Summary of the Phantoms/Monarchs Game

The first period of the Phantoms/Monarchs game was pretty evenly matched…..at first. Nic Riopel the 21 year old goaltender who started his Phantom career on a shutout victory gave up 2 goals within 20 seconds of each other. It was really bizarre to watch, in an attempt to write notes about the game I was startled by the quick wrap around goal by Clune moments after the first by Holloway. In defense of Riopel, his teammates didn’t offer him much defense, it was completely collapsing. The game was tied 0-0 until the last 3 minutes of the game. Tired legs to blame? No excuse they were switching players out regularly and not only that I felt at the most inconvenient times as well. One minute left to play the Phantoms are on a break away guarded by 3 Monarch defenders and the coach calls to switch out players? Really? If they had men on the ice and not a lone solider maybe a play could have been executed and maybe a goal! That in my opinion would have been fantastic incentive for the team and a positive end to a lousy last couple of minutes in the first period. Shots on goal for the Phantoms 8 and for the Monarchs 15.
Three seconds into the second period FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!! Anyone that attends a hockey game loves a good brawl. The gloves go, helmets, and sticks fly and its on! The best part is the refs standing watching these guys go blow for blow. They are smart actually because if you do attempt to break it up they are likely to get socked with a left hook themselves. Usually a fight is officially over when someone is knocked off their feet or drilled up against a wall. All and all, clearly the Phantoms had some frustration that needed some attending to after the first period. The refs for the most part let the players play and minimal penalties were called unless they were blatant. Four minutes into the second period the Phantoms get a power play opportunity. Again the defense collapsed into submission of the Monarchs offense and they paid dearly for it. Goal 3 scored by Nolan. The Monarchs capitalized on what should have been an advantage for the Phantoms and with the next 5 minutes 3 more goals were scored on Riopel. Yes, 3 more goals. It was a bad second period for the Phantoms as well as Riopel. Shortly afterwards there was a goalie change from Riopel to Brian Stewart. Stewart sparked new life into the Phantoms defense as well as the offense. The man to man coverage worked in the Phantoms favor and Eric Wellwood scored the first goal for the Phantoms. Finally some life was added to the team and the defensive hustle picked up. But regardless of that or even player transition for the Monarchs they seamlessly lined back up on defense, much better than the Phantoms had the entire game. Even their puck handling skills were much superior as well. They made it look way to easy. Shot on goal for the Phantoms 16 total (another 8 for the period) while the Monarchs had 28 total.
The third period brought about more key goaltending from Stewart. The opponents goaltender faired very well also (Jones). He would taunt the Phantoms by slapping his stick on the ice, kinda like anytime now I’m ready for you. This entire game was first of a game of catch up for the Phantoms and second off strictly defense due to the lack of opportunity for a breakaway or shut down of the Monarchs defense. With 8 minutes left Greg Moore scored the Phantoms second goal. With 5 minutes to go the Monarchs had a huge advantage on the ice. It was 3 on 5. With the way the Phantoms defense had played all game, I think everyone was holding their breathe. Again Stewart saved the day deflecting shots and catching a racing puck to his net. Great display of goalkeeping on his part. The Phantoms managed the rest of the game without any other goals scored against them or without any more goals scored by them.
The new head coach Joe Paterson has his work cut out for him, but the Phantoms have a remarkable fan base within the Glens Falls community. The team does have heart and drive, they showed it throughout the game even with a 6 goal deficit, they never gave up. For more information or for tickets visit http://www.phantomshockey.com

