The 37-year-old won his fifth Norris Trophy, awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association to the League’s best defenseman, at the 2007 NHL Award Show here at the Elgin Theater on Thursday night.
This time, Lidstrom beat out a pair of Stanley Cup champions in the
But, beating quality opposition is nothing new to Lidstrom, who ranked third among all players in ice time this year (27:29), led all defenseman with a plus-40 rating and was fifth among defenseman in scoring with 62 points, including a whopping 49 assists.
Those gaudy numbers leave even his stiffest competitors doffing their helmets to Lidstrom.
I missed the awards show, but I was NOT alone. Millions— well, hundreds of thousands; this is hockey we’re talking about —of US fans also missed the show, and it wasn’t OUR fault. Frickin’ Versus. It’s hard to imagine ESPN screwing things up like that. But in their defense…it was “technical problems” that canceled last night’s live broadcast. That said, Versus could have run a banner across the bottom of the screen telling the legions of NHL fans tuning in that there would be a tape-delay rebroadcast (Film at 11:00!!) of the Awards show. But there wasn’t, ergo: Screw-Up.
Oh, btw: Sid the Kid wins the Hart Trophy (league MVP, as determined by hockey writers), the Pearson Trophy (league MVP, as determined by the players), and the Art Ross Trophy (points leader for the year); Brodeur wins the Vezina (best goalie), Alain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks won the Jack Adams (best coach). A list of all the winners is available at nhl.com, natch.
Other hockey news…Can a 42-year-old goalie find success and happiness as the league’s oldest goalie in the modern era? Stay tuned this coming year to find out, because The Dominator is BACK. I think that’s pretty danged good news. Oh, Chelios recently signed a one-year deal, too. Get ready for more…much more…BS about
So…Lou and I have had an exchange in the comments to my cigar post— all on the up-and-up and civil, of course — about cigars. The thrust of her comment was her father-in-law smoked cigars, constantly, and he and those around him reeked of cigar smoke. Which set me to thinking. My female acquaintance, whom I recently introduced to the pleasures of a fine cigar, had similar thoughts, i.e., “cigars stink.”
Au contraire, mes amis: cheap cigars stink. Good cigars, of which there are many, are aromatic and shouldn’t drive anyone from the room where they’re being smoked, with the possible exception of allergy sufferers. Cheap cigars— like say White Owls, Phillies Blunts, Swishers, Hav-A-Tampas, and the like—will drive me out of the room, and I love cigars. That said, I take my cigars outdoors. Smoke still fouls the environment, no matter how good it originally smells, by getting into and on every-flippin’-thing. I’m still cleaning residual cigarette smoke off the walls and such in El Casa Móvil De Pennington, and it’s been six months since I gave those nasty little buggers up.
One more thing about cigars…shopping for fine cigars is a wonderful experience. I had my first such experience while living in
TSMP and I left the store with a number of cigars (Cuban, of course, there being no embargo in Ol' Blighty), of which she said “You’re not smoking those around me!” She changed her tune after I lit the first one, because, as I said: they smell wonderful. Every time I was in that part of The City after that I stopped in and bought a few cigars, in addition to exploring other, similar shops…of which there are many. I wonder if that’s still true, in this politically correct day and age.
And finally…I found a neat tobacconist in San Antonio when I went there last fall, and I do believe I blogged about it. The shop is a wonderful little store with a modest but adequate humidor room (about the size of a large walk-in closet) and a good selection of my favorite brands. I wish that place were closer to me, but, alas, it isn’t. These days I order my cigars off the internet, but that’s because (a) there aren’t any (real) tobacconists within 150 miles of P-Town and (b) I know what I like/want…so buying isn’t a problem. But I miss being able to “shop” a good humidor room in the company of folks who know and love the product. Who knows what I’m missing?
Today’s Pic: YrHmblScrb, All Dressed Up with Somewhere to Go. Would you believe that everything I needed for 17 days was crammed, stuffed, and otherwise jammed into the two containers you see on the back of the bike? Well, it’s almost true, Gentle Reader. I did ship a box to SN1’s place containing good slacks, dress shoes, a decent shirt and a sport coat…all for the graduation. It just wouldn’t have done to appear at a function like that dressed like this…now would it?
Cache La Poudre river canyon,
Update: An interesting essay on the humidification of cigars in Britain...if you're interested. With illustrations!
I was wondering how you aim to quit smoking was going. Good for you! As a former smoker (though I didn't have near as many years experience as most. Started at 15 and quit at 20), you really can't tell that it's a stinky habit til you have rid yourself of them.
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather smoked a pipe and the aroma of it reminds me of my younger childhood days (he had to give it up before my teen years). But when my hubby and I rented our first house together, the former tenant (the owner who was in a nursing home) smoked a pipe. The walls were literally brown from all the smoke that had been smoked in that house. I know because when I removed a picture off the wall, it was a much, much lighter color underneath. The floor was litered with bowls of tobacco. It was really gross. It's amazing the mess smoking causes after time has gone by. So gradually one wouldn't know it.
Funny story, my ex was trying to quit smoking. This was before we were married. He would brag about not having any cigarettes, and couldn't understand how I knew he'd been smoking them. I could smell them on him, but he never got that and I didn't tell him my secret.
ReplyDeleteI like to brag that I helped my dad quit smoking. When my mom was pregnant with my older brother, dad's smoke (he smoked some cigarettes, but mostly pipes) would make her violently ill. Two years later when she got pregnant with me, dad decided that he just didn't want to spend the next 9 months in the garage. So he quit. And it was because of me. :-)
Jenny sez: I know because when I removed a picture off the wall, it was a much, much lighter color underneath. The floor was litered with bowls of tobacco. It was really gross. It's amazing the mess smoking causes after time has gone by. So gradually one wouldn't know it.
