Lost weekend in Pittsburgh

Well I went to Pittsburgh, and we stayed in the Shadyside district, about half-way between the rink and downtown at a Courtyard by Marriott. The hotel was decent for the 50 bucks we got it for on Priceline. I'd hate to pay more than that, though. Couldn't get the Internet working in the room.

What a retarded place to buy beer! We stopped at a convenience store, and the foreigner behind the counter was less than helpful when we asked where we could buy beer.

I finally asked a white guy going into the store, and he said in PA, you have to buy six packs at bars or at certain stores. He directed me to one that was on the way to the hotel. Terry paid eleven dollars for a six pack of Labatts. Are you kidding me? What a ripoff! Pittsburgh sucks.

Anyway, Ryan, trying to impress his uncle, tried a little too hard in WARMUPS for God's sake, and hurt his knee. He banged it into the goal post after he caught an edge and did a flip backwards. Jeezus!

The first game was against 94's, which are a year older and a lot bigger than Ryan's team. Final was 6-3, which is respectable. Ryan played, but we could tell he was laboring. After his fall in warmups, I thought he'd hurt his butt or tailbone.

After the game, we checked into the hotel, then went to Dick's to get him a neoprene knee wrap. Dave at the store gave us some good directions to get back to the rink, because with the stupid traffic trying to get to Dick's, time was short. Thanks Dave.

The second game was against the Pittsburgh Jr. Pens 95's. Very good team, with a lethal power play. Noah Gatis has professional player written all over him. Outstanding player. I don't remember much about the game, except that Ryan was benched for most of the third period. I did color commentary for Steve Rosenthal's HD video for all three games. I'm excited to hear my commentary. I tried to be serious, but also had some funny stuff, too. The Regals lost this game, and Ryan looked a little better until a big hit early in the third period. We didn't see him much after that. I think the final was 5-4 Pittsburgh.

Saturday night, we didn't do much. Stayed in the room, watched TV, and fell asleep around 11 PM. Ryan didn't take a shower. What a dirtbag!

Woke up at 7 AM on Sunday, went to the rink, and Ryan played much better. I don't think his little knee bruise was bothering him at all. Like Herb Brooks said, a bruised knee is a long way from the heart! The game ended in a tie with nice goals from both sides.

I left after the game so I could play in my game. We tied the Laughing Skulls 5-5. Young punks. I didn't get any penalties, though!

I would like to comment on the Pittsburgh officiating. In a word, brutal. How the Western Pennsylvania Hockey Officials Association can assign referees that continually get faceoff locations incorrect is beyond me. Faceoff location is elementary for a referee. It's the most basic thing. Also, their blue line positioning is less than stellar. C'mon guys, at least you can hustle! I also saw many no calls of obvious checks from behind after the whistle (all by Pittsburgh no less) go uncalled. It seems coach Larry Gaus of the Junior Pens has the officials intimidated. Triple-A hockey deserves Triple-A refs. There's room for improvement here, guys.

Luckily, I avoided the Sabres @ Devils score for over 24 hours, and watched the Sabres excellent 4-2 victory last night in beautiful HD! Wish I could have avoided the Bills game permanently. WTF are you doing passing on 2nd and 5 when you're trying to run the clock out, Jauron? You are a frigging idiot. Please, just go away, DICK.