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.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

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)

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?

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

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.

Boxscore - Gamesheet)

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.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

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.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

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.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

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...

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

99 MINUTES

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?

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

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!

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

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.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Same ref - different game.

Jeff Smith called the game again today and just like yesterday, he let the teams play and kept he calls down. Except, he sure didn't do the right thing in the 3rd period.

The energy isn't the same as yesterday, but they crowd is one of the largest of the season - 14,912.

The Wolves were up 3-0 in the 3rd when the Aeros had 2 goals within 7 seconds of each other against. Michael Garnett was in goal again, and everybody looked a bit shook-up. The teams combined for six second-period goals, including five in a span of 4:39. I guess that's enough to shake-up everybody. (One of these goals was by Steve Maltais - it was his 450th regular season goal as a member of the Chicago Wolves.)

It got REAL UGLY in the 3rd.

Houston's Mark Cullen scored a goal at 9:54 in the 3rd, tyeing the game 4-4. It shouldn't have counted. As he shot, Michael Garnett opened up and reached to glove-it with his left hand. At the same time, Kirby Law charges the net off-balance and - with his skate blade - hits Garnett in the face, popping-off his helmet and slashing him in the mouth. It happened so fast, all anybody saw was the helmet flying and Garnett flying face-first onto the ice. He laid there and everybody thought he was just pissed at himself for missing the shot. The TV cameras had a closeup of him on the ice, when all of a sudden you see blood flowing out his mouth onto the ice. The place went crazy. Jeff Smith finally calls a penalty against Law - a 5 minute major for Charging (which, somehow, also got spun-up to a Game Misconduct) - but ALLOWS THE GOAL. Kari Lehtonen had to step-in and finish the game for Garnett. I still haven't heard what happened to him.

So, it's tied after Regulation.

Another Overtime period. Still tied.

Another Shootout. Still tied.

Sudden Death Shootout.

It takes 5 rounds and we lose.

Damn. Very unsatisfying.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Back at the Allstate Arena for some more hockey.

The game started with a moment of silence for Tim Breslin, a former player with the Wolves, who died from a form of cancer I had NEVER heard of: he died last Wednesday night due to complications from appendiceal cancer - yes, a malignancy of the appendix. He was diagnosed in late November of 2004. He was a local guy and fan favorite. Everybody knew him. So, it was a sad beginning of the night.

But, OH WHAT A GAME!

Milwaukee has been a major problem for us this year, but tonight something was different. The energy was up for both teams. It was like watching a post-season game! The intensity was great, a lot of up and down play, hard hitting...

The referee - Jeff Smith - wasn't calling anything. Which you would think is bad, but the key is he was consistent, and that's all you can ask for in a ref. The crowd was really going after him when he wouldn't call something but you could see that he just wasn't calling anything.

Well, until the 3rd. With only 44 seconds left and the game tied 4-4, he called Brad Larsen for interference. It was a controversial call, because the ref actually DIDN'T call it - one of the linesmen did (I think it was Jay Jacobs). Linesmen can't call a penalty unless it's a major. In this case, there was a "skirmish" between former Wolf Simon Gamache and Steve Maltais right between the two benches as they were leaving the ice. Brad Larsen was on the bench and grabbed Simon Gamache. So, it turns out that this is another case that a linesman can actually call a penalty.

We made it though the 3rd, but that also meant it was 4-on-3 for 1:16 into the 5-minute overtime period.

Turns out that the Wolves survive that and overtime ends in a tie. It's been a couple of years since we saw a Shootout (due to rule changes), but that's what we were headed for. The Wolves outscore Milwaukee 2-1 in the shootout and WIN.

Michael Garnett was in goal tonight because Kari Lehtonen has had strep. Garnett has been in net for the 2 Shootout Wins the Wolves have had this year.

Pretty damn exciting and the best game we have seen in a long, long time.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Oh, God, this was painful.

Cleveland is 6 games under .500. We should have rolled-over them. Instead, what we're against is a team with no veterans and 10 rookies on the roster. So what? These guys were fast. No great, just fast. Oh, and they shoot. US? Well, think S-L-O-W and passing a lot, and not well, mind you. there was absolutely nothing good that came out of this.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Only our second game we attended since October 30th! Most of it was scheduling, and then we had to miss a few games due to other commitments (oh, like being in Las Vegas for a week - we missed 3 games just because of that).

Since we've been gone (December 12 was the last time we were here), the rear-screen projection systems in the scoreboard over center ice were replaced with matrix boards. Since the lighting was changed in here, you couldn't see anything on the video boards. Now, it's very bright - though the resolution sucks a bit. Hey, it's the minor league - can't afford to get the real good stuff.

This week the Wolves were wearing special Armed Forces jerseys that are being sold at silent auction today. (I actually bid on one... last time I looked the jersey was up to $1,200 - waaaaayyyy out of my financial reach.) When I heard about this, I thought the jerseys would be in the olive-green cammo, but they were in the beige cammo and it actually looked better (perhaps the green would be too close to the annual St. Patrick's jersey auction coming up in March).

It was good to see the boys playing pretty well. Being tied for First Place in the division is a good thing.

I just wish that when they're on a power play that they'd stop this god-awful passing drill and just shoot the damn puck!

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

This is the first game we've been to in over a month. On top of that, due to other conflicts, we're going to miss about 4 more games over the next month and a half. Everyone around us kept asking where we've been.

It's nice to be missed.

The team has been playing much better lately. They're not giving up and quite a few games go into overtime.

Tonight - well, it was a bit lackluster. We had the lead at one point 2-1 but just couldn't get a break.

The referee was called "controversial" by play-by-play man Judd Sirrot. It was Harry Dumas and apparently during the playoff last year, he called 19 (or was it 16?) power play penalties against the Wolves during one game. Gee - it was against Milwaukee, too.

Then again, we saw him back in 2002 and he was calling a lot of penalties, too - against the Houston Aeros.

Nice crowd - 10,718. I just couldn't get into the game, though. Don't know why. The loss felt pretty disappointnig, too.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

I was watching the warmups, paying attention to the Cincinnati team and realized that there was a whole bunch of "protaganists" on that team this year.

First we have our own Kurtis Foster who was with the Wolves for the last 3 seasons and set a record for the fastest slapshot during an AHL All-Star Game (101 mph!). Now, he left because of a trade. The person I was surprised to see was Goaltender Frederic Cassivi who was also with the Wolves for 3 years. I have no idea how he got there. Then we had our regular protaganist Sheldon Brookbank, and the player with one of our favorite names - Cory Pecker. The absolute surprise for us was former Utah Grizzly Zenon Konopka! Ah yes, who could forget that game last season...

The Ducks score first, only 45 seconds into the game. It was all downhill from there. It's the typical early-season don't know how to play together issues. That, and we aren't shooting. Oh, and Kari Lehtonen not seeing some shots.

Hell of a lot of penalties, thanks to Referee Justin St. Pierre. Yes, most were good calls, but he did have a bunch of questionables.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

7,194 is more like it for attendance on a Saturday Night. The team is - boring. A lot of up and down, nothing flashy, nothing strong.

It was boring.

The only saving grace was taunting the Admiral's Simon Gamache, who used to be on the Wolves and knew exactly what to expect from us when he went into the Penalty Box.

It looked like we were going to lose 2-1 when Travis Roche scored with 1.7 seconds left in the game, and then won it it overtime with another goal.

We were all shocked and screaming at the top of our lungs that we were able to do this!

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Well, I knew it was going to be an odd night as soon as we walked into the Allstate Arena. As we walked down the stairs to our seats, I said to Carol, "Hey, they've got new uniforms." (referring to Houston). Caro looked up and ... fell down the stairs, It was all in slow motion and I've seen this a hundred times before - she has bad ankles, so seeing her rolling down the stairs just wasn't surprising to me. It WAS surprising to everyone else around us, so a lot of people came running, Carol was and is fine - her ankle hurts a bit and her knee where she hit the concrete, but she's fine.

Who didn't look fine was our goaltender Kari Lehtonen. He just isn't seeing the puck well. Who scored our first two goals? Steve Maltais, which means that as of the first 15 minutes of this game, Maltais scored the only goals (5) for this team this season.

The crowd was back down to what would be normal for a Wednesday night - 3,428. None of us seemed to know how the game was going to end. Kari was called for throwing his stick at the puck (which the replays showed he didn't) which game Houston a Penalty Shot that they scored on. It ended by Cory Larose breaking the 4-4 tie in overtime.

It looks like the standard "don't know what the team is doing at the beginning of the season" time.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Oh, God this was painful.

Home Opener for the Chicago Wolves. It was nice seeing all of our Hockey Buddies again. Other than the changes on the ice for new rules (red lines behind the nets showing areas that the goalies are restricted from entering and the huge 24" blue lines), the only other changes to the Allstate Arena are new matrix boards and new (brighter) lighting.

14,877 were there for the Home Opener. We kind of expected that due to the normal draw the Wolves have plus the NHL fans that don't have any hockey to watch, along with the people that took-up the Wolves offers for Season Tickets based on the lockout actually happening.

We looked bad out there. Who looked the worse? Our phenom goalie Kari Lehtonen who gave up 4 goals on 22 shots. He significantly misplayed at least one if not two of the goals and I don't think he saw they others at all. Not like him.

We lost up on Milwaukee last night 4-2. The man who had the two goals up there and our only goal tonight was Steve Maltais. Pathetic - were was everybody else? Oh, and we out-shot the Griffins 47-29. We have never opened the season 0-2.

Not a good start.

Got under the skin of at least one Griffin player - Darryl Bootland - who not only reacted to our taunts, but also flipped us off from the Penalty Box. Sweet.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Carol and I went to a Chicago Wolves preseason game at a local ice rink. It was nice seeing the ol' boys again. Somehow, this year it seems easier for me to make the transition from watching baseball to watching hockey. I was happy to see Kari Lehtonen with us again, even though I'm sure it's because of the lockout so that he can get more time in the net. We've got a few really tall guys this year, like rookie Lane Manson who is listed as 6' 9", along with Brian Sipotz who is listed as 6' 7". Hopefully, they will stay with the team and contribute. That's the problem with preseason - you just don't know who you've got on the team and you try not to get too attached to them because they could be gone in a week. Speaking of a week, opening night is a week from this Saturday. They better work on the Power Play before then...

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

The last visit of the year to "The Cell". I always hate this game - no matter the outcome. This game signifies the end of the season for me. Most people would think of the last game of the season, or the last game of the World Series, but to me - this is the game. Why? There are no more games for me to go to. Everything else will happen away from Chicago. Oh, then there's the realization that another year has passed without a playoff game, let alone a World Series game. Today, I am filled with melancholy.

The weather is gorgeous, but on the chilly side. It's fan appreciation day (though Carol & I were not officially "Appreciated" as we didn't win any giveaways). The crowd is pretty thin - 18,949.

The game was interesting. Jon Garland pitched one of his better games this year - by the end of the 8th, he had only thrown 88 pitches. Unfortunately, when he came out to start the 9th, he didn't have it any longer and Damaso Marte had to finish (and finish he did - FOR A CHANGE). We had 4 homeruns (by Ross Gload, Wilson Valdez (his first one), Jose Valentin (his last in a Sox uniform at home?), and whipping-boy Joe Borchard).

The team ends the season 46-35 at home with 145 homers at U.S. Cellular Field, short of the record set by the Colorado Rockies in 1996. The team fell short of drawing 2,000,000 fans this season, but we had 10 sellouts, the most in the 14-year history of U.S. Cellular Field.

After the game, we sat and watched Ozzie's news conference on the big screen and then quietly left the park.

See you next year - you will be missed.

(Boxscore)

Our last Night Game and Fireworks of the year.

Janie commented about the night: "It feels like I went to a circus and a baseball game broke out." She was referring to all of the people sitting around us. Our first group is all of the people that showed-up severely under-dressed, usually all with t-shirts and shorts. Gametime temps were 68° and going down with a 13mph wind. Clearly, they didn't listen to the weather reports and the famous phrase "cooler near the lake". Then we have the Group Sales idiots who are in the section next to us, closer to the plate than us Partial Season Ticket Holders. All they want to do is drink and socialize, usually standing up and blocking our view of the pitcher, the plate, or both. Then we have The Yellers. yes, these are the idiots that think any given player on the field can hear them, no matter how far away they are, no matter that there's a total of 20,625 people trying to say something as well. It doesn't matter, they want to yell, they need to yell. And the crap they yell - at times - makes no sense. Let's take Mr. "Throw The Ball!" who yells this while Mark Buehrle is on the mound. Buehrle, is the fastest no-nonsense pitcher on the Sox, and throws a Complete Game tonight, earning him his 15th win, all within 2 hours and 13 minutes. Then we have the females that show up wearing things that nobody "that size" should ever wear (What the HELL is it with the bare midriff and hip hugger jeans craze when the person has so much friggin' flab hanging over the front of the jeans - let alone the sides - that you just want to either laugh in her face or just puke?) Then we have the normal groups of drunks, some loud, some just stumbling and bumbling. Nothing unusual, but they're just adding to the carnival atmosphere tonight. The one that takes the cake that's driving us nuts is the girl a few rows down in front of us. She looks 14-16. She has a baby that's maybe 4 months old. First, the kid looks cold. Second, every break in-between innings she grabs the kid from a car carrier, puts the kid up in the air next to her, trying to get one of the stadium cameras to put the two of them on screen in the scoreboard. When that's over, she's literally flinging the kid around to wrap her in a pink blanket. Arms and legs are flailing as she flops her back into the car seat. The baby never says a peep. And she's damn cute, too. Too bad she looked like a rag doll as her mom was throwing her around as she yanks her from her seat or wraps her up and drops her back into the seat.

Now, through all this, we were still somewhat able to watch the game. Buehrle looked really good for a change - he's struggled over the last month or so. Jose Valentin finally is productive and gets a homerun (his 28th) along with still another error (his 20th of the year). Carols Lee got his 29th homer of the year as well. I think it might be his 150th career homerun as well.

Last Fireworks of the year as well. Tomorrow - our last day of the year at the park.

(Boxscore)

Today is Minnie Minoso day in Chicago. No, really, the mayor proclaimed it so. The White Sox held a ceremony on the left-field concourse to unveil a statue of Minnie. Minnie is a goodwill ambassador for the team - I see him all the time around the park, signing autographs for people that remember. This statue is supposed to be the first of 5 over the next five years that will be unveiled at the park (no idea who the next 4 will be). The ceremony was really moving, with Minnie and his family around him. In fact, there were so many family members, they weren't allowed into the small area for the unveiling - they stood outside with the schlubs like me. Some snapshot items: Minnie was the first Black Ballplayer for the Sox, he played in 5 different decades in Major League Baseball, and then pushed it into another decade by playing for the St. Paul Saints in the independent Northern League June 30, 1993 (... doesn't Bill Veek's son own the team?) He was a seven-time American League All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove outfielder.

Minnie threw out the first pitch to fellow Cuban Jose Contreras. We've always joked that it seemed that every time you turned around, you saw Minnie. It was like he never left the park. Now, it will be true.

On the way back to my seat after the ceremony, I saw a gentleman walking by that looked really familiar. Sure enough, it was Vince Galloro, the author of a great White Sox blog that I read with regularity called Exile in Wrigleyville. If you're a Sox fan, please read his take on the team as well as his experiences. He's a good writer, someone that I consider has a fair view on the team. Go - visit his blog. (BTW - the only way I recognized him is because he had some pictures posted at his blog recently that he happened to be in - and he happened to be wearing the same black jersey and Sox hat, so he just stood out). However, I just realized that I never introduced myself, so I'm going to have to fire-off a quick email.

The game was again a good outing, nibbling away at Detroit. Freddy Garcia lasted 7 1/3 innings and gave up only 1 run with 8 strikeouts.

And even though it was another Kid's Day, with autographs and running the bases after the game, the fair weather fans have indeed turned their backs on the Sox - the attendance was only 19,269.

(Boxscore)

So much about this game is familiar - the attendance is back down (23,533), the weather is cool again (73 degrees at first pitch and I had to put on my jacket by the end of the game), ups and downs and ups and downs and ups.

The game lasted 4:05, the longest I've been to without a rain delay in some time. It hurt to watch. It was disgusting and exhilarating.

