Liveblog 04.30

In the past two times I've attempted live blogging, it's been a spur-of-the-moment thing. Chores were done. Colin was asleep. And I had time on my hands.

This session, though, is a little different. It's been planned. It's been promoted. Depending upon the response -- namely, yours -- we'll keep the lines of communications -- comments to this post (preferred) or e-mails (my address is available at my profile) open for an hour to 90 minutes.

Joining us tonight is Moody, Hound Central 4.0's roving Southeast correspondent. A hound from way back, meaning Michigan, he's collected hockey autographs from Alaska to South Florida. Lately, he's been hounding in the Atlanta area.

Within reason and good taste, we're open to answering your questions about hockey hounding.

Okay, folks, let the live blogging begin:

To get the puck rolling, so to speak, I asked Moody, Hound Central 4.0's roving Southeast correspondent, the first question of the evening.

Puckhound: Miss hockey hounding yet?

Moody: Why yes I am missing Hockey. Hockey is my beer / wine to help wind down after a long day of work. Several months of detox doesn’t excite me. Can’t wait to get drunk again in September.

Puckhound: That's a different way of looking at it. I'm not missing it yet. I'm catching up on sleep. And yardwork. Besides, I still have cards and pucks to put away.

Moody: When you do through the mail, is there a method to choosing who you do or do not send to? I like to send to former players for the most part. Trying to complete my 1979 O Pee Chee set as well
As many fan favorites from the 80’s. I find better success from the former players of the 70’s and 80’s than players from the 90’s and 00’s.

Puckhound: We've scaled back quite a bit from TTM hounding. In fact, I don't believe we sent a request this season. (Tsk, tsk, tsk.) When I did send out TTM requests, most were made for one of two reasons: 1.) Favorite players or teams. 2.) Whatever visiting team cards I didn't get signed in person.

Puckhound: We have our first visitor. It's Hound Central 4.0 regular Brett (Thanks, man). He's left a comment about the Canucks-Hawks series. Join the conversation, won't you?

10:16 p.m.: Henrik Sedin scores. Vancouver 2, Blackhawks 0

Puckhound: So, Moody, what's the lowest temperature you've ever hounded in? I imagine it got pretty chilly in Anchorage.

10:36 p.m.: Ryan Kesler scores. Canucks 3, Blackhawks 0. I don't believe Luongo will give yup three goals this game.

Moody: Aces vs. Steelheads in the ECHL in Anchorage. It was negative-45 degrees and I only hung around long enough to get one photo signed of Vlad Novak. The next day I was going to hound North Dakota when they played Alaska-Fairbanks but thought twice. I learned the hotel the teams stayed at later and decided to work the lobby a little.

Puckhound: Dang, that's cold. It never got that cold -- wind chill included -- along Avery Street in Boston. Two tall buildings, including the new Ritz-Carlton, create a canyon of steel that funnels the winter winds. At worst, it was maybe 10-15 below zero.

Hey, Brett, it must get pretty cold up there during the winter.

Moody: When do we get the fish pooh story? That has caught my interest since you first mentioned it.

Puckhound: Ah, the fish poop story. It's one of my favorites.

One spring day in New England, we were riding along the New Hampshire coast at low tide. Predictably, an odor -- none too pleasant, mind you -- was present.

My sister-in-law asked why low tide stunk so bad.

My response was pure reason:

Fish poop.
Poop smells.
Fish poop smells.

I know there's a phrase for short written arguments like this, but it escapes me (Pretty sad for journalist, don't you think?). Anyone know what it is?

Moody: I have had several of the -10 / 15 days in Detroit as well. Mostly due to the wind. Luckily, I used to be able to hound the Detroit Vipers (IHL) inside the arena. The Plymouth Whalers (OHL) had to be hounded outside for opposing teams and that got cold and windy. The Wings are right off the water so that always added to the chill.

Puckhound: Hounding in Florida during the winter has its advantages, doesn't it?

Puckhound: You know, folks, I expected a few more of you to ask some questions. We'll keep lines open until 11:30 p.m. EST, so, if you have any, ask them now.

10:35 p.m.: Patrick Kane scores. Canucks, 3, Blackhawks 1.

Moody: Wind burn or Sunburn. Both prices we pay for the hobby we enjoy.

11:20 p.m.: Kane scores again. Canucks 3, Blackhawks 2.

Moody: Hounding question for the crowd. What cities do each of you hound in? CHL, NHL, AHL, ECHL?

