The Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Homepage

Road Trip to the 2012 Winter Classic and NYC

2012-01-10T11:52:00.000-08:00

For the past few years, I've made a point to go on a hockey road trip. I pick a new city and go to catch a game in a different arena. (Last year was Pittsburgh; the year before was Dallas) When my favorite active player Brad Richards signed in New York, I was excited at the prospect of heading back to that great city for my annual road trip. When the Winter Classic was officially announced to take place between his Rangers and the Flyers in Philadelphia, I day dreamed about being able to double dip with that game and one at MSG. I went ahead with plans to go to New York City the first week of January. I didn't really think that I'd go to the Winter Classic, but it never left my head. Fast forward to mid-December. I signed in to Facebook one morning, and the New York Rangers posted a link to sign up for a chance to buy tickets to the Winter Classic. It said that tickets would be available on a first come, first served basis. The message was posted "4 seconds ago." I paused for a second thinking, why bother? But, "4 seconds ago." Those were good odds. I clicked the link and filled out the form. The confirmation said I would be contacted the next day by a ticket representative.

The next morning, my phone rang at 7am. I'm not a morning person. Not in the slightest. I was not happy. But I looked at my phone, and it was a 212 area code. My heart leaped. I was convinced it was a call to say, "sorry, all gone." Nope. I was one of the lucky ones to actually get tickets. Wow! While not cheap, it was an amazing opportunity. January is our rainy season in California, so I really doubt a Winter Classic will ever be able to be held out my way. Plus, Mathieu was playing in the Alumni Game, and it would give me a chance to see both of my guys play in the same weekend (which, if you remember was a chance I had dashed by Dave Tippet in Dallas a few years ago. I'm still mad). It was all too good to pass up, so I bought the tickets.

Leading up to departure, I had reservations. What was I doing? It was such a big deal. I'd be gone for so long. I was traveling alone. I needed to find someone to go to the game with. The cost was adding up. The night before I left, I was more anxious than excited. I resolved to just go with the flow, and make the most out of anything.

Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. This trip turned out to be almost too spectacular for words. As per my usual recaps, here is a bullet list of highlights:

Attended the Alumni Game, and watched Mathieu play in one more game. Other highlights were seeing Bernie Parent put on the old mask and play goal and Eric Lindros and John LeClair connect for a goal. And Eric Desjardins is still amazing.

Rang in the new year with good friend Joe, and a ton of NHL legends. Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Mark Howe, Stephane Matteau, Eric Lindros, Ron Hextall, John Vanbeisbrouck, Jeremy Roenick, and Mike Richter were all at the hotel bar toasting to midnight. Not everyday I get to say "Happy New Year" to Hall of Famers.

Observed the nuttiness that is the Mummers Parade down Broad Street.

Ate an authentic Philadelphia cheesesteak. (Walked 4 miles round trip for it. Totally worth it!)

Took in some of my country's history by visiting Independence Hall (where the Constitution was signed), the Liberty Bell, and the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin.

Ran up the Rocky steps.

Noticed that Philadelphia has a massive number of statues. On top of their buildings, in the middle of the street, in parks. I saw statues of famous people (Washington, Penn, Rocky) and by famous people (Rodin).

Watched an outdoor NHL hockey game with 46,000 people on a freezing cold evening. It even snowed for awhile.

Saw my favorite active player score the GAME WINNING GOAL at the Winter Classic. Luckily it stayed the game winner despite a penalty shot awarded to the Flyers with just seconds to go. I thought it would surely be tied after that. Henrik Lundqvist, you amazing goalie and beautiful (BEAUTIFUL!) man!!

Took a subway full of Philly fans after the game and survived. Luckily, I had no problems. but I saw some nastiness here and there. Just enough to confirm the reputation of the fringe.

Saw a piece of Einstein's brain at the Mütter Museum.

Took my first ever real train ride, from Philly to NYC. Amtrak isn't really a big thing in California, so I've only really been on subways and light rail.

Slept under the shadow of the Empire State Building.

Spent an entire day in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and saw an unfathomable volume of priceless art and artifacts.

Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Saw the famous Christmas tree and Rockefeller Center all lit up.

Bought fabric for new pillows at Mood (Project Runway fans will get the significance).

Saw a Gutenberg Bible and the original Winnie the Pooh character dolls at the New York Public Library.

Attended a hockey game at the famous Madison Square Garden. The Rangers won in overtime. B-Rad had a goal, but it was later determined to be tipped in front. Assist... Goal... it's still a point.

Attended said game in the presence of the 42nd President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton.

The atmosphere, the penalty shot with just seconds to go, the game winning goal scorer, the snow... the Winter Classic couldn't have been any more perfect. The great people and great places I was lucky enough to be surrounded with the whole time made the whole trip one of the best experiences ever. I'm still trying to absorb it all.

And to think, I was worried it would be a waste of time and money!

Note: A big shout out to Sarah D. for all of her help and guidance around her native Philadelphia. Having a local give me the real scoop on the city made the planning so much easier. Another big shot out to Joe, for being my NYE buddy and train travel companion. And super, giant shouts go out to Cathy and Kate for all that they did for me, from being my "dates" to the games (respectively), to all of the directions and help around the city. And of course for letting me crash on their futon for a night.

Also, if you like looking at other people's vacation pictures (I do; but I know I'm weird), here are the links to my Facebook albums:

Winter Classic and Philadelphia

NYC

Winter Classic Alumni Game

2012-01-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

Recall a few years ago, what has now become my annual hockey road trip, I went down to Dallas to catch a couple of Stars games. One of the games was against Phoenix. I was so excited at the prospect of seeing both of my favorite active players in the same game. Alas, Mathieu was scratch. Then, a few weeks later, I wasn't able to get last minute tickets to see Phoenix play in San Jose. I missed my opportunities to see my favorite player of all time in one last game.

When Mathieu was announced as a member of the New York Rangers team at the Alumni Game before the Winter Classic, I thought, hmm... what if. Long story short (and explained in a post to come later), December 31 I found myself in the outfield watching my one last Mathieu game.

Pulled out the old LA jersey for the occasion

It was a fun outing, and not exactly a hugely competitive affair. It started off like a game played in quick sand. But it was fun to watch, and all of the players raved about how fun it was to play. I don't have much to add to the volumes already written about the game, but I'll say that a year and a half out of the game, and he still looks the same. I could spot him as soon as he jumped on the ice.The smile was ever present. And for 2 hours, everything felt right.

My wall

2011-10-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

A new season always feels like a new start. There are many things I need to start freshly.

This blog is one. This will be the second season without Matheiu, and I still don't know what to do with this blog. I could just turn it into random musings, but that would require me to have random musings. I'll get around to that eventually.

A second conundrum I have is what to do with my office wall. All of my coworkers and office mates have pictures of their kids and families and personal art on their walls. Lacking any classy art or kid pics (I keep my family photos on my phone), my wall was empty for a long time. Finally, I started putting up my favorite hockey photos. They have been quite a conversation piece.

But I need a change. Some old ones are coming down, and a new one of B-Rad in his new Rangers uniform is going up. If it's a hockey wall, Mathieu will be there. Currently playing or not. But as I took down all of the old jerseys, I was left with only one from his days with Team USA.

But he looks kind of sad in it. I don't want that to be my signature photo; the one photo I can point out to visitors and say "that's my favorite player of all time."

But without a current team, what NHL uniform do I associate Mathieu with enough to be that signature "this is my favorite player of all time" photo? With 10 teams to choose from, it was a challenge. I went around and around in my head, and I keep coming back to the beginning.

I think it's time I cough up the $20+ and order a new copy of this bad boy:

The copy I have is my original. An almost 20 year old copy of Sports Illustrated. You can see a crease in the corner in the scan; it lived my backpack for months. I have it now in an archival-quality sleeve in a binder at home. Side note: When I first came to Saint Mary's, I saw the library had SI going back decades. Snot nosed Freshman I was, I decided to secretly tear out the cover and replace it with a photocopy (I was always too nice to outrightly steal). But you know what? Someone had already torn it out!

My greatest hockey regrets is that I never got him to sign it. I had a chance, but was too shy to ask. I never got Enrico Ciccone to sign my Tampa Bay jersey, either. Wow, I really suck as an autograph seeker.

Weird dreams

2011-05-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

I had the weirdest, most vivid dream last night.(No, Vincent Lecavalier wasn't rearranging my furniture again; I haven't had that dream in ages. Thank goodness.)

The Red Wings were having defensemen problems. They kept getting hurt and they had no players they could call up, so they signed Mathieu to an emergency contract. The weirdest thing is he was at the game, standing in the runway between the bench and locker room wearing his Red Wings equipment under a coat, hiding it because it wasn't official yet and couldn't let people know until the paperwork was done. It was eventually official, and he was able to join the game in progress.

Too weird not to share.

The next generation?

2011-05-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to figure out what to do with this blog since Mathieu retired. Still haven't decided. But maybe if I stall long enough, I can re-dedicate it to the next great Schneider.

Today in the draft of the Ontario Hockey League, the Erie Otters selected in the 10th round, 194th overall, defenseman Jordan Schneider. Ta da! Says the team: "Has great size and projects to be a good stay-at-home defenseman in the OHL." (from Otters Hockey)

Good for him. I hope he does well and blazes his own trail, whatever that may be.

1,200 steps completed

2011-03-28T19:49:00.000-07:00

I did it! I climbed 52 flights of stairs and survived. And I did so quicker than I thought. My official time was 20:46. I stopped for water twice and to catch my breath a couple of other times, but I did the first 21 non-stop.

It was a lot of fun (in a weird way), and I felt so good for accomplishing something. I will definitely do it again next year. And I'm setting a goal to best that time by 2 minutes.

Here is 555 California Street, also known as the Bank of American Building:

And here is the view from the top:

Big thank yous to everyone who supported me, morally and otherwise, in this challenge. It felt great to finish, and felt greater to have people care.

One step at a time...

2011-03-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

Warning: Off topic post. =P

As someone who is both lazy and health conscious, I'm a big fan of the little things you can do in daily life to help stay fit in this increasingly sedentary world. Parking in a spot far away from the door of the shopping center. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Walking to get donuts instead of driving.

Going back to that stairs thing...

I grew up in a hilly area, so climbing is second nature. Add to that being impatient and an unfortunate getting-stuck-in-the-elevator-with-my-5-year-old-nephew incident, and I'm always taking the stairs. I trudge up the stairs at work, joking it's the Saint Albert Hall Stairmaster. Even when I went on a cruise, I always took the stairs. Up to 8 flights at a time.

My nephews vs. the stairs of Davidson Way
(one of Oakland's many urban pathways)

While I may be lazy, sometimes I take on a little something extra. Just to challenge myself. So when I heard about the Fight for Air Climb, a fundraiser for the American Lung Association, I was interested. It is a race to the top floor of the tallest building around here: San Francisco's Bank of America building. Via the stairs. Fifty-two flights. Almost 1,200 stairs.

