Today’s List: ‘Love’ Songs

In observance of my anniversary – 18 years of bliss with the wonderful former Miss Lee Ann Knight – here’s a sampling of “love” songs from my iPod, all the ones beginning with the word “love” and a few with the word in the title:

Love Comes Tumbling | U2

One of my favorite U2 songs.

Love Hurts | Heart

From one of Heart’s live albums.

Love in the Midnight | Styx

From the “Cornerstone” album, the pinnacle of the band’s career.

Love is a Battlefield | Pat Benatar

Back in the days when MTV ruled…

Love is Here to Stay | Frank Sinatra

Can honestly say I’ve never listened to the song. I got it while making a playlist for a wedding reception we had at our house for friends of ours…

Love is Like Oxygen | Sweet

More 80s…

Love is Reason | A-ha

…and even more 80s.

Love Song | The Cure

This song put The Cure on the map, introducing many 80s listeners to a strange brand of music and an even stranger Robert Smith, the prince of goth and gloom.

Love Will Keep Us Alive | Eagles

Timothy B. Schmidt at his best.

Lovely Ladies | Les Miserable Soundtrack

Not a love song at all, if you’re familiar with the play…

Last Love Song | Cat Stevens

From the last “Cat Stevens” album, before he became Yusuf Islam…

Look of Love | ABC

Underrated import from ABC.

Victim of Love | Eagles

Another one from the Eagles.

Everlasting Love | Howard Jones

Much better song than the sappy “No One is to Blame”

Message of Love | Journey

From the “comeback” album that ended up being Steve Perry’s last effort with the band.

Without Your Love | Toto

From the vastly underrated “Fahrenheit” album.

X-Files Movie Four Weeks Away

The latest news about the movie is here.

The official website, including the latest trailer and the film’s opening scene, is here.

The latest inside scoop on the movie is here.

 

 

More From Alaska…

A few of my better pictures…more posts to come, including what it’s like to be quarantined on a cruise ship, an Alaskan reunion, and more…

MEADE GLACIER | Rocks on parade
It’s hard to tell from a picture the enormity of this, but I’m standing on ice here looking “up river” within the band of rocks in the midst of the glacier

ICY CONTEMPLATION | Addison rocks
Son Addison, 13, studies the ice from his perch on a small rock

‘DONT’T FALL IN’ | This is what to avoid
Our guide, Mario, with a crevice in between. “If you fall in,” he said, “you’re on your own. There’s no way to get to you.” He measured the depth by dropping a rock into the space, estimating it at about 170 feet deep.

A SATISFYING DRINK | Zach quenches his thirst
Son Zachary, 15, drinks from a small stream in the glacier. The age is the ice is about 400 years, and the water was delicious.

EN ROUTE TO GLACIER | Majesty
Pictures just don’t do it justice…

EVEN MORE | Frozen lake at 3,000 feet

TRACY ARM | Making our way in
In Tracy Arm, just as the ice began to thicken.

…and thicken some more…

LAST BUT NOT LEAST | The lovely Lee Ann

 

Hockey Stuff: How the Canes Are Shaping Up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CAM WARD | Goalie hopes to lead Hurricanes back to playoffs in 2008-09

The deadline for teams to extend qualifying offers to restricted free agents passed Wednesday…so with the full free agency period beginning next Tuesday, here’s how the Carolina Hurricanes are shaping up for 2008-09:

GOALIES
Cam Ward. Under contract through 2009-2010 (makes $2.5 million this season). Was 37-25-5 last season with a GAA of 2.75 and a save percentage of .904.
Michael Leighton. The 27-year-old was signed to a two-year, $1.2 million deal June 11. He was the American Hockey League’s Most Valuable Goaltender last season. In 50 career NHL games, he has an 11-24-10 record with a 3.01 GAA, but was stellar last year for Albany, going 28-25-4 with a GAA of 2.10.
Daniel Manzanto. 24-year-old was solid in ECHL last season and is set to start this year in Albany in the AHL. Signed one-year deal ($552,500 at NHL level, $75,000 at minor league level) on June 6.
Departure: backup John Grahame wasn’t resigned by the team and is reportedly set to play in Russia this season.
Outlook: Ward will be the starting netminder and Leighton should be a capable backup after the confidence he gained in Albany last season.

