We Can Win this Thing!

There is always a chance that eating a piece of meat that has been thawed, then refrozen and thawed again won’t make the person consuming it sick. Despite what grandmother may have said to all of us, there is a chance that preparing a slab of beef that has gone through that preparation will not automatically create a long evening spent in a crouched position in your bathroom. Many a college-aged boy and subsequent bachelor can attest to that.

Well, the Outlaws are hoping they to are fresh when they thaw themselves out a second time this season for the national tournament this week and though history may say there is strong possibility of disspointment, there is a chance. Since 2004, three other teams have been in a similar situation to the Outlaws including the 2005 Bismarck Bobcats, 2006 Mahoning Valley Phantoms and 2007 Fairbanks Ice Dogs and combined those teams 0-11.

Yep..0-11! 

However, I just don’t see the Outlaws being swept at home even though their recent playoff success on home ice has been as infrequent as seeing sail boats on Clear Lake in January. There are a few “gut” reasons to my belief the Outlaws’ not only will win a game but have an outside shot at winning the tournament on the 20th anniversary of the when the Huskies did it in Chicago in 1989.

For starters, two of the Outlaws’ opponents are beatable in the West and Central Divisions. Regardless of the opponent from the Central, familiarity tells the Outlaws they have a chance to pull it off and when it comes to the West Division, speculation is that was the weakest group of teams the NAHL had this season. Now neither game will be easy, and of course while the West may be weak it’s all relative…we aren’t talking Motor City or Albert Lea!  However, they are winnable games.

If the Outlaws can win those two games, then all they’ll have to do is defeat either the North or South champ and they’ll be in a position to go to the Championship game. Defeating both will be tough but it’s not out of the realm of possibility to think the Outlaws’ can steal one of those two.

Yes, it’s all a long shot and history isn’t in the corner of the Outlaws’ but what do we all have to lose by giving ourselves a little bit of hope. No matter what happens, expectations are low but as anyone who follows sports knows…it’s usually the one’s with the least amount of expectations who provide the most lasting positive memories!

Learning New Things With Free Time

I always wondered what a stop light in a town would do if there were no cars to signal. That stop light was born to direct traffic and control the flow of automobiles through the intersection but with that job unnecessary what options of activity would be left? Suffice to say, the existence of the stop light would be useless.

I was a little worried that would happen to my life when on April 11th the Outlaws “first” season came to an end in Game Four of their first round series against Owatonna, for what is a play-by-play announcer to do when there aren’t any more games to cover? Like a car with only three wheels or a television set lacking power did I have any purpose?Well, unlike the stationary stop light I am a human being and can move around and to that end I learned a great deal over the past two weeks of unexpected vacation time. No different than a coming of age teenage summer vacation flick, I educated Scott on who Scott is while successful passing the day until life meant something again.

The past two weeks was a purgatory period of sorts, between the Outlaws’ season and what could best be described as the dessert and I think I put it too good use. Here is what I learned…

Maple Syrup Damages Car Finish - Long story and not enough time to point fingers, but my house was broken into on Day11 of the purgatory period and though nothing was taken from the Montesano domicile in west Mason City the hoodlums dumped maple syrup on my car. C’MON! You know how valuable a 2001 Daewoo is?!?!

The Hidden Taste of Relish- Two years ago I ate my first Double Bacon Cheeseburger ever as I had withstood that sandwhiches value much like my initial moral objection to FACEBOOK. Well, on Easter Sunday of this year I ate my first-ever hot dog with relish and what can I say…”so many years without relish…so many wasted years of my life.”  What will be the next commonly accepted meal I’ll enjoy and jump on it’s bandwagon?