So guess what I signed up to do? And tomorrow is the big day. I'm not in it to win it, but I'm in it to do it. Training for this event has made me so aware of my own abilities and health. I'm so lucky to have both. So anyway, in case anyone sees this, and wants to support the cause to help the American Lug Association help other people be as lucky, the fundraiser continues until April 1.

http://action.lungusa.org/goto/smvital

Wish me luck!

Mathieu's take on the NHLPA and head injuries

2011-03-16T23:03:00.000-07:00

Mathieu was thrown into the mix quickly in his new job. A week or so in, and he's already facing the CBC cameras to share the NHLPA's take on the renewed interest in head injuries in the NHL.

Here is the video of his interview with Elliotte Friedman: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Sports/CBC%27s_Hockey_Night_in_Canada/Inside_Hockey/1239560253/ID=1839605580

Some choice quotes, culled from various places because I'm a crappy transcriber:

"I think the players' biggest complaint would be consistency. You want to see, I think, penalties kinda across the board for whatever type of player is being disciplined." (from Montreal Gazette)

"The one thing that (the Chara hit on Pacioretty has) done, it's certainly brought a lot of attention to the fact that we need to look at certain changes in our game and that conversation and that process has begun." (from Montreal Gazette)

"The biggest difference, and again this is what we're hearing back from the guys, is that the guys are bigger, stronger, faster. Maybe it's calling the rules that are in place now differently. Allowing for more holdups, more interference. I don't want to see things like hooking creep back into our game, but maybe we can have more picks. To slow the game down, as much as a lot of people might not want to do it, that could be the right thing to do at this point." (from Montreal Gazette)

"You get the general feeling guys seem to think that there hasn't been anything malicious. The main difference now is you have guys who are 6-4, 6-5, 230 pounds, moving at high speeds. That's when you're going to get big collisions. (from the Sporting News)

Despite my weak skills, here is one I did transcribe myself, because I didn't see it elsewhere, and I thought it was an important one.

"I would like to see a coach, a trainer, a general manager, look at each situation, and treat it as though 'what would I do if this was my son.' Even if you were able to sit on the bench and say 'I'm fine, I'm fine, I can go right back out,' which I have, and I know a lot of players have, that's just the way things were... knowing what we know today I would feel very uncomfortable to let a teammate or myself or a friend go back out on the ice in those situations"

I was disappointed that I missed seeing one the greatest players in the game play when I was in Pittsburgh; I was also disappointed that a week later, my favorite player still playing missed a game in San Jose because of lingering effects of taking a lazy elbow to the jaw. But my cold heart smiles because those fleeting disappointments mean that those men, and those men's families and teams, have gotten over the "be a tough guy" stuff and recognized the seriousness of their injuries and the need to take a lot of time to heal the most important part of their bodies. That gives me great joy.

But boy is there a loooong way to go still. From the NHL dismissing the Chara/Pacioretty incident as a "hockey play," to the "Big Hits" highlights shown during TV timeouts in arenas (half of which show hits to the head), the "head shot" debate is going no where as long as there are still those who don't recognize the lifelong, life altering effects of traumatic brain injuries, and the role we each play in making sure we don't have a part in inflicting that on a fellow human being in the name of entertainment.

Adventures in Pittsburgh

2011-03-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I thought, what's the point of being young and single f you don't randomly decide to get up and travel somewhere just for the hell of it. Montreal was my first trip with that in mind. Last year, I went to Texas. I mean, why not go to Texas to watch hockey? This year, the destination was Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A friend of mine had recently relocated to the Steel City, and with someone I know there, what better time to visit a new place... not to mention, catch a hockey game.

To save big long paragraphs, here are my usual bullet-point highlights of my latest adventure:

Got stuck on the highway for 6 hours in an unexpectedly heavy snowstorm.(It took as long to drive the 15 miles from the airport to my friend's house as it did to fly from California)
Brushed snow off of a car in the middle of a highway.
Shoveled snow from a driveway for the first time ever.
Built a lot of snow people.
Made snow angels

Rode the "T"
Went up the Duquene Incline to see the views of the city.
Walked across the Fort Pitt Bridge
Learned all about the city's (very) early history at the Fort Pitt Museum

Happened upon the San Jose Sharks' hotel, made obvious by the autograph hunters parked outside. We felt like creepers so we didn't stop.
Saw Jamal Mayers in a Starbucks (I wished him luck in the game, and he said thanks. Then he paused a second, and said "do you really mean that." I had to explain that, yes, I'm a Sharks fan from the Bay Area.)
Ate at Primanti Brothers.
Drank a lot of Yuengling.
Saw James Neal and Matt Niskanen play their first games as Penguins. (They were traded while we were laid over in Chicago; they're flight came after ors and was diverted by the storm that stranded us on the road)
Watched the Sharks win in overtime over the Penguins at the Console Energy Center. It is an amazing arena. The Igloo looks cool from outside, but I think the CEC is a vast improvement inside.

Met Mario, Suzi, and Adrienne, some awesome Twitter peeps!
Saw the many amazing dinosaur skeletons at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Viewed some very interesting art and sculpture at the neighboring Museum of Art.

I'm really disappointed that both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were still out with their injuries. I would have loved to see them play live in their home arena (something I've yet to see anywhere). But I left a lot of things undone, so there will be a "next time" for me and Pittsburgh.

Note: There are not enough words to thank Corey and her family for EVERYTHING they did for us during our stay. Look up "amazing people" in the dictionary and you will see them. Just amazing. So thank you thank you thank you!!

Twitter battle royales

2011-03-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago, the one, the only Brad Richards joined Twitter, seemingly with the sole intention of chirping back and forth with teammate Krys Barch. Their interactions are quickly approaching Logan Couture and Devin Setoguchi levels of teammate awesomeness.

You'd think tonight's return of Alex Ovechkin, who resurrected his own Twitter account, dead for 2 years (or since the Caps PR guy stopped ghost tweeting for him), would be the Twitter moment of the night.

Nope. Even B-Rad's self-deprecating, preemptive big teeth joke doesn't qualify. Rather, longtime NHL Twitter star and superstar bench warmer Paul Bissonnette again holds the honor with this picture posted from a dinner out with some Coyote teammates at Katsuya in LA.

Barch served it up, and B-Rad returned fire. A BizNasty chirp? Ball's in your court, Mathieu "Schnieder."

P.S. Brad joined Twitter. Enrico Ciccone has been on for awhile. Two out of three of my guys. Tick tock Mathieu. I'll offer lessons! ;)

P.S.S. Oh, and for what it's worth, I have a BizNasty claim to fame. I was his "hero" for finding him the ugliest PT Cruiser ever in the parking lot at work: http://twitter.com/#!/BizNasty2point0/status/24993344641. I might put that Tweet in my promotion dossier along with recommendation letters from faculty and a dean.

Getting some props

2011-03-01T21:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Mike Cammalleri gave Mathieu a bit of a shout out via his Twitter account:

In English and French, oooo fancy. I'll even ignore the spelling error.

That's not the only place he was getting mentioned in positive ways be former colleagues. Craig Conroy recently retired from the NHL as a member of the Calgary Flames. Reflecting on his career, he offered this bit about his first training camp after being drafted by the Canadiens:

"The one guy that helped me the most would be Mathieu Schneider. I mean, he was a guy that I knew even before I got there; our dads are good friends and I know his brother really well. So I think coming in, he was the one guy that kind of brought me along, made me feel comfortable and really took care of me. It's weird, with all those good guys on that team, and everyone was great to me, but I thought Schneider really helped me. (from the article posted by the Montreal Gazette)

It's nice that all these years later, he is still remembered fondly for helping out the younger player (even if, in this case, Conroy isn't that much younger). It is something that I've heard said about him many times over.

[by the way, special thanks to longtime blog reader REK for prompting me to get off my butt and post this story]

Official announcement of the new job

2011-02-28T22:12:00.000-08:00

The official announcmenet of Mathieu's new job from the NHLPA is posted on the associations website: NHLPA.com

Says Mathieu:

"Now that my playing career is over, I’m very excited to have the opportunity to continue to work on behalf of the players. I plan on drawing from my own understanding of the NHLPA and the game to help ensure that the players are educated on all matters relating to the Association and the Collective Bargaining Agreement.”

I guess that's his official retirement announcement, too.

I'm biased of course, but I think this is a very smart appointment. Mathieu knows his stuff about the league, and is respected by his player colleagues.

2011-02-23T13:27:00.001-08:00

Yay! Mathieu has a new job. As expected he'll be working with Donald Fehr in some NHLPA capacity.

I'm in a Starbucks in Pittsburgh, PA, waiting for the Pens/Sharks game, so I'll update the blog when I get back to a computer.

Happy Groundhog Day!

2011-02-02T11:18:00.000-08:00

I hear the little marmot DIDN'T see his shadow this morning. I'm sure that is a welcomed sign for midwesterns and east coasters being hammered by snow yet again. An early spring, starting, say around February 20th would be great. I'm freaking a little bit about my upcoming trip to Pittsburgh. A Californian in western Pennsylvania? It might be ugly.

Still number one in my heart, and in stats for now

2011-01-10T19:14:00.000-08:00

I work at a college that has a 4-1-4 schedule. That is, in Fall and Spring semesters, students take 4 classes, and they take a single class in that weird month between. As a student, I liked JanTerm. It was intense fitting a semester into 4 weeks, but the course offerings were interesting and not the standard Fall or Spring semester classes.

Now as a I librarian here, I'm not a huge fan. It is regular school, so we offer full services. But half the students are on travel courses abroad, and the other half have very little research or hardcore studying to do. Thus, my Monday night shift at the Reference Desk is D-E-A-D.

I've caught up on professional readings. I've written a book review for a scholarly journal. I've gotten my in-box to almost 0 (it feels weird to be empty, so I always leave a few). What else is there to do?

.....

This is a screen shot of wallpaper on my phone.

It is one of my favorite pictures. Though I'm not a fan of having a Red Wing jersey on my phone, it is the one photo I've seen of my two guys together. It's symbolic, too. Mathieu up front, B-Rad (close) behind.

A few weeks ago, I reminisced about Mathieu's 200th career NHL goal. The impetus of that was Brad Richards having scored his 200th career goal. Obviously, being a forward, it is expected that B-Rad will have higher offensive totals that Mathieu., though he has yet to over take Mathieu's totals. As of this moment, head-to-head, Mathieu still leads in all statistical categories.

Not for long, though.

At his current offensive production pace, B-Rad will surpass Mathieu's career goal total (223) in 31 more games, assist total (520) in 58 more games, and overall NHL career point total (743) in 49 more games.

Not sure if I should break out champagne for that, or huddle in a corner and cry.

But Mathieu can be assured he will never give up the lead to B-Rad in at least one statistical category: penalty minutes. With 173 PIMs under his belt (or, an average of .23 minute per game), B-Rad would have to go full Enrico Ciccone for a few years to best Mathieu's 1,245 career minutes in the box.

Despite it all, that photo, a snapshot frozen in time, says what my heart knows. Mathieu is always first.

