Eighth night of Hanukkah / Chanukah

Well, for giggles, I thought I'd reprise my online celebration of Hanukkah this year. It conveniently coincides with my two weeks off from work (yes!) and I'm doing one of those "stay-cations" where I take the two weeks to do absolutely nothing except sit on my butt at home (yes!).

For the 8 nights of Hanukkah, I'll try to find some kind of Mathieu-related "gift" to share. So, in honor of the eighth night of Hanukkah, here is gift number 8.

I was officially out of ideas. Short of anything more creative, I looked for cool goals Mathieu has scored and was going to post a video. I found a good one and put the embed code here, and began to type out the date of the goal. It was December. It made me think, and gave me an idea. So here, for the eighth and final night of Hanukkah, are three goals Mathieu scored during the holidays past. (At least the ones that have video available on NHL.tv)


(Buffalo at Anaheim, December 5, 2007... the 2nd night of Hanukkah)



(Anaheim at Chicago, December 7, 2007... the 4th night of Hanukkah)



(Columbus at Detroit, December 31, 2005... the 7th night of Hanukkah)


An aside: For those who are interested, here is a neat "what you need to know about Hanukkah" story from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: Spinning Tales: A Hanukkah Primer. And don't laugh at the graphic. That was the first animated gif I ever made, back in 1997 or so (using Claris Works clip art and a semi-legal copy of Photoshop). It was hot stuff at the time. =)

December 28, 2008

Darn it. As a Sharks fan, I was really hoping that Atlanta could topple the almighty Bruins today. And they struck first with a late goal in the first. But in the end it wasn't meant to be. Mathieu had 15:41 of total ice time, with only 5 seconds coming on the power play. Atlanta had a lot of power play time (over 8 minutes) including a 2 man advantage. He was on the penalty kill for 1:11. Don't know what's going on there. Seems a little backwards to me. Game Summary: (interference), 3:04 of 2nd.

P.S. I think I've been watching The Wire too much. The Bruins have a player named Sobotka, and every time they mentioned his name my head would snap back to the screen. Vladimir Sobotka is a Czech Republic born Center for the Bruin, as opposed to Frank, Nick, and "Ziggy" Sobotka, struggling stevedores at the Port of Baltimore. I'm assuming that Vladimir doesn't smuggle stuff off of shipping containers on the side.

Seventh night of Hanukkah / Chanukah

Well, for giggles, I thought I'd reprise my online celebration of Hanukkah this year. It conveniently coincides with my two weeks off from work (yes!) and I'm doing one of those "stay-cations" where I take the two weeks to do absolutely nothing except sit on my butt at home (yes!).

For the 8 nights of Hanukkah, I'll try to find some kind of Mathieu-related "gift" to share. So, in honor of the seventh night of Hanukkah, here is gift number 7.

I'm not sure there was much snow in the land of Judea in 200 B.C.E when the Maccabees kicked the crap out of the armies of King Antiochus of Syria and took back the Temple. But because that epic battle-- and the ensuing oil-that-burned-for-8-days miracle-- took place in the month of Kislev (which corresponds with "our" November - December months), Hanukkah is often lumped together with the Winter celebrations that are widely symbolized by snow (at least in the Northern Hemisphere).

Hockey is a cold weather, wintery sport. Mathieu obviously has experience with that one. But there is another popular winter activity that Mathieu has never participated in, and looks forward to doing so when he eventually retires. What is is?

"Skiing is one of the things I'd love to do. I always say that's the first thing I gotta do when I retire. It's one of those things, it's just not worth it if you blow out your knee."

Yes, I know this one was a stretch, but it's hard to come up with 8 cool holiday/religious/winter-related things. And I hope to be skiing soon, so I've got the slopes on my mind. And yeah Mathieu, it is fun and worth a try.

An aside: For those who are interested, here is a neat "what you need to know about Hanukkah" story from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: Spinning Tales: A Hanukkah Primer. And don't laugh at the graphic. That was the first animated gif I ever made, back in 1997 or so (using Claris Works clip art and a semi-legal copy of Photoshop). It was hot stuff at the time. =)

December 26, 2008

Thrashers lost. Bummer. Mathieu was a -2, with one shot, in 18:56 of ice time in the back and forth game. He had no minutes on the power play, but Atlanta only had about one and a half power plays. Game Summary: (holding), 10:43 of 2nd.

