Photos.....

From the top:
Bernie Nicholls
Stacia Robitaille and their kids Steven and Jessie
Wayne Gretzky
Jim Fox
Marty McSorely
Larry Robinson
Backstage with the oldtimers
Barry Melrose
Daryl Evans
Mom with my friend Brian - waiting backstage.

Luc's Jersey Retirement

So glad I got a chance to be a part of this big night. I've watched Luc forever. He took the time to address each and every former player, coach friend etc that showed up for him and even a special note to people who couldn't make it.
Luc really is a special person. He is one of the last good old time hockey players. Bob Miller said it best during the game last night "Some of the newer players just aren't accessible like the old guys were. Luc has always made himself available to his fans." Staying late after practice to sign jerseys, photos, pucks and to take pictures with fans. Staying later than any other player at the Player Meet and Greet sessions - just so a fan doesn't feel left out. He truly is a great player and we were all 'lucky' to get the chance to watch him all of these years.

So, some pictures. Not the greatest, but it was hard to get a good shot with everyone leaning out in front of me. We were lined up in two lines along the edge of the carpet. As people were announced, we were supposed to be paparazi and take lots of shots. I had one greedy guy in front of me who leaned way out each time so a lot of my shots were last minute ones.

Happy Birthday Jason!

A belated birthday wish to my favorite goaltender who is stuck in Manchester this year.
Happy Birthday and hope to see you in a Kings uniform next season.

Once in a lifetime!

I was offered one of those once in a lifetime opportunites yesterday. My Kings season ticket rep emailed me a chance to be ON the ice during the Luc Robitaille jersey retirement ceremony Saturday night. I guess they were looking for some long time fans to create a 'paparazzi' around him.

Luc Robitaille - the Kings highest scoring left winger and the highest scoring left winger of all time.

He is one of those old time players that will do anything for the sport and its fans. He loves LA and the people here and we love him.

Last season, to get fans back after the lockout, the Kings ticket promotion was 1 autographed Luc Robitaille jersey for every account. I didn't know about this until I had begged my husband for DAYS trying to get him to let me get season tickets. I'm glad he did. I got this jersey.

At Meet the Players last year, I stood in Luc's booth just to get a picture with him and to thank him for signing several thousand jerseys for the fans. I think I was the first person to thank him as he seemed surprised that I stood in line for two hours just to thank him. I could have been hopping from line to line getting other autographs, but I chose his line. I also had him sign his player page in the scrapbook I made for the team. His wife was all excited about the book and thought it was a good idea.

So, if you are a hockey fan, a Kings fan or a Luc fan, find a station carrying the game on Saturday at 7:30 pm PST. Look for me and cheer for Luc. And in true scrapper fashion, I will be on the ice with my camera snapping pictures of this event. They are 'making' me bring a camera. :)

Baby News

For those who read for updates.
Went to the doctor Monday. Boring appointment. He just asked a lot of questions on how I was feeling and then we got to hear the heartbeat. A LOT slower than last time. According to the old wives tales, it was slow enough to be a boy. Last time the little heart was racing - 152 beats per minute. Now, we're down under 130.
We'll find out officially at the end of February. Sounds like a long way off, but the time will go by quickly. I have a lot to keep me busy.

100. Finally

Finally made it to 100 posts.

Note for the day:
Yes, I'm still a Kings fan. No, I will not switch over to the Ducks. All Duck fans need to stop emailing me, calling me, tormenting me in public and waving posters of Teemu Selanne in my face. Maybe if Teemu whined a little less, I might like him a little more. Nah, he's still a Quacker.
So, to all of the prepubescent fans at the Ponda - enjoy the rest of the season. Injuries suck. :)

The Kings on the other hand, have managed to set new records I'm sure. Like the 'how many goalies can you possibly own' record. I've been keeping myself very busy with a new website while they were on their roadtrip loosing and giving a Japanese goaltender his first shot at the NHL. What other records have do we hold? The 'we'll let any rookie score his first goal against us tonight' record.

99.....

Posts.
I don't like the number 99. Its Wayne Gretzky's number. Whiny Butt Wayne.

Lets get this over with quick and on to #100.

