Except replace the guy getting clobbered with Blake Griffin.

As big as the San Jose Sharks are out here in Silicon Valley, there aren’t very many rinks, and ice time can be very expensive. However, after two years living in California, I just learned about a local rink that’s not too far from me. It’s just been hiding in a shopping mall this whole time. California is weird.

It seems so long ago, but hockey used to be a pretty big part of me life. If you know where to look, you can still find some tidbits from my glory days on the internet. I believe I started playing when I was four or five. From what I recall at that age, gravity is typically a greater opponent than the team you’re playing. Eventually things gravitated to travel teams, Thanksgiving weekend tournaments, and State championships.

I can still vividly remember my very last game of organized hockey. It was a sectional tournament game in the frozen tundra of Pulaski, NY. Halfway through the 2nd period my left shoulder dislocated. This was a pretty common occurrence for me; I think at that point it had probably dislocated close to 40 times in a span of two or three years. Usually I could get it back in the socket within 10 minutes. However this time it didn’t want to go back in. It started swelling up to the point that my body started going into some form of shock and I could hardly stand on my feet.

It quickly became obvious that I needed to get to a hospital to get my shoulder back in the socket. Still struggling to stand up, I managed to make it outside to my parent’s minivan where we drove through a total lake effect white-out to get to some sort of medical center in the middle of nowhere. After an hour or two of waiting and x-rays, a doctor and a nurse struggled with it for about another hour. But alas, no luck. My swollen shoulder had defeated two medical professionals.

It must have been a slow day in this medical center because eventually the entire medical staff was in the room. I think three or four staff members were holding me down while a doctor was yanking and twisting on my arm. Suddenly it just popped back in place. Greatest feeling in the world, hands down. My shoulder may have been victorious over two medical professionals, but it was no match for a whole room full of them!

A month later I had reconstructive surgery on my shoulder and lost use of my arm for 6 weeks.

In conclusion, I can’t wait to get back on the ice tonight!

The end.

I can’t say that I’m surprised. He’s been asking (intermittently) for a trade for the past few years. I’m hesitant to say it, but deep down I think I’m glad to see him go. He was an offensive powerhouse in Boston, always entertaining to watch (for both good and and some not so good reasons), and probably one of my favorite players on the team.

But at the same time, he had become quite the distraction with his trade comments. And he obviously wasn’t happy. So it’s for the best. No hard feelings, Manny. It’s been fun. Best of luck in LA.

But traded for Jason Bay? He’s got decent numbers, but he’s no Manny Ramirez. At least we’ll get some defense in left field now. We’ll see how it goes. Boston has had some good luck in recent years with dealing aging players before the injuries kicked in (Pedro, Nomar, Damon). We’ve also had good luck with transforming good players into great players once they put on a Red Sox uniform (Ortiz, Lowell, Drew to some extent). So I’m going to trust Theo and the gang with this move. I hope it works out. We just need Jason Bay to grow out some dreds.

All good things must come to and end, but let’s just take a second to relive some the best/worst Manny Ramirez moments in Boston. There are some classics in there (even without the oopsie from earlier this month).

And lets part ways with Manny on a good note…like this one:

Walk-off Game 2 ALDS 2007

cya Manny.

I only made one plan — to see a Red Sox game — and even that was done on a whim.  Other than the Red Sox game I pretty much just wandered aimlessly.  I probably walked over 50 miles during the five days I was there — and now my toe doesn’t work.  I also met up with some people, partook in some of the nightlife, and ate a lot of clam chowder.  Very good trip.  I want to go back.

Meh, words are dumb.  Look at pictures instead!

Here’s a preview:

Other than the Red Sox game, I’ve purposely made no other plans. Planning is overrated. I think I’ll just wander aimlessly for five days and maybe try to locate some old acquaintances.

Oh, and I since I won’t be bringing a computer, I think I might try out this Twitter thing. Check for updates on twitter.com/mikeleotta … but don’t get your hopes up.

Of all professional sports, hockey benefits the most from HD quality broadcasting. It’s just too hard to watch in standard definition. This is coming from someone that practically took his first steps in hockey skates. I’ve been playing ice hockey since I was four. But even I got frustrated following the tiny, blurred puck move from fuzzy player to fuzzy player. To watch hockey, I had to be at the game.

But a hockey game in HD is completely different. You can see every detail. Every puck movement. Every hit. Every emotion. HD is how the game was meant to be viewed.

But here I am living in the so called “technology hot bed” of America, during the NHL playoffs, watching the Sharks in standard definition on an underutilized Samsung 50 inch plasma tv.

Sigh…