FORWARDS
Eric Staal. Under contract through 2008-09 (makes $5 million this season).
Justin Williams. Under contract through 2001-12 (makes $3.5 million this season).
Erik Cole. Under contact through 2008-09 (makes $4 million this season).
Rod Brind’Amour. Under contract through 2010-11 (makes $4 million this season).
Ray Whitney. Under contract through 2009-2010 (makes $3.55 this season).
Matt Cullen. Under contract through 2009-2010 (makes $2.8 million this season).
Scott Walker. Under contract through 2009-10 (makes $2.5 million this season).
Sergei Samsonov. Signed three-year, $7.6 million deal April 16.
Tuomu Ruutu. Signed one-year, $2.25 million deal on June 24.
Patrick Eaves. Signed three-year, $4.2 million deal on June 4.
Possibilities: Chad LaRose; restricted free agent was made qualifying offer of $550,000. Brandon Sutter; Canes’ top pick in 2007 Entry Draft, signed three-year, $2.535 million deal March 26 after playing most of last season in the Western Hockey League. Will compete for a spot on the 3rd or 4th line this season after only playing a few games in the AHL last season, but if he has a mediocre camp in September he’ll likely be send to Albany in the AHL for playing time. This year’s top draft pick, Zach Boychuk, was a highly-ranked center who’s fast – but small. He played in the WHL last season and will likely be in Albany this season in the AHL to develop.
Unrestricted free agents Keith Aucoin, Ryan Bayda, Wade Brookbank and Trevor Letowski may still negotiate with Canes. Letowski is the mostly likely to re-sign.
Outlook: With 10 veteran NHLers under contract and LaRose likely to return, the Hurricanes aren’t thin at forward – especially with Brandon Sutter eager to make his mark in the NHL. The challenges would be to replace Erik Cole, if he’s traded for a defenseman (as has been speculated), and to sign Eric Staal to an extension.

DEFENSEMEN
Frantisek Kaberle. Under contract through 2009-10 (makes $2.2 million this season).
Niclas Wallin. Under contract through 2009-10 (makes $1.725 million this season).
Tim Gleason. Signed four-year, $12 million deal June 19 (makes $2 million this season).
Joe Corvo. Under contract through 2009-2010 (makes $2.75 million this season).
Dennis Seidenberg. Restricted free agent made $850,000 last year and was given qualifying offer.
Departures: Glen Wesley (retired), Bret Hedican (likely to play elsewhere and is said to be shopping himself to West Coast teams).
Outlook: Problematic. With only four NHLers under contract, the Canes will likely sign Seidenberg and then look to acquire two more NHL defensemen after July 1 – possibly through trade (with Cole as bait) or through free-agency. Wade Redden, late of the Ottawa Senators, is said to be a target. Other free agent defensemen who might be considered include former Hurricanes Mike Commodore, Marek Malik and Sean Hill, along with a frequent trade target of the team’s in the past – Bryan Berard.

Bottom line: the Hurricanes’ current salary obligations are around $44 million, depending on how the buyouts of waived players Jeff Hamilton and David Tanabe proceed. The NHL salary cap has been widely speculated to be moving to $56 million, but Carolina’s budget may not be over $50 million. The leaves little room to sign at least one forward and three defensemen. Trading Cole (and his $4 million salary) would be an unpopular move, but he’s a free agent after this year and $4 million could get you two solid NHL blueliners. (UPDATE: NHL and the players association just now announced the cap is $56.7 million.)

