Sunday morning homily XXVII

It doesn't happen too often, but when it does, it validates the time and effort that goes into producing these annual hockey-hounding blogs. As Colin and I arrived at the Thrashers team hotel yesterday afternoon, two fellow hounds greeted Colin by one of my nicknames for him.

"Hey, Goofy Dude," one said.

I wasn't too sure I believed what I had heard, but once Colin came over and told me about it, I figured it was someone who knew us. In a way, I was correct.

Dave and Brad, two hounds visiting the Hockey Bay area from Michigan, are regular readers of Hound Central 4.0, they told me. The fact they recognized Colin, even asking about his hockey career, confirmed their statement. Any suspicions I may have had quickly evaporated.

Though I approach this blog as a hobby -- it keeps me out of bars and all kinds of trouble -- it's rewarding to hear from someone who takes the time to read your writing. Meeting two readers, especially those from as far away as Michigan, makes it even nicer.

And it's rewards like that, my friends, that provide the motivation to put in the hours it takes to chronicle a season of hounding.

Thanks, guys. Have a safe trip home.

Time's flying by

It seems like only last week that I was sitting in the parking lot of the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon, Fla., waiting for players leaving pre-training camp skating sessions.

But here we are, near the end of March, with only four home games left before the curtain falls on the 2008-09 hockey hounding season down here in Hockey Bay.

I suppose that fast pace means that it's been an enjoyable season, full of great hounding stories from seven-plus months of hounding adventures. I'm thankful, too, that my health allowed me to catch every team I wanted to hound.

But more than anything else, it's been a hoot sharing these adventures with you. As always, folks, thanks for reading.

5 Big Sigs

With just the Columbus Blue Jackets coming to town this week, the pressure will be on to fulfill this wish list:

~ Left winger Rick Nash on Blue Jackets, Team Canada and London Knights pucks;
~ Rookie goalie Steve Mason on Blue Jackets and London Knights pucks;
~ Center Michael Peca on a Blue Jackets, Maple Leafs and Islanders pucks (this, I've been told, may be impossible);
~ Tough guy Jared Boll on a Blue Jackets puck; and
~ TV analyst Danny Gare on Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings pucks.