Thrashers vs. Predators: A Big Confidence MOOSEster

Last night the final score should have been 2-0, no overtime, no shootout. Moose let in on really sloppy goal, leaving the net, or the Moose Cave as I like to call it, and it was an all too easy goal. Both goals scored on Moose should have not been goals, they were simply presents to the Predators. Yet despite Moose’s costly mistakes, he more than made up for them with a shutout in the shootout. Second pre-season home game and we’re already going to a SO. The SO is the worst way to win or lose a game. Sure, it’s awesome and exciting when your team wins in SO, but I just don’t like it being the one thing that determines the outcome of a game. But the other night, when the Georgia vs. Alabama game went into OT, I couldn’t help but think of how similar it was. Each team starts on the 30… close enough for a good touchdown pass or at least a field goal… so it’s almost like a shootout. It’s not the same, but it’s similar…each team gets a shot… and in hockey, it is also true. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a college football game go into OT, so I wasn’t up on all the OT rules until they displayed them on TV.

So, we put in “Mr. Automatic” (Kozlov), Hossa, and Kovy. Now, Kozzy was on an amazing streak of SO goals last season… he kind of let up at the end of the season, but I just assumed that he’d start up right back where he left off… but it wasn’t even close, he couldn’t even really get a shot off. Hossa, to my surprise, wasn’t any better. And then to our surprise, it was Kovy that was put in as the third shooter. Here we go, like we are really gonna win this one now. We all know of Kovy’s all-so-wonderful history in the SO… he’s historically horrible in the SO… yet this time he proved us wrong. This was a huge confidence booster for Kovy. I don’t think he’ll score in every single SO, but he’s gotten better, and last night’s sniper shot simply proved that. Not only was it a confidence booster for Kovy, but mostly for Moose. After giving up those two horrific goals, once of which was a huge brain fart mistake, he was solid as a rock ‘tween the pipes during the SO… giving the Thrashers a shutout in the shootout… This coming through in the clutch performance more than made up for his earlier blunders… and giving the small crowd at Philips a happy drive home.

My worry is that if Kari is hurt, even if he’s not, can the Moose be a consistently good goaltender? After last night, it’s hard to say… giving up those two mindnumblingly bad goals it’s hard to say… sure event he best goaltenders, even the great Marty Brodeur, will let in a bad one every now and then… and better now we get those out of the way during pre-season than the regular season. I forgive the Moose for his mistakes, as he is one of the best professionals you will ever see out on the ice. He gave us a helluva a performance in the playoffs, despite the outcome, and he is generally a very consistent and reliable goaltender, not to mention a really nice guy.

So tonight the guys play in Sunrise. I hope we won’t be too tired after last night’s win and then having to leave right for Florida… but I mean, it could be worse… I wouldn’t complain about playing hockey in Florida in sunny whether surrounded by palm trees, an ocean breeze, and, well, it’s Florida. I hope Kari gets the start as reported and I hope he’s able to stay in and re-injure himself playing.

Best of luck to Kari and the Thrashers tonight in Sunrise. Let’s make the Panthers pay!

A Dawg Gone Good Weekend... for the Thrashers and Falcons, Not So Much

Last weekend was awesome. Thrashers, Braves, and Falcons games... all in one weekend. But I'm trying my best to forget about the Falcons game... I've been to plenty of Falcons games, but that was a sorry ass game. We did have Club seats; that was my first time in the Club seating at the Dome and I've gotta say it's awesome. But it's sad, we both the tickets for less than 1/2 the cost of face value... I wish we had of gone to the last Braves home game instead; it would've been more fun. Oh well... on to important things here: The Thrashers

Saturday night as surreal. It's been a little over five months since we've been to a hockey game. Walking back into Philips for the first time was, well... it was strange, yet I felt at home at the same time. Standing there, looking out onto the ice and checking out the arena bowl, I thought back to the first playoff game... instead of a 1/2 empty pre-season game, I saw a jam-packed Philips Arena roaring all night for the Thrashers. I saw the boards and glass all lit up in Blue. I heard the roar of a deafening crowd; a city set on fire by the Thrashers. Am I delusional? Last time I checked, no. Some times I wish I was; life would be more fun that way. It was surreal being back in Philips... watching an actual hockey game. Not some crappy video stream from North Bay but a real, live in-person game. It was hard to believe we were there, watching the Thrashers. It hasn't even hit me yet hockey season is back. Perhaps that will happen tonight for the 2nd pre-season home game? I hope so.

So, guess what, as usual, Sam and I were there early. Not super insane early like we will for for Opening Night... but early enough. First in line, as usual. The best part is that smell. That ice, beer, and arena food smell. I haven't smelled that glorious smell in months. It's the best smell in the world next to freshly printed money. As the doors opened, and you get that first whiff of the smell that is Blueland, your senses open up, and you realize that you are about to watch the best sport on earth - NHL hockey. Oh, that smell... there's nothing quite like it. If I could bottle it up and make my house smell that way... or maybe just a smelly thing for your car... that would be awesome... to get into your car and every time it smells like Philips Arena. The ice, the cold, the beer, the food... whatever it is that makes up that combination to make that unique, sweet smell of Philips Arena... it's awesome. There's nothing like it anywhere.