So, I'm sitting at the Kings game tonight, watching the pathetic excuse for a game and the guy next to me shows up from the intermission with food from Panda Express. Okay, I've only had one serious symptom of pregnancy at this point and its a heightened sense of smell. I can smell something 40 miles away and it would make me ill.
So this large man brings his Panda Express back to the seat and I literally thought I was dying. I had my jersey over my nose and I could still smell the foul stench through the thick material. I jumped over this guy in an effort to get out of there so I didn't hurl in my lap. The ushers were nice enough to offer me a seat in the section below mine for a few minutes and kept checking on him. Once he was done with his foul food, I returned to my seat.
The food itself does not smell, its the vegetable 'medley' they add in. The broccoli smells like dead flesh and just permeates the air. I hope it comes back to haunt him later tonight.

Houston....

So, while the rest of my friends in Manchester, NH are planning their trips to Houston, TX to see the Monarchs play the Aeros, I'm stuck at home. The fear of flying has me grounded until I can take my ativan again. 800 of my unmet friends will be there and they graciously offered to make sure Jason knew my presence was missing. How nice of them. :)
This was my one and only chance to see him play in person this year - thanks to Beachball Dan and his lovefest with Coach Crawford.

And I won't be there to wish him a happy birthday. Now what kind of Fan Club President does that make me??? Not a very good one. Its a good thing I was self appointed or I might be stripped of my title.

So, to all of my friends who will be going to Houston without me - Enjoy Mullet Night for me!

Meet the Players party....

Being a season ticket holder has its advantages. One of them being the Meet the Players Party. Free admission, free food (okay so its hot dogs and nachos) and you get to meet the players. The rest of the world has to pay for Tip a King to do this. Heh heh heh.

Since my husband doesn't really care to see me drool all over these men, he graciously handed his ticket over to my mom - so we can drool together.

This was not a drool fest this time. It was 'get some new autographs time'. Players I hadn't met before or those with short lines. Funny, I still avoided Avery's line. I do want him to sign my WWAD shirt, but I'm afraid he's going to be a jerk and ask me if I'm going to sell it on ebay. He doesn't sign things very well. And no, I won't be selling it on ebay. I love that shirt. All of those crappy autograph seekers at the practices and other events made the players weary of signing autographs. These losers sell the stuff on ebay for a profit without the consent of the players. There was even some guy there last night with a stack full of pucks. He was talking to his friend on the phone about the number of signatures he got and how much he thought they'd go for on ebay. Nice.

Anyway, I got a few more players out of the way. The fact that it was so hot inside Staples Center last night determined which lines I got in. I was pretty cranky after a while so we gave up. I did meet Anze Kopitar, Konstantin Pushkarev, Brent Sopel (Sexy Sopel), Oleg Tverdovsky, Matti Norstrom (not NorDstom, like the stupid Duck announcers like to call him) and Bob Miller - the Voice of the Kings. Of course, in all of my excitement to get the Kopitar jersey signed, I forgot my Bob Miller book for him to sign. He said he would be doing another signing next week - so I got my picture taken with him instead.

So, here are the pictures:

Pushkarev and Kopitar. My mother noticed that Anze has very LARGE hands. And he's kind of cute in person. Very shy. I had to tell him about the bet my husband made me. We've been trying to decide on baby names and I of course mentioned Anze for a boy and Anja for a girl. He said (done in my best whiny Bryan voice) "I'm not naming my kid after some hockey player!"

So, after several weeks of bugging him he sort of gave in. I could name my kid after Anze if, the big IF, he scored a hat trick. This kid went out and scored two goals and an assist that night. And he can very close to that third goal. My mother called and asked if my husband was sweating yet after the second goal. He was getting a little nervous. So I told Anze my situation. His response? "I'll take care of that for you." :)

Then it was over to Brent Sopel and Oleg Tverdovsky. I was going to give poor Tverdovsky a

hard time about being a former Duck and now being a King. Something like, "aren't you glad you're in LA now?" He needs to step up as a defenseman though. He's sucked the last couple of games. People call Rob Blake a turnover machine - they apparantly aren't watching Tverdovsky.

