First goal - 50 seconds into the game. Felt like we had them dead to rights. By the end of the game they fought back. Going to be a rough series.
]]>It was a cold, blustery day today, so it was another game in the Stadium Club.
The White Sox's streak of consecutive games led ended at 37. Now, granted, I had never heard of this stat before this season, but it was a cool one.
100 pitches for Jose Contreras, but he gets the loss and is 1-1 (great record, eh?).
Snakebit? I'll tell you how our mojo was going during the game:
Jay Gibbons hits a screamer right down the Right Field line. It never makes it to the wall - a SECURITY GUY picks up the ball. THE SECURITY GUY, not some drunk or out-of-touch fan, reaching over the rail. NO. It had to be THE GUY THAT STOPS THE OTHER PEOPLE FROM TOUCHING THE BALL OR GOING ON THE FIELD. Did HE get thrown out? Oh, no. He sat on his little stool - facing away from the plate - for the rest of the game.
(Boxscore)
]]>Well, I knew the Baltimore Orioles were going to be a good test to see how we're doing. They've got the second-best record in baseball, behind us.
We get 6 runs and that's not enough? Pitching, my friends. Pitching. The entire staff still isn't doing well. Freddie Garcia is now 3-3 - what the hell was he still doing in the game at 112 pitches? Giving up 7 earned runs with 2 homers, that's what. TOO LONG. You can't keep him in that long yet. I thought Ozzie was going to keep a tight rein on him?
Pretty windy tonight - gusts up to 31 mph, so it's a bit uncomfortable.
Actually went to customer service tonight to file a compliment, not a complaint. Why? We always purchase parking coupons with our season tickets. It's just easier and more convenient. I've always felt, though, by purchasing these coupons that you should get some sort of preferential treatment somehow. Like, maybe, and entire lot that is coupon only - no cash, and it would be right next to the park. Since it was going to be almost a sellout, we got to the park just a few minutes earlier than usual. We noticed that "our lot" (Lot E) was only half-full, but there were no cars pulling in. When we got to the gate, we found out what was going on - they were accepting coupons only! Yes! This is the way it should be!
(Boxscore)
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And we win the West Division on go on to the Western Conference Final!
It was a tense game. The energy was way up in the 1st, but we weren't getting anywhere. We were shooting and came up empty. Derek McKenzie had 3 shots on goal in about 5 seconds, all accurate, 1 going off the post and still nothing. The Ducks scored in the 2nd and it looked like we weren't going to get out of this. We finally tied it up 7 minutes into the third and the crowd went nuts. We get the game winner 3:47 left in the 3rd! THEN the crowd went nuttier. The Ducks pull their goalie to try to come back and the Wolves made sure they won with an empty-netter with 23 seconds left.
Then came something that felt embarrassing - the Ducks pulled their goalie again and we scored again with only 4 seconds left.
We didn't really need to do that. It almost felt like the Wolves just took the Duck's heads and shoved their noses in it with that last goal. It's almost like the Wolves woke up and just had to retaliate for not sweeping them earlier in the week. Really, really odd feeling.
Then again - why pull your goalie? Did you really think you can get back into the game?
]]>Playoff hockey - ya gotta love it.
The teams were just going back and forth all night. Really chippy - lots of checks, lots of just poking and grabbing. No fights tonight, though. In fact, our buddy was only in the box once about 5 minutes into the first. Of course, he was causing hovoc on the ice.
We finally won the game with only 44 seconds left, when Krazy Karl Stewart gingerly tipped-in a pass from his knees. You would have thought it was the Cup finals with the way the crowd (6,017) went nuts.
There was a busload of Cincinnati fans that we only really heard once after they scored. The were actually shocked into silence with the game winning goal.
]]>We had a lot of discussions before the game - who would we prefer to meet this round: Milwaukee or Cincinnati? We've had problems with both teams during the season, but it's obvious to us that Milwaukee was folding, in more ways than one. Even though they had a very good start, they hadn't been playing well recently. There's also the many rumors going around that the team itself was going to fold - if we heard this correctly, ownership had changed hands a year or two due to a death, and the new owners (the children?) aren't interested in continuing. If true, it had to affect the team. If not true, it still may have affected them.
So, anyway, here we are facing the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. The highlight to look forward to? Our buddy, Zenon Konopka. I still remember the first time we met him on the Utah Grizzlies, but it's nice seeing him with everybody else on Cincy. This meant that we had some fodder for our taunts.
And taunt we did, from the puck drop in the 1st. He was in the Penalty Box in the 2nd. He obviously remembers us. We have a tendency to ratchet-up the taunts when the player starts to act interact. Well, Zenon did and it was like we were getting to him. After his 2-minutes were up, as soon as he stepped onto the ice, we scored (OK, it was one second after his time was up). The entire place laid into him from then on. In the 3rd, while he was in the box for an Unsportsmanlike, we scored again. On the way out, he yelled to us that he was going to score one now. Never did. In fact, I think the coach sat him out a few lines at the end. Guess we did get to him.
Their first goalie - Ilya Bryzgalov gave up 3 goals and was replaced with our former goalie Freddie Cassivi 5 and ahlf minutes into the 2nd. Bryzgalov would drop really quick, and for some reason the 5-Hole would just open-up everytime he went down.
There was some pretty good fights - not big, but very intense. this could be a really dicey series.
]]>We're back to seasonable weather, with the gametime temperature at 5 degrees. It's the first game where Carol got cold (me - not so much, but it wasn't pleasant). It was also "Motown Night", which, quite frankly, was a bust. I was expecting something like Elvis night, but it not even close.