MLB 09 is AddictiveBeing born in the 1980s I was one of the first generations raised on video games and let me just say – without the pressure of any endorsement deal – that MLB 09 The Show for PS3 is the GREATEST and MOST ADDICTIVE Game ever. This isn’t Baseball Simulator 3000 or RBI Baseball (Two nerds from 1990 Nintendo era just grinned), this is the real deal and as addictive as dessert from The Cheesecake Factory (more on that). I think the reason it’s addictive is because its hard and I refuse to be beaten by a computer no matter how much time I waste on it. Remember the old game Duck Hunt? You’d simply put the gun up to the screen and click and down goes the duck. Well, that got boring quickly but not the case here.

The Cheesecake Factory will Kill MeThankfully the closest one is in Des Moines and maybe even there it’s too close. All I’ll say is the Snicker’s Cheesecake chasing their Turkey Burger is the best thing in the world. My advice…only eat half your dinner because then you won’t feel as guilty downing the dessert. Also, don’t try to cheat and skip dinner and go right to the cheesecake because then you’ll feel like even more than a fatty…trust me

 

Well, that’s what I learned…man do I need a hockey game.

You Can’t Outdraw Grandma

A grandmother can be a polarizing figure as the matriarch to an entire family tree. She can either be the friendly, cookie-baking and sincere grandmother we all remember from the 1980s cartoon “Heathcliff” or she can be an irritating and borderline evil figure equal to any number of antagonist Disney characters.  Some can’t wait to see grandma while others would much rather repeatedly slam a car door on their tumb.

Either way, whether it be eagerly driving 60 mph on a country road to get there, or painstakingly trying to force a fever to get out of it we all must see our grandmothers on Easter Sunday if they are still alive. Both of mine are now gone from this world but like most everyone out there I too had them and can relate. If grandma is still here, then we must go. No excuse short of being on your own deathbed will suffice as seeing grandma on Easter Sunday is as much a ritual as eating Hot Cross Buns and chasing the easter bunny.

With that in mind, why the hell did two NAHL series end on Easter Sunday? Let me make this point to all amatuer sports promoters out there…YOU CAN’T OUTDRAW GRANDMA. In Mahonony Valley they announced less than 400 and in Topeka, a crowd of 1,000 was listed and in both places the actual crowd was likely lower than that. This was for a fifth and decisive game and though playoff crowds tend to be a little lower in some towns for various reasons (less lead up time, no group sales, no freebies) neither organization helped themselves with playing the game on Easter Sunday.

Now some of you delusional people will argue that a fifth game should be enough to draw regardless of the day however, let’s not forget what we are dealing with here. This is the NAHL…not the NHL. Don’t forget that “A” in the league. These are smaller towns, smaller fan bases and NAHL games aren’t an “event” that people will step over there own grandma to attend, nor plan trips around. 

But other events are on Easter Sunday? Well, your right but you also make my point. The Masters is a once a year event that people plan trips around. The NBA and NHL are played in large cities with large population bases and going to one of these games is also an “event” not to mention postseason races are ongoing.

Hell, I went to the Kansas City, Yankees game on Easter Sunday and there was barely 15,000 in attendance. Yes, it was cold and damp but the Yankees come to KC once a season and the game would’ve brought in 25,000 plus if it was on any other Sunday.  See, even baseball can’t ourdraw grandma.

A note for potential recruits

“It’s great down there,” said Owatonna Express defenseman Joe Beaudette. “I love playing at North Iowa. Most people do. It’s always sold out, and they always have a lot going on. It’s a great environment to play in.”

That quote is from the Owatonna People’s Press on Saturday April 11th. 

I think it sums itself up.

No Noise

What in the name of Chris Giebe happened to the fans this weekend? Hey, you all know it. You got worked over by the Owatonna fans. Now in your defense, the games’ outcomes didn’t help but wow, it wasn’t even close.

However, just like the players, there is time to recover. I’d like to see fans bring air horns, noisemakers and everything they can up to Faribault on Tuesday.

We aren’t going out like this!!!

2,500

The Outlaws’ blog has now reached 2,500 visits for the season!!!

What Can be Done

On a long car ride, when your passenger, falling asleep in the passenger seat is inevitable. Head-cocked back on the rest, mouth gaping open and drool sliding down the right side of your cheek. Then BAM, the driver hits a pothole and your jostled back awake left wondering what happened? Where are you? Are there any chips left in the bag you bought at the last rest stop?

