Showing posts with label Stanley Cup champions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stanley Cup champions. Show all posts

Monday, July 12, 2021

Hello Friends and Followers!

HEY-OOOH!

 

Hope you're all well. It's been a couple of weeks and a lot has happened.

The Tampa Bay Lightning became back-to-back Stanley Cup Champs. 😒

And that's all we're gonna say about that.

* * *

The Fourth of July was another record-breaking year. I don't know the details yet. DH was exhausted when he returned home and spent the week resting & sleeping as needed. We'll sort the numbers this week.

Remember at the beginning of June where I whined about upgrading my status at the October conference I attend from "regular" author to "featured" author? I did upgrade and I am now excited to report that I was able to put together a Storyteller Panel with three other authors, including one of the most prolific and popular authors at the conference. She'll definitely be a draw. Our topic: The Challenges and Joys of Writing MM Sports Romance.

Now... Since I don't do physical books, I now have to come up with some swag ideas to give away. I'll definitely give away e-books, but I need to have something the participating attendees (ask a question, pick a prize)  can walk away with. So I've been Googling ideas. Amazon has coughed up hockey stick pencils, hockey player rubber ducks, and stress-relief squishy pucks. Hmmm...

* * *

I finally have my rowing machine... There's a tv. There's nice squishy mat. There's an aerobic step. The home gym is now complete in terms of equipment. Just need to replace the ceiling fans.

* * *

Have a great week...

 


Friday, June 14, 2019

Congrats to the ST LOUIS BLUES!!




By the time the Blues scored their second goal in the first period, I was pretty confident they were taking home the Cup. Now, even TWO minutes in hockey is a long time wherein anything can happen. My beloved Stars scored three goals in seventy-one second just this past February. But sometimes you can tell whether a come back is possible. And many times we've heard that the team who scores first generally wins the game. You get an insurance goal and, well...

The joy of the winning team doesn't hit me nearly as hard as the grief of the losing team. It's one thing if you get swept in four games. It's hard, sure. It's heartbreaking to a degree. But when you duke it out to a game seven, trading wins back and forth and then you lose. That's heartbreaking. To see grown men, kneeling on the ice, shoulders shaking as they cry... wow, pulls at the heartstrings even if you don't like the team.

And the losing team can't leave the ice until the handshake line which takes a few minutes to get to while the winners are jumping around hugging, yelling, celebrating.

~

Scrivener is the writing application I use and I've had issues with it off an on for months. Nothing serious, I just feel like there are little bugs cropping up here and there. I'm waiting for the new Windows version to be released, so there probably are a few bugs since they're not updating the version I have.

Anyway... my word count for my book--I switched from the book I've been complaining about to the other half-done book I mentioned a while back--was reported to be 38K-ish according to Scrivener's word count tabulator. I didn't think that was correct, but once I exported the thing into Word, I was very pleased to see I have indeed written that many words. After a read-through, it's missing a few scenes and things, but it's way more complete than I remembered, so YAY! I also have a book cover for it already, so I don't have to spend money on it at this point.

I've reached out my editor for a slot on her calendar in August, and between now and then it's going to be nose to the grindstone to get the book complete. Minus the holiday and Sonshine's visit of course.

~

And today is Friday, tomorrow is writers group, which I'm looking forward to as usual.

Have a GREAT weekend!!!




Friday, June 8, 2018

#ALLCAPS


For the first time in the franchise's forty-four year history, the Washington Capitals have won the hardest trophy in sports to win: the Stanley Cup.

Alexander Ovechkin, the Capitals long-time captain in anticipation of receiving the Cup.

Ovechkin getting the Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

 Ovie circling the rink with the Cup as each team member gets to do.

Ovie handing off the Cup to Niklas Backstrom, the Caps' second longest-suffering member.

Congrats to the 2018 Stanley Cup champions.


The loss by the Knights didn't hurt quite as much as I expected...I guess after three straight losses, it was probably inevitable and just a matter of time. Sure the Knights could have won last night, but could they have won three straight? It's happened once in the Stanley Cup final, decades ago.

The 2017-2018 hockey season is officially over and I'm glad. There are a few more things going on, but no more actual NHL hockey until mid-September. It's a good thing too...I do have things to do...

Have a great weekend and ROCK the RED in support of the Washington Capitals this weekend.

 

Monday, April 9, 2018

Regular hockey season is over...


I'm a little sad about that, because no more Dallas Stars hockey... But as I mentioned last week, Playoff Hockey begins Wednesday.

Due to various wins and losses this past Saturday the Penguins will not be playing the Blue Jackets, nor will the Golden Knights be playing the Ducks. I guess that was how things would play out as of Friday's wins and losses.

But anyway...sharing this...


Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Three-Peat??


The Pittsburgh Penguins won back to back Stanley Cups. The Stanley Cup is probably the hardest trophy in sports to win. Doing it two years in a row is feat that hasn't happened in nineteen years for various reasons, but mostly because hockey is a very fast and very physical sport. Hockey hits are generally speaking, 17% harder than football hits. As a result of being hit, a player may end up in the boards (the sides of the rink) or hitting the ice. Whether that's factored into that "17% harder"I don't know, but regardless... And I digress.

This year the Penguins overcame injury after injury of player after player, bringing in guys from the lower leagues to fill in. They brought in rookies who showed up and played big games.

This morning I watched the Penguins parade through downtown Pittsburgh, and what an event!!

Can they go for three in a row? Why can't they? But we'll see, won't we?

Some screen grabs of the parade, because why not? I can!

The owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins--without these guys there would be no Penguins.
Ronald Burkle on the left, Mario Lemieux on the right.
Mario won back to back Cups for the Pens in '91 & '92
(before he was an owner).

Marc-Andre Fleury (left) and Matt Murray (right)--the goal-tending duo of the decade.
Fleury was drafted by the Pens back in 2003. Murray was also drafted by the Pens in 2012.

Some of then Pens on stage at the end of the presentation after the parade. Holding the Cup is the best forward duo in the NHL, #87 Sidney Crosby, considered by most to be the greatest player in the world, and #71 Evgeni Malkin.

I hope that someday soon, the Dallas Stars will win the Cup. I look forward to celebrating a little more up close at that point and in person and attending their parade. *fingers crossed*

And if the Stars don't make it next year, I'll be rooting for the Penguins for sure.