sports!

Baseball
so baseball season has just started and i can't wait to see how the chicago cubs are going to do! they are supposed to do really well this year. so we shall see what they do. hopefully they will go really far! though already they have lost kyle schwarber for the rest of the season. that's a blow. his bat is a huge bat that we could have used. but i'm not worried, i think we have enough bats that it won't be a problem not having kyle. and honestly i think the outfield will be better with someone else out there. not to say the kyle isn't a good outfielder, he is, but i think there are better outfielders on the team. but that's just my opinion. i really hope the cubs go to the world series. and then they better win! and then i can go to the parade in chicago for the win!!!

Hockey
hockey season is ending and the hawks are the playoffs once again. they had a great season until some injuries that really got to them. and corey crawford being out did not help! crow is a great goalie and we really missed him while he was gone. yes to all the haters, crow is a great goalie. and if you didn't know before, i think our record while he was gone just shows how much we missed him. i don't know how the hawks are going to do this post season, but hopefully it will go well. we have a great team. panarin and kane kicked ass this season! panarin should win rookie of the year and kane should win MVP. but again, that's just my opinion. but the ducks and the kings have a great team also. so hopefully we will go to the cup again and win!!!! four wins in my lifetime would just be amazing! and i'm not worried about the hawks losing the first game of the playoffs.

why hockey is so great

now i know this doesn't only happen in hockey, all sports have great moments like this. but i'm a huge hockey fan. so this is just one reason why i think hockey is so great and especially my beloved blackhawks. :) i just love this story and have to share with everyone!

the chicago blackhawks have a thing called #whatsyourgoal campaign. a 16 year old girl - christina - who was born with many challenges, one including being blind, said that her goal was to go to a chicago blackhawks hockey game. well her family set up a fundraising campaign to get money to buy tickets to a hawks game and this caught the attention of the chicago blackhawks #whatsyourgoal campaign. so the hawks granted christina's wish. and made her day. :) in her own words "I can't believe this is happening. It's the best moment of my life."

not only did christina get to go to a hawks game, she got to meet chicago blackhawks player patrick sharp, HOF'er denis savard, got to sit in the booth with the hawks radio guys and even got to put on a headset and tell everyone how she was doing [i was listening to that game on the radio and totally remember hearing her excitement. this girl was totally stoked for being at the game! it was great to hear].

here's a link to the video the hawks made about her day.

here's a picture of christina with patrick sharp. i'm so jealous!

here's a picture of her with denis savard. again so jealous!

Blackhawks vs Cunucks. A night of hockey.

