The Way I See It - Beware AHD

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Wed, Feb 24, 2010, 5:00 am  //  Ham Hayes

Sometimes a functional disorder rises up and presents a difficult surprise. It happened this weekend when a virulent case of AHD appeared in our household.   AHD, also known by its scientific name, Acute Hockey Disorder, is thought to be restricted to northern latitudes in areas that were covered by glaciers during the last Ice Age. There is some conjecture that ice hockey originated as a hunting tool. A well launched puck can bring down a large animal if well placed. Entire villages could easily gang up on unsuspecting game, thereby providing food and hilarious hunting stories for the whole tribe. Further glee arises if the game happens to wander into the hunting zone from warmer climates and is clueless about the damage a 6 ounce frozen missile traveling at close to 100 mph can do.
 
The telling moment this weekend was the Canada-U.S. men’s hockey game. My wife is Canadian and to her credit we were both still alive at the end of the game. To the credit of the Canadian team, they outshot, outchecked and “out fanned” the U.S. team. They took twice as many shots as the U.S. and seemed to have set up the Canadian Parliament and 30 million fans inside the U.S. goalie’s uniform. The U.S. came up with two advantages to defeat Canada however. They appeared to be faster and, like falcons, suddenly struck on miscues by Team Canada. The second advantage was the tall, lanky U.S. goalie, Ryan Miller, 6’2” and 174 lbs. As a U.S. hockey fan, I suggest our federal government drop its plans for economic recovery and devote the funds to developing a successful cloning technique for Miller. We may have finally overcome being the little kid brother of the hockey lords to our north, and now may be the time to start work on building a dynasty. My wife, and every other Canadian, rightfully points out that there are still three more games to go. One of the acute symptoms of AHD is prolonged breath holding and I’m doing my share. 
 
Do you believe in DAHD, also known as Double Acute Hockey Disorder? Presently it exists in the form of the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team, and they are in the gold medal match with Canada. To me the women’s team deserves as much, if not more, credit for their accomplishments. First, they have rebounded from their upset loss in Turin four years ago. And like the Canadian women’s team, they are dominant.  They have achieved that level of skill without the benefit of being able to play in a professional league year after year. Ice time and experience are key factors to building great teams. The Canadians have the advantage in this area and are the favored team as a result. It is a similar story to the men’s game. So I am holding my breath twice as long. 
 
These hockey athletes and all the other Olympians are inspiring. They have worked incredibly hard for years to meet and surpass their personal best performances.  They have formed teams and supported each other. They perform at or beyond the edge in a zone that seems improbable. Some fall, get up and fall again. Still they perform to the best of their ability. They are happy to be Olympians and know the blessing of being able to compete. The rest of us in our own way are Olympians as well. Our game may not be ice hockey, but instead family, profession, or for some, just plain survival. The question is whether we will bring our Olympian best to our own game. The honor is not whether we gain wealth or fame. Those are only part of the story. The honor is in how we play the game, what we learn about ourselves and how that transforms us. That’s the great story that’s unfolding before us.
 
I may have to eat Nanaimo Bars and drink Canadian beverages if I lose, but here goes:  U.S. Men's and Women's Hockey Teams sweep Canada!

John Servais  //  Wed, Feb 24, 2010, 12:25 pm

That was one incredible game to watch. 

Women’s Gold Match is Thursday, 3:30.  Will be live on Ch. 21 if you have CTV.

Ham Hayes  //  Thu, Feb 25, 2010, 6:40 pm

Two great teams and an exciting game!  However, I’m down 0-1 at this point.  My wife says that she has a nice recipe for Nanaimo bars..and it’s baking time for me.  Congrats to Canada’s Women’s Golden Hockey Team!

The Way I See It - Beware AHD

Wed, Feb 24, 2010, 5:00 am  //  Ham Hayes

Hockey night in Canada may be replaced.

2 comments; last on Feb 25, 2010

Fair Sports are the only way

Mon, Feb 15, 2010, 4:49 am  //  John Servais

Larry Ellison has won the America's Cup in sailing by playing fair. He is a fine example for us all.

0 comments

Troubling Vancouver Olympics

Mon, Feb 01, 2010, 12:55 pm  //  John Servais

The Olympic games are disruptive to civil rights wherever they are held. This is proving true again in Vancouver.

