Checking in From Summer Vacation

How’s everyone enjoying their summer?  As you can see the Hopeful Chase has taken a bit of a hiatus.  Luckily we haven’t missed much in the way of Tampa-related hockey news.

There will be more posts coming soon. Heck training camp is only a couple of months away, right?  Who knows, in the meantime maybe I’ll actually post about cards or baseball or Chicago or something else that I’ve written about in the past.

In the meantime, enjoy this photo of a Norwegian church in the middle of a woods on an island of the coast of Wisconsin.

Golf? Photos? Gotta Write Something With Hockey Locked Out

Timely reporting?  Not on this sight, buddy! A real blogger would have had this up a week ago and wouldn't be dragging up horrible memories of an epic collapse by the Americans on Sunday.  Well epic collapse and the Europeans draining everything within 15 feet of the cup.

Thanks to the fact that I live reasonably close to Medinah (40 minutes by Metra!) and my parents are unbelievably cool and have tons of friends with connections I was able to attend the Wednesday practice round of the Ryder Cup.   

So here is a quick photo tour of my day on the course.

The grandstands were packed all over the course all day long.  Even though the players were skipping around the course, the spectators were camped up at almost every hole. The worst spot was by the shared tee for 15 and 12 where it would have been easier to part Lake Kadijah then walk against the flow of the crowd at that spot.

Rumors were that tickets for the practice rounds were in the hundreds of dollars.  I'm kind of surprised that my parents didn't sell me out.  The flags were handed out upon entry. I assume someone was handing out European flags but damn if I could find one.

Welp. There's one.  I'm not going to lie, the European fans did way better than the Americans at dressing up.

See exhibit 2:

These guys were so happy to see Ian Poulter walk by.  The brushy-haired Englishman stopped to pose with these delightfully clad gentlemen who I later spotted at the on-site pub, naturally.

This is what happens when you give Rickey Fowler an endorsement deal.  At least he finally won a tournament this year. Odds these kids have iPhone 5's - 3:2.

I'm Martin Kaymer.  You don't know me yet.  You will.  I will break your dreams.

Phil was in Sunday form.  I swear he lipped out 3 puts in a row on this hole (number 7).  He also put one into the spectators on 14. That being said it was fun seeing Lefty play during the actual tournament. He was one of the few players that seemed to actually be enjoying himself on the course.

Let's see..my first drive would be in the water.  Second would be in the water and then I would give up and drop on the other side.

Masters winner Bubba Watson practicing a shot he really wouldn't need.  A pitch shot on the drivable 15th. It's a shame Bubba got plastered on Sunday.

The closest I was to Tiger all day.  He's the one in the red pants and white/blue windbreaker.  If the US had worn the red pants on Sunday they would have won.  That's all I have to say about that.

The beer selection.  Since I was coming off an overnight I did not partake. Day Drinking after being awake for 24 hours would probably have had me napping under a tree.  That and I had no cash on me.

There ya go.  I spared you the mob scene that was the gift shop.  It was like Black Friday and a pre-hurricane grocery store crowd had 10 million babies and infused them with the insatiable need to buy overpriced polo shirts.

If I have the chance to attend another Ryder Cup I think I would avoid the Wednesday practice round.  Since they had the opening ceremonies later in the day most of the players only played about 12 or 13 holes. Even on the holes they did play they weren't taking it all that seriously. Lot of drops and second or third shots.
 

Chicago Photo 13 - Spring Time Is Early

Ahh... Spring time in the Windy City, it's not a bad part of the year.  Hopefully, this isn't a false Spring and the 70+ degree weather sticks around for a little bit longer.  I snapped this one a couple of days ago when I went for a little walk.

It was the first day of the tempatures rising about 70 and there were plenty of folks taking advantage of it.  All along the Lakeshore trail people were running, biking and rollar blading.  Yes, people still rollarblade - and yes they do look like people who thought the 90's were a very good decade and don't want to leave it behind.

Today is Saint Patrick's Day and we breifly discussed heading downtown to watch the dying of the river, but a late night at the fights along with a bad night of sleep quashed that idea.  Hey lady screaming outside on the street at 3 in the morning - tone it down a notch.  We don't care what happened to your car and I doubt squealling about it at the top of your lungs helped the situation.

Well, time to shut the computer down and enjoy this weather.

