Now we just need Mike Comrie!

So the Caps signed Jose Theodore. I can only say...that's hot.

Photo from thesuperficial.com

I miss hockey.

I'm re-posting here what I blogged about on HLOG about three months ago. Its even more appropriate to my life now.
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In the past few months, the whole blogging vs. job that pays me money argument has taken up a considerable amount of room in my thoughts. Granted, my thoughts usually revolve around hockey, Chipotle and if I can get away with another day of not shaving my legs.

What brought about this internal argument was a career change. I recently started a new job that has long hours, lots of travel (to weird places with no hockey teams) and is 100% consuming of my time at work. The perk to my old job was that while some days were high stress, I still had time during the day to read hockey blogs, comment on them, and post on Capital Addiction, even if just on my lunch hour. My weekends are typically spent away from the computer so I dont have much time to post then either.

The question I have been struggling with is what makes a good hockey blogger (who posts the most?), and how do you assauge your guilt over not tending quite as diligently to your blog as you may have in the past? Or in other words, how the heck do I have a crazy job, season tickets to the Caps, soemthing of a social life, and still find time to be a good hockey blogger?

To give some perspective to this argument, I'll note here that I used to post about 1-2 day at least. Currently, I am lucky to post 2 times a week on my blog.

I still dont have all the answers, but in thinking about this, I've come to a few conclusions. Yes, I would love to be paid to write about hockey all day. But I'm not, people still pay attention to John Buccigross more then me, and I have to pay the rent, so life goes on. I havent found a solution to the guilt I feel over leaving my blog without new content for days at a time (the closest feeling I can compare it to is feeling like a bad mommy). My hockey blog is incredibly important to me, definitely not as much as a child, but it remains a fulfilling part of my life.

I've also realized that if I forced myself to post as much as I used to, the consequence would be poorer quality of posts, not to mention some growing resentment towards something that was a valued hobby. As much as I would like to post at least 30 times a month, perhaps its better that I write 15 good posts a month?

As I mentioned, I dont have all the answers on this one. As hockey bloggers who are also mothers, students and career jugglers, many of us are facing this same struggle. I imagine that some hockey bloggers out there, male or female, might be facing the same internal struggle and guilt, so I thought I would share my thoughts on this.

Originally posted to HLOG on March 30, 2008.

Bear with me...

I'm almost back, I promise! To the lovely folks who have emailed me, I havent gotten hit by a bus or diappeared completely, just working. In the meantime ... Go Penguins. Yes, really.

Also, cant figure out if I am happy that the Flyers have gotten so far because that "justifies" the Caps early knock out, or if I am still just disgusted.

Heartbreak

I have had a work project for the last few weeks that has kept me in the office about 18 hours a day. Not a lot of time for blogging in there. I managed to catch most of the Caps games on TV, and all of them in person.

I suppose I thought the forced days of hockey exile would inoculate me a bit if the Caps lost tonight. That's not the case, at all. Like every other Caps fan, I am heartbroken. I'm grateful for the most amazing season of hockey that I have ever seen. I'm grateful to have seen Alex Ovechkin undoubtedly take over as the super star of the NHL, have my heart lift at the sight of Sergei Federov flying around the ice one more time, and watch Olie during what will probably be his last season in Washington. And most of all I am grateful for the amazing effort that every member of the Caps put forward.

But my heart is still a little cracked.

From flying high to crashing low, all in one weekend

Hm. I was too hung over to post anything about the Caps edge-of-your-seat win on Friday night. And now I am glad I didnt.

As I have mentioned, there are some aspects of the Capitals' collective game that make them successful. Consistent play and a good forecheck are the two most present factors in the Capitals wins. Unfortunately, neither of these two showed up for very long on Sunday (if at all), and the Capitals lost an important game on home ice. They now go into Tuesday's game in Philadelphia under the gun -- they have to win at least one on Philly's turf in order to return to DC with the series even. A much better prospect then returning with three losses, and their head on the chopping block if they should lose one more game.

Here is what sticks out for me the most:

I've got to give it to the Flyers, they found a way to shut down Ovie, sneak some past Huet and keep the game under their control. The Caps looked as nervous as a virgin on prom night, which certainly helped the Flyers keep their game going.

Give me Steve Eminger over John Erskine. John Erskine has got two inches and six pounds on Steve Eminger. Steve Eminger has got a brain. I'll take Eminger, please.

It was pretty plain to see that the Flyers were picking on Cristobal Huet. In the third period, Huet was finally fed up and tossed around some healthy shoves. Good for him, but the Caps d-men need to do a better job of kicking those Flyers out of the crease. Scott Hartnell was parked there for so long, I memorized every wrinkle in the back of his jersey.

Ovie might have been shut down offensively, but defensively he did a pretty good job. In that category, he is a ton better then he was last season.

Milan Jurcina. Not sure what to do with him. When he uses his huge size, he is scary and effective. But more often then not, I see him playing too tentatively for a guy who is 6'4 and 230 lbs. Consistency and confidence issues are what got him booted out of Boston, lets hope they dont continue to haunt him here.

I would give anything to see Scott Hartnell stop being a little bitch and actually fight Donald Brashear. It would be the ass kicking of a lifetime.

So, anyone braving Philly for a game?

Flyers vs. Capitals, Game 1

LETS GO CAPS!

Too much hype

Dear ESPN, TSN, Pierre McGuire, Don Cherry, etc:

Stop talking about my team. Pretty please? Stop talking about our "Cinderella run", how under-rated we are, how hard working, how we are definitely going to trounce the Flyers. Please, please, stop. Have I officially lost it? Maybe. Read on, then judge.

I've had Caps season tickets for two years and watched them on and off for a handful of years prior to that. What I have liked most about being a Capitals fan (and this is essentially selfish) is our little community. Yeah, there isnt a huge hockey community in DC but its a loyal one that has been selling out homes game. But the community here is tight and we all sort of recognize each other, going in and out of the metro to the Verizon Center for six months. We see each other at practice, nod hello on VC escalators, comment each other to death on blogs. And since DC is a classic band wagon town, we'll see a our ranks swell when the Caps are on a run, then even out again to the loyalists. Its as intimate an experience as you will ever get in professional sports.

But all of sudden, the Caps are everyone's team. And after watching a painful rebuilding process for the Caps, I cant help be a little weary of all these new accolades coming our way. As Shan pointed out, where are all the gloating Caps fans? Well, we are hiding behind our computers and vintage Langway jerseys, hoping that all this sudden attention doesnt distract our very young team, the majority of whom have a season or two under their belt and no playoff experience. I cant help but be a little fearful when I hear that the press box can hardly contain all the out of town journalists, after the press box used to ring if not emptily, then at the least was a bit lonely with beat writers from the Washington Post and Washington Times as the only print news regulars.

I also want to add the caveat here that I am not worried about all the chatting blogs are doing about the Capitals (including, of course, my own). I'm superstitious about all the talking heads claiming that the Flyers are going down because the Capitals are hot, hot, hot. And Cinderalla. Or some version of that.

Its entirely possible and likely that I am being paranoid, and as the Caps are consummate professionals, they will go into the playoffs with the same vigor and determination they showed in the last weeks of the off season. But I hope you dont blame me for being just a bit scared, and crossing my fingers every time I see the words "Cinderella" and "Capitals" in a story.

Note: I regularly blog over at Hockey's Ladies of Greatness, and this is a piece originally written for that site. Be sure to head over there and check out a great hockey website, written entirely by fangirls.

Note 2: I may have blogged too soon! Here is another article on the Caps, and its nice to see some love for Tom Poti.