Note: RFA’s (restricted free agents) are those players whose contracts have expired but don’t qualify yet (because of age, salary or years of NHL service) for full free agency. A team can retain the rights of its RFAs by making “qualifying offers,” which is essentially a contract offer based on a small raise from their most recent contract-year salary. Beginning Thursday, RFAs can talk to other teams about contracts; if another team extends an “offer sheet” to an RFA, the rights-holding team has first refusal to match the offer. If an RFA signs with another team, the rights-holding team gets draft picks as compensation (the picks depend on the size of the offer). RFAs not given qualifying offers and not going to arbitration become unrestricted free agents (UFAs); UFAs can begin negotiations with any team beginning at noon on July 1.

Hockey Stuff: Canes Make Moves, Bolts Sign Melrose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BARRY MELROSE | Tampa Bay’s new coach

The NHL’s free-agency period begins July 1, so expect movement in the calm before the story as teams shore up their restricted free agents.

I’ll be posting major goings-on from around the league and details about what’s up with the Hurricanes as the summer progresses…

First the big new today: Barry Melrose, a commentator for ESPN who led the Los Angeles Kings to the NHL finals as a coach in 1993, was officially introduced at the bench boss of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Melrose becoming coach has been widely speculated and was probably the worst secret in the league, and his popularity will certainly help the Lightning – the NHL’s worst team last year – draw crowds on the road.

Melrose, who turns 52 on July 15, led the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers to a Memorial Cup title in his first year as coach in 1988. In 1992, he guided the Adirondack Red Wings of the American Hockey League to a Calder Cup championship.

In his first season as an NHL coach, in 1992-93, he guided a Wayne Gretzky-led club to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history, where they fell in five games to the Montreal Canadiens. Melrose coached three seasons in Los Angeles, from 1992-93 through 1994-95, compiling an 82-103-31 record.

Melrose replaces John Tortorella, who was fired June 3. Tortorella guided the Lightning to four playoff appearances and the 2004 Stanley Cup in his 6½ seasons behind the bench. Joining Melrose behind the bench will be assistants Rick Tocchet, formerly Gretzky’s assistant with the Phoenix Coyotes, and recently-retired Minnesota Wild center Wes Walz.

Melrose played 300 NHL games over six seasons as a defenseman with Winnipeg, Toronto and Detroit, and played three seasons with Cincinnati in the WHA (1976-79).

Melrose had been working in a variety of hockey-related roles for ESPN since 1996, including contributions on SportsCenter, ESPN Radio and ESPN The Magazine.

Closer to home…

TUOMO RUUTU signed a one-year contract with the Hurricanes today for $2.25 million. Ruutu’s signing became a necessity when the Hurricanes failed to reach an agreement with Darcy Hordichuk, the rights to whom the Hurricanes acquired for a draft pick last week. The Hordichuk trade was made as an insurance move in case Ruutu wasn’t signed.

Ruutu, 25, was acquired by Carolina from Chicago on Feb. 26 in exchange for former first-round pick Andrew Ladd, who himself just signed a new contract with the Blackhawks. Ruutu finished the 2007-08 season with 10 goals, 22 assists (32 points) and 91 penalty minutes in 77 games played with the Blackhawks and Hurricanes.

If the Hurricanes are indeed unable to sign Hordichuk, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent a week from today.

ZACH BOYCHUK was the Hurricanes’ top pick in this weekend’s NHL Entry Draft, coming 14th overall.

Boychuk, who played last season with the Western Hockey League’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, led all WHL skaters in 2008 with 13 playoff goals as Lethbridge won three postseason series and the WHL’s Eastern Conference title before falling to the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL finals. The 18-year-old finished the 2007-08 regular season ranked second among Lethbridge skaters with 72 points, tied for second with 33 goals and led the team with a plus-26 plus/minus rating despite playing in just 61 of the Hurricanes’ 72 regular-season games. A native of Calgary, he played in all seven of Team Canada’s games en route to its fourth consecutive gold medal at the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championships.

DAVID TANABE and JEFF HAMILTON, two of last season’s free agent signings, were placed on waivers by the Canes on Monday. The team intends to buy out the pair’s contracts.

With the NHL’s free-agent period a week away, the Carolina Hurricanes are cutting ties with two of last summer’s free-agent signings.