The game itself was almost irrelevant... not a full roster, nothing counts, it's just pre-season... of course you want the Thrashers to win... well that's all some bullshit right there. Yeah, it was pre-season, but it was that all too-familiar feeling I get after a Thrashers loss... even in pre-season. But it was to be erased quickly. After stopping at the V (that's the Varsity for you non-ATL types) to get some grub, I drove to my moms to watch the end of the Georgia vs. Alabama game. I won't go into how weird and strange it was not hearing Larry Munson on the radio on the way home; this is not a Dawgs blog, but man, it was weird. Got there just in time to watch the last half of the 4th quarter... I drove up to my moms house to find a house full of people still there... she has a break-the-fast dinner every year after Yom Kippur, but I wasn't about to miss the Thrashers game, even for that. I get inside and everyone is gathered around the TV. OT rolls around, the Dawgs win, and my brother who was home for the holiday, who would have otherwise been at the game, went absolutely insanely berserk, dancing and jumping around... it would have made a priceless YouTube video if we had only captured his victory dance after the game. It was exciting to say the least and the Dawgs OT win 100% turned around any crappy feelings from the Thrashers loss. It erased it all. I'll take a Dawgs OT win ... especially over Bama...and a Thrashers pre-season loss any day.

So tonight is the second pre-season home game. I have a feeling, seeing as how it is a Tuesday night, that there will be a really small crowd... fine with me. Just means better seats to sneak down to!

I am a bit concerned that Kari is not starting tonight; Moose is back in goal... guessing they are letting Kari heal up as much as he can before the regular season starts. The line is also very interesting tonight with Little and Kovy... we'll see what happens. I dunno bout you but with these two guys I'm expecting some highlight-reel plays. We'll see.

Well, that's enough for now. I'll do a post-game... uh... post... either tonight or sometime tomorrow.

See you in Blueland tonight! LETS GO THRASHERS!!!

The Religion of Hockey

Being that tonight and tomorrow is Yom Kippur, I thought I'd do a post a little off the beaten path. With hockey fans being among the most passionate, obsessed, and loyal fans on earth, it isn't a long shot to say that hockey might as well be a religion in and of itself.

Here are a few photos and links of proof:

- Interesting Blog Article on Canadian Jews who play hockey

- Israel Ice Hockey Federation

- Jews have been playing hockey for longer than you think!


- The Coolest Jewish Hockey Jersey You'll Ever See:












- Even Jesus loves hockey:


















- Jesus playing hockey:


















- Jesus Saves:















- Jesus as a Flyer:

Negative Result From Nashville & Chief - The Man, The Myth, The Living Legend

Got back from the Braves vs. Brewers game late and didn't see or scoreboard watch the game, so I really can't tell you much more than what you already know - we lost 5-3. Sure it would've been sweet to go 3-0 in the pre-season, but reality finally set in tonight: You mean we aren't going to win every single game? Of course it's just pre-season and the disappointment of a loss isn't on the level of a regular-season game... But the Braves did win 3-1... When we left the game, the Mets had gone ahead.... but I get back to the car and my brother calls me to tell me the Marlins tied it back up with 3 runs in the 9th... and ended up winning the game. Of course the Nats blew a nice lead on the Phillies and the Phillies ended up winning... but if the Braves are to make it, we are gonna need some help along the way... but it surely doesn't help that both the Mets and Phillies essentially have a cake walk the rest of the game... playing teams like the Marlins. The Braves are hot right now and let's just hope for a playoff-making miracle.

So, yes, ok, back to the Thrashers here. I so badly wanted to be in Nashville tonight... more than anything. But that's ok... you can put money on the table that I'll be incredibly early to Saturday night's game... I ran into Chief (if you live in Atlanta and go to Braves and Thrashers games and don't know who Chief is, than you aren't a true Atlantan) and we talked to him tonight for quite a while.... to say the least, he is excited that the Thrashers are finally back. Of course, Chief will be there, but you know he can't break his Braves attendance record, and will be a bit late... but it was great to catch up with Chief tonight.... he is the nicest guy you'll ever meet too. And if you thought I was loyal, Chief is hard to beat. We are always hanging out in line talking Thrashers, Braves, Falcons and sports in general before Thrashers games... he plays sports himself... he's an avid softball player (he was very animated tonight telling us about ending up in first place) and and avid floor hockey player.

In fact, Chief, Sam and I have become good buddies. So much so, in fact, that I created a MySpace page... just for Chief. I'll be honest, I haven't kept up with it as much as I should have, but if you know Chief and you're on MySpace, add him to your friends list. I did a huge interview with Chief and need to get around to adding the info from our interview. The MySpace page is here:

http://www.myspace.com/chief755

Not much else to say tonight... but I am pysched for Saturday... I can't wait for that Blueland smell... cold ice, beer, hotdogs, and, well, of course... more beer. I can't wait to see the ice, I can't wait to actually be at hockey game... it's been WAY, WAY too long and I'm anxious to see our boys in blue play the other... boys in blue... and this time with no huge pressure for a win... win or lose, it's not the end of the world - it doesn't count - and I'd rather save those pissed-off moods for the regular season... this Saturday is a take-it-easy kind of game. Of course, yeah, you want a W, but it doesn't count.

One last minor thing... not sure how long services will run on Saturday... I hope to be able to make it to the Nasty Nesty BBQ down in the Gulch but it all depends on my timing... I have to change, put my suit in my car and then go back... that may take some time.

