The Virus, the Swamp and the Wings...Oh My...

Needless it's been busy time since I attempted to begin blogging again...I had good intentions back in October of 2019 but got busy with the holidays, work and more work.  And then this crazy virus situation has just made life go into "full interesting" mode...

Since my last post I've gone all in on really my first true love, the aviation world.  I'm working full-time for a major airline in the area of ramp operations mostly, spending some time at the gate and occasionally getting to operate the jetway.  It's been fun, although stressful between the holidays and then what we call in Florida "Season" and then the current disaster.  No layoffs so far, just reduced schedules for everyone and a hiring freeze.  The hiring freeze shuts down any attempts at trying to move up within the company, but I'm okay for now and will continue to develop skills to try and make me a more candidate in the future.

As to the virus, I try not to think about it, especially at the airport.  Our flight schedules have dropped dramatically, but we will have passengers arriving from infected areas so I try to be as careful as possible.  It's probably more dangerous when I do have to venture to a grocery store, or Costco, as some generational people in my area (generally older adults) don't seem to understand the concept of social distancing...very frustrating!!!

Finally, what can I say about our current political class?  Not much. There are a few members o Congress trying to do the right thing, but for the most part the impeachment faros and then the loading up of a stimulus bill with unnecessary items tells you all you need to know.  And Republicans would likely have done the same thing had they been in power.  It's very discouraging.  While I still lean more "center-right, moderate conservative" it feels more and more like being in the political wilderness than every before.  Two sharp factions, one hard left and one hard right, are controlling our politics and leaving those of us with mixed fews firmly without any political base.  It's an alarming situation and doesn't look like it will get any better.

To that end I may end discussing political items and move the hat trick to happier items...focusing on aviation and hockey (if that ever comes back).  Even though the Red Wings have had some disappointing seasons recently, they are still a more honest topic to discuss than anything happening in politics in 2020.

East Coast Wing Returns Again...

Sadly, it's been a while since I wrote something...over two years in fact.  I think I have avoided writing simply because it's easier to avoid facing current political news and the descent of this country, and how we interact with our fellow citizens, into a scary and sad place.

President Trump is a disaster in my opinion.  Maybe the conservative movement got two good Supreme Court justices out of this administration, but is that an important enough to pay this kind of price?  The end result is that we are now seeing candidates from the Democratic Party who I struggle to find any public policy areas where I can agree.  Former Vice President Joe Biden would be palatable in my mind, but he is seeing his current lead in the polls closing as the liberal base of the party coalesces around more liberal candidates such as Senator Elizabeth Warren and Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders...ironically not even a Democrat.  I suppose one positive is that, if it ends up either Warren or Sanders, they won't have the political and ethical baggage that Hillary Clinton brought to the 2016 race that made it, IMHO, the Worst President Election...Ever.

If the President's Twitter behavior isn't bad enough, we've also scene poor Twitter behavior from a host of our citizens, both known and unknown.  There are times when I read some of the nasty tweets from people, I have to wonder if they are employed...tweets, blogs posts, Facebook posts, etc. don't go away, it's not like you can burn something you have written.  That is why this blog has always tried to take a respectful tone in discussion serious matters.

As a result, this blog is likely to take less of a political focus and more of a focus on aviation and travel, consulting and management...plus, of course, hockey...and especially Detroit Red Wing hockey!  I've had some exciting changes in that area since my previous post (in 2017...yikes!) which I'll talk about in later posts.

To that end, it's going to be a bumpy ride as we finish up 2019 and go into 2020...

What Happens When You Don't Post For a While...

I have to laugh at my last post..."Senators Dominate Penguins", my post of May 18.  As many know, the Pittsburgh Penguins are now the Stanley Cup champions, winning their second cup in consecutive years.

At least the Red Wings were in the discussion...the last time this happened in the NHL was the Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings in 96-97 and 97-98.

Sigh...till next year....

Wings at Tampa Bay, March 30

Mrs. East Coast Wing and I had the opportunity to see the Wings in person when they faced the Tampa Bay Lightening on March 30.  This was a birthday gift from my wife's family and included babysitting from Nana, which is a huge help when you factor in the cost of a babysitter these days!

The Wings came out strong but then faltered with some shaky goal tending and Tampa Bay having a  greater need to win the game due to playoff considerations...unlike the Wings they are still in the hunt.  But, as always, it's great to see the Wings in person which is something I haven't been able to do in a very long time...when we lived in the New York City area it was really expensive and when we lived in the Philadelphia area it was terribly safe given the behavior of Philly fans!  But possibly the best result of the game was running into my cousin, who was down from Detroit, and came to the game last-minute...that was a great "Facebook worthy" photo!

