I Wish

I haven't posted in a bit because I was trying to put together a well-crafted and developed argument against calling something in hockey a, "scrum."

In my opinion you shouldn't call an illegal activity after the whistle, with no organization, a scrum.

Scrums are highly organized restarts to the game after a minor altercation.  They are much more akin to a face-off.

If they insist on using a Rugby term I think they should call these things rucks.  That's a good, tough, hockey sounding word.

However, I looked in the NHL 2012-2013 Rulebook and the word "scrum" is indeed used for these activities.

So now I'm just a hockey newbie who doesn't know what he is talking about, and I should just sit down and shut up, right?

No.  I still get my opinion and I say it is wrong to call it a scrum.  I'm still going to cringe everytime I hear it, but I will stop shouting at my TV.  At least I'll stop shouting at it for this reason.

Does this:

Scrum

Look like this:

hockey thingie

I don't think so.

I think this:

Face-off

Looks a lot like this:

Scrum (before engaged)

Congratulations and Moving Forward

First I had to put this.


That's nice, isn't it?  Let's just savor that for a moment.

I've let it sink in for a day and it is really nice.  My eldest went to the store yesterday to buy blank tee shirts to make us all Blackhawk championship shirts.  She is actually very good at that sort of thing.

I promised myself after 2010 that if the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup again I would learn to in-line skate and how to play hockey.  I'm not sure when I'm going to start that, but it will probably be soon.  I just hope it's not too hard to learn.

I wanted to share another thing with you.  Now a-days they call them memes.  I think of them more as motivational images.  I had one years ago of a closeup of what looks like a Rugby ruck and the caption is Jack Dempsey's quote, "A champion is someone who gets up even when they can't."  I loaned it to my Father when he was battling cancer.  I was reminded of this sort of thing the other day so I put this together:

Way to go, you Hawks!

Here is my Stanley Cup story.  For Game 6 we were at home and put the game on fairly early in the first period.  The Bruins looked like they had fire in their eyes, a desperation that the Blackhawks were just not matching.  The Hawks looked hesitant, slow and not too interested in really getting into it physically or with speed.  Then Boston scored and I thought to myself, "This is going to Game 7."

I didn't want to see the Blackhawks wimp around so I went down to the basement to work on some stuff.  I could still hear my older two in the family room whenever something important happened.  When I had to I walked through the house.  Some of the things I had to do required me to move from the basement to the first floor and to the upstairs. 

Mrs. Prop was in our bedroom watching with our youngest.  She would change the channel when things got too tense and/or at commercials.

I did see the first Blackhawks goal, the Toews goal where he took it from the faceoff and pretty much single handedly drove down and stuffed it right between Rask's legs in the 5 hole.  He did it right in front of everybody.  They say the way to beat top line goalies is to not let them see it coming.  They can't stop what they can't see, but Rask saw that coming all the way and there was just something about the way Toews did it that he could not stop.

I had a sort of feeling that I didn't really recognize until yesterday.  At that point I realized that Jonathan Toews would not let this game end in regulation with a loss.  The Blackhawks were not going to lose in regulation that night.  He was going to win it or at least keep it tied into overtime.

It was still too much to take, too much to watch directly.  I had to keep watching from the fringes.

I was upstairs doing something and saw the Bruins' score their second goal.  My oldest screamed, "No!" for a minute, but I also saw how the Blackhawks were skating so much better, with a better sense of urgency and purpose.  I was worried that it would go to a Game 7, but I also thought that they would probably tie it up again.

Eventually it got to be time to get ready for bed.  I still had to get up at 3:00.  I went upstairs with about three and a half minutes left.

I talked to Mrs. Prop for a bit.  I mentioned that there was plenty of time to tie the game again, but not enough time to get the winning goal and then went into the bathroom to brush my teeth.  I closed the door.

You know how long it takes to brush your teeth?  It only takes about two minutes.  I heard my youngest make a little squeaking sound.  A few seconds later I heard Mrs. Prop say something like, "Holy shit!"