There's just one more little thing: On my season ticket box, it says "2007-08 Southeast Division Champions"... I'd like to believe this is not a misprint - rather it's the truth. But before we start making such bold predictions... which are totally cool with me, I don't mind.... let's get the season started... let's raise that banner, let's kick some ice and... ITS @#$()@(#$&@# HOCKEY SEASON!!!!!

Oh yeah... before I go.... tonight at The Ted... it was a small crowd but I did notice serveral Thrashers shirts and hats throughout the ballpark... even a couple of kids got one the screen - one a hockey jersey (couldn't make out the team) and one with a Thrashers jersey. I'm still, of course, a huge Braves fan and will wear Braves gear to a Braves game, but I kind of wish I had thrown my my Thrashers gear tonight. Oh well. It was cool to see some Thrashers Hockey Love at The Ted tonight. We got some free fireworks from Cent. Park, a Smoltz statue, a Braves win, a Mets loss, and the best part - a subtle reminder that hockey season is upon us.

LETS GO THRASHERS!!!

Class Is In Session

Ever wondered just where the Thrashers got their name?

Check out the Brown Thrasher entry in Wikipedia. It even mentions that the bird is the inspiration for Thrashers as our team name. Take a minute or two from all your Thrashers and hockey news, blogging, and fantasy hockey and educate yourself.

Or listen to one. I swear he's saying "Let's go Thrashers!!" ....in Thrash-sorta speak. Or maybe he's just trying to tell off some Sabres or Rangers fans...

And did you ever think about it... seeing as how it's a BROWN Thrasher... aren't you glad our main team color is not UPS brown? If we have a bad game, at least we can't say we look like shit... literally.

And yes, the Georgia Brown Thrasher has his own highlight video.

The Birds,The Braves & The Battle

I love this time of the year. It's not all that often you get to go to a Braves, Thrashers, and Falcons game all in one weekend. If only it was like this all year!

I've been invited to go to the game in Nashville, but there's just no way I can really get up there. I have to work all day Friday. My girlfriend can't go. Friday night is Yum Kippur. Saturday morning as well. Great timing, right? Sadly I will have to miss the Open Practice... as much as I want to be there, my conscious simply won't let me skip going to synagogue on the holiest day of the year. I will, however, change right after services and meet up with folks at the Nasty Nest tailgate in the Gulch. Thankfully my synagogue is off of Peachtree Battle, so I won't be too far from Philips... I'll just have to stop somewhere and change.

So, as I said, there's just no way we can make it up to Nashville for the game... it makes sense to save $$$ for regular-season games anyway. Not to mention we'll be at the Braves game (John Smoltz statute night!).... which will probably be the last Braves game I get to go to this season....barring any last minute playoff-making miracles.

Sunday my brother and will be at the Falcons home-opener. And speaking of miracles, they are gonna surely need one as well... could they pull out a W?

So, Thursday night it's Braves...
Saturday it Thrashers home pre-season game 1...
Sunday it's the Falcons....

The only tough part about Saturday night is that the Dawgs will be at 'Bama... just hoping they'll keep us up to date on the scores on the boards in Philips... and of course it means checking the TVs during intermission.

But I'm anxious as all hell to finally see some hockey again... of course Saturday the Thrashers won't be playing most of our main guys, it will be the younger guys to see who will get some of the last roster spots... could the Thrashers go 3-0 in the pre-season?

As you already know, Custance is the Thrashers one and only AJC writer / blogger. Sadly, the AJC, ironically located next door to Philips Arena, has one Thrashers writer. ONE. Pathetic. However, Custance is a great source of inside info. He published a piece today regarding our goalie situation. Kari, as you know, was our #1 "Franchise" goalie last season, and no doubt is still the future of this franchise and still, to me anyway, our Franchise netminder. However, Thrashers fans will have the opportunity to yell "Mooooooooooooose!!" a bit more often this season, as Kari and Moose will be competing for the starting position. Will Kari start on Opening Night or will you go deaf hearing "Mooooooooooooose!"on Opening Night? That remains to be seen. There will be a battle between Kari and Moose and I only see that as a positive... it will keep them fighting for the chance and can only make them better. I don't know if this is Coach Hartley's idea or DW playing master of puppets, but whoever made the decision to make it a battle did the right thing. The question remains, however.... will this help get the Thrashers more wins? That remains to be seen for now. I do know that Kari stood on his head when his parents were in town to watch him play. Hopefully they'll come as MUCH as possible this season.

AJC.COM: "Lehtonen has competition in the nets"

X Hero of the Day in North Bay

Well, well.... whadda we have here?

The Thrashers are now 2-0 in the pre-season!

The game was, in theory, broadcast on NHL Center Ice Online.... but half the time the site wouldn't load, and sometimes it did but the player didn't launch....if the player did launch there was no feed...luckily the CBC was also broadcasting the game online... it was a decent video feed, it was grainy and choppy but better than nothing. People kept walking in front of the camera... guess that's what you get in a small arena like that.

X scored the game-winning OT goal over the NY Islanders. Now, here's the scary part... it's only the 2nd pre-season game but my heart was racing as if it's post-season. Man I really, really missed hockey!

I don't know if Crabb will make the team, but I think he looked pretty good in the game despite that last minute penalty.

Hockeyville 2007 Media:

Thrashers Game Recap

Islanders Game Recap

AJC.COM Game Recap

NHL.COM: "North Bay lives up to 'Hockeyville' title"

The North Bay Nugget: "Kovalchuk , Thrashers eager to suit up for Hockeyville game"

2007 Hockeyville Website

Pictures of North Bay Fans After Winning the 2007 Hockeyville Contest

Official City of North Bay Website

Thrashers Fever: Will ATL Catch It Again?

