That's right, kiddos, it's Uncle Sleek's birthday today, turning a ripened old 31 years old and getting quite near that stage of life where I can start retiring once a year. If you want to know why I come off so satisfied and smug on this blog, that you can blame squarely on birthdate numerology, which has blessed me with an inordinate amount of luck.7-11-77. It rhymes, it multiplies, and it stinks of good fortune! My whole life I've kept an eye out for good luck, you know, just to see if the birthdate prophesy was being fulfilled. I've certainly been fortunate on a lot of levels, as I'm sure a lot of us have. This blog, for one, is mostly a creature of luck, and a ton of thanks to the fellow bloggers and readers who keep it all chugging.
Another lucky thing: I've got a new nephew coming soon whose due date rivals my own, 8-8-08. They haven't told me the kid's name yet, but it doesn't matter. I'm going to call him "Ocho".
I do want to talk about Brian Burke's unique version of media silence yesterday, but today's not a fair day to do it. I'm off with the folks and siblings to Napa Valley, and won't be back until Tuesday. So a full post/dialogue will have to wait until next week, but here's a quick bulleted version.
- I think only one of Kevin Lowe's comments deserved a public response: SoCal being called a "pathetic hockey market". Everything Burke did beyond addressing that singular point was unnecessary and foolish. Foolish isn't all bad, though; I certainly had a good chuckle at Burke's goodie-two-shoes lawyer impression.
- I think we should acknowledge SoCal for what it is: a maze of Laker fans. It's still a market that does need to be won over, but that is an important feature, not a flaw. A developing fanbase that does demand results amidst competition is not a bad thing, even for a Canada-strong league. It can serve as a more measurable barometer of hockey's entertainment value than the always-full houses in Edmonton.
- One other takeaway: I think Brian Burke is stuck in Anaheim the rest of the year. Tom Benjamin had me convinced that Burkie was going to leave midseason and Dave Nonis would take over, but how can Burke go to Toronto now? Now that he's turned "tampering" into a league buzzword, he's painted himself into a corner.
For now, it's time to blow out some candles and start some drinkin' (for me, Napa-style!):
Hockey news on the front page? I wish!
Go Ducks.