A new job?

2010-12-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

Do not adjust your dials. This is not a test. There is actual Mathieu news to report. With the hiring of Donald Fehr as the NHLPA's new executive director, a lot of talk has gone into who will be his staff. One of the hiring committee members is getting some buzz as a possible person Fehr will tap:

"I know Mathieu reasonably well at this point, I've talked to him any number of times and he seems to me to be a first-rate and extraordinary individual. He certainly has an enormous amount of experience in the game and as far as I can tell has the respect of the players. He's the kind of individual that makes sense for that kind of a role. I'm not in a position today to discuss any specific hires or roles that any given individual might fill." (as reported by Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com)

Still not sure if that will happen, but keep your eyes posted. I've long thought that if Mathieu said in hockey after his playing days ended, I see in more of an "office job" than coaching or scouting. Seems like it might be something he is interested in, so we'll just have to see if it does happen.

Just because

2010-12-18T19:09:00.000-08:00

I was organizing my iPhoto photo collections (that's what librarians do when they are on break), and I found a bunch of winners. This one warmed my heart.

Numero Cinco

2010-12-11T00:55:00.000-08:00

I don't have anything particularly exciting to say. But this made me smile.

You know what's interesting about this? Dallas' power play stinks. Like, a lot. His stats would be insane if they could get the power play firing. Hmmm... Mathieu still needs a job...

(Also, just think of what Tampa Bay could have been. They could have had three guys in the top five. Oops. Oh well.)

On 200 goals

2010-11-17T11:37:00.000-08:00

Let's reminisce. March 6, 2007. A lovely spring day in Detroit. (Maybe? I don't know, and I'm too lazy to go back and check the weather reports).

At 12:55 of the second period, the Red Wings break the 2-2 tie, and with assists from Robert Lang and Jiri Hudler, Mathieu Schneider scores his 200th career NHL goal. It's before the video embedding days, but there is a (grainy) video of the goal available on the game summary page: http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2006020996.

Here is the post from this site commemorating the event (posted the following day), complete with quotes goodness:

March 7, 2007

Last night, after his milestone goal #200, Mathieu returned to the bench to be congratulated by his teammate. He was warmly greeted by Niklas Lidstrom, who scored his 200th just days earlier: "I got back to the bench and he said, 'Welcome to the club,' kid. He and I had a friendly bet with Langer at the beginning of the year; one of us wanted to beat Langer to 200, but he killed us, he got there way before both of us." Wait... "kid"? Isn't Lidstrom the kid compared to Mathieu? And more quotes post-game from Mathieu: "It's a special goal, obviously. I've been fortunate to be here on a great team, with great players, to have that opportunity. It's awful tough scoring those goals when you're on other teams. It's been a really good ride for me here in Detroit."

Mathieu had special reasons to score his 200th goal early in the game; his father-in-law sent him a cellphone message: "Get your 200th goal early because I have to watch 'House.'"

Finally, here is a clip for the scrapbook:

Schneider was the team's offensive hero in regulation, registering a goal and an assist. His goal came on a 1980s style rush up the ice. Schneider looked like he was Paul Coffey as he found a seam in the defense and jetted up the ice to score on a high wrist shot for the 200th goal of his carer. Robert Lang fed him the home run pass, but Schneider said it was Kyle Calder who created the play by getting out of the zone quickly to attract a defenseman. (from Kevin Allen of USA Today)

Ahhhh, the good old days. Despite the fact he was wearing that uniform, that video made me smile from ear to ear. I remember listening to the game via the Internet and I hopped out of my seat and squealed.

Of course, there had to be a reason this comes into my head today. A reason enough to actually get together a blog post. B-Rad scored his 200th career NHL goal last night. No end to end rush; no cutting through defensemen like a knife through butter, a la Mathieu Schneider. It was kind of a weird one. No one was sure it was actually a goal or not.

But it was:

And he was happy*:

Congrats Brad Richards. Now, only 23 more goals before you catch up to Mathieu Schneider. =)

*Yes, that's happy for him.

This makes me smile

2010-11-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, um, it's a month into the season and this is still happening:

These stats make my head explode. In a good way:

Things I never thought I'd see:

2010-10-15T22:46:00.000-07:00

A season with no Mathieu. Oh, and Brad Richards leading the league in... wait for it... plus/minus. For serious. I kid you not. Here is proof:

A new season begins. A new chapter?

2010-10-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

The hockey season has started and life feels whole again. But a little hole is missing from my whole. No Mathieu. =( There have been plenty of seasons that began without Mathieu in the line-up: there were injuries, and that one contract issue. But never in my 17+ years of hockey fandom has an NHL season begun without Mathieu at all. I guess I knew this day was coming, but it still stings.

Now if you need me, I'll be in the corner hugging me knees, rocking, softly weeping to myself.

But wait.... what is that? Is there something to take my mind of the fading into oblivion of my favorite player of all time? Well, not really.

But it's a nice distraction.

Look who popped up as a banner cover boy. (click to enlarge for full fabulousness)

And I know it's only 2 games into the season, but ladies and gentlemen, your NHL scoring leader is...

Not sure if the last name or the goal totals bumps him down to 3rd place

But honestly, it feels kind of shallow. I've been following Brad Richards since about 1999-2000, and always knew that one day he'd carry the coveted title of Sarah's Favorite Current NHL Player¹, it just seems to fast. I mean, after 17+ years of fandom and Mathieu's career being barely cold and I'm moving on already?² It feels so... so... so shallow.

Well, while I'm feeling shallow, might as well go all out....

WOOOOOOOO!!!

------------------------------
¹ Really, I hear rookies get in fights every year, battling it out who gets to be my favorite.

² No, I'm not moving on. I'm just bored and wanted to post something.

It's fall

2010-10-03T22:04:00.000-07:00

Yup, it is that time of year again. Kids are settled back in school. The nights are coming earlier. The leaves are falling of the trees. Pumpkins are in the grocery stores. It was warm, then it got cool, then it got hot again (that's typical for us in the Bay Area). And I just saw a WalMart Christmas commercial on TV.

Oh yeah, and hockey is starting.

Will Mathieu be starting hockey anywhere? Well, I just don't know. I haven't posted anything here not because I abandon the site, but because there has been nothing to report. Mathieu didn't attend any training camps. He didn't announce retirement. Didn't even hear any European league rumors. All I know is Mathieu has continued to work with the NHLPA. That's the only time I see his name.

I'll keep my eyes and ears open for anything.

P.S. I did draft him in my fantasy hockey league. I couldn't not. Even if he does retire, The Fighting Lobsters will proudly hold a place on the bench in Mathieu's honor.

It's summer

2010-08-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

There is absolutely nothing to report, and I can't think of anything interesting to say. So...

Here is a picture of Vincent Lecavalier riding an elephant.

Off-topic: Brads abound

2010-07-05T10:08:00.000-07:00

Not much news to report on, so here is an off-topic post for the day. I wish I could do this with a Mathieu theme, but, alas, his name is too unique. Other than the beatboxing flutist, not many other Mathieu Schneiders are making news. But Brad Richards? Yeah, he has a lot of people with his name out there and they pop up in some of the oddest ways in my Google News alerts. Often times giggles come in the form of major news outlets confusing Brad and Mike Richards. But some are as far from hockey related as you can get.

Here are some examples of noteworthy Brad Richards' that have popped up in my RSS feeds in the last few months:

Brad Richards just came in 15th at the FWD 4-Cylinder feature event at Midway Speedway in Crooksville, Ohio.

Brad Richards is on the faculty of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Puget Sound.

Brad Richards designed the exterior of 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty truck.

Brad Richards is an avid sportsfisher in Alaska.

Brad and Mike Richards placed 8th in the Pierre Tournament Trail fishing competition.

Brad Richards wrote a guest post about ways a manager can help create a happy retail work environment.

And the winner... for some odd reason a "plastic surgery, face lift, breast augmentation" blog popped up in my reader today. The preview said there was a post about a "Brad Richards" but I didn't see anything on the site about him (whoever he is). Not sure B-Rad is or should be in the market for any facial upgrades. He's looking pretty good. (Meow!) But I do now have great mental images of B-Rad getting new boobs.

ADDED NOTE: Being a responsible professional, I was thumbing through my copy of American Libraries today and learned that the new treasurer of the American Library Association is James Neal. I'm sure this James Neal is cool and all, but damn, how awesome would it be to have James "Real Deal" Neal handling the finances of the ALA? Oh, wait, it'd be funny, but doubtful that it'd be a solid fiscal choice. He'd probably blow all our dues on chicken wings and Dr Pepper.

Another year?

2010-06-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

Oh, and how 'bout this snipet buried in one of the articles reporting on the head shots rule:

"Schneider, a soon-to-be free agent who intends to play again next season, is one of five players on the committee this year." (from the Globe and Mail)

Hmmmm.... not sure about my feelings on that. On one hand, if he still wants to play and feels he can still keep up, good on him. And I do kind of want my farewell tour. On the other hand, really? What are the Vegas odds on another year being like last year. Or the year before. I don't know if that could end well.

Competition Committee has a say on head shots

2010-06-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

Some actual, real news that is semi-Mathieu related. He's still on the NHLPA's "competition committee" and they met this past weekend to work on some rule stuff. One of the key areas was the "hits to the head" issue.

The Slapshot blog over at the New York Times redeemed itself from the numerous times of confusing Mike Richards and Brad Richards, and had some video of Mathieu's post meeting comments. Check them out. (Most amazing part of the video? There are pay phones behind him. They still exist!)

Some key quotes from Mathieu on the issue:

“Gratuitous headshots are going to be eliminated." (via Elliotte Friedman's Twitter) from the game.

"We don't want to take the physical play out of the game but we want to keep the players safe. That's the main goal and what our main message has been all along." (from Winnipeg Free Press)

The following, snagged from the Toronto Sun report, is really what it is all about. (At least, in my opinion. And apparently the NHLPA Competition Committee's opinion):

"After watching hundreds of hits, there still has to be a certain amount of onus on the player that he has a responsibility to keep his head up, to know where he is on the ice. You don’t want to take that part out of the game. Certain hits that we watched, players were, for lack of a better term, stupid. They put themselves in a vulnerable position. We want to keep that physical play in there. You have to be aware when you’re coming through centre ice, you’re not looking back for a pass, the old sucker pass, and coming down on Chris Pronger. You have to be aware out there, that’s part of the game.” (Toronto Star)

Amen brother! Amen! Black and white doesn't work. The world is gray. This is not an easy thing to solve, but a good start in solving it is not being a) stupid, and b) mean. Players need to keep their heads up, and they also need to let up on unsuspecting players. Have some basic respect for the fellow human you are playing a game with. (I talked more about it in a previous post; having experience with head injuries following my sister's accident, this is an issue very close to my heart)

Another quote I thought was key was answering to the old dinosaurs who say a rule will "change the game."