I was cleaning up some files on my computer and going through a bunch of random photos and came across this screen shot of AJC.COM from last season. It serves as an excellent reminder of just what we accomplished last year: Not only were we Division Champs, but we made the playoffs for the first time. For the first time, the city of Atlanta was abuzz about the Thrashers. It was the talk of the town. Even where I work, people I didn't know would stop by to talk to me about the Thrashers. All over the city, there was not a place you could go where you didn't hear someone talking about hockey and the Thrashers. It was the biggest thing this city had going at the time. The fever, the buzz, the anticipation of Stanley Cup playoffs...

And then finally it came: The first-ever Playoff game in Thrashers history. The sold out crowd inside Philips Arena had an energy, a force about it if you will... unlike anything we've experienced before.

My question is this: Can we do this again? Can this city rise to it's feet and support this team the same way? If we make the playoffs again, will Atlanta come out in full support? Will that same Thrashers fever catch on throughout Atlanta like it did last season?

I think our fans and this city will not only show the same level of support, but even go beyond what we had last season. Last season was just a taste... an appetizer if you will.... this season, if we make the playoffs, let's try our best not to get swept... and maybe make it to the 2nd round? We make it that that far and this city will catch not only Thrashers fever but it will be more like an epidemic of Thrashers mania.

We'll need to alert local hospitals to be on the lookout for individuals with Thrashers fever... It can easily be diagnosed by constant talk about the Thrashres, hockey, the NHL and Stanley Cup Playoffs. Victims will be dressed in Thrashers jerseys, shirts and hats, and are known to eat, sleep and breathe all that is Blueland. Victims of Thrashers fever are also known to escape jail... err... work to arrive early to games. These victims can also be seen traveling up interstate 85 to the Duluth Ice Forum to catch Thrashers Training Camp and practices. Be cautious around those you may believe to have Thrashers Fever: It is HIGHLY and EXTREMELY contagious and if you are around or near ANYONE with these symptoms and conditions, you too will be at the mercy of Thrashers Fever. Be forewarned, there is NO cure and there is nothing you can do to get rid of it. Even during the off season, Thrashers Fever's symptoms may be reduced, however, there is no cure.

On a side note:

Atlanta fans: One thing... Like our Mayor or not, if we DO happen to make the playoffs again, let's NOT boo her, no matter where your political stance is. If one day, God forbid, the Thrashers should ever have the threat of moving hanging over our heads, and we have a fan rally like Nashville did, and our Mayor is there to show support... we may in fact need her one day, if it ever comes to that, and if we boo her, she may never show her support for the Thrashers to stay in town... so let's be smart about this one Thrashers fans... like her or not, let's NOT boo her just in case, like I said, God forbid we may need her support one day. I hope that day never comes, but if it does, the power of politicians is priceless.

Now We Are Famous! Thanks, AJC!

Ok, not really, but we were in a training camp photo on AJC.COM.

We are to the right of the lady in the Canada jacket... that's my friend Jordan, my girlfriend Sam, and me with the backwards hat on.

Click here for the link to the story.

Photo:

Bluelanders Give The Blues ...The Blues

Well, I must apologize already... I had such a busy weekend that I haven't been able to get around to posting anything. On Friday I was at the first day of camp, of course, but headed straight to Athens after for the Georgia game. Not too much time to post anything. I was busy with the girlfriend all day Sunday as well... this is my first real opportunity to post.

I did take quite a few pictures... it's a new camera, but they just didn't' seem to come out that well. After practice I found out there are better settings I should have used. Oh well. Here are the pictures that actually came out.

I'm glad we got the season off to a good start with a W against the Blues... might be pre-season but a win is a win is a win. And I hope the broadcast tonight from the Hockeyville game works without any issues.

What else... I'm kind of disappointed in the Open Practice date. I'm Jewish and the Open Practice juuuuuuuuust so happens to be on the same date as... oh... only the holiest day of the year: Yum Kippur. This is no different than having the event on Christmas Day or Easter... They would, of course, never have an event on the same day... Why does it have to be the one day out of the year? In all honesty, it's kind of offensive. Last year I believe the event was only for season ticket holders and BBQ and drinks were provided... this year it's open to the public and no food or drinks are provided... That kinda bums me out too. But the fact that it's on Yum Kippur... that is just bad. Now I'm not sure how many Jewish folks around here are also hard core Thrashers fans like me, but it's very frustrating. But I have to to the right thing. I'll be going to services Friday night and Saturday... meaning I won't be able to go to the open practice... but I will be going to the game that night. I wish they had schedule it for another time and day... but I guess they didn't see Yum Kippur on the calendar. Man you can really tell I am Jewish with all the complaining... but I think it's a legit reason to complain.

Anyway, after seeing the new jerseys for myself at the practice and now in pictures from the Blues game, I have to say the only thing I don't like is the arrows and stripe along the bottom.

What else... the season is not far away and every day the anticipation grows more and more.

Minor Blog Update

Well I should be in bed already, gotta get up bright and early to get to training camp in the morning!

I've made a few minor updates and changes... brought back using a small icon for each post.. I really like this one. Also added another graphic or two as well as a new link list for Thrashers-related MySpace pages... if you'd like your Thrasher-themed MySpace page added or if you are just a Thrashers fan and want your MySpace page added to the list, just let me know.