Hamilton was considered a great signing for the Hurricanes last year. They inked him to a two-year, $1.6 million contract last July after a great season with Chicago, but he didn’t produce offensively last season and, in addition to suffering from an injury, he was demoted to the American Hockey League for a short period.

Tanabe signed a two-year, $1.5 million contract just after last season began and played well before suffering a concussion a week before Christmas.

Glacier Flight, Walk Are Hard to Top

 
BOYS ON ICE | Zach (left) and Addison chill out on Meade Glacier

ALASKA Diaries | Two
Alaska’s unique geography and location give it lots of what natives call “liquid sunshine” – rain – but not nearly as much as the real sun. Most of southeast Alaska gets between 200 and 260 days of measurable precipitation a year. Clear days make up about 5 percent of the calendar, but we hit the jackpot in Skagway on Thursday of our cruise: a clear, calm and warm (about 60 degrees) day that made it feel like you could reach out and touch the 5,000-foot peaks surrounding the harbor. The craggy, snow-laden mountain tops with a deep blue backdrop made every visage postcard-worthy. At some point you stop taking pictures because, really, can it get any more spectacular?

The boys and I had booked a glacier tour by helicopter for this morning, and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Our 20-minute flight from Skagway to the Meade Glacier was as awesome an experience as I’ve ever had, but paled in scale, and comparison, to the 40 minutes we spent on the glacier itself.

We’d seen glaciers on the trip. We flew over a glacier in a floatplane at Ketchikan, we’d sailed up to the Sawyer Glacier in the Tracy Arm and we’d seen the Mendenhall Glacier the day before from about a mile away. But there’s just nothing that can prepare you for helicoptering onto and standing in the midst an ice field that’s more than 400 years old, 500 feet deep and more than a mile wide, then drinking the hydrating water flowing from the countless small streams of melt that flow miles and miles to the glacier’s terminus.

Boulders the size of my old Toyota Tercel were strewn about the glacier, rocks that were actually traveling in a gravity-defying path uphill, against the flow. Actually, it was a combination of gravity, the sun’s radiation, the laws of melt and other geophysical oddities that caused the huge rocks to go against the flow, but standing there, just a speck on a portion of an ice field the size of Vermont, the enormity of it all was mind-numbing. We straddled crevasses two feet wide and 150 feet deep, gaps between two moving pieces of ice that if you happened to fall into, there’s no rescue from. Yep, getting there was only half the fun: we flew over 3,000-foot lakes that, in the heart of summer, created towering cascading waterfalls, and we saw peaks that rivaled anything in Colorado, but the pure majesty of approaching, then walking on, the glacier was indescribable.

This one excursion was worth the price of admission on this trip. To read another visitor’s experience, and see more awesome pictures go here.

Hockey Stuff: Canes Ink Gleason, Get Rights to Hordichuk

 

A few hockey notes on Day 1 of the NHL Entry Draft…

TIM GLEASON…the Hurricanes signed the rugged defenseman to a four-year contract this week. With the team thin at defense and with Glen Wesley retiring and Bret Hedican headed elsewhere, getting Gleason signed was a top priority for Carolina. The restricted free agent, who made $1.175 million the last two seasons, will get $2 million next year and half-million dollar raises each of the following three seasons.

Gleason, 25, completed his fourth NHL season and second with the Hurricanes in 2007-08, earning career highs in games played (80), goals (3), penalty minutes (84) and plus/minus (+5). He was originally acquired by Carolina on Sept. 29, 2006, along with Eric Belanger in exchange for Jack Johnson and Oleg Tverdovsky.