"I think things have happened since the lockout, since the rule changes, that were probably unforeseen. That has made it necessary to change certain rules. The game is much faster, the collisions are taking place at higher speeds." (from the Canadian Press, via CTV.ca)

The game has already been changed, and that has put players in a danger that didn't exist in the same way before.

Happy 41st Birthday

2010-06-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATHIEU!
I went back into the archives and pulled up an old birthday tribute. Here is the one done June 12, 2000 in honor of Mathieu's 31st birthday.

The following is a list of important and noteworthy events that took place on the day of Mathiue’s birth, throughout recent history. The links connect you to more information or interesting tidbits regarding the events. (Note: I added two from last year, because, well, why not? Also last year on Mathieu's 40th birthday, my eldest nephew graduated from high school. YAY Tim!)

304 years before Mathieus birth, in 1665, English rename New Amsterdam, New York, after Dutch pull out
278 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1691, Innocent XII succeeds Alexander VIII as Pope
193 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1776, Virginia adopts Declaration of Rights
177 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1792, George Vancouver discovers site of Vancouver, BC
157 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1812, Napoleon invades Russia
130 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1839, 1st baseball game played in America
120 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1849, Gas mask patented by Lewis Haslett (Louisville Ky)
110 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1859, Comstock Silver Lode in Nevada discovered
89 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1880, 1st baseball perfect game-John Richmond of Worcester beats Cleveland's Forest City, 1-0
72 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1897, Possibly most severe quake in history strikes Assam India, shock waves felt over an area size of Europe (negligible death toll)
66 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1903, Niagara Falls, Ontario incorporated as a city
46 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1923, Harry Houdini frees himself from a straight jacket while suspended upside down, 40 feet (12 m) above ground in NYC
38 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1931, Al Capone is indicted on 5,000 counts of prohibition & perjury
34 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1935, Senator Huey Long of Louisiana spoke continually for 15 hours, Senate's longest speech on record (150,000 words)
30 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1939, Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown NY
27 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1942, Anne Frank gets her diary as a birthday present (Amsterdam)
15 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1954, Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock," is originally released
7 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1962, 3 convicts used spoons to dig their way out of Alcatraz
5 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1964, Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison in South Africa
4 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1965, Big Bang theory of creation of universe is supported by announcement
2 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1967, Israel wins 6 day war
2 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1967, Supreme Court unanimously ends laws against interracial marriages
On Mathieu's 12 birthday, in 1981, "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" starring Harrison Ford premieres, the first in the Indiana Jones series
On Mathieu's 22 birthday, in 1991, Boris Yelstin elected president of Russian Federation
On Mathieu's 28 birthday, in 1997, 1st ever baseball inter-league game SF Giants beat Texas Rangers 4-3

On Mathieu's 40 birthday, in 2009, massive civil unrest breaks out in Iran following controversial results of a national election, and the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Detroit Red Wings in the seventh game

Well, that was quick

2010-06-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

I think the lag between meaningful posts here lately have been longer than Mathieu's tenure with the Phoenix Coyotes. In not a huge surprise, the Coyotes announced they would not be offering him a contract for next year. So says the Arizona Republic. Well, then, ok.

Wooooooooooo!

2010-05-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

Woooooooooooooo! That is all.

I can't even think of a title for this post

2010-04-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

So the dreaded Red Wings ousted the Coyotes last night, most likely ending Mathieu's NHL career. And forcing upon me one more series of Red Wing hockey that I have to watch (since now they play my Sharks).

Really, this is all I come up with right now:

Some words from Mathieu

2010-04-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

Game 7's are always do or die, and for Mathieu that means even more. This could be his last NHL game. And if it is, it will be a painful lose. Says he of game 7 situations:

"The main thing to keep in mind is that this is most fun that you can have in hockey. Sometimes being a little naïve is better. I think everyone on the team is looking forward to it. Anything can happen in Game 7. I played in Detroit … there's pressure to win every night, every series. It's definitely a much different feeling being on the other side than it is being in this dressing room. It can be a good thing to be the underdog. Going back to Montreal, the year we won the Cup (1993), we were underdogs. It definitely takes some of the pressure off, but at the same time, you've got to get out there and play the game. Once the puck's dropped, it's anybody's ballgame." (from NHL.com)

P.S. If the Coyotes lose to the Red Wings tonight, don't expect a recap for a couple of days. I'll be too busy drowning in my own vomit and tears to comment.

Shirtless Mathieu interview

2010-04-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

Really, the headline says it all. Seventeen years of fandom, and I've never been gifted with a shirtless Mathieu interview... until now.

April 25, 2010

2010-04-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

I felt kind of bad. Today could have been Mathieu's last game, but I had a lot of stuff to do in my last full day in Edmonton. I caught a bit of the score while checking out the stuff at Pro Hockey Life (wow, if the exchange rate wasn't so crappy, the taxes so high, and the limit of luggage space so small, I'd have gone broke in that place!). I thought it said that Mathieu had scored, and it was on the back of my mind all day. Finally, after a long day of taking in sights and hiking around Elk Island National Park, I got back to the hotel and, ta da!, Mathieu did score!

And the Coyotes won, pushing the series to a deciding game 7. Woo!!

Mathieu even made it to the front page of ESPN.com!

Thanks for the screen capture Spencer!

Game summary: Schneider (Stempniak, Pyatt), 2:27 of 2nd (PP).

He plays

2010-04-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

Can't go too into detail as the game is still going on and I'm out of sorts after a day of traveling. (Heeelllllloooo Edmonton!)

Anyway, with the Coyotes power play sagging, and Shane Doan still out, Mathieu started the game tonight. Says he: "This is the most exciting time of the year. For me, to be a part of it now makes it certainly special. To jump in a series four games in is going to be fun, something that I've never really done in my career." (from NHL.com)

So far, he's looked pretty good. His minutes have been pretty limited, and he's been kind of a specialty player.

P.S. Darren Pang loves Mathieu. I'm watching the game on TSN, and every chance he gets, he praises Mathieu. Woooo!!!

Update: The Coyotes ended up losing the game 4-1. Boo. Mathieu played a total of 16:33 (9:22 of that on the power play), and ended even and with one shot.

On chiropractoric care

2010-04-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

Here's something a little random from the Windsor Star: Mathieu is a big fan of Windsor area chiropractor, Steve Radovich.

"I wish I'd found him earlier in my career because I think I would've avoided a couple of surgeries. I don't know if I'd still be playing the last couple of years without him. I know I would be playing through pain and injuries. He's absolutely saved me from some injuries and extended my career."

I've heard conflicting things about chiropractors. If they can do what proponents say, I really should try it. But I'm a chicken. It took me 25+ years to get up the nerve to get a massage. And damn, those are nice. I'd get those more often, but I'm even more cheap than chicken.

(note: the article was there, then gone, then back again. Hope its stays now)

Off-topic: B-Rad is a gentleman

2010-04-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

Since there isn't any real Mathieu news, at least I can be bouyed by the aweomeness that is Brad Richards. He was nominated for the Lady Byng trophy today (the third time in his career). They've changed the wording regarding the trophy a bit since it is has long been a bit unpopular:

The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability. (nhl.com)


Brad won the Lady Byng in '04 & was nominated in '06

Says Brad: "It's definitely an honor to be named a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy. I've been fortunate to win it the past and be a runner-up as well."

He was interviewed on NHL Live today (archived nicely on Andrew's Dallas Stars page; or, if you like watching guys in a studio talk to a dude on the phone, the Stars have the video on their site)

He first adds that it's an honor to be nominated, not only with two other class players, but simple because "it's a trophy in the National Hockey League. I owe everything I have in my life to that."

When asked how he's adjusted his game to stay within all the new rules (and keep PIMs low): (with laughter) "Just good positioning." And adds: "probably sometimes I'm out of position and maybe I'm hoping my goalie bails me out." More seriously, he notes: "Just thinking the game and try to be in good position. And obviously, I'm not going to beat a whole lot of people up."

(That 7 minutes was actually quite good. He sounded like he was in a good mood, and showed a little spunk. He also had some great thoughts on the playoffs, past and present. I'm disappointed that he never said "PRo-gress" or "PRO-cess," though. I love it when he kicks it old school England English style.)

Anyway... after he won the trophy in 2004, veteran referee Don Koharski responded to the honor saying "he's an ultimate team player." Adding that the trophy goes to the "talented skill player who commits himself to the team and not himself... (and) in 2003-2004, that's what Brad Richards was all about" (as quote from "Brad Richards: A Hockey Story," by Paul Hollingsworth, 2007). I'm sure the same things will be said about B-Rad this year. Actually, it's already been said about him this year, time and time again. Whether he wins or not, it doesn't change the fact that he is all of those things and more.

So here's a hearty congratulations to B-Rad for being totally and complete awesome!

--------
Now my aside commentary.... Frankly, that this is a trophy players joke about not wanting to win and that fans and media make fun of pisses me off. Any dumbass caveman can hit hard. It takes a real man to get beyond physical competition and reign in emotions and act like a, gasp, responsible, sportsmanlike adult, while still maintaining a commitment to the game and excelling on the ice.

They say the real way to make a team pay is on the score board. That's what Brad Richards did 91 times this year. That's what Martin St. Louis did 94 times this year. (Pavel Datsyuk had an off offensive year, but he still has wicked awesome credentials).

My youngest nephew is quite athletically gifted. I'm not just saying this a proud auntie, but really, the kid is a beast and excels at every sport or physical activity he tries (baseball being his favorite and his best). What makes me proudest isn't that he's good, but that he has such a good attitude about it. He takes it very seriously and has intense focus. Seriously, he gets a game face that would make Sidney Crosby nervous. But he still has fun and has it all in perspective. He gives 100% effort every single time he's on the field or court, he plays for the team, and he is respectful. My little not-quite-12 year old nephew is a bigger man than a (sadly) large portion of professional athletes.

Some quotes

2010-04-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry. I should update. It's just hard to get into it when a) Mathieu isn't even playing, and b) I'm busy choking back the puke from having to deal with the Detroit Red Wings.

Anyway, I'm taking the lazy way out, and giving some links and quotes.

About what you need to win in the playoffs: "It's not a secret the formula for success: goaltending and special teams. That being said, I think there are definitely areas where we can get better. We don't want to put them on the power play as much as we did (in game one). Momentum changes in a series shift to shift and game to game, and you just have to be sharp every opportunity you get on the ice." (Arizona Republic)

About playing on the oft-dismissed Arizona hockey team: "It's pretty amazing, over the year, how they've changed the attitude of hockey in Phoenix. Being here, you can see why." (Detroit Free Press)

About his career beyond this year: "The last five or six years of my career, I've said it before, have been the most fun time of my career. Even though I've bounced around a little bit this year, my kids enjoy watching me still." (Detroit Free Press)

Sorry, I can't do much more than. Too much Detroit press in my news feed. I feel the blood rushing to my face and the barf building in my throat. If you want, just go to the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News sites and you can read all of their cherry picked quotes of Mathieu gushing over how great the Wings are. Now if you excuse me, I need to shower.