Phantoms Footage After Second Goal First Period

Atmosphere at the Phantoms Game

First and foremost before we go into detail about the Phantoms/Monarchs game I feel it necessary to explain the atmosphere at the event. Upon arrival a large crowd had formed outside the Glens Falls Civic Center for tickets. Families and friends gathered to their seats and many had Phantoms scarves, jerseys, and hats on. It has been a long time I have attended an AHL game and saw such dedication amongst the fans. The community really has embraced the team. They cheered during good plays, taunted the other goalie (as well as there own), and even though the Phantoms were down by 4 goals, they stayed until the bitter end! It was refreshing to see kids dancing to the music and the youth hockey team sliding all over the ice on their skates. It reminded me when I was a kid going to Capital District Islander games. They do have incentives to get people to return to games such as a zambonie ride and autographed merchandise. I can’t wait to attend the next game and talk with the fans. The Phantoms don’t have the best record this year, in fact the most wins that they have had were in the month of December. So why do fans return to the games? Is it a love for the game? Is it a love for the Phantoms? Or is it merely something to do and somewhere to be seen? At the next game I will be asking fans these questions. I look forward to hearing the results.
For more information and tickets to see the Phantoms live go to http://www.phantomshockey.com

Cowboys future w/ Garrett

So at this point the Dallas Cowboys season is over and every game they have won since they went on a deplorable losing streak has damaged the changes of a better draft pick. That is all fine and dandy, the team has amazing talent, they just can't seem to get it together. What is the plan for next season and who will be coaching it?

Talks about possible new coaches have brought up names like Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher. Of course Jason Garrett has been fairly impressive as well since he has taken over the team. I would not be ready to give him the title yet, though. I feel he is still responsible for some of the previous errors the Cowboys were enduring this season. After all, how quickly we forget he was the offensive coordinater and he was making play calls. He seems to have the commorodity of the team at this point and time but I think he is to soft.

Bill Cowher I believe would be a perfect fit. He has a valuable reputation and I feel can give these "All Star" players a kick in the ass. I mean your not all that if you can't prove it on the field. I feel its exactly what these guys need to hear. I think the problem is though, Jerry Jones. He is WAY to involved with the affairs of the team and he also voices these opinions to the press, he's a plague and consistently spreading his disease from season to season. I know Bill Cowher wouldn't take his crap for two seconds. I guarentee you he would simple say, go up and sit your cozy box and let me handle the rest, that is what you pay me for! That is what NEEDS to happen. Jason Garrett wouldn't do that, and needless to say if he does get the coaching job that is probably one of the reasons why. It will be the same mistakes, the same issues, and the same kinda losing season unless something gives with Mr. Jones. He is our Yankee Georgie Boy times 100!!

If Jon Gruden is considered for the head coaching job, well if he gets the head coaching job, I will prolly have to renounce my loyalties to the Dallas Cowboys. Did anyone here (at any point in time really) his commentaries? Last night he friggin said that Brett Favre looked like he was "23 again." ARE YOU KIDDING ME? A player can botch up the play worse than Eli Manning's self-fumble and Gruden would still say what an awesome attempt it was at something great.....I can't stand it, its like he doesn't want to offend anyone. Where the frigg is that going to get you? No respect from a team that's for sure. No loyalties, no improvements, he will be walked all over.

An assertive head coach willing to take chances and get the respect out of the team through progressive action is what needs to happen. Jerry Jones needs to learn what his role is on the team and let the staff take care of the rest. It is one thing to want to show your support for your players but it quite another to be on the sidelines hooting and hollering at them OOO and then telling the press how bad they are, real nice.

working the sidelines

Due to the new found controversy started by Sal Alosi, the NYJ strength coach, it made me wonder how often preemptive sideline taunting is encouraged by players as well as the coaching staff. Sideline taunting techniques in football...wouldn't u think all teams do it? The Jets just got caught! How many times have the opposing players run out of bounds and been greeted not with a good run, or catch but insults and taunting! I also have heard in the past (particularly the playoff game between the Giants n the Packers) the Packers had heated benches while the Giants, miraculously weren't working....on purpose, well its up to u to decide.

update on Sal Alosi

Apparently he is now suspended indefinitely, it is said that he "instructed" players to make a wall around the sidelines before he purposely tripped the Miami player...ESPN conversations has more info posted and I will retrieve the link ASAP! Anyone think Rex Ryan had a hand in this??

