Now I remember...

why I use the old car in winter, only for shorter (slower!) trips about town*:

Since the Malibu is garage parked, though back insured b/c of a mid January roadtrip, it made sense to take the Corsica down to Madison. Let the salty one get saltier...

But the reason my folks encouraged me to get a newer car in the first place, and Mal walked me through the government auction process, was the old one is in need of new tappets (I think that's mechanic lingo.) I asked at the Kaiser brothers shop in Rice Lake, but apparently they are hard to get at in this vehicle, and with (now) 212k miles, they too advised it wasn't worth fixing. Fine to take about town, and though she is noisy, she started up every single time I asked this bitterly cold winter.

Still, anything over 65mph, and she begins to vibrate. Which, is the tappet's (lifters) in there, shaking a bit loose, as I understand it. So I kept it at 65 in the right-hand lane, even 60 behind a nice slow-moving truck, all the way down today.

There was hardly any traffic heading south on a winter Thursday, so please down think I endangered others by doing the speed limit, or even slightly under. Plus, I could accelerate as needed up to 75, the vibrations just told me not to keep it up. Since there were only two lanes for the majority of the drive, everyone just passed me as needed, since I stayed safely in the right one, only in the left lane myself when I came upon a few WideLoad trailers and the occasional slower driver than myself.

I should have thought of this years ago! -- driving an older car you want to treat with special respect -- to cure my previous zoom-zoom habit. (Once upon a time it was me passing in that left lane. Very safely, of course, but troopers hiding with radar on a carless road don't seem to give any extra points for excellent control. But nevermind, those days are done.)

So that was the drive... Onto the games.

Green Bay Notre Dame beat Milwaukee Marquette in OT, double overtime actually, but just a minute (22 seconds) into that second one. There was no resurfacing the ice after the third period, they just take a quick break and go into OT, but there is a lockerroom break/resurfacing after the first OT. So I suspect the ND coach talked to them, planned a play, and then it was all over before the kids settled down. ND is skating fast, but they were pretty evenly matched.

In the second game,
Cedarsburg (near Milwaukee) is making their first trip to State, I think. Both schools were well represented, with bands, but maybe it's the Madison-area "sophistication", but I've noticed honestly, their teams never represent well in the sportsmanship department, imo. Probably due to intense pressure and competition, the kids learn early from savvy professional parents what life is about -- winning at any cost, even your soul? ... but there's something very wrong with that "Sucks!" chant that went up after each Cedarsburg player's name was announced before the game began. C'mon kids, get some class! (Plus, the UW hockey crowd "sieve!" chant went up on the goaltender, after he let in two. Hello? That's not a sieve. Just intimidation. Mal tells me though: don't judge the hockey team itself, from their crowd's reaction.)

For that reason, I was pulling for the Bulldogs. But alas, after two penalties put them in the box, Middleton was up 2-0 after two periods. The Dogs never seemed to put it together, even on their own powerplays, and you could tell they were skating tired midway through the second, heading toward the bench often for line relief. Plus, they were the only team I saw that actually sat on their team benches, rather than standing hanging over the ice watching the play.

I left midway through the third (2-1 final score), to check in here in Sun Prairie (clean! low priced! hotels.com) and beat the traffic out of the parking lot. Now that was 13 miles of traffic, getting to the hotel via the Beltline highway and interstate, but no trouble at all, you just have to no exactly where you're going, which I did with good directions; don't hesitate while driving; and as always, leave decent enough room as a driver between my car and the car ahead. So a very efficient, and very safe drive here, even at the speed of traffic (55-60 in rush hour.)

Heading back now for the night session... First up, EC Memorial vs. Wisconsin Dells/Reedsburg, also making their first trip to State; and then the New Richmond (Grizzly) Tigers v. Wausau West. I say Grizzly, because Mal had called me yesterday and told me specifically to watch the EC newsstation last night, since both the EC and NR teams were interviewed, and taped at Wednesday's skate-around practice.

His nephew, the coach, was sporting a beard! So were a few of the players who got on. I guess it's a team-building, Sampson-like masculinity thing, but when I talked to Mal today, I mentioned my new nickname: the Grizzly Tigers. Heh. (Honest question: isn't it estrogen that causes hair growth, and a high level of testosterone that indicates the person be more likely to be bald and less hairy overall? That was my scientific understanding.)

If you've noticed from the pictures, Mal himself has alopecia -- or lack of body hair. When I met him in the early 90s, he had grown some back, even on the top of his head (at one h.s. reunion, he was proud to have more hair not only than the schooldays, but than some of his then-balding classmates.)