Reprieve

2010-04-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

Mathieu was scratched for the game tonight. I'm not sure if I should be happy or pissed. Damn it, he should be playing. But... it meant I didn't need to watch the Red Wings.

Opening round

2010-04-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

Eek! Both my favorite time of the year, and my most hated time of the year. It is when hockey (the sport) is at it's best. It is when the emotions are at their worst.

Add to that this problem: Mathieu is playing the Red Wings. I HATE the Red Wings. Watching them play may or may not be on par with having bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails.¹ I'd go into my reasons why, but every time I say anything remotely unfavorable, I get hate mail. So, I'm not to going to say anything beyond what I've said already.

When I can avoid Wings games, I do. I could choose to not watch this series, but then I'd be missing out on watching Mathieu play the (potential) last few games of his career. What kind of fan would I be?

On the bright side, at least it will be EXCEEDINGLY easy to pull for the Coyotes in this round.

POSITIVITY!!

¹Yes, 2003-2007 was a difficult period in my life. For many reasons.

On facing Detroit in the playoffs

2010-04-13T13:48:00.000-07:00

With the Coyotes returning to the playoffs for the first time in long time, lots of talk about them as the first game in their series against Detroit approaches (tomorrow). Despite Phoenix's higher seed, I'm not sure I've seen any predictions of the Coyotes beating the Red Wings.

Today, nhl.com had a bit about the series, mentioning that the Red Wings ar enot exactly strangers to some of the Coyotes, espcially Mathieu and Robert Lang. Here are Mathieu's comments:

"Robert (Lang) will tell you that when we were there, if anything, teams played you harder because you were from Detroit. It makes things more difficult and taxing, especially in the first couple of rounds. It's a different time of the year, a different intensity and there is no time to rely on your past. I'm sure they realize that. They have great veteran leadership, but they also have a lot of new faces. They have a rookie in goal. At the end of the day, every year and every series is different."

April 10, 2010; Last game of the regular season

2010-04-12T18:23:00.000-07:00

When Dave Tippett killed my dream of seeing my two players play head-to-head in person last month, he killed more than that: he killed what would have been my last chance to see Mathieu play live (this season? ever?). The Coyotes played one more time in San Jose, but tickets were sold out in September and those few available via StubHub were outrageously expensive.
So, I sat home on Saturday night watching the game on TV. I was sad. I may or may not have shed a tear. (Hint: I did). After the first two minutes, I realized that I saved some money. Mathieu was a healthy scratch.

I was relieved. Then I was aggravated. Then I was sad again. The only thing I think I am consistently these days is a mess. =P

4/10 and the big 4/0

2010-04-10T15:25:00.000-07:00

Enrico Ciccone keeps popping up in my Google Reader news feeds. Apparently, Zenon Konopka surpassed his 14 year old record as Tampa Bay's leader in penalty minutes in one season (was 258). Kind of dubious (on both sides), but hey, any Cicco news is good news.

If anyone else has an Enrico Ciccone news feed, hopefully this will pop up in his/her today's instead of that one.

Joyeux Anniversaire Monsieur Ciccone!!

Since setting that mark all those years ago, he's gone on to bigger and better things, as I outlined in a post on his birthday last year, like commentating and player agenting. (that's not a real word, but oh well)

Of course, he holds a very special place in my heart. Not just as my second favorite player of all time (sorry B-Rad, you're still technically my second favorite ACTIVE player). Not just at the second jersey I ever bought. But, as of last June, as the greatest lunch date ever!

It still makes me smile until my face hurts

So yeah, he pretty much earned 1,000,000,000 good karma points.

P.S. His birthday is always easy to remember. It is exactly 7 days before mine. April babies ROCK! May babies aren't bad. June babies? They're pretty cool, too.

April 8, 2010

2010-04-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

Mathieu returned to the ice after a few games as a scratch. Nothing to report, really. He had 20:34 of ice time, 3 shots, and even rating. That's it.

Time for a change... for real

2010-04-01T21:23:00.000-07:00


I can add captions! Yee!

Ok, so yeah, the last post was a lame April Fools thing. Most of you knew that right away. I guess I'm that transparent. (But my inbox exploded today; I guess people do actually look at this site). Of course, this site is and will always be for Mathieu until the day he retires.¹ Just with some added B-Rad goodness sometimes. It's my site, so I can do what I want. =P

Anyway, change is good, and you'll notice that things look a little different around here. Not too different, because I'm not good with THAT much change. But Blogger has some new template designers that I tried out for awhile and they make stuff SO MUCH easier.

Things are still under construction a little. I've got a 4 day weekend, and I'm keeping it low key to re-energize for the second half of the semester at work. It's also supposed to rain all weekend, so I'll have plenty of time to work on this. When I'm not playing Super Mario Bros. I have my priorities.

¹Then what? I have no idea.

A Time for Change

2010-04-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

It has come to this. I've been a Mathieu fan for a long time. A very long time. I first became a fan when he was a young newbie in the league. I was in high school. Now, he's a 22 year veteran. And I'm not exactly in high school anymore.

It's been a good run with Mathieu, but as his career has faded over the last year, my enthusiasm for continuing the site has waned. Mathieu will be leaving the game soon, and I've prepared myself for that day. It just seems to be happening a bit sooner than I had thought. I still want to continue some kind involvement in hockey blogging so this site won't disappear totally.

So today I present to you the big change here at the schtimpy27 domain. The Unofficial Mathieu Schneider has given way to the Unofficial Brad Richards Homepage.

Mathieu won't be abandon. Just as I've had some B-Rad updates the past couple of years, I'll post Mathieu updates as they come around.

It's bitter sweet, but it's time. It became clear to me when I again missed out seeing Mathieu in person when I stayed the extra day in Dallas to catch the Coyotes game only for him to be scratched. I knew then that the run is over and it's time to move on.

I'll forever be thankful for the years of entertainment Mathieu Schneider has provided, and can not express how much I've enjoyed keeping this site going for these past 12 years. I'm looking forward to as many years of of dedication to B-Rad.

March 31, 2010

2010-03-31T23:03:00.000-07:00

Interesting game for Mathieu. He took a penalty that lead to a goal against, but also added an assist as Phoenix almost came back in the game. He finished with 18:34 of ice time and was a +1. Game summary: (holding), 13:37 of 2nd; Stempniak (Wolski, Schneider), 13:08 of 3rd.

March 25, 2010

2010-03-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

In 18:11 of ice time, Mathieu took 4 shots and a penalty. No points. Bummer. Game Summary: (boarding), 10:53 of 3rd.

The Coyotes aren't quitters

2010-03-24T21:05:00.000-07:00

I'm too tired to add any commentary, so here are just some quotes, via Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic, from Mathieu about the Coyotes and the playoffs:

“It’s impressive to watch our group here. There’s never any quit."

“The feeling right now in the room is that no matter what the score is, we can win, and when get that feeling, it’s dangerous, it’s contagious. … It’s important to keep that mind-set, that mentality.”

Head shots: update

2010-03-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

Just over the wire, er, and by "wire" I mean Twitter, there's an update on the "blindside hits" rule.

The NHLPA's Competition Committee, of which Mathieu is a part, has "deliberated and endorsed" the proposal from the league and have handed it over to the NHLPA Executive Board to vote on in the next 24-48 hours.

Weekend in Dallas, Texas

2010-03-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

Greetings from aboard a Southwest Airlines flight somewhere over Texas. I actually love flying, which is weird considering how nervous it makes me. Like just now, it got bumpy. No one flinched. I started praying. I'm sitting in a row next to two pilots flying to catch the plane they are piloting later, which is kind of nice. If something happens to the pilots, at least I know there are back-ups. Plus, if they start panicking, I know I'll need to pray harder. (ugh... screaming baby behind me)

Anyway, I'm on my way back from a weekend of hockey in Texas. Why did I go to Texas for hockey? 'Cause I'm a dork. I always wanted to see Mathieu play on his home ice, and when he came to LA I couldn't not go down for a game. Seeing my guy play when I could unabashedly cheer for him was a great feeling. Ever since, I wanted to do the same for my other guy. But B-Rad being in Florida was a bit of haul, and even I couldn't justify that. When he was traded west to Dallas, I started to consider it more.

Since then, I've meet some great people via Twitter. After the amazing time I had in Montreal, an opportunity made partly possible by Twitter, I felt I had another reason to go to the Lone Star State. I've never been to Texas, and what better excuse than to see my guy play live at home and have some locals to meet up with to show me the real Texas. It was (almost) all I hoped for and more (the "almost" is explained later). Probably most notably, my weekend consisted of two games at the breathtaking American Airlines Center. (You know, I love my quirky Shark Tank, but damn, the AAC is phenomenal).

Saturday, March 20- Stars vs Ottawa: Afternoon games are rough, and the Stars got off to a sluggish start. Mathieu's former mate Kari Lehtonen let in a goal on the first shot. But Dallas pulled it together and showed some guts, playing a tough game. B-Rad had 2 goals in the game. I screamed loud. Jason Spezza scored a hat trick for Ottawa, and he got one hat thrown out for him. In the end, the Stars won 5-3. B-Rad was the first star. I was glowing.

Other than the game itself, there was other awesomeness. Jen... dude, I totally can't even put into words the mad hook-up she got for this game. Oy! Platinum level seats. Such privilege gave us opportunity for some nice side attractions. Like seeing Fabian Brunnstrom walking around on the concourse. (He may be having trouble adjusting to North American hockey, but DAY-UM, homeboy is beautiful!). Or walking by the booth and seeing Dallas broadcasters Ralph Strangis and Daryl Reaugh ("Razor") broadcasting live. Or chatting with Razor in the concourse during the 1st intermission and having him give me crap about wearing a Tampa Bay jersey. (Dude! It's my traditional I-wear-this-to-B-Rad-games-in-San-Jose-so-I-don't-get-beat-up-for-wearing-a-Dallas-jersey jersey). I told him I'd see him in San Jose on Thursday. He'll probably think I'm a stalker. =P I officially fell in love with the Platinum level, and if they had such in San Jose, I'd be broke

Sunday, March 21- Stars vs. Phoenix: This is where I get to the disappointing part of the trip. I stayed an extra day in Dallas to see this game. After the trade deadline, I looked at the schedule and saw that Mathieu's new team would be in Dallas the day I was planning to come home. The prospect of seeing my two guys play each other live and in person was just too good to pass up. Dave Tippett killed my dream, scratching Mathieu from the game. I caught a glimpse of Mathieu up in one of the boxes during the shoot out, and it just made me sadder. What an awesome thing that would have been. =( As for the game, that was disappointment, too. Dallas lacked the spark they had the night before, losing to Phoenix in the shoot-out (which also propelled the Coyotes past my Sharks into top seed in the Pacific division). B-Rad actually had a great game. He was good all night, picking up an assist on a Loui Eriksson goal, and netting a goal in the shoot-out. (ugh, this was hard enough to write, and now screaming kid is screaming again)

When I wasn't at a game, I was mostly just eating.

