bunnyman666

My knee is still stiff after falling on it Saturday night. I probably shouldn't have played on it Sunday. I think I would just make it worse if I played today. Moral of the story? Old flesh doesn't bounce back like young flesh does.

Sunday Stick and Puck: I sucked like a fackin' Dyson!!!! Of course I tripped in my back garden, landed on my left knee (skinning it), scraped my blocker side palm and my back hurt like a motha! I also scraped my nose. So I could not butterfly on my left knee. Ugh. One would argue that I should've stayed home. But I told someone I would be there and I ain't no punk. My FroPro isn't bad. Still can't figure out how to load these movies onto my iPad. Video looks pretty good for a $75 action cam. It comes with the waterproof case. The weirdest part? Somebody got bloody fackin' LAZY with dressing room assignments. I go back to strip off and half of the dressing room was filled with MOTHERS helping their kids get dressed, as a "learn to play" was going on after the stick and puck. There was a mum that I would have been happy to strip off in front of, but I am MARRIED, and the other mums were not ladies I would have stripped off in front of. It was actually uncomfortable, even with the hot MILF.

@badger_14 Ask your PT BEFORE getting a session with the goalie coach. That is my advice. They may even try to help you get the most. I searched high and low for a PT who actually knew the demands of a pro cyclist.

Had a meh drop in. Lack of defense was making me let in a LOT of stupid goals. So, what does a hygiene obsessed rabbit do after a meh drop in? I start to clean every single bit of my gear. CA went in the washer on wool cycle with no spin. I hosed down my breezers with a bit of Dawn dishwashing liquid. Knee guards, neck protector and everything else? In the washer with my underclothes and sweater. I use a foaming motorcycle helmet cleaner in my goalie helmet after every time I play. I think I smell better than the average goalie. Also- clean gear lasts longer, as it doesn't have sweat build up that starts to rot nylons and foams. Over-washing does the same, especially when you don't do it gently. I am considering Beek's Reek Out detergent and the accompanying spray. Ever since I had to replace damned near EVERYTHING back in the old days from a pesky rash, I am OBSESSED with odour reduction. If there is a stick and puck Sunday, I will debut my royal blue Tackla breezers. I have a funny sweater to go with my new royal breezers, look for it on Instagram in the next week or so. But I will not debut them in a high energy drop in, no FREAKIN' way. My Warrior Ritual Pro pads are starting to break in or down in the table top boot area. I hope this ultimately doesn't affect rotation, as they rotate very well at the moment. I freaking LOVE these pads. And the Step steel on the Vaughn skates? MAGIC.

@magnets @badger_14 Good news for badger, and magnets has proven to me that you only get really bad when you STOP moving. Sure, starting in goal at age 42 may sound extremely foolish, but I would hate to see how crappy life would have been had I stopped doing anything athletic after an MCL strain in 1989. Had I not been doing something atheletically over the last twenty years, I would have never been able to play goal. Playing goal, whilst not helping me shave my waistline, has helped me in so many other ways, and the enhancements are carrying over into other areas of life. I am more confident as a 44 year old than I was a 42 year old, for certain. badger- listen to your docs, therapists, and your body. I can tell you're motivated. Just don't overdo it! I think you're going to be fine. magnets- obviously, your "keep on keepin' on" attitude has paid off in spades!

@badger_14 Gotta watch them Itis brothers, especially Arthur. He's a bloody fackin' bastard!!!!

@ktang ALWAYS do a new hollow at a time where you can get used to it. Stick and puck (i.e. no scrimmages) and public sessions are when I try a new hollow. If the game isn't too important, then you could just try it then. But if it were me- I wouldn't do a new hollow in a game until you have a public session and a pickup or two under your belt.

Tuesday Drop-In Report: It makes a HUGE difference in how many goals you let in by how good/bad your Defence is. Bloody fackin' hell- the two teams we NOWHERE NEAR balanced. The first five minutes I was in against the 'good' team, I let in THREE goals. ZERO defense. Fuck me!!!! That was miserable. But I was told how much I had improved over the LAST time I had played. I thought this was the ABSOLUTE WORST I had played in about a six week period. One bloke pointed out that I was playing both Goaler AND D. He said that a Defenseman was supposed to be my "backdoor man" (Never heard of it quite like that). I am hoping to get picked up for league play. I may wait 'til next year. Oh well.

