Two Point Nights, Coincidental Timing, And Great Gifts

In all of the run-up to the big event this past weekend, I had the chance to spend some time with my (now) wife's parents and aunt. In the time since I met Aunt Lou a few summers ago, the subject of my Capitals fandom has come up on more than a few occasions, as it is often wont to do.

Well, this past Friday, Jill and I were each given a "pre-wedding gift" that we were to open straight away. As I was unwrapping mine, I was told that it would be a sort of test to see how much of a Capitals fan I really am, and asked if the names Mary Jane and Ron Weber meant anything to me (which, of course, they do, as they should to any Caps fan of tenure worth their salt.

I opened the box, and inside I found this:

That's right, my new bonus aunt (I prefer "bonus" to "in-law" because it seems more positive) gave me a pencil that belonged to Ron Weber, with whom she has a mutual friend out in Michigan, the night before I was gonna get married, which happened to be just a couple of days before he will be honored with the Foster Hewitt Award at the HHOF. Not too shabby, eh?

Now to find a place of honor for it.

Long Live "The New Man In Charge"

"Quiet over there! We're working on the greatest DVD special feature EVAR!"

I'd like to say that I'd been going back and forth on filling in the last material pieces of my obsession with Lost as yesterday's release date for the final season and complete series on DVD (and of course, blu-ray). I'd like to say that, but I'd be lying. There wasn't really any chance I could resist snagging shiny new discs filled with Lost-ness.

That's not to say that I was looking forward to yesterday's releases with quite the same single-minded fervor that I had all of the previous sets. Maybe I wasn't 100% pleased with the way things shook out back in May. It could be that I was little more gripey about season 6 than any prior season. Perhaps it's because I had to somewhat reluctantly accept the series finale as a decent ending only after doing a lot of conversing and internet scouring. All of those might have derailed my usual level of anticipation, but even combined, those factors could not overpower my compulsion for completion.

Additionally, in all of the previously mentioned scouring, I found intimations that there would be some real treats contained on those shiny new discs that would totally be worth my while. With that baited hook firmly in my mouth, I made a pit-stop on the way home from work yesterday to get fully reeled in.

With some trepidation and a hint of optimism (while breaking from my personal protocol about such things), I practically ignored the first 5 discs and immediately popped in disc 6, going straight to the special features contained within.

I clicked on "The New Man In Charge" and sat back.

As soon as the opening shot appeared on my TV screen, I was sucked right in. I hung on every word and image I heard and saw. And when those 12 wonderful minutes were over, I felt great about Lost all over again, in a way I definitely did NOT feel back in May.

I'm not going to give away anything too specific here, just in case anybody reading this hasn't seen it yet, but plans to. I will say that if you had the same massive lingering question that I did, then you pretty much HAVE to watch it. (Even if, unlike me, you didn't stand up and yell "That's complete horseshit! What about him, you dicks!?!" when it was over.)

It only took 12 minutes to give me the warm and fuzzies that I wasn't sure I could have about this show ever again. Sure, those 12 minutes maybe could have been worked into the last 18 hours of the series, but after watching them on their own last night, I think they work best this way. At least they did for me.

It's nice to be able to make up with an old friend.

"Let's never fight again."

And now, if you'll excuse me, the mega-box containing more tchotchkes than you could shake a frozen donkey wheel at is singing it's siren song to me and my wallet.

Will They REALLY Be Throwbacks This Time?

So, the news became all officially official today that the Washington Capitals will play in the next installment of the now annual Winter Classic on new year's day in 2011.

While those who know me know that I will most likely not be in attendance, there's one piece of information from Team President and Owner Dick Patrick that really piqued my interest:

“I think it’s very cool for them, I think it’s cool for everyone,” says Patrick. “The Reebok people have been down [to Washington] with the league people to go over thoughts on creating a jersey just for this game for the Washington Capitals. It will be a throwback; it will be reminiscent of the early days of the Caps. I am not sure if the pants will be white or red or blue, but they will be different.”

Me, being the kind of person who, let's say, enjoys his fair share of merchandise from time to time, finds this to be a pretty cool piece of news. That said, it doesn't come without at least a shred of concern.

To be blunt, I hope the folks at Reebok and the Capitals are working to make this an honest-to-goodness "throwback" sweater, complete with individually sewn letters for the logo on the front and the word "WASHINGTON" embroidered separately above over the left half of the team name. And most certainly NOT the replica-looking things, with the whole logo contained in a tiny applique, that Reebok has been trying to pass off as "Vintage" the last few years.

Or, to put it the way I did in a recent message board post, "Please let them do this up right. I'm still 99.99999999999999991% never setting buttock in Pittsburgh for a hockey game again, but I will be a total merch-whore if these things are done right."

Original images from me (left) and the Washington Capitals (right).