It's Fall..

So before I dive into anything hockey related, I need put a few random things out there because although this is centered on hockey, it's a mini diary of life, so here we go.

First off, I survived a mandatory flood evacuation in my town last week. As of this time last week, I was already 24 hours in my relocation thanks to high waters. The levees held and I was able to come home Sunday. What a nightmarish experience that was. If the levee hadn't held, I might have been swimming around my apartment. Now that would have been a sight. The water was over 42 ft which broke the record from Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Insane. Apparently the water WAS in my living room in '72 so I thank the levee gods. I'm into swimming in pools and the oceans, not the river in my living room, thankyouverymuch.

There's a bridge under there, I swear.

Secondly, the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 passed this past Sunday. No words to express how hard it was to watch all of the coverage again. It just transports me back to my senior year of high school, watching it unfold from the windows. R.I.P. to everyone who lost their lives that day.

Moving onto happier news, football season has officially begun and my step-sister gave birth to her first child last weekend, so I'm an Aunt! I won't get to meet my niece for a few more weeks, but there's tons of pictures and updates in the meantime.

Finally, lets talk some hockey since the temperature has dropped and fall is clearly taking over. Training camps officially opened today (yay) with most teams dealing with trivial details like headshots, screenshots for the game boards and making sure the guys can skate across the ice without falling over.

We also heard that the Ferrari that is Sidney Crosby has been cleared to take part in non-contact practice. He's a magician since last week I'm not sure many people got the impression that he would be on the ice for any part of camp. Don't pencil him in for the first game just yet, but anything goes in planet Sid and I'm not sure even Einstein could figure out his puzzle.

Drew Doughtry and his contract issues with the Kings have now held him out of the first day of camp. What's really the issue? Contract money, length? Someone just agree to disagree already and sign on the dotted line. This was a fun topic during the summer when it was slow and players were being kicked off dry island for drinking and boating under the influence, but the season kicks off in 20 days.

Speaking of boating under the influence, Dustin Byfuglien has made it across the border, even with his legal woe's hanging over his head. Although he can't really talk much about his boating events, he did address the weight issues and apparently the Jets have on some rosy colored glasses because "he looks great" per the team. He's currently 30 lbs above last years playing weight for the record.

The Devils are still Captainless. The money is on Zach Parise or Ilya Kovalchuk, but the state of NJ is just awkward as a rule, so no Captain with a bunch of A's is a possibility. Remember this is the team that wanted to give Kovalchuk the longest contract in NHL, which might have ended the day before he dropped dead in 70 years. They are also located in a state that doesn't believe in left hand turns so no rules apply in any capacity.

Jonathan Toews of the Blackhawks knocked down a little kid at a camp the other day. Not on purpose of course, but I wonder if he forget to work at half speed since they are little kids. Ekk.

The league also took an official stance on social media use this week. They basically said everything everyone already knows from other leagues policies and from common sense. They did put a blackout on using it 2 hours prior to a game that lasts till the last post-game interview is completed. Basically they took what most guys seemed to have seen as logical and said, this is now law. Since the leagues most prolific twitter user Paul Bissonnette doesn't see any issues with it, there should be few issues.

The Flyers have named Chris Pronger as Captain, which was the most obvious move since he was apparently the Captain all along, but Mike Richards was rocking the C. The real question is now that upper management spent the summer blowing up their team, how will they fare?

Ryan Callahan also got a shiny new C attached to his jersey in Ranger's land. Marc Staal and Brad Richrds got the A's. This was possibly the most predicted trio of leaders to be named this season, but is also potentially one of the most solid sets.

HBO came and started scouting out the Rangers for 24/7 and getting some shots for this years Road to the Winter Classic. I've lost track of if any of this has been confirmed by the league since they acted like it was the biggest secret for the longest time. It's happening and that's the important fact. Can't wait to see Mike Rupp rock another tux t-shirt and see Max Talbot sit on Santa's lap. Oh boy......

Hello September!!

So quietly the page has turned on the calendar once again and we find ourselves in September. September I tell you! It's just nuts. In a whopping 17 days my little corner of NEPA will be THE place for Penguins fans. September 19 the big boys from Pitt come to the Baby Pens home turf and they play a game. But it's not AHL versus NHL, its random drawing for the Black and Gold game so essentially Jordan Staal can be denied a goal by Marc-Andre Fleury. Pretty cool if you ask me. They have been alternating the past few years who hosts this kick-off to the preseason which is awesome for our area since it's a huge draw. Of course getting tickets is open first for season ticket holders and from there on out who knows how it really works. I honestly didn't really attempt to do much research on it. Shocking I know, but c'est la vie.