Stick and Puck Report: Seriously? Nobody bloody well knows about this one? It was just Dewayne and I at the Blues Practise Facility. NHL-quality rink with nice, roomy benches. You get nice facilities. Of course when the Blues get their new facility (with three sheets of ice), this one will shut down as it is in an economically depressed mall in an economically depressed area. Dewayne ran some one-on-one drills. The fact that he is not a great shooter actually makes it MUCH harder for me. He hasn't played in about 30 years, so I give him a break. But the fact that his shot is EXTREMELY unpredictable helps me a bit. His knuckle ball shots are always hard to read, and I almost always miss those. I can now read some weird, random shots better. I don't trip on too many cage shots when I go down in the butterfly, I only trip when it is the only place the shots seem to go. But then again- as a beginning goalie, you MUST get used to those shots and NOT flinch or blink. Dewayne cage shot me several times, and it kinda got old. But I give Dewayne a pass on that, as his shot literally goes everywhere and I didn't trip. He skated in a lot of penalty shots, but also would try to bang in the rebounds. He kept six pucks on the ice between the red line and blue line. Five shots in a row works you out, for certain. He wanted to work on my rebounds. It's nice to have a trainer. I could not stand Dewayne's Rollerblade hockey gloves OR his STX lacrosse gloves, so I gifted him my old Reebok Canadiens Centennial gloves (tan nylon). They look better on him, for certain. I hope he leaves the Rollerblade gloves home PERMANENTLY. Breaking in a new meat smoker as we speak. Have a good holiday weekend.

@badger_14 You need to go for the MRI instead of playing hockey, as the ability to play future hockey depends on what is found. Yes, it seems you're already doing that, which is good. I know- it is very tempting to just go play at the first opportunity. Here are good thoughts your way for it to ONLY need rehab.

@Hills This is EXACTLY what us pukes need!!!!! Seriously, your input is BEYOND welcome. We NEED the insights from a veteran like YOURSELF!!!!

Drop-In Report: Last day of hockey this week, so make it count, right? At first, it seemed like another waste of time with super-slow breakaways and Shea Weber wannabes. Then the three-on-three started. Two guys wearing shorts, t-shirts, and only gloves and helmets as protection showed up. Every once in awhile, I would have to remind the ones fully suited up to keep the shots low. It wasn't a terrible scrimmage, except I had ZERO defense. I was lit up like an airport runway. Two young ladies were in the rink. I was sad that neither one shot against me ☹️

All Age Drop-In Report: Just my best mate Dewayne and I. I got more action than a hooker at a convention. Lots of shots, lots of rebounds, lots of different things to work on. Hot as hell in the rink. Got very tired. The next session was a private rink rental. A few very cute women were watching us play. That was the bonus.

@badger_14 There have been times where I apprised the rink management of why I skate out of the crease. Only once (and it has been chronicled here) has a parent complained; the answer given was "what did uncle bunnyman say about shots to the cup and cage? And it is NOT cool for three of you to shoot at the same time!" Kids have whined about it until they are also told off about it. But still- what a bloody pain in the arse.

LOL!!!!!!

@Ashtasticness The ice wasn't quite a wet, soft mess, but I was sweating so much from the humidity that I would wring out my Kewl Band every 20 minutes or so. I also put my chesty in the washing machine Thursday afternoon, as it looked like I had it in the washing machine, but was starting to stink a bit. I air that stuff out, but it gets smelly. It took longer than normal to get the wet sheen off of the ice, as well. The ice was decent, but degraded quickly, so it was softer than normal. @badger_14 Yes, I sweat like a 40 coming from a cold liquor store in July when it comes to the hot temps. Of course here in the St. Louis, MO area, it seems to be humid and sticky from May through early October. We had a reprieve in May through the week before this past, but it feels like it's going to stick around for a bit. The only saving grace is that the heat may kill my lawn and I am 150% okay with that LOL It looks like I am probably going to give an All Age Stick and Puck Report tomorrow. Because of camps, my picks for play are dwindling at the moment. I actually HATE All Age Stick and Puck sessions, but with the fact that that could be the only day I play next week, I gotta keep my chops up. I gotta play at least once in a week's time or I get VERY rusty. If we have multiple goalies show up, then we may divide the rink so I don't get skated into or get lots of cage and cup shots. The worst is when three shoot at a time. Ugh. Wish me luck.