Moody: Hey, Puckhound, when can we see the Hockey Bay Hounding awards and can we get a sneak peek of the nominees?

11:28 p.m.: Dave Bolland scores. Canucks 3, Blackhawks 3.

Puckhound: Yes, the Hockey Bay Hounding Awards. I'd expect something more about those in the weeks ahead. Nominees? I'm not so sure. Details are still being finalized.

11:36 p.m.: Sami Salo scores. Canucks 4, Blackhawks 3.

11:40 p.m.: Canucks get an empty-netter. Game over. Vancouver 5, Blackhawks 3.

Puckhound: Thanks, all, for checking this out. Special thanks to Moody and Brett for their contributions. We had fun. Good night.

Be first in line

With only hours to go before Hound Central 4.0's latest and most organized attempt at live blogging, why not get your questions or comments in early? They can be submitted via a comment (preferred) or an e-mail, available at my profile. It'll help us out, if you do, as we'd like to hit the ground running at 10 p.m. EST.

I've heard from Moody, so he's on board, offering insight on hounding from Alaska to Michigan to Georgia and many points in between. Given the hoops of communication that will have to be jumped through, it would be better if questions for Hound Central 4.0's roving Southeast correspondent arrive earlier, rather than later.

I'm still waiting to hear, too, from Al, our Toronto-based correspondent. Even if he can't take part, we can look forward to his Toronto Blue Jays hounding report next week at Baseball Mondays. Baseball in hockey-mad Toronto? Hard to believe, isn't it, the Jays have playing since 1977.

And, yes, I'll be bummed if I can't share my "fish poop" argument.

Remember, the live blogging starts at 10 p.m. EST tomorrow. We'll start answering your questions then. Send some good ones, okay?

Revisiting my picks

Having suffered through a 0-for-Western-Conference sweep in my first -- and rather poor -- upset-heavy attempt at this NHL playoff's picks, I feel obligated to take a realistic approach to the conference semifinals.

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins (1) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (4)
Bruins in six games

Washington Capitals (2) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (3)
Penguins in seven games

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings (1) vs. Anaheim Ducks (4)
Ducks in seven games

Vancouver Canucks (2) vs Chicago Blackhawks (3)
Blackhawks in six games

Hockey card

To those who know, it should come as no surprise that Colin made out like a bandit yesterday, celebrating his eighth birthday. Among his presents were a Nintendo DS lite, a bunch of games, Pixos and a baseball book Stumptown Kid.

The biggest surprise? This birthday card signed by Tampa Bay's Evgeny Artyukhin. Gee, I wonder how Arty found out about that?

Flashbacks 04.29

You know, I rather enjoy compiling this weekly offseason feature. Each posting is a stroll down memory lane. Hopefully, you'll enjoy them as well:

Feb. 23, 2008: Boston Bruins team sheet
Dec. 14, 2007: Calgary's Jarome Iginla
Feb. 13, 2007: Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky
Nov. 26, 2006: Ottawa's Jason Spezza
Nov. 2, 2005: Then-Florida's Roberto Luongo

Baseball bonus: Tampa Bay's Akinori Iwamura

Feel free to check out Hound Central's 3.0, 2.0 and 1.0.

Denial of responses

Even if it is a tad presumptuous of myself to entertain the thought that Hound Central 4.0 readers -- even for a fleeting moment -- would be interested, these responses to a friend's e-mail is what I do when I'm on vacation and don't want to rake oak leaves:

Threes About Me

Three names I have been called:
1. Ronnie
2. You *@#$%* *@#$%@#$%*!!!
3. Sardo

Three jobs I have had in my life:
1. Father
2. Husband
3. Journalist

Three places I have lived:
1. St. Petersburg, Fla.
2. Bangor, Maine
3. Machias, N.Y.

Three TV shows that I watch:
1. NHL Network's On the Fly
2. BayNews 9
3. Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

Three places I have been:
1. The Dark Side of the Moon
2. The middle of a two-Pulitzer-Prize-winning newsroom
3. Wiggly Bridge, Barrells Mill Pond, York Harbor, Maine

People who e-mail me regularly:
1. Kathy
2. My way-older-then-me cousin Debbie
3. Moody

Three of my favorite foods:
1. Anything made by my wife
2. A slice of Buffalo chicken pizza from Fortunato's in downtown St. Pete
3. A Cuban sandwich from D&D Delights or Brocato's in Tampa

Three people I believe will respond:
1. My way-older-than-me cousin Debbie (see response #2 to top question)
2. Moody
3. Kris

Three things I am looking forward to:
1. Watching Colin grow up
2. Self-employment
3. Catching a grouper

Now, if you so choose, feel free to share in the fun by leaving your responses in a comment.

