Scooter Chronicles

Yes, it has been over ten years since Vladimir Konstantinov laced them up for the Red Wings. But it’s clips like this that remind us how much we still miss him.

And did Claude Lemieux ever deserve better?

Trying to catch-up on a lot of stuff that I have seen and want to comment on, or just other things that I have missed.

Happy Birthday Mom!
Forgot to post my Happy Birthday wishes to my Mom. It was back on November 30th. With all the hub-bub of Nigel’s party and my parents trip out here, I totally forgot to mention it here. Of course our down time didn’t help either.

Nigel’s Two Year Old Check-Up
Nigel had his two year old well visit last Tuesday afternoon. All continues to go well, though he is a bit behind in talking. This has been a concern of mine and Marcia’s for a bit now, and we have been trying to push him to say more. We bought a book a few weeks...

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John Buccigross of ESPN is a huge hockey fan. He used to host “NHL2Nite” when ESPN broadcast their games. Now he has a great column on ESPN’s web site about hockey. He has a lot of interesting insight, and a lot of interesting views and opinions. He usually answers readers’ questions. And sometimes he has those from the game answer reader questions.

This week he brought in Bill Clement. Clement (career stats) was one of the famed Broad Street Bullies, playing for the Philadelphia Flyers in...

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This past weekend was the induction ceremony for the Hockey Hall of Fame. This year’s group, just like this year’s baseball inductees, were all no-brainers. Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Scott Stevens, and Al MacInnis. But what is more interesting is next year, and the lack of European players.

Scott Burnside and Damien Cox have what is called the “Friday Face-off” on ESPN’s web site, where the two discuss/argue a question. This past WEEK it was regarding the Hall of Fame. They both pointed out that Igor Larionov belongs in the HoF, but was “snubbed” this year. I wouldn’t say he was snubbed, given the guys that went...

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Now this isn’t that significant to me overall, but as for the game of hockey itself and the NHL, it is. It’s obvious to all hockey fans what Lindros’ legacy will be: what could have been, not what was. He had all the tools to be the next Mario Lemieux, yet even more aggressive and stronger, but only had a few seasons of that brilliance. It’s a shame, since injuries are what caused his downturn. But his attitude never won any fans. Certainly not me.

The thing that sticks out the most in my mind about Lindros’ career was before he took the ice: his refusal to sign with the Quebec Nordiques after they drafted him. It doesn’t matter how good he was, and he was great for quite a few years. But...

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Nigel’s Test Delayed
So Nigel never had his test yesterday. Or I should say, the “Milk Challenge” and skin tests. The doctor decided since he was taking over (because of our insurance switch and move) he wanted to start from the start again and ordered blood tests. He also wanted to make sure that we had things prepared for Nigel taking these tests. We were given a new prescription for an EpiPen, which was give to us in case Nigel had a bad reaction to something. The one we had recently expired. Plus they gave us some kind of steroid for him to take for different reactions, too. He also wants to give some time where Nigel isn’t eating anything that...

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Red Sox Win World Series Pennant
Hope all those Red Sox fans are satisfied now. They have not only seen their team break their 86 year “curse”, but now have seen their team win two pennants in four years. Like a writer in the Morning Call said (that the Lehigh Valley’s newspaper), they have lost the “lovable” tag when they were lovable losers.

It is also a testament to manager Terry Francona. When the Sox hired Francona, I thought they had made a bad move. Grady Little had done well with the team, and Francona’s track record didn’t dictate that he could lead them to a World Series, let alone win it twice in four years. But like other naysayers, I was wrong....

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At Amazon.Com, if you have a wish list, they usually have a box in the upper right corner showing you something on your list with the title above it “Treat Yourself”. Yet on Amazon.Ca (Canada), the title is “You Know You Want It”. Seems so much more sinister, doesn’t it? For the record Amazon.UK.Co (you can guess where that one’s from) doesn’t have anything like that.

And yes, I have Wish Lists on all three sites. The ones on the Canadian and UK sites are more for bookmark purposes, and things that I can’t find (or couldn’t when I put them there) available on the US site.

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iPod...

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OH YEAH!!

Captain Niklas Lidstrom and the rest of the Red Wings open the season tonight at the Joe against the defending Cup champs, the Anaheim Ducks. I hope to catch the game, broadcast on Versus. Well, I will probably be switching back and forth from it to Game 1 of the NL Divisional Playoffs between the Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies.

And as I do every year at the start of the NHL season, it’s time for me to make my prediction of who will win the Stanley Cup. My choice this year is the San Jose Sharks. And may the Red Wings prove me wrong.

Marcia Update
It is only a few days, but Marcia is continuing to feel better. She really believes now that the doctors were correct, and that some of her meds were causing rebounds. She has had pain everyday since leaving the hospital, but hasn’t taken anything for it, and it has gone away. Her mood is much better, which probably helps the cause. Stress can only make them worse.

While in the hospital, they had her go for another MRI. This is her third in seven years. Her last one was just two years ago. They found a cyst in one of her sinus cavities. It is nothing serious, but may need to be treated. Given what Marcia has seen with her migraines, it doesn’t seem to be a cause of them.

She...

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