I figured that the Blackhawks had indeed tied the game again.  After all, how could they score two goals in that time?  If they had scored the winning goal wouldn't I have heard my very loud teens screaming and yelling?

I finished brushing and came out of the bathroom.  Mrs. Prop had already changed the channel to "Criminal Minds" or something.  I said, "What was the noise I heard; a scary movie?"  They said that it was.

I got into bed and they asked me to plug my ears and close my eyes.  I know now that they were checking to see if the third goal held.  Then she told me that they had won.

I said, "What, how, who?"  but the other two came charging up cheering.  I had to wait to watch them hand around the Cup for a while before they showed any replay and I found out what had happened.  In less time than it takes to brush your teeth the Chicago Blackhawks had gone from losing Game 6 to winning the Stanley Cup.

Which puts me in mind of this:

I have to hand it to the Boston Bruins.  They are a heck of a team.  If they hadn't been playing against my Chicago Blackhawks, I'd have been rooting for them.  I like smashmouth football.  I don't like the passing all the time, glamor, flash, all offense all the time football.

The Bruins play smashmouth hockey.  Their success is driven by tight team play delivered aggressively and hard.  I know the city of Boston was really looking forward to an emotional lift after the struggles and pain of the Marathon Bombings.

In the end the Blackhawks played just as tough as Boston did, but the Chicago Blackhawks played with toughness and skill, speed and flash.  Boston ended up having to resort to brutality.

The Blackhawks were the better team, the tougher team and they are my team.

Congratulations!

Bike Commute 2011 - Day 32

Back on the dusty trail Monday, finally.


IN -

I actually got out and started at almost 4:00. I made it to work at a good pace and 34 minutes. That's not bad considering I'm over a month out of practice. I did notice that it's dark later now, and was concerned that I didn't see or hear any animals at all until I got just before work and heard some crickets (or frogs, sometimes I can't tell which is which). Where have all the critters gone?

HOME -

Last Friday/Saturday was the biggest single day rainfall in the history of Chicago weather-keeping (since 1871) so I expected the Des Plaines River Trail to be flooded but I didn't see any sign of that as I passed over the river. There also weren't any puddles or any mud on the trail. I was a bit surprised.

There was a downed tree branch. There is quite a bit of that around since the week before last we had a huge storm that ComEd said caused the 4th biggest blackout they have ever had. That one blew down trees and buildings.

Today it was very pleasant. It wasn't as hot as I had feared (feared 90s and got 80s) and there was a gentle headwind. It wasn't enough to impede progress, but just enough to add a bit of cooling effect to the ride. I actually felt more comfortable going home than coming to work.

It was a pretty quick ride at about 46 minutes.
In other news -

I started working out again. This is in addition to the bike rides. I'm going to mix Body for Life and Power 90 (no not P90X, just plain old P90). I don't expect to do it for 90 days, but I want to get into pretty good shape for Old Boys.

Last Time the Bears and Packers Met in the Post Season

Can I make it one of my New Year's resolutions to watch in the Bears in the Super Bowl in 2011?

Of course if you want to dispute any of these you are welcome to, but I thought I would put some perspective to this year's NFC Championship game.

There are some very obvious things like, there were no cell phones in 1941, but I wanted to reach really far back, back to things that we think have been around a long time and see what was different when the Bears BEAT the Packers in the playoffs:

Inventions

• There was no TV
• Computer was a job title, not a machine
• Jet airplanes hadn't been invented (of course no NY Jets either)
• Missiles hadn't been invented
• There were no atomic bombs or any nuclear reactors
• Phones had dials not buttons
• There were no microwaves or Tupperware
• You couldn't play ultimate Frisbee because they hadn't been invented
• Scrabble hadn't been invented
• Credit cards - there were no credit cards

History
• WWII was only seven days old (for the US)
• UN didn't exist
• The NFL had been created only 20 years earlier (we went to the moon 41 years ago)
• There were no interstate highways
• There was no rock and roll, none
• There were no McDonald's

Geography
• There was no Hawaii or Alaska (they weren't states yet)
• There was no Israel
• There was no Viet Nam, South Korea, India, Philippines or Australia (as separate independant countries)
• Pluto was a planet

Football
• The T formation was only one year old in the NFL
• The NFL itself was younger than the Superbowl is today
• Facemasks and Astroturf hadn't been invented
• There was no Lambeau field
• There were only 10 teams in the NFL
• No PARENT of the current Bears or Packers players had been born yet

GO BEARS!