Sixth night of Hanukkah / Chanukah

Well, for giggles, I thought I'd reprise my online celebration of Hanukkah this year. It conveniently coincides with my two weeks off from work (yes!) and I'm doing one of those "stay-cations" where I take the two weeks to do absolutely nothing except sit on my butt at home (yes!).

For the 8 nights of Hanukkah, I'll try to find some kind of Mathieu-related "gift" to share. So, in honor of the sixth night of Hanukkah, here is gift number 6.

On November 6, 2006, Mathieu was inducted into the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Why? Well, why not? Also, he was a big part of the Detroit Red Wings at the time, and has some impressive credentials: he's a two time Olympian, two time NHL All-Star, and a Stanley Cup winner. He is also the all-time leading Jewish scorer in NHL history. Said Mathieu of the induction: "It's a great honor. I'm real excited. It's going to be fun. My parents are coming in, so it'll be great" (quote from Ray Slover's article in the Sporting News)

Check out the really cute picture of Mathieu and wife Shannon at the ceremony next to his plaque at the MJSHF website.


An aside: For those who are interested, here is a neat "what you need to know about Hanukkah" story from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: Spinning Tales: A Hanukkah Primer. And don't laugh at the graphic. That was the first animated gif I ever made, back in 1997 or so (using Claris Works clip art and a semi-legal copy of Photoshop). It was hot stuff at the time. =)

Fifth night of Hanukkah / Chanukah

Well, for giggles, I thought I'd reprise my online celebration of Hanukkah this year. It conveniently coincides with my two weeks off from work (yes!) and I'm doing one of those "stay-cations" where I take the two weeks to do absolutely nothing except sit on my butt at home (yes!).

For the 8 nights of Hanukkah, I'll try to find some kind of Mathieu-related "gift" to share. So, in honor of the fifth night of Hanukkah, here is gift number 5.

This one caught my eye in the good ole Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Homepage archives (see September 8, 2005) because "christmas tree" was mentioned. Actually, that mention had nothing to do with Mathieu at all. The following came from a Helene St. James piece in the Detroit Free Press that, you guessed, isn't available online anymore. Anyway, it was about what the Red Wings players' did during the lockout. Apparently, Niklas Lidstrom had a huge Christmas in Sweden, thus the tree mention. What did Mathieu do? He organized:

...While Lidstrom lit up a Christmas tree, Schneider labeled. That, it turns out, was his self-realization. "I'm OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), without a doubt," he said, laughing. "I think it was hidden for a while, but just being around the house, looking for things to do all the time, brought it out." Schneider organized everything in his garage, and when that had been done three or four times, moved inside. That was when his wife intervened. "I was labeling stuff in the kitchen," he said. "My wife had to steal the labeler away from me."

Dang skippy, now I know what I should have asked for for Christmas. I'm totally feeling Mathieu on the labeling and organizing thing (I am, after all, a librarian), and I actually don't own a label maker. Oh the things I could do with one of those!

An aside: For those who are interested, here is a neat "what you need to know about Hanukkah" story from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: Spinning Tales: A Hanukkah Primer. And don't laugh at the graphic. That was the first animated gif I ever made, back in 1997 or so (using Claris Works clip art and a semi-legal copy of Photoshop). It was hot stuff at the time. =)

Fourth night of Hanukkah / Chanukah

Well, for giggles, I thought I'd reprise my online celebration of Hanukkah this year. It conveniently coincides with my two weeks off from work (yes!) and I'm doing one of those "stay-cations" where I take the two weeks to do absolutely nothing except sit on my butt at home (yes!).

For the 8 nights of Hanukkah, I'll try to find some kind of Mathieu-related "gift" to share. So, in honor of the fourth night of Hanukkah, here is gift number 4.

'Tis the season for big family dinners, which I'm actually about to head off to do. A few years ago, in yet another article that isn't available online anymore (hey newspapers, great use of the infinite storage of the new electronic medium), Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press had a piece about the Red Wings players' Thanksgiving traditions. I know, Thanksgiving was last month, but roll with me on the food theme.

In the Schneider clan, at least on that big food day, Mathieu is the cook. Here is the related section I archived on the original Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Homepage (see November 24, 2005):

"I actually do cook the turkey every year. My wife's busy baby-sitting all the kids. It's never a sit-down dinner, though -- it's just kind of chaos once the turkey gets on the table." Do all of the turkeys he cooks turn out great? Well... "It's kind of hit-and-miss, to tell you the truth. I've had a couple good ones and a couple real bad ones, just very dry. It's an art, obviously. I think if I had some more time, I could really, really improve my cooking skills." Overall, though, "it's fun, I enjoy it and everything that goes along with it, the whole day."

