Who Else Would I Write About with Nothing Going On?

I have nothing of substance to say about Wednesday's debacle in Tampa. The Sabres put forth a strong effort (mainly in the second and third periods), but it seemed like everything that they could do wrong, they did...and then they did those things again. Bad pinches, at least one iffy goal (Tampa's fourth) by Ryan Miller, and an inability to clear the puck did them in. Still, though, a 7-3 January record so far is none to shabby. I just wished they could have entered the All-Star break with a win.

Speaking of the break, I hate that there is nothing to talk about. No football and no "real" hockey makes for a very boring time for bloggers.

What better way to cure that boredom than yet another Paul Gaustad tribute?

I've been fortunate enough to have been sent the January newsletter for Camp Good Days. As most of you are aware, this is Goose's favorite charity, and the work he does with them is one of the reasons I love him as much as I do. I encourage you to go read this short article on his latest cookie baking adventure with them and check out the adorable pictures!

What I love most about Goose's charitable side is that he never makes himself the center of attention or acts self-important in any way. He's willing to have a bag of flour dumped on him if only to see these sick kids smile. I get such a kick out of seeing professional athletes look as happy as the children they're helping when they do work in the community. This is certainly the case with Paul Gaustad; sometimes it's hard to tell whether it's the kids or Goose that's having the best time!

After reading about Goose's latest "culinary endeavor," I found myself on the Camp Good Days website, where there is an excellent piece on exactly what Paul Gaustad has done for these kids since he teamed up with the organization in 2007.

I thought myself an expert on all things Goose-related, but even I didn't know just how involved he is in making the lives of these kids even a little bit better. My favorite part of the article discusses how Goose makes time to contribute to the organization even during the busy season:

"Since then, Paul has taken time out of his busy schedule to visit campers in the hospital, or if he were on the road, he would call some of our Camp Good Days kids who were having a rough time just to chat."

The notion that Goose would take the time to rearrange what we all know is a very structured schedule for hockey players on the road in order to call a little kid struggling with illness just makes him an even better person in my eyes (which is saying something).

I guess all I really wanted to say in this post is that the involvement of hockey players in charitable organizations is one of the things I love most about this sport, and Paul Gaustad has gone above and beyond the call of duty in this involvement. While so many people have already mentioned his growing leadership role on the ice, I love to see that he has become a leader in the community as well.

Tomorrow, I will post my own All-Star roster. Look for some perennial M&G favorites to be included for no reason at all (kind of like the real thing in some ways). Tonight I'm off to see Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet re-unite in Revolutionary Road, which got snubbed by the Oscar nominations committee. We'll see if the slight was deserved (which I somewhat doubt).