I'm looking to see if I can find past years training camp shirts, so if you have any pictures or remembered what was said on them, let me know.

Expect plenty of pictures from training camp tomorrow....err make that later today.... I won't be going on Saturday... I'll be in Athens for the Georgia game, but I'll be back Sunday and at least a few days during the week if and when I can make it up to Duluth.

Also in case you missed it, last year's Fan Correspondent Sean Grace is having a free ticket contest over on his blog so check it out... I've already put my name in the hat. Sorry, I have no free tickets to give away. Maybe I'll give something away later on to entice people to actually read this thing. I have a few Thrashers goodies and a contest or two kinda sounds like fun. Problem is I'm way to lazy to actually go out and ship something so if you do win a contest from me, you'll have to get it from me at a game.... ok, ok I'll ship whatever it may be as long as it's not really heavy.

That's it for now. See you in Duluth!

So Close You Can Feel The Cold

So hockey is almost here. Almost time yet again for the greatest sport on earth. It can't come soon enough. And speaking of things that can't come soon enough: Season Tickets. They were shipped out on Monday and arrived on Tuesday... well, they were SUPPOSED to arrive on Tuesday. Of course I tracked the package... it said damaged and missing merchandise and that it was being returned. So I call UPS (thankfully you can actually talk to a human being) and they lady told me something fell out and was missing. Great. Wonderful. Who else but Mr. UPS driver would have opened the box??? I thought something fishy may have been going on. The last package I got from UPS, which was an envelope that contained front row tickets to see Dave Chappelle at the Tabernacle, was torn up, had some sort of black goo all over it, and the flap where you open it was already half open. Thank god my front row tickets were in there. The next thing I get from UPS are my Thrashers season tickets, and out of all the tickets that were mailed out, MY box is the one box that somehow, someway couldn't make it to it's destination... in the same city. I can understand a messup if I were sending something to say... the south pole... but in the same city? Cmon. What can brown do for me? They can get me my packages... on time and not messed with! Thankfully they were returned and ended up in the hands of my ticket rep Dustin and I told him I'm just going to pick them up... no more taking chances with UPS.

Anyway, this Friday I am going to be a bad Jew and skip the second day of Rosh Hashanah to go to the first Thrashers practice. The 2nd day is always half empty anyway. Can't miss the first official practice!

The Braves are toast. The Falcons... well... not giving up on them yet, they did manage to win 3 of 4 in the pre-season, and I know pre-season doesn't mean much, but let's just hope the next game is a BIT closer than the opener. Georgia lost to South Carolina and should've played a lot better. So it's time for some Thrashers hockey!

The Thrashers will be a mix of new and familiar faces... and I think we have a heck of a roster. Thankfully, as you know, Sutton is gone. That should help us win a few more games alone! Ok, I shouldn't pick on Andy, he'll probably come back to play us and take some of our guys out.

What else... considering going to the pre-season game in Nashville but I think the smart thing to do will be to save money for away games during the regular season. But then again, it is the Thrashers and hockey... so... gotta make up my mind soon.

My girlfriend is more than excited to finally see the boys on the ice, especially Kari... oh how she is madly in love .... well more like lust... with him. I don't care... I'm madly in love with Bridgette Wilson (you know, Veronica Vaughn in the movie Billy Madison...) and she's totally cool with that... although I've never been so lucky to have met her. Maybe one day....

My hope is, of course, who doesn't want a Stanley Cup? I just hope the Thrashers not only make the playoffs again but win a series or two and maybe even go deep in the playoffs... no more sweeps by the Rangers or any other team for that matter. Those are still fresh, painful memories... that freak puck that bounced off the boards...I won't even go into other details... just trying NOT to think about it... I'd much rather think about how awesome Blueland was that night... never before had Philips been that loud... the energy in the building was awesome... insane... something you'll never forget. I hope the 2007-08 Opening Night is just as loud and has just as much energy. I can't wait. October 5th can't come soon enough!!!

I hope there are more fans at games this year during the week. Even if a game falls on a Tuesday or Wednesday, I wana see the place rockin'. Traffic, work, more traffic, kids, more work... excuses, excuses, excuses... tired of 'em. Get your asses down to Philips Arena, come support the best damn team in this city and even if you've never been to a hockey game, you'll be hooked once you go. The Thrashers are the best addiction you can have... at least they are better than a crack addiction! There's nothing like hockey and if you've never been... COME OUT TO A GAME... you WILL fall in love with the Thrashers and hockey.... if you don't, something is very, very wrong.

If you have been living under a rock or in a cave than you might not have heard there was finally a legal decision about the Atlanta Spirit ownership group... and I think it fell the way most people wanted it to... Belkin won't get control of the team. Now that the legal battle is hopefully near an end, the Thrashers won't have to cut their budgets on certain things...

What else.... Face Off 2007 is coming soon which is always fun... there's the open morning skate...last year coach Hartley was mic'd up, hopefully they'll do that again... and then on the same day is the first home pre-season game. Can't wait!!!

Don't have much time left tonight; have to get up early to get to services in the morning... expect consistently more updates now that the season is gearing up!

LETS GO THRASHERS!!!!!!!