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLEY! Today is my friend ashley's 28 bday. :)
Ok. So last night Ashley, Trent (Ashley's bf) and I went to the hawks/cunucks game. I had such a great time. Here's my night...
The seats...
Trent hooked us up with some completely sweet seats. We were in the second row in the 100 level. Or if you'd like a better description, second row from the glass/ice. And we were right behind one of the goals (the one the hawks shot at 2 out of the 3 periods, OT, SO). We were right next to wear the zamboni comes on and off of the ice. And when we left our section, the hawks store was right across the way. So we didn't have to fight the crowds to get there. So needless to say, our seats rocked!
So let's back it up a little bit. Getting there...
We had decided to make a night of it. We drove out to Chicago pretty close to right after work. For the game/her bday Trent gave Ashley a Kane jersey. :) (I wore my sisters signed jersey. The team from the 90s signed it.) We got to Chicago and parked the car at Trent's work. Then we walked across the street from his work and ate at the bottom lounge. Cool place. While we were there we found out that they offer a free shuttle bus to and from the game. So we decided to take that and not have to pay for a cab. So totally sweet. We met some other fans of the hawks that were going to the game, they were pretty nice. Ashley and I had decided to make posters so we filled them out at the bottom lounge. The cool thing about the posters is that they were dry erase boards! So we could change our message throughout the game. Mine said: 'Messier guaranteed a win, could you Toews?' Ashley's said: 1st game/bday. All I want is a hat trick p-Kane 88.'
Right before the game...
We were dropped off at the stadium and while we were walking I got to see the Hull and Makita statues. That was cool. I had only seen those on tv. We walked right in the stadium and went to our seats. Such sweet seats (as I've described in detail earlier. hehe)! The Cunucks were warming up in front of us. When they would slap shot the puck and it would hit the glass, it made me and Ashley jump the first couple of times. Hehe.Trent seemed to have handled it better than is. Hehe. When they were done, the ice crew was taking care of the ice and was handing out pucks that were used to warm up with. So Ashley and I got pucks. So sweet! The stadium rocked! We got to listen to 2 national anthems (the Cunucks are from Canada)! And as is tradition with a blackhawks game, everyone screamed and made noise during the US national anthem. Side bar- I've heard some people say that it is disrespectful to do that. I completely disagree. Not only are we cheering for our team, we are cheering for our country. And cheering for everything that there is of hockey and our country. So yeah, those are my thoughts on that. Side bar done.- the video and music they play right before the hawks come out on the ice, so cool. Some great classic images. Chelios, Makita, Hull and the list goes on. They also had recent images of things like Shaw with blood dripping down his face holding up the Stanley cup - the perfect hockey image. Sums up everything about hockey. So at this point I'm totally jacked and ready for some hockey!
The game...
The puck was dropped and I don't think I stopped screaming or yelling at any point until the end. Hehe. Well I might be exaggerating but you get the idea. :) Because of where we were sitting we had such a great view of them against the glass. It was awesome to see their actual faces. There were a couple big hits on the glass right in front of us. So awesome! Got to see Toews do a face off right in front of us! Got to see Kane handle the puck like no one else. Saw Sharp right up close, yes he's as beautiful up close as he is on tv. :) We totally saw the hawks first goal. It was scored right in front of us! It was so awesome to actually see the puck slide in! Sadly we did see the Cunucks first goal too. Still cool to see a goal so close up. Ashley and I got on tv. Its mainly Ashley, which I'm very ok with that. Ashley is holding up her sign, which at that point said 'I love p-Kane 88'. But you can't see all of that. You just see the 'I love'. Still cool though. You just see me laughing right next to her. Hehe. The game was awesome! The people right in front of us was a father and son. They were supper nice! Season ticket holders, for they knew everyone around them. You could see it was something that they did together all the time. What makes it heart warming is that the son is autistic. So awesome! The game went into OT and then it went to a shoot out. Holy crap I thought I was going to have a heart attack. What made it awesome is that the hawks were trying to score at the goal we were sitting behind. It was so cool to see! Sadly we lost the SO and so lost the game. But holy crap, the game was complete and total fun!
All of this shenanigans was Ashley and Trent's first game. Can you believe it?! I've been to a bunch, but this is on the top of my list of best hawks games. It was just so cool!
Here are the pictures.

stanley cup champs!

hey look a post that isn't about my precious moments cross stitching. hehe.

the blackhawks are the 2013 stanley cup champs!!!! with hard work and determination they have done it! that's twice in 4 nhl seasons. how awesome is that! here are a bunch of photos. go hawks!

 the guys celebrating after they just won.

 johnathon toews with the cup.

 duncan keith celebrating with his new born son. here he is posing with him sitting in the cup. parenting- he's doing it right. hehe.

 the guys celebrating in the locker room.

 patrick sharp holding the cup at the parade in chicago.

 the celebration in chicago.

Chicago blackhawks

On Saturday I went to a local bar with some friends and watched the Chicago blackhawks beat the LA kings to move to the Stanley cup! Go hawks! I really hope they win the cup again. Once in my lifetime was amazing. Twice would just be unbelievable! And I would love it. So let's go hawks! Do it again!

Here's a photo of the hawks with the clarence campbell cup (that's the cup that is awarded to the team that wins the western conference in the nhl).

the good hearted people of the world

with the bombing at the boston marathon this week, there has been an out pouring of good heartedness all over america (and really there is this good heartedness all over the world). any time there is a tragedy, together we as a people stand up and say no. that we are one and we will get through all of this. oklahoma city bombing, columbine hs shooting, 9/11, boston marathon bombing to name a few. after all of these tragedies we have come together as a country and said we love each other and we will stand by each other.

with this in mind i thought i would share the different website/groups that are of this same mind. all of these groups share that same warm fuzzy feeling of people standing together and saying we are one. we love each other. you are not alone.