The Hurricanes still have three other restricted free agents to re-sign at the NHL level: forwards Tuomo Ruutu and Chad LaRose and defenseman Dennis Seidenberg. Look for the Hurricanes to perhaps announce a trade this weekend (Erik Cole is the rumored bait) for another defenseman…

DARCY HORDICHUK…with Ruutu not yet resigned, the Hurricanes acquired the rights to left winger Darcy Hordichuk of the Nashville Predators in exchange for a fifth-round pick in next year’s draft. If the Hurricanes do not sign Hordichuk prior to the start of the 2008-09 season, Carolina will receive Nashville’s fifth-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Hordichuk, 27, completed his seventh NHL season in 2007-08, totaling one goal and two assists (3 points) and 60 penalty minutes in 45 games played for the Predators. A native of Saskatchewan, he also played in five of the Predators’ six playoff games, totaling two penalty minutes. He’s not a big scorer but gave Nashville a physical presence. Hordichuk’s best season was in 2005-06 with Nashville, where he had career highs in games played (74), goals (7), assists (6), points (13) and penalty minutes (163) during the 2005-06 season with Nashville, leading the Predators in penalty minutes (163) and hits (150).

OILERS, LIGHTNING SALE APPROVED…the NHL approved the sale this week of the Edmonton Oilers to Edmonton billionaire Daryl Katz and the Tampa Bay Lightning to a group of investors led by Oren Koules and and former NHLer Len Barrie. The approval was granted pending the closing of the transactions by the prospective purchasers.

RULE CHANGES…the NHL’s Board of Governors also endorsed rules changes that had been recommended by the NHL General Managers and approved by the Competition Committee, including:

- A change to Rule 76.2 (“Face-Offs”) will place the first face-off of a power play in the defending zone of the team that committed the foul

- A change to Rule 81.1 (“Icing”) states that “Any contact between opposing players while pursuing the puck on an icing must be for the sole purpose of playing the puck and not for eliminating the opponent from playing the puck. Unnecessary or dangerous contact could result in penalties being assessed to the offending player.”

- A change to Rule 85.5 (“Face-Off Location”) provides that if a puck is shot off the goal frame, goal post or crossbar, the subsequent face-off will remain in the end zone where the puck went out of play.

Another Scotch For Your Daughter, Sir?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karis, with a puppy at a sled dog camp, much prefers the taste of a lovable dog to the taste of scotch

ALASKA Diaries | One

A few weeks ago, I ran across an article outlining the differences in how scotch, whiskey and bourbon were made. Not ever having had much interest in any of them, I satisfied whatever curiosity I had about the making of the beverages by skimming the story. I’ve had enough of a taste of at least one of them (can’t remember which, but it was awful) to know it’s not my cup of…well…tequila.

“Horners and alcohol don’t mix,” my grandfather told me long ago. I was just in high school at the time, but even then I had a good idea about what he meant.

I grew up with alcohol in the home; it seemed like every family in my neighborhood had a “liquor cabinet” and as kids we talked in hushed tones about someday sneaking into them. We never did. Nowadays, Lee Ann and I have nothing stronger in our house than cooking wine, and even that came after a lot of debate.

So on day one of our Alaska trip, when a flight attendant on the second leg of our RDU-to-Seattle flight served our daughter Karis, 11, a glass of scotch before take-off, our prudishness kicked in big-time.

Karis had asked for apple juice. A fellow passenger, two rows in front of her and in the opposite aisle, ordered the scotch. Karis got the hard stuff. The offending flight attendant was apologetic. We were apoplectic. What was most irksome was the behavior of another flight attendant, a well-manicured young man who must have said, “Honest mistake! Honest mistake!” two dozen times before finally shutting up. We weren’t thinking lawsuit, but I’d have gone to court to put a gag order on him to shut him up.

He was right, of course. It was an honest mistake. Stupid, but not intentional. A little more concern from him and the other flight attendants – a third turned up her nose at us each time she passed the rest of the flight – would have been appreciated, but given my track record with Northwest Airlines I wasn’t surprised. (I’ve never had a single NWA flight that didn’t have a problem – including two stupefying bouts of lost luggage on trips to Las Vegas. To keep my record perfect, our flight home Sunday arrived more than two hours late, at 1 a.m., at the very end gate at RDU’s Terminal A building, as far as you can get from baggage claim.)