Gordie Howe in a Lightning Uniform and Other Photos

I was flipping through my photo box looking for a particular photo to replace the one I have on my header on this site and stumbled across a collection of sports photos I've taken over the years. Since I don't feel like writing a lot today and I haven't posted a Chicago photo in forever I figured I'd give you, my loyal readers, a quick photo journey.  Here we go:

Baltimore Orioles

Albert Belle stretching some time in 2000. Pretty sure Albert is debating throwing a baseball at me.

 BJ Ryan warming up vs Rays 2001? Some would say he was the last true closer the O's had.

Saint Leo College Baseball

Thomas B. Southard Stadium Saint Leo, FL - Play at the plate probably 1997 or 1998 1996. One of my favorite photos of all time. Can't remember the catchers name at the time - Link or Saint Leo Mike help me out? (edit - Per fellow Saint Leo Monarch Pat - the catcher's name is Bryan Lafata.)

AL Lang Field, St Petersburg, FL 1996  - Link at the plate 1997 or 1998 - Before he was a part time blogger and full time steel-slinger he was the only hitter I've ever seen who could hit a home run that almost took off the second baseman's head.  Line shots that kid hit.

The Horse Track

Tampa Bay Downs 2002 - I probably bet on this horse.  I'm pretty sure he didn't win.

The Lightning and Hockey

 The Ice Palace 10/2/1999 - Opening night and Mr. Hockey was there to drop the puck.  Damn seamless glass messed up what would have been a nice photo to have.  In case you were wondering I had tickets in the lower bowl, 10 rows up that I bought the day of the game at the box office.  Cost - $40.00.

 Ice Palace 10/2/1999 - Felix Potvin looking at the action behind the net. Felix the cat always had some of the best pads in the game.

Ice Palace 10/2/1999 - A better shot of his pads with the cat face on them.  With the equipment I had at the time, pictures of the goalie were really the best I could do.

Ice Palace 10/2/1999 - Darren Puppa don't need no mask to keep his crease clean!

Ice Palace 10/2/1999 - Well maybe he does.  The Lightning actually won this game 4-2.  If I'm not mistaken that might have been the only time they were over .500 that season.

 Ice Palace  10/2/1999 - Puppa's backup that season - Dan Cloutier.  Pictured here not fighting anyone.

Ice Palace November 1999 - Freddie Modin.  The Cory Cross for Modin trade is usually the first move I look at that built the 2004 Stanley Cup team (other than drafting Vinny, of course).

 Ice Palace - No idea - I'm pretty sure this is Jassen Cullimore, but I'm not sure when I took this photo.  In 1999-2000 he wore 27 and Bruce Gadiner wore 5, and I don't have any other photos from the Rangers vs. Lightning to get a better grasp of when the game was played.

 Ice Palace November 1999 - TUCKSIE!  A young Darcy Tucker finished with 34 points that year. That was good enough for 5th on the team in scoring.  Not a good season for the Lightning.

 Ice Palace November 1999 - The captain for the Lightning at the beginning of the year - Bill Houlder! This was actually taken at Houlder's last home game with the Lightning.  A few days later he would be put on waivers and claimed by Nashville. Later that season a 19 year-old Vincent Lecavalier would don the "C" on his sweater. Which lasted about a season and a half.

Ice Palace November 1999 - Mike Sillinger.  Also known as the last Lightning player to wear the number 26 before Marty St. Louis. Sillenger was traded in March of 2000 and Marty was signed in July of that year.  I have a feeling that it's going to be the first jersey number retired by the organization  when Marty retires - which should be around 2031 or so.

 Ice Palace November 1999 - There he is!  A young Vincent in his second year. So young, so hopeful. He would score 25 goals that year starting a streak of 11 straight seasons with at least 20 goals.

 Ice Palace November 1999 - The Undertaker!  (Because he buries pucks - at least that's what the billboards said).  Stephane Richer would bury a total of 16 goals for the Lightning during parts of two seasons with the club.  He also fancied nice suits and loafers with no socks.

 Ice Palace November 1999 - In case Steve Guolla needs to prove to his kids he played in the NHL. Just kidding.  Steve actually logged over 200 games in the NHL with Tampa, San Jose, Atlanta and New Jersey.