My Season Ticket Rep:

I haven't done any blogging, well, because there's not too much to blog about. There's the Hossa rumors and then, of course, Sutton is gone, and well, that's a big cause for celebration if you ask me. I thought he was a good dman but he was way too inconsistent.

Anyway, the point of this post is to give props and kudos to my season ticket rep: Dustin Skidmore. Dustin has been my rep ever since I became a STH. Now, with season tickets, you can have an 8 month payment plan with no interest to make it easier for fans to afford... which is a very, VERY nice option and makes it easy to afford tickets.

Dustin has been VERY... EXTREMELY accommodating to me, allowing me to pay when I get paid, allowing me to make a payment when I can, even if it's not exactly according to the scheduled. For example, I gave Dustin a payment of $100 and told him the next time I get paid I'd send him $200. Well, he e-mailed me back asking if I wanted to go ahead and make a payment... well, I was helping my younger brother move to a new apartment in Athens and on my way back to Atlanta, about 1/2 down 316, my car decided to, what I thought at the time, throw a rod. It was making horrible, horrific sounds and I somehow, someway drove back to Atlanta in the right hand lane and made it to the shop. It cost me over $1600 to fix and, to say the least, that set me back quite a bit until my next paycheck... I told Dustin and he was more than willing to let me pay him a week later when I get my next paycheck... he has done this several times for me, making my life a lot easier. He didn't have to. He could have told me to pay or we'll have to hold your tickets or cancel my account, but no, he has been and continues to be very accommodating and I want to give him thanks for that.

Instead of seeing the short term, he sees the long term. This year I might not be able to afford the best tickets or I might have to pay him little by little when I can, but next season I might be able to afford much better seats and actually pay him on time... and the season after that, who knows, I might be able to move down to the lower level... so I think he knows I'll be a long-term customer... and he knows just how to keep me as one. He could demand payment and cancel my account and not keep me as a customer and a fan, but he "puts up" with me, for lack of a better term, and I truly appreciate that. He knows that we are both HUGE fans and I know that the last thing he or the Thrashers want to do is diminish that in any way.

So thanks, Dustin, for being a great rep and for being so accommodating and understanding.

In other news, I'm looking forward to seeing the new Taco Mac in Philips Arena.

It's now half way through August and camp starts in September, so not too much longer to go until hockey!!

Kozzy & X Reup, Thrash Launch New Website

Well by now you know all of the above is old news. Kozlov, otherwise lovingly known as "Mr. Automatic" in the shootout, is back with ATL. X has also resigned. As a fan fav, it's good to see X staying in Blueland as well.

But the question remains: Can the Thrash make the playoffs again? Will Atlanta hockey fans be able to again experience the magic that is The Stanley Cup Playoffs? (Maybe it's supposed to be "are the Stanley Cup Playoffs"... I'm not going to do dig up my AP Style Guide at the moment, K?)

And in case you've been living under a rock, or perhaps in the new pothole in NYC (ok that was mean) the Thrashers have launched their new website based on the NHL publishing system. While the site does make it easier for content providers to focus on content rather than site management, it also has the same look and feel as every other NHL team's website now. MLB did this years ago as well. But now every site is a cookie-cutter type site. The individualism is gone. Each team previously had it's own, unique look, feel, layout and style to it... and now that uniqueness is all but gone. The good news is that nothing that was there previously is missing; in fact there is a lot more content already, even before the season has started. But at the same time, it's also sad that the days of having your own website are gone. Some websites, such as the Blackhawks website, have a giant sponsor logo smack right in the middle of the top team logo banner, such as the giant at&t logo on their page. Now, thankfully, the Thrashers don't have a giant corporate logo plastered on the head banner.

While it is good to have NHL news on the front page... most fans visit their team's site first.. but you can also view this as a total waste of space; if I want news from around the NHL, then I'll go to NHL.COM or other hockey websites... this space could be used for something else.

But the best news is that for the casual user who may visit the site just every now and then, things look different yet familiar; many of the graphics are the same or similar enough.

When the site went live today at noon, there was instantly a new post on the message boards about it... and the Thrashers web crew was there to see what the fans had to say. I had noted that on the old site, directly on the home page was a link to the message boards, and on the new site, it was no longer there. Not even 5 minutes later, they added the link to the message boards on the home page. I guess you can thank me for that... at least you don't have to go to the menu to get to the boards.

There is more stuff under the Fan Zone for fans to check out than there is for most other teams. The wealth of multimedia is astounding and is more than enough to keep fans entertained during the offseason and between games.

Other good news is that, of course, you can still go to the website the same way (www.atlantathrashers.com) and you don't have to remember to type in thrashers.nhl.com.

The blocky look and feel does give it kind of a MySpace look and feel (that is if you don't pimp out your MySpace profile too much). It will take a bit of getting used to; but it could also be a lot worse.

The one thing missing that some teams have is a mobile version of the site. The Hurricanes have one. These sites are formatted for use on devices that are Windows Mobile, Palm, Blackberry, etc. based. They have updates and news and are great for keeping up with your team's news on the go... hopefully the Thrashers will consider doing one. You can check out the Hurricanes' mobile site here. Don't worry, it'll work in a normal PC / Mac browser just fine.

Well, the above paragraph is wrong. I just tested the same URL as the Hurricanes instead with the Thrashers, and low and behold, there is a mobile version there. I don't even think they've linked to it anywhere, but it's located here. Be sure to bookmark it on your smartphone!

