NHL All Star Weekend 2008

I'd been waiting an awful long time to attend this event. After Atlanta missed out on hosting the 2005 All Star Game due to the NHL lockout, we finally had our chance to host it once again this past weekend.

Things started off early on Saturday. Crimson and I arrived downtown about 11:30AM to spend the afternoon checking out the extras the NHL had planned. First up was a failed attempt to browse official All Star merchandise. We couldn't get into the arena store because an early (9AM) Rock n Skate event had the arena and it was closed off to the general public. We'd just have to delay that until later. Next we headed towards the "NHL Memorabilia" area. This was one of the bigger dissapointments of the weekend as it was very small consisting of about 18 small booths. Although they had interesting merchandise, there simply wasn't enough to occupy us for very long. I've seen bigger card shows at local malls. At least the NHL did have the Stanley Cup on hand for pictures. However, since I already had that picture from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, we passed. Also, some NHL Alumni were on hand for signings but since I'd seen all those guys 2 days earlier at a local bar, it didn't grab my interest. Instead, we waited in line for about 45 minutes for Erik Johnson to sign autographs. It was unfortunate the NHL couldn't get more All Stars or past players to do some more organzied signings.

It might appear at this point that the weekend was a less than stellar experience. Nothing could be further from the truth. My initial gripes were fairly minor and the best was yet to come.

After eating a quick lunch at Chick-Fil-A, we decided to check out the back side of the arena and the area where the red carpet meet-and-greet was to take place later in the afternoon. When we did this we discovered alternate arena access to a store selling All Star merchandise. After a bit of debate, I laid down the credit card and got us both Ilya Kovalchuk All Star jerseys and Crimson an All Star hat. Earlier I had found myself a program and pennant. Continuing from the store, we found the red carpet area and got a feel from where we'd hang out. People were already lining up more than 2 hours in advance of player arrival. We'd wait a little longer before standing in the cold and headed back to the car to deposit some of our goods and change jerseys.

After roaming for a bit more, we headed back to red carpet area to wait on the players. Although we weren't positioned immediately next to the railing, we were only a person or two back. After getting several good pictures of all the mascots, the players began to arrive. Just above every player took a great deal of time signing autograpghs for the large gathering of fans. Crimson was very successful getting about a dozen autographs on her new hat. I was lucky enough to get Chris Osgood and Pavel Datsyuk to sign my Red Wings cap.

With the red carpet festivities over and the Super Skills competition not far off, we headed into the arena for a bite to eat before the ceremonies began. The skills competition was very entertaining. Our seats were great, located on the lower level directly behind one of the goals about 20 rows up. Some of the events were new or retooled this year, most for the better. Many events were better in person although a few required a glance at the big screen to really appreciate the fine motor skills envolved. My personal highlights included Pavel Datsyuk going 4 for 4 on the saucer pass portion of the obstacle course, Kaberle's 4 for 4 on the accuracy competition, the Young Guns game featuring Atlanta's own Tobias Enstrom and the breakway challenge where shooters were encouraged to be creative on breakways against only a goalie. Alexander Ovechkin stole the show from hometown favorite Kovalchuk by attempting to lift the puck in the air, spin in a circle and bat it into the net. A very entertaining way to end a great event and day.

Saturday was only half the fun. Sunday night was the actual All Star Game. We made certain to get there early with camera in hand for the warmup skate and I got several great pictures. All Star Games are always different than regular season contests. As expected, players do everything possible to protect their health for the real season and the playoffs. There is little to no checking, slapshots are avoided, and stick work is reduced to puck handling. Because of this, there is little defense and goalies are hung out to dry. Players will overlook the open long range shot to pass the puck another time in hopes of the pretty pass-pass-pass tap in. That doesn't mean the event is not entertaining. It simply means it is different.

This game actually turned out to be very entertaining. The Western Conference scored first, just 12 seconds in when Rick Nash put the puck in the net. The remainder of the first period was all Eastern Conference with team rattling of 5 straight goals to take a 5-1 lead. Tables turned a bit in the second as the East was held pointless and the West put up a pair to narrow the lead to 5-3. When the third period began the West continued to dominate, eventually tying it 5 minutes in and taking the lead 7-6 with just 9 minutes left. The East managed to respond though, tying the game a couple minutes later. Just when we all thought the game was headed to overtime, former Thrasher, Marc Savard put the game winner in for the East with 20.6 seconds left on the clock. A fantastic finish.