Mark your calendar

If you're not doing anything this Thursday night, why don't you stop by the old Hound shack, where I'll be taking questions, offering opinions and, if asked, will share my seven-word "fish poop" argument.

Yes, there's a story behind that. You'll have to wait, though.

Either way, the festivities (I'll crack open a cold one -- I'm on vacation until May 11) begin about 10 p.m. EST.

Unlike the my past two attempts at live blogging, when I thought to myself "Gee, this would be a great time for a little impromptu live blogging," this advance notice/warning gives you remarkably intelligent humanitarians a couple days' notice.

That should be plenty of time, I hope, for a question or two to bubble to the surface. Remember, Thursday, April 30 @ 10 p.m. EST

Take a break from hockey ...

... and visit the resurrected Baseball Mondays blog, which chronicles Hockey Bay's Goofiest Dudes' offseason hobby of watching and hounding professional baseball games, from the MLB's Tampa Bay Rays right down to the three Florida State League teams within easy driving distance.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

Liveblog 04.24

As much as I'd like to give people more advance notice, these live chat sessions are the result of realizing that -- at the moment for the next 90 minutes or so -- I have some time on my hands.

And, yes, I know the Ducks-Sharks game is on Versus. I'm watching it.

If you have any hockey-hounding questions, leave them in a comment or send me an e-mail (link on my profile). Comments don't require signing up, either; leave them as anonymous, but feel free to add your name.

Also, have any questions for Moody and Al, Hound Central 4.0's far-flung correspondents? We may not get answers tonight, but I'll pass any along and pester them until they answer.

10:48 p.m.: San Jose 1, Anaheim 0, end of the first. Joey Thornton finally scored.

10:53 p.m.: Sean Avery and John Tortorella? Related?

11:05 p.m.: Anaheim wins draw to start the second period.

11:36 p.m: Nice toe-drag by Devin Setoguchi. Sharks 2, Ducks 0. Thornton picks up an assist, his second point in the game. Now he needs to get into a fight. Gordie, God bless him, would be proud.

11:50 p.m.: Ten more minutes. Then it's nighty-night.

12:01 a.m.: Ryan Carter scores for Anaheim. Sharks 2, Ducks 1, early in the third.

12:02 a.m.: Okay, folks, good night. I can barely keep my eyes open. I was hoping for at least one question from the nine people who stopped by over the past 90-plus minutes.

Well, that's what I get for no advance warning/notice, right? Especially on a night during the playoffs. Or, simply, no one was interested.

Next time, though, I'll let you know sooner.

Rotten tomatoes not included

The Tampa Bay Lightning brass -- owner Oren Koules, general manager Brian Lawton and coach Rick Tocchet, will make themselves available for questions early next month. The team says it has a "plan in place" to make the Lightning winners again. I wonder how Vinny Lecavalier fits into those plans.

One shy of two dozen

What started out as a blank slate, so to speak, quickly became one of my favorite pieces from the 2008-09 hockey-hounding campaign. All told, 23 NHL players took part in the Team Canada jersey project.

The qualifications are simple. Any Canadian-born winner of a Stanley Cup, Olympic or World Championship gold medal, No. 1 draft pick or a Hound Central 4.0 favorite is eligible. A fluid situation, at the least.

Yes, I would have been nice to add one, or even a few more, ending the campaign with two dozen or 25-plus autographs. But that's the beauty of an ongoing project. Each season brings new opportunities to fill in the blanks with players who've already signed pucks and cards for us.

Among the inaugural Class of 2008-09: New Jersey's Martin Brodeur, Hall of Famers Ron Francis, Cam Neely and Denis Potvin and Triple Gold winner Brendan Shanahan.

Dallas' Brad Richards was the first to sign it, back in late August, after a pre-training camp workout with former Tampa Bay Lightning teammates.

Others to sign were Patrice Bergeron, Jay Bouwmeester, Brad Boyes, Rod Brind'Amour, Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne, Barret Jackman, Vinny Lecavalier, Milan Lucic, Brad Richards, Mike Richards, Marty St. Louis, Marc Savard, Eric Staal, Steven Stamkos, Marty Turco and Cam Ward.

