Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Civilization

Two non-hockey related posts in a row! I'm really on a roll here!

Anyhoo, I just have to give my 2 cents on Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution video game. This is the best thing ever to get you through the off-season. I can easily play for 6-8 hours straight. However, the need to win every time I play is really killing me during the work week since I have to be in the office relatively early and once I start playing it's like fucking crack and I just can't quit it! But if you need something to get your mind off of hockey, or anything for that matter, buy this game because it's f'ing awesome (and won't hurt your wrists like Guitar Hero...or am I just weak?).



Tuesday, July 29, 2008

SoCal is a Shakin'

This is totally not hockey related, but goddamn I haven't been in a jolter like that in awhile. Reminded me of how much I hate earthquakes...



Kings World Podcast - Episode 1.6

This week Connie and I discuss recent Kings updates. We talk about the ridiculous rumor reported by the Ottawa Sun that had Anze Kopitar headed to Chicago, the Tukonen trade, recent RFA re-signings and the hiring of new head coach Terry Murray. We finish our discussion with a bet concerning Patrick O'Sullivan. We are asking the listeners for help with this bet, so please listen and enjoy!

Connie has been hard at work to improve the recording quality of the podcast so please bear with us as we she figures everything out. Big kudos to her for taking on the technical aspect of the podcast.

Please check us out at our respective blogs and at our website.

We welcome any and all feedback! Please direct any questions, comments, or thoughts to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com and don't forget that you can search for us on Facebook and MySpace.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Books about Hockey: Part 2

Within the past year I have read three distinctly different books about hockey. Each book caters specifically to a different group and I think two of them could be enjoyed by most hockey fans and one of those is a must read for every hockey fan. My review of the third and, in my opinion, the best book will be in the next post of Books about Hockey.

The first book I read was one that I had never even heard of till I received it for free. 'Hockey and High Heels' is not your usual hockey book. The Kings organization held a 'Hockey and High Heels' event at Staples Center in late October 2007 and I was fortunate enough to have attended. Plenty has been written on this blog about the H&HH event and if you wish to revisit it you can read about my initial reaction, my review of the event and Connie's review of it as well. All attendees were given a goody-bag and one of the items in the loot was the 'Hockey and High Heels' book written by hockey enthusiast Lisa Ovens, a Vancouver Canucks fan. The cover of the book is incredibly girly and I imagine it is off-putting to a good number of female fans, who may think they're too "good enough" or "hardcore enough of a fan" to read something like it. I would classify this book as a chick-hockey-book, similar to the usual chick books I mentioned in my previous post about Books about Hockey, that should be enjoyed on a sunny afternoon, lounging on a chair at the beach or pool with a fun drink to keep you cool.

Through 'Hockey and High Heels' the reader lives Lisa's life during her first year as a Canucks season ticket holder. She mainly discusses the games she attends and her relationships with her close friends. Not being a season ticket holder myself, I found it amusing how neighboring season ticket holders have an almost instant bond. Every now and then a hockey fact, description, or explanation is thrown in to provide a bit of history and clarification for any reader who may be unfamiliar with a certain hockey topic. The book is very heavy in dialogue and almost reads like an open diary because you experience what Lisa does and you can feel her emotions, although it didn't hurt that I met her so I could picture her saying certain things in her high squeaky, cheery voice.

Recommended For: The female or ultra-flaming hockey fan who wants an easy read about hockey, friends, and relationships. It makes you want to convert all of your girlfriends to hockey fans.

The second book I read was 'Bob Miller's Tales from the Los Angeles Kings' written by Bob Miller and Randy Schultz. I expected a completely different organizational layout and am still conflicted on whether or not I like how it was written and displayed. At first I thought this was some sort of autobiography about Miller's time as a play-by-play announcer with the Kings but quickly realized I was incorrect. While it does include some history about how Miller came to work for the Kings it doesn't delve too much into his personal life. Rather, the book is about his memorable moments with the Kings and is more of a story-telling book, which is true to the book's title so I suppose I shouldn't have really been that surprised.

This book is a great read for any Kings fan. Longtime fans will enjoy the tales about the Kings' early days in LA, fans my age will remember the great times of the Cup Finals, and young and new fans will read about the history of the Kings and learn some interesting facts about past ownership and memorable moments. The book starts in chronological order and the reader learns how Miller started in the business and how he came to LA. But eventually the book jumps around in Kings history based on the topic of the chapter. I still can't quite figure out if I like how the events were grouped by topic or if I would have preferred to have read the tales in chronological order. Most readers may not even think twice about this layout but for someone who likes to have everything organized alphabetically or numerically or in some organized neat manner, it bothered me.

