Whining and more goalie talk

I swear, baseball fans can be some of the most myopic sons of bitches in the world. At least twice a day, while I'm out reading about baseball when I should be studying circuits, I see some joke about the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim name.

Let me make this perfectly clear. The name change happened in 2005. 2005 was 4 years ago. Here's some other things that happened 4 years ago:

-George W. Bush was inaugurated for his second term.
-The Patriots won their second of three Superbowls.
-Hurricane Katrina.
-Youtube goes online.

All of these things are more important than the Angels changing their name, yet none of them receive the constant discussion.

Stop it. If it's really a problem, do what everyone else does, and call them the Angels. Arte Moreno got a multi-million dollar TV deal and other such niceties out of the name change. STOP. WHINING.

Mariners fans are bad about this, but the never ending Dodger inferiority complex takes the cake.


Lucic Crew 2, Chinatown #1 8

I'm pretty irritated about this. My first period was awful. I gave up 6 goals, 4 of which had no business even getting near the net. I actually had to ask one of my teammates if the second goal went in because it was just such a bad, short-side goal on a nothing shot.

My second and third were okay, giving up one late goal in each period, but I'd really like to know whether I (and the team) improved between the first and second or if the other team stops trying because they've got a 6-2 lead. Either way, the only time I wasn't fighting the puck was the third, and I was 8 seconds away from a clean period before somebody NHL '94'd me with a wraparound. My crease movement is crappy, although slowly improving.

I actually felt pretty good during warmups, which is weird, because last game I was pretty sure I was going to pass out, and I don't think I stopped any of the first 20 warmup shots. I had a pretty nice streak going at one point today, but then you step back, and you realize that I'm talking about warmups.

Jeez.

What I'm learning is that I need my defense to play a substantially different game than they might with a real goalie. I always prefer them to try and deflect the shot, because I can usually see where the puck is going to be passed, but 4 out of 5 times I'm screened on a shot. I prefer the defenders forcing play to the middle because it lets me move to the center of the crease where I'm more confident in my motion. And I prefer facing breakaways to point shots.

I just can't see the puck very well when it's in the defensive zone, and so I start playing the "Guess where the puck is!" game, and that game sucks. It generally ends with me dropping into my "butterfly" without really knowing where the puck is going, only to see it pop out from the maze of defenders and soar into the net as I slide the other direction.

During the second and third, my defense blocked a lot of shots and mostly left me 1 on 1 with shooters, which was actually pretty nice. I can stop a breakaway because there's nothing else but me and the puck, and players these days either aim five-hole or try a toe drag for a top shelf shot, both of which I'm prepared for. I had one worthwhile save that wasn't on a breakaway, but that's pretty much it.

To recap, my combined first period goals allowed for both games: 11 goals
My combined second and third period goals allowed for both games: 6 goals

Just for kicks, that means my full game GAA based on first-period stats extrapolates to 16.50, while my full game GAA based on second- and third-period stats extrapolates to 4.50.

Hmm, that's Dan Cloutier territory!

Just not a good game, although still mindbogglingly fun, and I managed to avoid pulling my groin again. The next game is 2 weeks away on a Sunday evening, so I'm hoping I can force my friends to watch.