Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Presenting Mr. Two Toofs!











Our boy had a bad case of the crankies Sunday and, lo and behold, yesterday morning his second tooth had come in. So now he has the two bottom teeth. I guess the next ones will be the top teeth. Any experienced moms out there who can tell us, we would appreciate it.

Jimmy is getting to be a big boy! He's eating at least one meal a day of baby food now and sometimes two meals. And he's started crawling although he's still more in the "scoot" mode; he will make it up onto his hands and knees and go forward a little bit.

Jimmy is into everything so now we have to watch him like a hawk. It will certainly be a lot of fun when he starts walking. He is also every inch a boy. Trying to dress him or change his diaper is like trying to wrestle Jell-o; he's a wiggle worm. It's just so much fun watching his personality emerge every day as he goes from being a baby to being a little boy!

Love,
Kim, John, Jimmy, Snoopy & Smoke

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Taking hockey back to it's roots

This story appreared on http://www.oregonlive.com on January 27th.


Bruce Ely/The Oregonian
The Portland Winter Hawks, en route to a Wednesday game against Tri-City, made a stop in Enterprise today and spent some time practicing on the town's outdoor rink. "This is something that's wonderful," Mayor Irv Nuss said.


ENTERPRISE -- There are two stories here. One is about a sheet of ice and community. The other is about the need for an occasional detour, and the enjoyment found therein.
The Portland Winter Hawks could have traveled their usual route to Wednesday night's game against Tri-City, and it would have been just another one-game trip in the middle of a young team's rough season. But they didn't.

About a month ago, Steve Wasson, the Hawks' game operations guy, was talking with Jerry Moss, the team's community outreach guy. They were talking family, and Wasson mentioned his brother, Jake, was the assistant director at an outdoor rink in Enterprise, a town of a few thousand nestled against the Wallowa Mountains in Eastern Oregon.

Moss thought maybe the team could reach out to a faraway community and pitched to coach Mike Johnston the idea of taking a few players to the rink on the way to Tri-City.

Let's take the whole team, Johnston said.

"We almost fell down," Moss said.

That's half the story of how this afternoon happened, when a homemade sign and a few sparklers taped together welcomed the Winter Hawks to the Wallowa County Community Ice Rink, home of the Enterprise Eh?s, the one and only member of the Baja Canada Hockey League.


Bruce Ely/The Oregonian
Children in Enterprise were let out of school early today and were rewarded with hats and hockey pucks, courtesy of the Portland Winter Hawks.






School let out early. City Hall closed. A lot of people bundled up and came out to watch the Winter Hawks practice on Enterprise's sheet of ice.

"This is something that's wonderful," Mayor Irv Nuss said while, behind him, Moss gave away every piece of Winter Hawks merchandise the team was able to fit on the bus. Hats, playing cards, more hats, T-shirts, everything had to go.

This is the eighth year they've built the rink here in the city park. It's basic: plywood, hay, plastic lining, some fiberglass here and there, a little bit of carpet and a lot of love and work. Each year the rink comes together with some money from the city, some money from donations, some money from local businesses buying advertising on the end boards. Each year there's a ski and hockey equipment swap. The second-hand store sometimes has equipment. A sign on the door of Deb's Apparel on West Main says they rent skates.

In eight years, the rink has grown from an idea hatched on a frozen pond to a project with its own committee and a budget of a few thousand dollars.

That's how the thing came to be. The guys playing on the pond wanted something a little better. Pond hockey's great, of course. There aren't many hockey players anywhere who haven't played on a pond.

"That's all I did when I was growing up," Johnston said.

You go out, you mark the goals with boots in a snowbank and you play until you can't stand the cold. In the old days around here, on places like Wallowa Lake and Slinker's Pond, equipment was fashioned out of whatever you had and there's not that great a difference between a bike helmet and a hockey helmet anyway.

It's not much different now.

The Winter Hawks arrived in Enterprise early Monday evening, had dinner at Lear's Main Street Pub and Grill and then walked over to look at the rink. Before the coaches ever left the restaurant, players were returning, shivering.