The crowd was very appreciative and cheered hometown boys, Kovalchuk and Hossa every bit of the way. Hossa managed to score one goal to the delight of the fans. Although Kovy didn't get a goal, he certainly had his chances and had an assist on the winning goal. Here's hoping Atlanta's enthusiasm at the event will convince a NHL fan or two outside Atlanta that there are plenty of people here who love hockey.

Below are pictures primarily from the red carpet on Saturday and during warmups Sunday night.

NHL Alumni are in the Hood

When I first heard that several legendary NHL Alumni were making a pre All Star game appearance at a bar, TJ's, only a couple miles from my house, I was pretty excited. Later, when I heard they wouldn't be doing autographs, my interest waned a bit. However, I still figured it was worth taking the half day off of work just to get a chance to meet and greet some hockey legends.

Boy did I make the right decision. The event was much more than I expected. Fortunately, we arrived early enough to get ourselves some good seats, grab some grub and a beer and await their arrival. It wasn't long before the players started filtering in.

Among the former players in attendance were Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsey, Bobby Hull, Dave Schultz, Frank Mahovlich, Johnny Bower, Clark Gillies, Rob Ray, Scott Mellanby, Tony Esposito, Willi Plett, Eric Vail, Kurt Walker, Bob Clarke, Jason Zent, Mark Napier, Tim Ecclestone (owner of the bar), Colin Patterson and Scott Pearson.

Things quickly got out of hand as people ignored the "no autographs" guidelines and showed no shame it going after what they "had to have". To their credit, many of the players were very accomodating, signing despite the warnings. We laid back and waited for the masses to depart and kindly approached a few who were more than willing to sign an item, take a photo or even have a short discussion. Bobby Hull must get special mention as he spent in inordinate amount of time signing and talking to everyone who wanted to.

The main reason the players were there was to announce their new non-profit wine. They did a nice photo op for it and I got several nice pics. However, the highlight for me had to be the giveaways. I was lucky enough to be chosen for one of the autographed jerseys they gave away. A true treat with so many hall of famer autographs on a piece of memorabilia. It didn't take long for a couple of guests to try buying it off my back. No sale for this fan. This event will be the only time I wear the jersey as a frame is order as I type.

The following are some of the better pictures from this event.

Clarke Gilles treated guests who remained for the duration by singing "The Gambler".

Snowlanta

That's right, it does snow in the deep South from time to time. In fact, we got two different storms in the last week. The first dropped about 2 inches Wednesday night. Most of it was gone by Thursday morning as the snow turned to rain.

Today, it snowed really hard for about 2 hours and we picked up close to 3 inches. Looks like this one may stick a little while longer as it is supposed to be pretty cold tonight and tomorrow. Crimson and I had a good time playing in the snow. The consistency was perfect for snowballs and snowmen and we were determined to out do the neighbors across the street.

Crimson's 13th Birthday

Another milestone was celebrated on January 4th. A few days after Crimson turned 13 on December 31st, we had a party for her and friends at an entertainment center in Marietta GA called Mad Mad Whirled. After some early concerns that few of her friends were going to show, we ended up with around 16 kids for a few hours of fun.

The kids got to play a 30 minute session of laser tag, 30 minutes of Whirly Ball, which is a combination of bumper cars and lacrosse, and another 30 minutes of laser. After that they all had pizza, soda, cookie cake and ice cream finish up.

After activities were done there, 3 of Crimson's girlfriends came back to my house for more fun. After a tour of the house and smashing a pinata, the girls settled in for a pinball tournament. It was great to see all the machines turned on a being used at the same time. After pinball they had a great time playing Rock Band on the XBOX 360 on the big screen TV. This game allowed the girls to play together as a band to some popular songs with each girl taking turns playing either the drums, guitar, bass or singing. One of the girls had to go home for the night but the other 2 joined Crimson for a sleepover.

Next up was watching a movie in the home theater. Of course no movie is complete without a little popcorn. After the movie it was pretty late so the girls headed to Crimson's room for the night. As you can probably guess, they didn't sleep right away. In fact, at 3:15am I had to finally tell them enough was enough and it was lights out. Crimson told me they kept talking till close to 5 am.

Waking up the next morning was a bit of a chore but thankfully the girls parents allowed them to extend their stay a bit. The girls got to have brunch together and play some Wii before heading home.

Crimson described the party as a smash success.