Jose Contreras is pitching an erratic game, not nearly as bad as his last few outings but no where near his potential. The entire pitching staff makes me anxious with every single damn pitch lately - I mean, you really don't know who is showing-up at the mound at what the ball is going to do when they release it. It's scary, not to mention the entire damn offensive staff when you just don't know who you can count on regularly for a hit, a sacrifice to move somebody over. Hell, you don't know if anybody can get on base...

The game is tied 4-4 in the 6th, and we go into extra innings tied. Neal Cotts pitched OK in the 8th and 9th and gets 2 strikeouts in the 10th, but the next thing you know, he gives up 2 2-run homers. We're losing 8-4 in the 10th and it's looking like an extension of last night (We lost 11-10 in 10 innings).

Wilson Valdezcomes in for Jose Valentin and gets a pinch hit single, Ben Davis flies out to center, and my whipping-boy Joe Borchard homers (he's still batting .158). OK, we're halfway there... Timo Perez comes in for Joe Crede and doubles to right (I love those hits - they're right in front of our section as they scream down the line) and Aaron Rowand homers to left. TIED! The substitutions worked, but that's as far as we get, and we go further into the night...

In the bottom of the 12th, Ben Davis grounds-out 1-3, my boy Joe Borchard walks, Jamie Burke grounds out 5-3 and Borchard goes to 2nd.

Aaron Rowand hits a slow grounder to 3rd and is running his ass off. Borchard gets a good jump and is running his ass off. Rowand beats the throw for a single, Borchard scores - game over and WE WIN!

BEST FINISH TO A GAME THAT I'VE SEEN IN A LONG TIME...

(Boxscore)

Carol took the day off. We drove downtown to pickup our friend Barry, and we drove to U.S. Cellular Field to see a little piece of baseball history.

If you follow sports, you know how important it is to play at your home field - you play the most number of games there during any given season. You get used to the quirks of your own stadium and - typically - can outplay your opponents there. Your local fan base comes out and cheers you on, giving you more incentive and energy to play better. And, of course, you help the local community revenue streams.

Hurricane Ivan has its sights set on Florida. The Florida Marlins have already missed 3 games against the Cubs due to rain-outs (that are being made-up) and can't afford to miss any more games. They have 5 games to play against the Montreal Expos (at least one is a makeup for a rainout). Since the Marlins were in Chicago to play the Cubs, and the White Sox are out of town, the teams worked-out an agreement to allow 2 of the Marlin-Expos games to be played right here in Chicago at U.S. Cellular Field.

The Marlins will be the home team in a Home Away From Home series.

The use of another stadium for a regularly scheduled game is rare. It's only happened twice before in the entire history of Major League Baseball.

General Admission Tickets were $15, with $5 going to a Florida Hurricane Relief Fund. Parking was $10. The upper deck would be closed (it turns out, there appears to be work being done with seats down the 3rd-base line).

We got there before the gates opened, since we'd have to find seats. It was a mad dash at the open, but we got our seats in Section 131 - just to the first base side of home plate, 4 rows up. When was the last time you spent $15 to a MLB game and were able to sit behind the plate???

It was an odd experience. We really didn't know either team. THere were Sox fans, Cub fans, Marlin fans, Expos fans, Red Sox fans... and there was only 4,003 of us. The park was quiet so every heckle easily carried out onto the field. The Marlins brought their own Stadium Announcer, their own music and video clips, and their mascot Billy Marlin. There was only a half-dozen concession stands open, so lines were long. All of the other stands and stores were closed. There were hadly any vendors, either. I'm sure they had to scrape together the staffing for today.

(It was a bit creepy - it was like seeing a White Sox game of the future - players you don't know, no Gene Honda announcing the games, Nancy Faust's organ silent and locked-up...)

It was a sunny, hot day (that Carol didn't tolerate very well) and we had to endure the oddest, strangest, nerdiest Expo fan hecklers that sat behind us. Ignoring the idiots behind us ("Hey Lo Duca! You're a communist!", "Hey Lo Duca! You're an anarchist!", "Hey Lo Duca! You're a Calvinist!"), and a guy who was after Expo 3rd base coach Acta (claiming he's the worst 3rd base coach in the game), there was some serious chanting going on later in the game. A few "Let's Go Expos! (Clap!-Clap!-Clapclapclap!)" were mightily beaten back with "Let's Go Marlins! (Clap!-Clap!-Clapclapclap!)". And the 7th inning stretch was very odd, when there was almost no way to tell what team everyone was rooting for. Only one fan ejection that I could see - due to touching a ball in play down the right field line.

The view was great and the game was good. Carol had so much fun that, even though she couldn't take the day off, said that I should go to the game tomorrow!

I just may do that...

(Boxscore)

Sweep? SWEEP!!! I'd never thought I'd see that and say that considering how this team had been playing. Perhaps it was the Mariners that the Sox really needed to play against to get them back in the grove.

I actually had my hopes up after last night's game and after hearing that Jamie Moyer was 0-6 in day games.

Highlights? Homers by Konerko and my whipping-boy Joe Borchard.

Things going on around the park: Today was Teamster Day, so they were all over the place, mostly standing around the outfield concourse drinking smoking and talking, but not moving one bit.

It was also the MDA's Jerseys Off Their Backs promotion. For a $5 scratch card (donation) you could win a chance to go onto the field after the game and have a White Sox player actually take off his jersey, sign it, and give it to you (*ew*). The players were part of the charity ticket thing, while the coaches were involved with a silent auction that also included a signed 8x10 and a signed baseball. Last time I looked, Ozzie was going for $300 and bullpen catcher Man Soon Lee was $100.

(Boxscore)

Still another game to attend that's been mucked-up. We had Elvis Friday night, Fox moved our normal Saturday night game to 12:15pm. Today, our 2:05 kids day game was moved to 7pm so ESPN could cover this debacle nationally. SO, since it's Kid's Day (they were giving out book bags as a promotion), they were having the autograph sessions before the game. Saw a group of people dressed up in Yakult Swallows gear to get Shingo Takashi's autograph, and there was a group of people sitting a couple of rows back with their bento boxes and sushi... I'm actually happy about this. I'd like to see us jump on the Japan bandwagon and ride this for as long as Shingo is here.

The other big thing is that ESPN's Baseball Tonight is setup on the field and is being done live before the game. I went over to check it out, but it was difficult to follow anything that's going on, since most of the talk was voice-overs of videotape of the afternoon games. A crewman came over and shared a plate of desserts with the fans (which, to my shock, didn't storm the guy). Had a great fudge brownie.

The game... sucked again. We actually got into the lead for the first time this series. Freddy Garcia, who has thrown about 117 pitches, comes out in the 8th and on the first pitch, Manny Ramirez hits a homer to tie the game. Ozzie brings out Damaso Marte who throws one pitch to Ortiz who hits a homer putting them in the lead.

That's it. That just sucked the life right out of me. I'm angry, I'm disappointed, I'm shocked, I'm disappointed, I'm despondent, I'm disgusted, I'm tired, I'm sick.

We were in First Place for a good part of the year. If we weren't, we're just a few games out.

We're in 3rd, 8 games out. Everything has failed - hitting, pitching, defense - everything.

To top it all off, there were a TON of Boston fans at each of these three game. Where the hell are these people coming from? Are there that many displaced Bostonians in Chicago? Are people actually traveling here to see them? Even on a Sunday Night?

However - Props to those fans. They were THE BEST fans for the visiting team I've ever seen. Cub Fans should take lessons from these guys.

(Boxscore)

Today's game was moved up to 12:15 so that Fox could broadcast it. We got to the park really early just to get... an Esteban Loaiza bobblehead doll. Yes, even though he got traded to the Yankees, they got to get rid of them, and for the second day in a row, it's a sell out.

And for the second day in a row, the game starts poorly and I can feel myself disconnecting from the game. It's also the first day of the Chicago Air and Water show, so I switched my radio over to listen to that as I kept my eyes on the skies to see if we could see anything from the south side. (We saw a little).
It was still better than watching the game, which sucked again.

On the way home, we're going down the Dan Ryan when The Blue Angels, in the middle of their routine in the air show, came roaring toward us on a very low high speed pass and turn. You could see everyone slam on their brakes and stop and cheer and yell and applaud. Wild.

(Boxscore)

I honestly couldn't tell you a thing about tonight's game. I went to the game - I shut it out. We were losing 6-0 in the 2nd and that was enough for me to give up. Hell, it was Curt Schilling.

Oh, it was Elvis night again. Saw the performers, saw my old friend Peg and spent quite a few innings talking to her and her husband Rob about the state of the team, played the Sox Spilt Raffle, (but didn't do as well as two years ago).

(Boxscore)

The day starts off well - it's the annual Fuji Film Photo Day where. if you show up early enough, you can go out on the field and take pictures of the team. Always very cool. I took between 80 - 90 shots.

Jose Contreras pitched a very good game - 9 innings, 9 strikeouts, only 1 run - but he had 108 pitches, so he didn't come out in the 9th to defend our 2-1 lead.

Instead, Damaso Marte comes out in relief. I HAD LOST ALL HOPE for this guy. I cringe every time he comes to the mound. I think he's lost "it". But, since there were left-handers coming up and that's what Shingo failed against last night, Ozzie sends Marte in instead.

Marte strikes out the first batter - and then promptly gives up a homerun, tyeing the game.

All those crappy feelings from yesterday - and almost every game in the the last 2 dozen - come back again.

Shingo comes in and retires the side.

In the bottom of the 9th, Timo Perez singles to center. Timo is jumping all around first, forcing Rafael Betancourt to keep throwing to first while Ben Davis is up. Davis, goes through 9 pitches as well, keeping the inning alive. Eventually, he hits a gapper to right center and Timo comes all the way around and scores, winning the game.

FINALLY.

(Boxscore)

A boot to the head.

A kick to the groin.

Watching another White Sox loss.

It looked bad from the beginning. We were losing 3-0 until the 6th, when Roberto Alomar got a 3-run homer, followed by a 2-run homer by Juan Uribe.

The game was sewn-up. I mean, Shingo Takatsu came in to save the game in the 9th - when Mr. Zero gave up 2 singles followed by a homerun, thus losing the game.

I'm sick to my stomach.

The boys are now 7 games back, in 3rd place, behind Cleveland.

(Boxscore)

Well, it's not much warmer out, but there isn't a cloud in the sky. So I as the new Lobster Boy from my lengthy pool time on Friday had to make sure every part of my body is covered in clothing or sunscreen.

In the big picture, however: it was a waste coming to the game. It ran long (3:08) and we left early as it was too painfull. We got killed. Garland couldn't get it together, and neither did the bullpen. Nothing to talk about - we sucked.

(Boxscore)

So, the zombies shuffle-off to the park for a baseball game. As has been our luck all damn year, it's late in July and the temperature is 68 degrees and it's windy. In other words, cold and uncomfortable.

I don't feel great about Schoeneweis as a starter. I still don't think he's as solid as we need. His 6 innings of work had 3 walks, only one strikeout, 8 hits and 5 runs. The tigers had this in their pocket by the 4th. It was 6-2 in the top of the 7th, but it was 6-5 at the bottom, and we tied it up in the 8th.

In the 9th, Joe Crede hits a walk-off homerun, something I didn't think we'd see tonight. The crowd of 38,055 - another sellout - went nuts.

Tigers - 4 homers, 10 hits

(Boxscore)

I've got to say that we didn't think 37,405 would show up for this game. It was startling.

It was Matt Thornton's first major league start for the Mariners and for a while, it looked like he would give us some problems. Well, until the 5th when he walked 4 batters, forcing-in 2 runs. Mark Buehrle allowed two runs on nine hits in eight innings. Then in the 9th, the gong was sounded and in came Shingo Takatsu. They're really playing up his entrance now. There are signs of "It's Shingo Time!" and that incessant gong (which I'm not sure is appropriate for someone from Japan for some reason when I hear a gong I think Chinese). Anyway, the place goes absolutely nuts when he comes out and stays that way as he retires the side with ease. Boy, I like this guy.

Problem: Buehrle is known for his short games. The game lasted only 2:13, so at 8:20 the sky wasn't exactly dark enough for fireworks after the show. Let's just say it was uninspiring.

(Boxscore)

Well, there seems to be a lot less tailgating today. No idea why. While standing outside Gate 3, there seems to be more Cub fans today than yesterday. Also, there seems to be more people looking for tickets, though I never saw a single person selling.

The pitching matchup was going to be thrilling: Esteban Loaiza vs. Greg Maddux. The game starts with Timo Perez running out to his position in right, doing a Sammy Sosa impression. In the 1st, Loaiza throws 7 pitches, Maddux throws 35 pitches and gives up 2 runs. That's how the day is going to go, back and forth, each pitcher having their own problems. In the 2nd, Sosa has a 454-foot homerun to dead center, hitting the ivy in the batter's eye. Sammy has another homer in the 3rd. Timo Perez has a homer in the third, and as he cross the plate he points to the sky. Sure enough, as he goes in the dugout, he's doing another Sammy Sosa impression, the whole two-fingered salute and kiss. Wooo boy. The Sox take the lead and stay that way the rest of the game. The boys win at home on a Sunday to keep that record going - 6-0.

Getting out of the park, the parking lots, and onto the Dan Ryan was miserable. It was offset by hearing the news about "the trade". Miguel Olivo (who caught the game and left after his at-bat in the 7th) was traded to the Seattle Mariners along with minor league outfielder Jeremy Reed and infielder Michael Morse to get pitcher Freddy Garcia and catcher Ben Davis. I guess Olivo took it hard. He's going to be miised. But... Garcia? Does this mean we've got a complete rotation now?

(Boxscore)

Well, the game doesn't go at all like I had thought... Felix Diaz doesn't last just one or two innings - he goes six innings, gives up 3 runs (including a homerun), but the Sox give him run support with homeruns from Konerko, Crede and Valentin. I think more than anything, the Sox went after Carlos Zambrano and just messed with his head. He wasn't getting his calls and we knew that gets to him, and then we just fed on that to try and rattle him. He gave up a 3-run homer to Konerko and then Timo Perez got on first. Timo just taunted Zambrano and forced him to throw to first quite a few times before he finally pitched to Crede - who hit another homer. The crowd of 39,553 was pretty well split Sox/Cubs, though it just felt there were more Cub fans. It was odd - everytime the Cubs did something, it seemed like the whole place was up and cheering. Then when the Sox did something, it seemed like the whole place was up and cheering. Weird. I do have to say, however, that the buzz had gone out of the Cub fans as the game progressed. In general, I saw no fighting and no severe taunting that I've seen in prior years.

The most electrifying moments? Every pitch by Shingo Takatsu. They really played-up his intro and in the 9th everyone was on their feet and cheering every single pitch. How can we have a "closer by committee"??? Give him the job already!!!

Let's see how the game goes tomorrow...

(Boxscore)

Odd, day at the ballpark. Odd. It's Interleague Play time. That's only a little odd. Then today is Spiderman 2 today in Major League Baseball. All kids get a Spiderman paper mask and a foam hand. At least MLB backed-off having the logo on the bases during the game. It's Kids Day, so there's autographs before the game.

Then came the oddest part of the day. It made me angry. It made me mad. It made me ... embarrassed.

The new marketing guy (Brooks Boyer), who came from the Bulls, is still tweaking everything. First, the player introductions are much more elaborate, lasting almost 5 minutes. (Every time I hear AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" I always think of the Wolves). We also now have a small team of people that slingshot & throw T-Shirts into the crowd in-between one of the innings.

But before the game today, marketing took one more step forward and it's one step too far.

Before the game, in center field, they unveiled... a new mascot. Oh, cripes, WHY do we need a mascot??? It's some kind of indescribable thing called Southpaw. I couldn't find him during the game to get a picture of him. Maybe we'll see him again at another game <*blech*>

The game itself was strong and was a very good win. Carlos Lee now has a 27-game hitting streak, tyeing the franchise record with Luke Appling and Albert Belle (what a group).

(Boxscore)

Great night at the ballpark. Finally, I'm sitting in my seat at a night game in short sleeves and no jacket. It took us this long to get good weather. The place is packed, too (34,719, second largest this season). The Draw? The Braves. It's cross-pollination time and this is their first visit to the South Side.

The new marketing director is slowly making his changes - the player introductions are getting longer and bigger, there's a group of people that come out between innings (OK, just one inning) and slingshot T-shirts into the crowd (Very Bulls-like - after all that's where the marketing guy is from).