The Outlaws fans, players and coaches are left jerking there heads back and forth looking for answers with that same flurry following the stunning developments this past weekend.

No one assumed this would be an easy series for the Outlaws, but no one outside of Owatonna could’ve even dreamed of the Outlaws dropping each of the first two games at home.  With the exception of the final half of the game on Friday and portions of the first period on Friday the Outlaws were simply outplayed by an Owatonna team that looked far superior.

The effort is there in many ways, but the execution is still far below what is needed to compete in the postseason.  The mind is willing, but the body right now just isn’t getting it done. For the Outlaws to recover, they’ll need to keep the effort they’ve had and maybe increase it a couple more notches and from there just keep playing and limiting the mental and physical mistakes that have plagued them while taking advantage of Owatonna’s mistakes (how many open centering passes bounced off sticks on Saturday?) because the chances are there to win.

The problem on Friday was a total lack of any defense the first 30 minutes as goaltender Thomas Callaghan was put out in a blizzard totally naked and expected to keep himself warm. He froze to death! Then on Saturday, sure the Outlaws had 39 shots but half of them were taken from 10 rows up in the stands in the middle of that group of fans who always dance to MONY MONY. Meanwhile, Owatonna found a way to win a game on Friday they know they escaped with and then on Saturday made numerous adjustments, never relented the forecheck like they had on Friday and stayed in their lanes defensively and didn’t simply chase.

The Outlaws now stare at an o-2 hole in a best-of-five series with history suffocating them with the fact no team in NAHL history has ever recovered from that. In fact, only twice has a team in the Outlaws position even been able to force a Game Five. The 2007 Outlaws and the 2008 Southern Minnesota Express. However, this is still a race to three wins and not two and speaking as a life-long New York Yankees fan I know first hand a series isn’t over until its over (thanks Yogi!). The Yankees blew a 0-2 lead in a best-of-five wild card series to Seattle in 2005 and of course there was the 2004 American League championship series debacle.

The pressure is actually on Owatonna now to wrap up the series ASAP. If the Outlaws win on Tuesday, trust me, doubt will start to get into the Express’ minds. Don’t beleive me? Remember, I was with Fargo in the 2007 series and believe me when I say the Jets were much tighter in Game Four than in Game Three. The schedule favors the Outlaws after Tuesday as well. Win on Tuesday, then there will be a few days to reset and get ready to comeback at Owatonna a different way on Saturday.

A comeback can occur, but the Outlaws simply can’t play the Owatonna Express the same way in April the way they did in November. Its a far different team as far as systems go and with Pat Cullen behind the bench, they are team with confidence that is unmatched in this league. Cullen’s teams are ALWAYS like this. The offense is there from day one, but quietly the defense and goaltending picks up as the season goes along.

Owatonna is no better man-for-man than the Outlaws, in fact, they are probably worse but each of them knows who Pat Cullen is and they beleive in his style.  Pat Cullen may as well be Scotty Bowmen to those young guys who wear the Owatonna sweater in April.

A comeback isn’t likely, but it is still very much a possibility. I can guarantee this, the Outlaws will bring forth a mental effort on Tuesday that will top anything fans have ever seen before. If players like Jon Crouse, Jack Paul, Alex Carlson, etc. are even half the competitors I think they are, there is no conceivable way they want to go out in a sweep for the second straight season.

From here its one game at a time and while the Outlaws will need to make history to advance…everyone dreams of making history!

The Cullen Curse

Since starting my career in sports in the summer of 2000 with the Rome Indians of the New York Collegiate Baseball League, I’ve been a part of nine teams prior to the Outlaws that have advanced to postseason play in their respective league. With each of these nine teams, the team advanced passed the first round of the postseason with a one winning a championship and a few advancing all the way to the finals in their league. I’m nine for nine in the first round, but as the Outlaws compete in the NAHL playoffs this season there is a significant road block in the way of continuing that streak.

