Whos' It Gonna Be In Week #3?

No, that's not a picture of me on the left. Although I am often mistaken for the Gr8 one, my talents truly lie in setting lines with adult league hockey.

My record so far of 2-4 is not an accurate indicator. For what you see is only my local picks. My picks for Adult Leagues across the entire country (including Canada & Mexico) are dead on. After 3 weeks, my overall record is 267-5.

Now that we have that out of the way, here is week#3.

Red Alert Vs. Irwins
If I made this pick earlier in the week, I would have gone the route of Irwins. I felt like the tide was shifting in their favor. With Lasnek finally getting his legs back, there is no more need to rely on guys like Holloway & Wheeler. Dane Maxwell (or Mr. Maxwell is what he prefers to be called) is ready to make Tony Hansen look like a malfunctioning traffic light always blinking red from all the goals he's going to score. But since I am making these picks late Tuesday night, I have new information that causes me to swing my vote the other way. After last week's game Red Alert had with Alien, I thought consistency would hurt this team. The likes of the Battistas, Feathers, West, Bragg & Scholz were all missing. My thought was these guys had schedules that did not allow for them to all be there on a consistent basis. However, I heard from an anonymous source that we'll call ScXtt BrXeck (letters from his name have been "X"d out for his safety) that these guys didn't show because they were scared of the Alien team. Although there should be some fear, missing a game is unacceptable. I have now heard they are not scared of Irwins and will be attending this game. This coupled with the debut of some new jerseys can only have me pick them in this one. scaRED Alert by 4.

Cup O K vs. Alien
Last week, Shane Bast sat next to me upstairs and said he could predict the score of the Kryptonite Vs. Hawgs game. He said "Hawgs by 10" and I politely responded that he was an idiot. Turns out, I predicted Cup by 4 and it should have been that. Unfortunately, goalie Hudson of the Hawgs is in to a bookie for quite a bit and needed to let in a softie late in the game to make it a 5 goal game. Cup has proven that they are a contender. Alien has proven that they can beat 2 teams that are scared to play. The big question is can Alien perform in the "BIG" games. I think the answer is yes. Sure, Kryptonite has Kundel, Hill & Current. Don't forget their Dean & Green line. Even Pedersen & Johnson touch the puck (occasionally). But this showdown will be all about the brother combination. Alien has Dylo & Dylo to match against Barker & Barker. Although on paper it may be tough to pick the favorite between these siblings, the edge goes to the D+D Duo on this Wed night. Alien by 1.

Hawgs & Voodoo Tattoo
"We're going to make them wish they didn't show up for the late game", proclaimed Ms. Zorich of the undefeated Voodoo. "Have they watched us play? Do they think they stand a chance?"
Make no mistake, the likes of Lewis & Toomey doing damage upfront, with Dawson & Whitaker ....well, maybe just Dawson taking a tough defensive stand in back, this team is a legit 2-0. "The 7 goals against me are all Giunta's fault" admitted goaltender Reeves. "This should be an easy night...maybe I won't even stretch." On the other side of the ice will be the new & improved Puck Hawgs. Like their jerseyless counterparts (Red ALert), the Hawgs too debut their new jerseys. "Now I'll know who's on my team" exclaimed Hewlett. "Its about time we got some classlessness!" I am going out on a limb and calling this game in favor of the Hawgs. There is no way a team with talent like Sindelar, Kozak, Kielty, Bartak & Hewlett should ever lose. I hope they don't take their team name literally and try to become one player wrecking crews. I think the jerseys this week unifies them for their first win of the season (and many more to follow). Hawgs by 2.

Good luck to all!

New job

Started a new job this past Monday and youth hockey practices have started as well. This being said, getting a late jump on weekly predictions. This is also a good thing as the injury report is more accurate and my picks shouls be dead on.

Game 1 Voodoo vs. Irwins
With Koenig and his crew proving me wrong last week and a come from behind win, they should easily roll team Irwins. Reeves will have a solid game as he typically does well in the early time slot. Irwins on the other hand did not show me what I expected. They lost to a sub par Alien team last week and although the early slot may give them a bit more jump, it won't be enough. Yankee Doodle Dandy goes to town by 4.

Game 2 Kryptonite vs. Hawgs
Johnson's coffee drinking crew disappoints in week 1. After blowing a 2 goal lead, the team I predicted to take first place at end of season got out of the gates slow. Although I still believe they will get on track, it won't start tonight. With the debut of Huyck, the team only gets weaker. Hawgs on the other hand begin their quest for a win streak. Another good showing from Sindelar will create an easy win tonight. Hawgs by 3.