ReplyDeleteDon't I know this...all too well. Dunno if I blogged about it or not, but I've told SN1 (and family) all about how my clothes, even though they were in closets and such, absolutely REEK of smoke. Some still do...those that haven't made the trip to either cleaners or laundromat as yet. The shades in the RV that used to be "off-white" are now tan...because of smoke. And it's a bee-yotch to get out of/off of things, too. As I said: I'm STILL scrubbing walls and such.
Becky sez: ...couldn't understand how I knew he'd been smoking them. I could smell them on him, but he never got that and I didn't tell him my secret.
The Second Mrs. Pennington NEVER smoked around or in front of her parents, both of whom never smoked. When we'd visit the in-laws for an extended period of time, or when they came to visit, TSMP would say to me after about three or four hours "Let's go for a walk," which was code, of course, for "I need a cigarette." I always asked her who she thought she was fooling, as doubtless her parents could smell it on her. But...it was a game. Perceptions, respect, and all that. "I'll pretend NOT to smoke," and you "pretend I don't" and we'll all be happy. And that's the way it was...
Good on ya for getting your Dad to quit! ;-)
I have smelled pipe smoke that I thought was not so bad - so who knows maybe there is a good cigar. Do you have any trouble with mosquitos when you smoke outside - they might be worth their smoke...
ReplyDeleteWe bought Jes a motorcycle jacket for her birthday so that she could ride with her dad or one of her dandies or she gets her own bike. She loves the look. I bet your grand-daughter would have thought you were exceptionally cool if you had shown up at graduation dressed in your leathers. I would have.
Lou said: I bet your grand-daughter would have thought you were exceptionally cool if you had shown up at graduation dressed in your leathers. I would have.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe...in Monique's case. Most certainly in yours!
As for me? I would have been HOT. Unbearably HOT. You need airflow over, under, around, and through that get-up to make it bearable.
We (my stepmother and I) have bugged my father to death to quit. But in the end, he goes back to it. We decided he was much easier to live with smoking than he was quitting. MUCH easier. Put it this way: I got to pound in alot of T-posts building fence by myself when during one of his quitting episodes my stepmother made a smart remark at him. He had been pounding them in and I stretching fence and attaching it. I was 14 and didn't weigh 100 pound soaking wet, that was HARD work. My stepmother is such a bitch.
ReplyDeleteStill, I hope he does quit (especially since he lives 1,300 miles away and refuses to leave his dog, wife, and horses to visit me. So I don't have to put up with it! LOL!).
The comment "cigars stink" reminds me of when I went in with a friend on an $80 bottle of Johnnie Walker Gold Label. (Apropos of nothing, that same label will be waiting for me when I get back from FT.) We both love scotch, so we enjoyed it...a lot. The weekend after this (yes, we demolished a 750 mL bottle in a weekend) I had a get together at my place and still had a bit left in the bottom of the bottle. One of my friends, who had never tasted the nectar known as scotch, decided that he needed to see what it was like. I poured him a very small glass and he took a sip..."YUCK!! This tastes like gasoline!"
ReplyDelete$80 scotch. Gasoline. I was speechless.
Anyway, as for cigars, there is a store in Omaha with a humidor of comparable size to the second one you mentioned. It is heavenly. Not as heavenly as the ROOM in Britain you spoke of, I'm sure.
I'm a fan of Monte Christos, personally. That's what me and my friend usually smoke when we want a good quality smoke without having to worry about what it's going to taste like. I've recently been turned on to acids, though...a little dark for my liking, but still a good taste. Said friend is also in the Bahamas right now...you can guess what he's going to be purchasing. ;-) Interestingly enough, I'm also headed to the Bahamas later this summer after FT...hopefully Customs isn't paying *too* much attention when I make my way back into the country.
Mike sez: $80 scotch. Gasoline. I was speechless.
ReplyDeleteMy first encounter with Scotch was similar...I thought "who the Hell could ever enjoy THIS swill?" or something to that effect. My buddy, who was a neighbor of mine in Lompoc, CA and introduced me to the wonderfulness of Scotch, was celebrating his discharge from the AF with a bottle of Chivas in our common backyard (we lived in a small apartment complex). He told me I'd "learn to like it," and poured me another. And he was right...we drank (nearly) the entire bottle that evening. And I was hooked... As the ol' saying goes: "it's an acquired taste."
I got converted to single-malts while living in England, once again, quite by accident. TSMP and I stumbled upon the Glenfiddich distillery when we did our first Scottish castle tour in the spring of 1981. The distillery was located right down the lane (literally) from Balvenie Castle. After we played in and around the castle for an hour or so TSMP and I did the distillery tour, ending up (as one always does) in the tasting room. Once again: revelation. TSMP wasn't all that impressed, so I got a double-dram. We followed up by going to a local pub and continuing the sampling...in my case. Beer for her.
I'm currently working on a bottle of Glenmorangie Sherry Wood Finish. Pretty good stuff! Their web site describes it as:
A fine, elegant whisky which is a real delight to drink at any time. Finished in Sherry butts after an initial maturation in ex-bourbon casks, this whisky really engages the palate with a wonderful complexity of notes and flavours.
Dontcha love the marketing jargon? But it really IS good.
And when you come back from the Bahamas, Mike...just take the bands off the cigars. And carry them in one of those travel cases. I did that for years crossing the border between Detroit and Windsor...but none of the C&I agents ever looked.
Jenny: TSMP and I had several "encounters" of the type you describe in my previous attempts to quit. She'd say something to the effect of "Just smoke!! You're a Helluva lot easier to get along with!!" That was true, unfortunately. At the time. Not so, now.