Cinco "Celebration" de Mayo !

Cost of Tourney = $40

Pitcher of Beer = $8

Roll of Tape = $3

Yelling "Leroy Jenkins" = PRICELESS

I was worried and actually a bit disappointed because I thought with only 24 players and 4 goalies, this event would not have the same energy or enthusiasm of years past. Boy, was I wrong.

The tournament was one of the most fun events yet. With Team 4 taking this years Championship, the crew of the Jobgen Bros, the 2 Daves (Green & Gannon), Scott Kelley & Gary Halloway had the right stuff to win it all!

This may have been overshadowed by the other contest happening on the opposite side with the last place teams competing for the best celebration after a goal. Some of the memorable ones included:

Leaving the arena

Autograph the puck

Being intimate with the goal post

Snow Angel

Ride the horse

The top ones as voted by both teams had some great ones as well.

Leap Frog

Sword Fight

Resuscitate the stick

Although playing 5 games in 4 hours while drinking beer & eating pizza in between (and during games) may seem crazy, it was truly an event to end events!

Thanks to all the players that participated. Thanks to Sergey & Haynes for providing some excellent officiating. Thanks to my wife Natalia for organizing the upstairs so I could play (and Dawn Gorelik for driving after the pizza). Thanks to everyone who helped support the kid's college fund by buying sticks, tape, laces & candy! Final thanks to Scott Blomquist for decorating his helmet with the most inappropriate items on the face of the planet! Oh yeah, the Blackhawks beating the Canucks was a fine end to a great evening.

See everyone at the next event!

Oh the Memories....

If you didn't go to Vegas this year for the Adult Hockey Tourney, then you may not have to read any further. Some may still read for the entertainment, while others may read to get motivated for a future trip. Either way. the experience had by all the guys that went this year was great. Having said that, here are a few things that may trigger some of those memories...
Somebody's gonna get killed
Keep Laughin'
Going to the Cluuuuuub
$0.50 PBR
21 hour drive home
Stupid Utah Jazz
Dominique Wilkins Vs. The Unknown in the greatest fight ever
Dominique Wilkins at the casino
Hundreds cheering for the Blackhawks
The fanciest pancake presentation on the planet
$3.99 Steak & Egg Graveyard Specials
$13.99 Steak & Lobster at TGIF
Baskin Robbins & Fuddruckers
Hot Tub & Sun
The Attendant at the liquor store
7 AM Parley betting
Nate's Shoulder injury
Bishop, Dylo & Clutts as Players of the Game
Joe's Penalty
Blomquist's goal (on Shane)
$1.00 Coors
Adult Trading Cards
Wheel of Fortune
Bloody Marys
Dylo & Lowell winning on "40"...of the wrong color
Shuttle Buses

Please add if I missed!

Hockey Teammates Are Like Family

As the day neared to the Alien Vegas Team departure to their Las Vegas Tournament, it was finally hitting me that I was not going.

After I helped spearhead a group of incredible friends to go to Vegas last year, they decided it needed to happen again this year. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of closing our shop, unknown income & employment future, wife just starting a new position and a kid playing travel hockey, all led to the decision that me personally going to Vegas was not in my best interest financially.

The guys were disappointed, but supportive. They included me on all the emails, discussions & even had me run some of their practices. I was not feeling bad about not going because I still felt like part of the team. That is until a week ago.

Now the departure date was around the corner. The discussions escalated from booking airfare and hotel to items such as, "Where are we going to watch the first round of playoffs? MGM or Caesar's?" This made me realize that I was truly going to miss something that was such a great event with a group that was equal to the event. But, I had accepted the reality that it wasn't meant to be this year, and I decided to focus on "What about next year?".

So yesterday (Monday) morning, I get some texts and emails talking about the trip and how the guys wanted me there. I expressed that if there was anything I could do in my power to get there I would, but it wasn't in the cards this time around. Then the hockey family "magic" happened. Bishop & Fascian (2 Vegas teammates) contacted me and said I needed to pack my bags and meet Lowell & Clutts (2 more teammates) on Wednesday Morning to head to the airport. The next email was a confirmation for my flight. The team had raised money to get me there and the offer to stay in Lowell & Dylo's room came next.

I didn't want to go at first as I truly didn't feel right accepting this gesture. In the end, I realized that's what family does and graciously accepted their kind gift. I was told by Bishop that when he sent out a text asking who wanted to help get Joe to Vegas, he got 47 texts from the team figuring it out. With Fascian doing the final booking, all was set.

As I type this at 10:25 PM on Tuesday night with my stuff packed by the door waiting like a kid on Christmas Eve for tomorrow to come, I cannot express how thankful I am for the friends...no family, I have gained. Most of us have known each other now for only a few years, but it seems like a lifetime. We've supported each other in a variety of ways. From last year's trip to Vegas to raising some money for LeFleur when he dislocated his shoulder and missed some work. From planning the annual Dylo Family BBQ to the infamous Bishop's night out. We even coach teams & camps for kids together. Lowell & I coach a summer team together and Dylo & Bast help out and they don't even have any kids! Fascian, Lowell & I are running a clinic for kids with Marty Wilford this summer. Then you have guys like Clutts who design professional logos for the team and guys like Kelley who put that logo on his credit card! And although we even play on different teams during league at times, the family bond is still strong.

With some new additions to this Vegas crew, guys like Knipper, Dean, Keller, Blomquist & McCallum fit right in. Vegas veterans like Brand & LeFleur round out the best group of guys I have ever known. This is in addition to the supportive wives & girlfriends that not only support our team, but are also a part of it.

So without sounding too sappy (which I'm sure is too late now), I thank everyone of my teammates for making this trip possible. To me this trip is not an adult hockey tournament with a group of guys, but rather a family vacation.

(By the way, why am I flying coach? Was first class booked?)