stripethree

The last event of the year in Arizona and the 20th, yes, 20th, I ran at in 2008. I wouldn’t say the autocross year went out with a bang persay, it was more of a screeching sound as I ventured into many, many cones going sideways. Yes, sideways. The pavement was cold, tires were cold, and my right foot was… not. On my first run I came in to the sweeping left (the split near W1) way too hot with the car way too loose. The result was going sideways into a sea of cones. It wasn’t pretty. My second run didn’t go all that much better. Tires still cold, shoe still hot, and another DNF, just not quite as spectacular and sideways this time. My third run I got things in order and ran a clean 62.686, which was a second and a half faster than any other STX Open competitor. Time only heats were shortened because the day was running long but I managed to match (clean) and beat (by a second but with a cone) my competition run.

So, not exactly how I would have chosen to end the year. None the less, it’s done, I won the STX Open series for the Fall (in Phoenix, Tucson, and Sierra Vista for that matter), and it’s time to look towards ‘09. Suspension upgrades, driver upgrades (Evo School), and hopefully more competitive times will come.

Summer and I also spent Saturday night in Phoenix to go to the Red Wings – Coyotes hockey game. It was an awesome back and forth game and the first I’ve been to which went to overtime and a shootout. Detroit won the shootout after forcing overtime with less than 20 seconds to play in the third period. It was awesome, and I can’t wait to go again next month when the Wings come back to town.

Did you feel that chill? That chill would be the start of another hard-hitting hockey season. Granted, it has already officially started with a handful of overseas bouts between Eastern Conference foes, but the real action starts tomorrow. Eight teams open their 2008-2009 seasons tomorrow, including my beloved and defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings. The Wings open the season at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs and will raise their 11th Stanley Cup Banner, and 4th in the last 11 seasons, to the rafters at the Joe. I still vow that I will see a Wings game at Joe Louis before I die, but this season, once again, I will settle for tickets to both games where the Wings will visit the Phoenix Coyotes. It appears that it will be another season of high expectations because in addition to losing almost no players from the ‘08-’09 championship team (Dallas Drake did retire), the Wings landed arguably the most coveted free agent on the market in Marian Hossa. Formerly of the Pittsburgh Penquins, the defending Eastern Conference champions who lost to Detroit in the Stanley Cup Finals, Hossa adds yet another talented piece to an already robust franchise. The only foreseeable question mark is at goaltender. Osgood is listed one the depth chart at #1 in front of future Hall of Famer Dominic Hasek, but will Osgood hold the line? Last season both net minders split time before Hasek faltering in the opening round playoff series again Nashville. Coach Mike Babcock made the decision to go to Osgood and luckily it paid off. Osgood, who has a reputation of sometimes cracking under the playoff pressure, went save for save and provided everything the Wings needed while breaking into the bank safe that was Marc-Andre Fluery in the finals. I can only hope that Babcock can continue to find the right mix to protect the net.

The word is, as it seems to be every year that the Wings are getting old. I think they’ve been getting old since somewhere around 1993. Steve Yzerman may be in the front office and Scottie Bowman may be managing for the Blackhawks, but Nicklas Lidstrom is still anchoring the defense, the second coming of the Grind Line (Draper-Maltby-McCarty) is upon us, and we still have those kids named Zetterburg and Datsyuk that seem to score at will. It’s going to be a great year, and I can only hope Versus carries enough of the games.

The Wings are up 2-0 in the series clinching game so my attention is there.

- Maryland trip was great, got to see lots of family and friends and of course, more crazy stories courtesy of CPD
- I passed the CISSP! Such a relief, and I’m going to take a break from the studying thing for a while. Between the CEH and the CISSP, I’m a bit burned out in that department
- The cats and Peanut continue to get along well and we’re working on making Peanut more comfortable by addressing his anxiety
- Everything with the house is awesome. We’re definitely settled and living the good life. It’s getting hot and the A/C is crankin’. Summer’s
- Work, well, is work. We’ll see if the budget gets cut, and by how much, and if I have to find something else, again. Yes, I’m a bit frustrated.

Despite everything going on I feel bored, if that’s the right word. Things have become routine and it probably didn’t help that I have spent so much time on the certification stuff at home, which was basically an extension of work. Again, bored might not be the right word, but I do want to mix things up – get cracking on the car projects that have sat for a while, get back into the groove of learning something new on the programming front since I’m not doing that everyday anymore, get back into taking pics on a regular basis… something. Maybe all three.

Summer and I made the trek up to Glendale last night for the Red Wings – Coyotes game. Her first NHL game ever, and the first game I’ve been to in almost 2 years. Besides getting there late because I thought the game started later than it did, it was excellent. Even sitting in the last row, it was still great; there really just aren’t any bad seats at a hockey arena. I can’t wait to go back in late December when the Wings visit Phoenix again.

Who wants tacos?

Oh yeah, and go Wings! They scored 4 unanswered in the 2nd and 3rd periods to win 5-2.

Ah, I’m looking forward to it. Summer and I will be heading up to Glendale for the Coyotes – Red Wings hockey game tomorrow night. She’s never been to an NHL game and I haven’t seen the Wings play live in a while so it should be fun. Other than that, it should be a chill weekend. No flights, no rental cars, no sleeping on couches or sofa beds, no suitcase living, none of that.

…but it is not often I anticipate an episode of SportsCenter as I did yesterday night. Why you ask? NFL? No. College Football? No. Wait, wait, College Basketball right? Believe it or not, no.

Hockey.

Yes, I said it, the sport America loves to ignore (second only to soccer) and that nearly killed itself with a year hiatus, but yes, I said it, hockey. I have waited 15 long months since the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team from one of the last parts of the country you’d be expecting ice hockey to take place, walked away with the Stanley Cup, to see hockey again. My beloved Detroit Red Wings are aging (aren’t they always) and were last seen as the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs getting bounced by Jarome Iginla and the sixth seeded Calgary Flames who came within a game, no, a goal of winning the Stanley Cup last June. I will still, of course, cheer for them. In fact, I need an Yzerman jersey. My old Fedorov sweater is resigned to the closet at home, it no longer fits, in more ways than one. Where is he playing now?

I like the rule changes. I like the salary cap (parity!). Barry Melrose said it best on last night’s SportsCenter, it was something like ‘How can you not like the changes the game has made. Buffalo scored 6 goals tonight. Do you know how long into the season it usually takes Buffalo to score six goals in a night?’

Welcome back hockey. I missed you.