Tex-Mex. We have a lot of Mexican food in California, too, but Tex-Mex is different. Our's tends to be lighter, with more veggies and fish, this seemed to have lots of cheese and a lot more sauce.

BBQ: beef brisket, coleslaw, fried okra, and some sweet tea. And a Shiner beer.

Chicken fried steak: Not only the fabulous thin beef battered and fried like chicken, but all the fixin's, too. Mashed potatoes and white gravy, cream corn, biscuits. Finished off with a Dr. Pepper and coconut cream pie.

Special thanks to Myra and Patty for taking me out to Tex-Mex, and Jen for introducing me to Babe's for chicken fried steak. I might never be the same. After the Ottawa game, several of us Twitter people met up for BBQ (Patty, Myra and family, Teri, Jen, and Brandon and his brother, and Brad G, who isn't on Twitter, but runs things now over at Defending Big D since Brandon went big time). (seriously, I'm going to slap that kid myself. And then the parents for just letting him scream).

Two final things of note for this trip.

It snowed. Seriously. I went to Texas, and it snowed. A lot. The day I arrived, it was 70 and ended the evening with thunderstorms. Saturday it snowed. Sunday, it was freezing and WINDY! Monday, I leave and it's bright and sunny and headed back to the 70s.

I didn't do too much tourist stuff, but I did walk over from my hotel (the Hyatt at Reunion, you know, the big tower with the ball on top? Yeah, I was next to that), and walked over to Dealey Plaza. It was sad to see the "X" on the road, marking the spot where President Kennedy was shot. I went up to the 6th Floor Museum that has preserved the spot where the assassin fired the bullets. It all happened before I was born, but it is still an incredibly sad moment in our country's history. I hope I never have to experience the loss of a leader like that in my lifetime.

All in all, what a great time I had! I could get into this NHL roadtrip thing. My friend and I are already thinking Pittsburgh next year. But Dallas made an impression. I might want to head back here.

March 23, 2010

2010-03-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

Quiet night for Mathieu, who was back in the line up after being a scratch Sunday evening (see a post later today about that... grumble grumble grumble). No points, but 4 shots and an even plus/minus in 23:23 of total ice time. (hey, he's number 23. Cool beans).

Head shots

2010-03-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

Not head shots of the cool kind, like this:

But head shots, as in players hitting other guys in the noggins, are a huge area of discussion. They've been bubbling up more and more over the last few years, and really seem to have come to a, um, head this year with some scary and severe injuries (and little in the way of punishment for the guys doing the hitting). The NHL GMs meet last week and offered a proposed rule that would officially make head shots illegal and punishable by penalties and supplementary discipline.

The new rule needs to be reviewed and accepted by the Competition Committee (see information from the Globe and Mail). Mathieu is among the 5 players on said committee.

Will be interesting to see what comes of this. Lots of debate and lots of emotion, all ways. Some sides say it is hockey, and hits like that are just part of the game. Others say there is no need for head shots. My thoughts? I'm more of the latter.

This is a hell of a hockey hit:

Even though that is my guy getting bowled over, it is a good, highlight reel hit. It isn't a blindside, Clutterbuck's hits arms (no elbow) to B-Rad's chest (no head). B-Rad isn't carried off on a stretcher. He gets up, gets his wind back, and then goes to discuss the penalties with the referee. THAT'S hockey.

Seeing the kid in the QMJHL convulsing on the ice... seeing David Booth and Marc Savard unconscious and carried away on a stretcher.... that's NOT hockey. It makes me sick to my stomach. And it doesn't have to be that way.

I'm not sure I'm convinced a rule will make it all better. I mean, you can't legislate basic respect and decency. Some of these guys are clearly lacking that. Part of me wants to make all players spend time in a neurological unit like I did for several months with my sister so they may better appreciate the horrors that brain injuries cause. And that's exactly what a concussion is: a traumatic brain injury. Sadly, I've witnessed it first hand for the last 7 years, and can say that brain injuries are one of the cruelest things in the world. It zaps a seemingly normal, healthy person of a normal, healthy life. Not something I'd wish on my worst enemy, and there are guys in the sport that subject their colleagues to it. For what? A highlight in the sports recap? Some cheers?

I just don't get it.

March 20, 2010

2010-03-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

I'm dedicated. And a dork. And kind of cheap. I'm updating this via my cellphone because I'm too cheap to buy the Internet in my room. Actually, that's more of just principle. You get free WiFi in cheap motels, but they charge for wired stuff at big hotels. WTF!?

Anyway, I'm here in Dallas. Had a fabulous time at the Stars/Ottawa game today. Stars win and B-Rad scored 2 goals for me. Well, he scored them for the team, but I'll take credit. There was another game on tonight that I had to follow mostly via tweets. That was the 5-4 Phoenix shoot-out win over Chicago. Mathieu was a factor again, coming in at a +1 and adding an assist on the power play. In his total 21:13 of ice time, he had 3 shots. Nice!!

Now everyone keep your fingers crossed that Coach Tippett plays him back to back, as I'll be there to cheer him on as the Coyotes come to Big D. Oh, and Mathieu, bring a coat. It's snowing.

Game summary: Stempniak (Aucoin, Schneider), 1:11 of 3rd (PP).

March 18, 2010

2010-03-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well... this day was a bit of a surprise. Pleasant, but surprising.

My undergraduate alma mater (and current employer) pulled an upset in the NCAA division men's basketball championship and advanced to the second round for the first times since 1959. w00t! Go Gaels!!

And Mathieu, well, for a washed up, old veteran had a pretty dang good game. In the 4-3 shoot-out win in Florida, Mathieu had 24:14 of total ice time, and was on the ice for all three Phoenix goals (as they came from a 3 goal deficit) and none of Florida's goals. Even better, he had 2 points (his first points as a Coyote) and finished the game a +2. w00t! Go Mathieu!!

Game summary: Hanzal (Schneider), 3:56 of 3rd; Vrbata (Schneider, Morris), 19:00 of 3rd.

March 16, 2010

2010-03-16T22:21:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! Second game in the lineup for Mathieu, and it was a pretty good one. No points, but after 18:49 total time on the ice, Mathieu ended the game a +2 in the 2-1 win over Tampa Bay.

An aside: Luckily his +2 was able to overset the -1 Vincent Lecavalier got me in my fantasy league. Damn you VINNY!! *shakes fist*

Some quotes

2010-03-15T21:51:00.000-07:00

Here ya go, some quotes from Mathieu about the game:

"It felt good out there and I was comfortable. Overall, playing games back-to-back, so close together and with the traveling, you've got to be happy with the win and I'm glad I was able to step in and not hurt the team."

(from KTAR.com)

March 14, 2010

2010-03-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

Mathieu, wearing number 23 for the Coyotes, returned to NHL ice tonight in a 3-2 shootout win for Phoenix in Atlanta. And with Chris Chelios playing for the Thrashers, he wasn't even near being the oldest guy on the ice. =P

He had 5 shots on goal in 21:21 of total ice time. He was even.

Oh, and HAPPY PI DAY!!

Cleared to play

2010-03-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

According to the Arizona Republic, Mathieu was cleared to play yesterday and may play during the upcoming roadtrip.

An aside: I'll be in Dallas March 19-21. Since Phoenix is playing in Dallas in the 21, I'm staying an extra day (not only costing me no small amount, I've got to scramble to get back to the Bay Area in time for my Monday night reference shift). If Tippett sits him that game, I will be very very angry.¹ He's already pretty much dead to me for misusing B-Rad so badly in Dallas.

¹edited on advice of legal counsel =P

Almost ready to go?

2010-03-09T20:03:00.001-08:00

Ok, yeah, so this time I was just lazy with updates. =P

But to my credit, not much has been said about the trade. Probably because Mathieu is out with an injury anyway.

Here is what has happened. He was traded to Phoenix, cleared waivers, and has been skating hard with an anticipated return next week or so.

The Arizona Republic had a little piece on him, and they mentioned the smile. It is the thing everyone notices about him first. No matter how bad this year has been, it doesn't show on his face. They also talk about, what else, his age. And in the article Mathieu himself makes a mistake (that has since been repeated by a few newspapers, and the NY Times' Slap Shot blog):

"I am the oldest player in the league right now, but honestly I feel great.

Whoops. Mark Recchi (who had a goal for Boston tonight) still holds that title by over a year (Mark just turned 42 last month).

A Coyote

2010-03-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

Just to prove I know nothing... Mathieu was traded today at the deadline. He is now a Phoenix Coyote, as per TSN.ca/nhl.

I have been in meetings all day, and I'm decompressing from the massive about of heavy stuff going on at work (thus, the meetings), so expect reaction links later.

P.S. How anti-climatic is this? Mathieu was traded and it garners a "oh yeah, he was traded today" mention. =P I'll have more later. Promise

Trade deadline

2010-03-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

I haven't been lazy with updates. There have just been no updates. I haven't seen anything Mathieu related in weeks. Nada. Zilch. Like he's fallen off the face of the planet.

Anyway, tomorrow is the NHL trade deadline. I'm not sure the protocol of trading broken players. But with the injury, and the lack of "showcasing" he was able to do in Manitoba before the injury, I'm thinking Mathieu may finish the season as shunned Vancouver property.

Next season? Who knows. *sigh*

Some Olympic Musings

2010-02-16T21:54:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, when asked how long he wanted to play and what his goals were, Mathieu said he wanted to be in Vancouver for the Olympics.

Well, he didn't get selected to represent the US squad this year, but he did sign a contract with Vancouver. I joked with a friend after he signed that deal that he was going to be in Vancouver for the Olympics after all. Oh, right. About that.... well, he kind of didn't last long with the Canucks. After he was sent to the Moose, I thought even that was a bust. But then, he got broken. Now, I don;t know where he is right know as he recovers and rehabs following knee surgery, but I like to think he went back to where his family was: Vancouver.

Anyway, so yeah, the Olympics are underway and they've been pretty entertaining. Not really sure who I'm pulling for in men's hockey. I want to pull for my home country, but I'm just not a fan of the Wilson/Burke combo. But the team is so full of awesome young talent, it's had to not be swayed. I want to pull against Canada for so many reasons (B-Rad's snub being a key one), but I find myself kind of cheering them on. Russia has such amazing skill. Stunning to watch... but only enjoyable as long as they don't speak (the arrogance and snark just gets to me, and Lord knows I love me some snark). Sweden keeps getting overlooked a bit, but they've got what it takes. Will the Czechs surprise us all? Those pesky Swiss could be spoilers, too.

In the end, whatever happens happens. It will be a thrill for some, heartbreak for others. I'm just going to enjoy the ride. And in the end, I just can't help myself... Go Team USA!

(news widget from Teamusa.org ; check them out)

Surgery- out 4-6 weeks

2010-02-02T15:53:00.001-08:00

Well crap, this season really needs a do-over button. After the second opinion in Vancouver, the Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that Mathieu is out 4-6 weeks following surgery to repait a torn meniscus

Out 2-3 weeks

2010-01-27T13:19:00.000-08:00

Looks like the "knee tweak" is semi-serious. Or could be outright serious. And MRI will reveal more, but for now we know, via the Winnipeg Free Press, that Mathieu is expected to miss 3-4 weeks.

