Clear Winter Day

Today was a nice, clear winter day.
The sun was shining through some clouds,
A soft, cold breeze chilled my hands.
The sky was a light blue,
Dotted here and there with clouds.
How can such a fine day
Be lined with darkness, of lost? 

There's the hopefulness that not all is lost,
On such a fine winter day. 

There's hope in tomorrow, in the future,
If I can only believe. 

There's the chance that tomorrow,
Will fix all the current problems. 

Can I trust?
Can I believe?
Can I hope?
Can I wish?
Can I dream?

May I close my eyes tonight,
To not wake tomorrow,

To seek those that I lost,
On the Rainbow Bridge? 

How can such darkness,
Lurk on such a winter's day?
When all around me,
Sun is shining,
Sky is blue,
Soft, nipping winds blow? 

[Wild] Let's Get The [puck] Rolling Again!

The Wild have been suffering loss after loss since the 1-0 loss to the Blues. 01/16/2010 Game Recap; a blowing defeat to the Wild at 6-4 after a rally in the third. 0/18/2010 Game Recap; another loss to the Dallas Stars, nonetheless! 4-3 final score. 01/21/2010 Game Recap; another 4-3 score, this time against the Coyotes.

There's a game tonight, against the Blue Jackets. Here's to a victory there.

Horse of the Year

One of my first posts to this blog was the great debate between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta for the Horse of the Year title. If you have read the previous post, Rachel Alexandra v. Zenyatta [HOTY], you may have noticed how I presented the facts for one of these fillies - and clearly expressed why Rachel was the champion of the year, and not Zenyatta.

Was I alone? Oh goodness no! Those who follow horse racing have noticed two camps: one for Rachel and one for Zen. Regardless of which camp you were for, you all had your reasons. "Zenyatta is going to retire undefeated, a perfect fourteen-fourteen, after the Classic even!" was one response from the Zenyatta camp. Rachel? "Eight races, all perfect wins, winning by a combined total of nearly seventy lengths, and winning not once, not twice, but three times against males both her age and older."

Was I alone, in proclaiming Rachel as the better of the fillies? No. Was it obviously a close race? Let's head over to my favorite site for horse racing - the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. In their article, Rachel Alexandra wins Horse of the Year, they state that Rachel received 130 first-place votes, as compared to Zenyatta's 99. "All three voting blocs went for Rachel Alexandra. The National Turf Writers Association preferred Rachel Alexandra by 71 votes to 51. Daily Racing Form went for Rachel Alexandra by a 31-23 margin. And the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which includes racing secretaries and members of Equibase, had Rachel Alexandra by 28-25."


The closest of these races was at the NTRA itself; a mere three vote margin separated these two powerhouse fillies. Now, many question why did Zenyatta loose? My thoughts:


1) Zenyatta's career was fantastic, but her 2009 season consisted of only five starts, with the Classic being her only highlight. 
2) Zenyatta is returning to racing. I found this a damaging blow to her campaign for HOTY. 
3) Zenyatta can only claim the Classic - yes, in fact it is marvelous - but Rachel raced three times against colts this year, even holding off older colt Macho Again. 

Wildmen Updates!

An incredible game last Saturday (01/09/2010) against Chicago. 5-1 in the third and we came back to tie it by the end of the game. The OT didn't prove much to us but in the first shootout, we scored, followed by a goal by Chicago in the second round of shootouts, and then we came back in the seventh round to score and Harding was an amazing goalie in the shootout! Our Cap'n Mikko Koivu  showed them Chicagoian boys what it means to be a Wildman!

On a streak, the Wild defeat the Penguins at home on the 11th, scoring 4-3. Backstrom was back in the net after Harding's amazing goaltending duties on the 9th. Click For Recap. Now the Wild are lookin' good; two amazing wins back to back and then on the 13th, the Canucks come along and defeat is in the near future as the Wild take a 5-2 victory at home again. Click For Recap.

And then the roll came to an end. On the 14th, the Wild faced off against the Blues on their rival's ice and came away in defeat; 0-1. Game Recap

Football & Wild Updates

A crushing 5-3 defeat to the Minnesota Wild on 02.01.2010. I always question the practice of pulling a goalie at the end of the third; does the extra player really help? It also provides a HUGE opportunity for the other team, if they should break free. I have seen it countless times; the team pulls their goalie while they seem in control of the puck, a simple mistake is made, they loose control of the puck, and boom, another goal and the game is lost. We're 4th out of 5th in the Northwest; disappointment! In our last ten we're five-five. 

In other cheerful news, Leeds defeated Man U 1 to 0 and Arsenal defeated West Ham, 2-1. Good news on top of bad news.

Defeat In The Old Year

Wild take a 5-2 loss at the Excel on New Years Eve, ending the year with two losses and one win in three games. Here's to hoping for a strong start to this year; the Wild will be taking on the Flames at 7:00pm CST.

Wild take on the Ducks; squash the Kings.

12/28/2009; Wild came out ahead, 4-3, to defeat the L.A. Kings last night. Tonight (12/29/2009) the Wild will be playing the Ducks tonight at 9:00pm CST. Good luck Wild!! Their next home game will be on the 31st, against the Kings. Hoping to wrap up the year on a good note with another defeat!