100 Things: The Big Finale

I've decided that I really dislike two things:

1.) The rain

2.) Boring football games

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to see Poz out there on the field again, but I think my last trip to the dentist was more enthralling than the snooze-fest that was last night's Bills-Redskins game. I was, however, happy to see JP throw that touchdown and 2-point conversion. I always loved him and his spacey look and aversion to throwing accurate, short passes - that love will never die.

I was saved from the boring game by Michael Phelps and many lovely birthday gifts from my family and friends. My personal favorites have been season's tickets to the Bandits from my two best friends and...

...a signed picture of Sid's favorite and mine - Colby Armstrong! Did I ever mention how cool my sister is? I'll post a picture of my picture tomorrow!

In honor of turning the big 2-0, I shall share with you all the final 25 random facts about me that you will never need to know (though there may be a test later):

76.) My favorite summer Olympic sport is the individual medley in swimming or softball. In the winter, it's hockey or pairs figure skating (feel free to laugh).

77.) My sister says I have no "indoor voice." I inherited that from my father and my aunts.

78.) I have two godmothers and no godfather. My mother wanted her sister to be my godmother and my dad only has sisters (4 of them), so the roots of my feminism were set down at an early age.

79.) My favorite place on Earth is the auditorium at St. Mary's High School in Lancaster. I have more good memories of that place than any other in my life.

80.) I think I may be legally blind. Seriously, people with bad vision always think I'm exaggerating until they put my glasses up to their eyes.

81.) My top five favorite books are: 1.) The Great Gatsby 2.) To Kill a Mockingbird 3.) Their Eyes Were Watching God 4.) any book in the Harry Potter series (especially Prisoner of Azkaban) 5.) Twilight

82.) I don't sing in the shower but I LOVE to sing in the car.

83.) If I was on Dancing with the Stars my dream dances would be a cha-cha to "Smooth" by Rob Thomas and Santana and a waltz to "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan. I would dance with Maks of course!

84.) My favorite food is lasagna, but I could live on just eating breakfast.

85.) I'm a huge literary geek who looks for symbolism everywhere. I also subconsciously edit everything I read (a habit I got from my mom).

86.) I love taking pictures and have about 15 picture frames. I believe that all memories should be captured.

87.) I'm addicted to Facebook like the worst kind of junkie.

88.) I have a bit of a potty mouth. I'm not sure when it developed, but I think high school had something to do with it.

89.) I'm an extremely emotional person who cries at pretty much everything, especially A Walk to Remember and Moulin Rouge. I have to turn off The Notebook before it gets to the sad part because I can't take it.

90.) I was a theater geek in high school. I performed in three plays and four musicals in high school. My favorites were The Dining Room and Seussical: The Musical.

91.) I have the hardest time spelling "definitely." I think it's the second "i" that throws me.

92.) I have a very distinct "signature face" that I make in way too many pictures:

93.) If I could marry any man (who doesn't play hockey or football) it would be Justin Timberlake. Nothing is hotter to me than a man who can dance.

94.) My favorite sound is the ocean or the crescendo of an orchestra.

95.) My favorite scent is the smell of wood (like Home Depot).

96.) I'm the only older sibling who shows up regularly at my sister's softball games, and I take pride in that fact.

97.) My five favorite movies are: Beauty and the Beast, Singin' in the Rain, Wedding Crashers, Miracle, and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

98.) If one quote could define my attitude about life it would be: "Dance like nobody's watching. Love like you'll never be hurt. Sing like nobody's listening. Live like it's heaven on Earth." by William H. Purkey.

99.) My best sports memory is being at HSBC Arena for Game 5 of the 2007 EC Semis vs. the Rangers. I will never stop thanking my dad for giving away his tickets to me and my best friend.

100.) I've always been known as someone who writes too much, way more than is necessary. If I've done that here, thanks for bearing with me.

Katie Goes to Training Camp (Finally!)

Sorry for the terrible delay in my posting. My sister's softball tournament in Rochester this past weekend went far better than anyone expected, as in, they won the whole thing! I was such a proud big sister, and I must say that she had a pretty impressive weekend. She hit in the tying RBI that brought one game to extra innings, and made several awesome plays in the outfield in the semis and the finals.

So, congratulations West Seneca Magic on a great season (and if you're browsing this Amy, I'm very proud of you...again...)