Apparently he caught his skate in a rut on bad ice. No tear or major damage was apparent on an x-ray, but he'll probably be sent for an MRI. Mathieu is frustrated, but doesn't seem terribly concerned. I guess we'll see...

Knee tweaked

2010-01-25T14:47:00.000-08:00

According to the Winnipeg Free Press, Mathieu was helped off the ice mid-practice after he "'tweaked' a knee." He is now listed as "questionable" for the next game on Wednesday.

January 23, 2010

2010-01-25T12:51:00.000-08:00

The Manitoba Moose are in a wicked funk and lost another game in a another blowout, this time 8-2. Ouch. Mathieu had a shot and added an assist and finished the game even. From the AHL stats, it looks like Mathieu may be wear the "A" for the Moose. Game summary: Rankin (Maxwell, Schneider), 14:07 of 2nd; (interference), 7:34 of 2nd.

January 22, 2010... and a little off-topic chatter

2010-01-22T22:09:00.000-08:00

First things first... I'm happy to report that Brad Richards' face is ok! I was watching the Dallas at Edmonton game tonight, and he took a scary high stick to the eye from, ironically, Ethan Moreau. The stick got right under his visor and gauged his orbital bone (luckily, it looks like it didn't get him in the eye at all). In true B-Rad dramatic fashion, he flailed so explosively while grabbing his face, he threw a glove in the stands. But after getting checked out on the bench (and getting his glove back from the crowd), he returned to the ice and finished the game. Whew! Eye injuries are terrifying! As are potential B-Rad facial scars. =P

Ok, back to Mathieu action. And Mathieu was back in action. Woo! Not sure the rest of the team realized there was a game, though. The Moose got creamed, dropping the game 8-3 to the Hershey Bears. Amazingly, Mathieu was rated even and had 2 shots and a goal. But... he took two penalties (Hershey scored on the first one). No word on any Mathieu facial injuries. I hope not. I can really only take so much in one day.

Game summary: Schneider (Nycholat, Desbiens), 10:55 of 1st (PP); (hooking), 2:30 of 2nd; (delay of game), 17:00 of 3rd.

A record or not?

2010-01-22T13:14:00.000-08:00

A very special regular visitor to this site/blog/whatever asked a question the other day, and not only was it a good challenge for this site, but it made my librarian senses tingle. The question:

Does Mathieu hold the record for long period of time between AHL goals?

He scored a goal in 1989 before being called up for good by the Montreal Canadians. Then last week, he scored a goal for the Manitoba Moose. A good 21 years between those two goals. But, is it a record?

It took awhile to think this through. I needed a way to find out long absences from the AHL, so I looked at longest NHL careers. It made sense that some players would start in the AHL and then return at some point. Sure, it is possible for a player to begin in the AHL and go to another league and then return, but it seemed unlikely that any of those players would have a 21 year gap.

Anyway, I looked at the list of players with the longest NHL careers. Mathieu is currently 53rd with 1,281 NHL games played. I started to look at the players above him, seeing if they possible had two AHL stinks with long gaps. Of those 52 players, 43 never played in the AHL, 8 started in the AHL but never returned, and 1 never started in the AHL but played there after a long NHL career. So... it was looking good for Mathieu. He was the only guy in the top 53 who had return trips to the AHL.

Because the breakdown was by games and not seasons/years, I continued down the list a bit. Due to injuries and/or shorter seasons in the past, games aren't a perfect replacement for years. Good thing I kept looking...

As it turns out, Mathieu DOES NOT hold the record for most time between AHL goals. Claude Lemieux (79th most NHL games as of today) took that prize last year when he returned to the AHL after a 22 year absence. Of course, after I see the numbers I remembered his comeback last year. D'oh!

Anyway, it was a lot of work but a nice distraction for awhile. And really made me think and exercise my problem-solving. Always a good thing.

Vancouver has defenseman issues

2010-01-22T12:21:00.000-08:00

So my apartment is being re-painted. It has been dragging on for awhile. A couple nights ago, the paint smell was so strong, I had to sleep over at my folks' house. Last night, I braved it and slept at home. Probably the soundest sleep I've had in awhile. Maybe I was unconscious... because apparently Mathieu aged two years while I was sleeping:

...it seems the Canucks would be loathe to call up 42-year-old veteran NHLer Mathieu Schneider, with whom they've had a falling out and who is nursing a groin injury of his own. (from Winnipeg Free Press)

Joking aside, the Vancouver Canucks are losing defensemen left and right and now even the Manitoba Moose are becoming short defenseman because they've needed to call up so many. (The pissy part of me says it's karma for overstocking defensemen and forcing so many to sit "just in case," but I digress)

Way back in December, when asked if Mathieu was a distraction in the locker room, his teammates said they didn't even know anything was going on. Obviously, after all this, it would be a distraction and a circus. Maybe if the media hadn't blown stuff up so much, it wouldn't became such a big deal now. Oh, and if Alain Vigneault wasn't such a crap coach and personnel manager. But again, I digress.

Uncertain

2010-01-21T16:04:00.000-08:00

The Moose will not know if Mathieu will be available for the game Friday until closer to game time. Apparently he has been receiving treatment for a lower body injury in Vancouver.* He is officially listed as "day to day."

*dirty mind comment: sounds like a euphemism to me =P

January 15-16, 2010

2010-01-19T14:30:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay. I was out for the weekend taking my nephews skiing. w00t!

Anyway, while I was gone, the Manitoba Moose dropped two game big time. But Mathieu scored a goal in one game. Yay! And hurt himself in the other. D'oh!

The injury was termed a "lower body injury"and kept him out of the third period of Saturday's game. No news beyond the fact that he left the game early and limited him to 12:14 of ice time.

The Moose are off for awhile for the AHL All-Star break. Hopefully he has enough time to recoup.

Game Summary (1/15/2010): Schneider (unassisted), 15:13 of 2nd (PP).

January 13, 2010

2010-01-13T23:00:00.000-08:00

WOO HOO! Mathieu scored what turned out to be the game winning goal tonight, in the 3-0 Moose win. The goal came on the power play less than a minute into the first period. Game summary: Schneider (Oberg), 0:47 of 1st (PP).

More "just wanted to play"

2010-01-13T14:21:00.001-08:00

The Province took a moment away from regular Mathieu vilification to have a few quotes from him in an article about him in Manitoba and what the future holds. (here's a hint: he doesn't know, and some of it is out his hands anyway)

January 12, 2010

2010-01-13T14:05:00.000-08:00

A more productive night. While Mathieu was again a -1, he did register a point as an assist on Marco Rosa's game tying goal as the Moose went on to win the game in overtime. He also had 4 shots, and took a late penalty (whoops!). Game summary: Rosa (Schneider, Oberg), 9:40 of 3rd (PP); (tripping), 17:51 of 3rd.

For money or play?

2010-01-11T17:52:00.001-08:00

So far into his tenure with the Manitoba Moose, Mathieu's reviews have not been exactly glowing. And he's continued to take a lot of hits from the media not related to on-ice stuff. Even old buddy Red Fisher in Montreal suggested he just showed up in Manitoba to cash his check. I didn't link to that story the other day because a) it was ridiculous, and b) he's written the same story about Mathieu about 500 times, so nothing new to really report anyway.

Mathieu has disputed that several times, saying he just wants to play. The New York Times blog today gave him a little back up on that. Using quotes previously seen in some Winnipeg Sun articles, Mathieu's desire to play is clearly shown. He's not a grumpy, disgruntled old veteran. (I have my thoughts, not all flattering, but I'm about to get in enough trouble, so I'll leave that at that)

I don't know all the sides of the story, but I'll say this much: who ever does he PR for the Vancouver Canucks should be hired by Tiger Woods. They came out of the situation with pretty much all blame on someone other than themselves. It's none too attractive, and while their fans may eat it up, it makes me look at them differently. I still love the city of Vancouver*, but my hockey opinion of them is not all that great (it's been pretty tenuous since the whole Bertuzzi thing, anyway, but I digress...). But it's ok, during the preseason I picked them to win the Stanley Cup this year, and that is pretty much the kiss of death. =P

*I always said that if I didn't live here in the SF Bay Area, I'd live in Vancouver. I still say that, but after this summer, watch out Vancouver... Montreal moved WAY up on my list.

January 9, 2010

2010-01-09T21:38:00.000-08:00

Ugh, I feel my laziness creeping back. Better do this quick. After the 3-2 loss tonight, Manitoba has gone 0-2 since Mathieu joined the team. Uh oh #1. He has been a combined -2 in those two games. Uh oh #2. And for a big, shiny uh oh #3? Check out the game notes from someone who actually watched the game: Internet Trashcan. I think that moves beyond "uh oh," and into "ouch" territory. (But I give two thumbs up and a huge giggle for the use of the phrase "horrible doody head," and no, I'm not being sarcastic. That totally made my evening.)

As for the Friday game, the Winnipeg Sun wasn't as harsh in their review of that game. He had 32 minutes of ice time in that first game. Seems kind of, um, excessive, but whatever. I'm not a coach.

First game with the Moose; January 8, 2010

2010-01-08T21:35:00.000-08:00

As expected, Mathieu played his first game with the Manitoba Moose tonight. I didn't get to see, but according to game reports, he was a -1 and have 5 shots on goal in the 2-1 shootout loss to the Hershey Bears. I couldn't find how much ice-time he saw.

Reunions in Manitoba

2010-01-07T20:23:00.000-08:00

Mathieu has run into some old friends in Manitoba. Mike Keane, teammate on the 1993 Stanley Cup winnign team is already on the team, and Kirk Penton of the Winnipeg Sun had a piece on the Schneider - Brian Salcido connection. Apparently, Mathieu played on a summer league in Manhattan Beach with the youngster. Mathieu gave Salcido a lot of advice then that he still remembers. He, and the other young Moose defensemen, hope to learn even more from him as the season goes along.

At practice

2010-01-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

Mathieu has joined the Moose for practice. Yay! David Lipnowski from the Winnipeg Free Press has a photo from practice.

Off-Topic: Whoa!

2010-01-06T23:20:00.000-08:00

WHOA!
Yes, that is B-Rad nestled between Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. (That +/- needs some work though; it's been a problem his whole career. That's the only reason I can see that he was passed over by Team Canada.)

Whoa!

A review of Mathieu's blogging

2010-01-04T21:40:00.000-08:00

Epically bored at work tonight. I have the 7-10 pm shift, but it is the first day of classes. No one has questions. I can't concentrate on anything productive and work related. So hey, why not catch up on stuff here?

Hate to mention Vancouver after all this drama of the past few weeks, but if you remember, while he was still a member of good standing with the team, he was blogging.

In his first posting, Long Drive Short Camp, he talked about relocating up to Vancouver. I highlighted that posting back in September.