The thermometer next to the rink read minus 3. The bank sign said minus 4.

Jeff Irish, one of the guys who's been playing since the pond days, skated off the ice Monday night with the strands of hair hanging below his helmet frosted with ice. More ice had piled up on his facemask. Standing next to the rink were Paul Spriggs-Flanders, another of the pond hockey players, and Andie Lueders who, among various jobs, also holds the title of ice rink manager.
Spriggs-Flanders' beard was icing up. Lueders was heavily bundled. Both were looking worriedly at a crack forming across the rink. Even the ice thought it was too cold.

Lueders set up the resurfacing equipment and retired to the bar for a beer with a few others.
By this afternoon, the ice looked pretty good. If there was any problem at all, it was when the Hawks' bus broke down outside of town on their way in for breakfast, which was followed by a trip to speak at the school. They arrived at the rink a little after 1 p.m. and hopped off the bus dressed in red. Everyone agreed it was a good look against the lowering sky.

Before they arrived, a banner welcoming them was set up. Bleachers were moved. A fire was started near one end of the rink. Coffee and hot chocolate and cookies were placed on a picnic table. Everyone chipped in. Wallowa County Sheriff Fred Steen, a regular player, gave a hand, had to go attend to police business, then returned later.

All the regulars were there to watch the Winter Hawks on their rink.

"That's really cool," Spriggs-Flanders said. "That's cool."

"I think it's awesome," Steen said.

Children piled up on the snowbank next to the rink, just about the time the Winter Hawks realized they could push one another into the snowbank. More snow began to fall, adding to the atmosphere.

"Look at it," goaltender Kurtis Mucha said. "It's awesome. Half the town came."

The city hopes to build a more permanent rink, but that'll be at least a few years down the line. Sometime this spring, they'll gather and take apart the rink. Next fall, they'll reassemble it, and even if the rink doesn't grow, the sport got a little bigger today when these two stories merged.
Aside from merchandise, the Winter Hawks donated piles of used equipment and, soon, two regulation-size goals will be delivered, courtesy of the team. Which created another problem.

"Could you leave two goalies?" someone asked after the announcement.

"We might," a staff member replied.

Ryan White: 503-412-7024; ryanwhite@news.oregonian.com

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Sheri Schoenborn passes away

Sheri Schoenborn passed away from cancer this morning at 9:30 PST. She was a good wife, mother and friend and will be missed greatly. Please pray for her husband Dan, sons Marc and Ryan and her extended family during this very difficult time.

I considered her a good fiend. I remember how excited she was one day, many years ago, when, sitting on the front porch of her parents' home, she showed me her engagement ring. I remember how much she enjoyed sports, the great spaghetti she made, singing solos at church and how she loved her family and the Lord.

So long Sheri. You are one of the good ones. And don't worry, you'll have a lot of people looking after your family for you.

God's blessings on you too Dan. You know where to find me, if you ever need me.

Where's did these guys have their pre-game meal?

From Rod Pedersen's blog(http://rodpedersen.blogspot.com/):

Kennewick, WA -- The WHL announced today that due to a medical situation involving members of the Spokane Chiefs Hockey Club, their game at Tri-City tonight has been postponed and re-scheduled to Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 7:05 pm PT. As well, the Chiefs home game versus the Kelowna Rockets tomorrow, Sunday, March 15th, has been re-scheduled to Monday, March 16th at 7:00 pm PT. The Spokane Chiefs Hockey Club has encountered a situation where 11 players have been diagnosed with food poisoning and consequently, the Club will not be able to field a roster for games tonight and tomorrow.

The WHL, in conjunction with the Spokane Chiefs, and with the cooperation of the Tri-City Americans and Kelowna Rockets, have re-scheduled the two games so that the Chiefs players have adequate time to recover and will allow the Club to field a healthy line-up in both games. "It's an unfortunate situation that has caused us to cancel tonight's game," said WHL Commissioner Ron Robison. "But, given the situation, we had no choice." The game, with agreement from the Toyota Center, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 17. Game time is 7:05 p.m. KVEW-TV has also agreed to air the game on their My Network 280 station. All fans that have purchased tickets, including those with 'standing room only' tickets, will still be able to utilize their tickets for Tuesday's game. For any questions regarding tickets, please contact the Americans' office at 509.736.0606.