-RAINN - (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice.
-project unbreakable - The mission of Project Unbreakable is to increase awareness of the issues surrounding sexual assault and encourage the act of healing through art.
-more love letters - We’re going to tell you that we write and mail love letters, handwritten love letters, to strangers in need all over the world.
-post secret - PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.
-soldiers' angels - soldier's angels works around the world to address military-related needs ranging from deployed support, to wounded care, to remembrance of the fallen and a wide variety assistance to military families.
-live through this - Live Through This is a collection of portraits and stories of suicide attempt survivors, as told by those survivors. It strips the issue of anonymity and encourages survivors to own their experiences publicly and proudly.
(i'm sure there are many more sites out there that i haven't mentioned. these are just a few that i know of.)

and as a last thought, i thought i would share the national anthem that was song at the first boston bruins (the nhl team in boston) game after the boston marathon bombing. it just sends chills down your back when you see/hear this! again just another reason i am proud to be an NHL fan. :)

you can play

yesterday the national hockey league (NHL), the nation hockey league players association (NHLPA) and the you can play organization made a wonderful announcement. the nhl and nhlpa are an offical partner of the you can play organization. the you can play organization is an organization that supports equality to lebions, gays, bis, transgenders, and those who you questioning their sexuality (LGBTQ) in the sports world. it's mission statement is:

 "You Can Play is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation.You Can Play works to guarantee that athletes are given a fair opportunity to compete, judged by other athletes and fans alike, only by what they contribute to the sport or their team’s success.You Can Play seeks to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by focusing only on an athlete’s skills, work ethic and competitive spirit."

the nhl commissioner gary bettman had this to say regarding the partnership: 

“Our motto is 'Hockey Is For Everyone,' and our partnership with You Can Play certifies that position in a clear and unequivocal way. While we believe that our actions in the past have shown our support for the LGBTQ community, we are delighted to reaffirm through this joint venture with the NHL Players’ Association that the official policy of the NHL is one of inclusion on the ice, in our locker rooms and in the stands.”

The NHL becomes the first major American professional sports league to officially partner with an LGBTQ advocacy group on this scale. Over 100 professional hockey players have voiced their support for gay teammates. here's a video of dustin brown the captain of the LA kings and alec martinez another player on the LA kings giving their support.

You Can Play will conduct seminars at the NHL’s rookie symposium to educate young prospects on LGBTQ issues. In addition, You Can Play will make its resources and personnel available to each individual team as desired. The NHLPA and NHL also will work with You Can Play to integrate the project into their Behavioral Health Program, enabling players to confidentially seek counseling or simply ask questions regarding matters of sexual orientation.

i think this is just a wonderful cause and i'm so glad that the nhl has become an official partner. as some of you know, i'm a HUGE hockey fan (go blackhawks!) and this just makes me proud to be a hockey fan. insert beaming smile here. :)

hockey is back!

just a short post. i have to say HOCKEY IS BACK! as upset as i was about the lock out, i'm still super excited that hockey is back. blackhawks are 2-0 so far. it's going to be a shortened season, only about 45 games. so lets go hawks! kick some butt. and no worries, you didn't lose me as a fan. i might get annoyed and tired of the whole mess. but i'll always be a fan. so one more time, LETS GO HAWKS!

things and stuff

hey everyone. sorry it's been so long since i've written. i do apologize. things have been a little crazy for me. i will do my best to update much more often, like the old days. hehe.

i must write about dragon con a little bit. it was awesome as always. this was my second year going and i have no thoughts of stopping. there were some awesome costumes (as always). this year one of the guests of honor was RA Salvatore! sadly i didn't get to meet him, i tried but the line was too long and i never made it. but i did get to see him up close and personal. i did something new this year, i went to the walk of fame. which is where the celebrities go and you can get their signatures. saw katee sakof, jonathan franks, levar burton, michael dorn and felica day (just to name a few). i didn't get any of their signatures but, i did get lou ferigno's. if you don't know who he is, he played the hulk for the tv series. he is huge! and he was very nice to me. last year i had gone to his panel and he was so positive i couldn't help but like him. so i just had to get his signature this year. i made some new friends this year. so that was cool. and thanks to twitter, i get to stalk them. hehe. no one wanted to take my picture because of anything i was wearing, but at the Ta'veren tee's booth (wheel of time), they took a picture of my two wheel of time tattoos. that was pretty awesome. the girl recognized matt's saying on my arm right away and asked to take a photo. then when she was done i showed her my neck tattoo and she asked to take a photo of that. so that made me smile really big and feel all cool. so over all, dragon con was tons of fun! go to my flickr page and you'll see all the pictures i have.

so i posted about being on twitter and instagram now. yeah i'm addicted now. i check it all the time. i've already posted on twitter over 200 times. hehe. whats cool is when people i don't even know follow me on there. makes me feel like what i have to say is important. i know it's really not, but it makes me feel that way.