This last week we seem to have picked up the pace in hockey news, but it's still the off season so some ridiculousness must be reported. Enter Dustin Byfuglien and BWI. It's like a DWI but instead of driving, it's boating. Yup he was drunk and boating on Lake Minnetonka. I wish I could make this up. Of course he refused urine and blood tests and was released a few hours later. He also has apparently gained approximately 40 pounds since the Thrashers became the Jets this off season, which is only the size of a kindergartener. No biggie though.

I, being the special person I am, am fixated on 2 details that have sprung endless questions from my little brain, which are the boat and the weight gain. How exactly do you pull a boat over on a Lake? What happens to the boat, since I'm guessing they don't have a boat impound (or do they). It's not like you can just call a relative to go dock the boat, you have to have a boating license for this task. Also this 40 pounds of weight gain in a few months time. How is that possible? As a professional athlete you are paid to work out. I can see 10-15 pounds since they drop the intensity for a period of time to recover, but what was he eating, all of the McDonalds he rolled upon. Was he eating his feelings about having to move to Winnipeg from Atlanta? I'm just baffled. I understand Buff is built more like a typical NFL linebacker than hockey guy but still. I hope he has an amazing trainer to whip him into shape because time is ticking and he's a good player.

Back to serious news, Wade Belak, a former enforcer who had only just retired, is reported to have committed suicide. Today his mother came forward and said that her son struggled with depression and she thought he was getting help. Belak had signed on to work with the Predators, his most recent NHL team, as a broadcaster for this upcoming season and was slated to compete on CBC's Battle of the Blades. Sadly this is the 3rd death of a player who was known better for his stats on hockeyfights.com than goals and points this off season. Many people are trying to tie them all together somehow, but I am hoping that it's all just a bad coincidence.

Derek Boogaard died from a toxic overdose of pills and alcohol, but could he have been somewhat depressed after an injury ended his season early? As an enforcer your role on the team is limited and rather specific. You don't make the lineup each night because you can score a goal or 3 each night, you are in to patrol the ice and ensure your teammates aren't messed up. Rick Rypien, another enforcer, did suffer from depression and had taken time off from a number of seasons to seek help. Sadly those demons got to him this summer just when many thought he was finally in control. The NHL and NHLPA released this joint announcement on the tragedies and their hope to revisit all avenues in place to ensure players have any help needed.

While I'm sure what they have in place is decent, I wonder if many players just don't use it because they think they are just having a bad week and it will pass. These guys are some of the toughest athletes out there and have dedicated their entire lives to play the game, and maybe they feel admitting something is wrong is a sign of failure. The average person off the street has a a hard enough time admitting problems, so multiply that by a hundred and put the pressure they face to be the best and you have a recipe for disaster. Many of these players don't know a life without playing hockey and that could be an issue. Interestingly enough, blogger/writer/former player Justin Bourne wrote this column for Yahoo's Puck Daddy this week and it's rather fitting and worth a read. I wonder if they mandate psych evaluations as they do with physicals because maybe they should. Someone to talk to isn't the worst idea the NHL could enforce.

One more piece of sobering news to pour out of the NHL this week: Marc Savard has been ruled out for this season and training camp hasn't even opened. Those concussions seem to be saying career over to Savard at 34. Another player who was forced out at 34, Eric Lindros, the original concussion poster child. As sad as this is, lets hope the newest poster boy (Crosby) doesn't lose his season as he is a full decade younger than his concussed friends. I wish Savard the best if he decides to call it a career and hope that the rumor his name will be included on the Cup is true. Savard can decide to not retire and collect his salary by having the Bruins' exam him each year through the end of his contract (through 2016-17) and declare him unfit to play. Personally I think he should just retire instead of doing that dance each season but it's all up to him.

The end of summer is upon us as it's Labor Day weekend, which is the unofficially the final weekend of summer. Instead of attending one last cookout this weekend, it seems I will be trying to find my voice and breathe through my nose once again. It hasn't even been 24 hours of my illness and I'm already annoyed by it. Thank god for Netflix. I received Soul Surfer in the mail and am excited to finally see it! Hope everyone has a better and more fun weekend than me :)