Between unpacking from the trip, packing for my next one (10 days in South Carolina starting next Thursday), and buying books for Canisius, I've had very little time to do anything.

Until now, that is, when I can present to you a photo recap of my Bills Training Camp Experience 2008.

First of all, someone should tell the Bills that those buses that they have to shuttle people to St. John Fisher are HOT and humid. My pulse was racing before I even got to meet Paul Pozluszny. Here, Amy and I sweat it out on the ride to campus:

Once we got there, we met up with my aunt, uncle, and three younger cousins to watch the practice. This, for me, meant watching for good-looking guys and scouting for my fantasy drafts.

I saw many things at camp that impressed me more that I expected. Some of these being:

• Poz's propensity to turn his very nice posterior to me whenever I had my camera ready. I was also very surprised by how much he really is ALL MUSCLE. I don't think there's an ounce of fat on his body:
  
• The fact that JP Losman still does exist! It was like seeing your ex-boyfriend, who took the breakup really badly, while you're busy gushing over your new guy (that would be you, Trent)


• How gorgeous Trent Edwards really is. I know he gained muscle weight in the offseason to help his game, but I think it's helping more than that...
  


• How nice Josh Reed is. My uncle has his jersey (I'm still not sure why), and Reed ran over to us when he saw it, taking time to talk to my uncle about the upcoming season and joke about how few people have his jersey.
  
• The fact that Jon Corto has such a good sense of humor. He's the safety from Orchard Park who spent last season on the practice squad. He's back again this year, and his family was at camp. When my cousin wished him good luck this season, his mom said "Let's just hope he makes it first!" He seemed to just be happy to have a chance to hang with the big boys of the NFL and to play at home. He was a big hit with the autograph-seekers, including one girl who had him call her friend, which he played along with shockingly well.


• Just how flustered I got when Poz was within inches of me. My hands were pretty much shaking when I handed him my jersey, and I've never gotten that jittery (and I've talked to Pommer, Goose, and Derek Roy before). All those nerves went away though, when we had what I now refer to as our "moment":

Me: Good luck this season; can't wait to see you out there.
Poz: (looks at me with his beautiful eyes) Thanks so much!

Now anyone who can speak "Poz" knows that what he was really saying was "You're Polish, you like football, and you read more books than I do. Will you marry me?" However, I was too blinded by his sheer manliness to actually accept his proposal. If you're reading this now, Poz, I accept!

Tomorrow, I hope to have the conclusion of my "100 Things" list ready to post. In the meantime, I'm off to read more of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Yes, it's "that vampire book. " If you haven't read it, go to your nearest library and get it - you'll be glad you did!

Swinging for the Fences

The title of this post covers a multitude of sports news from the past couple of days:

• The Tampa Bay Lightning appear to be looking to hit a home run with all of the money they've thrown around this off season. Their latest move has been signing Vinny "I'm so beautiful it hurts" Lecavalier to an 11-year, $85 million contract. Now, I love Vinny as much as the next female hockey fan, but sometimes, swinging for the fences means you might strike out every once in a while. Let's think about this...11 years? Vinny may look baby-faced, but he's already 28. By the time his contract is up, he'll be 40 years old. Tampa's new owners are starting to look more and more ridiculous to me. If we head towards another lockout, we'll have contracts like this to thank.

Maybe I'm just jealous that this gorgeous piece of hockey player will never be a Sabre.

• My sister's softball team had a pretty productive weekend in Rochester. They went 2-1 in their triple-header in 90-plus degree heat. Of course, the scorching heat was followed by torrential downpours during the elimination round on Sunday. We waited at the diamonds for 3 HOURS in the monsoon before they called the games. Let me tell you, there has never been a longer two hours of my life than the ride back to Buffalo in a car with a disappointed, wet, and tired teenage softball player.

• Tonight, at 8 p.m. on ESPN is the 2008 MLB Home Run Derby. I don't consider myself a baseball fanatic, but I am a casual fan. I've taken a side in the great Yankees-Red Sox debate (I'm a sucker for pinstripes), and I really like the Cleveland Indians - mainly because I go to Bisons games, so I know who many of them are. As a casual fan, I always get excited for the Home Run Derby. I know it can get long and boring, but it just seems like a lot of fun. Plus, this year, some of my favorites are participating:

1. Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay Rays)

He's a rookie, he's adorable, and his name is so close to a Desperate Housewife that I smile every time I hear it.