1 comments; last on Feb 04, 2010

Saving Blanchard Mountain

Sat, Oct 03, 2009, 7:00 am  //  Ken Wilcox

[This is an updated and abridged version of an article published earlier this year in The Wild Cascades, journal of the North Cascades Conservation Council]Controversy…

1 comments; last on Oct 03, 2009

Wooden Boats

Fri, Sep 11, 2009, 7:00 am  //  Ken Wilcox

Whatever happened to the building of wooden boats on Bellingham Bay? The tradition and the history are rich here, as people like myself, oblivious to…

1 comments; last on Sep 12, 2009

Word to the Wild #3:  High Country Still Calling

Fri, Aug 28, 2009, 7:00 am  //  Ken Wilcox

If popular Cascade Pass has been on your to-do list this year, then now’s the time to-do it. This weekend or next would be especially…

0 comments

Word to the Wild #2: Alps Outings / Mount Baker

Fri, Aug 21, 2009, 9:23 am  //  Ken Wilcox

Summer hiking in the American Alps (our fantabulous North Cascades) is at its zenith, and it's Friday and I'm already dyin' to get back out…

1 comments; last on Aug 21, 2009

Boating accident reporting is missing from Herald

Wed, Jun 10, 2009, 9:02 am  //  John Servais

A few days ago, our community lost two young people to a tragic accident. A boating accident in Bellingham Bay. Yet we know almost nothing…

3 comments; last on Jun 10, 2009

Word to the Wild #1:  The American Alps

Thu, Jun 04, 2009, 2:58 am  //  Ken Wilcox

This is the first installment of a new column by Ken Wilcox on the Northwest outdoors--for active, reactive and proactive people.Much of interest is brewing…

1 comments; last on Jun 04, 2009

Ski to Sea Weekend - a parking guide

Thu, May 15, 2008, 9:02 pm  //  John Servais

Alan Rhodes seems to want to be like Emmett Watson, the late writer about Lesser Seattle. However, Alan seems to lack Emmett's basic charitable view…

2 comments; last on May 16, 2008

Hitting the Ground Running

Tue, Jan 08, 2008, 6:18 pm  //  John Servais

OK, we are running on the new server. And the design and programming are going well. I have cautious hope the transformed site will be…

0 comments

Bellingham Herald editorial ethics

Thu, Nov 29, 2007, 6:00 pm  //  John Servais

A quick check of the below letter to the Herald website shows 76 comments have been posted. Me thinks this partially explains why the Herald…

0 comments

Baseball, money and the American way

Sat, Mar 18, 2006, 6:54 pm  //  Site Management

Umpire Bob Davidson, our USA go-to cheater, is behind the plate for today's game between Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Of course his calls are…

0 comments

The Mexicans beat us anyway

Fri, Mar 17, 2006, 1:00 pm  //  Site Management

We can all feel better as Americans today, as it turns out we did cheat last night in trying to beat the Mexicans. Whew. We…

0 comments

We act like we have all the answers

Thu, Mar 16, 2006, 1:02 pm  //  Site Management

Somebody forgot to tell the Mexicans that they couldn't beat the US baseball major league all stars. Take a hint. Clemens pitching? A batting lineup…

0 comments

A continuation of the Mar 13 post -

Wed, Mar 15, 2006, 1:04 pm  //  Site Management

when we - Americans in this case - do lose at something despite our cheating, we simply ignore it as best we can. We pretend…

0 comments

How do Americans win? By cheating,

Mon, Mar 13, 2006, 1:10 pm  //  Site Management

of course. Today American baseball umpire Bob Davidson nicely reversed a call in the new Baseball Classic which gave the American team a win over…

0 comments

Deja vu of 1996

Sun, Jun 12, 2005, 3:35 pm  //  Site Management

Chuckanut Ridge is a controversy now - and it is deja vu of 1996. On October '96, NwCitizen broke new information and posted three reports…

0 comments

No MoveOn.org ad on CBS Super Bowl

Mon, Feb 02, 2004, 7:24 pm  //  John Servais

CBS said ad too controversial for AmericansSuper Bowl is nice family occasionFCC refused to speak out or monitor CBSAd with horse farting in woman's face…

0 comments

Super Bowl ad ‘too controversial’

Tue, Jan 27, 2004, 7:31 pm  //  John Servais

Moveon.org has a TV ad about the huge national deficit that George W is giving us. They have raised the million or more dollars to…

0 comments

 

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