Flashbacks 04.22

Like reading about or looking at hockey autographs? Me, too.

Check out these installments from past hockey-hounding campaigns:

Jan. 16, 2008: Colorado's Joey Sakic
Nov. 4, 2007: Hall of Famer Phil Esposito
April 16, 2007: Cup winner Glenn "Chico" Resch
Sept. 24, 2006: Dallas' Mike Modano
Nov. 26, 2005: Los Angeles' Yutaka Fukufuji

Got lots of time? Find hundreds of more adventures at Hound Central 3.0, Hound Central 2.0 and, most certainly, Hound Central 1.0.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

Surreal, man, surreal

If you look hard enough, it's easy to find art within the sport of speed, steel and vulcanized rubber. Even if you're sitting in a recliner taking pictures off your TV screen during an NHL playoffs game:

I swear that no special effects were used in the taking of this otherworldly photo of Anaheim's Todd Marchant. Turned out pretty cool, if you ask me.

A grizzled old vet, such as San Jose's Claude Lemieux, is always a welcome addition during the playoffs.

Even this promotional spot produced an interesting image.

What do you think?

A tie-breaker?

What Hound Central 4.0 readers couldn't decide, the first round of the NHL playoffs will. For the time time ever, we had a tie among the winners of the last poll, which asked who would win the 2008-09 season's Jack Adams Award, awarded to the NHL's top coach.

Of the four choices, two rose to the top -- Boston's Claude Julien and Columbus' Ken Hitchcock. Each collected 13 of the 36 votes cast.

Though the voting took place at the close of the regular season, it's still a pretty close call. Julien led a somewhat surprising squad to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Hitchcock guided the Blue Jackets to their playoff appearance.

Given that Boston and Columbus find themselves on opposite ends of the first-round sweep spectrum, perhaps that gives the nod to Julien. Simply getting there, I'm afraid, isn't good enough.

Question: Jack Adams Award winner?

Boston's Claude Julien: 13 out of 36 votes cast (36.1 percent)
Columbus' Ken Hitchcock: 13 out of 36 votes (36.1 percent)
San Jose's Todd McLellan: 6 outs of 36 votes (16.7 percent)
St. Louis' Andy Murray: 4 out of 36 votes (11.1 percent)

If you haven't already, take part in the current Hound Central 4.0 poll: Will the Lightning trade Vinny Lecavalier? Cast your vote at the top of the sidebar. Don't be shy, either, about checking out past polls.

Don't forget, too, to test your knowledge at Hockey Quiz No. 9.

This was great news

We had a major announcement yesterday afternoon at my employer, the St. Petersburg Times. Thankfully, we wouldn't be hearing of the challenges facing our industry and, closer to home, my profession.

No, not yesterday.

What we heard yesterday was great news. Fantastic. Inspiring, even. It was something, I believe, we all needed to hear.

The news arrived just after 3 p.m.: The Times' Politifact effort and feature writer Lane DeGregory had won Pulitzer Prizes, the highest honor in journalism. The newsroom erupted. Two Pulitzers in one year is pretty remarkable. Only the New York Times won more (5) yesterday.

Though my involvement is nearly nonexistent (I've copy-edited two, maybe three Politifact items, at best), it's quite an honor to be a part of a newsroom when not one, but two, Pulitzer Prizes are awarded.

It was, by far, the best day in my 24-plus-year career.

Way to go, Patrice

I can't let an opportunity pass to tip Hound Central 4.0's roughed-up Copper SK600 Boston's Patrice Bergeron for teaching Montreal's Josh Gorges a lesson during last night's opening-round game. It's not so much the fight, a rarity for him, but the continuation of his recent physical style of play.

Granted, there are others on the Bruins -- Shawn Thornton and Shane Hnidy, come to mind -- better suited for fisticuffs. We also share in the concern for Patrice's health. To me, though, it was another test that he has passed since coming back from a second serious concussion.

Looking ahead, let's hope that Patrice's contributions light the lamp, not some Canadiens player's nose.

In the crease

I'm not sure who was more nervous. Colin or me. Accepting an invitation to participate in a Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning mites practice, he made his first foray onto the ice as a goalie earlier today.

Yes, the puck is harder than a street hockey ball. Yes, the pads are heavier. You'll appreciate the padding, though. Will it hurt? Sorry, buddy, but yes, but only until the pain goes away.

After a couple months of stopping shots out on the back patio and the living room doorway (yes, Momma lets us play hockey in the house), it was time for him to get a taste of playing in skates on ice.