Ice Palace November 1999 - We finish with Chris Gratton. Seen here in his second tour of three tours of duty with the Lightning.  He would be sent to Buffalo in March along with a 2nd round draft pick in a good ol' blockbuster deal that netter the Lightning Corey Sarich, Wayne Primeau and Brian Holzinger.

The Sabres would use the second round pick for Derek Roy - not bad.  When the Lightning acquired Gratton for a third time they dealt Florida a second round pick in the 2008 draft as well.  That player turned out to be recent TTM signer Jacob Markstrom.

I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane.

A Lazy, Rainy Quick Hit Post

Some quick hits for this rainy Tuesday afternoon:

* If you have a question on if you should start a quarterback who has broken ribs, a punctured lung and no receivers to throw to -- don’t do it. That’s how you lose your match up by 4 points.



* Mayweather vs. Ortiz - Protect yourself at all times. Ortiz wasn’t going to win that fight, but by losing the way he did, there is a good chance he gets a re-match and Mayweather gets to dodge the Pac Man for a few more months. Oh, and why isn't more being made of one of the most blatent headbutts in the history of boxing? There is no excuse for what Ortiz did in that round, and amount of hugging or kissing is going to change that.

* Red Sox collapse - Couldn’t happen to a better fan base Of course, now we get to hear about how tortured they are for the entire off-season.

* Hockey season is right around the corner. It’s AWESOME! There will be previews coming up some time in the next week or so.

* I just saw the preview for 2012 Heritage. I think I might be collecting that set instead of the base set this year. Even with the short prints and the higher sticker price it’ll be more fun to collect. So, I’m starting to save my pennies for a box come next winter.

* The Ravens are 2-1 after three games (just like I thought they’d be if not in the way I thought they would be). However, I’m still not sold on their secondary. Great game for Torrey Smith, but he’s still a rookie. There will be weeks where he disappears.

*Ozzie Guillen talked his way out of Chicago. I would be surprised if he makes it all the way through his new four-year contract down there. The Cubs need a GM and the White Sox need a coach, at least the hot stove will be steaming in The Windy City this winter.

* Bloggers out there - are there any posts that you wrote and didn’t post after thinking about it?

* Survivor - Russell’s nephew - annoying or most annoying? Hey, kid why not focus on being your own person?

And a bonus photo from the greater Chicago-land area



The view from Starved Rock.

Chicago Photo 11

 

What a difference a few months make. The photo on the left was during the Blizzard of '11 in February. On the right, a photo taken almost in the same place during the heat wave of July.

Chicago Photo 10 - Rainy Days Downtown

 

Ahh the Chicago skyline in all its reflected glory. The Duchess and I decided to spend a Saturday at the aquarium. Mainly because they have a jelly fish exhibit that looked pretty cool. Apparently half the city of Chicago thought it would be a good idea as well. The line stretched out the doors, down the steps and wrapped back around itself two or three times. There was no way it was less than a 3 hour line.

Sooooo with that plan scrapped we took a hot dog break. Well, she had a hot dog, I had a bag of chips. We watched the Segway tours zip by, the bike tours ride by and the tours of grumpy kids and exhausted parents stagger by. What to do with the rest of our day? Food, eh wasn't totally hungry, but I know I was feeling a bit parched.

To the Billy Goat! Underneath Upper Wacker Drive lies the dive bar/ hamburger stand made famous to locals by the writings of Mike Royko and to the nation by Jim Belushi on Saturday Night Live. That's right, "Cheezebooger, cheezebooger, cheezebooger. Chips. No Pepsi, Coke!"

As we wandered up Michigan Ave, dodging tourists and street performers the skies clouded over. They've been clouded over since February it seems. Or if it hasn't been cloudy it's been super cold. It's been the winter that never ended. Not exactly the weather you want when you're trying to convince a Florida born and bred girl that the weather here is wonderful in the spring.

Any who, we stopped at Millennium Park for a quick rest room break (it's a rather lengthy stroll from the museum campus to Miracle Mile) and I snapped a photo or three. The one above is the skyline reflected by Anish Kapoor's iconic sculpture Cloud Gate. More commonly known as "The Bean" it's kidney shaped, all reflective surface can yield unique perspectives on the city.

We did make it to the Billy Goat, had some food, washed it down with some beer and watched Barcelona eviscerate Man U in the Champions League final. A dreary day, but a good one.