It will be strange next week when I won't have Red Wing hockey to watch in the post season...this is amazing considering the last time this happened I was a senior in high school and George H.W. Bush was President (have to add some politics in somewhere in this post!) and some current players in the NHL were not even born yet...amazing!  Hopefully the Wings can use the time to rebuild and continue the process of developing talent.

In the meantime I'm just happy I got to see them play again...that is never a terrible thing.

Sadly, All Good Things Must Come to An End...

That was the title of a Twitter tweet I just shared...and we all knew this day was coming at some point, but many of us hope it never should really arrive.

Who are us?  Loyal fans of the Detroit Red Wings.

What is the day?  The day is the first time since the 1989-90 season that the Red Wings were mathematically eliminated from the 2016-17 NHL postseason.

I realize many will observe that the sadness that I, as well as many fans of Hockeytown, feel is just "wining" and misplaced sorrow.  And I can't necessarily disagree with that observation; as Wings fans we've had it good.  Real good as the following list illustrates:

• Four Stanley Cup Champion teams in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008
• Six Stanley Cup Finals appearances in 1995 and 2009, plus the Cup winning years
• Third longest NHL playoff appearance streak, only behind fellow Original Six members the Bruins and the Blackhawks

As a Wings fan it's been a great ride and I feel privileged to have watched the Wings win four Stanley Cups in my lifetime.  Hopefully as the team goes forward they can rebuild into a contender once again and bring another Cup home to Hockeytown.

I'm going to see the Red Wings in Tampa tomorrow night and I couldn't be more excited.  I'll be sporting my #19 Steve Yzerman jersey, who ironically will be in the building as the Tampa Bay Lightening's General Manager.  Tampa is fighting for it's playoff life so it should be a good game and it's possible the Wings could be the spoiler.  Regardless, I'll be there for my team.

The Yahoo Puck Daddy blog has a nice piece on the incredible run of the Red Wings these past 25 years.

New Year, New Era, Oh My

Happy New Year all.  While I had every intention of restarting my writing this past September, life did not cooperate.  The ongoing saga of buying a new home in our new state of Florida ended up being a far more complicated process than I could have imagined.  Add in the unexpected death of our family dog and it just didn't happen.  But, as with any New Year's Resolution (which I don't really believe in) I've decided to be more active in my writing in 2017.  Since today is January 27, I think it still counts as a resolution of sorts.

I'm also going to change the direction of the blog this year.  While I will address politics to an extent, I find myself completely dejected after the 2016 election.  To say Election 2016 was the worst election in a lifetime would be an significant understatement.  The Hat Trick was not a Donald Trump supporter at all...AT ALL...but I was also almost as equally offended by Secretary Hillary Clinton.  Considering the amount of talent in this country it's amazing that these two were the best we as a nation could do.  It is still amazing that Trump won, yet when you look at the data and the mood of the country, it becomes less surprising.  Unfortunately there is a lot of emotion and hysteria in the country right now and nobody on the left is very interested in looking at why Hillary lost.  And on the right?  Just a lot of gloating...

I have some pieces in various draft form on some of my aviation experiences plus some hockey observations...could this be the year the Red Wings miss the playoffs for the first time since the 1989-90 season?  They are looking shaky in the NHL Eastern Conference standings now but there is still a lot of hockey to be played from now and until April...added bonus, the Hat Tricks will be seeing the Wings live on March 30 in Tampa Bay.

All in all it should be an interesting winter and spring!

Hat Trick Returns

I realize it's been a while but hopefully I can start posting again on a regular basis. It's been a busy winter, spring and fall. We went through a bad experience with Little Hat Trick and a serious illness over Christmas which really threw us for a loop. He's better now but still having some issues that we have a to work through.

That was not a great way to bring in the New Year!

However, in March fortune smiled on us and I was able to join the workforce again after a two year absence and am now lobbying in the State of New Jersey. I do some federal lobbying but primarily working Trenton with the New Jersey Legislature. It's a bit different here and I've seen some interesting things...including witnessing my first arrests at a public hearing! More on that later...but needless to say it's good to be working again.

Hopefully I can provide some comment on the upcoming New Jersey elections, the current state of affairs in Congress, some travel observations and, of course, some Red Wing hockey.

Welcome back and thanks for reading!