And this from http://www.spokanechiefs.com/:

ILLNESS FORCES POSTPONMENT OF NEXT 2 GAMES

03/14/2009 12:01 PM
The Western Hockey League announced today that due to a serious bout of illness with the Chiefs that Spokane’s next two games, Saturday at Tri-City and Monday at home versus the Kelowna Rockets, have been postponed.

“It is difficult to be 100% sure, but all symptoms indicate that is highly likely that this represents a case of food poisoning with our players,” Spokane Chiefs Team Physician Dr. P.Z. Pearce said.

“Obviously the health and well being of our players is the number one factor in these situations,” Chiefs General Manager Tim Speltz said. “Unfortunately with this illness we are unable to ice a team for tonight and tomorrow. We appreciate the cooperation of the Tri-City Americans and Kelowna Rockets.”

Saturday’s game will be played on Tuesday, March 17th at 7:00 in Kennewick and can be seen live on Comcast channel 78 locally. Sunday’s game in the Spokane Arena between the Chiefs and Kelowna Rockets has been postponed until Monday, March 16th at 7:00. Tickets for Sunday’s game will be honored on Monday night as well as any Chiefs playoff games. Spokane is scheduled to open the post season on Friday, March 20th and Saturday, March 21st.

Saturday, March 14th at Tri-City Americans
RESCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 17TH

Sunday, March 15th vs. Kelowna Rockets
RESCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, MARCH 16TH

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Catching up

It's been a hectic several days with little opportunity to post, so it's time to catch up. In hockey:













The Space Coast Hurricanes Junior B season ended Sunday, with the team dropping a hard-fought 2-1 decision to the Hampton Roads Junior Whalers. John Jennings scored a power play goal at 11:35 of the first period, but the Canes held the lead for just 19 seconds. The Whalers would then score the game-winner halfway through the third period. After the game, Head Coach Shawn Ray said that "Obviously it was a disappointing way to finish a great season. I'm very proud of these boys, they gave it their all and that's all I can ask of them. There are some great young talented hockey players on this team and more importantly, they made it a fun year. Now it's time to rebuild for next year." Congratulations to the Junior B Canes, who won the MET League South Florida Division regular season title. Normally I post some pictures of the games, but my main blogging machine is on the fritz(I wonder what anyone named Fritz thinks about that saying?) and I have no way to load pictures. Oh well. (BTW: The Jacksonville Icedogs won the MET League South playoff title, beating the Whalers 4-3 in the title game.)

The Junior C Hurricanes, coached by Peter Nyman, are still playing. Check out the latest with them, by going to http://www.juniorhurricanes.com/JuniorC/juniorc.htm.

The Regina Pats were eliminated from the WHL playoffs last night, by losing to Prince Albert 6-5. The Pats trailed early 1-0, then scored 4 straight goals, but couldn't hold the fort from there. Turns out a win wouldn't have mattered, as Edmonton won, eliminating the Pats. I imagine my friend Rod Pedersen is a bit bummed about missing the playoffs, but after enduring that 2007-08 USHL season with the Tri-City Storm, I can relate. It was the first time a hockey team of mine ever missed the post-season. Sure, the extra money for calling games is nice, but the excitement of calling a potential champion is pretty cool. Oh well, hang in there Roddy. Roughriders camp starts in three months.











Jimmy turned nine-months old two weeks ago. He is growing like a little ol' weed and he really has become Daddy's buddy. He's started crawling(Kim pulled me out of church and back to the nursery to show me) and has finally started to cut his first tooth. It isn't all the way out yet, but you can see it. And, just a couple of nights ago, he finally said his first sentence. We were hanging out together(my favorite activity) and he said "Hi Daddy." That's my boy.