Chicago Photo 9 - Christmas Time!

 

Another in the line of Chicago icons. The lions that stand guard outside of the Art Institute of Chicago. The photo is from a couple of weekends ago when the first snow of the year rolled through the city. It wasn't too bad, just 3 or 4 inches.

I forgot how quiet the world gets when it snows. Everything seemed muffled and peaceful as I wandered down the street to the CTA station. Even downtown, the normal bustle of the city was subdued. It was quite peaceful. And I didn't bust my ass on the ice, so that was a bonus.

Back to the lions. Made out of bronze, they've been guarding the entrance to the Art Institute for over 100 years, since the building opened in 1893. As you can see in the photo the care takers occasionally decorate them. In the past they've also sported the Bears and Blackhawks helmets.

Nameless, the Lions are referred to as the "North Lion" and the "South Lion". The sculpter, Edward Kemeys, has stated that the lions are protecting the building and the South Lion has spotted something in the distance and is eyeing it carefully. See even back then people where worried about the South Side.

Traditionally, the wreaths around the necks of the lions are made of evergreen and holly. This year they are made of tiny little red balls that are solar powered allowing them to glow during the evening hours.

Chicago Photo 8

 

Has it really been two months since I posted a Chicago Photo? Wow, time flies when you're broke and sitting at home. Well not broke (don't worry Mom I'm not eating Ramen noodles just yet) but cash flow impaired. Yeah that sounds about right.

I dragged my but out of bed last Saturday and headed down to Grant Park for the satellite broadcast of the Stewart/Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity. It wasn't too bad at first, funny signs, relaxed easy going crowd. They played the first 10 minutes or so of Stewart's monologue before switching over to local speakers.

First the Progressive Party, then some Mitch Hedburg wannabe comedian who closed his act comparing abortion to making a sandwich (which the crowd booed, which brought a security guard to the mike who cursed out the crowd), then someone dressed as FDR and I finally left when the immigration guy started speaking.

I didn't go to hear a bunch of local politicians spout their agenda, I kind of went for the exact opposite. So I wandered around the rest of the park, snapping some photo of Buckingham Fountain before heading back to the train.

That's where this photo came from. He is one of the two indians that guard the Congress Drive entrance to the park. I believe this one is called The Bowman. An almost identical statue is across the street and is the Spearman.

Erected in 1928, and standing 17 feet above the street, these twin bronze statues present a rather dramatic scene set against the blue sky and park behind them. Walking from the park back to downtown they get a little lost in the buildings behind them, but up close it's nice to admire the details crafted by Ivan Mestrovic.

If you notice, the proud Indian is posed as if drawing the string back on his bow, yet there is no bow. At first I thought that over time the bow had broken and never been replaced, but my in depth research (upwards of 6 minutes!) indicates that Mestrovic intentionally left the weapon out of the sculpture.

Grant Park is full of statues and memorials, and makes for a nice place to wander around on a mild fall day. Oh and it's free!

Chicago Photo 7

 

The sun was out (mostly), the air was cool and the folks in the crowd were jovial. What better way to spend the day before Labor Day then at the ol' ballpark. Being able to walk to a ballpark is a new experience. I can't say that I don't like it. No worry about parking, trains or traffic.

For the first time in years I decided to keep score. The rest of the crew managed to entertain themselves while I focused on the game. When you're scoring the game you watch it a little differently. You tend to pay more attention. You wait until the entire play is done before reacting. The wave is even more distracting than normal.

I would like to say that the Cubs prevailed to make it a perfect day, but they didn't. Not only did they not win, they got demolished. It was brutal. The Mets, with players coming into the game hitting .067, .157, ,213 (and they weren't even pitchers!) pounded the Cubs pitching to the tune of 18 runs (13 before we decided it was time to leave and have a beer at the Cubby Bear).

But a day at the park is better than a day on the couch, and even a Cubs blowout is fun when you're with friends.

Bonus Photo:

Chicago Photo 6

Meet Hermann. He's been around the world, well not all the way around, but pretty close. He's flown across a bar in Prague, dueled with pigeons in London and relaxed on a beach in Hawaii. So what's he doing now?

Simply enjoying a nice, warm Sunday afternoon at the park. Since the cable company doesn't let you watch TV if you don't pay the bill I had to find a way to entertain myself. A nice walk around the neighborhood was in order.