Hat Trick Returns

I've been offline for a little while and haven't even commented on the 2010 midterm elections...although I do have a post drafted. Unfortunately a combination of family illness and computer woes have "infected" (ha ha ha...pun intended) the Hat Trick household over the past few weeks. The computers are fixed (yes, both had issues) and we are back on track to some regular posting soon.

On a happy note during the hiatus...did anyone notice the Detroit Red Wings have compiled a 12 - 3 -2 record since the beginning of the 2010-11 season? Let's Go Red Wings!!!

Wings Lose 4-2 in Phoenix

Giving up three goals in the first period while not scoring any goals yourself is not a recipe for a win and the Red Wings proved that Thursday night with a 4 - 2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard was out of the game with back spasms so that didn't help the situation as Chris Osgood wasn't able to stop the onslaught.

You can't win them all but this one was kind of ugly...glad it wasn't broadcast nationally so the Hat Trick didn't have to watch it!

Next up: The surprisingly hot Nashville Predators at the JLA Saturday at 7:00pm.

The Russian Five

It's hard to believe that it was 15 years ago yesterday (October 27) that the Russian Five first played together. This was the first time in the NHL that five Russian players played on the same line. The Russian Five or sometimes called the Russian Unit is a great moment in Red Wings history. There is a nice write-up of this day in history on NHL Fanhouse.

Check out this clip from Fox Sports talking about the Russian Five...and a very young James Brown! Go JB!

Wings Continue Strong Start

Red Wings continue their strong start with only one loss in the last six games, currently showing a 5 - 1 record. They currently sit in second place behind the Nashville Predators who are undefeated at five wins. Goalie Jimmy Howard is playing strong and the offense has been strong. Nice to see after some of the disappointments during last year's season.

Next game for the Wings: Thursday, October 28 against the Phoenix Coyotes at the JLA.

Thanks Malts

While not unexpected at all the day finally arrived for long-time Detroit Red Wing (and "Grind Liner") Kirk Maltby on Tuesday. "Malts" is the quintessential Red Wing...a role player, a grinder, a hard worker and a player with a lot of heart. He will be sorely missed as the game moves on.

Yahoo Sports has a nice write-up on Maltby's retirement and career.

Thanks Malts for all the great memories!

Wings Lose in Overtime

The Red Wings lost their first game of the 2010-11 with a 5 - 4 defeat that ended in a shootout against the hated Colorado Avalanche. Regardless of the loss the Red Wings played solid hockey for three periods and Goalie Jimmy Howard looked great in goal...he blocked some tremendous shots, particularly during the shootout. It wasn't until the sixth round of the overtime shootout that Howard gave up a goal to Brandon Yip.

Next up for the Wings: The Dallas Stars

Great Start to Red Wings Season

The Detroit Red Wings opened the 2010-2011 with a bang this weekend. On Friday night the Wings pounded the Anaheim Ducks 4 - 0 at the JLA (with a goal scored by new addition and great player Mike Modano) and then went to Chicago on Saturday and beat the Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks 3 - 2 in their home opener. A great start for the Red Wings that will help relieve some of the disappointment of last year.

This is not to say the Wings are "going all the way" this year. Chicago is still a great team and the season is long. Still, it's nice to see the team get off to such a strong start.

The Wings will face the hated Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night...let's hope for a three game winning streak after Tuesday!

Red Wings 2010-2011 Is Almost Here!

In a little less than an hour the Red Wings begin another "March for the Cup" with a home opener at the JLA (Joe Louis Arena for new readers) against the Anaheim Ducks. Needless to say the Hat Trick is happy to have Red Wing hockey back, even if I'm going to miss the game in my new home in South Jersey.

Some initial previews have the Wings winning the Central Division and having a much better year compared with the 2009-2010 season. We'll see where the pucks fall (ha ha) but I feel more confident at the start of this season then I did last year.

Let's Go Red Wings!

The Season Ends

The Hat Trick is sad to say that the Red Wings official season has ended with a loss to the San Jose Sharks in Game 5. Not surprising but still sad after seeing the Wings make the Stanley Cup Finals the past two years. The Hat Trick is just happy they made the playoffs (which looked shaky last winter) and made it to the second round. They also didn't get swept in four games which is good for the pride of the Hat Trick.