But can he make killer latkes? It is not Christmas in my life until the Weinsteins, my neighbors and second family, make latkes. Mr. Weinstein is by far the best latke maker ever. I have his exact recipe, and I can't get them as good as him.

An aside: For those who are interested, here is a neat "what you need to know about Hanukkah" story from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: Spinning Tales: A Hanukkah Primer. And don't laugh at the graphic. That was the first animated gif I ever made, back in 1997 or so (using Claris Works clip art and a semi-legal copy of Photoshop). It was hot stuff at the time. =)

December 23, 2008

Mathieu scored the first goal of the 3-2 Atlanta win tonight on a beautiful one-timer.



The television feed I got to watch via NHL GameCenter came from the New York Islanders, and the Play-by-Play guy made a comment how it was appropriate he "lights the lamp" for the third time this season on the third night of Hanukkah. And in the 1st intermission, Mathieu was the guest where he breathlessly and sweatily talked about how good it is to get back playing. The interviewer wished him a Happy Hanukkah which got a big smile. See... I'm not the only one who cares about the holiday. Game Summary: Schneider (Valabik, Boulton), 8:54 of 1st; (hooking), 12:30 of 1st; (hooking), 5:24 of 3rd.

Off-Topic: I watched the Dallas game tonight as well. Damn skippy, did Dallas ever kick the crap out of Toronto (w00t B-Rad!). Anyway, the feed for that came from Toronto just as last night's Atlanta game, and I have to say, those announcers really are annoying. But are Canadian commercials ever hilarious. There was this one ad that is 30-seconds of a "newscast" about a missing young couple, beloved by the community and missed desperately by their family and friends, who hadn't been seen for four days. The only time you knew what the ad was for was at the end, when the logo for the erectile disfunction prescription Cialis was shown on the screen. It took me a minute, then I literally laughed out loud.

Third night of Hanukkah / Chanukah

Well, for giggles, I thought I'd reprise my online celebration of Hanukkah this year. It conveniently coincides with my two weeks off from work (yes!) and I'm doing one of those "stay-cations" where I take the two weeks to do absolutely nothing except sit on my butt at home (yes!).

For the 8 nights of Hanukkah, I'll try to find some kind of Mathieu-related "gift" to share. So, in honor of the third night of Hanukkah, here is gift number 3.

This is a time of year when many young hockey players are gifted with lots of cool new equipment. So what was Mathieu's favorite equipment memory as youngster?

"There was one stick I wanted really bad, it was a Christian. I was about eight. They used to have shiny stickers down the side, and that's why I wanted it. My dad wouldn't let me have it, so I begged him for two weeks, and finally he let me have it. Then I cut it too short when I got it, and that became my street hockey stick."

This quote was from a feature in the Star Ledger (NJ) back in February 2000, but isn't available online anymore.

An aside: For those who are interested, here is a neat "what you need to know about Hanukkah" story from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: Spinning Tales: A Hanukkah Primer. And don't laugh at the graphic. That was the first animated gif I ever made, back in 1997 or so (using Claris Works clip art and a semi-legal copy of Photoshop). It was hot stuff at the time. =)

December 22, 2008

Wow, Atlanta really doesn't look good. Tonight was the first night I watched a Thrashers' game all the way through and it was, well, a chore. Partly because the Toronto TV guys are painful to listen to, and partly because the Thrashers look bored, uninspired, and just plain bad. They lost 6-2, with Mathieu logging 19:29 of ice time, and 2 shots on goal. He was a -2, with no points. One of the minuses came from the last empty netter, but the other was a well earned -1: a no-look backwards pass in his own zone that was intercepted by the Leafs' Niklas Hagman who then scored. Ouch.

Second night of Hanukkah / Chanukah

Well, for giggles, I thought I'd reprise my online celebration of Hanukkah this year. It conveniently coincides with my two weeks off from work (yes!) and I'm doing one of those "stay-cations" where I take the two weeks to do absolutely nothing except sit on my butt at home (yes!).

For the next 8 nights, I'll try to find some kind of Mathieu-related "gift" to share. So, in honor of the second night of Hanukkah, here is gift number 2.