Thursday Drop In Report: 3-on-3 half-ice. Ugh. 85% humidity in the rink. Ugh. Hot as fuck. Ugh. Didn't play bad, but FUCK did I get winded. The linger it went, the more goals I let in due to fatigue. Ugh.

@badger_14 I would bet if I turned every pick up into the Shit Show Cup with a cup that could be won, there would be people getting SUPER competitive. Ugh. Now, onto what we've been waiting for, the Tuesday Drop In Report: Since several area rinks are having camps, several drop in groups have converged on another somewhat out of the way rink. Let me start by saying the facilities are WEIRD. The toilets are only accessable through the lobby/game room. So if you have to take a leak mid-way through getting dressed (as I do, because I super-hydrate before), you have to exit the dressing room, go around the rink, go through the lobby/game room area, then go to the loo. Also, you end up in full view of everybody when going to the shower facilities. Ugh. I knew the other goalie, as I used to play against him. He had a shit game today. His defense was only interested in skating the puck. Meanwhile, I was blessed with a GREAT defense today. I was only left hung out to dry a few times. I had a twenty minute shut out. First goal against was when I was trying to freeze the puck against the outside of the goal. The kid going after it smacked my stick from behind and the puck went in. Several goals against were from weird deflections (defenseman's shin guard, etc.). One popped over my stick. In the end, one guy I regularly play with told me that he noticed improvement from me. There was a bit of chippiness- one guy in a visor got rubbed in the nose with a high stick and made a thing of it. Half-shields are bad in rec hockey, and that was yet another example of why. Didn't fight the Vaughn skates today. Overdrive blades helped IMMENSELY. Stay tuned for Thursday's report.

I have no delusions of grandeur. I don't get being uber competitive after there is no freakin' chance of being a pro. Nobody is going to be homeless if they don't perform. Nobody is going to be forced to move to some unknown city that is hundreds of miles from an airport if they lose. I just don't get it. Maybe it's 'cos I am totally done being competitive, having tried to break into one professional league or another from the ages of 17-34 (hockey was early; cycling, duathlon was later) is where my lack of competitive nature comes from. When I came to the grim realisation that my talent ATM was overdrawn, I just wanted to have fun. It was a great relief to know that a bad performance wasn't costing me anything other than a bit of pride. I don't miss hearing "through the grapevine" that my sponsors were getting impatient with my lack of top placings, even though I was being a good ambassador for the brand, for example. Don't get me wrong- I don't like to suck, but I don't get upset when I do. If that means pickup and no men's league for me, then so be it. In the end, a win or loss means NOTHING if you're not a pro.

From what I surmise, you would be a good teammate no matter your skill.

@badger_14 You are being very generous in this situation. I would be not nearly as nice, especially with tosser boy's past history. ugh.

Ugh. Hate asshat goalies.

Drop-in Report: Ugh. New skates. Blades don't reach the ice in butterfly. Had to toe pick across the crease. Sucked like a Dyson. Ugh. Did stop the former Junior A player, but he hadn't been on the ice since last year.

This bloke lost his spot on a junior team because he is a douche bag. Wearing a half-visor causes trouble, and he is the object lesson as to why.

Crazy Bloody Drop-In Report: Twerp fest, Chip fest. Ugh. Decent skate until someone in a half visor got high-sticked and it drew blood. Ugh. Fighting. Ugh. Positive notes: ten minute shut out. Let in the fewest of all three goalies. Posts rang a LOT. Puck luck in spades.