It's nothing at all wrong medically, though when the eyebrows/lashes fall out too, you can look like a chemo patient. When it first happened to him in elementary school, in the Kojak days, and when kids in their honesty can be quite mean, his mother Ruth tried to protect him with wigs. But when even your buddies make sport of pulling that off and tossing it around, well I think he has an especially good personality today, because of those childhood moments. (Don't ask about the steroid shots to the head either. Though I don't think that accounts for his size, as Norm was built big too.)

Enough though about that. I haven't seen him since he returned from Jamaica/Florida trip, and from the stands today, I almost didn't recognize him from the diet weight loss. He looked good out there driving the second Zamboni -- maybe they are Olympia's, but I use the generic term confirmed visually: they're Zambonis; Italy's contribution to hockey -- which actually is the top spot, if you ask me, as you're following next to the other guy's pattern, keeping it straight if they get crooked, and playing "clean up" if the first misses a spot.

So all in all, an exciting day. The high school kids are always energizing, and it was a fun crowd of fans, much as you hate to seen anybody lose (OK, honestly -- I wouldn't have minded if the rude Middleton kids went home winless, but I suspect they might meet their match tomorrow against Notre Dame. Call it a hunch.)

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* I'll probably use the slower, back roads going back up home.


EVENING GAME UPDATE:
Well, tonight (Friday) should prove to be a good matchup after last night's dominating wins: Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes v. Wausau West. (aka, Mary's team tourney pick v. Mal's. Should have bet him more than the $1, given the 5-1 odds, I think.)

Memorial brought a band, a crowd, and their premier play on the ice. Their passes connected, they "drop one back" for teammates in a tricky like manner, they showed coordination on offense, not just swatting at the goal like some teams under pressure. They are a big school, producing many college players, and the program strength showed last night on the ice.

Wisconsin Dells-Reedsburg is a newer program, and they beat some fine teams late in the season to earn their State berth. But they were simply outmatched last night. I liked the quote(s) from the goalie in today's paper: "My job is to stop the first shot and have my defense clear the puck. Unfortunately, their (EC's) first four goals came off rebounds which is a testament to how hard they skated and competed for loose pucks."

Classy, kid! Not always easy to be, either, when you lose 6-0. But his attitude is right, and forward looking: "I think our first-ever trip to state was great for both communities. I kept hearing from people that they didn't even know we had a hockey team, so this should create more interest in the sport for the younger generations in Wisconsin Dells and Reedsburg."

No heads hung in shame there, nor should there be, if EC takes it all.
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The New Richmond - Wausau (big town like EC, several public high schools) West game? Well the beard motivation thing obviously didn't work. The Grizzly Tigers never seemed into it at all. I had left my program in the car, so no way to distinguish the players or read up on their stats, I just watched the game.

Coming after the EC game earlier, where both teams brought bands and a huge turnout, this one was relatively quiet, and looked a level down on skating skills too. Not connecting on passes, no obvious offensive setups, more like "The net is that-a-way. Get the puck toward there, and we'll figure something out."

The goalie too gave up some goals, even when he covered, he should have waited for the whistle, but in not realizing he had it trapped, he would lift the glove off the ice, and boom -- in she goes. Wausau didn't look too dominant either, not coming off the earlier EC game, which looked almost at college-level, compared. The NR band and crowd kept up the chants for awhile "Go Tigers!", after a Wednesday pep rally and a contingent bused to state. But they soon quieted down. (That's my beef against that town: overly athletic focused. The money being spent, the life priorities ... it's like too many adults are reliving their glory days, and hyping hockey and other sports way out of perspective. Educations, and character-building, first please. It's about the kids, not the grownups. Let them lead -- the young men not the adults, because without that, it's all gimmicks and seeding strategies, really.)

Not saying NR didn't deserve to be there, advancing past Superior this year on NR's home ice. Just ... how the heck did they get seeded at State as number two, ahead of both Wausau and only-once-beaten-(by a Minnesota team)-Eau Claire Memorial? Makes no sense.

The WIAA ought to look at somehow matching these teams up better early on: right now it's Sectional 1 plays Section 2; 3 v 4; 5 v 6; and 7 v. 8, period. And last night, both losing teams were clearly outmatched. (NR lost 5-0, but actually had 6 goals scored on them, one called back because of a timeclock error; time had apparently run out.)

Ok, enough hockey talk for today. See you tonight, or in the morning when I'll update on who will be in the championship game.