No Favre

Well Favre ends his consecutive regular season starts at 297. At this point whoopdie-friggin-do! I feel at this point almost all of us, the dedicated football fans that we are, share a love-hate relatioship with Favre at this point in his career. Honestly it teeters more so on the "hate" side. Credit is due, he has been a master at breaking records and a master at the miraculous play. But he hasn't seen true greatness since he left the Packers. He has become quite the "Diva". It was no secret he and Childress didn't get along. I for one thought it be best that Jackson was given a shot to play before Childress was fired. I don't think he was an awful coach, well I mean he was definitely lacking in a lot of ways, BUT we are outsiders! What was really going on? Was it the rift between coach and QB that divided the team? Childress must have known his job was in jeopardy and I am sure that had a say in some of his decision making. ESPN had taken a poll a week or so ago debating whether the US preferred Favre to start or Jackson. Everyone voted Against Favre, now this was after he was knocked out of the Bills game OOOH and after Jackson threw 3 pics (in the same game as well). Are we all that sick and tired of Favre!? Seems like it! Jackson really isn't all that, and most likely not a the right candidate for the starting slot. I'm not discrediting the Bills, they have dragged many teams into OT, playing tough, just couldn't finish the job (that's what she said) but they managed to knock out Favre, and again had a handful of interceptions during the game! The Vikings finally resorted to the run game, they utilized AP to his fullest potential and who the frigg can stop him!? Sidney Rice is back in the line up and makes anyone look like a rock star! I've been saying this, if it wasn't for him Favre WOULD NOT have been back in the line up I swear he just lobbs the ball and Rice goes after it, any way shape or form. He did the same thing with Jackson, those friggin passes were awful, but Rice manages to make them look Again "miraculous" and of course Favre was getting most of the credit! Ok, see "hater" side coming out. I can't talk about the Vikings anymore, I'm getting ticked off. Ugh but did anyone see Favre's arm! It resembled the color of his jersey, gross!!!

Tashard Choice asking for an autograph

The Cowboys Eagles game was a great game Sunday night and a perfect display of how divisional rivals play against eachother. You never know who will win or how far either team will go to get the win. Unfortunately for my Cowboys, Vick couldn't be stopped, he was electric (as usual). He brings such fire to that Eagle offense and the team has found a true leader. Not only do fans recognize his capabilities (whether you like him or not) the man deserves all the credit in the world and has clearly worked hard to get where he is now. After the game, Tashard Choice handed Vick a white glove and a black marker for an autograph. A controversial move to most and I'm sure Cowboy fans have been offended. He tweeted "If its anybody that cares about winning and the d cowboys its me. I apologize to the people it was just an innocent jesture for my nephew." Be that as it may, was it necessary to do it right after the game so blatantly in front of the media? I mean everyone KNEW it would be blown out of proportion and upset the fans. Unfortunately for players an innocent gesture such as this, may be taken out of context and cause a riff amongst the team and with fans. I think he should have done this afterwards, when most of the media and fans had cleared out. It wouldn't have been a big deal, but to be so obvious about it? I just don't like it, left a sour taste in my mouth. The players claim they don't mind the decision that Choice made and neither does Jason Garrett. I understand the players have an ample amount of respect for one another and I'm sure there is a lot of admiration that goes along with that. I just think that the timing was a poor decision on Choice's part and quite disrespectful to the fan base in Dallas.

siena Vs ualbany

A great way to kick off college hoops in the cap city, the rivalry between UAlbany and Siena. My friends and I walked into the game greeted by disappointed fans LEAVING! They had warned us that the game was terrible! Now if the game was terrible, that would lead me to think 1 team was blowing out the other team already (it was only 5-7 minutes in). Upon arrival to our seats, UAlbany was ahead and the game was relatively close, so what was the problem? Well I held a 10 minute conversation n afterwards realized the score hadn't changed at ALL! The game was fairly fast-paced but lacked control by either team. They went up and down the court pretty much uncontested by defenders and could not make a shot! Whether it was an easy lay-up or a quick unguarded 3 point attempt, nothing would fall! And the rebounding!!! Well it was non-existent. Halftime score was 30/38 UAlbany. Better defense, slowing down the game, and making shots were necessary for the second half. The second half shifted momentum to Siena's favor in the last 8 minutes. The game that we were warned was awful in the beginning turned out to be a nail-biter in the end. It went into OT with the help of some free throws that finally dropped (ugh easy points that were missed all night) seriously UAlbany missed way too many of them, they would have been up at least 10 points if they hadn't. In the end Siena couldn't recover from their early mistakes, which continued to plague them throughout the rest of the game. They weren't sharp at all. They weren't playing harmoniously. They just recently lost to Fairfield as well. Ryan Rossiter must be rolling, he and Clarence Jackson looked like freshman! Well more so Rossiter. Anyways major improvements need to be made to the Siena team if they want to compete in the NCAA tournament next year. The final score in the Siena UAlbany game was 82-88.