Do Pinball Machines Multiply? - Pinball #7 - Family Guy

I honestly thought I wouldn't add any more pins in 2007 after adding World Poker Tour early in the year. I was out of room in my main gameroom and was knee deep in restoring my Twilight Zone. Stern's newest offerings, Spiderman and Wheel of Fortune did nothing for me and I wasn't about to bring in an older machine that would require maintenance or restoration while the Twilight Zone was still in pieces throughout my basement.


Early in 2007, Stern had released Family Guy. It had caught my interest a bit because I liked the series but I never considered it seriously due to budget issues and the simple fact that I wasn't going to jump on the hype after getting a little burned by Pirates of the Caribbean. However, months had passed and people were still praising the game. Some going as far as calling it Sterns bests. Then, I finally had a chance to play it and see it for myself. Not only was the game incredibly challenging and unique but it had great humor to accompany it. I really enjoyed it.


I debated it for a few months and finally bit the bullet in September 2007 calling Jack at Pinball Sales to place my order. I committed myself to reorganizing the downstairs and expanding the gameroom into a second room so all my pins would be in the same general location. Now that I've got the Family Guy in my house I can definitely say it was a great purchase. I play it a ton, it is Crimson's favorite and guests like it quite a bit.


With 2007 now over. I've got 7 pins in my lineup. However, with expansion into a second room, I've got room for at least 2 more. How long will it be before I add the next? Right now there are no plans. Stern's got a Batman Dark Night, CSI, Indiana Jones and 24 pins rumored to be heading out next. None of those have much interest for me. However, there is a possibility of a Led Zeppelin pin that would almost certainly be a purchase IF it comes to fruition. The other option may be the purchase of an older pin but that will almost certainly wait until the Twilight Zone is restored.


Who knows. I've somehow managed to acquire 7 in roughly 3 1/2 years. Something I never anticipated. It's an addiction that I don't see a cure for any time soon.

Do Pinball Machines Multiply? - Pinball #6 - World Poker Tour

If you've been following along closely you'll realize that my 5th pin, Pirates of the Caribbean, filled the final spot in the gameroom. Any additional pin purchases would require either some major reshuffling of this room or placing pins in other locations in the house. I really wanted to keep all the pins in the same general area so I thought my pin purchases would be curtailed for a least awhile.


Along came a deal I couldn't pass up. Stern had released a game in early 2006, World Poker Tour that had few things going for it I really liked. First, it had a huge number of drop targets, a long time favorite of mine and not really represented much on any of my machines. Second, the software designer, Keith Johnson was the same person who had created the extremely deep Simpson's Pinball Party and Lord of the Rings games. This guy had earned my highest respect. Third, the Texas Hold'em theme fit one of my interests.


Unfortunately, this machine also had several negatives. First and foremost, the backglass was hideous. The cabinet and playfield artwork weren't much better. Also, early on, there were some issues with the software that made the game less enjoyable to play.


Two things happened in early 2007. First, Keith took care of the software issues and added some great features. Then, a distributor who was having trouble selling the machines offered them at closeout pricing. Suddenly my interest was elevated and space be damned I order the pin. I'll figure out the space issues later. For the time being I'd use an empty room on the main floor to store the pin.

Do Pinball Machines Multiply? - Pinball #5 - Pirates of the Caribbean

I was pretty content with 4 machines, but there was still room for one more in the gameroom so when pictures and especially video surfaced in June 2006 for Stern's latest, Pirates of the Caribbean I had the itch once again. The unique sinking ship, spinning disc and great artwork were enough for me to take the plunge. This time I was going with a first-class Stern distributor, Jack from Pinball Sales. Not only does Jack offer extremely competitive prices, but he offers a 3 year warranty on the purchase (instead of 90 days) and backs it up with excellent customer. I doubt I'll ever buy a new pinball machine anywhere else.


Looking back on it, I might have got a bit caught up in the hype of this machine. While the playfield design and toys are pretty enjoyable, the lack of cooperation by Disney really keeps this title from being even better. The sound and especially the speech are very shallow. Although it offers a nice contrast to some of my other machines, I may have passed on this one if I played it more first. That being said, I don't think it'll go anywhere unless I trade it for something better in the future.

Do Pinball Machines Multiple? - Pinball #4 - Attack From Mars

Fast forward another year to the fall of 2005 and the itch had stuck again. Another table, Attack From Mars had caught my eye. It was the B-Movie Sci-Fi theme that had initially attracted me. The fast gameplay and great art hooked me. This title, from 1995 was in pretty high demand and wasn't going to be cheap especially if I wanted a nice one.


