LkptTiger

Or crossed hockey sticks - kinda "X marks YOUR spot"...though, given the geography of the area, that might be kinda hard to fit neatly (depending on the size of the tattoo, obviously).

The shim (visible under/near the arch of the insole).

Those Chicago 4-Rolls are some of the sexiest things I've ever seen. 13"? I want them. Name your price...$120? $130?

I like mine. Granted, I'd rather be driving a Beemer or Benz...but I'm still a kid - I just need my car to get me to the rink everyday and have enough trunk space for my golf clubs. The thing is in good shape (except for the results of my buddy's little mishap); I can't complain.

I'm rydin' durrty in a 2000 Malibu. It's a bit worse for the wear now than it was a week ago, though - one of my teammates backed down the passenger side pretty good. I usually park at his house and ride to the rink with him most days. Unfortunately, he muffed the "launch" last week and wound-up sideswiping my car while we were backing out of his driveway. I've got a few nice gouges in the panels and my entire front passenger door is dented-in and won't open from the outside (I think the handle just came "detached" - one of these days when I've got nothing else to do I might try to fix it myself). He was pretty bummed about it; felt really bad. He was kinda surprised when I got out and started laughing - but my rationale was "It's not like I'm driving a Beemer...and the damage isn't too bad...so I'm not going to make a big deal over it because 1) it's really not worth the trouble, 2) no sense letting something stupid ruin my/our day, 3) I don't want to risk making things weird - not only from the "friend," but the "teammate" prospective, as well." He drives a nice new Jeep Commander, so I was really more worried about his car (which was fine). He bought the coffee on the way to the rink that day and insisted on picking-up my tab when a bunch of us went out the other night, so...

Looks like buddy's jersey is just kinda bunched-up in the back, and what looks to be a fight strap is really just a bit of white in between the darker trim.

Goddamnit....I can't remember the last time I paid for a skate sharpening....and trying to wrap my mind around that concept is very strange to me - but it looks like I might have to take a few pair of steel (and a couple bucks) up to the GTA next time I'm across the border and have a few free hours to kill.

Cleaner cut/finish.

He had a pair of Mission 100s in his hand, but he looked like he was giving the Graf G700s a once-over, too. I'm not entirely sure this guy was "intelligent" enough to come-up with a scheme like that. If he had though of it, I'm sure he would have tried it...normally, I'm willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt, but not after the way he tried talking to me.

Being a hockey player, I have built-up some pretty thick skin. Working in a pro-shop has only made it thicker. It probably would have been just as easy for me to bite my tongue (standard reaction to someone like this). For some reason, though, I just thought this guy was the perfect candidate for a little "release" - a guy from well outside the area with a ridiculous request who had unnecessarily gone into "asshole mode." He deserved a little verbal thumping...and his kid was the easy target. It was very therapeutic.

^^^Agreed. There have been a number of times that I've been fitting a customer, opened a box of Grafs and, upon realizing I was missing 1-2 footbed(s), and just said "That's it - I'm driving to Calgary and killing everyone in that factory." The customers are usually mildly amused, and I'm able to vent a little bit. Everybody wins...except for the co-worker who will eventually try to fit someone in the pair of skates from which I have to steal the necessary footbed(s).

"Ankle-bender" - poor skater. "Mouth-breather" - mentally challenged individual.

I won't say where exactly. "Western Canada" should suffice. They won one game in a pretty weak tournament - I wasn't about to give-up a good pad to make sure some ankle-bending mouth-breather would get to finally see some ice-time without breaking his elbow.

