A Rod versus the Wolf

So A Rod is crawling back to the Yankees. Hahahahahahahaha! *pant* *gasp* Ahahahahahaha! I'm sure other writers elsewhere will cover this whole thing far more eloquently than I can, but it is worth noting that when he opted out of the original contract, he took the Texas Rangers off the hook for the remaining $21 million they owed the Yankees as part of the 2004 trade. The Yankees are apparently beginning negotiations by telling him that they are not going to pay him that $21 million. *titter* I'm giddy just thinking about it. I can't hit in the clutch either, maybe they can pay me that extra $21 million?

Anyway, last night was my first foray to the rocking Hartford Civic Center for a clash of the titans...or a minor league hockey game between the Hartford Wolfpack and the Norfolk Admirals. The evening started with a pint and a car bomb or two at the pub before we headed out to the game. The free tickets (honestly, is there a better kind of ticket?) had us right next to the ice, and unfortunately for some, right next to the backup goalie. Some arenas, i.e. the Civic Center, do not have enough room on the bench for the backup goalie and all his equipment, so they sit them next to the rink in the runway to the visitors locker room. The Admirals coach had an interesting strategy for the game. He chose to only have his players shoot on net every few minutes in an attempt to ice the Wolfpack goalie. This strategy proved effective as the Admirals scored 3 goals on a mere 20 shots.

The downside of this strategy is the rest of the game the Wolfpack were peppering the Admirals goalies like they were ducks at a shooting gallery. In an effort to save his goalies from bruising and humiliation, the coach played the starter in the first and third periods and the backup in the second period. That meant a bunch of drunken hockey players may have had ample opportunity to heckle the starting goalie for a full 20 minutes of game time during the second period. Apparently he did not take kindly to our friendly observations of his abilities, as he made a point at the start of the third period to skate over to us and stroke his stick in a suggestive manner. That was a little too much for one of our intrepid crew who was screaming for the backup to reclaim the crease.

"Put in Munro!"

"Dude, his name is Munce."

"Put in Mun, why couldn't your name be Smith? Or Tyler. Tyler's a good name."

It is possible that a curse word or two escaped his lips during his drunken expectoration towards the starting goaltender leading to his unfortunate expulsion from the game at the hands of one of Hartford's finest. Honestly, the game was just a little less fun after that. Oh yeah, the Wolfpack won 6-3 or something like that.