I saw one on EBay that had been restored by Treasure Cove. The price on this auction got a bit too steep for me but my interest got noticed by Christopher Hutchins of High End Pins. Chris's reputation had proceeded his contact. He's well known in the pinball community as one of the best restorers, if not THE best, in the country. I was very interested to hear what he could do for me. When I found out he'd help me locate a table to restore, I decided to pursue that it.


During our search for a machine, one of Chris's former customers responded saying he'd like to sell his machine. Seeing the pictures had me convinced this was a great chance to get a top notch machine. A nice chunk of money was exchanged and the beauty was headed my way but not without a side stop at Chris's place in North Carolina. Chris was going to put the finishing touches and replace the cabinet decals with reproductions that were not available at time of initial restoration. When it finally arrived and was unboxed at my home, I was amazed at how good it looked and played. This machine look and played like new even though it left the factory 10 years ago. This table is often a favorite for guests and is one of my favorites as well.

Do Pinball Machines Multiply? - Pinball #3 - Lord of the Rings

Even though I had a Twilight Zone on its way, another pin had piqued my interest, Stern's Lord of the Rings. There was so much to like about this new pinball machine, I knew I'd have to find a place and the money for it. I loved the books, loved the movie and the machine features were great. This time I found a better source for a NIB (new in box) purchase and had yet another machine on the way. This one played a lot differently than my other two. It was considerably faster and had little stop and go to interfere with the flow. The integration of sound into the overall game package was superb.

Only two months in to the hobby, I had 3 pins. It did look like that would be it for awhile simply because my budget wouldn't allow more. However, there was still space for a couple more pins so I knew I'd eventually fill it. In the mean time though, I was very content to play with the 3 I had.

Do Pinball Machines Multiply? - Pinball #2 - Twilight Zone

The blog has been on hiatus for awhile. Things are always busiest for me at the end of the year with the holidays and Crimson's birthday demanding my time in addition to my passion for NFL football and the NHL.


I've returned with a vengeance. Hopefully several posts over the next few days will make up for the lack of activity over the last 2 months. A full range of topics will be covered but I feel it is best to resume where I left off. I had promised a little more on my pinball obsession.


After acquiring The Simpson's Pinball Party, I was playing like crazy. I'd try to sneak in a game before work, a couple at lunch, plenty more in evening and often end the day playing yet another game. My knowledge of the table and the rules was improving as was my overall skill level. My scores began to climb. I wouldn't call myself a "great" player but I was no shlub either. While there was still plenty to uncover in The Simpson's Pinball Party, known as one of the deepest pinballs ever made, I was starting to think some variety would be nice. Hell, since I had more space, why not fill it with some more pinball.


Since Twilight Zone had been the last machine I cut when deciding on The Simpson's Pinball Party, I decided I'd go back and get that one. I knew going in that this machine would be a bit different experience than my first. For one, the machine was over a dozen years old and had spent a good deal of time in some smoke-filled bar in Germany. Although it functioned pretty well and had been spot cleaned, it was going to need some tender loving care to keep in functioning and make it more presentable. However, I looked forward to this opportunity to learn about pinball maintenance and restoration. I plunked down my money, got it delivered and squeezed into the basement.


I was delighted with the purchase. Although I had played it for more than a few minutes at the dealer, this pin really came to life with extensive play at home. The unique features, toys and challenging game play coupled with some great artwork linked to one of my favorite TV shows made it a great purchase. However, on closer look I discovered several cosmetic and a few mechanical problems. Nothing really major but enough for me to realize that I may have overpaid a bit.


My next step was to gather the resources, information and tools so that I could maintain and beautify this machine as well as any future purchases (already I'm thinking of more!). There were two great resources I discovered rather quickly. First, I found the USENET group, rec.games.pinball. Having been a long time user of USENET, it was great to discover this was THE place for pinball discussion. I'm not a huge fan of web based forums and find USENET a much speedier experience but for those not familiar or comfortable with USENET, Google does provide a web based interface at rec.groups.pinball. The knowledge of people frequenting this group is incredible and in general they are very helpful. With years of posts archived and searchable via Google, I learned a ton very quickly. The second valuable resource I found was the pinball repair guides. These contained enough information to start another spending spree on tools and give me the guidance necessary to attack just about any pinball problem.