Esteban Loaiza got roughed-up for 6 runs and 2 homeruns. Nobody could figure out the strike zone of home plate umpire Gerry Davis. Pitches directly over the center of the plate weren't getting called. Eventually, in the 6th, we see Davis yelling into the Sox dugout. Ozzie emerged and put his hand out as if to say, "hey, I'm coming out here to discuss, not argue." Well, that lasted about 30 seconds and Ozzie got tossed. That set him off and he started yelling for at least 3 minutes. We were all wondering if the umpire understood a single word Ozzie said in his tirade... Welcome to management, Ozzie - you just got your first ejection...

It was a battle, where the Sox scored in every inning except the 1st. Carlos Lee extended is hitting streak to 26 games, going 3-5. Frank Thomas, who actually played 1st base in anticipation of National League parks during interleague play, had two homeruns in the game, adding more fuel to the "statistically, he hits better when he actually plays a position during the game instead of DH" debate.

Speaking of debates, we were smack dab in the middle of another one - who was going to close? There was only a 2 run lead (which has proved to be not enough is some situations - thank you, Billy Koch). The answer was Shingo Takatsu, who threw 7 pitches, 6 for strikes to retire the side in the 9th, while the crowd the whole time was on their feet chanting "Shin-go! Shin-go! Shin-go!" He's got a 1.16 ERA now. Just let the guy close already, will ya? He's the Japanese all-time saves leader, don't you think he can do this?

(Boxscore)

Today was the annual Photo Day. WAS. Some pretty good storms rolled through town during the morning. In fact, due to some driving, we wound up experiencing the same severe storm cell three different times. We got to the park early enough for the event, but I was only in line less than 10 minutes before they canceled it.

The game was delayed over half an hour, but it was worth it. In the traditional feast-or-famine approach this year, the boys score in the double digits to beat the Angels. Their pitcher - John Lackey - threw 45 pitches in the first inning alone, and left the game after 3 innings and 85 pitches.

(Boxscore)

It's Carol's most favorite White Sox game of the year - not for the actual game, mind you, it's because it's Dog Day! The left field bleachers are set aside for owners and their dogs (maximum 500 dogs that have to be pre-cleared with medical releases, so you just can't show up with a dog). We always get there early to watch the dogs arrive and then go into the park and watch the parade around the field before the game.

The game itself sucks. Ozzie Guillen is in Florida for his son's high school graduation, so Harold Baines is the substitute manager for the day. Ozzie had already made out the lineup, so he just had to manage the game. The game itself feels odd, like there's something missing, some spark, some energy.

The game is doomed anyway. It's time for our rotating-nonexistent 5th starter to pitch. We don't have a 5th, so we keep trying out people. We're not very successful, as the "5th Starter" has an 0-6 record this season while the other 4 starters are 20-8 with a 3.68 ERA in 40 starts.

Today's lucky guy is Jon Rauch, whom we haven't seen since 2002 due to injury. (Side note: he's the tallest pitcher in MLB history - yes, taller than Randy Johnson - at 6' 11").

Things are OK until the top of the 4th, which lasts about 15-20 minutes. Rauch gets into trouble and is left in a batter or two too long. We're down 5-0 by the time he gets pulled.

Then Rauch leaves. No, I mean he leaves. He knew he was just called-up for this one game, so he decides to get a jump on traffic for the trip back "home" so he leaves the park while the game is still going on. GM Kenny Williams goes down to the clubhouse to talk to him and finds out he's gone, a major MAJOR faux pax in baseball, and Kenny immediately decries that Rauch will never play for the White Sox again. (Rauch hears about all of this during the ESPN post-game show and calls-in to explain his side of the story - that it was a big misunderstanding and in no way was he dissing the team. He also called pitching coach Don Cooper to explain. Cooper, BTW, says that Rauch was all the way to Indianapolis by the time he called. Who knows what's going to happen...)

So, other than Paul Konerko's solo homerun (for which there were no fireworks so the dogs wouldn't get scared), there is nothing to talk about. The team lost some fire - does Ozzie motivate that well?

(Boxscore)

After the game we went over to Janie & Gary's new condo - yes, they're moving again. They're doing some rehabbing before they move in, so we saw the "before" look of the place. After the condo we went to the South City Tavern for dinner.

OK, the sun's out and it's almost 10 degrees warmer today than yesterday (though it's only 63 degrees at gametime). I'm excited about the game and angry at the same time - it's Feast Or Famine with this team. We lose yesterday but win today 11-zip.

Oh, and I'm tired of Jose Friggin' Valentin, too. He may be have been 3 for 5 in the game with a 3-run homer, but he also had 2 errors. THIS is the guy that should be the team's DH.

(Boxscore)

You know... I'm getting really tired of my underachieving teams...

Another friggin' cold night at TPFKAC™. It was in the 80's on Thursday, but tonight it's 53 degrees with winds from the northeast at 9 and it just feels like almost the coldest night yet. The weekdays are fine, but when the weekend comes and we got a game to go to, the weather gods just screw with us.

And speaking of screwing with us, why the hell can't the Sox beat the Twins? It just pisses me off. They're in 1st and every game we lose, we fall behind. This is a very critical series...

(Boxscore)

Every year with our Weekend Season Ticket package, we get one game during the week, usually a holiday. Last year - no holiday, but it was a Monday and that was OK. This year it's a Thursday. And it's Carol's Birthday to boot.

The lovely weather this week rained-out the game last night, so today is going to be a doubleheader. (They had to do that as we don't play the Orioles again this year). The the first game is at 1:05.

We were STUPID. We NEVER checked the tickets. We ASSUMED today's game was a 7:05 game, and with the double header, we thought it would be a a split day-night double header and today's scheduled game would be at 7:05 and yesterday's game would be at 1:05.

We were wrong. Thursday is typically "Get Away Day" and games are usually scheduled early. Carol called me from work at about 1:30. The scheduled showed today's game at 1:05. Sure enough, the tickets say 1:05!

We're screwed! WE HAVE NEVER had this happen before.

Well, Carol left work right away and came home. We changed and we were out the door at 2:20. We got to the park at about 3:50, just at the end of the first game. I'm glad we missed it - we lost.

There aren't a lot of people at the game. The weather is keeping them away. And then it starts to rain. Not hard, more or less a drizzle. It's going to be miserable. We start the game strong and lead 3-0, but we eventually go down 5-3. The sky gets even more threatening - we can hear static while listening to our AM radios. I realize that we need to get on top quick and get out of there. So, out loud, I say "How about a home run, we take the lead, the rain comes in and the game gets called and we win?" I say this just as Erik Bedard releases his pitch to Paul Konerko who proceeds to hit a homer into the left field seats (with 2 guys on base). As Paulee circles the bases, the skies open-up. The Ground Crew comes out and covers the field with the Sox up 6-5.

The torrential rain hits the park. People scramble for dry seats (very few in this park). Take a look at this short video of the Rain Delay.

The Rain Delay lasts an hour and 42 minutes. There aren't a lot of people left for the rest of the game. Anyway, there were no more runs and the Sox win.

We will NEVER let this happen again... how embarassing...

(Boxscore - Game 1 - Boxscore - Game 2)

The Wolves suck. We are down in this series 2-1 and the game that we did win... I couldn't tell you how we did it. Take a look at the Gamesheet from Saturday's game. The ref was Harry Dumas, who called 38 penalties of 122 minutes (87 minutes on 26 infractions were against us). He did some other odd - possibly illegal - things like trying to use off-ice officials to verify stick infractions (which the on-ice people should do). He called 3 game misconducts (one against Coach Anderson) and a Match Penalty against Mike Weaver (which means he doesn't play tonight). Apparently Mr. Dumas asked for a police escort home.

So, tonight we have our other "favorite" ref - Dan O'Rourke. He's not a problem tonight.

Tonight, the problem was The Wolves. They look tired. They can't keep up. There's just no way in hell to keep Milwaukee outside our zone. How the hell is Kari Lehtonen supposed to stop all of the 45 shots coming at him? You've got to ask - what the hell are there 45 shots to begin with?

We're being outplayed. We're down 3-1 in the series and it goes to Milwaukee on Wednesday.

I don't expect to be back at the Allstate Arena this season.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Yeah! The sun's out! Not a cloud in the sky!

It was terrible! Worse than yesterday! Damn Chicago weather decided to choose "wind" to screw up our day. It was bearable while we were still in the sun, but the wind was a bit brisk. Then the sun ducked behind the stands, and it was terrible.

The only thing that saved us was these damn hand warmers that I talked about yesterday. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Worth $1!

I was distracted by having to walk around the park too many times to 1) keep warm and 2) stop my legs from twitching. The few things that stood out: bunting. I can honestly say that I haven't seen this much bunting by this team since we've had season tickets. Love the agressive base running, except Uribe got caught stealing by a mile.

(Boxscore)

Oh boy, this was lousy. Cloudy, cold, windy, rainy.

Oh, and long. We didn't rush out the door to get to the first game of the doubleheader, since we knew that we would be there a while. We got there just after 3pm, only to find out that there's been a rain delay, so the game won't start for about half an hour. The game just seems slower because of the weather. I took a quick break and went down to the Bullpen Sports Bar to watch the Kentucky Derby. It was a nice respit from the weather, but then I needed to get back upstairs. However, while I was downstairs, the Jays get a run and tie then game. Then just to add insult to injury staying out in this weather, the first game goes into extra innings. At least we win. (Did you know that Joe Crede has had 3 last at-bat wins so far?)

They've started the All-Star Game balloting. The home opener wasn't even 3 weeks ago - how can anybody make a wise choice in the balloting instead of just stuffing the box with favorites? Based on how he started the season, do you honestly think Derek jeter should be there? Oh, and since the game is in Houston this year, there's no DH. Frank Thomas is on th ballot for 1B. Puh-lease. I'd rather see Paul Konerko, the real 1B for the Sox on that ballot. That's a slap in his face by not including him.

The second game was worse and Danny Wright (who scares the hell out of me) doesn't look good at all.

Oh! Let me tell you about something that we found that helped with the cold!!! At Home Depot, in impulse-buy stuff in the checkot lanes, we found these chemical hand warmers. They were only 97 cents for a pair. They're two fabric pouches filled with dry chemicals. You open the packages and shake the pouches. Within 15 minutes you have over 110 degrees of heat for almost 10 hours! Just stick them in your jacket pockets and keep your hands in there - they're wonderful!

It's one thing to stay behind your team in the cold/wet/wind when they're in the lead or even in the hunt. It's another thing to watch a game in the cold/wet/wind when they're not playing well. Then add-in the fatigue from enduring this for hours.

After 6 hours of this, Carol threw in the towel. She was just too uncomfortable and we left in the 7th. I don't like leaving the game, but this was just a torture to stay there. So much for the first Fireworks Night of the year...

We left, and the boys just went down the toilet and lost the second game.

(Boxscore - Game 1 - Boxscore - Game 2)

OK, it's our first Sunday game, a Kid's Day game, and still another change for this year: Sunday starts are an hour later now, at 2:05 PM. We hate it - it just throws-off your whole day.

The weather is only slightly better than yesterday - it's about 10 degrees warmer, but the winds are 10 mph stronger with higher gusts. Oh, and drizzle. Twice during the game.

We were losing throughout the game and I wasn't impressed with our play again. And before you know it, we're at the end of the game. Then something weird happened - the sun came out. As soon as that happened, the crowd livened-up, the players woke up, and we won the game in the bottom of the 9th. No, wait, we didn't win - they lost. I mean they loaded the bases and walked-in the winning run. Ugly.

(Boxscore)

What a lousy day for baseball... we were back at The Cell for our first regular Season Ticket game. It's cloudy, windy, and cold - it was 52 degrees at gametime and had gone down to 45 degrees by the end of the game. There were only 17,062 paid for the game and less in attendance. I took a quick trip around the park to look at the "new stuff". My first trip was to the upper deck to see the changes. The concourse area, though somewhat enclosed now, is actually not much different to the eye. The concession stands were rehabbed last year, so all that's different is the enclosure screens, some heavy iron cross members (since they cut-off eight rows of seats, the structure had to be shored-up). I went up to the last row of seats behind the plate. Yes, I love the roof, even with the obstructed views (reminds me of the old park). But, damn it, the climb up to those seats sucks. There is a new statue erected in the right field concourse dedicated to Charles A. Comiskey, the founder of the White Sox. Why do I have a feeling that this has something to do with the stadium naming rights going to U. S. Cellular? They also replaced something that's been missing for a year or so, something that I thought they would have taken of last year for the All-Star Game - the list of retired jerseys. Instead of being on the Club Level facade, now their on the left-center outfield wall. I don't like it - the graphics are a little crappy - a bit too stylized.

I just loved what the Daily Herald said about the game:

Saturday's pitching matchup at U.S. Cellular Field featured a guy who hadn't won a game in his last 17 starts against a guy making just his sixth major-league start after compiling a middling 30-35 record in the minors.

I don't know, I wasn't happy. the weather was bad, the play was bad.

(Boxscore)

It was an odd omen - during the pregame introductions Skates (the Wolves' mascot) for the first time in years, slipped and fell while trying to skate to a stop at center ice before letting out his howl. We knew this was going to be an odd night.

It only took the Wolves 1:46 to score their first goal and the team just started to pick-up from there. By 10:46 into the first, we were up 3-0 and Grand rapids had pulled their starting goalie Joey MacDonald for Marc Lamothe. We ended the first 4-0. At 10:57 in the second, we were up 7-0 after Lamothe gave up 2 goals within 30 seconds, and the Griffins decided to put MacDonald back in net. The 4,916 people in the place were really going nuts by then.

Derek MacKenzie had a Hat Trick and we were up 8-0. Kari Lehtonen was only 4 minutes and 59 seconds away from a shutout when the griffins finally scored a goal. They were able to sneak another one in a little later, but there was no way they were going to catch-up.

So, a year after being swept in the Western Conference semifinals by the Griffins, the Wolves get some payback.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Well, it's Post Season time again! And, as is typical for our post-season games, there were only 2,831 people on hand. This is pretty normal - the Wolves have been unable to do any Group Sales because the dates are so unknown. It was still a loud crowd, The Griffins struck first, but the boys never let it get out of hand. In fact, they've been playing really well for weeks. There's been a playoff atmosphere at the Allstate Arena for weeks.

Steve Maltais had 2 goals and an 2 assists. Kari Lehtonen stopped 29 shots.

And now, we're in a improbable 3-0 lead in the series!

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Yes! It's time to get the season started. It's time for the Home Opener for the White Sox. The drive top the park was the best we've had for any opener. The weather just sucked, though. It was a hazy sunny, but it was 43 degrees - not exactly baseball weather. Oh, and it was worse: 22 mph winds from the northeast. Miserable.

The park looked great. The new upper deck rehab actually really does change the look of the park (believe me - I was skeptical). I need to get up there and check it out sometime. The new Fan Deck seating area is a nice change too. Looks like a great place to watch the game. The item that really got me, though, was the outfield wall and all the padding around the field. It's green. I've wanted this for a long time - The Greening of Comiskey (er, "The Cell"... whatever...). It's just a matter of time when those godawful swimming pool blue seats get ripped-out and replace with dark green. I can feel it... it's coming. It will totally change the look of the park.

The game was better than expected. After the poor Cubbies lost their Home Opener 13-2 (and put them in the cellar of their division), I just wanted a win.

Exciting? Well, would you believe that after starter Esteban Loaiza gives up not one but four home runs and only one strikeout, and 2B Juan Uribe commits two stupid errors, we still trounce the Royals 12-5 with homeruns by Uribe and Konerko

(Boxscore)

After the game we went over to Janie & Gary's for dinner. Of course, most of the time we were looking through the windows at the views or actually going out on the balcony to watch the boats (and trains) go by.

Last game of the regular season.

Well, last night we played the Admirals in Milwaukee. We were down 3-1 in the 3rd and won 6-3.

No luck like that tonight. So, the regular season ends on Fan Appreciation Night.