Along, the way I stopped at Wicker Park to watch them play a little softball. And by softball, I mean softball. You see, for more than 75 years they've been playing a variation of softball in Wicker Park.

The main difference is that the ball is 16 inches and quite squishy. Oh and no one wears gloves. I watched for about an hour and was entertained by the game. Most teams employed the 5 msn infield with a rover stationed behind second base.

From what I could tell, about 90% of the balls put into play were on the ground or flairs just over the infield. It didn't appear to be easy to square up the ball, most hits sounded like a ball of socks was being hit.

Everyone was having fun and it was quite competitive. The homeless guy sitting behind provided commentary which was as entertaining as the game. Kids ran around and girlfriends watched with adoring eyes.

All in all, probably a better way to spend a Sunday than parked in front of the television.

Chicago Photo 5

A car accident downtown? Nope. It's part of a scene for a Hollywood blockbuster appearing at a theatre near you next summer. Jerry Bruckheimer and his cast of explosions has been playing around downtown the last couple of weekends filming the next installment of the Transformers saga.

Too lazy to head downtown early enough for the explosions and paratroopers I had to settle this far away shot of what I'm assuming will be the aftermath of an action-packed sequence happening on the very city street I get to walk down every morning.

Sorry for the poor quality, I left my better camera at home that day.

Chicago Photo 4 - Stanley's FABOLOUS Day!!!

 

Brent Sopel, no longer a member of the Blackhawks, had the honor of accompanying the Stanley Cup in Chicago's Pride parade last weekend. Surrounded by members of the Chicago Gay Hockey Association, Sopel held the Cup aloft to cheers all along the parade route.

He choose to bring the Cup to the Parade in order to honor the memory of Brendan Burke. Burke was the son of Toronto General Manager Brian Burke. Brendan was killed in car accident just months after revealing he was gay. Check out John Buccigross's stirring tribute for more information. He writes about it better than I am able to.

In an interview with outsports, the former Blackhawks defenseman summed up the experience pretty well: "It was more fun than I expected; it was a blast. Everyone was fun, everyone was dancing."

I can't disagree with him. It's interesting having lived in the south, to see such a large party embraced by the city. In St Pete there was a too-doo about having banners promoting their parade allowed to hang on the city streets. In Chicago local politicians were walking in the parade hand-in-hand with gay relatives.

As someone who dabbles in photography it was a fun spectacle to attend. I snapped about 130 photos filled with fun, color , bizarre characters and just about everything under the sun, although I did miss the Roller Derby teams because I was getting a beer (sorry about that Troll!)

It's estimated 450,000 people attended the parade and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Having spent so much time in the Bible Belt South it was nice to see that no one was condemning anyone to Hell, or yelling that they were sinners. TV stations had floats in the parade as did major corporations (Chipotle and Frito Lay just to name two).

I'm glad the Stanley Cup was able to make it.

Chicago Photo 3

Sand and skyscrapers.

I like the beach. Part of the reason I bought the condo I had in Florida was because it was minutes from the beach. It was actually within biking distance, although due to my extreme laziness I never tried. In my defense the only way to the beach involved a really high bridge. My girlfriend biked it a few times and said it wasn't too bad. I don't trust her when it comes to excercise. She once made me hike 13 miles.

What was I saying? Oh yeah, I like beaches. I've been to beaches in Florida (from Pensecola to Key West), Hawaii (there are none better), Oregon (cold, but there were horses), Maryland (goin' down ne' ocean, hon!), North Carolina (I don't wanna wait, till this life is over! Yes it was the Dawson's Creek beach), and Mexico (hey it's not in the U.S.) and on Saturday I added Chicago.

All I can say is - Wow was it crowded. So that's what happens in this town when it's 80 degrees and the sun is burning bright. It was an interesting experience, looking out into Lake Michigan and then turning around and seeing the skyscrapers of the city. Folks were kicking soccer balls and throwing frisbees. There is even an in-line roller hockey rink. Meatheads roamed the beach and even the hipsters took their time off from being too cool for school to catch the rays.

My roommate keeps telling me to enjoy this weather while we have it, because it's not going to last that long. At least in the dead of winter I'll have this picture and remember the long, warm days of summer.