Merry Christmas Presents

Merry Christmas everybody!  I wanted to share a couple of the gifts I got.

I got a ukulele and bag.  I've been practicing since Christmas and still can't play a tune, but I am getting better and it is less annoying to practice than say, a violin or drums.

Fun.

You know what else is fun?

The Chicago Bears and I are sharing a gift.  The Philadelphia Eagles gave us this gift, and we are loving it.  I just can't believe they were so generous.

 Thank you Michael Vick.

Can you believe how lucky the Bears have been this year?

I think they should change their uniforms.  They resemble this Bear more I think:

Happy Yule!

Me last night:  "Stay down old man and learn your name!"

Go Bears!

Illini Beat Penn State

Funny thing happened while I was watching the Fighting Illini pound the Nittany Lions yesterday, 33-13.

No it wasn't that Joe Paterno looks like a Great Old One.  No, this was even more disturbing than that.

While I was watching, and enjoying the game they showed a highlight of the Texas game.  Apparently they have the world's largest scoreboard there.

Anyway, it was showing the game and suddenly it flashed to what you see in the picture.

What can this mean?  Are we all doomed?

More Orange and Blue Koolaid to Drown My Sorrows

I've found the perfect cup from which to drink my orange and blue koolaid.  The potasium cynaide will go down so much smoother in this beautifully etched crystal.

And I'll be needing it.

The Ilini made a good showing for themselves and I thought they might pull it off until the 4th quarter when they kept making penalties.  Still, it was better than 30-0 which was what they got against Ohio State last year.  It was a fun game to watch too.

The Bears are another story, too TOO painful to watch.  This was definitely a put-your-hands-over-your-ears-and-go-la-la-la-la game.

OMG!  What the heck happened?

I could have sworn this thing had wheels yesterday, but today they seem to have fallen off.

Orange and Blue - Who's Fault

The Fighting Illini Football team were off this week, but Mikel LeShoure got a full page in the Chicago Tribune this Sunday.  I love when Chicago actually acknowledges the Illini.

Bears beat the Packers (curse you Greenbay Packerpus) 20-17 last night.  Unfortunately I couldn't watch, but I listened as long as I could and it sounded non too good at first.

This morning I got right on the highlights on the web and I see Packers fans saying in the same breath, the Bears had no business on the field with the Packers who are the only true Superbowl caliber team in the NFC, while they also say that the Packers gave the game away on penalties.

Excuse me, but Superbowl caliber teams don't GIVE games away and Superbowl caliber teams don't commit three miles of penalties.

But, still they say, the Bears didn't win that game.

Well, if the Bears didn't win it, and the Packers didn't lose it, who is responsible.  Aaron Rodgers gives the Soldier Field crowd credit.  Ok, we'll take that, Chicago won.

Reading vs Doing

I realized today that I have certain things that I just can't stand reading about but I love. There are other things that I love to read about but don't like doing, and there are things that I like reading about AND doing.

I like camping and I would read about it or do it, but too much reading with no doing would be frustrating.

I like reading about history. I also like reading about strange and sometimes frightening people that I don't care if I never meet. The list of things I like to read about and not do is pretty short though.

But the list of things that I can't stand to read about and not do is, if not longer, much stronger. Archaeology, swimming and Rugby are things that I can't stand to read about if I can't do them. I've tried. I have books on Rugby, I've taken books out of the library about swimming and Archaeology (and Anthropology) but I just can't read them. I'm trying to get back into the swing of Anthropology, I'd LOVE to go back to school to get my doctorate in it, but I just can't stand to read it.