the wheel of time's a memory of light prologue came out for everyone to read. you had to pay like 4 bucks, but you could read it in full if you wanted. so of course(!) i did. it rocked! i can't wait until the book comes out. i'm really sad it comes out the day AFTER my birthday, jan 8th 2013. but, you better believe i will be buying it on 1/8. i actually might take the day off so i can read it all day. that may seem silly to you, but i wouldn't be able to handle working when i could being reading that book. that is how much i love those books. i can't believe they are coming to an end. i love the books so much, two of my tattoos are from the series (as mentioned above). i'm debating whether i should pre order it or not, i've never done that. so i don't know. but i WILL have that book. hehe.

cubs sucked this year. bears are rocking it. sadly i have nothing to say about hockey for they are locked out. and i don't think we will have a hockey season at all. so i'm going to go to a college hockey game at soldier field. notre dame, wisconsin, minnesota and miami ohio are going to be playing. so that should be fun. all of those school's have a history of having good teams. at least i'll get some kind of hockey. and i get to go to soldier field. i haven't been to it since i was like 8. so i'm excited for that. but sadly that game isn't until February.

well that's all for now. i will do my best to update more often. 

sports on the radio

so i'm a listener of espn radio and the local chicago sports station 670 the score. i don't listen to them all the time, but i've been listening to them pretty often. during the stanley cup (as some of you know i'm a huge hockey fan) the playoffs were barely talked about if at all. no matter what time i was listening to the radio stations. and after the kings won, it was never mentioned. i couldn't believe it. this is a big event for the sport and your not going to talk about it?! all the radio stations talked about was basketball and baseball. now don't get me wrong, i understand that both of them are much more popular then hockey in america, but still, there is a following of hockey here.

and now there is a new development regarding lance armstrong and his doping acusations (U.S. federal prosecutors closed a two-year criminal probe and now the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has filed formal charges against him) and mike and mike in the morning (espn radio) didn't talk about it at all this morning. all they talked about was lebron james for the game he is playing tonight (the game isn't even played yet) and the perfect game that was pitched yesterday. again, a perfect game is big news and it should be talked about. but besides that, all i've been hearing about is lebron james and i'm just sick of it. let it go. either he will win or he won't. wait until either have happen and then analyze it.

a friend of mine was saying that the day after the kings won the cup on espn.com the front page had a picture of a boston player holding the cup and the article was about the contenders for next year. really?! let the kings live it up for at least a day. just one day.

so the point of this post is that i don't understand why sports radio stations (for i don't have tv and so can't complain about the tv shows - that's right i don't have a tv) don't talk about all sports. don't call it a sports show if your only going to talk about baseball/basketball. then call the shows the BB- sports show. hehe. get it; baseball/basketball sports show. so yeah. mainly this is a rant that sports shows should talk about all the sports that are out there: hockey/golf/tennis/soccer/rugby/baseball/basketball/volleyball.

LA kings stanley cup champs

so this year the la kings are the stanley cup champs. it is their franchise's first win. i'm a little sad for i wanted the devils to win and i wanted them to win because their goalie martin brodeur is in his 40's and who knows if he'll make it there again. but he has won before so it's not a huge loss. and brodeur is considered one of the best goalies to ever play the game, so again not a huge loss. but congrats to the kings for winning.

there are 3 things that are great about hockey playoffs. first is that almost every player grows a beard during the playoffs. it's a tradition that has been going on for awhile. it's great. during the playoffs it's actually odd to see someone without some kind of facial hair. even the kids who can barely grow facial hair, they will grow something - even if it's some straggly beard. hehe. during last years playoffs, the website business2community ranked the 10 best playoff beards of all time. there are some good ones listed.

another great thing about the playoffs is that after the final game the losing team and the winning team will ALWAYS shake each others hand telling each other good game/series and congrats on winning the cup. in other professional sports, you don't see that. it's great to see such sportsmanship and especially in hockey.

and the last thing that is great in hockey playoffs is that after a team wins the cup every player gets one day with the cup. they get to do whatever they want for that one day. i heard and i don't know who the player was - but that one player threw a party on the beach (with the cup of course) and everyone left for the night and forgot the cup on the beach. hehe. ahhhh hockey. just some amazing things about it. and those are just playoff stuff. hehe. got to love the sport!

here's andrew ladd from when the blackhawks won the stanley cup in 2010. he is on crown mountain in british colombia.

lets go hawks!

in support of the hawks making it into the playoffs (without my man jonathon toews, tear) i thought i would share this video of patrick kane. i can't get it posted straight on here; so follow the link. i think it's cute/funny.

ps - go to the cubs post below this one and check out the 4/8 edit story. hehe.

hockey

now that is a way to get the attention of the player. hehe.

my sister once made a sign in the native language of hockey player pavel bure - saying i love you. she said that he did a double take when he saw that. hehe.