Siena and UAlbany game time

Duke and Butler

Duke and Butler will rematch Dec 4th! These two teams met for the NCAA Basketball Championship last year, Duke the reigning champ! My vote goes for Duke! I'm just saying, plus Butler is lacking Gordon Hayward who in a desperate attempt to win the game last year, threw a perfectly squared 3 from half court and ALMOST made it in! After Duke has polished off some top contenders thus far this season, including Tom Izzo's Spartans, I have faith they will reign supreme in this game. It will definately be worth watching though!!! COLLEGE HOOPS ITS OFFICIAL GET SOME!!!!

thoughts n prayers go out to the family of George Steinbrenner

George Streinbrenner passed away early this morning following a massive heart attack in Tampa, FL. Love him or hate him he put his stamp on the Yankees n shaped them to be winners when all hope was lost. Mario Cuomo in a shortened quote on Steinbrenner "he was more than a winner and a celebrity. There was no falseness to him."A memorial for him is said to be in Tampa, FL as well as NY.

NBA draft the toppers

A shock to the world John Wall (kentucky PG) has been the first to be selected in the NBA 2010 draft. There after he has been the only point guard drafted thus far in the top 14 but 1 of 3 Kentucky players to be drafted in the top 14 overall thus far. Kentucky is surely sweeping this draft! Hats off to you head coach John Calipari (kentucky hc) Back to back Kansas players have been plucked one being Cole Alrich to New Orleans, however that may be a short stay. A trade is already being discussed. Thus far not a single senior ball player has been drafted!! This is unheard of. I had blogged about Gordon Hayward the starting forward from the Butler Bulldogs got what he wanted and has been picked 9th overall!! Good job thus far guys and good luck to the rest of the players. More updates to come

Soccer 101

So soccer or known by the rest of the world as futbol has been exciting and a learning experiance for me personally to watch. So the FIFA world cup in south africa has been broad casted on ESPN. Many things have occurred that have puzzled me. Since I haven't the slightest clue about the sport I had to figure these questions out. A PK is a penalty kick. A yellow card is a warning card. If a player receives 2 in a game that is equivalent to a red card. A red card is automatic ejection from a game as well as benching the player for the following game as well. Now you receive these cards for contact severity depending on what the ref deems as extreme contact. These are a few tips to help you better understand the game. As for the loud obnoxious noise in the backround (you know it sounds like a swarm of bees) those are horns the fans blow throughout the game. I recommend a bottle of aspirin if you go see a live game! LOL

new stadium advantage?

Are the Giants and the Jets at a disadvantage with the new stadium?? Food for thought

sorry Giants fans

The new Meadowland Stadium is open for business! The NY Giants took the new turf field Tuesday for practice. Unfortunately for WR/punt returner Domenik Hixon, it would be his last. He injured his knee during a kick off return. He got his foot caught in the turf and twisted his knee. The severity of the injury was unknown but the final verdict...a torn ACL. He will be out for the season. Questions are being raised about the new stadium, will it cause anymore injuries during practices? The Giants are confident they will be fully acclimated to it by the time the season officially begins.

Westbrook considering Washington???

Brian Westbrook is thinking about going to Washington now?? Do you Eagles realize this is a huge rival team?!!? Is it Mcnabb or Shanahan???? Oh well Westbrook is always injured anyways won't matter much! LOL he and Mcnabb just wanna comfort each other when they are together on the IR list!!!!

iz Tom Izzo ready for the NBA?