The Sox had bee non a 3-game losing streak. Last night, against the same club, we left 16 runners on base! Tonight's start looked like it was going to be another of those nights. El Duque had thrown 49 pitches in the first 2 innings. I never thought that game was going to end at that point (it lasted 2:50). We struggled, did the whole "small ball" thing, and actually won another one-run game. LOB tonight: 6. 30,189 saw the game - better than the 18,313 last night that for some reason was headline news in the paper for lack of fans showing-up for the return to town of the first place team.
Guy I'm liking right now? Dustin Hermanson. Guy I'm not happy with right now? Jermaine Dye.
Fireworks? - standard.
(Boxscore)
Sucked.
The game sucked. The Wolves played tentatively and never appeared as aggressive as the other night. Carol said that "they looked scared". I don't think scared is the correct word, but they sure weren't playing with the same intensity. You could see it by the number of shots. They were always on the defense and just couldn't get it together.
Referee Wes McCauley called an extremely uneven game, which didn't help matters much. There was more than one occasion when I felt the McCauley had to call a penalty, because it was a bit too blatant to let it go, even tough there were other infractions that were close to be as blatant and he never even verbally warned the players. He was terrible. He was taking a beating from the fans who thought he wasn't calling anything, but quite a few hits were clean, though they looked bad. But if a playing just touched an opposer's stick, he would call a "holding the stick" without hesitation. He just wasn't consistent - made you wonder if he got a talking to before the game... a more cynical person would even question if money changed hands, that's how uneven the calls were.
Don't get me wrong - the players lost the game, but score an assist to McCauley.
]]>We're at the wonderful time of the year is sports in Chicago that is the most embarrassing.
Chicago is not known as a Championship town - EXCEPT for this team, the Chicago Wolves. This is only the 11th season that the team has been in existence, and this is the 11th straight post-season appearances for the team. Not very many teams anywhere can say that they have NEVER missed the post-season. In those prior 10 seasons, the Wolves have won the league championship (IHL - Turner Cup, AHL - Calder Cup) three times.
You would think that in a town that has had a drought of championships in baseball, football, most recently basketball, and even professional hockey, that people would be clamoring to get tickets for playoff games.
Tonight's attendance: 2,411
The sorry thing is - that's pretty much average for a weekday playoff game for the Wolves. We've been at games that the attendance was half that. I don't get it.
Anyway, good, hard fought game that referee Scott Hoberg let get way out of control, winding up with mêlée's throughout the third peroid.
This could be a big mess going forward.
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One of the best promotional days around in all of baseball - Dog Day!
After so many years, we've got somebody we know in the parade! It's Janie & Gary with their Dalmatian (mix) Tallie. Janie made an outfit for her - except it was camouflaged! It was a spotted hide material with a big Sox logo on the back, but the black & white spots really blended-in well. The parade was really long again - the dogs were still on the field during the National Anthem.
And what a gorgeous day - 74 degrees at gametime, just a slight breeze. Sunny. This is April baseball in Chicago?????
Forget about the game itself. We didn't get a sweep, which I think is just asking way too much from a team at this point in the season. In fact, why do we need sweeps? (OK, sweeps other than the Cubs?) If you continually win each series, who needs a sweep?
Anyway - Freddy Garcia is 9-0 in day games. Not any more. But, you know, the team was never out of it - one of the best aspects of the team this year. They never quit. But then again, it's "early".
(Boxscore)
]]>AHL WEST DIVISION CHAMPIONS
The regular season is over. Playoffs start Tuesday. 15,277 people packed the place so damn tight it was hard to move around. Then again, it was a Fan Appreciation day and the Dog Adoption day, and Shirt of Their Back day... too many damn things scheduled at once. To top it off, hardly any of our extended family was there, so it felt odd ending the season with hardly any of our friends.
It's a long day - baseball in the afternoon, hockey at night...
]]>That was the length on today's game!
Mark Buehrle pitched a complete game (his 16th in his career), giving up only 3 hits (and one run) with 12 strikeouts. I know people thought the game was boring, but damn it was quick and and there was some great pitching. Paul Konerko had two homeruns and now leads the league with 6. (This could become a problem, though - he's 5-for-29 in his last at-bats, with all five hits coming on home runs.)
It was our first game back with our season tickets. Everybody was back in their places - except us who moved-up 2 rows. Victor & Michelle and Chloe were back with a surprise - Michelle is pregnant! (due in October).
I guess E.R. was shooting in town again - because Noah Wyle threw out the first pitch!
(Boxscore)
]]>Nah, not going to happen tonight. The place is packed - 15,342 - and the fans are into it, but something's wrong with the boys. They got outplayed at a time when they didn't need a bad showing.
Four unanswered goals. I think that just about summarizes it. Oh, and we outshot them 45-27. Not our night.
The St. Patrick's Jersey auction ended tonight - looks like all of the jerseys went for about $1,100 to $1,800 each - with a few over that. How can a "normal, everyday average fan" supposed to partake in this?
]]>the Wolves had on their green St. Patrick's Day jerseys - that are sure to be the annual hot item in the silent auction as usual after Saturday's game. It was really frustrating to watch tonight. Edmonton's goaltender - Mike Morrison - was all over the damn place. Anytime a shot was taken, he'd commit early, go down early, get drawn out, get drawn to the side - and we had NOBODY camped-out in front to get it past him. Unbelievable - you should have SEEN the holes we saw! it just led to another see-saw night that made us look like we were struggling. Hell, we tied the game with 21 seconds to play!
]]>Not much to say about tonight's game - hell, there's only one goal (fortunately, it was ours). the bug deal tonight (other than the Duffel Bag promotion and Hawgie's Doggies having the best looking puppy up for adoption - the first to go tonight - was the disappointing absence of Manitoba's' Jimmy Roy. (Healthy Scratch). It's just always fun. (Sometimes, even more fun.) But not tonight.
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