01-28-2008, 06:56 AM
Well, I gotta say, actually being at the All Star Game is a hell of a lot more entertaining than watching it on TV. Sure, the players are only going at 75%, but in person that still seems pretty damn fast. Also, the Hives did a great job getting the crowd fired up for the game and yes, Kathleen Edwards was great doing the Canadian National Anthem.
All-in-all, the weekend was a lot of fun. The Skills Competition was fairly entertaining, though I don't think most of players understood the Breakaway Challenge and what the judges were looking for (Ovechkin got it, and so did Getzlaf).
I got to go to a couple of the NHL parties. Kind of interesting to be walking around with the likes of Bettman, Brian Burke (I wanted to beg him to find an out in his contract and take the Leaf GM job), Mike Babcock, Pat Quinn, Cassie Campbell, and some of the players. Interestingly, the only player who was truly mingling with the crowd was Kaberle - Mr. Most Accurate Shot (!) himself.
One thing I'll say about Atlanta fans - they LOVE Kovalchuk.
All-in-all, the weekend was a lot of fun. The Skills Competition was fairly entertaining, though I don't think most of players understood the Breakaway Challenge and what the judges were looking for (Ovechkin got it, and so did Getzlaf).
I got to go to a couple of the NHL parties. Kind of interesting to be walking around with the likes of Bettman, Brian Burke (I wanted to beg him to find an out in his contract and take the Leaf GM job), Mike Babcock, Pat Quinn, Cassie Campbell, and some of the players. Interestingly, the only player who was truly mingling with the crowd was Kaberle - Mr. Most Accurate Shot (!) himself.
One thing I'll say about Atlanta fans - they LOVE Kovalchuk.