Last year the Anaheim Ducks, in either an attempt to be inclusive or just shear cluelessness, extended the "Christmas favorites" question to Mathieu. Always a good sport, Mathieu came up with some answers for the question asker that were included with those of his teammates.

Favorite Christmas movie: "Probably Chevy Chase in 'Christmas Vacation.' That's a classic and a great movie for obvious reasons."

Favorite gift: "I always enjoy new clothes. I'm a clothes horse. I love my clothes."


An aside: For those who are interested, here is a neat "what you need to know about Hanukkah" story from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: Spinning Tales: A Hanukkah Primer. And don't laugh at the graphic. That was the first animated gif I ever made, back in 1997 or so (using Claris Works clip art and a semi-legal copy of Photoshop). It was hot stuff at the time. =)

Vancouver?

Two things:
1. In my quest to do absolutely nothing for the next two weeks I'm off from work, I laid on the couch on this rainy Sunday seeing how many episodes of The Wire I can watch in a row... and promptly fell asleep for several hours. Now, it is midnight and I'm wide awake and, um, wired.

2. I finally got my Google News Feeds working like I want them, so I'm starting to get news I would otherwise probably not have seen.

So, being awake and bored coupled with the new feeds, I can report this nugget from Vancouver hot off the presses:

...The Canucks’ back end is very good, but elite NHL teams generally have a proven offensive defenceman that can quarterback a powerplay... Finding a player of that ilk that is also attainable is like trying to find a parking spot at a mall right now; if you’ve got one, you’re not letting it go. The rare exception is when a team is toiling near the bottom of the standings and has an expensive defenceman headed for free agency.

That player does exist in Atlanta, and one has to wonder if Mike Gillis has contacted the Thrashers to inquire about Mathieu Schneider’s availability. Though he has been plagued by injuries for the past couple of seasons, Schneider consistently produces points and is excellent on the powerplay... (from Scott Rintoul at metronews.ca)

See the article for the rest of the case Rintoul makes, which he admits is at this point just "spit-balling," but the idea that Mathieu will be moved again before the season is over is not at all a longshot. In fact, in some circles, it is considered a given. Why? 1) Atlanta isn't going anywhere, and they know that, 2) Atlanta simply needed him to meet the salary floor (which won't be an issue for much longer), 3) and if they really "wanted" him for what they knew would be long-term, they could have had him for free via waivers but traded for him instead (players picked up on waivers can not be traded in the same year; but traded players can).

Musings about where Mathieu will finish the season abound, but this one actually isn't a terrible idea (other than another family uprooting) for most of the reasons Rintoul mentions.

What would Mathieu get?

• It would give him a shot at a winner


• He'd be back in the Western Conference, where he has much more experience with the different teams, players, and styles of play, not to mention the bulk of his success (short of that Stanley Cup in Montreal). Plus, he'd be back on "my" coast. Always a plus in my book.


• He'd get to play with another Schneider, which hasn't happen in the NHL, I know of at least, and I doubt at an other time in his playing days. But seeing that Corey Schneider (no relation, and no resemblance whatsoever) is a goalie, I'd doubt they'd have to do the initial thing on the jerseys.
  

Besides, when asked "which city do you look forward to most" a few years ago, Mathieu said Vancouver: "It's a great team and a great rivalry that's developed over the last few years here. It's a beautiful city, great place to spend some time. Great sushi, as well."* Not to mention fantastic shopping for the fashion maven he is.


Some intriguing side notes:

• Mathieu apparently outed the notariously private, and new Canuck, Mats Sundin as a new father early this season, an "allegation" that was denied by Sundin's agent who said Mathieu "made a mistake."


• Vancouver's #1 goalie, and captain (hur?), Roberto Loungo, was selected in the draft using the first round pick that the New York Islanders received in their trade of Mathieu to Toronto.


• Vancouver GM Mike Gillis is one of Mathieu's former agents. Oooooo, that would be interesting.

(What is sad is that I remembered those all off the top of my head, yet I keep forgetting to pick up new kitchen sponges when I'm at the store.)

*that quote is from a Detroit Free Press article that is no longer available in their online archives that I can find; it was saved for posterity on the old Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Homepage, scroll to November 10, 2005)

First day of Hanukkah / Chanukah

Well, for giggles, I thought I'd reprise my online celebration of Hanukkah this year. It conveniently coincides with my two weeks off from work (yes!) and I'm doing one of those "stay-cations" where I take the two weeks to do absolutely nothing except sit on my butt at home (yes!).