Pat Cullen!

Pat Cullen is Megatron to my Optimus Prime; Rush Limbaugh to my Talk Radio; Fresh Fruit to my indulgent hot fudge sundae.

Granted I have no power in the outcome of any game, but my teams are now 0-9 against this man whom I’ve never spoken at length with, but despise more than a kid resents a mean step-parent. Of those 9 games, four have gone to overtime, and two have gone more than one extra session.

Last week I boasted how I “Never Get Beat in the First Round”. Well, I forgot to meantion that Cullen crushes my dreams like a father giving his daugther a strict curfew.

Oh well, its a race to three, not to two. There are no “gimmes” in the playoffs. You must make the putt and there are no guarantees that will happen.

2000 Rome Indians (baseball) – won first round, lost in championship

2001 Rome Indians (baseball) won first round, won championship

2003 Sanford Mainers (baseball) won first round, lost second round

2004 Sanford Mainers (baseball) won first round, won second round, won championship

2005 Fargo-Moorhead Jets (hockey)  won first round, won division finals, lost in national finals

2005 Vermont Mountaineers (baseball) won first round, won second round, lost championship

2006 Fargo-Moorhead Jets (hockey) won first round, lost division finals

2007 Fargo-Moorhead Jets (hockey) won first round, lost division finals

2007 Eau Claire Express (baseball) won first round, lost championship

2008  UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (women’s basketball) won first round, won second round, lost championship

Bracket Madness

Okay everyone, pull out your brackets…your NAHL brackets as the race to become the Tin Barn Five commences this weekend. Who will be the four teams joining the Outlaws come April 28th for the Robertson  Cup Tournament. Everything is made better by bracketing it up and going from there for as much as we all may want to fight it we love lists and we love brackets.

Each spawns debate and each instinctively makes us have to play amateur prognosticator. So with that in mind, here are my prediction for the NAHL Playoffs this season.

North Division

Team USA will beat Alpena

Traverse City will beat Mahoning Valley

Team USA will beat Traverse City

South Division

St. Louis over Springfield

Topeka over Wichita Falls

St. Louis over Topeka

West Division

Fairbanks over Kenai River

Wenatchee over Alaska

Wenatchee over Fairbanks

Central Division

Bismarck over Alexandria

Outlaws over Owatonna

Outlaws over Bismarck

So my Tournament teams (or the Tin Rook Five) will be…the Outlaws, Bismarck, Team USA, St. Louis and Wenatchee.

Get Some Dirt on Your Face

It just feels right. Like having snow on Christmas Day or eating turkey on Thanksgiving and that is growing facial hair during the hockey postseason. Where the tradition exactly started is fuzzy but needless to say it has its roots in superstition and gained heavy national fame during the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs when Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastian Giguere looked like a possum had died on his face by the conclusion of Game 7.

The playoffs for the Outlaws are now upon us and the questions is, are you growing facial hair for the playoffs? The topic is almost mute below the Junior A level as most players haven’t seen a whisker on their face let alone picked up a razor and shaving cream. In those instances, teams tend to do other hair related activites such as a team-wide hair style which is actually what the Outlaws have gone with. What that style is hard to judge though a few players seemed to have made an ill-advised attempt at doing a mohawk, but not as bad.

Either way, at the Junior A level there are players who can definately go Grizzley Adams style (though not as many 20 years ago and that was covered in a previous post) so for them the question comes up at this time whether to grow some sort of facial hair. A mustauche, goatee or even the full beard. From there, to what length will they go. Do they go full out, letting it grow untouched for the duration of the playoffs, or do they trim it like a putting green?

Then the question drifts to us in the stands and do we grow facial hair to go along with the players? I for one have always sported a goatee come playoff time a tradition that actually began for me in college as a good luck ritual before finals (and I got straight A’s so it worked).

So as the playoffs begins, who is forgoing the shaving and letting the whiskers of playoff fortune take over their face?