Alien vs. Red Alert
My own team has shown some firepower. A terrific performance by Mark Dylo has sparked this team. This coupled with a missing Aaron Clutts had the Alien Guys looking sharp. The Battistas had a strong showing last week but won't be good enough tonight. Alien by 2.

The end
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

The Pioneer 6

A tradition has begun as the first 6 teams in the ABC League have begun their season. These 6 teams are being referred to as the "Pioneer 6", and the teams have been incorporated in a new league design.

Thank you for being part of a great beginning!

Alien Hockey, Irwins Bike & Sports, Puck Hawgs, Cup O Kryptonite, Yankee Doodle Dandy Tattoo Voodoo & Red Alert make up the 6 founding teams.

For your Pioneer 6 apparel, click here.

1st period

After 1 period, the good guys lead 1-0. Pretty sweet that BlackHawks playing their starters. Kane, Campbell, Sharp, Keith and Toews all playing. No Ovechkin on the Caps side, but that's all right as we're having a blast watching the Hawks take an early lead.
Mark has already had an incident with a hot cup of coffee, but we won't share that right now.
Well gotta go as 2nd perod getting ready to start.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

We're In

Woooooweeeee! Antonio up near the glass. We get to watch warm ups on the glass so we're just waiting.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Almost Game Time

Its 5:45 and we are getting ready to go into the UC. Hockey season is here!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

On our way

Heading to Chicago for pre-season blackhawk game!
Joe, Antonio, Mark and Mikey
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

United We Stand, On Wednesday We Fall

A new season begins Wednesday for the ABC League. With the quest for the Fleming Cup beginning, I also felt the need to provide the odds for week 1 and a breakdown of favorites & underdogs.

So here goes the 100% error free picks of the week:

Game 1 Puck Hawgs Vs. Red Alert
Hudson in net for Hawgs & Hansen minding the net for Red Alert should provide a great match up. I watched the Pucks Hawgs during training camp and saw a work ethic second to none with Dudechenko. "She's an animal on the ice...we're all scared of her", commented Captain Beede. "She was very upset when she heard there was a hat trick rule in place." Her firepower coupled with superior speed of Gannon & Tessau makes this an easy pick. As for Red Alert, the 4-J Line (Jim, Joe, Josh & Justin) have made it very clear they are not happy with their 5th linemate, Paul. "We made a bid to pick up Jon Rech to give us the 5th J, but Tony felt Paul was a better choice." This being said, all eyes will be on the Battista Bros to keep the damage to a minimum during this game. Hawgs by 2.

Game 2 Cup o Kryptonite Vs. Yankee Doodle Dandy Tattoo
With Kryptonite being my choice for best regular season record, I believe they begin down that road in Week #1. A late season acquisition of Richard Huyck should prove to be huge. Richard retired back in 2002 when he played with the Des Moines Dungeon. After a 2 year lay off, he made a comeback and played with the Ankeny Ant Eaters for 4 more years. During that off-season, he had surgery on both knees, shoulder replacement & hair implants. This was enough to cause him to retire again. But on a warm summer afternoon this past year, Matt Johnson recruited the once famous, now rejuvenated Huyck. His name & retirement are just like the famous Favre (prounounced Farve)...and Huyck (prounced Hike). As for YDD Tattoo Voodoo they play this game like poopoo. They won't lose EVERY game this season, but week one will have them on that track. It will take a few games for guys like Tim "Jerry" Lewis, Dan "Me Too" Toomey, and Caleb "I wish I was Woody" Harrelson to get their game on track. With Reeves facing 40-50 shots this game, he'll only be able to do so much. Kryptonite by 4.

Game 3 Irwins Vs. Alien
With Bast being on the upswing in his career, a solid offense scoring goals & a defense that is unbeatable (that includes me), this pick would be a no-brainer in favor of Alien...however, Bast misses the home opener due to his volunteer efforts building squirrel shelters in Oklahoma. "We know squirrels need houses, but we need our goalie", sobbed Knipper when he heard the news. "Its a bunch of #@!%#^" Alien sub goalie is Barker, and although that seems like a comparable replacement, Blaine is the best 3 period goalie, not 6 periods. He'll be well spent 5-6 minutes in and even I can't stop the shots for him. Irwins on the other hand has players like adult league veteran Potthoff, newcomers Place & Johnson, and always lethal Rob "18" Wheeler. Team captain Irwin stated "We're gonna beat those Aliens so bad they wish they played in another galaxy." Big words...but accurate. Irwins by 3.

Good luck to all!

Expert Analysis

Last Tuesday's ABC League Pre-Season game was a final tune up for the upcoming season. It was an opportunity for players to fine tune their game, tweak their gear and shuffle up the roster. Although it was not a good predictor of the final standings. Players like Johnson (Cup o' K), Dylo (the slow one of Alien), and Koenig (Tattoo) logged many minutes last Tuesday as their team's primary starters rested for regular season play.