At least we have the playoffs to look forward to.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Yep, it's The Return of The King - Wolves style. Kari Lehtonen came back from his first visit to Atlanta. In his 4 games there, he was 4-0-0 with a 1.26 Goals Against Average and 95.3% Save Percentage, and notched his first NHL Shutout. There's no way in hell we're going to see him next year - he's just too damn good. To top it off, watching in the stands is another one of our former goaltenders who's now also playing for Atlanta - Pasi Nurminen. The game started well, with the Wolves scoring 2 in the First. Then a former Wolves player - Kamil Piros scored against Kari. At the end of the first came a taked-down fight with crazy Karl Stewart which got him a Game Misconduct (Rule 56(a)). Things got tense during the game and the teams were tied 3-3 in the third. Kari was good, but... how do you go from that stellar NHL debut to this??? The crowd really got into it - it is still that great Playoff atmosphere as we struggle to get a better position for the playoffs. Then Steve Maltais scored a powerplay goal with 6.7 seconds left in the game.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Tonight was Military Night at the game. All the branches of the Armed Forces had tables setup around the arena to give away trinkets, but also boost recruiting. I only mention this because, after I went upstairs to the balcony to get a picture of the Navy Band (which only played before the warmups and then disappeared), as I came down the stairs, I, well, missed the last step and wound up falling to the floor and almost wiping-out an Air Force table. Screwed-up my right ankle pretty bad - the same one I screwed-up a few years ago when I fell at the O'Hare Metra station before a Wolves game (long story there). So, anyway, I watched the game in pain...

This was playoff-style hockey tonight. The Griffins have been slipping lately (we're in 3rd behind them - Milwaukee is in 1st). We beat them last night in Michigan, so things were a bit tense on the ice.

Saw something that I've never seen before in a hockey game. Stephen Baby shoots the puck high into the Griffins net, drops down and bounces off the left post. The goal judge (Bob Lilla) lights the light, Fireworks go off, siren sounds, crowd goes nuts (13,327, BTW)... but the ref waves it off and allows play to go on for another 30 seconds until the play is whistled dead (i can't remember why.. offside maybe?). The ref goes off to confer with the goal judge and allows the goal! Now, the fans are confused and the Griffins players go nuts with three of them charging the glass in front of the goal judge, screaming their heads off.

The play was pretty intense all throughout the game. Yes, it had the feel of playoffs. And now, with the win, we're only 2 points behind the Griffins with 4 more games to go.

Carol & I stayed a little while after the game to see something the Wolves do every once in a while - open up the ice for an hour of open skating (you have to bring your own skates). It takes way too long to get everything going (Zamboni the ice, get everyone to sign waivers, etc) and - as a spectator - a bit boring. But we watched a little and finally left.

I wasn't feeling too excited about this team's chances this year - until today's game. If they could just keep their focus and play a full 60 minutes...

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

What a lousy game... we were tied 1-1 into the third when Utah scored 3 goals in 1 minute 43 seconds. *ouch* Even though we lost, the Wolves became the third team to clinch a berth in the Calder Cup 2004 Playoffs (all three teams are from the old IHL).

This was going to be a fun night for the fans. A little bit of history here...

First off, the group that sits in our general area have an unofficial name - The Penalty Box Police. The name partially comes from the fact that we do have a bunch of cops that sit around us, but it's also because we ploce the penalty box of the visiting team. We make sure that we try to get under the skin of any opposing player in the box. It always start with a chant - (for example, let's say Nick Naumenko had a penalty - and he had quite a few tonight. The group would chant: "Nau-men-ko! Nau-men-ko! Nau-men-ko! You Suck!".) OK, it's not very original (here's a sample of the chant - the audio isn't as good as it could be), but it's just our way of saying "Howdy!". The more you show up in the box, the louder and more boisterous we get. The biggest mistake is to acknowledge our existence, because we'll just turn up the taunting.

Last week, Utah was in town and the two teams had the luck of getting ol' #42 O'Rourke as a referee. This guy always blows calls and usually doesn't control a game too well. There was a period of time last week when Utah had 5 guys in the Penalty Box at the same time.

One of these guys was Zenon Konopka. I guess the guys were really after him in particular (he was in the box and made the mistake of recognizing us). The whole Allstate Arena went after this guy. First, groups of people around the stadium took turns chanting "You Suck!" at him, eventually the entire place did it together.

Well, everyone in our group was making sure they were going to be at the game tonight, ready to focus on Konopka.

The problem happened last night. Utah played Milwaukee and let's just say there was an awful lot of fighting. Our "friend" Konopka got suspended for one game. He didn't dress for today's game.

I've never seen so many people bummed out for a visiting player not to show up. Ryan, who sat in front of us, even made a "Konopka Sucks" shirt for the occasion.

Well, we got a little reprieve when Sockboy (Bill) came over to tell us that Konopka was in the seats, watching the game. Sure enough, we found him. So, we coordinated chants between both the north & south sides of the stadium to go after the guy. And, of course, he recognized us wuth a wave.

We find out during the 1st intermission, that even the AHL officials knew about us, Ryan's shirt, and Konopka being in the stands. During the 2nd Period, Ryan decides to go over to him and get the shirt autographed.

It turned out fine. Both Konopka and Justin Cox (who didn't play because of a thumb injury, probably from one of the fights last night) where really nice guys. The had a great conversation, and said to Ryan (and Brad who was with them) "Now, when we walk away, it's war!"

What a great attitude to take, having a great time together but realizing that there's a game on and alliances and allegiances must be kept.

Of course, when everybody was back in their seats, we had to chant one last time...

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Only 4,814 at the game tonight, but what can you expect for a) a Wednesday night and b) St. Patrick's day in Chicago!

The highlight? The return to the Wolves of Bob Nardella

It was also the last night of the St. Patrick's Day Jersey Auction that I talked about a few days ago. Well, as usual, most jerseys went for around $1,00-$1,200, one or two in th $800-$900 range and a few in the $1,200-$2,000 range. Again, great for the charity, absolutely sucky for the fans who will never get a jersey (and there are a ton of people that wear jerseys to these games).

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Wow, a nice physical game. Not fighting-physical, just fast, hard-checking physical. Guys were finally finishing their checks, they were shooting (the Wolves had out-shot their opponents in only 20 games this year, and out-shot the Barons 38-27), they stayed on the attack and actually gave Michael Garnett some defense. Hell, it was 4-0 10 minutes into the 3rd period, when, like too often in other games of late, we let the opponents back into the game. (Kari Lehtonen was called-up to the NHL for the first time to see some real shooting. He's on the playoff roster, so we'll see him again) Nice crowd, too - 10,438.

It's time for the Annual St. Patrick's Day Jersey Auction - that little out-of-control fundraiser that regular fans just can't afford. Great for the charity (I think it's Easter Seals), bad for the fans that can't afford to get involved. Example: The auction runs for three games (tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday - St. Patrick's Day). Before the game started tonight, the bid for Steve Maltais' jersey was at $2,000. What Regular Joe Fan can afford that???

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Ouch. We were outplayed tonight. We were up 3-1 at the end of 2 Periods, and before you know it, we lose the game 5-3. It was good old hockey. A cleanly fought game, no shoving grabbing, just hard checks and strong skating.

I don't know what was going on, but there were 14,112 people there tonight. That's great for the team, bad for us. We're on the aisle at center ice. The row has 28 seats, so people have to pass us every time they want something to eat or drink or ... whatever. And since they're usually group sales people, they are there to socialize and have absolutely no concept about "Wait For The Whistle" - wait for stoppage of play before you get up and disturb everyone around you!

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

UGLY GAME. At 3:12 into the first, the first fight came. It was a doozy, with 3 game misconducts (one of their guys - Jason Marshall - got 2 minutes for Instigating (a popular one tonight), 5 for fighting, 10 minute misconduct (fighting - instigator) and a game misconduct (abuse of Officials). That'll give you the tone of the whole game. The Aeros had 77 minutes of penalties (the Wolves had 35). Yes we dominated, but Houston out-shot us 37-28. Steve Maltais had a Hat Trick, only the second one the team has had this season.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Well, it's time for the Manitoba Moose. I look forward to these games for two reasons - 1) singing "O, Canada" (best national anthem ever), and 2) Riding Jimmy Roy. Historically, the group of regulars in our section and the one across the aisle don't think much of this gut. He's a career minor league player, never spending a single minute in the NHL. He's an aggressive player who isn't opposed to taking dives or antagonizing opposing players. He tends to spend quite a bit of time in the penalty box (at least during our games) and when he does, he's ours. By taunting him, we have been able to take him out of his game, causing more problems for him and his team. First penalty tonight (at 6:33 in the 1st for roughing - big surprise), as we layed into him, he flipped us off, which, off course, just feeds us. It's something that entertains us all game, every game against Manitoba.

Kari Lehtonen has been day-to-day since hitting the crossbar in Wednesday's dame, so the team called-up Michael Garnett. He gave up the first goal of the game but did a pretty good job the rest of the way. The Wolves, on the other hand, out-shot the Moose 41-20 and got 5 goals past Johan Hedberg, who also wasn't "in the game", complaining about one goal and getting a Roughing penalty. (It's always a physical game when these two teams meet.) Three of our goals were on Power Plays, while Manitoba's only goal was shorthanded (Damn.)

As a side note - we didn't really miss Steve Maltais, who was "scratched" because of a Deliberate Injury Match Penalty in last night's game.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Back at the Allstate Arena for the Wolves game. It's a little odd - hardly any of the "regulars" were here for the game. Today was the first day of this year's first Jersey Auction for charity. The jersey's are a special 10th Anniversary jersey, that I think looks really sharp (work with black pants and black socks). The auction, however, is already a little out of hand. The rumour is that our rookie goalie Kari Lehtonen has the potential to be the next Dominik Hasek, so the bidding in the First Intermission is already up to $1,500 and the auction doesn't end for two more games.

Though it was weird being at the game without Carol, and my jersey, and without my radio to litsen to Judd, I guess I'm glad Carol wasn't there. There was a whole group of very youing kids sitting right in front of us, with parents that didn't care that there kids were sitting on top of the seats, blocking everyone's view, not to mention continually moving around. The parents didn't undertsand the whole "Wait For The Whistle" concept to not stand up during play. It would have drove Carol absolutely nuts. Oh, and I had the young mother of the group sitting in front of me with her thong showing everytime she leaned forward to talk to the kids. Pull up your pants and pull down that sweater, already - it's a friggin' hockey game!

The group of people across the aisle weren't much better - two young couples that were absolutely loaded by the end of the night. The two women bought these oversized foam rubber Wolves claws that are sold at the arena. There were actually mock-clawing each other... as well as people they didn't know in the row in front of them... it was just weird. One of the guys tried to out-whistle the Joey & Laura's horns, trying to get louder as they blew harder, which of course, no one around them wanted to hear. It was so weird, that Joey & Laura (who were sitting behind them) actually sat next to me for the 3rd Period to get away from them.

The game itself was a mess, just like the last time we played them. The Baby Leafs are a tough, scrappy and maybe even a little dirty team. Things got physical early, but it just got stranger through the game. We were leading 2-0 after the 1st, but late in the 2nd, somebody from St. John's hip checked Kari Lehtonen who got thrown backwards and hit the back of his head on the crossbar. He got pretty shook-up, but stayed in the game. He never came out for the 3rd Period, and was replaced by Freddie Cassivi. Later in the 3rd, Mikael Tellqvist came way out of the crease to play the puck and a charging and Karl Stewart checked him, sending his helmet flying and him to the ice - and Stewart gets called for Interference. Things went steadily downhill from there, with a lot more fights. We lost the lead and the game was tied 3-3. The Baby Leafs spent way the hell too much time in our zone, just peppering whoever was in the net. We get through the Overtime Period with a tie, even though we were out-shot 50-35.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Boy, that game sucked. There was no flow to the game, just a lot of bad passes stealing, breaking up shots, back and forth, up and down the ice. It was actually... boring. There were a lot of people there - 11,828 (the largest of the season) - and they seemed to have all been sitting in our row. Note to people going to a hockey game for the first time: understand the concept of "Wait For The Whistle". DO NOT get up to go get a beer, some food, or go to the bathroom while play is going on. It's 1) inconsiderate for everyone that you have to disturb to get out of your row 2) dangerous since you will be blocking the vision of those around you who may not see a flying puck coming at them. Be considerate, watch the friggin' game and keep your socializing to a minimum.

That being said, the game still sucked. It's the first time we lost in six games at home.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

It's been a month since we've been to a hockey game. Since then, the boys haven't played very well, until their win last night.

It's been a little odd going to the games lately. Most of the people that sit around us haven't been coming regularly. Chelby & Damian don't come to the games anymore. The crowd seems to be less and less "regulars" and more and more Group Sales. There aren't any giveaways at the doors anymore - in prior years almost every game had something given away. Every game is now broadcast on Comcast cable, but they didn't sign a radio contract with anybody, so If you can't listen over the Internet, you're S.O.L. Yesterday they started using a very low power AM transmitter inside the arena to broadcast the games to anybody with a radio inside (quality sucks and you can't hear it if you're going to get something to eat or drink). I don't know - the games just don't feel the same...

I'm thinking Utah was thinking the same thing. They lost an engine while still on the tarmac in Salt Lake City. They didn't get to the arena until 4:30 for the 7pm game.

That being said, we scored in the first and didn't score again until the 3rd and then it was like they smelled blood in the water. We almost had another goal when Utah goalie Mike Smith blocked a shot, but it went straight up into the air behind him, landed on the ice and almost crossed the line before it was dug-out by some Utah players. Smith never saw it. Kari Lehtonen got his first professional shutout.

Carol was ringing her cowbell quite a bit. A lady in the group sitting next to us wanted to ring the bell, so Carol gave it to her. As soon as the bell left Carol's hands, we scored. Needless to say, the bell got a workout. So much so, that a little girl three rows in front of us was turning around to tell Carol to stop ringing her bell. Did she stop? of course not!

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

So, we get to the game at the very start of the 2nd Period (more on that in another post) and we're already losing 2-1. Kari Lehtonen doesn't look as good as the last time we saw him. The team just doesn't feel like they're working together. It just feels odd. Speaking of odd - Syracuse has Pauli Levokari who used to be on the Wolves last season (for about 6 games). The guy is big - 6' 5". Coach gets one of our players to talk to the ref and say they believe Levokari's stick is too long. The ref takes the stick, measures it and - sure enough - it's too long and Levokari gets 2 minutes for Illegal Stick. Interesting move. While he was in the box, we scored, but it wasn't enough - we lose 4-3.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Wow - 12,818 tonight for the hockey game. By 11:17 into the first period, we're losing 3-0. Freddie Cassivi looks like a sieve. What the hell is going on here? We just had to wait another 5 minutes and the Wolves score two goals within 38 seconds. We wound-up scoring 4 unanswered goals and win 4-3. The shots are starting to come up, even though we only out-shot them 35-32.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Back at the Allstate Arena tonight for the first-ever meeting of the Chicago Wolves and the... Toronto Roadrunners? Apparently the management group used to be from the Phoenix Roadrunners in the old IHL (I remember them!), they just didn't change the team name. Like there's roadrunners in Toronto... Impressive team... I think. It was really hard to tell because we were getting out-shot (41 to 20) and they were always in our zone. Now, I don't know if that's because of their aggressiveness, or perhaps the Wolves are slipping on defense. We got our first chance to see our rookie goalie phenom - Kari Lehtonen. He stopped almost everything, and he did it so effortlessly. He always saw the puck, his reflexes look way good, and, like I said, when he made a save, there was no panic, just a a nice fluid movement. Remarkable. Had some fighting in the game, like these teams have seen each other before. They look good. We'll have to keep an eye on them.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Here we are, back at the Allstate Arena in what just seems too early for the hockey season to begin. The Wolves are celebrating their 10th season as a team. It's not bad to be around only 10 years and have 3 championships, all of which were under the same head coach John Anderson, who is starting his 7th season. There's been only one player that has been with the team since the beginning: Steve Maltais. The team has a new "lower" affiliate - the Gwinnett Gladiators in the ECHL. There was a looong pre-game ceremony for the 10th Season celebration.

Then there was a video tribute to former Wolves teammate Dan Snyder who died in that horrific car crash. He was buried yesterday up in his hometown of Elmira, Ontario. The Thrasher's had their tribute before their opener on Thursday - tonight was our turn. Not a dry eye in the house. The Wolves painted his Wolves jersey number (19) on the ice behind each net, where it will remain for the season. They're wearing "19" stickers on their helmets. There were posters and banners everywhere in the stands. He was a good guy with a great life still ahead of him. He's going to be missed by the fans here in Chicago.