While Karis was coughing up her scotch, it was about 106 degrees inside the plane, which had been loaded with baggage and passengers but was, at the moment, without pilots. We were all stressed up with no place to go because only a pilot could turn on the AC. The flight attendants couldn’t. A flight attendant could have called for a mechanic to come on board to do it, but FAA and security regulations prevented the flight attendants from leaving the airplane. And apparently there was no way to do it by phone. So there we sat on the ground in Minneapolis, on a full plane baking in the sun, with things getting hotter by the second.

Lee Ann made it all the way through high school and college without ever having had as much as a sip of beer or a taste of wine, and we always hoped our kids would choose not to drink. Karis spat out most of what little scotch that passed her lips, thankfully. Hopefully the bad taste will linger long enough to make her avoid it in the future.

We did cool off, finally. Fill-in pilots arrived and cranked up the AC. We managed to land in Seattle less than an hour late, then were blessed with lots of sun in the ensuing days in southeast Alaska – along with perfect temperatures and plenty of ice.

And not a single drop of scotch.

Coming Soon: Alaska Diaries

A work-related trip to Florida that started on June 4 was immediately followed by a long-planned, long-awaited cruise to Alaska, and after arriving home at 3 a.m. on Monday, I’m back in the office. I know no one wants to read a boring travelogue about our Alaska adventure, but in the coming week I’ll provide a few entries about some of our more interesting experiences, beginning with our flight to Seattle and a Northwest Airlines’ flight attendant’s attempt to teach my 11-year-old daughter the finer points of alcohol consumption. I’ll also write about what it’s like to be quarantined to your cruise-ship cabin, how to tell if bear scat is fresh and what water from 400-year-old glacier ice runoff tastes like. Oh, and I also have whale pictures.

Glad to be back…

In the meantime, for your viewing pleasure, here’s the dance scene from “Napoleon Dynamite.” At the very worst moments of the bug I somehow picked up in Seattle before our cruise (I’ll spare you the details) this little clip from the movie – I have it on my iTouch; it’s one of my favorites – kept me going and sane…

Former Hurricanes Star Kapanen Retires

 

 

 

 

 

KAPANEN LEAVES NHL, RETURNS TO FINLAND | Traded from Canes in 2003

Of interest to Carolina Hurricanes fans…former winger Sami Kapanen, who was traded to Philadelphia in 2003, announced his retirement from the NHL today. You can read the story, and get a link to Kapanen’s press conference, here.

The 34-year-old plans to return to his native Finland and play there for two years or so, then retire as a player.

Sami was my son Addison’s and my wife’s favorite player during his years in Carolina. He was a goal-scoring winger here who scored more than 20 goals in five consecutive seasons with the Canes, but never quite seemed to reach the offensive expectations the team had for him. His highest output for Philadelphia (where he sometimes played defense) was 12 goals.

He retires with 189 career goals in 831 NHL games.

Wild West Family Fun Day at Oak Ranch

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Sheriff’ Phill Richmond, the executive director at Oak Ranch, gives pony rides to children at its annual WIld West Family Fun Day Sunday

500 TAKE PART IN TRAIL RIDE | Annual event at Oak Ranch

SANFORD – Approximately 500 members of the community and volunteers participated in the “Wild West Family Day and Trail Ride” on Saturday, May 31 benefitting Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina (BCH). The event took place at BCH’s Oak Ranch, a 755-acre residential property just outside of Sanford that helps children and families in crisis.

“The event was a tremendous blessing,” said Oak Ranch director Phill Richmond. “The community and our sponsors really embraced the day and made it a success. We are thankful for everyone’s support.”

The event offered fun for the entire family including crafts, puppet shows, a climbing wall, and face painting for children as well as live gospel music, horse demonstrations, and horse and buggy rides. The event also included a benefit trail ride where horse owners could ride Oak Ranch’s expansive trails. Proceeds from the trail ride, and also from the home-cooked chicken and barbecue lunches served, helps the nonprofit childcare institution provide care for boys and girls.