Understandably, he was a little awkward in the beginning. That equipment is bulky. A skate strap from a goalie pad bedeviled his balance. And, yes, quite a few pucks got past him.

Every so often, though, his instincts -- the ones we've seen at home -- would take over. He'd make a save. Nice ones, too. His best? He's pretty proud of his first-ever glove save. So am I.

I'm sure he'll get more chances, especially over the summer break, to head back into the net. Next week, he practices again with the Jr. Lightning. This time, though, he'll be a skater.

Mr. Efficiency

In the interest of saving time next season, I've reprogrammed my new cell phone's Quick Text responses to the messages I inevitably receive:

1. Thanks.
2. On my way.
3. Tell him it's Gretzky
4. They're @ Embassy Suites.
5. They're @ the Westin.
6. They're @ the Marriott Waterside.
7. Where are you? (first of two originals)
8. Reporting for duty.
9. Food?
10. Call me (second of two originals)
11. Talk to you later.
12. Can't. Have to work.
13. Just left the house.
14. Hounding the Bolts?
15. Drive safely.
16. Call the hotels.

Hockey Quiz No. 9

Well, at least I know that Hound Central 4.0's Hockey Quizzes have at least two faithful and entirely correct readers -- Drew, an old Beantown hounding buddy, and longtime reader Brett. So, for them, I present the latest installment in this feature.

Join them, won't you, in testing your hockey knowledge. Your answers, should you choose, can be left in a comment.

Name this logo

If you ask me, this should be fairly recognizable. Remember, too, that spelling counts. Official team name and league, please.

Hockey Word Association

Jacques Lemaire =
John Tavares =
Steve Mason =
Victor Hedman =
Puckhound =

Hockey, Scrambled

Nket Nushkis =
Yton Soposite =
Strikani Shilusue =
Anst Katimi =
Alnide Locralic =

Hockey math

I know that not everyone enjoys math. So, we'll make this one easy. How's that?

In the first round of the NHL playoffs, there were 18 periods, 33 minutes and 17 seconds of sudden-death play. How many seconds of overtime was played? Show the math, too.

A.) 23,487 seconds
B.) 23,597 seconds
C.) 23,517 seconds
D.) 24,017 seconds

Answers to Hockey Quiz No. 8:

Name this logo: Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League
Hockey, Scrambled: Kyle McLaren, Martins Karsums, Andy Wozniewski, Matthew Lombardi and James Wisniewski
Hockey math: D. The Metropolis MoneyBags saved $6.425 million with their salary dump. Math: $2.175 million + $3.75 million + $1.375 million minus $875,000.

Playoffs picks

For as long as I can remember, rooting for the underdogs in any playoff series carries great appeal. Still, though, one should be realistic, calling upon intellect, insight and, more importantly, gut instincts.

With that in mind, here are one hockey hound's best guesses at how the 2008-09 NHL playoffs, which begin tonight, will shake out right on through to early June. As you can see, I'm predicting a few upsets:

Opening rounds

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins (1) vs. Montreal Canadiens (8)
Bruins in five games (Bruins win 4-0)

Washington Capitals (2) vs. New York Rangers (7)
Capitals in six games (Capitals win 4-3)

New Jersey Devils (3) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (6)
Devils in seven games (Hurricanes win 4-3)

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (5)
Penguins in six games (Penguins win 4-2)

Western Conference

San Jose Sharks (1) vs. Anaheim Ducks (8)
Sharks in seven games (Ducks win 4-3)

Detroit Red Wings (2) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (7)
Blue Jackets in seven games (Wings win 4-0) (Oops!)

Vancouver Canucks (3) vs. St. Louis Blues (6)
Blues in six games (Canucks win 4-0) (Oh, well)

Chicago Blackhawks (4) vs. Calgary Flames (5)
Flames in five games (Blackhawks win 4-3)

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins (1) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (4)
Bruins in seven games

Washington Capitals (2) vs. New Jersey Devils (3)
Devils in five games

Western Conference

San Jose Sharks (1) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (4)
Sharks in four games

Calgary Flames (2) vs. St. Louis Blues (3)
Flames in six games

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins (1) vs. New Jersey Devils (2)
Devils in seven games

Western Conference

San Jose Sharks (1) vs. Calgary Flames (2)
Sharks in five games

Stanley Cup

San Jose Sharks vs. New Jersey Devils
Devils in six games

Conn Smythe winner: Zach Parise