Unlike past years in the early 2000s when the Wings got knocked out when they had a lot more talent on the team, I'm okay with this ending of the season. We knew the salary cap was going to be an issue. The Hat Trick is also clear on another issue: Goalie Jimmy Howard has the talent to be a great goalie in the NHL...however he lacks the same thing that other great playoff goalies lack...experience. He can't get it if he doesn't experience it and sometimes the end result of that isn't what the fans want. The fans also didn't want the collapse of the Wings after the 1995-96 season but the result of that was back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in '97 and '98. The bottom line is that losing this year could be good for Howard, as well as the entire team. You can't win them all and Wings fans are really blessed to have had the run we have had this decade, minus the lockout.

There are always things that can improve, personnel moves that can be made, talent that can be signed. But ultimately you have to be realistic in what you can expect from a squad in a certain year and I think the Wings did well for what was possible. The Hat Trick feels strongly this will be a good learning year for the Wings (and their fans) and puts us in good position for the 2010-11 season.

Thanks again Wings for a great season. Let's Go Red Wings!

When Hockey and Travel Collide...

It looks like the Red Wings will start their series with the San Jose Sharks on the wrong foot...er skate. According to an article in the San Jose Mercury News the Red Wings team charter violated the landing curfew at the San Jose International Airport by 49 minutes after arriving late from Phoenix. The fine will likely be $2,500...not a huge amount for an professional sports team but still raises an interesting principle.

The fine has been established to discourage takeoffs and landings so as to not disturb the local residents. According to the article the fine cannot be implemented if a flight is delayed due to weather or other issues beyond the pilot's control. Interestingly the San Jose Sharks charter company is allowed 15 passes a year for curfew violation.

The Hat Trick has two observations:

1. Given the reason for the lateness of the Red Wings charter it seems the San Jose airport needs to wave this fine. All it does is make them look small and vindictive to allow it to go through. The Red Wings can pay that fine from the petty cash drawer...so lets use our brains San Jose and actually think about why the plane landed 49 minutes past the curfew.
2. Let's remind people that CHOOSE to live close to an airport that noise is a potential side-effect to your CHOICE. Much like living near the ocean could involve increased seagull activity or living near a sports facility can cause traffic jams you need to evaluate your CHOICE in where you live. An airport is a business and air travel is a 24 hour global business. A consequence of the Hat Trick living in the Washington, DC area is that I have to occasionally deal with closed streets due to the Presidential motorcade. Not always fun but it's part of living in the nation's capitol (and a great excuse to being late for a date!). Get over it and stop trying to legislate every problem away California...no wonder nobody wants to do business in your state.

Okay, rant over. Let's Go Red Wings and let's get some reality San Jose airport!

Wings Win Series!

This is a bit tardy and will be short and sweet but the Detroit Red Wings won their series against the Phoenix Coyotes late Tuesday night! The Wings dominated the Coyotes from the start, rolling to a 6 - 1 victory and the privilege to play the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup playoffs semi-final round.

The Wings won with a combination of constant offense and domination in the net. The Hat Trick had his doubts about whether the Wings could win this one and I'm happy that I was wrong on that score!

Thursday night brings on the San Jose Sharks in Game 1. Should be a good one and a real test for the Wings. Enjoy it today gentlemen...you have a tough series ahead of you!

Wings Routed By Coyotes, Game 7 Tuesday

The Wings were destroyed Sunday by the Phoenix Coyotes at the JLA, losing 5 - 2 and setting up a Game 7 in Phoenix on Tuesday night. The Wings blew a couple of golden opportunities on the power play, including several overlapping 5 on 3 scenarios. Goalie Jimmy Howard didn't exactly have his best performance but the lineup in front of him didn't exactly impress either. The less said about this game the better.

The bottom line comes down to this: A Game 7 in any series is generally a toss-up so instead of putting away the Coyotes on home ice they have to travel to Phoenix and hope they can pull it off on enemy ice. If they play like they did on Sunday then there will be no need to stay up late to watch the game.

Let's Go Red Wings but the Hat Trick has a bad feeling about this one.

Wings Win Game 5!

The Detroit Red Wings beat the Phoenix Coyotes solidly last night in Arizona to take a 3 - 2 series lead. The Wings can win the series Sunday in Detroit and go on to the next round.

Offensively the Wings didn't come alive until the third period but goalie Jimmy Howard kept them in the game until the offense took off. An impressive empty netter at the end of the game sealed it for the Wings. Goals by Tomas Holmstrom, Henrick Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk took care of business. Both Howard and Zetterbert are having a very impressive series and are a big reason why the wings can clinch the series on Sunday.

Don't let up now Wings...victory is in site! (Thanks to Getty Images for the victory photo)