The reason why I like this book so much is not because I got to relive the highs and lows of the Kings or hear about hilarious events that Miller witnessed. I really liked this book because it gave me a look into Miller's personality. All these years of listening to him call games and seeing him on the broadcasts, I had developed an image of Miller of what he must be like off camera. I envisioned him as a polite, somewhat reserved gentleman who was knowledgeable about the game and loved his job. But this book gave me a different perspective of Miller and his tales paint him as a jokester, a smart, driven person who won't let anyone treat him like shit. He has a great sense of humor that is reflected in his retelling of certain events and he also shows off his rough edges, his man's man side.

Recommended For: Kings fans of all ages and any hockey fan interested in a bit of Kings history.

Next post: Another review of another book about hockey. And, if I put the post off long enough, I may even finish the book I'm currently reading and be able to give a review of that too.


Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Books about Hockey

Not too long ago my hermano was rummaging through our dad's book collection acting like he actually cared about fine literary pieces. I have no shame so I proudly confessed that I only read books about hockey. I think he thought I was joking, but I wasn't. Throughout my schooling I was never a fan of English classes and only read novels because I had to, not because I actually wanted to and that sentiment has carried on till this day. During college, to take a break from the science related textbooks, I would read the usual chick book, 'Jemima J', 'The Nanny Diaries', Devil Wears Prada ' (before the movie came out), etc.

However, recently I discovered my interest in reading books about hockey. I can only remember reading one hockey book when I was younger. It was a biography about Wayne Gretzky and if I'm not mistaken, I read it when I was in the 6th grade and did a book report on it. It was the year following the Kings' trip to the Stanley Cup Finals and I was a HUGE Kings fan at the time. I don't remember the name of the book but it was a smallish paperback that I probably still have in my childhood bedroom. From what I remember it was a fun read. I learned all about Gretzky and his family and what he was like as a young hockey prodigy.

A couple years ago I read, 'The Boys of Winter', a book that briefly profiles each member of the 1980 US Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Team. I read this book not too long after the movie 'Miracle' came out and if you're thinking of reading this book, I highly suggest watching the movie before you dive into the book because of the contrast between each piece. It's really fascinating and somewhat surprising to learn that most of the players spent the rest of their lives searching for a way to regain the feeling they had when they won the gold medal. Some, like Mike Eruzione, took the medal and essentially made a career out of it. Others, like Mike Ramsey continued to have minor success in hockey and went on to play in the NHL. But for most, winning that gold medal wasn't just the high point of their hockey careers, it was the high point of their lives. Even if you hated the movie and everything it preaches, or you're a non-American and you absolutely despise hearing another story about this unbelievable moment for Americans, I seriously suggest you read the book. It's interesting to hear how twenty different people from the same gold medal winning team, could live their lives in such different states of mind due to one medal that shaped their lives for better or worse.

Next up I'll have a post on three hockey books I read within the past year.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

'Hockey Player For Life'

Author Howard Shapiro has a book coming out in October titled, 'Hockey Player for Life'. It's a children's book but can be enjoyed by all ages. And what better way to get a kid into hockey then having him or her be able to read a book with a hockey storyline.

Visit his website Hockey Player for Life to learn more about Shapiro and read about other children's books he's written. You can also view some sample pages from his book and after the jump is a YouTube video, using speed painting technology, promoting his book, 'Hockey Player for Life'.





Friday, July 18, 2008

Hockey News Roundup

I've been super busy and tired lately but the real reason for a news roundup instead of posting my own junk is because I'm lazy. I'd rather play Civilization or Guitar Hero than sit at my desk (I really need a laptop) and type up posts about the Kings on my 4-year old super slow computer (yes, I really do need that new laptop). So here's what caught my eye recently:

Brian Kamenetzky at SportHubLA had a chance to speak with Dean Lombardi after yesterday's press conference. Check it out, it's good stuff. I could have done that too but I guess you need a press pass to do that sort of thing.

Sherry at Scarlett Ice has an interesting critical post about a writer making an accusation that Emery wasn't well received in the NHL because of racism.

Marie Stiles (oh wait, that's me!) has some stuff on SportsHubLA (ah yes, another shameless plug) about the recent re-signings of 4 Kings players and a little blurb about new Kings head coach, Terry Murray.

