Ooohhhh Tangoooo

“Flutters vs. Lightning Bugs

The Flutters had a good game tonight against the Brunts, 2-2. They skated well after about a week of tentative hockey. Should be a good game.

I'll be watching!”

“I was at work at 1700 so I saw nothing of hockey tonight!

I can't wait till Dec. 30 Rangers will be in Tampa and DARIUS will be there to kick some lightning smug butt!!!

Pens lost tonight! Boo Hoo!”

“You hate Tampa? I thought they were your team? You confound me.”

“Off Hockey for a moment...

Tango, lows in the 40's tonight which means two things:

1. Test the sleeping bag.
2. We need more power! Orlando will freeze if you're asleep at the switch!

I'm gonna start calling you Scotty.”

“Tango a power freak? Whodda thunk it?”

“I MAKE power!!!!

Geo no I just go to T-Bay to see the other teams!!!

Penguins Rule (sort of this year because of our drunk GM craig patrick)

Fave player Darius Kasparaitus!

Big Coop I need to order that exped icebird 2.3# 5F or Marmot Lithium 2.11 0F. The exped scrunchs flat...”

“It should still be a rumble Tuesday night. I've been a Flutters fan since they came into the league. Prior to that I liked the Canadiens in the old six-team league.

Lost interest in hockey when the dump and chase became the rule. I said for years the last good hockey game I ever saw was the 1980 Olympic team.

Ken Hitchcock is not a fan of the dump and chase either, so the Flutters have been playing more or less old time hockey this season, and it's been more fun to watch. But they fell into a rut after Jersey beat them and just now seem to be coming out of it. The Boston game was a rumble and they managed to come back and tie it.”

“I hate the dump too. Thank God we have Alexei and Mario who love to take it in! But our 2nd and 3rd lines still do dump the puck more than I like.

How are you liking the new enforcement of the rules this year? I totally love it. It let's the puck handlers shine like they should. I love finesse players!”

“It helps when they call it, and it doesn't help when they call it in marginal cases.

I do love the flow of hockey, and that was why I liked the old Canadiens. They mastered puck control, passing, and setting up plays. When they crossed the blue line, they all went to where they should be.

The Flyers were like that right through their Stanley Cup years. Then the dump and chase just made it into a free-for-all. There is no control, no percentage that you'll even get to the puck first, and no strategic reason to do it other than putting the puck into the offensive zone. But the idea is to put the puck in the net, and that takes a tad more skill.

The other thing that gripes me is cheap penalties. It's a breakdown in discipline, and hockey is a sport that depends on discipline. You can't score from the penalty box, while the other team's chances of scoring improve.

If they have to retaliate, they should take a page out of the Gordie Howe playbook. He'd run the guy into the boards when the play went down-ice, then skate non chalantly down the ice like he was skating on a pond, the very model of innocence and decorum. When the other player came streaming down the ice, dropping his gloves as he came, guess who went into the box?

See, coaches oughta teach that!

It will be interesting to see whether the new obstruction penalty and the idea of carrying the puck into the offensive zone catch on and take hockey back to the great game it used to be. I'm glad Ken Hitchcock hates the dump and chase and that he works for us. He sounds like a pretty sound hockey guy. And the players seem to have bought into his style.

Our part time sports editor is also the writer for the Flyers website. We were talking about all of this, and he was saying he doesn't like the helmets. I don't either, but if it saves lives or serious head injury (to other than Eric Lindros) then it is worth it.

As for Lindros, I'm still waiting for somebody to catch him skating with his head down again. It will happen one day.”

“Is Phil Esposito still associated with the Tampa Bay club?”

“Kaspar did it a couple of years ago! As for fighting I think it has a place. I mean who could stand to listen to Mathew Barnaby all game and not want to kill him!? I know that if I played I would be a fighter/instigator!!! I'll check out the Esposito thing.

Big Coop I was out watching the meteor showers in my new $20.00 TCO Columbia Fire pants and my Mountain Hardwear down jacket also TCO also on sale. I was toasty toasty!!!”

“you won't be so toasty after I get through with you this week. My fantasy hockey team is gonna kick your fantasy hockey team's a$$!


Of course, seeing as how your team is already kicking mine's derriere after one night, I'm not quite sure how I plan to pull it off BUT I WILL. If not, I'll just throw you into the boards and knock you silly. ;o)”

“If you saw my message on the FHS I dropped my gloves!! So bring it on chick!!!”

“Wow, this I want to see. Action in the morning!”

“WoooooHoooooooo, Chicks fighting.

Pull her jersey over her head!!!”

“Time to clean up the dinner dishes and settle down for the game. I wonder which Flutters team will show up tonight. The good Flutters or the Possum Lake Flutters.

Keep your stick on the ice; I'm pullin for ya!”

“So I watched the first period, then watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone instead. The Flutters won without me. First win in two weeks!”

