The Rise of Jesse, The Demise of Marcus

I missed the Sens game last night, but for good reason. I had a ticket for the Cabaret in Shawville, and once again, Mrs. Conrad's crew put on a wonderful show. The theme was "And Peace Ever After", with the chorus performing songs from the WWII era. I didn't know most of the songs they sang, but they were wonderful, and it was a great night! A special shout-out to Lindsay, Jared & Holly for lending their voices to the show, you all did a fantastic job.

When I got home, the first thing I checked on was the Sens score, and I was thrilled to hear that they defeated the Philly Flyers soundly on home ice, 4-1. While I haven't had the opportunity to watch many of the games recently, it seems as though they are finally starting to come around and gel together as a team. There has been praise for how they're paying more attention to team defence, and for how Alex Auld has stepped in and played strong after poor ol' Marty Gerber floundered (once again).

So I went downstairs to watch the highlights, and I was informed by Luke that my boy had scored. For a moment, I thought he meant Wade Redden, because he will always be "my boy". But then it clicked when I saw the replay of Jesse Winchester scoring his first NHL goal. The other day I spoke of the smile on Fisher's face when he scored his first of the season - well, last night, the smile on Jesse's face was just as sweet. (Even though Luke told me that he thinks Jesse has a crooked face. Like, c'mon, how can you have a 'crooked face'?) I was very happy for him, and I hope he has continued success in a Sens uniform. It'll take me a bit longer before I start considering him "my boy", but last night was definitely a step in the right direction for my relationship with Jesse!! (hee hee!!)

It would figure, on an evening that was going so well, that something would have to go wrong. That happened on Survivor last night. STUPID Survivor shake-ups that screw up alliances...I hate it!!

So yes. Jeff fooled them with a feast and had them thinking they were merging, but all he actually did was split them back up into two new tribes once again. Marcus ended up back at Kota with Bob and Susie from his alliance, and the wretched Crystal & Kenny. (The two of them may be my most hated Survivors ever...I loathe them). Former Kota members Randy, Charlie, and Corrinne headed back to Fang to hang with Matty & Sugar.

Marcus really ended up with the bum end of the deal by getting stuck with Susie on his new tribe. She is one of the most erratic, unpredictable players ever in the game. Marcus was nervous, and rightly so. I absolutely loved it when he broke his tribe down by saying there was him & Bob on one side, Crystal & Kenny on the other, with Susie playing "dizzy bat" in the middle. Quite an accurate description!!

Then Kota lost the Immunity Challenge, thanks to Matty out-lasting Bob balancing two poles on his hands. Props to Bob for hanging in as long as he did, and for a long time it looked like he was going to pull out the victory. Admirable for a man his age, up against a young guy like Matty.

I'm not sure what happened to the Fang plan to throw the challenge. Randy, Corrinne, and Charlie were afraid for Marcus' safety, due to him having the flighty Susie on his tribe, and they discussed losing purposely to save Marcus from the vote while they would gladly take the opportunity to vote Matty off their side. However, things didn't fall into place. Marcus bowed out of the challenge sooner than I think any of them expected, and they had no way of controlling Matty, who went on to win it for his tribe.

I thought Marcus might be OK with Crystal & Kenny after he found out that he and Crystal had an interesting connection - one of Marcus' best friends from back home is Crystal's cousin! He thought he had cemented a pretty good relationship with her based on that, but then he told her of his plans to oust Kenny, and Crystal went on the attack. She convinced Susie that Marcus couldn't promise her Final 3, and the next thing I knew, those dumbasses were voting him out.

I could've cried. Marcus is the best thing I've seen in this game since Colby, and it's complete bullsh*t that he's gone this early, while Crystal & Kenny, and espcially Susie, get to sit there with smug smirks on their faces. ARGHH...It makes me sooooooo mad!!

It made me think of a line that Mike Boogie used on Big Brother in Season 2, when some of his alliance members were getting evicted from the house. He said something like, "This is a joke! This game is losing all its stars and its being taken over by the f---ing EXTRAS!!"