Tom Izzo has been considering a big move from college hoops to the NBA, a whole different animal to conquer. Why now? The deal may include a 6 mil contract with the Cavs per season. The Cavs franchise is in transition right now and the question still remains, will Lebron return? With the changes being made to the team itself how will Izzo fair? Izzo has been the head coach of MSU since 95' with notable success the past 2 seasons bringing the team to 2 back to back final four tournaments. He has brought MSU to 6 total in the past 12yrs. Izzo has met with his MSU players but hasn't confirmed whether or not he will be returning to the school. What will this do for the team and the school? Students, players, and fans have been rallying and pleading for Izzo to stay through social network sites and around the campus. SI quoted center Derrick Nix, "coach is the best thing that ever happened to me." Clearly Izzo has made a profound mark on these students. Overall college coaches have had little success in the big leagues. The star studded bigs of the NBA hold a lot of power especially in comparison to a coach. You would have to connect and alter that power into a greater effort...the team. I don't personally know what goes on in the locker room but a lot of the time players seem to dish out the all about me attitude. A coach, paid less than the players, would need to be well spoken and handle each coaching situation as professionally as possible. Off the wall Izzo and very intense he may provoke mixed feelings amongst players. To be continued...

CC as big as he is in height his width seems to share the same quality...or quantity. The New York Post writer Joel Sherman brings up the question "does his heavy workload beginning to, at least, incrementally erode some of his great talent." Within his last 10 starts, he has only won 4 of them and they were all against the Baltimore Orioles. That doesn't say to much for CC. The other Yankee pitchers have easily out pitched him (more of them than one would think). Does CC need to shed some pounds in order to show improvements??????

Adrian Peterson has been carrying a 14lb football during his drills in mini camp. Will this effectively help him from fumbling the football? In my opinion if you go from a 14lb practice weight to a regular football (which clearly weighs much less) I feel you would be more likely to fumble. If the idea is to mentally prepare yourself to hang onto the ball I hope it works for him. Maybe that is the idea of the exercise, mental preparedness rather than improved techniques on carrying skills. I still think he will have fumbling problems this season. He is a physical running machine and I would never want to get in his way on the football field, however it seems every great warrior has an Achilles heel.

washington nationals pitching star

1st pitcher in MLB history 11+K and 0BB in debut Strasburg

Name clarification

Whatever everyone gets my name wrong I should be allowed to do the same!! I have spoken!! :) haaaaa

Grand Slam against Rivera

What did I say!!!!! Statistics my butt!!!!

Article about Cervelli

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/391849-why-is-francisco-cervelli-riding-yankees-bench

Statistics my ass, Yankees, and Lebron

There was MAGIC in the air tonight, sorry Al Horford your not in Florida anymore!! Hello Lakers my name is Jazz and I came out to play...Boozer holy cow you rock

sorry!!

Sorry guys and gals I took the weekend off it was my BDAY weekend!! Be back next week with more posts

just waiting for the video to finish processing on You Tube then it should be up and running!!!

Lawrence Taylor, Hall of Fame linebacker, arrested for rape - ESPN New York

Lawrence Taylor, Hall of Fame linebacker, arrested for rape - ESPN New York

Ex-NFL star Lawrence Taylor arrested in NY - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

Ex-NFL star Lawrence Taylor arrested in NY - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

I am attending my first Yankee game today at the new stadium!!! They are playing the Baltimore Orioles!! I will most likely rant about later tonight, ya dig!!!!! Hope we don't get rained out!

FYI

So I just want everyone to know that when I do my rants I usually have information underneath, a web site ect ect for u to browse and find more information about the specific topic. At least u know where the heck I got the idea in the first place, there is a method to my madness!!

Kevin Kolb signs contract extension with Eagles - NFL - SI.com

Episode 1: Damn Rookies!!

Dez Bryant forgot his cleats!
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/03/30/dez-bryant-forgot-his-cleats/

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