“Good I hate TB- Their fans are the rudest I have EVER encountered!”

“LOL, in the first period last night two players crashed into the boards (this is the way hockey players say hello to each other, have a nice day!).

So this fan is banging on the glass, apparently offering to fight with one of the Flutters.

Yeah, right you middle-aged bag of worn-out testosterone, go fight a hockey player!”

“Now you will have your chance to weep and gnash your teeth. Your Philly cream cheese boys are coming into THE BURGH Thanksgiving eve!!! Too bad I will be working evening shift and won't be able to see it. Maybe I can listen on the net! Good luck!”

“LeClair and Boulton are going to knock Mario, Alexi, Morozov for a loop. GO FLUTTERS!”

“The only loop those boys will be taking is a vitory loop around the your goaltenders net!!! Mario is going to have another 4 point game! Just too bad Darius Kasparaitus is not there to show your cream cheese boys how to hit!!! But we have Danny LaCouture and Ian Moran, they will suffice!”

“If the Flutters play like they played last night, there will be no point in even listening to the game. Yesterday was not a great day for me to watch my teams, except for the Johnson boys. Dang, those dudes can run! Larry and Bryant.”

“So what's the deal with Putzburg Tango? Is that your home, or do you like the uniform colors? Or are you and Darius an item? I can't imagine people would pick the Waddles out of all the NHL teams.”

“Look at the stats Geo. Mario leads the league in points, The Pens power play leads the league. But yep I am originally from Pittsburgh. The Steelers won a superbowl on MY birthday!!!”

“Gawd, another Pittsburglar!

Had an intern who went to Pitt. She's living out there somewhere and still stays in touch. She just announced she'll be getting married next year. That's been the one person I mentored who stayed in touch. I used to tease her about the Pitt Petunias, etc, never the Panthers.

Anyhoo, unless the Flutters come to their senses by Wednesday, forget it. The Maple Leafs humiliated them Saturday night. I gave up after two periods, and the score was 3-0. It was disgusting to see guys who have talent and worked together well as a team early in the season look like they had just laced up skates for the first time in their lives and been pushed onto the pond by their mothers.

If they had played that game in Philly, they should have fined the players and given the fans their money back. They'd have been booed off the ice. The Leafs were just firing at will. Hitchcock said that Belfour could have played as well sitting in a rocker. 6-0 at the merciful end.

I do have to confess rooting for the 1960 Pirates, and yes, I was watching on TV when Maz hit his clout. The little known fact from that World Series was that the backup catcher, Hal Smith, hit a homer to tie the game and give Maz the shot.

That was a great World Series. I was living near Baltimore and was an Orioles fan when Roberto ran through the O's in '71. That was another amazing series. I got to see one game of that one, but cannot remember off the top of my head which game it was. I think it was the second game, because we figured if the O's won it in 4 or 5, we would not get a chance to see a game. Duh!

The Steelers had a great run of it over the years.

Hopefully Ken Hitchcock will have an alarm clock going to wake up the team on Wednesday.

A Pittsburglar! Simply amazing. The'll let Pittsburglars go anywhere!”

“Anywhere she wants!!! That's right! I must confess I am not an avid baseball fan but I support all Pittsburgh teams! I am not a hypocrite, I didn't jump on the bandwagon after the Pirates won the world series. I am strictly a Hockey then football fan!

Hopefully ole Kenny will be sleeping thru Wed. Of course I won't get to see much of it I will be working till 21:00. I'll catch the last period!”

“Ken won't be sleeping at all. By the look on his face after a couple of those goals last night, he won't be doing much sleeping at all, and it the players know what's good for them, they'll miss a few winks too. I have a hunch the practices this week are going to make tough look easy.

It will be apparent in the first period whether the coach got through to them. If he did, heaven help the Waddles. If not, the Waddles will fly and the Flutters will flop around on the ice.

Bums me out. I just go interested in hockey again this season, and last night was NOT what did it. Funny, because in their previous game the overtime period was some of the best hockey I've seen in years. It was wide open, both goalies stonewalling, shots rocketing all over the place.

It would have been fun to talk trash, but with the way the Flutters played last night, no point. We'll see who shows up Wednesday night - the Flutters or the Oshowa Juniors.”

“The Pirates won the series?


;)”

“Geo-GL Mario just had 4 pts a game ago and 2 or 3 last game.

Big Coop- I think it was in 81. The song We are Family was the theme song!!! We still had Dave Parker and Willie Stargell.”

“Pirates World Series wins:

1961, 7 games vs Yankees, Mazerowski's homer wins it.
1970, 7 games vs Orioles, Roberto Clemente uses Orioles pitching for batting practice.
1979, 7 games vs Orioles, Pops Stargel and the Cobra are Family!

