The Birth of the Pint-o-Lantern and Dobleve Te Effe Canes?

Not all Jack-o-Lanterns are born at the same level of awesome-ness.

This was my attempt at creating the world's first (I'm assuming so, because I never found any on google) Pint-o-Lantern. Through hours of hard work, I tried to recreate the illusion of a pint glass on a lit up pumpkin. Not the easiest of accomplishments. I did have lots of fun with it. Here's the work in progress:

I started out with a fairly tall pumpkin, and drew (to the best of my limited ability) a pint glass with a heavy head upon it.

Next, I "chipped" out the beer colored part by cutting out about .5-1 inch of the pumpkin shell. This was to ensure that the beer was lit up, but not super bright like an open hole.

Then, I put a full hole in where the head of the beer would be to make sure it was as bright, or as white as possible. I also dug the outline of the glass a bit deeper than the beer, so that it would shine a bit brighter than the beer. So I ended with this.

Now for the big downer. What is up with the Canes? No seriously, what is up with the Canes? They've lost 10 games in a row. They have not won a single game in a month. A MONTH! Plus, it looks like there's no end in sight, at least if they keep up with the way they are playing.

Yeah, they're playing the Maple Leafs on Friday, but honestly, the Canes are the absolute worst team in Hockey right now. And who would have thought that after last season?

So the question of everyone's mind is: Who's to blame? Well, that can pretty much be placed on everyone.

1. Jim Rutherford. He's now the manager of the oldest team in the NHL. He decided he wanted his younger stars to stay in the AHL one more year, even after a very good training camp, and instead signed older more obscure "veterans." He's still paying Peter Laviolette to not coach this team. He signed Mo to a three year deal after catching lightning in a bottle last "half-season." So of course there is no way Mo is going anywhere. JR is not going to pay 2 coaches not to coach, and then have to pay a 3rd coach to do a job. And therein lies the problem with JR being a "co-owner" of the Canes. He pretty much can never be fired or held accountable for his decisions.
2. Mo. You can shuffle lines all day long but it doesn't mean you can force chemistry. Plus, how about you play the younger guys that are called up. They're actually giving an effort and trying to win games. Stop playing your little favorites to the people who are under-achieving. Let the players earn their top spots.
3. Eric Staal. You needed to recover from your pseudo-injury you've had all season, instead of playing at 75%. You're no good to anyone if you aren't up to your normal level. You're taking up a roster spot that someone useful can take. Don't try to be an ironman just to hold that record, if you are hurt, take the game off.
4. The Carolina Hurricanes. Step up and play hockey. Get your crap together, and give a 60 minute effort. You're better than last place in the NHL. You're better than the Leafs. Much better.

Now show it.

Schizophrenic Canes are Back!

So I got the points spread correct yesterday, but the final was higher by both teams. Toronto still won by two, but just 6-4.

Where were the Canes in the first 40 minutes of hockey? They easily fell to an almost insurmountable 4-1 deficit to the leafs by the end of the 2nd period. Then, something happened in the 2nd Intermission and the Canes came out with a buzz.

Apparently, Mo said some unprintables to his listless players and for some reason they responded. The Canes notched 3 goals in about 7 minutes to mount a comeback and tie the game. You could tell they wanted to win. You could see how they manhandled the Leafs for 10 minutes in the 3rd period. They then realized who they were, forgot about getting their ass kicked by Mo in the 2nd Intermission and returned to the lazy team we know.

Once tied, why try for the win? Might as well hold on for OT and at least get 1 point. That seems to be the Canes mantra when they manage to come from behind and tie it. They let off the gas. They fall back and play a very conservative game. Well, they did that last night and on a deflection that Ward let pop over his glove The leafs went ahead with a little over five minutes to go. Jason Blake added the empty netter for his hat trick on the night.

For the past 2 and a half years, this is the team we have lived with in Raleigh. A team that plays listless uninspired hockey for 30-50 minutes of the game, digs themselves into a hole and then tries to dig out. It shows glimmers of a dominant team at times. It's erased 2, 3, 4 goal deficits in games. Why can't they show this dominance on a consistent basis?



More on our classy owner later.

Leafs @ 'Canes 1-15-08

Ingredients:

1 Toronto Maple Leafs team coming down to Raleigh, bringing their climate with them, having lost 4 in a row, and (whew!) without Free Agent signed star Jeff Finger.

1 Carolina Hurricanes team that has lost all confidence(3 game losing streak), chemistry(lines being shuffled all around), and the sanity of their coach. Wait he said what?

“The politically correct thing that most coaches would say is that it's just like any other game. But it's absolutely not. It's absolutely personal. You get fired, you want to see that team lose every game for the next ten years.”

Dude. We fired you. Are you saying that you wish us to lose every game until 2013? Is that what this 3 game losing streak is about?

Seriously, that had to be about the dumbest thing he's said in front of the media.

OK. So who's hot coming into the game? No One! Well, OK maybe Justin Williams? He has 5 points in 5 games, but does that really matter when in the last 3 the final scores have been 4-2, 5-1, and 5-1?

For the Leafs. No one. But, the Canes have a tendency lately to break cold streaks and really get a team going.

For a prediction I'm going Leafs 4, Canes 2. Even though Carolina has gotten the better of the Leafs more often than not lately, I, like the team, have no confidence in them. It would have been Leafs 7, Canes 2; but since Finger is out, I have to be conservative.