It was nice seeing familiar faces again, both in the stands and on the ice. Most of the team is back. Our main goaltender, Norm Maracle, is now playing in Russia (if I understand this correctly, he replaced a goaltender that was found dead, presumably a hit from the Russian mob... go figure...). That being said, we had Frederic Cassivi in net tonight. The team had a pretty slow start, but there was something a bit different - there's a hint of aggression, of attacking and not just sitting back. We were down 2-0 at the end of 2. It didn't look too good (we could score on a 5-on-3), but there still was this more aggressive intensity there. In the third, we tied it up and out-shot the Griffins 12-6. Unfortunately, it only took 1:02 in overtime for the Griffins to score, and we lose the season opener 3-2.

Still, I didn't mind what I saw. I saw them play much worse last year, and this was just opening night. Let's see how the year progresses.

If you would like to see the tribute to Dan Snyder from the Allstate Arena, including the National Anthem, I have it right here as a Windows Media file (.wmv) - it's 720 x 480, 5:38, 15fps, and it's huge - 67.3Mb.

If you would like to see just the Wolves video tribute to Dan Snyder, I have it right here as a Windows Media file (.wmv) - it's 720 x 480, 1:53, 15fps, 22.5Mb.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Oh, my God, does this team suck...

I just can't describe the feelings running through me. Disappointment, yes, but also disgust. Jon Garland only went 2-2/3 innings giving up 7 earned runs on 6 hits, one walk, one strikeout. Scott Schoeneweis came in and pitched 3-1/3 with 2 runs but none earned. Why? We had three errors, two on Tony Graffanino (not like him to do that) and Jose Valentin (seems like it wouldn't be a game without him making an error). Cripes. Jon Adkins finished the game with 3 innings of work. By the time the 8th inning came around, it was time to throw in the towel. Manuel put in the youngsters to get some work - Graffanino moved to short (from 2nd), Aaron Rowand moved from center to right, Aaron Miles was in at 2nd, Armando Rios in left, Willie Harris in center, and Jamie Burke at 1st (I thought he was a catcher?) At least Aaron Rowand got a homer after that, but we were just so far gone that it barely made a dent in the score.

So this was our last Season Ticket game of the year. I may have been giddy about getting an invoice for playoff tickets, but there's no way in hell we'll be here in October.

And thoughts already turn to next April... who on the team will still be there next year???

Damn, I'm upset...

(Boxscore)

Last weeks giddiness, excitement and hope have been replaced by misery and despair. The Sox were swept by the Twins and have fallen 3½ game behind them. It's impossible to catch them as they have an extremely easy schedule to finish the season. I fear hope is lost.

We go to "The Cell" anyway, as it's our last weekend games with the boys. The game started well with Frank Thomas's 41st HR of the year and his 93rd career first-inning HR. But that was all we'd come up with for the game. The offense wasn't there, the defense wasn't there, the pitching wasn't there. Esteban Loaiza, for the 3rd time, misses his chance on getting his 20th win and instead gets his 9th loss in 6 innings of work. We went through 4 pitchers in the 7th. The fans were restless and vocal, booing Billy Koch when he came in. Everyone didn't believe what they were seeing.

I'm disgusted and distraught. I fear that it's over. We're now 4½ games out.

Damn.

(Boxscore)

It was really hazy today. It was in the low 80's and breezy. We all had a moment of silence - the quietest the park has been in a while. It was all reverent and poignant. I needed to be here.

Alas, the day should have been better. Esteban Loaiza was trying for his 20th win. Frank Thomas got his 40th homer of the season in the first, but our defense just flew apart in the third when Carl Everett had a throwing error that eventually allowed 2 then a third run to score when we actually had two runners trapped between the bases if someone was paying attention, and we're down 4-1. In the 4th, A.J. Pierzynski grounds to Brian Daubach at first who throws to second to get the lead runner Torii Hunter and Jose Valentin attempts to complete the double play by throwing back to first... only nobody is there. Daubach never went back to the bag and Loaiza was trying to get there... it was Valentin's 16th error of the season. Loaiza was never getting strikes over the outside corner of the plate for left-handed batters. It was frustrating him. In the meantime the Sox could never seem to get back into it. By the 8th, it starts to feel like Manuel is throwing in the towel... fresh off the DL and rehab, he brings in Billy Koch - who actually strikes out 2 and gives up a hit. Really, that's not bad. Manuel also brings in Jamie Burke to catch and Aaron Miles pinch hits. Jose Valentin hits what is barely a homerun in the 9th with 2 out, but we never get back in. It's over. Brad Radke pitched a complete game.

The Magic Number is still 17 - we are tied with the Twins for first. It should have been so much better...

(Boxscore)

Can you say sweep? Yes, in what seems to be a rarity, the Sox swept the Indians. It was still scary, though. Danny Wright started the game. I'm not a fan of his. He hasn't impressed me as a starter and I wish that we went down to a 4-man rotation than stay at a 5-man with him in the mix. If he's in, he's only going to last a few innings. Today, he lasted 5 giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, 1 walk, but had 4 strikeouts. We went through 5 other pitchers after that. Scott Schoeneweis wound up with the win when he came in after Scott Sullivan gave up a single, double and a run on a sacrifice fly in the 7th (Kelly Wunsch had the 6th and was flawless. He had more in him and Manuel should have left him in just one more inning.) Frank Thomas smashed a game-winning three-run homer with two outs in the seventh (his 39th).

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We're back at "The Cell" for an early (12:15pm) game against the Indians. What a gorgeous day for baseball - sunny, winds light and variable, around 70 degrees. This weekend the club is celebrating the team of the 1983 "Winning Ugly" White Sox that won the American League West title. Most of the 1983 team was there to throw out the first pitch (actually 1983 Cy Young winner Lamarr Hoyt threw out the first pitch to Carlton Fisk. Way cool.) The 2003 team wore those ugly 1983 uniforms and some of those people didn't look too good!

We started off strong with 4 runs in the 1st. We eventually gave up 5 runs by the 4th, but eventually got back into it, winning 8-5. Esteban Loaiza had 10 strikeouts and got his 19th win. We had homers by Carl Everett and Paul Konerko. Frank Thomas was 0-for-5 with 3 strikeouts leaving 4 on base. Ouch.

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Three gorgeous days for baseball at "The Cell". But, alas, the streak is over. We got our hats handed to us today by John Thomson, who threw a complete game shutout with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts. Jon Garland had 10 strikeouts and 2 walks, but gave up 3 runs. Not much else to talk about. Nice weather, though. Disappointing outcome.

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Second day straight of gorgeous weather, and we get to spend it at a ballgame. "the Cell" was not as crowded as last night, but still pretty full. Still, a great night for baseball.

We knew Mark Buehrle wouldn't last long when he threw 17 pitches to Rafael Palmiero in the first, only to strike him out looking. A Rod was on first and was breaking to second on each of the last dozen pitches. He was getting winded!

It turned into another rout - 5 homeruns. Last night, Jose Valentin had 2, tonight he had one but Frank Thomas had 2. We also had homers from Joe Crede and Carlos Lee.

When the lights came up after fireworks tonight, we noticed that some damned friggin' idiot had run out onto the field and had 2 or three security guys on top of him. At least there weren't any players on the field. No matter what, this idiot should get fined and tossed in jail. I'm tired of that crap.

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Tonight is Elvis Night at "The Cell". We don't normally go on a weknight, but it's Elvis Night at "The Cell"! What an absolute gorgeous night for baseball. There were the usual inpersonators outside everywhere on stages singing to the crowd.

The E Team jumped-in the American Flag during the National Anthem (performed by impersonator Ryan Pelton, dressed as Army-era Elvis). (Hey! I have a Windows Media Video of this for you here - 2.4Mb). After the game we had the Steppin' Out Dads and Shawn Klush with a mini-concert. The E Team did a night jump (complete with light-up jump suits), and then fireworks. Odd, crazy, fun night.

So, i guess this has become a little "ritual" with us. Carol hates Elvis, but we keep going. We had to go this year beacuse we were hoping to reclaim our same fortunes of last year, when we won the Sox Split Charity Raffle for $3,585. This year the pot was up to $5,496. (Attendance was 36, 311 this year compared to 27,988 last year.) Alas, we didn't win. Not even close. I blame it on Peggy, who was supposed to be at the game but I was unable to find her. Carol & I felt that she and Rob were our "Good Luck Charms" and we looked everywhere for them. (I suppose it would have helped if I knew what section, row and seat they were in.) I did however, run into my cousin Jane and her husband Richard, but (no offense) they weren't our Good Luck charms.

*sigh*

The ballgame itself wasn't that great. It was a battle of the "newbies" - Neal Cotts (0-0, 6.75 ERA, 8 IP, 2 G, 8 BB, 7 SO 7 H 6 ER) against Juan Dominguez (0-1 8.31 ERA 8.2 IP, 2 G, 2 BB, 9 SO 11 H 8 ER). BORING. White Sox get 7 runs on 5 hits. Ouch. Dominguez pitches a 5 2/3 inning 3-hitter on 87 pitches, with 5 runs (4 earned), 6 walks and 2 homeruns (Jose Valentin in the 2nd with 2 on & no outs and Frank Thomas in the 3rd inning with nobody on and 1 out). Sox still had two more homers (another by Valentin in the 8th off Joaquin Benoit, a solo with 2 out and Carl Everett also a solo off Benoit with one out). We got our first look at a new reliver that we just got in a Reds fire sale: Scott Sullivan. I didn't know he was a sidearm guy. He looked a little nervous at first but struck out A Rod and Palmiero (both swinging. Sweet.)

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We eventually got back into the park just at the National Anthem. The game was - not so good. The Flyers played the Gary RailCats and got trounced. How bad was it? How about 9 runs in the third inning. How about another 6 in the 8th. It was painful. The second baseman never caught a ball thrown to him, so there was no chance for a put-out. You know I love baseball, but this was difficult to watch. So I sat back, got some Oberweis Ice Cream and sat back and tried like hell to enjoy the game. Oh, and believe it or not, we stayed for the whole game. After all, it was baseball. Bad baseball, but baseball nonetheless. The Flyers lost 15-3.

We're back at "The Cell" this afternoon and I have a Public Service Announcement:

This is addressed to all those people out there that will be singing The National Anthem before a sporting event:

THIS IS NOT A FRIGGIN' AUDITION FOR AMERICAN IDOL!!! SING THE DAMN SONG!!!!!!

The anthem has a certain "pace" to it. Though difficult to sing, it does NOT need further embellishment. Sing it straight" and in the correct tempo!!!! The fans would be appreciative and I believe it shows more respect to the The Anthem, Flag, and Country.

Thank you.

We now return to the regular sports drivel...

Unfortunately, KC won so we're still ½ game behind them in second place.

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Back at "The Cell" tonight. We got there a half-hour early and I'm glad we did - there was 36,151 at the game, a crowd we don't normally see. Even though we felt OK walking to the park through the parking lot, when we got to our seats during Oakland's BP, the wind was whipping around the park and we were cold. We didn't expect that. It was bad enough that Carol had to go to the gift shop and buy some sweatshirts - which I never had to wear because the place seemed to warm up as the people came in.

The game was a disaster starting with the first batter. Scott Hatteberg hit a grounder to Konerko, who booted the ball. Jose Guillen bunted and got an infield single when Konerko juggled the throw. Then (after Chavez lined to short), Miguel Tejada hits one to left and Carlos Lee loses the ball in the setting sun. They went on to score three times in the inning, and one thing you don't let Oakland do is get into the game early. And all of those runs were unearned. Jon Garland had over 50 pitches in the 3rd, so he didn't last all that long - 5 innings with 95 pitches.

We were losing 6-0 in the 5th when we started scoring. We had the bases loaded and one out when we chased their starter Ted Lilly, which means he wouldn't get the win (since he didn't pitch 5 innings). So, they bring in a former Sox - Chad Bradford. When he was with us, I remember him having something like a three-quarter sidearm delivery. He's full underarm now. His knuckles, during delivery, are literally just inches above the ground - he's almost scraping them.

Anyway, we scored twice in the 5th and that was it. Bradford got the win. To add insult to injury, Billy Koch - formerly Oakland's closer - finished the game and gave up another homerun. Then Keith Foulke - formerly the Sox closer - mopped us up just fine. Hindsight is always 20/20, and this trade for this year just didn't work out. Koch: 50 G (48 IP), 5-5, 5.65 ERA, 11 Saves (of 15), 53 hits, 32 runs (30 earned), 10 HR. Foulke: 50 G (60 IP), 8-1, 2.40 ERA 28 Saves (of 32), 43 hits, 17 runs (16 earned) 7 HR.

*sigh*. Our time alone in First Place only lasted a day, and now we're a half game out.

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It's not Minor League baseball - the Flyers are in the independent Northern League. Just like last year, the Flyers played the Joliet Jackhammers again. The game started slow - 3 innings in an hour. We were on the first base side and we could see lightning out in the distance to the north all during the game. Finally, in the 6th, it started to rain. You know that I just don't leave games, but tonight we did. I just wasn't into it. I was listening to the Sox-Royals game on the radio (I brought a color LCD TV with and watched a few innings, but with it being on a UHF station (26) and being far from downtown, the signal wasn't the greatest), and couldn't handle some of the bad fielding, pitching, running and hitting that I saw. I didn't feel too bad leaving early - we'll be here again in two weeks for Carol's company outing. We left when the Flyers were ahead 5-3. They went on to win 8-3.

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Back at "The Cell" for tonight's game. We're coming off an 8 game winning streak.... but you can't tell that tonight. Mike Porzio started the game... and lasted only 3 1/3 innings, giving up 4 runs and 2 home runs with only one strikeout. He got sent down after the game (for all we know, he was packed and gone by the time the game ended). I blame the loss on Jerry Manuel. I just feel he-mismanaged the game with the pitching staff. Porzio wasn't cutting it early, Rick White came in and did OK for a while, but ultimately got hung with the loss, giving up 5 runs. Danny Glover was fine, but Billy Koch didn't look all that good, giving up a run and 2 walks. He should never have been put in as a closer tonight - he hasn't earned that position as far as I'm concerned. In general, pitchers were left in too long, as if Jerry wanted them to prove something... and then they didn't and they were still in there. When Koch was failing, no one was up in the bullpen. It made me feel like we were conceding the game. We gave up 15 hits. Oh, and I'm not happy with Joe Crede, who dropped the ball in two different plays at third. I think we'd be better off with Tony Graffanino in the lineup. And Brian Daubach just seems to be a waste of a roster spot. On a night where KC and Minnesota both lost and we could have made-up a game in the standings, we instead are exactly where we were when the day started - 4 games out.

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The day was just odd. No, I mean ODD. On a day where... Uday and Qusay Hussein are killed in a firefight, dark smoke billows from the top of the Eiffel Tower, and reports of a guy in Vienna who got a tounge transplant...

It was late and the weather was as odd as the day - it's the lattter half of July and it's in the upper 60's and the clouds almost look menacing.

I went to "The Cell" for an afternoon baseball game. My time at uemployment just got me to the park late. In the bottom of the first, I was on Wentworth at 35th, waiting at the stoplight right at the park when Frank Thomas hit his 399th homerun. He's now tied for 36th all-time with Al Kaline, and it was his 23rd of the season, and his 91st career first-inning home run (seventh in 2003). (Want to hear something weird? Houston’s Jeff Bagwell hit his 400th career homer on Sunday at Cincinnati, and Frank is just one away from 400. Thomas and Bagwell both were born on 5/27/68, were 1994 Most Valuable Players and hit two home runs apiece on Sunday! Weird, eh?) By the time I got to the parking lot Maggliio Ordonez hit his 19th of the season. By the time I got into the park, it was the bottom of the 2nd. Bartolo Colon, who has been 0-4 over his last 7 starts, gave up a lead-off double to start the 1st (to the left fielder Coco Crisp - please tell me that's a nickname... oh, good his real name is Covelli L. Crisp) and then retired the next 17 batters. He looked a hell of a lot better than he has been lately. He threw 111 pitches, 107 were fastballs (the others were two changeups, a curveball and a slider). Carlos Lee had a homer in the 6th, and that made 17 over the past 7 games for the team. With the win, the boys are now 50-50 - yes, that's .500. It's about time. We're 5 games out.