That's exactly how I felt watching Marcus walk off last night with Crystal, Kenny, and Susie still sitting there. It's like the nasty people have risen up and taken control of the game, while the good, educated people are getting axed left and right. It doesn't make sense, and I only wish Marcus had somehow been dealt a better hand at the tribal shake-up.

Oh, and it's also too bad that Marcus orchestrated the whole "setting the Idol free" lunacy, when they took the hidden Immunity Idol that they found in the sand at their feast and tossed it into the ocean.

That stupid thing sure woulda come in handy at Tribal Council last night. I'm sure it's a decision he'll regret. For a long, long time.

A Good Day. A GREAT Day.

Today is a good day.

A great day, in fact.

First of all, I awoke to the news this morning that Democrat Barack Obama is the first black President of the United States. As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I really don't pay all that much attention to politics, but one would have had to be living under a rock not to get caught up in this epic Presidential campaign.

From what I've seen of Obama, he's an articulate, intelligent man, and he certainly impressed me far more than his Republican counterpart, John McCain. (I won't even get into Sarah Palin...)

It was an historic vote, not just for Americans, but for the entire world.

In Obama's first speech as President-Elect, he said this about the tasks at hand: "The greatest of a lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face."

I can't wait to see how Obama's reign as President unfolds, and how it will affect us as Canadians. We'll find out soon enough what kind of a leader he is, because with the world in the precarious state it is in, he'll either sink or soar.

But something tells me the future has been left in very capable hands. He has the potential to be one of the greatest Presidents in history. Indeed, today is a very good day.

So what makes today a great day?

Why, the smile on Mike Fisher's face last night when he scored in OT to beat the Washington Capitals before a hometown crowd at the Bank in Ottawa.

What a beautiful smile it was!

I haven't blogged much on the Sens yet this year, due to the fact that they've gotten off to a bit of a shaky start, and the fact that I still miss Wade. Painfully so.

But we've all been hearing the mutters about Mike Fisher as this young season develops. "He works so hard, but no points in the first ten games? Not good enough for a guy making $6M this season."

No one could ever question Mike Fisher's grit or heart, but people were starting to squirm impatiently the longer he went without any points. Secondary scoring has been an issue for the Sens the past few seasons, and he's supposed to be one of the key guys providing it. As Bryan Murray publicly mulled over the possibility of moving a roster player to acquire a puck-moving defenceman (ahem...anyone remember when we used to have one named WADE!?!), or possibly a goaltender, Fisher's name was starting to come up as the guy they might have to lose in order to gain in other areas.

Safe to say the Fisher Frenzy was starting to reach fever-pitch going into last night's game. He just had to do something about it.

I only got to catch the last few minutes of regulation time, with the score dead-locked at 1 apiece, and when I arrived at my spot on the couch, I was informed by the family that Fisher had broken his point drought by assisting on Dany Heatley's goal. I let out a sigh of relief, glad to know the pressure on him would be lessened now that he had made it onto the scoresheet.

Mike Fisher's not my favourite all-time player or anything, but losing him would sure decrease the Hotness Factor on the team!

(And I supposed I would miss his hard-working, all-heart performances as well).

In any case, I wasn't a fan of the talk of him leaving town, so hearing that not only did he have a beauty assist on Heater's goal, but also that he could have arguably been called the best player on the ice throughout the game, proved to me that Mike had decided to take his fate into his own hands. He was making sure to step up to the plate and prove to the nay-sayers that he is perfectly capable of being one of the best players on this team.

With time winding down in Overtime, a sweet play developed when the Sens stormed the Washington end and Alfredsson slid a pass over to Fisher in the slot. Fish one-timed the game winner past Caps goaltender Brent Johnson to put an exclamation point on his stellar performance.

So yes, the smile on his face as he was mobbed by his teammates was beautiful.

I'm sitting here smiling just thinking about it.

And that's what makes today a great day.