For the next 8 nights, I'll try to find some kind of Mathieu-related "gift" to share. So, in honor of the first night of Hanukkah, here is gift number 1.


On Christmas day in 1998, the Star-Ledger (NJ) had an article about Mathieu, the only Jew on the NY Rangers (and one of only three Jewish NHL players at the time) not feeling too left out during the Christmas season. The article is not available at the paper's archives, but I saved the text. See the article archived at the old Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Homepage. In it he talks about how he was a little more bothered as a kid with all the attention around Christmas, but admits that he and his brother would get a present on Christmas anyway.


An aside: For those who are interested, here is a neat "what you need to know about Hanukkah" story from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: Spinning Tales: A Hanukkah Primer. And don't laugh at the graphic. That was the first animated gif I ever made, back in 1997 or so (using Claris Works clip art and a semi-legal copy of Photoshop). It was hot stuff at the time. =)

December 20, 2008

Mathieu returned to the ice last night, and didn't do too much in the Atlanta win, at least according to the scoresheet. I was busy stimulating the economy so I didn't catch the game, which incidentally was the first he's played since I finally broke down and shelled out the bucks for NHL Game Center only for him to get injured the next day... but I'm not bitter. =) I know I can go back and watch it after the fact (thank you NHL Game Center!), but I haven't yet.

He had no shots on goal (huh?, Mathieu?), 19:23 minutes of ice-time, and a penalty. Tune to the Yahoo! photo gallery for an image of Mathieu in action in the game. Well, tune in for Mathieu, but stay to try to figure out how the heck Vinny Lecavalier can bend that way.

Game summary: (interference), 14:42 of 3rd.

So much for being worried

For what it's worth, the team says it was a shoulder injury that kept Mathieu out for 8 games, not the hamstring pull initially reported. And according to Mathieu I need not have been worried:

"I’ve done this many times in my career. I know it seems a lot longer, but it hasn’t even been three weeks. That’s just a long All-Star break for me."

Fair enough, it wasn't really a long time. But, dude, you've almost missed as many games than you've played. Can't you spot me something (semi-inconsequential) to worry about. If I don't worry about something, I feel naked (and not in a good way) and I'd prefer to worry about hockey than become totally and overwhelmingly depressed about things that matter.

Back in next game

Maybe I should have publicly said how worried I was earlier, because Mathieu is slated to return tomorrow, so reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Also slated to return is goalie Kari Lehtonen. About the number one goalie returning, Mathieu says:

"Kari brings a certain stability in there. He’s very consistent with what he brings night in and night out, especially when he’s healthy. The most important key to winning in the NHL these days is goaltending. When you look around the league, the top teams, their goalies won games for them night in and night out.... He’s as solid a goalie as you’ll see in the league."

Well, Atlanta could use all the help they can get.

Still out, so I'll go off topic again

Well, Tuesday's game came and went. So did Thursday's (and man did Sidney Crosby ever have his panties in a bunch that game!). Anyway, still no Mathieu yet. I'm worried, really worried. =( So to distract myself...

Yay Brad Richards! A four point night, assisting on all of Loui Eriksson's three goals and adding a goal of his own. (He had four assists, but one was later reassigned to Mike Ribeiro) He also scored on his shot in the shootout.

(Haven't seen that smile nearly enough lately...)

Close, but not yet

Atlanta's coach suggested that Mathieu is close to returning after missing the last 5 games, but he won't be back this weekend (he ma play Tuesday). This was his 10th missed game of the season. Bummer.

Still out

He missed last night's game and Mathieu is still listed as day-to-day.

Day-to-day

Mathieu missed tonight's game, and is listed as day to day after straining his hamstring a few days ago. No news beyond that.

Out again tonight

After missing his second straight game tonight, all I can tell from media reports is that Mathieu is listed as day-to-day.

Out tonight

Mathieu missed tonight's game due to either an upper or lower body injury, depending on which report you see. Maybe it's really a whole body injury. No word on how bad the injury is or how much time he's expected to miss.

That's some strong critique

Poor Mathieu. First he gets hurt (no word on injury or status), and then this is in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's blog from Bill Tiller:

"Personally, off the top of my head, there are two players that should have their playing time greatly reduced…if not eliminated altogether. Jason Williams and Mathieu Schneider. It’s a shame too because both are players that I thought were going to have a positive impact on this team."

That's harsh. Admittedly, I haven't seen him play much, but from what I have seen he hasn't been that bad.