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Back at "The Cell" for an afternoon game. It's in the low 80's, but the humidity is a killer. The game started-off a lot better than others recently. Tony Graffanino had a lead-off stand-up triple in the first. Frank Thomas had a homerun in the first, then got another in in next at bat in the third. He was up in the 4th but didn't get anywhere, so Magglio Ordonez homered for him. The Sox ad 5 home runs in the game (Paul Konerko and Jose Valentin had the others). Esteban Loaiza got the win with 7 innings of work, with 7 strikeouts. Now that is what I expected of this team against the Tigers. We should have been playing better all along... we need to turn the corner and get our act in gear.

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After a nice leisurely day, it's back to "The Cell". The remnants of All-Star week are fading: the star mowed into Center Field will be gone in a few more clippings, as well as the painted logos in front of the dugouts. The gift shops are re-stocked, this time with more White Sox trinkets instead of All-Star logo-emblazoned souvenirs.

The game, again, doesn't start well. In fact, Nate Cornejo had a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings. Then Paul Konerko got a hit and the Sox get 7 consecutive hits. Tony Graffanino had a nice pinch-hit three-run homer. At least we got a good win out of it. The game was only 2:31 long, and the fireworks afterward weren't in the dark. I was home way before 10. I guess that happens when you don't hit.

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Back at "The Joan"... no, I think I'm going to change it again... I went from TPFKAC™ to "The Joan" and now I have heard still another name that I may throw my support behind - "The Cell".

We're still recovering from our trip to Orlando, though I'm still happy to be at a ballgame. The park is full (this series is always a sellout). The Security Detail is much larger (more guest service reps and security personnel). The Sox fans are pumped with the possibility of a sweep of the "Chicago National League Ball Club". Unfortunately, there's not much to talk about as the Sox lose, but have won the season series against the Cubs and that all that really counts.

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So, how do you celebrate Fathers Day? Why, you go to "The Joan" for Willy Wonka Kid's Day! (Hey, at least it made more sense than yesterday!) Now, today is finally a really nice day. This is baseball weather and it only took us until the middle of June to get there.

But is was another forgetful, painful game. Jon Garland pitched a 3-hitter and lost. Why? Run support, my friend. In a nutshell - 7 hits (including 2 lead-off doubles in the 4th & 5th), but we stranded 9 baserunners. Ordonez had one of the doubles - it was his 200th of his career. Garland threw a good game. He deserved better.

Oh, and Frank Thomas? He DH'ed today and was 0 for 3 with a walk. Now, do you think we would have won the game if he played First Base with all of those opportunities?

Here's some more pain - former Cub Rod Beck (who joined the Padres just two weeks ago after winning his release from a minor-league contract with the Cubs), earned his first save since Sept. 20, 2001.

Thanks.

Here's an interesting stat for you - The Sox have used 60 different lineups in 68 games, and they have not used the same starting lineup in consecutive games all season. Consistency? Not here.

I can't wait for tomorrow when the Red Sox are in town and Pedro Martinez pitches against this team. Who do we have on the mound? That would be our "ace" - Mark Buehrle who is 0-9 in his last 12 starts (2-10 total in 15 starts, 5.18 ERA). What a great year this guy is having...

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So, how do you celebrate Flag Day? Why, you go to "The Joan" for Caribbean Night! (yes, I know, don't try to make any sense out of it). I knew it was going to be an odd game when we walked through the parking lot and saw two guys - one dressed in a parrot costume and another dressed in a shark costume. It's been 3 weeks since we've been to a game, and it's still not warm with that wind off the lake! We're at the trailing end of the Interleague games (or, as Carol calls them, "cross-pollination"). We finish-up with the San Diego Padres.

The game wasn't memorable. It was up and down, give and take for the whole game. It was a struggle. Three home runs tonight (Ordonez, Lee & Thomas), though. And Danny Wright didn't get a decision for his seventh straight start. "Jose Friggin' Valentin" (as our friend Janie likes to call him) got stupid again and was thrown out by about 40 feet when he tried stretching a double into a triple in the 3rd inning. Am I a happy Sox fan? Not in the least. The boys have failed me this year, for absolutely no explainable reason.

They, quite frankly, suck.

Let me vent on one specific issue: Frank Thomas. This arrogant bastard has just about downright refused to play first base, wanting to focus on being a DH. Two issues: this year; he's been crap as a DH. Then on top of that, statistically, he performs better if he's playing first base. It's like his head is actually in the game with each pitch and he involved, instead of being isolated in the dugout, maybe taking a few swings in the cage under the stands, and eventually going up to the plate and usually popping-out. Great. It makes me question where his loyalty really is - to the team or himself.

When we last saw Frank three weeks ago, he was batting .253, 18 RBI, 9 HR's 34 walks, 32 strikeouts. His slugging % was .487 and his on-base % was .403. Yeah, this is a good DH.

Jerry Manuel started playing him at first base a few games before and throughout Interleague play. Since then, he's hit in 15 of his last 16 games, going 22-for-57 (.386) with 17 RBI, 6 doubles, 7 HR's, drew 10 walks - his on-base % was .485 and his slugging % was .860. Just because his head is in the friggin' game. Thanks for contributing to the crappiness of our season. Any side bets that he doesn't remember any of this when he's back DH-ing and his stats slide again?

Anyway, tonight was Caribbean Night, sponsored by Jose Cuervo, who gave away White Sox beach towels and handled the fireworks. Lots of Caribbean music, everyone is dressed up (or I guess dressed down is more appropriate) and every one is a lot mellower. It's a Jimmy Buffet night. In fact, they're selling parrot hats at the souvenir stands, that I just had to buy for Carol. I don't think she was all that appreciative. (Check it out in this video (4.74 Mb AVI File - 320x240 15fps 18 seconds)) We had a calypso band concert after the game with the local Parrothead Fan Club supplying the dancers in the background. Odd, but fun.

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Back again at "The Joan", this time a bit earlier than normal. Carol and I had to drive into the city to pick up my mom on the way to the park. We're spending the rest of today and tomorrow at my sister's house in Michigan. Sort of a family thing. The main reason for getting to the park early was so that I could go on the field before the game to take some pictures. Today was Fuji Film Photo Day and the first 3,000 fans got to go on the field and take pictures of the players. We all just stand out on the warning track and the coaches and players go by and you get to take pictures of them (but, please, no autographs - slows the line down too much). Hey, I'll take any excuse to get onto the field legally. If you want to see them, are are my pictures from Fuji Film Photo Day. There were two guys that I noticed that were missing: Bartolo Colon who is serving a 5-game suspension, and Carlos Lee who got hit in the head last night.

Back in my seat before the game I had noticed that Carlos Lee was actually in the lineup! The game itself started out pretty well for Danny Wright, but in the top of the 4th he allowed home runs to Kevin Witt and Eric Munson on consecutive pitches in the fourth inning and it just felt like the nightmare was going to continue. Bottom of the 5th, and we're losing 3-0. Then Joe Crede gets hit by a pitch, Joe Borchard singles to right and D'Angelo Jimenez walks. With a 2-1 count against him, Carlos Lee launches a 439foot homerun deep into the stands in left, his second Grand Slam of the year (not bad for getting beaned in the head the night before!). Kelly Wunsch came in at the top of the 8th. He must have had too much fun during Photo Day, because he proceeds to give up a double, hit a guy, walk the next guy, strike out the next guy, but gives up a sac fly to right center scoring two of the runners. Tom Gordon comes in, gives up a single and the game is tied 5-5.

Because of family commitments, we leave the game after the bottom of the 9th and start our trip up to Michigan. We, of course, listen to the game on the way.

In the bottom of the 12th, Graffanino gets a hit, Konerko walks, and Joe Crede has a walk-off home-run, and the Sox avoid a sweep 8-5.

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Back at "The Joan" on a blustery night. The temperature was tolerable out in the parking lot, but inside the park the wind is swirling and has a bite to it. This is the friggin' Memorial Day Weekend and I'm still freezing my ass off at this park! There's a good crowd - (if you call 27,535 a good crowd) - mostly here for the fireworks after the game and the free Wilson Fielder's Gloves for kids. The night starts as a pitching duel between Gary Knotts and Esteban Loaiza. What nobody expected was the Sox losing in a 1-0 shutout. To the Detroit Tigers. A one-run-loss for the second night in a row. This team is in serious trouble. The Sox were held to 3 hits. 3 hits and 5 left on base. (Nice to see that new hitting coach Greg Walker is working out so well - nobody on the team is now hitting over .286.) Carlos Lee got beaned in the helmet in the 7th (and went down hard - he was in pain) and even that didn't spark the team. Loaiza gave up 4 hits, only 1 run on 5 strikeouts - but had 4 walks - and his ERA goes down in the loss (to 1.92). Hitting? Forget it. Joe Borchard (called-up on Thursday and the 5th starting center fielder for the team) walked in 8th, and Jerry Manuel lets Frank Thomas (who was sitting out) hit for Miguel Olivo. Oooooo. Like that is going to help. Wrong - it's the 2003 version of Frank Thomas. He strikes out. And that summarizes the play of the team. The crowd was pretty upset from the 6th inning on, booing the end of the inning and getting louder each inning.

You know things are bad when, after the last out in the 9th (a double play thanks to my favorite player (not) Brian Daubach (.185) (why the hell is he on this team???)) a kid throws his fielder's glove out onto the field. A kid.

The fans are pissed. This is the friggin' Detroit Tigers. If the Jerry Manuel watch hasn't started yet, I thought I heard a stopwatch ticking after this loss. I know people are saying Fire Sale - I believe in the players. I know what they can do. I know what they're capable of - we've seen it in the past. I I just don't understand why they're not performing.

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OK, so you're not feeling well. What do you do? Why you go seek the heeling powers of The Church of Baseball. We went to "The Joan" tonight (OK, this is a stretch - I'm calling TPFKAC™ "The Joan" right now because Joan Cusack is the spokesperson for U.S. Cellular, and I still can't call TPFKAC™ U.S. Cellular Field, so calling it "The Joan" seems twistedly appropriate.)

What a wonderful night! The weather is actually really nice (73 degrees), hardly a breeze. Soooo much better than the last game we were at. Unfortunately, in that last game the Sox lost 12-2. Who would have known that tonight's outcome would be the same! No hitting, no pitching. I have no faith in some of the starters (Dan Wright?), and less faith in the middle relievers (Rick White?). And I'm still trying to understand why we have Brian Daubach on the team (no speed, no arm). For a team that was supposed to take the division, we have nobody batting over .300 (D'Angelo Jimenez is the closest at .299, but Paul Konerko at .214?) So, the Sox fire hitting coach Gary Ward (we were hitting .249 and a paltry .228 with runners in scoring position) and brought up Greg Walker, hitting coach for Triple-A Charlotte the past two years. He's the fourth hitting coach under Jerry Manuel (who, BTW, got thrown out in the 5th for arguing a fair ball call at third, in one of his most animated tirades I've seen out of him - though the last minute and a half you just knew he was looking to get tossed). If Jerry is still here at the end of this series, and we lose the next series (against lowly Detroit), I say he's gone. Another great night night for a baseball game - too bad the team didn't show up to play.

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Let me preface this by saying that there was no way in hell I was staying for the whole game. I have never done this. I get there early for BP. I stay until the final out. I love baseball. I was so friggin' uncomfortable at the park, I couldn't stand it. I would have toughed it out, but I'm just too friggin' tired of watching the teams that I follow just roll over and not show up to play. We were losing 6-0 after 2 innings (and one hour of play!). Gametime temperature was 56 degrees and going down, winds blowing in off the lake. It was too damn cold. I just couldn't watch the the boys lose in that weather. Since they gave up, I gave up. I made it home in enough time to watch the 9th on TV at home. Sorry, boys. You sucked tonight. Not only did Seattle get 12 runs, but they also stranded 11 runners. Way too many guys on the bases.

Since tomorrow is the same team, the same weather but windier and rain, and the ESPN Sunday Night Game instead of a day game, I just can't give you my support tomorrow night. I'm skipping the game and trying to rest-up a bit. Hope you have a good game - for a change.

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The team was up to the challenge. At the end of the first period, it's a scoreless tie. OK, we're not losing. At the end of the second period, it's a scoreless tie. OK, we're still not losing. It's a tough fight. The, with 1:57 left in the third, the Griffins score. We pull the goalie for the extra attacker, and the Giffins score and empty-netter.

The Wolves lose. The season is over. The Calder Cup leaves our hands for destination unknown. It was nice having it.

And now, we bid adeau to our friends at the Allstate Arena. Until next year.

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What and absolutely gorgeous day for baseball. It's the first Willy Wonka Kids Day of the year, so during the Twins' batting practice, the entire White Sox team was out on the field signing autographs. New this year - autographs for kids 13 and under only - no adults. That pissed-off some autograph seekers. We were at our seats, way before the start of the game, when our friend Teri came over! She and Mark and Joey and Danielle got company tickets for today's game (they were 3 sections over and 10 rows up). Teri looks great. We haven't seen her in a while (since the Wolves game). We have to get together again soon. The game started out with a rare occurrence: Jerry Manuel got thrown-out of the game for arguing a call at first base. Estaban Loaiza is still coming up as the surprise of the pitching staff - 7 innings, 6 hits, but only 1 run. He's 5-0 with a 1.25 ERA. And in another rarity - Brian Daubach stole home on a double steal - first time since '96 for the Sox. Sox win the series, so that's a good thing... though they're still 4½ behind Kansas City...

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Back at TPFKAC™ for our first official night game with fireworks. The fireworks, instead of being assembled on the asphalt in the player's parking lot, are now on top of scaffolding, about 5 or 6 sections high. The fire marshall allowed them to do that so the Sox could keep the outfield seats open (they had to "evacuate" and close them for the fireworks over the last few years). The game is moving along OK. Jon Garland is actually pitching OK after quite a few horrible starts. Yesterday, a few guys got hit. In the bottom of the 5th, Ordonez gets hit in the back (after getting hit in the 9th last night) after hitting a home run in the 4th. (BTW, Frank Thomas homered before Maggs, and had a homer yesterday. go, Frank!) When the top of the 6th comes around, Garland hits Doug Mientkiewicz, and gets immediately ejected - without warning. Well, that sent coaches running out of the Sox dugout, followed by the rest of the players, which was followed by the Twins dugout, and before you know it, the bullpens empty... no fighting, just a lot of yelling and posturing... but Garland gets thrown out as well as center fielder Armando Rios as well as the Twins' reliever Latroy Hawkins. haven't seen that many players on the field since the Detroit debacle a few years ago. Anyway, Garland did well - struck-out 5 guys on 4 hits (OK, 2 were home runs), so he was performing well for a change. This meant that we had to get someone from the bullpen, even though no one was warming-up. They brought out Tom "Flash" Gordon. You know this is a problem when a security guy on the field lays his head back and rolls his eyes when they announce Gordon. Well, he came out and pitched 2 1/3 1-hit 3-strikeout innings. A very nice performance. Then the closer - Koch - comes in for the 9th and gives up a 2-out 2-run homer from pinch hitter Cuddyer. He may be good, but damn this guy is scary.

the fireworks, well they're not as good. You can tell they're further away, and it just feels "bare" without any fireworks inside the park. I don't know, I just don't like it. The new sound system is a plus, but it's just the same old fireworks all from one location that feels further away.

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WOW. I really didn't think that we'd win tonight. The Wolves lost game 3 in Hershey and I really thought that was it. then, on Sunday, somehow the Wolves won 6-0. I still don't know how that happened - especially when Dan O'Rourke refereed the game. Tonight - Dan O'Rourke is there again. Great. Hershey scores first, we tie it up. The game was just too even. We were never really in control.

Odd thing happened in the first few minutes of the 2nd period - they were running birthdays on the matrix boards, and when it came to this 15-year-old- girl, all her friends that were with her started screaming. Well, not screaming as much as it was screeching. This screeching hits a crescendo just as the Wolves are crossing the blue line to attack - and the next thing you know everybody stops. The officials look at each other. the players look at each other. Next thing you know, O'Rourke is skating over to the off-ice officials and there's a little commotion in the box. Nicole the usher goes down and then takes off. It turns out that the players and officials stopped play because they thought the screeching was a whistle. (I have to give O'Rourke props for this game - although he was in the middle (as in, in the way) of two plays, he called an even game and let the boys play.)