There was a tournament at our rink a couple weekends ago...a lot of teams that took themselves pretty seriously but, ultimately, weren't much good (a marginal-at-best local 16U team ended-up losing the championship in OT in a tournament otherwise filled with 18U teams). Sunday afternoon rolls around and a father strolls into the shop and explains that his son had left one of his elbow pads at home (which was about half a continent away) and asked if we might have any used elbow pads that he might be able to borrow. I kinda winced and shook my head. "Nope, sorry, buddy." He walks to the back of the store, where we've got our elbow pads hung-up on a wall. I follow him over. "Hey," he says, "if I leave my license here as collateral, could I maybe just take an elbow pad to use for this game and then bring it right back once he gets off the ice?" "Sorry, we don't sell used equipment here. If we let your son use it for a game, it would then be a USED elbow pad." "Well, what if I leave my credit card?" **I guess he didn't really internalize what I had just said** "Well, if you give me your credit card, I could ring you up for a pair of elbow pads, return your card to you right away and then you wouldn't have to bring the pads back after the game." He gets pissed. "You know what," he snaps, pointing at me, "you have a good day, 'cause you're just about useless." He takes off for the door. I stand there kinda dumbstruck for a moment, shocked that he was upset with me because I wouldn't give him a brand new elbow pad to borrow...then I call after him: "He's an Itchy, eh?" He spins around. "Huh?" "Your kid. You're just now realizing that he left his elbow pad at home. It's Sunday in a tournament that has been going on since Friday. If he had dressed in the one game Friday night or the two games yesterday or even the one game this morning, he would have figured this out earlier. I'm led to believe, then, that his coach didn't want him in the line-up Friday or yesterday or even this morning...and his team doesn't have a prayer of playing tomorrow, so it's not like he was hurt and now they need him to play through it to help you advance. You're going home tonight - this game is meaningless, so he gets the nod. He's an "Itchy" - healthy scratch, huh?" He stumbles a bit, here. "Uh...that's not it...uh...at all." He turns to walk out, but - in true retarded customer form - he has to have the last word. "Psh, can't spare a fucking elbow pad for a fucking two-hour game. Fucking useless joke." And out he went. Whether or not I was right, I guess I'll never know...but given his reaction, I think I might have hit a nerve.

I think I understand...and if it's anything like what I'm thinking, it's probably a bit too complicated/involved for some of the idiots I work with. Of the guys who are actually allowed to touch the machine, there are one or two that have a hard time dressing the wheel without dropping the diamond on it as it is... We don't use a Blackstone in my shop...but my team does, so I'm hoping I get a look at this real soon - my curiosity has definitely been piqued.

Is this is a wheel we're talking about?

I've been able to fool around with both the TI and the TI-Pro...the TI is actually the better stick.

Depends on the ice conditions (as JR said) as much as it does her skating style/stride.

Well, which is it? Do you like deeper than 1/2", or dull skates? You are contradicting yourself. Either he's contradicting himself, or he knows more about sharpening than 90% of guys out there: Sharpness and ROH are two very different qualities. A deep cut and dull edges (and vice versa) are not mutually exclusive. Fair enough - but I think it's pretty obvious that, by "dull," he meant "shallow." I've had instances when customers, in a conversation about ROH, have asked me what kind of cut I prefer. When I say "5/8", but sometimes I'll bump it down to 1" or so during the summer when the ice is softer," they say "How do you play like that?". I just shrug and tell 'em "You can skate on just about anything as long as the edges are clean."

3/8"? Not exactly "dull."

When I was growing-up playing with the Buffalo Saints, we practiced out of "Firemen's Park" ice rink in Depew...during the winter, we would have to keep the water bottles moving around on the bench to make sure they kept from freezing. Fucking COLD...but easily some of the best ice I've ever skated on. I'm sure some of the Buffalo guys know what I'm talking about. As much as I hate the place (it's a dump), there's a small part of my heart that almost kinda enjoys going back and skating there when I get the chance.

:lol: For real, that dude is the toughest half-shield in the league. Will back down and never drop the gloves but when the refs come in and try to separate, that's when he's at his toughest. Give Pat Kaleta a couple years...he's up there on my list, already. For all the times I've seen him challenged after a hit (quite a few of them being "borderline-clean"), I can only think of a couple occasions in which he actually dropped the mitts...

I wish I was old enough to be able to appreciate what you've got, there.

Read the post above yours, dude. Caesar's is no joke - consistently a contender at Nationals just about every year. Definitely one of the premier organizations in the country...always easy to get up for a game when you know those guys are in the other dressing room.

I didn't even see the tattoo at first...I was too dumbstruck by the fact that there is someone out there that makes my little brother look absolutely jacked.