And then Sopel. Sexy Sopel. He has that neanderthal look, but up close, he's very, I don't know. Cute. Sexy even. I wish I had a link to this girls website for "Sexy Sopel".

We kind of wandered around after that. Checking out the lines, had a hot dog and then finally decided on Matti Norstrom. Very nice guy. Someone I've been meaning to get his autograph, but never did. I got to tell him I was in Sweden and even butchered the name of the city we were in Nynashamn (sp?) He said I pronounced it correctly. I'd been practicing all night. And I made a plea for him to speak to whomever in Sweden handles the jersey quota. I went to a million souvenir shops that day and couldn't find one jersey. I did find a Mighty Ducks hat and was offended.

All of the lines were ridiculously long at this point, so we wandered down to the Locker Room. My mother says "If you've seen one locker room, you've seen them all." Hah. I can say this. They need to WASH the equipment. The smell coming off that stuff was horrendous. Or maybe it was the greasy guy in front of me. Got a few pictures of the equipment. Notice how short Cammys pants are compared to everyone else. :)

My picture of us on the ice with the Zambonis came out kind of blurry. I don't think the kid with the camera knew what he was doing. They also had a pro there taking pictures and they should be available later today. I'll see if his was any better.

A very productive night. Well, Dan Cloutier wasn't there so I didn't get to do my driveby in the Labarbera jersey. Rumor has it he's in Colorado at a 'clinic' getting his tendonitis checked out.

Meanwhile, my boy Labarbera was chosen as the starting goalie for the AHL All Star game. Thats my boy!

And after talking with Nick Nickson about it, he said he hopes to see Jason back next year. Nick was awesome. My mom and I walked up to him and I told him I was Mike from West Hills. Anyone who listens to Kings Talk after the game KNOWS who Mike from West Hills is. He got a good laugh out of it and said "Well, at least you're listening!"

What did you get for Christmas?

I got everything I wanted. I wasn't greedy this year and only asked for three things. And I got those three things and more. My husband is great. And so are my parents. Between the two of them, I got my three things.

Yep, my Kopitar jersey, my 30GB ipod and my Kings ipod skin. I even wore the jersey to the first home game after Christmas but he didn't do anything special.

Pathetic!

Not the Kings as a whole, just the goaltending. Pathetic is the only way to describe Dan Cloutier. He is a steaming pile of pooh. There was so much steam coming from that net last night, I could barely see the play. Not that I was missing much.
Except for a few defensive breakdowns, which is to be expected, he can be blamed for almost all of those 5 goals. Sad, really. The first goal was scored from the NEUTRAL ZONE! No one ever scores from behind the frickin' blue line! But no, he managed to let that one in. And then a second one a few minutes later.
I want to know what Crawford was thinking putting this guy in goal when Barry Brust should have had the start.
And to listen to the post game interview with this pile of pooh, he keeps making comments like "we made mistakes", "we didn't follow through" etc. Sorry, honey, YOU are the one who is making mistakes. YOU are the one who isn't following through.

The fat guy in section 107 could play better!!! Seriously!

Updating my profile....

I was recently brought to my attention that I need to update my profile. The children comment no longer stands.
As of next July, I will be a parent.
But will the traveling stop?

Nope!
I plan on showing my kids the world. If I have to sell my blood to do it, I will. My grandparents made sure I was educated in travel and so will my kids.
So, She Travels will be traveling a little less, but still traveling.
Where?
Well, as soon as the kid knows who Mickey Mouse is, its off to Disneyworld.
And in 2009 when Luc Robitaille is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, you'll find the family in Toronto cheering him on. ***Those who know me, know that if I have a boy, he'll be the Kings first round draft pick in 2025. :) *** The kid already has his first King jersey.
New York - we'll be in New York at least once a year.
So many places to take the kids........

What everyone's been waiting for.....

I'm pregnant. Due the end of next July. Totally unexpected. We'd given up until Spring 07 and then this! Who knew!

Bryan's excited and nervous.

And anyone who knows me, knows this kid will be a Kings fan. He'll be in the stands with the rest of us next season crying with us. I'm hoping for a boy, the Kings 2025 first round draft pick. :)

I had the first Ultrasound last Friday and found out I'm 6 1/2 weeks along. Not far at all. And the baby is the size of a cashew.