Another thing I've noticed: The team banner at the top of the home page used to have several players, and in fact it used to rotate images and had different players and groups of players. With the new site, it is just one static image with Kari. I love seeing Kari there, but I did like having the random images up there. It was a small surprise every time you went to the site.

The stats are another amazing feature on the site. They have stats all the way back from the 2000-01 season and on. Why the 1999-2000 inaugural season stats aren't up there is beyond me; I hope they add them in.

I had the privilege of meeting Ben, otherwise once know as The Web Guy, last season at the Thrashers Blog Night. I'm hoping they do that again this season. The view from the press boxes are awesome. Ben and his web team did a great job with the new site and the content is going to be insane during the season. I am looking forward to it.

While a few things could be better and improved on, for the most part, it's a great new site. Let's hope that with the great new site comes a great new season.

August is just around the corner and then September hits and training camp and pre-season games start, so hockey is not as far away as you think!

Who Needs Fireworks...

When you got The Professor?!? As I'm sure you know by now, even though he had offers from Dallas and a few Canadian clubs, Slava took a hometown discount and decided to not uproot his family and stay with the Thrashers... something you just don't see in this day and age any more. Kozzy is one of my favorite Thrashers and I'm glad he decided to stay on because without him the team wouldn't be the same. He is an integral part... a cornerstone... a foundation... of this team. The fans love him and he's an all-around great guy. I'm glad he decided to stay here. With all of the great players already gone to other teams, I think Atlanta would have been in REAL trouble had he decided to play elsewhere. I'm sure DW had a Plan B, but I don't even want to know what that was, but it would be interesting to find out what the backup plan was. Now we have to worry about signing Hossa for next season, and hopefully we'll have that taken care of before the season starts.

I did attend the Thrashers Draft Party a few weeks ago. I entered the raffle they had and ended up winning the first prize - an autographed Xlb photo with certificate of authenticity. Pretty damn nice. They raffled off a Kari signed stick.. not a game used... but still I wanted to win that for my Girlfriend... so I bought a bunch of tickets figuring I'd give myself the best possible chance. They drew for it at the end of the event, and by then, people had already started to leave (who leaves before something is over?!?). Anyway, she called a number and no one came. She had to start calling other numbers... oh I came SO very close ...2 or 3 numbers away, but no one with those ticket numbers showed up. Eventually so other dude won it. Oh well. I didn't come home empty-handed , but I wanted to win that stick SO badly for Sam. Oh well. I ended up with about $40 in free game cards and a 07 Draft guide as well. They also had a silent auction, a spin-n-win (I won a damn Hossa poster of which I have like 10.

So now comes the waiting... and waiting... yes, the training camp for new prospects starts next week and that should be interesting... I'll try to make it up to Duluth once or twice to check it out.

But back to Kozzy for a moment... when DW came on 680 The Fan on Monday afternoon with no news, no updates, nothing... there were quite a few disappointed people on the msg boards. We were all anticipating news of Slava or someone else signing... except he had no news to say... so why on earth would you have DW on the radio, in the middle of the summer, and have no news to report? It was hard to hear as a fan. But DW managed to come through a few days later. I have a feeling they knew all along but just wanted to tell us on the 4th... knowing people had the day off and would be able to tune in a bit more than a normal Wednesday. He is an essential, key element to this team and I know the fans will surely welcome him back with open arms.

Oh, and to the person who has no clue how to spell and left a message about warmups... you really, really just don't get it. At all. Please don't post here again.

07-08 Suggestions

These are a few suggestions I have for the Thrashers for the upcoming 07-08 season... not so much related to players, but things you'd like to see at the arena. If you have your own suggestions, add them to the comments area. I'm interested to see what others have to say.

• A season ticket holder / VIP entrance. The Florida Panthers have one... the PANTHERS we are talking about here. If THEY have one, the Thrashers certainly should have one. There are more than enough doors that are unused at Philips Arena to do so. As long as you have a season ticket in hand (and your STH ID) then they should let you in. Since you are there every night, and the most loyal of fans, don't you think you should be shown that every night? Waiting in smaller lines, if any, would be a very nice perk.

• I know this is never going to happen, but allow food from CNN Center inside Philips Arena. Most people are going to avoid buying snacks and food inside the arena if they have time to eat it at CNN Center beforehand, so why not just let people bring it in? I know they are two separate entities, but it would be so nice. I don't see food and drink sells suffering much, if any, because there will always still be that crowd that arrives right before the game and doesn't have time to eat at CNN Center... so they'll still buy food. But for those that arrive early enough to grab something at CNN Center... let 'em bring it in. Seriously, it's not that big of a deal.

• The Thrashers allow people to go down to to watch warmups, yet on a consistent basis you get kicked out of where you are standing because people want their seats that are there. Well, if this happens all the time, what's the point of letting people down there? I wish they'd make those with tickets down there understand that that are is PUBLIC during warm ups... you can just wait for your seats until we are done watching. People with tickets down there should know this and I wish they'd be nicer and cooler about people that stay there for warmups... it's not like you can't go find another couple of seats to sit in during warmups and then move after they are done... there's got to be a compromise, but kicking people out who were there FIRST watching warm ups isn't cool.