My lovely bride Kim continues to be the greatest girl in the history of girl. She's doing front-desk duties at the radio station and has even begun her own show, Baby Talk. It's all about babies and the issues encountered in raising them. It airs every Saturday at 2:00p.m. on WMEL. On the opening show(Every Meissner was there except me), Kim had Jimmy in the studio with her, making baby noises in the background. How cool was that? Snoopy and Smoke were there too, but were sent to the other room after starting a World Wrestling Puppies match. She does a fantastic job with Jimmy and on occasion, even finds time for me. What an absolutely amazing woman! She is the first thing I want to see when I open my eyes in the morning 40 years from now.









Snoopy and Smoke are lots of fun. Snoopy is a bit shaggy these days, but until haircut day finally comes, he'll enjoy being a ragged-looking guy. As his Mommy says, "He's a big boy, but a little dog." Smoke continues to be his Papi's dog and gets away with a lot. But he's really enjoying the Florida weather, because his little paws don't get frozen like they did outside at our last home.

Last but certainly not least, please pray for my friends in Gladstone, Oregon, Dan and Sheri Schoenborn, as she battles a return and spread of her cancer. This is an extremely difficult time for them both, but they face it with grace and strength. God's blessing on them, their sons Marc and Ryan and their extended family as well.

Well, that's it for now. Talk to you soon. Have a great day everybody!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Hurricanes beat Team Carolina in MET League South playoffs














Chris Lerro scored twice Saturday, Bradley Prevel scored once and added 2 assists and Jake Ninko added two assists to lead the Space Coast Hurricanes to a 7-5 victory over Team Carolina Saturday, in the MET League South playoffs at the Extreme Ice and Sports Center in Indian River, North Carolina.

The Hurricanes play Hampton Roads Sunday morning at 8:30, with the winner advancing to the championship game Sunday afternoon at 3:30pm. The action is available on http://www.fasthockey.com.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Who's the man?

Why, it's none other than Bob Ridley, the radio voice of the Western Hockey League's Medicine Hat Tigers. This is from Gregg Drinnan's blog(There's a linky link to the right):

So I got out the calculator today — not enough fingers and toes for this one — because I wanted to know how many WHL games Bob Ridley, the radio voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers, has called. . . . All because Regan Bartel, the voice of the Kelowna Rockets, was stroking himself the other day for reaching regular-season game No. 1,000. . . . Now this isn’t to belittle Bartel’s accomplishment, but I think any time a broadcaster is patting himself on the back for 1,000 games, he owes it to the hockey world to mention Bob Ridley. . . . Ridley, you should know, called the play of regular-season game No. 2,784 on Friday night in Regina. Yes, that is just regular-season games involving the Tigers. . . . Throw in playoff games — the Tigers have been involved in 306 of them — and that number reaches 3,090. . . . And, geez, let’s not forget the Memorial Cup. The Tigers have played in 20 Memorial Cup games. . . . Add it all up and Ridley has called the play of 3,110 hockey games involving the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . It'll be 3,111 tonight when the Tigers are at home to the Kootenay Ice. And it's be No. 3,112 on Sunday in Cranbrook. The man goes on and on and on; he makes the Energizer Bunny look like a couch potato. . . . Ridley has missed one game — ONE GAME!!!!! — because his then-boss assigned him to cover the Canadian women’s curling championship in Saskatoon. The fact that the boss’s wife was on the Alberta representative may have had something to do with that. . . . And let’s not forget that Ridley also has put on about a gazillion miles behind the wheel of the Tigers’ bus. . . . When it comes to the WHL and the radio bunch, there isn’t any doubt who is THE MAN!

I met Bob once in Portland. It was after a game and he was on the bus and yes, he was behind the wheel. Not many guys in our business nicer. And perhaps none with a more impressive resume either. And to think I was patting myself on the back for calling games this weekend in my 20th different state in the U.S. You ARE the man Bob!

