Sens News and Other Tidbits

It's gonna be a quickie, but here it is, folks!

So we had some hockey news this week in Sens Land - Ray Emery avoided arbitration by agreeing to a last-minute deal, which will earn him $9.5 M over the next 3 years. I was pretty happy with the signing. I think Ray's worth that kind of coin (in comparison to the contracts that have been handed to Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan Miller, and Cam Ward) - plus, we get the security of having him here in Ottawa for 3 more years, rather than the 1- or 2-year deal he would have received through arbitration. Christoph Schubert was also inked to a new contract, something in the $2-Mil range for 3 more seasons, and that's a pretty good deal on a guy who can play both wing and defence. Schubert's versatility proved very valuable to the Sens last season when he pretty much filled holes wherever necessary, but with the departure of Tom Preissing through free agency, he might just get his chance to play full-time at his natural position on the blueline.

Now, the Sens news that disturbed me greatly this week was the report in yesterday's Ottawa Sun that Bryan Murray had Wade Redden traded back on draft day, and the only reason the deal didn't go through was because Wade chose to exercise his no-trade clause. Thank God for that, but Mr. Murray had better hope he never crosses paths with me in the Pontiac anytime soon, or he'll get an earful...and then some! I'm extremely unimpressed and deeply upset that he tried to trade him, especially after Redden repeatedly indicated that he did not want to leave the Senators. The fact that Murray has now gone public with this news also troubles me. Why is he doing it? Trying to piss Wade off so that he'll want to leave? Some kind of sick pressure tactic? I know Redden didn't have the best season in the world, and his play certainly wasn't worthy of his $6.5 M contract. But this is a guy who has been loyal to the Sens his entire career, and could have received more money on the open market last year (see Zdeno Chara), but instead took less to stay with the team he has been with since Day 1. Now where's the friggin' loyalty back, Mr. Murray? HUH???

OK...now that I've got that outta my system...It was an awesome episode of CI this week. I was shocked that Brian Melo was in the bottom 2, as he blew me away for the first time with his Hendrix song. Other stand-outs for me were Greg Neufeld doing some Johnny Cash, Tara Oram with Elvis' "Suspicious Minds", and Matt Rapley breaking out with his rendition of "Whipping Post". Khalila Glanville was the one sent home after her performance of "Natural Woman" failed to wow Canada. This was the first week I tried to vote - first for Greg, then Dwight, then Brian - but after 20 minutes of trying and getting only busy signals, I quit. If it's that hard to get votes through, I'm amazed anyone even bothers trying!

BB has been intriguing this week as well, with Evil Dick running a powertrip over everyone in the house, with Kail being his primary target. Last night, Jen won the POV to remove herself from the block *ugh*, and Dick replaced her with Mike, who can possibly be crowned the biggest idiot in BB History. He purposely pissed off Dick just to show his loyalty to Kail, even though Dick told him he was going up. And I wouldn't be surprised in the least if the house decides to go against Dick's wishes and vote Mike out - Kail's a weak player who does way too much back-pedalling and she is terrible at keeping secrets. Mike's usually a little smarter - and I think some of the people in the house will see Mike as the stronger player and choose to oust him. We'll find out tonight!

As for ball last night - we lost, and I hated it, and I didn't like people bossing me again. I did get on base once, but Wayne was thrown out on the same play, and that's not good. Wayne's a wayyyyy better player than I am, so to sacrifice him for myself was not what I was looking for. And I'm already dreading the double-header next week...boooooooooo....

That's a wrap!!

How I Got to Third Base...

Last night was the first night I think I can honestly say I had fun playing ball!

Don't get me wrong - I love my team, and most nights, there are a lot of laughs and I enjoy hanging out at the ball field. But when it comes to the actually playing part, I generally think I suck, and I don't have a whole lot of self-esteem when it comes to my athletic capabalities (which, as you all may recall, I blame on my dad...because he cut me from the ball team when I was 10...but I won't get into all that again...)

Last weekend, though, I made it to first while playing for another team in the 3-pitch tourney in Quyon, and all of a sudden I realized, "Hey, I can do this!" I was just hoping that I could do so in regular league play so that I could savour the moment with my teammates, who would realize what a big feat I had just accomplished. (The group I was playing with on the weekend didn't seem to understand what a huge deal it was for me to be actually standing on a base...)

So last night, MVT was taking on the Geriatrics in the early game, and I can honestly say it was my happiest game ever! Ricky did have me batting last, which was a tiny blow to my ego, but I got over it quickly. Also, Woermke didn't shout at me this time for standing still & not trying in the outfield. Instead, he just quietly told me when to move, and where I should be standing - quiet instructions work much better with me, I appreciate that much more and I tend to listen a little better.

Now, here's the really amazing part: When I came up to bat in the second inning, I actually hit the ball pretty good down the third baseline. I have no idea what happened because I had my head down as I chugged along towards first, but I could tell by the excited whooping & cheering of my team on the bench that I was going to be safe. The really amazing part was that Wayne, who was running to second, was also safe!! It was a MIRACLE!!

Thanks to a good string of hits, I made it all the way around to third, and could've made it home if Ricky hadn't popped up for our third out. I can't recall the last time I stood on third base. Or second base for that matter. It's been years. I was glowing. Literally glowing.

OK, so I didn't do anything for the rest of the game, but we did eventually win (despite Mr. JN's homeruns for the Geriatrics...next game, we're not sharing our special bat with you!) - and I went home a happy kid. I love ball!

On the Canadian Idol front - Tuesday night, the Top 10 performed #1 hits, and stand-outs for me were Jaydee Bixby singing Conway Twitty's "It's Only Make Believe", Greg Neufeld doing the Killers' "All These Things That I Have Done", and Tara Oram performing "You Win My Love" by Shania Twain. All three were safe last night in the elimination show, with the bottom three consisting of Khalila Glanville, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Mila Miller. The judges didn't think Carly should've been there, but based on her Bee Gee's song choice from the night before, I wasn't surprised. Fortunately, Carly survived and will get a chance to make up for it next week. So did Khalila. Mila was sent home, and it wasn't a great shock. I'm surprised she even made the Top 10.

That's a wrap for today's Blog...have a good one, gang! :)