3 June, 2007 |

That was the last I saw of her.

The Ducks never miss a chance to punish somebody. Turn your back to go in deep and chip the puck out, take a hit. Skate up the boards to take a chance on a 50/50 puck, get a shot to the chops. Get in close, get face washed by Pronger. It never stops.

This sort of game takes a toll one hit at a time and incrementally. While the Sens stayed disciplined tonight, I wonder how much longer that can last with the frustration building.

* Tonight’s 2nd period might have set the NHL back 15 years. After it was over I had to take a nap that lasted a full minute into the third period, and I was live blogging the game.

* Ray Emery is the only Senator playing worth a damn. He’s showing me something. If he ever gets some support, he can steal a game. As for his teammates, they’ve regressed over two games. All is lost.

Eric 10:54 PM Hockey Comments (0) TrackBack (0)

As the train sped along, her eyes closed as she leaned back against the door, rocking with the motion of the car. Slowly, slowly, her head nodded and then fell far forward. Just as the rest of her was about to follow, she snapped her head up, waking in time to pull herself up. Her mouth hung open.

All the way past Maverick and Airport she swayed, her head falling forward, eyes shut tight, nodding off and losing balance, then jerking upright. Just when I thought she’d collapse in a heap on the subway car floor, some internal force would shake her and pull her up. The other passengers either ignored her or pointed at her, laughing quietly among themselves. The woman next to me met my eyes and shook her head in disapproval.

I was about to stand to offer her my seat at least, insist she sit down, when some homing instinct alerted her that her stop was next. The train stopped, the doors slid open, and she stumbled outside onto the platform. As the doors closed, and the train pulled away, she stood looking dazed as if uncertain where she was and thinking was too great an effort. She leaned against a metal fence and sank to the platform, her eyes closed. That was the last I saw of her.

I was the only one who watched her leave.

For the rest of the ride home and well into the evening, and even now, days later, I asked myself what I should have done. I had sat there, watching as this woman, this girl really, my son’s age, placed herself in harm’s way. I had sat there, wondering what to do, paralyzed by indecision. A thousand things went through my mind. Did she need medical attention? How would she get home? Did she even have a home? Despite the rough-looking hands, her nails bore signs of a recent manicure and her eyebrows were painstakingly plucked. She must have had a home. But would she get there safely? In that state she was vulnerable–to sexual assault, physical abuse, worse. I wanted to do something, but I didn’t know what.
Live Blogging Game Two

Stop by the NHL Fanhouse around game time for some live blogging from me and Tom Luongo.

Eric 07:40 PM Hockey Comments (0) TrackBack (0)

The Ultimate Table Hockey Game

A couple of days back, I dedicated my column at NBC Sports.com to a look at the series of video shorts put together by the Knob Hockey gang.

But after kicking around YouTube this morning, I think I might have found the ultimate expression of the game Richard D’Alessio and the Jokers Hockey Club tried to parody:

The game in question costs an actual $495. Be sure to take a close look at the goalie. Back when I played table/knob hockey, there was no way the goalie had that much freedom of movement.

Think of it as a gift for the hockey fan who has everything. And while I’m sure plenty of folks would love to have their own electric bubble hockey set up, I can’t help but love the old school vibe I’m getting this is giving off.

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