Friday, March 6, 2009

Hurricanes beat Atlanta in METLeague South playoff opener















Two late 1st period goals helped propel the Space Coast Hurricanes to a 6-1 win over the Atlanta Knights Friday in the opener of the METLeague South Playoffs at the Extreme Ice and Sports Center in Indian River, North Carolina.

The game was scoreless late in the first period, then Lucas Mollison scored at 14:47 and John Jennings scored short handed at 16:23. Jason Mattiace's power play goal at 7:41 of the 2nd, plus Jordan Schiller's goal at 12:41, put the Canes up 4-0 after two. Schiller scored again 11 seconds into the 3rd period, then Bradley Prevel lit the lamp at 10:45. Dylan Coffey scored 7 seconds after that to break the shutout, but Space Coast closed it out from there, winning the game 6-1. Nestor Logdal had 27 saves for Space Coast, who went 1 for 10 on the power play and 6 of 6 on the penalty kill with a short handed goal.

The Hurricanes play Team Carolina on Saturday. The webcast, available for a nominal charge at http://www.fasthockey.com begins at 5:45pm EST.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

A hockey night to remember














One of the greatest hockey franchises of all time will be honored on Saturday, March 14th, when the Portland Winter Hawks host the Seattle Thunderbirds at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. Throughout the evening, several members of the Portland Buckaroos, along with the legacy of that amazing franchise from the era of the '60s and early '70s, will be honored with special ceremonies and rememberances of the team that cemented Portland's relationship with the sport of hockey, that lasts to this day.

It was January 28th, 1968, when my mother took me to see the Bucks play the AHL's Quebec Aces, the night that hooked me on hockey forever. While I am very disapointed that I can't be there, I hope you can be in my place. Click the following link for more information on this most special of nights:

Simply put, this is a night you won't want to miss.
"LET'S GO BUCKS!"

Monday, March 2, 2009

March is Colorectal Awareness month










The following is from Jeannie Moore from http://www.ccalliance.org/:

OUR Month is here! As you know, March is Colorectal Awareness Month, and there are many activities going on all across the country! Our first Dress in Blue Day is March 6th, and we are so excited that many of you are participating in this program as well as your own activities or health fairs in your communities. We are proud of our volunteers and buddies who take the time to spread awareness and tell their stories as this is how we save lives!

Spring is also right around the corner, and we all know what that means.......BASEBALL! Most of you know my boys are big baseball fans as well as players so I love March as it signals the beginning of the season. I love this quote, "When you're in a slump, it's almost as if you look out at the field and it's one big glove. ~Vance Law Don't we all feel that way at times in our lives - that no matter what we do, it doesn't help us cope any better dealing with our problems? If you're in treatment, you feel as if it's never going to end. If you're waiting for test results, you can hardly feel positive or happy. But, just like players, you have to keep going, keep trying, and you have to know in your heart, things will get better and happier times will await you again.

Spring brings it's message of renewal, rebirth to us all. Warmer days are coming and the darkness of winter begins to lift. Spring always follows winter - always. I hope you all enjoy a beautiful beginning of spring and that you find joy in seeing mother nature wake up from her long winter nap.
The only bad thing about March is the clock springing ahead early and losing an hour of sleep so enjoy your last few days of sleeping in!

If you haven't been to our website recently, please go see what's new on our main page. We now have a breaking news feed that will keep you up-to-date on the latest CRC news and upcoming events. We have a legislative area where you can read about bills in congress so you can call or email your representative and encourage them to pass, as well as details about our free seminars and undy5000 races across the country - so please visit often! www.ccalliance.org


Never underestimate your impact on people's lives. Thank you for being a buddy for CCA - you are the heart and soul of our organization, and how lucky am I to be a small part of your lives.

Oh Baby Vision

How to watch the videos on Oh Baby Vision

In the upper left hand corner, there's three horizontal lines. Click that once or twice and it'll bring up thumbnails of all the movies. Click on the one you want to watch and it'll start. It may play the next one automatically, or you may have to click the little box to bring the thumbnails back up.



Now with the addition of more videos, just use the scroll bar on the right to choose the one you want to watch.



I hope you like 'em