ice.  Big Snakian…

The replay screens: John G. remarked during the second period that the screens will go down as the symbol of the Goldsmith group.  Endlessly hyped and ultimately worthless.  They worked for an entire period before crapping out.  The new guys may spring for new screens, but I don’t see why.  The team will be playing exclusively in the Rose Garden in a year, thus negating the need for screens in the MC.  D’oh!  Did I say that outloud?

Jerry Moss: Moss did exactly what he was hired to do last night, work the mike, make his announcements, and get the crowd fired up.  On all those points, the guy gets an A.  But like the socreboards, he’s a symbol of the present ownership, and thus the second the new guys come in, he needs to go.  Watching a guy running around the arena bowl in his pajamas, imploring the crowd to get rowdy, is not my idea of a good time.  I realize he’s not targeted at me, but still.  Like Tom-A-Hawk and that freaking drum, the Moss act is annoying.  This does not, however, take away from his groundbreaking work with Herb Alpert.

Rutkowski: He earned Andy’s third star last night.  This, of course, means I missed something.  All those new numbers and new players out there, it’s gonna take me a game or two to catch up.  I’ll pay more attention when #2 is on the ice, then I’ll try to remember it’s not Bo Montgomery.  Or Jordie Fike.

Ross: He’s gonna be a good one too.

Crap, that’s what I get for not saving before I go back to texting. The Hawks have looked slow to open the game. Everett has done a nice job of flopping, getting two calls from a compliant Derek Zalaski. Mucha is giving up way too many rebounds and it cost him at 2:50 as Kyle Beach scored into an empty net. Where oh where is Ryan Kerr? I keep hearing he’ll be back by the next game. They must mean the next next game.
-Scott Gabriel can neither skate nor handle the puck. A turnover literally right in front of the crease results in a second Everett goal. I’ve no idea who the other defenseman is, but Gabriel should be benched. Period.
-Having trouble with the software again…
-Jacob Dietrich scores shorthanded to make it 2-1. A little later, an Everett player shoves Mucha, Mucha retaliates. No call either way. Zalaski is completely out to lunch by this time.
-Zalaski calls back-to-back penalties on the Hawks. Both were clearly embellished by the Everett players involved. The league promised to clamp down on this behavior some time back. Either they don’t care, or they haven’t properly trained their officials. First period officiating is a disgrace. Just terrible.

Will things get better in the second? Stay tuned.

I added a plug-in to my blog software which finally allows me to blog from my cell phone. We’ll see how this goes.

The Hawks are currently down 2-0 to the rival Seattle Thunderbirds halfway through the first period. As bad as things look now, it’s not nearly as bad as Katie Harmon’s national anthem. If you’re planning to hit the Sheraton tonight, might I suggest finding alternate plans.

First Intermission: The Hawks have crawled back into the match, scoring a goal at the end of their second power play. This is probably the biggest crowd of the year so far. They’re a lively bunch, roaring to life for big hits.

Second Intermission: The Birds scored early in the second period on a seeing-eye shot from the blueline. The Hawks were gassed by the end of the period. Despite the disparity on the scoreboard, somehow they’re leading in shots 26-25. The Hawks will need to score early in the next period if they have any hope of winning. While they did mount a serious late game comeback earlier in the season, I don’t see it tonight. If the Hawks are down by two or more goals with less than five minutes to go, the desire to fight may prove too powerful.

Early third period: Tristan King(!) drops the mitts and gets his ass kicked about two minutes in. Thirty seconds later, Chris Francis buries a shot from right out front.  3-2 Birds. We have a hockey game.

No sooner did I hit *publish* than Bud Halloway buries a rebound on the power play. Damn.

Underschute scores with about three minutes to go. The crowd goes nuts. The Hawks get a few more chances before Seattle scores a minute or so later. They just added an empty net goal for insurance. 6-3 Birds. Now is the time on Sprockets wheb we fight!

End of the game: It’s New Years Eve and there’s no fights? Well, there was the one. But beyond that, Seattle was just the better, more physical team tonight. When, oh WHEN! will Ryan Kerr return?

Post Script:  As I packed up after the game, I watched as a Portland fan who I’ve seen for years lit into the Seattle broadcasters for being homers and disrespecting Mucha.  The guys laughed at him and wished him a good night.  Good on ‘em, I say.  The Hawks just got their asses kicked, and now fans want respect?  Please.  Take your whoopin’ and go home.

That said, I’ve always thought the Hawks organization has been too deferential to the Birds.  For example a few years back, the Hawks beat Seattle in a close one at the Rose Garden.  When it came time to hand out the three stars, Andy handed the first star to a T-Bird.  The guy may have been the best player on the ice, but the Hawks won the game.  Why not throw an extra little forearm while your rival is down?  If the same thing had happened in Key Arena, you can bet a Bird would have been #1.  And, had the Hawks beat Everett, a Hawk would have been #1.  It’s just a game within the game, I suppose.

Blazers: Did I mention I picked up a ticket package a few weeks back? I gave a few of the seats away for Christmas and will no doubt be giving a few more out as things come up down the line. 20 games for $100 is a helluva deal. Yesterday’s game against the Sixers was my second game of the season. Like a lot of folks, I thought the team was probably done for at the half. The fourth quarter Philly implosion was something to behold. Portland didn’t win the game as much as Philly just folded the tents. There was an added bonus to the game as the referee I most love to hate, Steve Javie, was in the building. He did his level best in the first half to break the streak, but he ended up jobbing the Sixers down the stretch. The NBA is the last professional league to have a cadre of celebrity referees. Baseball has killed them off. The NFL has Ed Hochuli, who did the Seahawks game today. And the NHL has Mick McGeough. But that’s about it. The NBA still has Dick Bavetta, Joe Crawford, and Bennett Salvatore. And they’ve got a fantastic new villain in Violet Palmer. For me, it’s almost as exciting to see any of those four as it is to see the home team.

Arizona Cardinals: I pegged them for 7-9. They ended up steamrolling the hapless Rams 48-19 to finish the season 8-8. Now Cards fans are caught in a no man’s land of pondering what might have been while cursing the fact they’ll be drafting somewhere in the teens come April. Meanwhile Kurt Warner pocketed a cool $1.5 million for finishing as one of the top-ten quarterbacks in the league. You’d think the Bidwills would have ordered him benched. The old man must be losing his touch.

Winter Hawks: I ended up choosing UFC over hockey on Saturday. I followed the game as best I could on my cellie. After giving up nearly 60 shots to Moose Jaw on Friday night, they kept the high flying Ams to only 38 on Saturday. And that allowed Mucha to do his thing. Once Ryan Kerr gets back, the shots against should start going down. In the meantime, what do the Hawks do at the deadline? If they decide to keep Mucha, it will be a sign to me that they believe they can win next year. I don’t see it. But then I’m an idiot.

Last but not least..

Yeah, Bro!