More.....

Christmas Parade.

This was the reason I went. I don't remember seeing this before so this was the reason I made my husband deal with the parking and take the day off to do this. Anyone who has ever been to Disneyland knows you used to park in the huge parking lot and walk up to the front gates. Because Disney sullied the name of the NHL by creating " The Mighty Ducks" hockey team, I've avoided them. I won't give them my money. But I broke down and went. The parking has changed. In place of the parking lot, they've erected the excuse for a park, California Adventure. Now, you park in a structure and are shuttled to Downtown Disney and then walk to the front of the park. Why they've made this so difficult, I'll never know. But I've seen the park now and can die in peace. I won't be going back anytime soon.

I will say this, during the parade, there was some Florida locals there talking to another group from Canada that come down every year to celebrate their kids birthdays. The Floridians had nothing good to say about the California location of Disney. It took all of my restraint not to say something to them. Now, I've been to both parks and yes, the Florida parks ARE better. However, I will say this. Walt Disney didn't have the land in California to do what he did in Florida so his original creation earns more of my respect than his later development. Also, whatever he couldn't accomplish in CA, he was able to in Florida. California is the rough draft, a wonderful rough draft and without that, Florida wouldn't be as good as it is. So a big tongue wagging to the people from Florida. If you don't like my park, leave. My castle may not have a restaurant and be three times smaller than the one in Florida, but its still better. Its original. Sorry about the vent. I know not everyone is like this, but she was so LOUD about it, it was annoying. And the poor Canadians kept saying that they liked this park. Their kids liked this park better and since it was their birthday present every year, this is why they made the trip.

They have their pride and I have mine.

Now, pictures......

Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion

are completely redone for the holidays. If you liked Nightmare Before Christmas, the movie, then you'll love the Haunted Mansion at Christmas. Jack Skelington as Sandy Claus has completely redone the Mansion. Pirates has been reconfigured slightly to include characters from the new movies like Captain Jack Sparrow and Davey Jones. The drops are a little bigger than before but the ride is still one of the best ones there. I was told no flash photography, but the people in front of me had their stupid camera phones out with flash, so I took out my camera too.

Disneyland at Christmas

Had to see it. Never been there during the Holidays before so I made Bryan go. He loved it - he'll just never admit it. :)

Some pictures from the day......

The whole place is decorated for the holidays. Every lamp post has a wreath on it.

88 lines..

...about 44 women.

Sorry, just noticed that I've posted 88 times now and that song came to mind.
Wow, being unemployed really screws with your mind.

Yeah, so I'm unemployed. 5 years at one place and they screw you. I should have left when they gave us our notice. I should have known their empty promises would lead to heartache.
A new chapter in my life.
A new chapter.
I need to find a job.
At Christmas time.
Not going to happen, right?
Well, I'm going to see if it'll happen.
It needs to happen.
Severance runs out in 6 weeks.
Unemployment should kick in in about a week. I hate dealing with the government. I better get unemployment.

Time to let the dog out. He's acting funny which means he probably has to pee. He's pee'd on my pile of dirty clothes in the laundry room twice this week.

For my friends.....

Sierra and Michael who just had their baby last week - Savannah.

I made these announcements for them, just have to mail them. I hate the Post Office so the thought of going anywhere near the place gives me hives. I usually avoid the place like the plague and use those mailbox etc places. Since I don't have one by the house, I have to go to the PO. :( I can do this.

I made them girly, but not too girly. I think all of the brown kind of counteracts the pink. Since Sierra is pretty much like me, I know pink is pretty much an unheard of color.......

God help me if I have a girl.......

Some pictures of the Prince.

Someone knows his place in this house. This is my little Prince. Thanksgiving was stressful for this little guy. Begging for food and attention can wear a pug out, ya know?

Thanksgiving....

Its just the beginning of the holidays isn't it? After a day filled with family and food, the holiday season began. Did I mention food? We had a 24 pound turkey and a 20 pound ham. Did I buy too much food for 11 people? You bet! But the leftovers were so worth it. I'm of course, turkey'd out at this point and ham doesn't sound so good right now either. Now I have less than a month to recover in time for Christmas. More food.