• Better Spin-N-Win Giveaways. At least during the 05-06 season you had a chance to win an autographed item. Oh, I came within a hair of winning an autographed item many times, but I never was lucky enough to get one. The giveaways don't have to be any better, but I'd like to see the return of the autograph item slice on the prize wheel. Now that it's not there, I still like to spin, but I found myself not wanting to bother with it towards the end of the season... with no chance at winning a nicer prize, there seems to be little point in spinning.
• I also wanted to see a STH-Only Spin-N-Win. Show your STH ID and you can spin. Since you are there every game, you deserve better prizes than someone who comes once or twice a season. It should be worth every penny to the Thrashers to treat STH with better giveaways... these small perks probably cost them little or nothing and would help keep STH happy.

• Perhaps have something similar to the Blueland Block Party before certain games, such as games on holidays or weekends...

• Bring back the home win Volvo 1 year lease giveaway. That was awesome. Never won, but entered every time.

• I really hope they bring back Thrashers Blog Night. That was an amazing experience I really hope they do that again. It was something I'll never forget and I'm sure everyone else who particiapted too will never forget.
  

That's it for me right now. Take these with a grain of salt - they are simply suggestions. I've never had any real complaints with Philips Arena. It's just fine as it is... but there is room for improvement, as there is everywhere.

Holy Puck - An Update!

Well, obviously the Sabres weren't swept... but if there was any team I thought was going to make it all the way, it was them. Gotta tip your cap or foam puck head or whatever it may be to the Sabres on an amazing season with a helluva a team. One of my best memories was when we beat them that last time during the regular season 4-3 and the Sabre fans walked out of their in dead silence. I hope we have many more similar battles next season.

The Stanley Cup Finals have been exciting, and I've been pulling for the Ducks, one because I don't think Heatley deserves a Cup, much less to be even playing in the NHL after what he did. And also, well, I'd rather the American team win than a Canadian team.

Well, the first small indication that the 07-08 season isn't TOO far away is this coming weekend. A yes, it's Select-A-Seat where you come to pick out new seats for the next season. It's great because, well, it's been way too long since I've been inside Philips and just being able to go in there and be in my home away from home, even if it's a short time, is always good.

So you get some free snacks and drinks and pick out your seats... and they always have Thrashers stuff to give out... so I'm already anxious for this Sunday. It's always weird to me see Philips without ice on the floor.

I'm glad to see that the Blueland Blog continues to be updated with Thrashers-related news... I check it at least a few times a day. In fact, my boss just caught me reading it, but she knows that I do, and she didn't say anything, so I think I am ok. I know, I am evil... reading Blueland Blog when I should be working. But she's gone now so I am able to write this. I'm not really THAT evil. I mean, ok, I've done all the work I can do... and it's a few minutes till five... so...

I just hope we can keep KT. I think he made a great impact on this team and everyone on the team and I just hope DW and the Thrashers can find a way.

I'm counting down the days until the first homegame till we see that banner revealed. And hopefully we'll be able to add one or two more this season!!

Your anxious-for-Select-A-Seat-Should-Be-Working-
Thrashers-Fanatic,

-Jason

Thrashers Not Only Team To Be Swept?

Well, it's been a while since I've made a post. I've been keeping up with the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but not every game. But the last thing that I thought was going to happen was the Sabres being swept... and I certainly didn't see the Senators making it this far. But that's what has happened. And tonight the Sabres could be swept into summer vacation with an Ottawa win. And with the momentum they have, it just might happen. For the Sabres and their fans sake, I hope not... but if it does happen, at least the Thrashers will not have been the only team to have been swept.

Having no hockey to watch locally is hard right now. Thrashers withdrawal is bad this time of the year. While the Braves are doing great right now, and I'm thankful they are where they are right now, nothing, not even the Braves, can replace the Thrashers right now. Make the playoffs, it might come close. But it's too early too tell. This weekend will be a big test against the AL's best, the Red Sox. Anyway, there are no Gladiators playoff games to help ease the withdrawal. There's not much to do but watch the playoffs on TV... but it's not the same as being at games. Hockey, even in HD, is nothing compared to being there. And that's what I miss a lot right now.

I'm glad that Kari performed so well for Finland. But I can't wait to see what the team will look like and I just can't wait to get back to Philips Arena. But there are months to go and right now it's all about the Braves.

Damn... just damn do I miss hockey right now. But it's like that every summer. But this summer is particularly bad.

I've got Thrashers withdrawal and I've got it bad. But that's OK. The anticipation of next season grows by the hour.

You Know You Have Thrashers Withdrawal When...

• You keep looking look up at your desk to check the Thrashers schedule out of habit... only to realize you took it down because the season is over... yet you keep looking there as if it was there...

• You actually miss waiting in line for the doors to open...
• You wish they made a Philips Arena beer/hotdog/cold ice car smell thingy to hang from your rear view mirror... you know, it's that awesome smell that hits your senses right as you walk into the arena... it's the best smell in the world.
• Still visit the msg boards and Blueland Blog and the web site several times a day just to see if there are any updates and see what people are talking about... when you really should be doing your work... pretty soon they are just going to have to block the Thrashers website!
  
• Still haven't hung up your jersey because you refuse to believe the season is really... really over.
  
• SEND IN YOUR THRASHERS WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS!!!
  

Thrashers Thrashings: 2.0

I've decided to change the template a little bit... I've seen it in several other blogs and it looks sleeker and more modern. I think it does the Blueland theme and Thrashers blue colors more justice.

Thrashers Thrashings 2.0 - The 2006/07 season's not over yet, but I'm already ready for the 2007/08 season. Welcome to Thrashers Thrashings 2.0!