Angelos Final

For my final, I chose an article from the New York Times that was one of the most interesting advances I've seen in hockey. There was no way that I was not going to use this for my blog.

A small town in Northeastern Alberta, Canada has opened the first full sized rink with a synthetic surface. How is it supposed to be called ICE hockey, without the ice?! However, it sounds so cool that I couldn't help but be intrigued. A rink with real ice is extremely expensive, not only to make but also to maintain.

The community of Fort Chipewyan before the rink opened only had a three month long hockey season because of weather conditions. And it was only accessible by a 100 mile road made of ice, and during the summer, by boat. And the price of flooding a rink and freezing it, proved to be too pricey for the town.

I love ice skating, and although I was initially skeptical about the idea of a synthetic surface, after reading the article, it almost sounds beneficial to players. The article says that if proper mechanics aren't practiced, it is nearly impossible to skate. So if parents want their children to learn to skate well, and correctly, this would be a great way to get them started.

Something that I thought was really awesome is that real skates can be used on the synthetic surface. And it saves time during clean-up because instead of having to zamboni, all that needs to be done is vacuuming. But something that isn't helpful is that skates need to be sharpened more often, which can get a little pricey.

I really liked this article because it was extremely informative and there were a lot of quotes. The lead also grabbed me which, of course, is a must in journalism.

Another thing that I find very interesting about the information in this article is that through the quotes and content, it was made clear that it's a little bit more tiring to skate on. And I think that if teams were to use synthetic surfaces during practices, the teams would be a lot more fit, bringing more agility, speed and strength to the game.

But I would only want to see these surfaces in practice. To me, hockey just would not be hockey without the ice. I don't even like roller hockey. It would also slow down the game and make it less exciting because the synthetic surface isn't as fluid (pardon the pun) as real ice.

Although the article was in the sports section, this to me is more of a news article, because of the content. The content was mostly covering the advances made by Fort Chipewyan and the pros and cons of the synthetic surfaces. And not so much the sport itself.

Overall, I though this was a great article that flowed well and was extremely informative. It grabs you with the first sentence and keeps you interested throughout and also contains quotes from NHL players, coaches and businessmen involved with the synthetic surface industry. I really loved this article. Take a look!

"Who Needs Ice? Synthetic Surface Extends Season" Brett Zarda- The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/sports/hockey/13ice.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=hockey

Banner Final

For my final blog I chose to write about an article from PE.com covering the game between the LA Kings and the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 11th. I was interested in this article because the Kings had been on a three game winning streak, and the Wild broke it during overtime, causing themselves to have two consecutive wins after a five game slump .

In the first two weeks of Nov. LA had another recording breaking winning streak with six wins in a row. Which was taken away by the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 15th. The San Jose is my favorite team so I was very intrigued by their breaking of this streak. So of course, when LA came back two weeks later to start a new winning force, I had to follow it.

This article is a coverage of the game and what I liked most about it is that there was a full chart of the stats at the bottom including penalties. Another thing that I really appreciated was that it was posted the night of the game, almost immediately following, that is something that I am hopeful about in the future, covering games is one of my favorite things to do in journalism.

Something I didn't like was the lead, I feel that one of my strong points in my writing is my ability to write leads. That is how I always find my angle, I write my lead first. And the lead of this article is very plain and doesn't make the reader want to continue to the end.

Perhaps I'm being a little overly critical, but I thought that some of the information wasn't relevant. Although it was a synopsis of the game, some of the information just wasn't needed and made the article a little wordy.

But, to keep my critique balanced, I really appreciated the fact that the writer used hockey lingo. It makes me feel good when I can read something that not everyone would understand and completely get it. However if someone who didn't know hockey was reading it, they would be slightly lost.

Something I thought was funny, it must be the editing pet peeves, is that it was an article on PE.com but it was provided by the Associated Press and they didn't even follow AP style! Maybe it's a little different when it's something that goes on the web instantly, BUT the writer should know a little bit more.

There was one quote, from LA's goalie Jonathon Quick, saying that he feels responsible for the loss. But I wasn't sure if the writer got it themselves or if it was another source, and if it was, there were no attributions. And it was also placed in an awkward spot in the article.

The content of the article was very informative despite its inconsistencies and I was excited to read about the game considering that I was unable to watch it for myself. Overall I liked the article despite my many issues with it. It also makes me happy that an inland empire publication takes the time to not only cover big issues in hockey, but also posts game coverage.

"Overtime goal ends LA's streak" PE.com

http://www.pe.com/sports/hockey/breakout/stories/PE_Sports_Local_D_kings_12.3fafa79.html

The Clash of the Titans...and the Skatin' Utes

On Friday Oct. 15 the Cal State Fullerton Titans took on the University of Utah Skatin' Utes. There was no comparison as to which team was better, the Titans owned the first two periods with amazing offense and just as impressive defense.



Although Utah held their own and came back to lose only by two points, (Final 6-4) they obviously had the stress of midterms in mind and weren't playing to full potential. However they did play extremely dirty, which only hurt themselves (literally) in the end. One player was escorted off the ice to be treated for a head injury after falling from trying to check one of the Titans.


During the first period the first goal was scored by Jake Daniels, number 23 of the Titans. The second goal was scored due to an amazing assist from Dalton Braniff to Sean Saligumba.