We score again in the second, but Hershey ties it in the third, and we end regulation in a tie. I stood up during intermission and looked around at the faces of everyone on our side of the stadium. There was no look of confidence. There was hardly a fire in their eyes. Nobody had a good feeling about going into overtime with this team. I talked to Bob and Kevin and we all agree - we think Steve Maltais shouldn't play in the overtime. He looks tired, he's old... we haven't been happy with his play at all. Same with Rob Brown, who's retiring after 16 years. Last year, during the playoffs, the Wolves faced elimination four times, and each time got the win.

This time, at 1:20 into the overtime, after we swarm their net, Maltais scores the game winning goal, knocking Hershey out of the playoffs. Our next foe: the Grand Rapids Griffins with a best-of-7 series starting up there on Monday.

(Large video of the celebrating from our seats - AVI 37.3Mb 148 seconds)
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Ouch. Back at TPFKAC™, and in the first inning, our ace Mark Buehrle gives-up back-to-back home runs. I wonder if he's ever done that before? Well, I don't panic yet since it's only in the first. He hasn't given up more than two runs in any of his first four starts. Maybe he just needs to settle down. Well, he doesn't. He gives up 7 runs in 4 1/3, and his ERA goes from 1.57 to 3.27. Today was the day I wanted pitch count - and it's not on the scoreboard! The pitch speed is back. (I need to talk to somebody about this...) Our offense wasn't that stellar either, considering their pitcher Jason Davis had an ERA well over 8.00. Well, now it's down to 6.97. Ordonez now has a 16-game hitting streak, and Carlos Lee hit another homerun - he's hit one in his last 4 games. You can see it in his swing that he's got that mindset that he's going for the fence. 14,975 paid - was emptier than that for an Easter Sunday. We've never been to the park on Easter, but it does call to mind the opening of Bull Durham and The Church of Baseball:

I believe in the Church of Baseball. I've tried all the major religions, and most of the minor ones. I've worshiped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I heard that, I gave Jesus a chance. But it just didn't work out between us. The Lord laid too much guilt on me. I prefer metaphysics to theology. You see, there's no guilt in baseball, and it's never boring... which makes it like sex. There's never been a ballplayer slept with me who didn't have the best year of his career. Making love is like hitting a baseball: you just gotta relax and concentrate. Besides, I'd never sleep with a player hitting under .250... not unless he had a lot of RBIs and was a great glove man up the middle. You see, there's a certain amount of life wisdom I give these boys. I can expand their minds. Sometimes when I've got a ballplayer alone, I'll just read Emily Dickinson or Walt Whitman to him, and the guys are so sweet, they always stay and listen. 'Course, a guy'll listen to anything if he thinks it's foreplay. I make them feel confident, and they make me feel safe, and pretty. 'Course, what I give them lasts a lifetime; what they give me lasts 142 games. Sometimes it seems like a bad trade. But bad trades are part of baseball -- now who can forget Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas, for God's sake? It's a long season and you gotta trust. I've tried 'em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball.

Back at TPFKAC™. We get to the park way early, but that's OK. Today is Dog Day, so we head over to Gate 1 to watch everyone arriving with their dogs. Carol just loves this stuff - she gets to see dogs, pet them, guess what they are (She's good) After an hour, we went inside. It's our first time in our seats, since it was so frggin' cold the last time we were here. We didn't know what to expect today, so we over-dressed a lot - it was 71 at gametime. The parade of dogs before the game was a blast. (Here's a quick video - it's a 13-second 3.91Mb AVI.) We got to experience another new item at the park - a new sound system. Louder, clearer, wider frequency response. Much better. During the game, we notice something else - a spot on the scoreboards in the corners for pitch count! Unfortunately, it replaced pitch speed (no more radar gun), and it's just a total pitch count - no totals for balls or strikes. Well, at least it's something. I want it all (total, balls, strikes, and speed).

The game itself is crazy. By the end of the first, we're winning 6-0. By the end of the 5th, we're winning 9-1, and only one of those runs are earned. Cleveland has 4 errors. We have one - a throwing error on Stewart, the pitcher, which was not even close to 1st base and went into right. (It was so bad, Konerko, on 1st, never made an attempt to try to catch it.) Carlos Lee looks like he's just swinging for the fences. He's not being patient at all. Of course, in the 8th, he meets Aaron Myette a former White Sox pitcher, and tags him for a 3-run homer.

We used to hate going to the Cleveland series. That was back when they sold out Jacobs Field and people drove from Cleveland to come to the game. Again, loud and extremely obnoxious and arrogant fans. Those days are gone - they don't sell out, they're not that good, and hardly anybody makes the trip any more. Now, if I can never see the prick of a Cub fan sitting in front of me that was obnoxious (who was giving customer service guys grief for having his ticket checked - get used to it asshole, that's the way it's gonna be from now on, thanks to The Ump Jumper), I'll be happy. His buddies were trying to apologize for him, but he just got louder and louder. Bastard.

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Well, this game sucked. The boys played flat, without emotion, without determination. We had a 10-game home playoff streak (since last year) that was broken. They looked tired and a bit confused. Hershey was just faster & Stronger. We went through both goalies and still couldn't stop them. There was one, intense moment in the 2nd when, being down 4-1, we had just a long beat-'em-up-shoot-the-hell-outa-them series of plays that got us 2 more goals, but we came out in the 3rd pretty much like we were in the 1st and went nowhere. Even at the end of the game, when we had a 6-on-4, 2-goals down, we couldn't even get on the board. Can somebody say "Wake-up Call"?
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Carol and I get to our seats right after the doors opened and just about fell asleep, waiting for our buddies to arrive and the game to begin. The last game of the season, and not a great crowd - 6,244. And then we find out who's ref-ing the game: Dan O'Rourke, the same guy that we had problems with last month. This can't be good. Well, actually, it's not too bad. He's doing a pretty good job and he's letting the teams play. Good. We're losing 3-2 after 2 periods, and there's been a few nasty fights. You can tell that things are really getting to these teams, especially when there's fights after the horn sounds for the end of the period. The 3rd period rolls around and something happens. Somewhere along the way, O'Rourke starts calling bad penalties and totally ignoring others. The fans are in an uproar. But it's not only us - the broadcasters don't understand what he's doing and are at a loss for what's going on. Coach Anderson is livid and is an interesting shade of red. Dallas Eakins does a no-no: he starts waving a white towel like an Iraqi trying to surrender, and that gets him thrown out with a gross Misconduct penalty. Things got bad. The conspiracy theories fly - why does the AHL have against us? Anarchy ensues.

But - there is one thing that holds everything together. The game means nothing to the Wolves, but it means something to Steve Maltais. In the course of the game, he manages to get a Hat Trick (all power play goals), which ties him for the all-around scoring champion of the AHL. When the Rampage had the game in hand, Coach Anderson let Maltais stay on the ice to try to get the one point he needed to the scoring title. Coach even pulls Maracle for an extra attacker to help out (though it cost another goal in the empty net). Then, with 5.6 seconds left in the game, J.P. Vigier got a goal with an assist by Rob Brown and Steve Maltais, giving him the one point he needed to get the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the leading scorer in the American Hockey League for the 2002-03 season.

San Antonio outshot us 37-25 (we only had 4 shots in the 2nd period). But, the seeding gets shook-up and we won't see them in the first round. Our first Quarter Finals playoff game is next sunday against the Hershey Bears.

And then it's time to leave the arena, drive home and collapse. I hate this time of year when hockey ends when baseball begins. Was a good time, though...

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Oh, this feels like it's getting old... straight to the Stadium Club again, as we wait to rescue more people from the cold. Janie and Jeff showed up and we rescued them and brought them upstairs for a little buffet, sandwiches, desserts and drinks in the warmth of the club to watch the game. Unfortunately, the end section of the upstairs area is dead - meaning no PA, no TV's. Hopefully, that will get fixed soon. Anyway, what a great start for Josh Stewart. It was his first Major League appearance, and he went 6 2/3 innings. He gave up 7 hits and 2 earned runs, and had only one strikeout, but it was a good start. Now, when he got pulled, it was 1-1, with one man on that scored to give the Tigers the lead. Well, when the bottom of the 8th came around, the Sox scored 9 runs in the inning and won the game 10-2.
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San Antonio really matches-up pretty well with the Wolves, which is not necessarily a good thing. No one scored on power play chances on either team. The boys were up 4-1 after 2 periods, and almost blew the game in the last 5 minutes of the game and we barely got out alive. After the game was what has now become the annual "Shirts off their backs" promotion, where fans, over the course of the season, won the opportunity to get a game-worn alternate jersey from a player, on the ice, after the conclusion of the game. (I just can't imagine how they smelled...) It's also Fan Appreciation weekend, so every got a scratch-and sniff card... wait... that's scratch-and-win card to get Wolves merchandise trinkets, and some good stuff up to a trip to Las Vegas. No good winners for us, though. Very sad on the way out of the arena - tonight was the last Adopt a Dog night of the season and we saw at least one dog that didn't make the cut. Was somewhat sad seeing the dog and it's handler looking a little depressed. End of the regular season tomorrow with same team... should be interesting, as it looked like there was quite a bit of tension out there. Also, the Wolves have 98 points for the season - would be nice to finish with 100, though it will mean absolutely nothing for the seeding in post-season play. the Rampage, on the other hand, could fall from their 5th spot (we're 4th) and we may not play them in the first round (and, after looking at tonight's matchup, it could be a doosy of a series that we may not get out of successfully).
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I admit it - I wimped out. We went directly to the Stadium Club once we got to the park, and parked ourselves on some seats with a view to watch the game. Just couldn't do it. Walked around briefly before the game to see all of our buddies in our section and let them know we were here but upstairs. It didn't feel too out there without my coat on, but game time temperature clocked-in at 32 degrees and winds at 15 mph.

I was disturbed yesterday that I didn't hear the usual stadium announcer Gene Honda. When I didn't hear him again today, I just had to go to Customer Service to find out what was happeneing. It turns out that Gene is doing NCAA tournements, so he was unavailable for the weekend. *Whew* - I mean, he's the "voice" of the stadium and not the person who was there that sounds like Tom Schaer (I think it really was Schaer).

The game was great. Mark Buehrle pitched a good game - 8 innings, 3 hits. Rick White cleaned-up in the 9th and we had a shutout - 7-0.

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And it's off to go home and peel-off the layers of clothing we had put on so we can put on our jerseys and go to the Wolves game.

We go up the ramps and walk out onto newly rehabbed outfield concourse, only to find still more cold, wind, and rain. The tarp is still down on the infield. We walked around a bit, checking out the new signage over the aisle entrances, complete with plants in hanging baskets. The rehab looks good - all of the concession stands look better, with brick facade, aluminum counters, awnings and signage. The new Mitsubishi Diamond Vision in the scoreboard looks gorgeous. The even replaced the old matrix scoreboard in left with a new one, which now has a better display of the lineup and inning-by-inning scoreboard.

Carol & I part ways for a bit, as I want to take some photos in case the game gets called. I meet-up with our buddy Jeff, who's also walking around the outfield concourse. Eventually, we meet the rest of his group and all of us go huddle in the main concourse, waiting for the rain to die down. We wait. And we wait. Jeff & his crew split, and Carol and I finally meet-up with our other buddies Janie & Gary. Again, we go under and wait. We decide to see if we can find Jeff on the other side of the park, so we go over there and wait. And look. And wait. (I think by now, you get the picture.) It's dark outside, the lights aren't on yet, and there's this blinding flash of light and loud crack of thunder - like the lightning strike was just on the other side the park. This goes on for a while. It starts getting lighter outside. The grounds crew pulls the tarp back - just to empty it and puts it back. There is now a huge lake in short centerfield. But Roger Bossard knows how to build a drainage system for a park, and sure enough, within 10 minutes, the tarp comes off permanently, and the game finally starts after two friggin' hours. We're cold and uncomfortable before we even get into our seats in the outfield.

It's cold. At least it's stopped raining. But a two hour rain delay means an additional two hours of drinking for those absolute friggin' idiots of fans that only show up on opening day. You know the type - usually in their 20's, usually male, usually not giving a damn about the game, just having a grand friggin' time drinkin'-swearin'-spittin'-partyin'. I'm sure Cub fans are used to it - we don't see idiots like this at Comiskey... Ooops! Crap. I Mean - U.S. Cellular Field. Yes, their signage is everywhere. They even have a Cellular Store at the Park. Cripes.

Game time temperature was 37 degrees with 22mph winds. Yech. Esteban Loaiza looked really good in his start, giving up only 3 hits in 6 2/3 innings. The team really needed to play Detroit to get the feel back to what it's like to win (They were 0-3 after getting swept by Kansas City). Also Billy Koch gets a nice solid close, striking out the side in the 9th (after his really poor showing in Kansas City).

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After the game, we all went over to Janie & Gary's for dinner and drinks. We get home way too late to start-off our 5-game weekend (Sox-Sox-Wolves-Sox-Wolves).

It's Armed Forces night at the game tonight. All branches had tables giving out trinkets and doing their pitch for recruiting. It was also the start of the year end merchandise blow-out in the East Lobby, where the team just gets rid of all of their merchandise, as well as practice jerseys & sticks. We have never played the Hershey Bears at home, and tonight was the first meeting. There had to be a busload or two of Hershey Bears Booster Club people that were sitting in our section. All-in-all, they weren't too bad. The game was really tight all night. We were just about even in shots in each period. Hershey was a strong team, always muscling in and digging out the puck. Pretty intense. The game ended in still another overtime, though this time we didn't get the win - neither of us did. The downside of the evening? Other tan screwing-up my throat, Carol broke a tooth eating some nits. Go figure. At least she's not in too much pain.
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The 9th overtime win of the year. this is getting old. We had the lead 1-0 since the first, but lost the lead in the third. We didn't look all that good out there, and at times almost looked lost. Good energy, just lost. Our buddy Bob showed-up at the game during the second intermission - being a Chicago cop, he was downtown "handling" the protesters. He came directly from his assignment, still dressed in his riot gear, but with his Wolves jersey on. (Actually, he stopped at home to leave his gun).

Another scary moment happened in this game. Jeff Farkas went screaming down the ice and got a little shove by a Rochester player, which caused him to tumble, and go down. He hit the boards at the end head first hard. the ref was right there and immediately stopped play, though he looked OK. His helmet was knocked back on his head. He went off under his own power and didn't return. He's lucky. It turns out he has a cracked vertebrae in his neck, but has full mobility and full feeling in his extremities.

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Back watching the Wolves tonight. First thought: Philadelphia is fast and we have defensive problems. Way too much time in our zone. Very scary part in the Third Period. Francis Lessard checks Jim Vandermeer into the boards at the Wolves bench. Vandermeer hit the partition at the end of the bench where it meets the glass. He is rocked - goes down hard. You can visibly see him twitch at least twice as he's on the ice. Play continues and moves into the Phantoms zone. Vandermeer is in trouble. He tries to get up and barely can. You can see it in his eyes - there's nobody home. Play is still going on. The trainer rushes over to him. Play starts to leave the Phantoms zone and starts coming back don the ice when a linesman finally blows the whistle. Why? Not for Vandermeer - Too Many Men on the Ice because the trainer is trying to help the guy. Scary. Vandermeer is helped off and never returns. This guy was definitely in trouble and play needed to be stopped. Instead, Philadelphia gets a penalty for trying to help this guy in trouble. Later, after a little rough play in Philadelphia's zone, Vandermeer's older brother Pete Vandermeer screams across the ice after Lessard and starts hitting him. He doesn't get the best of Francis, and he gets 17 minutes worth of penalties and is out the rest of the game. On the way out, Pete Vandermeer takes a few swings with his stick at a fan. Ugly. Tonight was the 2nd night of the St. Patrick's Day Jersey Auction. Odd bidding - the new guys are going for $1,000 but the older vets are around $425. It's the opposite than what I expect. Who knows what will happen tomorrow. Too bad we won't be there to see it.

