Olie the Goalie Retires

The best goalie in Capitals history Olie Kolzig called it a career the other day. He was drafted by the Capitals in 1989 and led the team to its only Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1998. All I can say is he was a class act both on the ice and off as well. Check out these videos.

An ad Olie did which drew cheers everytime it was shown on the scoreboard.


A look back at that 1998 Cup Finals run



Off the ice, Olie was class.



This is a hockey card from Olie's second year in the league.




Caps Owner Ted Leonsis had a few comments on Olie's retirement. Some highlights:

The Caps can't sign him to a one day contract so he retires as a Capital due to the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. Signing him now would count against the 50 contract limit. Also once Olie settles down in retirement, Ted and the Caps will talk to him about a night to honor him.

Benjamin's First Black Eye

Benjamin got his first black eye the other day. He was running during outside play time at day care and accidentally came into contact with another classmate. His teachers administrated ice to prevent swelling and TLC to soothe and calm him. Within minutes he was ok. He had a little shiner, no swelling. When I came to pick him up, his teacher briefed me on what happened and gave me the incident report. Kids being kids, he's almost four. It happens.

On Saturday morning we spent our usual time playing at the local playground. Afterwards we went to have lunch and we had the following conversation:

Benjamin: "Daddy, does (Alex) Ovechkin and (Chris) Cooley get black eyes when they play sports?"

Me: "Sometimes. Pro hockey and football are rough sports and those things happen. Those guys are tough though"

Benjamin: "Ovechkin and Cooley and me are tough guys?"

Me: "I'd say so"

Benjamin: "Yeah!"

The little guy wore his black eye like a badge of honor and the good news is that it is starting to fade away.

Monday Night Baseball

My friend John and I are diehard Oriole fans. During our Summer vacation from school in the '80's we would get a bunch of friends and head up to Memorial Stadium. We'd get cheap tickets and enjoy what was then one of the best baseball teams (from '79-'83 the O's went to two World Series, winning it all in 1983). So fast forward to now and we're both in our mid forties. Adults with family and responsibility. In other words we're not attending 15-20 games a Summer like we used to.

So we cleared our calendars and made the trip to Oriole Park at Camden Yards last night. We each had a free ticket coupon and since neither the Orioles or Tampa Bay Rays are in the playoff chase, the game was sparsely attended and we could sit anywhere.

For a few innings we sat in the center field bleachers.


Then we moved over to the first base box seats






Still an awesome sight.


Tampa Bay's Pitcher David Price








The Orioles lost 8-4 after blowing a 4-1 lead. Earlier in the day I was thinking about Monday Night Baseball and when it was on ABC and how much I looked forward to it when I was a kid. In 1976 when ABC first aired Monday Night Baseball, the schedule was usually fifteen games a Summer and post-season. There was no ESPN, MLB.com or the baseball package back then. Growing up we had the Saturday Game of the Week on NBC with Joe Garigiola and Tony Kubek, some select Oriole road games with Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell and Brooks Robinson and Monday Night Baseball on ABC.

I remember Warner Wolf was on the telecast for awhile. Warner was seen here locally on Channel 9 before he went to New York. Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell, Al Michaels and guest players like Reggie Jackson or Jim Palmer were in the booth during ABC's run. Ratings weren't great and by the middle of the 1980's ABC cut its regular season schedule. In 1988 its run was over.

Yesterday I was thinking back when the Orioles appeared on Monday Night Baseball. In the mid '70's and '80's they would be in the American League East pennant chase and what a thrill it was seeing them play on the national stage. Fast forward to the present and the Orioles haven't had a winning season since 1997 and Monday Night Baseball is long gone. The thrill of going to the ballpark with your buddy though is not gone and that will never go away.

Party Time!

On Saturday Benjamin went to a birthday party for a classmate of his. It was at our local park. Here he is with his friends enjoying a clown performing magic tricks. Taking pictures of kids, you hope one or two of every ten pictures you take come out good as their actions are often unpredictable. I concentrated on the kids reaction and not the performer in this shot. I'm very pleased with the result as all kids are having a blast and you can see it in their expressions.

Random Benjamin Pictures

Some random pics of Benjamin taken recently. Various pics of him sporting shirts from the local teams and on vacation at Grandma's before our crab feast.