CSUF Titan Ice Hockey is yet ANOTHER great example of Riverside County hockey players going somewhere with the sport. There is Elan Dunaev, whose brother owns Ice Town; Dalton Braniff and Andrew Hodge, Eric's best friends (: and Anthony Webb, who all grew up playing at Ice Town...just to name a few.

The Titans also play a number of big schools from acrossed the country, which is pretty impressive for a state where hockey is one of the least popular sports. Some of which are, Long Beach State, which seems to be their biggest rival; Northern Arizona University, a school I considered going to; The University of Utah, Western Washington, Maryland, and Texas.

With the excitement of knowing athletes on a great college team, the screaming fans, the intensity of the game and not to mention that Eric was lining it...the game against the Skatin' Utes was an awesome experience.

Bakersfield Condors @ Valencia Flyers

On Friday Oct. 8th I was given the opportunity to watch my first junior game. The Bakersfield Condors traveled to Valencia to play the Flyers, only to be disappointed with the results.

For the first time I watched a game that wasn't at NHL status that spectators actually paid to see. The stands were almost full and the cafe above the rink was full as well, needless to say, the flyers have a great following for junior ice hockey.

Of course, the higher the level of play the more to expect from the game. The first whistle was blown at 19:20 in the first period and the clock was stopped just as frequently throughout the game.

The excellent defense from the Condors was no match for the even better offense brought by the Flyers. At the end of the game the score was 6-2 Valencia with 36 shots on goal to Bakersfield's 28.

Again, we have another example of kids playing at Ice Town going places with hockey. The starting goalie for the Flyers was Taylor Nelson, another kid who grew up playing in Riverside, CA.

But with a normal game with higher level of skill, the highlight of the game for me was seeing my first REAL hockey fight...and by real I mean, gloves and buckets off and fists flying.

The kid from Bakersfield, a lot bigger and older than the kid from Valencia, wailed on him, it was very intense (:

Hockey

As I have written a couple articles for The Banner regarding hockey and a player profile, I have decided to commit my blogs to hockey. (After my class assignments of course)

My fiance plays hockey. No, I lie. He eats, breaths, and lives hockey. He's played since the bitty years and has reffed since he was 10. Needless to say, any trivia question you could think of, Eric has the answer to it. And although he's not the biggest, he's strong and stealthy on his skates and seldom finds someone who can make a shot past him. (He's a defenseman.)

I liked hockey before I knew him, but did I KNOW hockey? Hardly. Now I can watch a game and know what the call is before the ref even says anything, and when I go to games that he ref's, I'm an unbiased party. I also know the signs of calls without the official having to announce it. Because of Eric, I know hockey.

NHL preseason games started on Sept. 21 and I couldn't be more excited. Jake Newton, Riverside's local superstar, was able to play. We're all rooting for him that he'll stay on the Ducks and not be sent to the farm team.

Another local superstar paid us a visit a few weeks ago, Brandon Morino, who plays in the International Hockey League (IHL) for the Quad City Mallards. He played an Adult League game at the local rink Ice Town on the Phantoms. Matt Dunaev, owner of Ice Town, plays on the Phantoms as well.

If you were to take out Morino's goals during that game, the Chiefs (Eric's team) would have won 7-5, but instead lost 14-7.

After being around hockey one can't help but to appreciate the abilities the players have. I've played softball my whole life and always complained about the heat and the work it took. But we got breaks every 20 minutes while our teammates took turns batting! And football players, although they get tackled, they don't get slammed into boards and glass.

Not to mention, every other sport that isn't swimming/diving or polo, players are on their feet, and balanced the entire time. Hockey players make it look easy, but skating is very hard.

Reusing my quote from Matt Joliff, Manager of Hockey Monkey (the Pro Shop at Ice Town) "Hockey is like soccer without the diving, baseball without the steroids and football with 62 games in a season," it's hard not to start to enjoy it.

Just an FYI... The New York Rangers are winning 2-0 right now against the Detroit Red Wings (:
(that's Eric's team)

And my team, The San Jose Sharks, play tonight at 10:30pm
you can catch the games on Versus (:

Relfections on CBU life

Last semester I was commuter, and this past semester I made the move to be a resident. And boy have things changed. I'm used to having my own room, and a shower all to myself. Now, I'm in a two bedroom/ one bathroom apartment shared with four other girls.

I also thought that I would never be able to be integrated into the social aspect of Cal Baptist because I didn't live here, I didn't participate in orientation activities, and I didn't come here as a freshman. Now, I can't walk into the caf without running into or seeing at least 10 to 20 people I know.

However, there are some ideas of CBU that have changed for the negative. First of all, I think that CBU is overpriced and ridiculous when it comes to financial aid. I know people who had to set up payment plans and pay money they didn't have because financial aid lagged in their paperwork.

Also, I pay $4,000 a semester to share a bedroom, closet, and shower. Every other girl in my apartment pays the same. That's $10,000 for four months of living. We could all find studio apartments on our own for less than that and have way more privacy.

Another thing that I don't like about CBU is the pressure from EVERYONE to get married. If I wasn't already set with who I am going to be with, I would feel uncomfortable if I wasn't able to find a boyfriend by my second semester here. It's not right. Students should be focused on God, not on finding a spouse.

But back to the positives. I don't want to end this post sounding like a Negative Nancy.

CBU has taken me in and taught me a lot about a Christian driven life.

And I feel that my abilities as a reporter have excelled by so much this semester and that is something that can be attributed to CBU, Dr. Pearson, and the helpful department secretaries and coaches that I have been able to interview.