So (in a completely non-hockey-related post, for a change) my brother-in-law is going to be attending UB starting in the fall.

He's got the same thing going that I have: late twenties, still in school, still trying to figure out what the heck to do with your life.

Anyway, I'm going to tell him to get on this site, so he can meet some ((e:))peeps before he moves to town. Who knows if he will listen to me, but he oughta! I know what's good for him!

(e:metalpeter) said, in the comments to my last post:
That brings up another Point Where do the Carolina Huricanes and Carolina Panthers play cause there is no such state as Carolina. There is North Carolina and South Carolina. but isn't carolina as one state or area pre civil war. I really know the reason they name them that is so that fans in both states will like them, just busting balls a little bit.

Well, a lot of the reason teams would choose a name like that, aside from trying to rope in as many fans as possible, is that they don't actually play in a big city, but rather in the outlying suburbs of a big city, because that's where there was room to build a big new sports arena.

Take the Florida Panthers, for instance. If they were to be named after the biggest city in the area, they'd be called the Miami Panthers. But they don't play in Miami. They don't even play in the same county as Miami - their arena is in Sunrise, FL, which is a far-flung suburb of Ft. Lauderdale. But Ft. Lauderdale is definitely not a big enough city to support a hockey team, and besides, they don't really play in Ft. Lauderdale, either. So what do you call them? The Sunrise Panthers? No one outside this area knows where Sunrise is. The Greater Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Metropolitan Area Panthers? That's a bit wordy. Naming them after an entire state is kind of dumb, I agree, but given the situation, it was probably the best option.

If you look at the other teams not named after cities, you'll see the same sort of thing. The Newark Devils? Ehh, no. The St. Paul Wild? Not so much. The Raleigh Hurricanes? Well, Raleigh is not really the part of the state known for facing hurricanes...

The two that kind of surprise me are the Colorado Avalanche (they play in Denver, which is a big enough city) - but didn't they try to have a hockey team in Denver once before the Avs and it failed? So that's why they went with "Colorado" for the name there, I think... But the San Jose Sharks? It's not like San Jose is really a big, well-known city, at least not relative to nearby San Francisco and Oakland. That's one place where I would've figured they'd go for a more regional name.

Ehh, whatever. Team naming is weird.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to flood the Latest queue with postings, but I just want to get this out while I'm thinking about it.

My favorite hockey teams

1. Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes (tie)
7. Buffalo Sabres
8. Detroit Red Wings

Honorable mentions for the Penguins, the Caps, the Sharks, the Ducks, and the Oilers... if they get Ryan Smyth back.

Hockey teams I love to hate (in no particular order)

Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche (I hate the team, but love some of their players), Florida Panthers (my new hometown team - feh). Oh, oh, and the Atlanta Thrashers. Man, they bug me.

There is no rhyme or reason to my dislike of most of these teams.

Ok, that's all I have to say for now (aren't you glad?).

Ok, I'm posting, 'cause I'm sick of having that <10 blogs thing on my userpic.

What'd y'all think about the Sabres this year? My husband is convinced they're going to the Cup finals. I am not so sure, but even if they are, if they're playing Nashville, I'm going to have to root against them again. Sorry.

I want to like the Sabres, but I just keep running up against little things that kind of annoy me about them. I will say this, tho' - Ryan Miller has been great for my fantasy hockey team this year. Hasek posts better numbers, when he plays, but he is old and creaky and therefore does not see nearly as much ice time as Miller (and Hasek's hurt right now, anyway, which is why I am trying to get rid of him).

Of course, now that it is almost fantasy-playoffs-time, and I'm counting on him more than ever, I get something like this from Miller:
Argh. I know it's not all his fault, but man. They're going to have to do better if they really want to be in that Cup final this year.

I'm also mad that I didn't grab Paul Stastny while he was still free in our league, but that is a post for another time.