2009 Eastern Conference Champs!!!

Congratulations to the 2009 Penguins!!!

The Penguins decided to bring out the brooms last night and sweep the Hurricanes off to the golf course and bring home the Prince of Wales Trophy for the second year in a row!! I was very surprised that they were able to handle the Canes as well as they did. They earned this sweep after several good series with the Flyers and the Capitals. Despite a rousing kick off by Benedict Cowher and an early goal by Eric Staal, the Pens were able to move on to the Stanley Cup Final!

However things are not finished for this team... They have a burning desire to make up for the loss to the Red Wings in the finals last year. After the game tonight, we could be looking at a rematch. This year, the Penguins will be ready to go! As the image below from the Pensblog says: Yes We Can!!!

Let's Go Pens!!!!

Bike to Work Day!!!

Today was my 3rd bike to work day!!! And it was a pretty nice morning. A bit humid, but better than the pouring rain we had 3 years ago! I have missed 2 of the past 5 years because I was either not working that day or because I was out of town. However, this is only the 2nd year that I decided to stop by one of the pit stops. This year, I believe, they added a pit stop at Nationals Park, which is right on my way to work, so it was perfect!

I left Shirlington, rode on the new 395 underpass, and headed to the Mount Vernon trail. From there I turned north and headed up past Gravelly Point to the 14th Street Bridge. From there I headed to the National Park stop. There was some food, drinks, a few speakers, some prizes, and music. There wasn't a huge turnout, but it was nice to see a few people out there.

They gave us a bike to work t-shirt and a water bottle, which of course are two things that I need really badly... (rolling eyes) I stayed for about 15 minutes and then thought I should head on to work, so I continued across the South Capitol Street bridge, through Annacostia Park, and up Good Hope Rd. Which is the big elevation gain on the route. At the top of the hill I turn left on Alabama Rd., and finally a left on Suitland Rd. Once I cross into MD, it's up another hill and then a right into the Suitland Federal Canter and I am at work. A nice 13 mile work-out, one way!

Here is a map of the route that I take to work.

I hope the rest of you guys get out there and spend some time on your bikes today, maybe even look into biking to work yourselves! It is great exercise, doesn't cost anything, and saves fuel! Check out WABA for some good information on Commuting!

What a Series....

In my last post, I wrote about not being sure about going to Game 5. Well, we all know how that went down. I intended this post to be a celebration of the fact that I saw the Pens win Game 5 and then take Game 6 on their path to the Eastern Conference Finals. Again, we all know how that turned out. So all I have to say now, is What an f-ing amazing series this has turned out to be!!!! There has already been so many words written about the fabulous display of hockey that we have been privileged to watch, so I will just say, Wow! I picked the Penguins to win the series in 7 games, but I did not expect it to be quite this amazing.

Now, on to the original purpose, Game 5...

My friend's Jen and Marcy were very nice to sell their tickets to me, since they had prior obligations, and I invited Brad to come with me, a fellow Penguins and Steelers fan!! We met at RFD for a drink before the game, with tons of Caps fans and a fee hearty Pens fans. I had wanted to go in to the phone booth early so that I could catch the players come out of the tunnel for the pre-game skate. Here is a really short video that I shot:

Game 5 - Pens Warm-ups from Tyler Wean on Vimeo.

After they all came out onto the ice, there was a good crowd of us Pens fans hanging around watching them skate around before they started to stretch. We chanted a bunch of Let's Go Pens, and the guys seemed to be pretty psyched about that. Then they started doing shooting some pucks and getting warm.

While they were taking turns, a few of them came over to the boards where we were and tried to flip a puck or two over the boards to us. While Satan, I believe, was trying to flip one to a girl in front of me, one of the equipment managers on the bench tossed one from my left. I saw it hit the ground and roll to my feet, so I picked it up and put it right in my pocket! Unfortunately it does not say "playoffs" on it, just a really worn out NHL logo. The skate ended soon, and then it was time for all of us "400 levelers" to leave the good seats and get ready for some playoff action!! About this time my camera died, but here are a few more pics that I was able to take:

And of course, as the Pensblog likes to do in their game re-caps, here is an anthem pic:

I am not going to go into the game, the fact that we won while I was there for the first time all season, or the let down of losing Game 6 at home, with a fluky broken stick.... Instead, I am going to think about all the times that we have beaten the Caps in the playoffs and look forward to watching that happen again (from home) on Wednesday night!

Let's Go Pens!!!!
Do it.

And if anyone has an extra ticket to Game 7, I am available... :)

Capital Disappointment

Playoff hockey is a thrill to watch. The intensity of the game is taken up several notches from the regular season, the skill level is better and the hits are harder. After watching the Penguins beat the Flyers in the first round, a pretty intense rivalry based on last season's Eastern Conference match up, I knew that the second round would be even more intense. Last Tuesday I went to bed before the Carolina - New Jersey game was over, so I was still not sure who the Penguins would be playing next. What I did know, was that the Capitals had won their Game 7 that night.

I woke up the next morning to a text from Matt, saying that Carolina had won. I then knew that the Pens would be taking on an even bigger rival in the Capitals. This excited me since I live in DC!!! I would potentially be able to get tickets to 4 of the games because the Caps have the home ice advantage. I immediately emailed Jen, who shares season tickets with her friend. She said that they could not make it to Games 1 or 5, but they were planning on going to Game 2. So I bought the first game from her and the second game from a guy on Craigslist.

The National Anthem from the back row of 425

As you know, if you aren't living under a rock, the Caps have won the first two games. This does not worry me. When I was filling out my playoff bracket, I picked the Pens - Caps series in this round to go 7 games. Therefore I knew that the Pens would have to lose 3 games. What is most frustrating to me about these losses, is that I was there to see them both. I think that of all the major sports, hockey seems to have the most superstition involved in it. I am really not a superstitious person. I don't think that just because I didn't do something, my team lost for that reason. I am not sure how many of the players believe in that, or if they just really like being in a routine. However, it is the playoffs, and things are magnified here, so this got me thinking.

I looked back on the hockey games, specifically Pens games, that I have gone to this year. (Un)fortunately, there haven't been many of them. The parentheses are at the front of the previous sentence because my record in person this year is 0-4. The worst part of that is, 3 of those games were against the Caps. As I said, I am not superstitious, but that record makes me think... When the Pens do force a Game 5 and potentially a Game 7, do I want to be in the Verizon Center????

This is making me very conflicted... I don't feel that just because I have been at the losses, it has anything to do with me. However, when it comes to the playoffs, you have to pull out all the stops. Therefore, I am really leaning towards not going to another game against the Caps. What do you all think? Am I being crazy, or do I have a valid argument???