Shame on you if you haven't been keeping track of SportSquee's Challenge: Top Ten Hottest Hockey Players. I was featured against Sarah of the Unofficial Matthieu Schneider Homepage so check out my Top 10 Hotties.

The Kris Draper Rule prevented a fan from placing his daughter in the holiest of hockey awards. Damn you, Kris Draper's daughter for ruining Christmas for everyone!

Jaime Lundmark signed with the Flames. I know that no one outside Calgary gives a flying shit but I care because I liked Lundmark when he was with the Kings for several months after the Craig Conroy trade. I thought he was a decent player that was much better than some of the other lesser skilled players (Brian Willsie, Kevin Dallman, Jeff Guiliano, John Zeiler, do I really need to go on?). But instead of re-signing with the Kings or any other NHL club he played last season in Europe. It's good to see him back because I think he deserves it.

Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen wrote an article about Kings goaltender Jason LaBarbera. It's mainly about him golfing at PCV neighbor, Trump National Golf Course about how even though he makes millions, he didn't have to pay the usual $300/round but only had to fork over what common folk would die to pay for to play at Trump's beautiful grounds: $50. But talking about golf (*snore*) isn't the juiciest stuff in the article. The best part of the article was when he dished about it being difficult to play for Marc Crawford.

He was a tough guy to read, he's pretty intense and likes things done his way. Obviously he has a good track record and is a respected coach because he's won a Stanley Cup but it seemed it never was a good fit having Crow there, with the group of guys we had.


FINALLY, a player who voices his opinion about having Crow as the head coach. I've been waiting since January's devastating blow-out by the Nashville Predators for someone to come forward and talk about Crow. There were so many games during the '07-'08 season in which the players seemed to not respond to Crow's coaching style. I am so thankful that he was fired and while I don't know much about Terry Murray, I am welcoming the change with an open mind and extremely low expectations: just do better than Crow.

And last, but not least, Britney Spears just agreed to let K-Fed have sole custody of the kids. Wow. Now that is some important shit.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Kings World Podcast - Episode 1.5

After a week off, Connie and I are back with another episode of Kings World Podcast. We discuss the departure of Rob Blake, the one Free Agent transaction, and the Kings development camp.

The future looks bright...we're keeping faith alive.

Please check us out at our respective blogs and at: http://kingsworldpodcast.podbean.com/

We welcome any and all feedback! Please direct any questions, comments, or thoughts to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

And you can find us on Facebook and MySpace!

Friday, July 4, 2008

At Least We Have Brownie

and his twin, Shane Lyons, a finalist on The Next Food Network Star:



I am so glad the Kings and Brownie agreed to a contract extension during the season. I expect him to be one of the alternate captains and further develop and improve his numbers.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

No F'ing Way...

While the deal has yet to be confirmed, Rich Hammond of Inside the Kings is reporting that he has confirmed with two sources that ROB BLAKE HAS SIGNED WITH SAN JOSE.


My first reaction was:

(*silence* My jaw dropped *silence*)

And then my second reaction was:

HOLY SHIT...WOW


Supposedly the deal is $5 million for one year. If this is true, then it most likely happened because the Kings didn't want to overpay for Rob Blake. The dude is ancient; Blake will turn 40 in December. He's aggressive in the offensive zone, still has a wicked slap shot, still has his size, but he's turned into a whiny bastard who doesn't throw his body around nearly as much as is needed and hasn't been as defensively sound as he used to and should be. $5 million? No f'ing way. I would have been PO'd if Lombardi signed him for that much. But now that Blake is (most likely) out of here, the Kings are in a huge vat of shit because the only real veteran defenseman they have is Tom Preissing. I hope this doesn't mean the Kings will go after Dan Boyle. But let's be honest, there's no f'ing way Boyle would want to come to LA now.

So who has the heart of coal? Marian Hossa or Rob Blake? I'm going to pick Rob Blake because I don't think Hossa "owed" anything to Pittsburgh. Blake f'd over the Kings once and now he's done it again.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Kings World Podcast - Episode 1.4

Connie and I discuss the recent Kings trade that sent Lubomir Visnovsky to Edmonton for Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene. (Don't worry, neither of us cries.) We then talk about the upcoming Free Agency that starts today and which positions the Kings still need to fill and possible free agents that could fill the role(s). We also throw in some fun by ridiculing Dan Cloutier but finish the episode with some sappy shoutouts (again, no crying).

Please check us out at our respective blogs and at: http://kingsworldpodcast.podbean.com/

We welcome any and all feedback! Please direct any questions, comments, or thoughts to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

And you can find us on Facebook and MySpace!