Straight Into (and then out of) Darkness
“I don’t believe the good times are over, I don’t believe the thrill is all gone… The weak ones fall, the strong (Ducks) carry on!”
Since it is now early August, it’s hard to believe Ben uttered those words as recently as June. I figured we had turned it around by then. Who would’ve known that Ducks would completely reverse that 3-6-1 record, but going 6-3-1 over their next ten? Sounds like something from a movie… a team that starts terribly, only to finish with a successful post-season run…
The tide didn’t turn easily, however, as the Ducks sunk four games under .500 after a short-handed loss to the Stars and Bars. Perhaps the Ducks loss to the talented Confederacy sparked some pride in the current Stars and Stripes as the Ducks really used the Fourth of July weekend to their season around (One would tend to favor the Eagles over this holiday weekend, but perhaps they were celebrating down at the Sunset Grill with the Boys of Summer, trying to get their Maserati up to 185, then deciding to Take it Easy by checking into the Hotel California).
The Ducks would go 2-0-1 over the holiday weekend, including a romping off the Oilers with only nine Ducks, a tie of the mighty Owlz, and an epic defeat of the Black Sox. Optimism was abound on the Ducks squad, signaling that finally the levee was broken, and a winning record was in sight.
When the Levee Breaks
Led Zeppelin & Neil Young crunch a few chords in epic fashion.
I don’t feel the need to recap the rest of the year, since Ben has done such a great job with his write-ups here, that nothing more on the matter really needs to be said. To his credit, this blog and his witty penmanship have given the Ducks many admirers and generated much buzz and excitement.
Random Thoughts:
-Ben suggested giving Mark Guthrie the “C” denoting him captain of the Ducks. While I agree, I also think Ben is being modest since he is a leader, perennial all-star, and founding member of the Ducks, thus also deserving of the “C”. My solution is to give both Ben and Guthrie the “C”, allowing them to alternate the letter nightly, much the way the Buffalo Sabres successfully did when they employed both Danny Briere and Chris Drury. Guthrie is the team’s Cal Ripken, always stoic, employs the same batting stance, and tells us when NOT to talk about certain subjects. Ben Gwin fits more of the Jason Varitek mold, a gritty catcher who may joke around with a certain dark sarcasm that makes one wonder if he’s just giving you a hard time or is actually serious.
-Eric Lee will still be the fastest Duck at the age of 50.
-The Black Sox probably contested our jerseys because they saw Novak playing short with his Oakland A’s hat and thought we had stuck Jason Kendall in there from his days with that squad.
-The Ducks should win the Goose Gossage Award for best team facial hair. This category was mostly won by Garret ‘Sonic’ Moore and James ‘Spags’ Spanolia as they truly brought the past back to life. We also can’t rule out Ben’s scruffy look, Novak’s cool and collected beard, as well as Eric Tans’ dabble in the Dennis Weaver mustache. In all seriousness, no other team in the league was even close in this category.
-One of my favorite moments of the year came against the Rakers as KT took offense to the previous hitter receiving a walk by slapping a shot between third and short before voicing his displeasure. Following KT, Spags also stood up for his character with his expletive which was slightly uncalled for, but also hilarious.
-Speaking of the Rakers, I can’t say enough about that team. They’re a fun team to play as well as a swell bunch of dudes. They read the blog, they either beat us or play us close, and then they wish us luck in the playoffs. I feel like we let them down as well ourselves by bowing out as early as we did. Larry and the Rakers, I salute you. If I ever need any yard work done, I will call Cyrilla thanks to your positive advertisement.
-Another shoutout goes out to the Owlz’ Fago and Dunn. Fago is possibly this years’ MVP and claims to check out Ducks’ games when they play at Spring Hill. For this alone he’s a darn good dude. As for Dunn (at least I think that’s his name), he could possibly be the best secret in the NABA this year. He throws extremely hard and sports a devastating curveball. And he also seemed to respect the game and the Ducks’, declaring in a 5-5 extra-inning stranglehold (with no umpires) with the Ducks, “I love games like this”. Me too, man.
-So much more could be said positive about this year’s squad (Teddy’s coaching, Jesse behind the dish, the comparisons of McCray to both Jake Taylor and Kirk Gibson, the suave demeanor of Les Gies) but I feel I’m beginning to ramble. I would just like to thank the Ducks for a great, fun season and I hope Ben doesn't mind me posting.
Also, make sure you support Ben’s Ghostbusters if you are able. Rumor has it that he’ll keep blogging about your treks of investigating symmetrical book stacking while still leaving time to enjoy his other hobbies: collecting spores, molds, and fungus. And always remember, when someone asks you if you’re a god, you say yes!!!