Little known bits of drivvel from Geobeet:

In 1960, the Pirates beat the Yankees, 4 games to 3

In 1961, the Reds lost to Yankees, 4 games to 1

In 1970, the Reds lost to Orioles, 4 games to 1

In 1971, the Pirates beat Orioles, 4 games to 3

It's a decadal anomaly.”

“My part time sports editor writes for the Flutters web site. His comment on Saturday's collapse: "I got paid!"

His other comment: "They're lucky they didn't play that game at home; they wouldn't have gotten out alive."”

“Okay Tango, let's see what your Super Mario can do to my Flutters. Game time coming up. BRANG IT ON!”

“Time for hockey. Which Flutters will show up tonight: good Flutter or pathetic Flutters? We'll soon find out.”

“1st period score: 2-1 Waddles.

If Roamin Cechmanek doesn't stop roamin and floppin, we'll never win another game!

Mario did not score, but that was one wicked check he did on the linesman. Ouch!

And the Pittsburglars cheered when John LeClair went off the ice with an elbow or shoulder injury. Nice folks!

The Flyers have been having trouble with the puck. They've fanned on several shots and can't seem to control it very well. The announcers blamed the ice, but I think they've got the jitters. Too many penalties: both Putzburg goals came on power plays.

Did I mention that I'm mad at Roamin Cechmanek? I am! I wish Ken would put in Robert Esche.

Okay, the second period is coming up. Back to my seat.”

“Well I got my wish. Not five minutes into the second period Roamin Cechmanek was replaced by Robert Esche, but only after the Waddles scored two more goals.

Oh well, UVa comes on at 9:30.”

“One team showed up to play hockey and the other team showed up to watch.

Waddles 7
Flutters 2


Looked like the Hegins pigeon shoot out there; buncha dead and wounded birds flopping around on the ice.

What have they done with my Flutters?”

“Geo, I just saw the score! I will not rub it in...suffice it to say Mario does not lead the league in points for nothing!

I hate fans like that. I love the sport and the game too much to ever want to see any athelete hurt. Even if he/she was killin' the team I was rooting for. Hope your guy is ok.”

“Geo, I just saw the score! I will not rub it in...suffice it to say Mario does not lead the league in points for nothing!

I hate fans like that. I love the sport and the game too much to ever want to see any athelete hurt. Even if he/she was killin' the team I was rooting for. Hope your guy is ok.”

“He's got a dislocated shoulder and will be evaluated, but my guess is he will be out about 3 weeks.

I didn't think Mario was that big a factor, but I have to confess I didn't see all of the third period because I switched over to the UVa-Indiana hoops game. The Cavs lost too. Not my night!

But the Hoos put up a better fight than the Flutters. They're getting downright embarassing. The hockey equivalent of air balls and rimshots! They play again Friday, Saturday, and next Monday, so it's going to be hard to turn it around.

The Waddles clearly played like champs tonight and the Flutters played like, ... well, they just didn't play for the second game in a row. The only thing they'll have to give thanks for tomorrow will be that they will not have to listen to Ken Hitchcock for 24 hours. If they play like that in front of the hometown fans Friday night it's going to get ugly.

And to make things even worse, they fell back on the dump and chase. Grrrrrrrrr!

The Pens did a great job on defense. They moved to the puck well and seemed to cover all the ice. They did well at moving the puck down the ice and forming for the attack. They're quick and handle the puck well, crisp passing. They forecheck, and seemed to keep the crease cleared. They played really well. If I was Hitchcock, I'd make them watch the game film and point out how a good hockey team plays, then say, "Why can't you guys do that, eh?"

Congrats. Your team won. Hopefully when they meet again the Flutters will have learned to lace up their own skates and not have to depend on Mommy.

Have a happy Turkey Day.”

“Mario had 4 assists and 3 power play points!

Thanks for the wish but I will be supplying Orlando with power. I will be celebrating Saturday. Eat some turkey for me tomorrow Geo.”

“Okay. Enjoy yourself Saturday and keep Orlando going. I'd hate to think the lights went out because I told you to eat turkey. Newpaper headline:

"Orlando in the dark as power worker gorges herself on turkey."

"Geobeet made me do it," she said.”

“LOL!!

Everything is done except the turkey and potatoes. I won't have too much to do until the guests arrive.”

“'brang'?”

“Have a good'n Tango!

Slang Tilt, slang.”

“I am full!! And thankful. I am now watching the 1997 Eastern Conference final game 3 against the Flyers!!! It's on ESPN classic.”

“The Nov. 30 2002 regular season game against the Canadiens was better. Breakaway goal with just over six seconds left in the game breaks the winless streak. Somebody woke up!!!”

“Well...Yeah, for you! Pens killed the cream cheese 4-1 in 97.”

“ok I got who the Pens are but who is the cream cheese”

“That is how Tango affectionately refers to my Flutters.”