Happy New Year!

So in an effort to bring back the tradition of ranting incoherently about things that don't really matter...hello! After some network connectivity issues, I am back with a vengeance. I know I know, what do I need the internet for as long as I can sign into the blog? Hey, fuck you! YOU spell Epsen Knutsen's name when hockeydb won't load!

Since I've last updated, the Giants went from a sure fire bet to making the playoffs to a sure fire bet to missing the playoffs to locking up the top wild card spot in the NFC. Sure, that's like banging the hottest girl at RPI, but at least it practically ensures another year of Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin! Fuck.

The Patriots wrapped up the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history. Yawn. Oh well. It means exactly jack squat if they do not win the Super Bowl.

I'll bitch about the NFL playoffs later. This post is dedicated to what was far and away the most exciting sporting event of 2008...so far. The NHL staged the first ever outdoor regular season game on US soil. There had been one previous outdoor game in 2003 between the Montreal Canadiens and the Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton. This year's game marked the debut of the game of the week on NBC and featured the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres.

It was an opportunity for the league to market Sidney Crosby on the biggest stage available and a mere 20 seconds in he did not disappoint. He drove the net in a driving snow storm in front of 71,000 rabid fans getting stuffed right in front of the net but leaving the rebound sitting in the slot for an easy Colby Armstrong goal. The Sabres would tie the game early in the second period, and regulation would end in a 1-1 tie. After an incredibly exciting overtime, the Penguins would win the shootout 2-1 thanks to a spectacular save by goalie Ty Conklin and an even more spectacular winning goal by Crosby.

The ice conditions left a lot to be desired. The game was stopped several times so the crews could fix various troubling spots on the ice. The announcers explained that since they built the rink on a pile of sand atop Buffalo's Ralph Wilson field (i.e. where the Bills play) the weight of the zamboni was causing the base to shift and making cracks in the ice. The play also halted a few times so the zambonis could come out and scrape the excess snow off the ice. And when the snow turned to sleet during the second period, the players had a hard time adjusting. Still the 71,000 drunks in the stands gave it their all, and what better way for the NHL to end its showcase game than to have its star player score the game winning goal in a shootout?