Maybe there is some other way to interest myself in reading about it. I do like to WATCH shows about it, but shows tend not to have the cutting edge information and are not detailed enough to make me satisfied.

I'm like that with learning Greek. I really can't sit there and try to learn it from a book. I want a class and tests and teachers being disappointed in me for not doing well. I want to earn a good grade.

Do you think there is a correlation?

Why Isn't Rugby Union More Popular in the US?

There is a big push right now to get more Rugby in High Schools in Illinois.

HS Rugby makes all the sense in the world to me, low cost, high action and impact, something to keep American footballers in condition off season, better tackling technique for American footballers, better for teaching TEAMWORK are just a few things that spring to mind.

So why isn't Rugby Union more popular in Illinois, or for that matter in the USA?

Too complicated? It really isn't any more complicated than NFL football or NCAA basketball. People don't understand it because they didn't grow up with it, but I really don't see why they couldn't grow up with it.

Too violent? My brother, who played college football for Drake and plays Rugby for the Chicago Griffins said that studies have been done that show that the more equipment you wear the more likely you are to get injured. In Rugby there are no weapons out there, just mano-a-mano. Is there a chance for injury, yes, but I don't think it is really any greater than American football.

Bad Reputation? College Rugby in America has a well deserved reputation for rude, vulgar and even criminal behavior off the field. I never participated in that and it wasn't very evident at Illinois when I was there, but it does happen and some of the college players take some pride in the rep. I think the more comepetitive the team the less that sort of thing happens, but as long as it happens the game will suffer. The question is, is this the main reason the sport isn't more popular.

We already have American football, why do we need another kind of football? I can see the validity of this argument. I don't really see any parallel. None of the really popular sports in the USA are similar to each other at all.

There's no money in it. This is the biggest reason I see. Until 1996 all Rugby Union players, worldwide could NOT be paid to play Rugby.

There is a thing called Rugby League which to my mind is an evil bastardization implemented by greedy people who just wanted to get paid. League has been around since the 1800s and has become more like American football, too much for my tastes.

That's further evidence for this last argument. League and American football, both children of Rugby Union, made changes that were designed to help them make money. So not only is Union not starting from a base of youngsters dreaming of getting rich playing Union, the money making elements in the game aren't there. I hope some of them never get made and that society comes to appreciate the Union game for what it is, but that may be an empty hope.

Why do you think Rugby Union isn't more popular in the USA? You can just vote on the poll and/or you can leave a comment.

Congratulations, Explanations, Rejuvenation and Reevaluation

First off, many people may have come here by Googling "Illini" since the football team's outstanding, upset win last Saturday over Ohio State. I know I would be confused if I landed here and found this site when I was looking for football.

Let me say, welcome anyway and hope you stay. Let me also say congratulations to the team. I don't follow college football much. It is too complicated and I only went to one game while I was at Illinois (because ROTC required that I go and sell soda for a fundraiser). I was busy on Saturday afternoons with the other, original form of football, RUGBY.

That said, this is not an American Football site, nor is it a fan site for Fighting Illini teams per se.

This brings me to the real topic of today's post, Reevaluation and Rejuvenation.

I saw a show on History International the other night called "Band of Bloggers." It was about bloggers in Iraq and it made me think about my blog.

This blog will be two years old next January and I've had less than three thousand visitors in that time. I'd like to get more traffic, regular commenters and basically an audience for my writing (my fiction or my blogging or both).

In the past two years the blog has changed emphasis a couple of times and none of those changes seemed to garner any more traffic.

This has been over a month of one of the most steady times I have had for daily postings in the history of Illini6. This means that I have the commitment and the drive right now to make a change for the better.

I want to take a more systematic approach this time to evaluate the shape, image and content of this blog. I have requested blogging books from the library, and I have taken the plunge to redesign the look of the blog. I hope you like it.