Some pictures from my Thanksgiving.

Happy Turkey Day!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Eat a lot and enjoy your families!

:)

Kings Rink Tour....

Coming to a rink near you!

So, after a long debate, I decided to hit the Aliso Viejo Ice Palace. Originally my mother was going to hit that one and I was going to go to the one closest to the house - Riverside Rink. But then!! The Kings announced WHO was going to be at which rink so I decided against Riverside and made the drive to Aliso. Boy, was it worth it. :)
Michael Cammalleri, Alyn McCauley and Marty Murray were the Kings there. And David Courtney, the Kings PA announcer at Staples. I gave the man props for the good job he does at Staples compared to that loser over at the Ponda Center. They have fake cheering, recorded cheering. How sad. And the announcer screams. It scares the you know what out of you whenever he speaks. And you never know when he's going to do it, it just sort of happens. You're sitting there watching the game and then this voice from above shouts, making you jump out of your seat. Okay, dude, its just a goal.

Anyway, moving on. So they did it a little different this year. Instead of strictly a Q&A session like last year followed by a small workshop with the kids, they just did the workshop. You could submit questions for the players to answer. They'd call them over and ask the question. Not bad, but I liked having them stand there and answer the questions. Of course, their moronic 'bodyguards' were there - like a bunch of kids are going to hurt the players. This is supposed to be for the kids, for the fans, but the fans can't get anywhere near them. And the rink wasn't that packed - not as bad as last year. I think everyone went to the rink Anze Kopitar was at. :)

But Cammy did see the jersey, pointed and winked. And My mom got her picture with him. he's such a sweetheart. Great personality and a great hockey player. And cute. Terribly cute. Make you want to toss your panties at him cute.

Cammy Q&A - Wears #13 because when he was 7, his dad lied about his age to get him on a team. When they handed out jerseys, his dad told him to wait because he was the youngest. the only number left was 13 so he took it. Only one other player wore #13 at the time. Since its not a lucky number, he makes sure he sticks to his superstition of putting his equipment on exactly the same way every time.

Also, he loves playing with someone like Kopitar. This year, Coach Crawford has him in more of a defensive role which he's getting used too. He said he likes to play the entire ice and this is his chance.

Cammy

Crowding the goalie

Team picture. Cammy is laying on the ice in the front row.

Whats better than a Ducks loss?

A Kings win. Three games in three days for me. I'm tired, but its all worth it. Now I have a week off from games. The Kings are on a Road Trip.

So, after the disappointing loss by the Kings on Thursday to Philly, the Ducks were treated to a loss by Chicago. Chicago took waaaayyyy too many penalties to win a game, but win they did. Normally, when I go to the Ducks games, they win. I'm a good luck charm or something. :(

And then tonight, the Kings beat Phoenix - not necessarily a hard thing to do. Gretzky is too emotional to coach. He's still in the mindset of a player. Just because he was a great player, doesn't mean he'll be a great coach. And Gordie Howe trumps Gretzky any day. Howe played the entire game, Gretzky, well, we'll save my disgust for him for another day. I dont' want to ruin the awesome feeling of a win with that man.

And JR got laid out by Cowan. Not exactly a clean hit, but a hit. JR was booed every time he touched the puck. In an interview after the game, JR apologized for sucking last year and even went so far as to say that "if I were a Kings fan, I'd probably boo me too". Guess what JR:

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Not only did my Kings win, but the Monarchs put on a good show in Manchester. I'll get back there one of these days.....

Jason Labarbera - yes, my goalie - stopped 46 shots for a shutout. YEP! You heard it here first. A shutout. My boy! Must have been the mojo from the jersey. I've been wearing his jersey to the Kings games and whenever I do, he wins. The one time I switched up and wore Cammy's jersey, he lost. So, whenever the Kings have a game the same night as the Monarchs, the JLB jersey makes an appearance.

They even voted him one of the 3 Stars for the game too.

#1 Patrick O'Sullivan - Hat Trick

# 2 Jason Labarbera - 46 saves and a shutout

#3 Noah Clarke - 2 goals