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Back at the Allstate Arena. Tonight is the first night (of 3) that the Wolves are wearing their St. Patrick's Day jerseys that will be auctioned for charity. Two jersey's are already at $1,000. This year they also have a goalie mask that Norm Maracle was supposed to wear, but is a bit too tight. The Ducks are 12th in the playoffs, so they're out of contention, but they sure played hard enough. The game was pretty rocky, and they outshot us for most of the game. We had a few sweet goals, but it still looked like a struggle at times, even against the worst Power Play team in the league. There was a breakaway by Tony Martensson on the Ducks that was really stunning - this guy was fast, though Norm still stopped him. I suppose it didn't help that the Wolves were at the legal minimum number of players due to injuries and call-ups. Hey, at least we got through it. Officiating was very level, too. They let the guys play, they just clamped down on the fighting which is OK in my book. It was consistent, which is all you can ask for. Good job by Dean Morton.
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The Wolves have lost the last couple of games on the road. There was an incident this past week where 5 players were in the penalty box at the same time. Of course they lost. Tonight, we had the same referee - Dan O'Rourke. Lousy calls, no calls, and a tendency to blow the whistle way too early when he thinks the goalie has the puck frozen, when the puck is 6 inches away and free. Idiot. Biggest complaint? Inconsistency. We let him have it all night. When Earl (the Wolves Penalty Box official) told him "It sounds like you have a fan club," he says "They pay me to do my work." Prick. Lots of bad goals by them. Ours sure weren't easy. And we have still another overtime, but we come out on top.

Still another meeting of these two teams. It's Hawaiian Night and there's live music in the lobby. They're giving out cheap plastic leis, but the first 5,000 people got Blueblocker sunglasses (good turnout - 14,222). Before the game, we were talking about the bad blood between the teams and how long it would take until the first fight. Well that would be 3:58. "Frankie" Lessard just went after Shawn Legault (who had just been called-up a few days earlier). Lessard pummeled him, taking him down to the ice and just wailed on him. Lessard had no marks on his face when it was all over - let's just say Legault had his hat handed to him. Though he went to the penalty box, he got sent off so that he could get stitched-up ("Shecky" washed-down the penalty box with water from the water bottles just to get the blood out of the place). Nine minutes into the game, we're up 1-0 and we're outshooting them 11-0. Then all of a sudden, Norm becomes a sieve and gives-up two goals. By the end of the period, it's 3-2 Houston. We tie it up 10 seconds into the second period. At 7:09 in the second, Lessard and Legault are at it again, this time Lessard opens-up Legault's stitches and uppercuts him in the nose and the blood is just pouring. Legault isn't on the ice for the rest of the night. It took overtime with 25 seconds left to finally come out ahead. An awful lot of overtimes and ties that we've been involved with the past week or so. After the game, it was off to Chili's for dinner with Chelby & Damian who finally came back to the hockey games.
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Oh, crap. 3 days in a row, the Wolves play in overtime. Friday was a win after squandering a 3-1 lead. Last night in Grand Rapids it was a 4-1 lead that was squandered that wound up in a 4-4 tie. Today, though we started strong, the Admirals took the lead and dominated for a while, only to finally get back into it and tie the game 3-3. The story today was penalties, Either they were very stupid penalties or the "chippiness" and fighting just took its toll. On Friday we were outshot 39-28, today we outshot them 37-29. BIG crowd today - 14,926. No idea why.

Another game without Chelby and Damian. I'm feeling the need to talk about this soon...
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Well, Teri emailed Carol to say they had two extra tickets to tonight's Wolves game. Since I haven't seen the two of them in a while, I wanted to go. They picked-up Carol, picked me up at the office, and headed to the game. Mark's company is a sponsor of the Wolves, so we were going to have dinner at Allstate. I never new the room existed - it's on the north side up a flight of stairs. It's a really small room and tonight it's hot dogs, chili, and some great potato wedges. We linger long enough to miss the opening introductions (look, the fireworks are too damn loud!) This is the first time the team is back in town after a few weeks and it's the first game with the newly installed nets to protect the crowd from flying pucks. From the side, you can hardly see the nets (I wonder what it's like when you're sitting behind them). This weekend, the players' wives are selling hockey pucks for charity. the pucks are signed by the players (if the autograph is in gold, you get to meet the player after the game - no luck for us). During the second intermission we head back upstairs for Wolves sugar cookies (which I somehow fell in love with). The game had a few altercations. The Wolves were up 3-1 and squandered it. The Aeros came back and tied it up, and in a rarity, we win in overtime. They outshot us 39-28. I really don't remember the game like I normally do - we were socializing a bit with Teri & Mark and their son Joey and his friend Taylor - so we were a little preoccupied. Still we won and we were really glad we got a chance to see Teri & Mark. Teri & Mark's tickets are right next to Chelby & Damian - but they weren't there again tonight. Bummer.
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Nothing to really say about the game tonight. Hardly anybody was there (probably because a) it's a weeknight and b) it's friggin' cold outside). There's no way there were 3,994 people there. Wolves were up 2-1 and let the Aeros back in the game, losing in overtime. Blech.

On a somewhat unrelated note, Chelby & Damian finally came to a game tonight - they hadn't been there since mid-December, and it's their first game since Edwin, Chelby's dad, died of cancer last week Wednesday (just weeks after diagnosis). It was surprising and sudden and the family his having a tough time handling the loss. They only stayed 2 periods, but it got them "out and about", and hopefully they enjoyed some time watching the game that they love. Too bad it was a bad game...

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This afternoon's game on the ice was uneventful as the Wolves beat Syracuse 3-1 (although, it was "entertaining" to watch the Syracuse goaltender Karl Goehring - he's only 5' 7" and when he crouches, he can easily fit inside the net). Off the ice, a little different story.

First, the pregame presentations and player introductions go off without a hitch. The National Anthem is normal, the lights come up, and the next thing we know, the referees and the officials in the box below us are having discussions. There's a lot of pointing - up at the scoreboard. Apparently, the fireworks have set off a small fire burning inside the scoreboard for about 6 minutes. They winch the scoreboard down to center ice and climb inside to make sure everything is OK, and then they winch it back up again for the puck drop. Total delay: 20 minutes.

Second, today is the last day of the Collegiate-Style Jersey Auction. This is always a big day at the tables, where somebody's jersey bidding gets out of hand. Now remember, the Wolves are a minor league hockey team. They jersey auctions (usually, at least two a year - a specialty jersey and a St. Patrick's Day jersey) are big fundraisers for charities. This was no exception today, as the cheapest jerseys were going for $600 and some select ones where $1,400-$1,800. The exception, that I actually watched, was for the jersey of defenseman Dallas Eakins. two women were standing by a clipboard, outbidding each other. The final winning bid: and outrageous $5,150. It's ridiculous, and "normal" fans have no chance of getting a jersey. No chance at all.
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Our "puck boys" are back in town at the Allstate Arena. Today is the first game (of three) that the Wolves are wearing their special "College-Style" jerseys which, of course, will be auctioned-off of Sunday. I think they're nice looking, but this is the first promotional jersey that they've worn that I've felt no compelling drive to purchase. The "College Style" to me is just... bland. In the East Lobby, they had the Calder Cup on display (complete with the Wolves championship roster affixed to the appropriate location). The Calder Cup is just so... cheesy-looking. I want a tiered cup, like Lord Stanley's or even the IHL's old Turner Cup (which we won twice) instead of this style.

The Wolves are playing the Manitoba Moose tonight. We enjoy going to these games for two major reasons. The first is to be able to sing the Canadian National Anthem (which we think is the best National Anthem to sing, and Wayne Messmer does a great job of it. Oh, and it's in our key). I know it's a minor thing, but it's fun.

The second thing is because of one specific Moose player: Jimmy Roy (pronounced "Roy" and not "Wah"). We just hate this guy. He's been with the Moose since '97, back in the IHL, back when the Moose were still in Minnesota. He's just a punk. But for some reason, he doesn't act that way on his home ice, so his fans have no idea what he's like when he's in Chicago.

We started taunting Roy starting with the opening face-off. If he was on the ice, we taunted him. When I mean "we", I mean groups of specific fans all around the Allstate Arena. Specifically, it's a chant: "Ro-oy! Ro-oy! Ro-oy! YOU SUCK!!!" It started across the ice by Sock Boy, it went upstairs to The Rafter Rats, and then it would come down to us - The Penalty Box Police. (A side note - That's what our group is called. First, it's our primary responsibility to "police" the visitors penalty box and hassle them as much as we can. Secondly, there are some Chicago Cops in the group, so Penalty Box Police is a bit fitting. We even have patches to wear on our jerseys (yes, we all wear jerseys).) We were chanting in a round. Anytime he was on the ice, we all took turns and hounded him.

Jump forward - it's the end of the second period, Roy is in some kind of skirmish with Dallas Eakins, and the two are being escorted off the ice to keep them apart. It was reported later that Eakins said to Roy "How does it feel to be a career minor-leaguer?'' Well, that just set him off and he gets a 2 minute unsportsmanlike conduct and a 10-minute misconduct. He starts the 3rd period in the penalty box, and , for all intents and purposes, he's ours. We start laying into him, but this time (for a change) he's not really reacting to us (I think that's another reason why we hassle this guy - there was a few times where we got to him, he reacted to us, and we totally took him out of the game. He was ineffective on the ice.) We weren't paying too much attention to the game, we're focused on Roy. Then, at 3:47 into the period, Andre Payette gets a 10-minute misconduct as well. This guy has been in the ECHL and was signed on New Years Eve for a try out. Naturally, we have to get into his head, so we start our taunting - and he reacts. Oh, that's all we need! from then on, it was the hell with Roy, we're after Payette. He reacts often. He was talking to Roy in the box (who remained calm and just served his time), and it was obvious they were talking about the taunting. After it was all over, Jimmy Roy never played another minute in the game (we lost track of Payette).

The Moose goaltender Alex Auld was unfreakingbelieveable in net. He made saves that just seemed totally impossible. In the end, even though he lost 4-2, his 33 saves made him the #1 star of the game. (A great quote from the Winnipeg Sun: Chicago Wolves coach John Anderson summed up Alex Auld's performance as only someone from the Windy City so eloquently can.  "He was playing out of his friggin' mind".)Our goalie, Frederic Cassivi did a pretty good job as well, considering he hasn't seen much action since before Thanksgiving.

The Wolves scored the first goal of the game just 49 seconds into the game, but I knew this was going to be a hard game for the Wolves to win - they haven't been playing well of late and the Griffins have. The Wolves stayed in it, and it was a give an take the entire game - 2-2 after the 1st, 3-3 after the 2nd, but the boys came up one short and lost. That's three straight losses, and it feels like the boys are starting a freefall. They're trying, but they're not coming together.

As promised, in the middle of the 1st intermission we lifted a cup of Bud Light to our missing parents. OK, so it wasn't the greatest choice to toast with, but this is the Allstate Arena - there's not much to chose from here.

The week is over. It's time to rest-up. It's been very exhausting.

(Boxscore)

Tonight was the first game that we could see the AHL's newest team, the San Antonio Rampage, the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers. The Wolves played them last night and won 4-2. Tonight, we win again, this time 5-3. Not exactly stellar play, but San Antonio really had some very nice plays. Nothing much to really talk about. Boring game? No, just a normal game with nothing standing out to talk about. Oh, well.

The Wolves had a league-high 9 game winning streak broken last night, so it's time to start a new one. This was already the 8th game against the Admirals, and the 3rd Saturday in a row that we played them. I hate this divisional scheduling. Because of the loss yesterday and 3 games in 3 days scheduling (they play in Houston tomorrow), Coach John Anderson pulled goalie Milan Hnilicka for Norm Maracle. The game started out OK, and then gets a little scary when the Wolves let the Admirals get back into the game. Maracle stopped a penalty shot after a scramble in front of the net ensued, Norm lost the puck and Garnet Exelby jumps in and freezes it in the crease (which is illegal). The game was pretty clean, but there was a weird play in the 3rd. Simon Gamache charges and brings the puck right up to the net. A Milwaukee defenseman (didn't catch who) checks him and forces him on top of the net off his skates. Fortunately, Garnet Exelby happened to be around and he poked the puck in for the 5th goal of the game. By the end of the game, the Wolves had 13 power-play opportunities, but only scored on 2. Skates and his crew were dressed in their Christmas finery, and you know it's the holiday season when you see the Marines that are at the game manning the Toys For Tots collection areas are in the aisle dancing to "Cotton Eyed Joe". Our friend John was at the game for the first time since knee-replacement surgery the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. It's was good seeing him again. So, it's time to start a new streak. We have another league-high streak going now: 8 straight home wins.
(Boxscore)

Well, it feels like a long day, with it being my first day of work and all. It's weird, though - you can see my building from the parking lot of the Allstate Arena (not that I'm going to be walking there anytime soon). This was the first time we saw the new goaltender (from the Thrashers) Milan Hnilicka. He gave up three goals that he had no chance of getting - all re-directs off of our players. He's 3-0-0-0 since coming to the Wolves (better than his 0-11-0 while in Atlanta). Mark Hartigan had a goal and two assists. This was also the debut of Bob Nardella who looked rusty, had a few penalties (all dealing with grabbing the puck) and, unfortunately, he's one of our guys that deflected a shot with his stick for an Ice Cat goal. A couple of good fights tonight. At the end of the game, they announced a Gross Misconduct penalty on Sergei Varlamov, but it didn't showup in the box score. This was the Wolves' sixth straight win, but they're still in last place in the division.
(Boxscore)

After still another lazy day of lounging and eating leftovers, it's back to the Allstate Arena for another Wolves game. A much cleaner game tonight compared to last Wednesday night. We had a bit of a noisy group next to us that was celebrating somebody's 50th birthday. Every time they flashed it on the scoreboard, the whole group would scream. Annoying. Anyway, the game was tied 1-1 in the first, and stayed that way until 35 seconds into overtime when J.P. Vigier scored the game winning goal. Norm Maracle stopped 35 shots and has been looking really good. An odd coincidence tonight - they showed a video piece from the Atlanta Thrashers on goalie Pasi Nurminen who was an absolute star on the Wolves last year and who is now the #1 goaltender on the Thrashers and now doing well. Right after that is when Norm gave up his only goal.
(Boxscore)

We knew that there was going to be problems before the game when Mike, the AHL Official that runs the scoreboard, walked up the aisle and said "this is going to be ugly." By the first intermission, we all knew. In the first period, there were 90 minutes of penalties! Look at this:

First Period---None. Penalties---Jancevski, Utah (double minor-roughing), 0:29; Gosselin, Utah (misconduct), 0:29; Morgan, Utah (roughing), 0:29; Simon, Chicago (double minor-roughing), 0:29; DiPenta, Chicago (misconduct), 0:29; MacKenzie, Chicago (roughing), 0:29; Sim, Utah (roughing, misconduct), 0:54; Eakins, Chicago (interference, misconduct), 0:54; MacMillan, Utah (interference), 2:11; Ott, Utah (fighting, misconduct), 14:01; Sellars, Chicago (fighting, misconduct), 14:01; Eakins, Chicago (delay of game), 15:55.

Back at the Allstate Arena tonight after a long road trip (the annual break because the Circus comes to town). Well, I don't know what's going on, but the team that I saw tonight doesn't look anything like the team that I have been following recently. Houston came in at 14-3-1-0 and is the best team in the entire league - The Wolves are the worst team at 4-9-1-2. What's going on? Yuri Butsayev is back from Atlanta and he was really cranked up. The Wolves also signed Bob Nardella today (but wont be ready to play for at least 10 days). This was a fun game to watch. Best goal of the night was when Houston goalie Dieter Kochan came out to play the puck in the near corner, Dan Snyder came up from behind and stole the puck, came around the backside of the net and beat him for a 2-0 lead in the 1st. 36 penalties tonight, with 2 penalties on the Wolves in the first 10 seconds. That wasn't the only time it was 5-on-3. At one time during the game, Houston had 4 guys in the Penalty box, and it was a 3-on-3. Referee Harry Dumas was way too quick on the whistle. Fun, fun game.
(Boxscore)

Ewww... this game stunk. OH they were bad... This was the worst Wolves game I had been to in quite a while. There was no defense in this game. There's not much to say. It was bad. The only good thing had nothing to do with the game. The Wolves had a tribute to NBC SportsCaster Darrian Chapman before the game, as well as a raffle and a series of silent auctions to benefit the Darrian Chapman Children's Fund. He was one of two sportscasters in Chicago that really have a genuine interest in Hockey and the Wolves. The wolves wore little "DC" stickers on their helmets in tribute.