So it is my responsibility to provide a professional breakdown of how the league will play out. On the surface it may seem as though teams are relatively even, but throw in the variables that only an expert such as myself can pick out, and you have a better insight. Here are my end of season rankings from worst to first and an explanation.

6th Place - Yankee Doodle Dandy Tattoo
Facts-Possgate, Lewis & Jones will all see their fair share of goals. Throw Reeves in net and you have a chance to win every game....heck, even go undefeated. Here is where the HOWEVER comes in. The likes of Whitaker, Koenig and late season acquisition of Brown not only offsets the top performers, but brings the team down in such a way that is unrecoverable. If this was a mock trial league where a team needed an expert witness in the area of tattoos, then yes, 1st place...but its hockey.

5th Place - Alien Vegas
Can you say NY Yankees of Adult League Hockey. Signing top dollar players like Knipper & McCallum in the off season, and big re-signing of the "good" Dylo would lead most to believe that this was a strong team. In the past, their goaltending was suspect, but after many years of B,C & D league play, this will be the year of Bast. Unfortunately, the offensive production will be poor. With Dylo's wicked wrister appropriately hitting 4' above the net, Blomquist's rogue defensive ability, Lowell's lack of shooting all together & Clutts more worried about diaper changing than line changing, this team will be in for a long season.

4th Place - Irwins
What do you get when you take Anthan, Wheeler, Beyer & Hickey and put them all on the same team? 4th Place. After a long break and trying to come out of retirement like Theo Fleury, Dave Lasnek will be a bright spot for Irwins. Goodman has appropriately chosen the color yellow for team jerseys. This team will play like a yellow traffic light, unsure if they should stop playing all together, or try and gun it to make a game of it. Grumblings from the Irwins camp also indicates that Holloway & Rech already looking for a possible trade.

3rd Place - Red Alert
Strong team. Powerful offense. Tight Defense. This will get this team over .500 and a solid lock for 3rd place. Many may look at roster and find no flaws or weaknesses. Lady Byng candidate West, Battista Bros wrecking crew, Kent & Curran leaders on & off the ice all show a group that shows very little room for error. The only mistake made by brilliant team captain Hansen is the lack of purchasing a mirror. By selfishly putting himself in net, he gave up his team's chances of a 1st or 2nd place finish. They could have thrown Swift in net and had a better chance!

2nd Place - Puck Hawgs
You can put lipstick on a pig and its still a pig, but put lipstick on a Hawg and you have a contender for the championship. This team is definitely not pretty, but you've got lightning in a bottle with Bartak, Hewlett & Kozak. Add the two ladies (Lisa & Nataliya) and you've got a team destined for greatness. Wildcard question will be whether Hudson can run through an injury free season, after all 33 games is a long time.

1st Place - Cup O' Kryptonite
While other teams were picking up players willy nilly, Team Owner, manager & star defenseman Johnson was busy forging what may be the next dynasty. As players like Bishop (Alien), Gannon (Hawgs) & Zorich (YDD) approached Matt to play on his team, he politely said "no". His vision was bigger than even these players. Even friendships with Feathers (Red Alert) were broken as Johnson worried more about the Kryptonite empire than he did about loyalty to an ex-teammate. An impenetrable defense with Dean & Hill, and an offensive power 2nd to none of Smiley, Kundel & Barker create a winning combination. Oops, I almost forgot that weak link in net named Blaine Barker. How can you beat this group? You can't.

All in all, any given Wednesday, any team can win. Depending on who shows up, line match ups, and more. In the end, with all things equal, my picks are a lock. This doesn't mean I believe Cup O' Kryptonite wins the Fleming Cup as the playoffs are an entirely different animal. To be continued.....

Playing for the Fleming Cup

With the ABC League start just around the corner, we felt we needed to start a tradition of playing for a Championship Trophy.

The NHL has the Stanley Cup which according to Wiki is:

The Stanley Cup (French: La Coupe Stanley) is an ice hockey club cup trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs champion. It has been referred to as The Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously (chiefly by sportswriters) as Lord Stanley's Mug.[1] The Stanley Cup is surrounded by numerous legends and traditions, the oldest of which is the celebratory drinking of champagne out of the cup by the winning team.

I felt we needed something similar with some meaning to it as well. So we have named our top award as The Fleming Cup in honor & memory of Gabe Fleming. Gabe was an adult C league player that passed away on Saturday, May 23 2009 and as his obituary stated "Gabe enjoyed playing and watching hockey and died with his skates on. "


With 6 strong teams in its inaugural year (wow sounds like the Original 6), the Cup is up for grabs. Best of luck to all in pursuit of this prized possession.