“Baptist Children’s Homes depends on the generosity of others to meet the tremendous needs of the children,” said BCH president Michael C. Blackwell. “We care for hundreds of children each year through multiple care facilities across the state including Oak Ranch in the Lee County area. This event provides the community an opportunity to support our boys and girls and learn more about the services BCH provides.”

Oak Ranch provides residential care for boys and girls at the properties two cottages. Child care workers and social work staff members work with both the children and their families to help them overcome their challenges. Oak Ranch provides a unique equine therapy service where children work with the ranch’s 10 horses and a horse expert. Interacting and caring for the horse’s helps children learn important responsibilities and other values that can be transferred and utilized in their homes and communities.

Wild West Family Day was organized by BCH staff members with the help of friends and supporters. Primary sponsor First Bank donated $10,000 towards the event. Other sponsors included The Sanford Herald, the Sanford Coca Bottling Company, and numerous area businesses and organizations.

BCH is already discussing next year’s event.

“This was such a great day, and it was a privilege to provide an event that could be enjoyed by the entire family,” Blackwell said. “Baptist Children’s Homes has a heart for children and families, and we look forward to doing this again next year.”

Since 1885, Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina has helped children and families. BCH began with one campus, Mills Home in Thomasville, but now provides services in sixteen communities across the state.

(Press release provided by Oak Ranch)
 

 

 

 

 

 

Pens Win Game 5in Triple-OT ‘Called Shot’

What a game…

Pittsburgh’s Petr Sykora, injured earlier in the game, called his shot in the 3rd overtime to give his Penguins a 4-3 victory over the host Detroit Red Wings in Game 5. It kept Pittsburgh alive – the Wings lead the series now, 3-2 – going into Wednesday’s game back at the Igloo. Here’s Sykora’s goal…

Sykora also scored a goal in the 3rd OT of a playoff game in 2003, when he played for the Anaheim Ducks against the Dallas Stars. (His coach at the time was current Detroit coach Mike Babcock.) This morning’s game-winner came on a four-minute power play. Pittsburgh’s earlier efforts with the man-advantage in Game 5 resulted only two shots. Detroit, meanwhile, got off a total of 58 shots on Penguins’ goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who was magnificent in goal in the win.

The game was the fifth-longest in Stanley Cup finals history. Here’s the ranking of the top six:

55:13 on May 15, 1990
Edmonton 3 at Boston 2 (Game 1): goal by Petr Klima

54:51 on June 19, 1999
Dallas 2 at Buffalo 1 (Game 6): goal by Brett Hull *

54:47 on June 8, 2002
Detroit 3 at Carolina 2 (Game 3): goal by Igor Larionov

53:50 on April 9, 1931
Chicago 3 at Montreal 2 (Game 3): goal by Cy Wentworth

49:57 in June 2, 2008
Pittsburgh 4 at Detroit 2 (Game 5): goal by Petr Sykora

46:21 on June 8, 2000
Dallas 1 at New Jersey 0 (Game 5): goal by Mike Modano

44:31 on June 10, 1996
Colorado 1 at Florida 0 (Game 4): goal by Uwe Krupp *

* Stanley Cup-winning goal

Canes fans will remember two OT goals that beat the Hurricanes: Igor Larionov’s winner in Game 3 in 2002 and the short-handed goal scored by Fernando Pisani in 2006. Larionov’s goal in 2002 gave his Detroit Red Wings a 2-1 series lead; many Canes fans believe if Carolina had won, they would have eventually won the series. In 2006, the Canes were on a power play in the opening moments of OT in a potentially Cup-clinching Game 5, but gave up the shorty to Pisani. Edmonton went on the even the series at 3-3 at home a couple of nights later, but Carolina came back in Game 7 to win the Cup.

One of Hockey’s Most Amazing Moments

There are bad bounces, and bad breaks, then there’s this sequence of events…

Stairway to Gilligan’s Island

Combining two of the biggest pop culture phenomena of the late 60s and early 70s…Led Zeppelin and my favorite after-school sitcom, Gilligan’s Island.