The Downward Spiral.

Here's how I feel about the play of the Blackhawks Big Summer Free Agent Signing, Christobal Huet:

The Hawks better get their act together, otherwise they are going to At Best: find themselves in the 7 or 8 seed in the playoffs, resulting in a first round exit against Detroit or San Jose. Or At Worst: packing their shit in the lockers for the summer and hitting the links.

It's not just one thing brining down the team (although goaltending is tops on the list), it's a bunch of little things. Team defense is falling apart, Brian Campbell is fighting the puck like a Roman gladiator, Duncan Keith is tired, Pat Sharp is hurt, Matt Walker is an ass, etc. It's the time of the season where you have to win every battle, earn every goal, and play each game like it's your last. The Hawks are a young team, with only a handfull of players ever experiencing the post season. This is where (to quote Hawk Harrelson, which I hate to do) you need to "sinch er up, and hunker down." The next few weeks will show just how tough this Hawks team is. I truly hope they are up to the challenge, because I'm tired of the Scum fans and the Shorks fans (sorry Bri) getting all the excitement. This team is good enough to make some noise in the playoffs, but they are gonna have to fight to get there.

Otherwise it's baseball time for me.

Gravity Is Your Enemy

So last Wednesday night I forgot how to use steps. I should have seen this coming, as I have been devoting so much time and effort into getting checked out at work that something had to give. You can only learn so much until the available space in your brain is filled, and something has to go. It's like sorting through all the digital music on your Ipod, and realizing that it's about full. The only way to put the new Dave Matthews tunes you downloaded (read: stole) on there is to go in and make the decision that you really don't need Tubthumping by Chumbawumba on your Ipod anymore. So being that I've learned so much lately on what NOT to do at the Badger sector at ZAU, my brain decided that I didn't need that precious information anymore and I fell faster than Apple stock when Steve Jobs sneezes.

It wasn't so bad that I fell, because I've actually done quite a bit of that. It's that I fell with my right foot still stuck underneath me, and at an angle that isn't medically conductive to continued use. The tendons in your ankle are tightly knit together, but somewhat flexible like a bungee cord. After the twisting I put them through, they still look and function like a bungee cord, but one that has Rosie O'Donnel hanging on the other end of it. Now my right foot has inflated like a balloon, and turned the shade of purple usually reserved for the bottom row of the Crayola box. I have a brace given to me by the kind folks at Fox Valley Orthopedic (whom I recommend to anyone with the insurance to cover their services) which helps me move about. The only problem is that it re-distributes the swelling to areas of my foot which are not, technically, injured. So now my toes have inflated to the size of cocktail weenies, and turned purple as well. Good times.

The most important thing about this injury is that it should heal fairly quickly, and I will be ready for the beginning of the softball season, which we all should know is rapidly approaching. Just sitting inside today with the beautiful 55 degree day outside gave me that itch to get out there and play some type of sport. Instead I was confined to the couch with my foot up in the air and an icepack slapped onto it. Life sucks, especially if you can't do the simple things, like walk down stairs. The following pictures should serve warning to people to only learn things they REALLY, REALLY need. Otherwise they might forget how to do other necessary things, like walking. Or how to not pee your pants.