2. Josh Hamilton (Texas Rangers)

After battling drug addiction following being pegged as a future superstar, I can only imagine how rewarding this season and this recognition must be for him. I'm a sucker for a great human-interest story, and his comeback is one of the best.

3. Grady Sizemore (Cleveland Indians)

My favorite player in the Majors, Grady is a former Buffalo Bison doing us proud in the Big Leagues. Not only is he a good player, he is downright beautiful. I'll be rooting for him tonight, if only to see his face on my TV for a few more hours.

Finally, I got lots of requests for where I bought my "Buffalo Likes it Ruff" shirt. The answer is Bay 6 Buffalo Clothing in the Southgate Plaza in West Seneca. This store directory lists their phone number; I wish they had a website. They have lots of other cool Sabres, Bills, and Buffalo t-shirts there, too. If you're in the neighborhood, you should definitely check it out!

Shopping is Fun

I don't have much time to write today; we're headed to the Bisons game tonight, and I still have to pack for a weekend in Rochester starting tomorrow at 5:30 a.m.! My sister has a softball tournament, so for this weekend I'm taking on the role of supportive big sis while sitting in the 90 degree heat during a fastpitch triple-header. I have no idea how those girls don't pass out on the field.

I do have something special to share today. I think I may have found the best shirt ever:

Upon closer examination, it gets even better:

Yes, it really does say "Don't go after our 'f-ing' captain!"

I think Lindy very much approves of my fashion choice

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend! Hopefully when I get back on Sunday night, I'll be able to discuss the signing of Danny Paille and the new contracts for Ryan Miller and Jason Pominville.

Weekend Recap

Now that was a great weekend!

On Saturday night, the Buffalo Bandits won the NLL Championship game 14-13 over the Portland LumberJax. Now, I've been to a few Bandits games in my life, and those fans are some of the CRAZIEST I've ever seen - in the best possible way. There has been much debate about whether this counts as a "major" championship in Buffalo. I know that I would rather have a Super Bowl or Stanley Cup win, but this is a still a Buffalo championship in a profession sports league, and I, for one, am very proud to be a card-carrying member of the Johnny Tavares fan club today. My two best friends are season ticket holders, and both of them have been so intensely into the NLL season that I've actually decided to go along with them for next year. So congratulations, members of "Banditland" - can't wait to join your ranks next season!

I think I'm in love with Mark Steenhuis and his magical orange shoes

And now for some hockey...

Yes, it was sad watching Derek Roy and his fellow Canadians get ousted by Ovie and the Russians in OT at the IIHF World Championships, but that was all forgotten because of this:

My Second Favorite Team is headed to the Stanley Cup Finals!!

Now I did not get to see the game in its entirety yesterday, but I would like to offer some specific congratulations:

Dear Ryan Malone:

Congratulations to my favorite Pens Mucker and Grinder on your two goals! I love when hard workers get rewarded on the big stage like that. And also, thank you for being SO good looking - it makes me miss Goose and Pommers slightly less:Dear Jordan Staal:

Another goal! Even though I still want to feed you chocolate chip cookies and cocoa after what happened to your grandpa, I would rather you go out and keep winning for him. The cookie offer still stands, though...

Dear Max Talbot:

Thank you for this photo.

Mascot appreciation is good sports karma - keep it up.

Dear Sidney Crosby:

PROTECT THE CHOPS! I don't care how ugly they are, they are winners and so are you. You know I love you (for reasons I still do not understand), and these pictures make me love you even more:

Sometimes I forget just how young you are, and then your face lights up like a Christmas tree, and I remember you're pretty much a little kid hanging with the big boys.

But you're also a very smart Captain, who knows what to do with a trophy that isn't the BIG ONE:

> > >>

Tonight's Game: Wings at Stars 8 p.m. I'm kind of pulling for the Stars now, even though I said Wings in 7.

And on a completely unrelated note, my dance studio won big at our competition this weekend, with my tap team coming only 4 points shy of a perfect score! So it was a very good weekend.

Also, Happy 15th Birthday to my little sister, Amy (who I'm sure you will be hearing about a lot over here)!!