(Ed: Note the red in the stands; them's WINGS fans! So much for the "White Out.")
So... we were up waaay too late with the usual, customary, and reasonable result: serious oversleepage. If'n you're a hockey fan you already know and have read all about it elsewhere: the Beloved Wings swept the Feral Dogs. There wasn't much doubt about this series after Game Two and Game Three pretty well confirmed my suspicions. But we're VERY superstitious when it comes to hockey, so we refused to go on about a sweep until when and if it actually happened. And that has come to pass... without a couple of key Wings players, too.
So the Wings have a lot o' time to rest before the next round, which might not get underway for another week. I could see the Anaheim - Nashville series going to seven games and the same could be true of San Jose - El-Eh, if El-Eh evens it up tonight. Chicago should be off to the golf course after tonight's game in Vancouver. I really don't care who the Wings get in the next round... I'm thinkin' the Beloved Wings are strong enough to beat just about anyone at this point, assuming Zetterberg and Franzen get healthy. We'll need those guys for the next three rounds.
Snake-bit: That was SN1 last night. He's in transit from Shaw Airplane Patch in South Carolina to the Army Command and General Staff College somewhere deep in flyover country and overnighted in or around Nashville last evening. He called around mid-way through the second period and we proceeded to do Our Thang, which is drink beer and watch the game together but separate. So, all's well and good until I get a frantic call with about four minutes left in the third... his cable system in the motel went pftttt! The Wings were only up by one goal at that point and the outcome was still in doubt (not really, but I have to say that). So, we did our best sports announcer impression and kept The Major informed of events as they happened. I learned something semi-relevant, too: I wouldn't give up my day job (if I still had one) for a career in hockey broadcasting.
―:☺:―
And then there's this... from the (other) usual source:
Forest Reaper: The Tactical Reconnaissance and Counter-Concealment-Enabled Radar, capable of detecting targets buried, concealed, or concealed under foliage, finished flight testing on an MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft, announced Lockheed Martin, the radar's maker. Before the MQ-9 trials, testers flew 100 sorties with TRACER on manned platforms to validate the radar's ability to "provide commanders with intelligence not currently available from higher frequency radars or electro-optical systems," said Jim Quinn, Lockheed's reconnaissance systems vice president. During the MQ-9 tests, they focused on assessing TRACER's ability to identify targets of interest that would be relevant to US military commanders in places like Africa, Southwest Asia, Central and South America, and the Pacific, according to the company. TRACER is carried in a wing-mounted pod; the dual-band (UHF/VHF) synthetic aperture radar system is capable of immediate image downloads to ground stations. Lockheed currently has four deployable TRACER kits. The Army has sponsored TRACER's development. (See also FlightGlobal report)
"Targets of interest" in Central and South America? Is the DEA and the military merging? Now there's a conspiracy theory worth worrying about...
Go Wings! I can just hear you announcing the game to your son. It reminds me of the time I was watching TV with a blind friend. She kept saying, "What's happening now?"
ReplyDeleteCongrats!
ReplyDeletePepper did CGSS via distance Ed (of course, back in the day it was called "correspondence school."). But, we did go to Leavenworth for "charm school.". It's actually a pretty post, considering it's location in central middle of nowhere.
South American "targets of interest?". I'd like to spell that, "Chavez."
I truly despise the auto-punctuation feature on the iPad. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteLou: I actually gave SN1 scoring updates via phone, not "real time" announcing. Until there was 30 second left, that is...
ReplyDeleteMoogie: The Army does have some pretty scenic posts. It's too bad they closed the Presidio in SFO, coz that was THE most beautiful post/base, evah.
(sigh) It's too bad I don't have auto-SPELL on my peesee...
ReplyDeleteGo Wings!
ReplyDeleteThe one concern I have is the layoff. Be it baseball, hockey, to a lesser degree basketball, the trouble with a sweep during playoffs means time off. While it can be good to relax and recover a bit, it can sometimes take an edge off.
I think the Rockies got shafted during the 2007 World Series by sweeping through the playoffs right to the World Series. Then there was snow in their ballpark and they looked like they were playing spring training against a season hardened team. They didn't look anything like the team had during their prior weeks of play.
Not saying this will happen with the Wingers, but practice isn't the same as meaningful games. Sometimes you see a team fight throughout the playoffs, bringing each round to the brink, and can handle it a little better.
Like I said, Go Wings, don't get rusty! ;)
I hear ya, Anon. I've seen the same sorts of things you describe. That said, we NEED the time off this year so Zee and Mule can get healthy!
ReplyDelete