Post by Old Bucks Admin on Nov 20, 2008 9:41:14 GMT -5
The Greek lyre player Parmenio used to urge his students to go and listen to bad performers in order to learn how not to play and what not to do. We thought of Parmenio while watching Red in Week 9 who, if bad hockey could be considered a source of knowledge, made a veritable think tank out of lazy passes, dubious goaltending, and errant shots. Kenny was absent and Red clearly missed him, not so much during the game as before it, when his hunches regarding team personnel often make the difference between victory and defeat. Kip Thomas tried to fill his shoes and succeeded, inasmuch as the teams were stacked, only in Blue’s favor.
From the outset Blue charged and Red retreated; Blue gained the heights while Red cowered in the trenches. An unlikely trio, Kevin Saunders, Kip Thomas, and Jeff Skinner opened with goals while a guest skater, Alex (no last name given), who once played hockey at Temple, checked his urge to run up the score singlehandedly. With unwitting condescension Alex ignored point blank shots to make the extra pass to his teammates. Such “noblesse oblige” baffled Blue. They wanted him to put the puck in the net, period.
Red brought neither their A game nor their B game. In fact you’d have to scroll down through one of those ancient Sumerian alphabets with over 3,000 characters to find out what game Red did bring. All positions lacked for talent. Defense, usually a privilege for any Red player, was treated more like an exemption, and we saw more blown coverages than the Eagles secondary, including a couple by John Lupisella, who could hardly focus on hockey with his four kids running roughshod over the entire rink. Vinnie couldn’t find his rhythm and we suspect he left it at the Street Road Bar & Grill Saturday night. Angie offered to loan him some of his but Vinnie turned him down, saying his tempo was too slow. On offense Red fared no better. We saw no-look passes that doubled as no-think passes and blind squirrels who finally found their nut only to let it slip from their fingers as if it was slathered with so much butter. Of Red’s three goals one that stood out for its sheer desperation involved knocking the stick out of Marty’s hand, driving him to the ice, ripping his catching glove off, and then whacking him across his bare knuckles. Only thus did they find the chance to score. Marty was incensed, not that he was so abused, but that Brian wasn’t around to fix a loose strap on his negligee.
Once Blue had the game in hand, they tried to extend their lead to six goals—the minimum required for Kevin Saunders to pipe down and stop barking at everyone like a drill sergeant. They accomplished this at 8-2. This was also the time Steve Thomas felt safe to leave the game. He had tickets to a Dark Star show at McCarter Theatre. To the uninitiated Dark Star is a band that covers not only Grateful Dead songs, but entire Dead shows, duplicating each note with uncanny fidelity. They’re like a musical version of Old Bucks re-enactors who get together to re-enact classic Old Bucks games. Granted no such group exists, but if one ever does, it’s safe to say that Week 9 of the 2008-09 season will not be part of their repertoire.
From the outset Blue charged and Red retreated; Blue gained the heights while Red cowered in the trenches. An unlikely trio, Kevin Saunders, Kip Thomas, and Jeff Skinner opened with goals while a guest skater, Alex (no last name given), who once played hockey at Temple, checked his urge to run up the score singlehandedly. With unwitting condescension Alex ignored point blank shots to make the extra pass to his teammates. Such “noblesse oblige” baffled Blue. They wanted him to put the puck in the net, period.
Red brought neither their A game nor their B game. In fact you’d have to scroll down through one of those ancient Sumerian alphabets with over 3,000 characters to find out what game Red did bring. All positions lacked for talent. Defense, usually a privilege for any Red player, was treated more like an exemption, and we saw more blown coverages than the Eagles secondary, including a couple by John Lupisella, who could hardly focus on hockey with his four kids running roughshod over the entire rink. Vinnie couldn’t find his rhythm and we suspect he left it at the Street Road Bar & Grill Saturday night. Angie offered to loan him some of his but Vinnie turned him down, saying his tempo was too slow. On offense Red fared no better. We saw no-look passes that doubled as no-think passes and blind squirrels who finally found their nut only to let it slip from their fingers as if it was slathered with so much butter. Of Red’s three goals one that stood out for its sheer desperation involved knocking the stick out of Marty’s hand, driving him to the ice, ripping his catching glove off, and then whacking him across his bare knuckles. Only thus did they find the chance to score. Marty was incensed, not that he was so abused, but that Brian wasn’t around to fix a loose strap on his negligee.
Once Blue had the game in hand, they tried to extend their lead to six goals—the minimum required for Kevin Saunders to pipe down and stop barking at everyone like a drill sergeant. They accomplished this at 8-2. This was also the time Steve Thomas felt safe to leave the game. He had tickets to a Dark Star show at McCarter Theatre. To the uninitiated Dark Star is a band that covers not only Grateful Dead songs, but entire Dead shows, duplicating each note with uncanny fidelity. They’re like a musical version of Old Bucks re-enactors who get together to re-enact classic Old Bucks games. Granted no such group exists, but if one ever does, it’s safe to say that Week 9 of the 2008-09 season will not be part of their repertoire.