A new feature available through Blogger is the poll on the upper left. I intend to use the poll quite often now so that is one definite change.

Please take the poll and let me know what you are interested in seeing and participating in on this blog. You can choose more than one thing.

Let's make this an entertaining and informative place to visit.

Go Bears!

I have no idea what this photo is of, or who it is, but the guy next to Cthulhu is wearing a green and gold tee-shirt so maybe he's a Packer fan about to meet his timely end.

Bears beat the Packers 27-20, amazing. The stars must have been right I guess.

Favre is now tied for most carreer interceptions (with one time Bear George Blanda).

Any day the Packers loose is a good one, any day the Bears win is better and any day the Bears beat the Packers is GREAT!

RUN DAMN IT!

You may have come here from Miserable Donuts where you saw one of the two images that were burned into my little gray cells and here you will find the other one.

These images and two things I have to say will be the last I have to offer on the matter and I will move on and complete the healing process.

RUN!

Thomas Jones got 7.5 yard a carry, but they only ran 19 TIMES! "We're a running team." - Lovie Smith. My butt! If they had established the run they would have won the game. I realize that they were awful in almost every phase of the game, but they were in it for a very long time. Had they run when they had the lead they would never have lost it. Does running work? Ask the Colts, they ran 46 TIMES! And they have Manning!

This point is a little more subtle and maybe only a sub-point of the other one. If they had run the same gameplan that they ran against the Saints I think they would have won.

As I said, they managed to work their way down to being horrible in all phases of the game. They started out good on Special Teams (Kickoff return for a touchdown), Defense (interceptions and fumble recoveries) and even offense (big Thomas Jones run, Grossman actuall had a passer rating of somewhere around 120 in the 2nd quarter when Mannings was only about 85), and then lost it, so there is plenty of blame to go around.

Here is an image however that I think summed the Not-So-Superbowl all up:

It was a Train Rex!

That Noise

That noise you heard late this morning (it may have actually been audible on the ISS (I know there is no sound in space, but that’s only because there is no media by which to transmit the sound waves, but if you had some piece of the atmosphere blown off the earth by a very loud sound that air WOULD carry the wave and you COULD hear it)) was the sound of millions of suburban American men mowing their lawns before the game.

My wife makes me BAG it. I hate that. Men don’t want to BAG (that’s a tinny sort of word). We want to MULCH! That’s a manly sort of word. It reminds us of what we want our team to do to their opponents. Mulch, slice, dice, shred, mince (well, that’s not too manly either, scratch that), rend, obliterate, ANNIHILATE!

On the other hand, bag is like sack and that’s okay. Yeah, honey, I ain’t gunna bag anymore. From now on I’m gunna SACK the clippings.

Yep, it doesn’t matter what team they support. In fall, on Sundays, when the grass is long and the wife is na- er, I mean reminding lovingly, the boys go out and fire up the Toros, Hondas and Lawnboys. It may not be cut well, but it’s cut, and it’s cut before the game starts. That’s what counts.

Sometimes testosterone can be deafening.

GO BEARS!

Illini6 Exclusive!

The Fighting Illini lost this Saturday to Rutgers 33-0. That's sad, but something else happened Sunday with another team that wears orange and blue (NO, not Florida! We were Orange and Blue before they were so go someplace else!)

Da Bears shutout Green Bay. That's right. The Packers had the second longest active non-shutout streak in the NFL and Da Bears shut them out (pass the beef). Guess who the last team to shut out the Pack was? That's right; Da Bears back in 1991 (with Da Coach)!

Here's something even more amazing. That number 4 of theirs, the guy who doesn't even know how to pronounce his own name (but I've heard he's a pretty good football player), can't remember the last time HE was shutout.

He can't remember the last time he was shutout, not because he's so old he has Alzheimer's, not because his bell was rung yesterday, no, because it was so long ago.

Well, I had to dig long and hard to find this, but here it is, an Illini6 exclusive. A photo of Brett Favre (pronounced Fav-Ray) the last time he was shutout.