In the second posting, Getting Acquainted, he talked about his kids. It's kind of sad to go back and read them now, as he mentions how happy his kids are in school and how much they like the city. It is pretty funny when he talks about his boys' hair being too long (they have long California hair). Overall, his description of his and Shannon's kids is pretty hilarious. They seem to have the jock, the academic, the nut, and the princess all under one roof.

In the third posting, Back in the Game, he talks about playing. It was just after he had returned to playing and after he had that game where he was put into the forward position.

It was fun to read these. I hope he continues to do this in some other way. Hey Mathieu, guest posts at the Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Homepage are always welcomed. =P

Matty Moose

2010-01-04T18:21:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you see or hear something, and you are brought back into a happy place. It is like a signal that all is right with the world again. I just had one of those moments.

New headshot. Same smile

According to their website, Mathieu will wear #24 with the Manitoba Moose.

Of Moose and Men

2010-01-04T14:55:00.000-08:00

Sorry... It's my first day back at work in the Library after the holiday break, I had to go with a lame literary reference.

Anyway, Mathieu has reported to the Manitoba Moose and will probably play as soon as the game on Friday.

See the story from the Winnipeg Free Press: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/NHL-vet-all-smiles-at-Moose-presser-80629837.html

Cynics say he did so because if he hadn't, he wouldn't be able to collect $250,000 for the Canucks as part of his signing bonus. But really, I think that is a bit of a stretch. When it comes to a pro athlete at this point in his career, what's money?

And Mathieu was his usual smiling self at the press conference. Hearing what he's saying and how he is saying it, I am doubting the stories coming out of Vancouver a bit. It seemed so out of character, and he's so in character right now. Maybe the truth was stretched just a tad to switch the onus of a bad situation onto the guy who isn't part of the team anymore? (Namely, the more I hear, the more I hear that the coach isn't exactly Prince Charming. And he's not very good coach, either, but I digress...). In the end, only those involved know the whole story and he did the right thing. He says he just wants to play and is anxious to get ice time. Time to move on.

Here is some audio where to says that retirement wasn't really considered. Many point being:

"I feel too good... honestly, I feel as good as I've felt in years... I didn't feel anywhere near thinking about retirement."

To the Moose

2010-01-03T14:01:00.000-08:00

The Province reports that Mathieu has been officially been assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. The Winnipeg Free Press seems to suggest that he will report and may play this coming Friday.

My unsolicited advice remains the same as yesterday. Go to the Moose. Play awhile. Make a decision on the future after a few games.

To Moose or not to Moose

2010-01-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

If there is one thing I'm good at, besides sitting on my butt and eating french fries, it is offering unsolicited advise and talking out of my butt. Last night, I tossed and turn all night, save maybe 4 hours. Gave me plenty of time to think. I'm not necessarily sure that was a good thing, nor am I convinced that the thoughts I had were all that great. I thought about Mathieu's situation, and for better or worse here are my thoughts:

Go to the Manitoba Moose.

Don't go to showcase yourself. Don't go to prove something. Go to see if you really do still want to PLAY. Step on the ice with different players in a different setting, without all the NHL hoopla and privilege; change in some less than plush dressing rooms; ride the bus. If stripping away the glory does not dampen the desire to play, than work your ass off and you'll be back in no time. If it makes you mope and doesn't stir anything inside, then that is the signal to retire. It is about the game.

But then again, who am I? I don't have special insights or insider info. The past three weeks have just blown my mind. I've followed Mathieu for going on 17 years.* I've seen low moments, slumps, issues with coaches, contract negotiations... I've never seen this. I'm at a lose. I can't defend him or criticism him... I just don't know what is going on.

I just hope for a quick and appropriate resolution because, if anything, I'd really like to sleep.

*Damn! That's more than half my life!

Reflecting on 2009

2009-12-31T17:55:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season for year on review stuff. I've never been big on that, but I'm home tonight and have nothing else going, so hey... why not?

The year 2009 in my hockey life pretty much mirrored my real life. Ups and downs all year.

For Mathieu, that was pretty exaggerated. He had terrible lows to begin the season with Atlanta, then an incredible resurgence after the trade to Montreal. He was injured and needed surgery, then he signed with a new team for one more year. And now... well, yeah, right now is a supreme, and yet to be resolved, low.

For Brad, my other guy, the year started with lows, as he broke his wrist and then broke his other hand in his first game back from the first injury. These were pretty much the first injuries he had in his career. He spent the summer recouping and training in Florida, and came back in the new season on fire. Remaining in the top 10 in overall league scoring for the whole season. But despite the performance, he was just passed over for the Canadian Olympic team. {added: he picked up another 3 points tonight; take that Team Canada}

In my life, it was the year I think I really realized my sister is gone. She was in a serious accident in 2003 when a drunk driver ran into her. She suffered massive head trauma and barely survived. The doctors warned us that the part of her brain that she injured was the personality part, and that if she recovered enough to be cognitive, she'd be a different person. She did recover enough to be a cognitive and functional, if still very challenged, person, but she's not the same person. Maybe 2010 will be the year I come to terms with that, but 2009 was the year I finally realized that the Jennifer I knew is gone forever. I hope I can learn to like this new person, but it is not easy.

The beginning of the year also saw a radical change in my middle nephew. He and his brothers have lived with my parents since the accident rendered my sister unable to care for them. The middle boy has always been a challenge pretty much since he was a toddler. Terrible tragedies happening at young ages (his father's death in 2002, his mother's accident a year later) didn't help matters. Things fell apart in 2009. At only 13 years old, he was ditching school every day, shoplifting, stealing from my parents, running away. The police were at the house, I think, 7 times. In June, he was remanded to temporary state custody. He was at juvenile hall for several weeks, and is now at a residential school community for troubled kids. We all hope that this finally provides the help that he needs.

Despite those emotional drains, I had some of the highest highs. I conquered my first black diamond ski slope. And survived. I presented research at a national conference in Seattle. I went on an Alaskan cruise. I visited Washington, D.C for the first time. I saw U2 in concert in Las Vegas. I watched my eldest nephew graduate from high school. I welcomed a new little critter into my world with the birth of my friends' first child. I enjoyed the spunky Pittsburgh Penguins slay Goliath and take home the Stanley Cup. And I went to Montreal for the NHL draft... and had the best weekend of my life. I had lunch with one of my hockey idols, scored a goal in a ball hockey game (the first time I ever really used a hockey stick), and met some of the coolest people ever! I made some absolutely great new friends.

So, this year was ok. It wasn't the greatest, it wasn't the worst. It will be remembered, but I look forward to whatever 2010 has to offer.

who knows?

2009-12-31T16:27:00.000-08:00

What will happen with Mathieu remains to be seen. What is known is that he will not be returning to the Vancouver Canucks. See the article from the Vancouver Sun for more. I don't have anything really to add. I'm just kind of confused and heart broken about this all.

Manitoba bound?

2009-12-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

The team confirmed today that Mathieu was put on waivers after attempts to trade him didn't work out. If he clears waivers, he'll be assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. Team officials expect him to be claimed, saying there was interest from several clubs. (Source: The Province)

A player claimed on waivers goes to the the team with all salary to be assumed by the new team; if he is assigned to the minors and recalled, the salary is split, with half being paid by the new team and half by the previous. Mathieu's salary may be high enough that a team hopes to split.

Waivers

2009-12-29T11:53:00.000-08:00

Mathieu may have actually lasted less time in Vancouver than he did in Atlanta. Who would have thought? He was officially placed on waivers today. The team still hasn't said anything officially, but what is being reported is that he was unhappy with his role on the team and playing time (he was scratched 9 times) and he and the team both think that parting ways would be the best idea. Here is the story from The Province.

It is rare to say of a newspaper's comments section, but I thought they were very good comments. A couple of "he sucks" comments, but even the negative ones were mostly honest and thoughtful.

The blog post by Mike Halford over at the Province's Orland Kurtenblog was also very good. Not giving answers, but pointing out some of the many sides of this whole bizarre turn of events:

"According to Botch, Canucks GM Mike Gillis is shopping the 40-year-old rearguard. Schneider left the team just prior to the Christmas break, apparently frustrated with a lack of ice time and a reduced role on the team. So we ask: Who wears the goat horns for this one? Does Gillis for carrying too many defencemen? Does coach Alain Vigneault for not letting Schneider prove himself? Does Schneider for walking out on his team? Or, is this just one of those things where nobody is to blame, it just didn't work out, hopefully we can still be friends, let's not use the kids as pawns.

And yes, feel free to use the following in your arguments:

- Schneider is 40 and came back from shoulder surgery because he wanted to play, not sit. Otherwise, he would've signed somewhere else or just retired. Did he kinda get screwed over?

- Hockey is business and this is a business decision. Other vets (most recently, Brendan Shanahan in New Jersey) have suffered similar fates. There are no golden tickets.

- Everybody loves Shane O'Brien again and forgot why they even started ragging on him in the first place. With SOB back, Vancouver doesn't need any more defencemen!"

It's kind of how I feel. One minute, I'm angry at Mathieu for being a prima donna; the next, I'm pissed at the Vancouver couch for misusing the talent he was given; then I'm mad at Mathieu for maybe overstaying his career and going out with a whimper; then I'm frustrated that Vancouver brought him in just to sit him.

I'm a mixed up ball of confusion....

EDIT: Here is another blog post that reiterates the "what the hell happened?" kind of questions.

No news is, well, no news

2009-12-26T20:39:00.000-08:00

I can't blame it on laziness this time. I can't post any updates because, frankly, I'm pretty broken-hearted. Mathieu is still away from the team, and it is looking more and more like the "personal reasons" has to do with career and not family. While I'm happy that his family is ok, I'm pretty devastated at the possible career outcomes. Moreso than I thought I'd be.

I wish I could write something more profound right now, but sorry, I just can't. I'll try to later.

EDIT: OK, that was really sad. Even too sad for me and I'm pretty freakin' sad. This place has always been a bit irreverent because, well, I am. So here is something more fitting for the Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Homepage.

...This pretty much sums up how I feel right now:

Overreaction Fail - watch more funny videos

P.S. Shout out to the ever lovely and fabulous Angelica (aka islesrebelangel) for posting this on Twitter.

What the heck?

2009-12-22T22:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, I've been distracted and lazy. I still need to finish my Hanukkah posts (even though the holiday was over last week). I barely have the energy to really post this, but since rumors are flying I best address this latest news.

Mathieu has been away from practice and missed tonight's game. The team says he's "away with leave" for personal reasons. No comment beyond that. When asked, coach Alain Vigneault wouldn't give time tables either.

The Province threw some gas on the flames, speculating whether the absence was due to questioning his playing future. He's been a healthy scratch for 9 games this season.

I don't know what's going on, and I hope for the best for him and the Schneider clan.

Mathieu joins the search committee to find new NHLPA boss

2009-12-16T22:29:00.000-08:00

The NHLPA announced today that five current members will join former Major League Baseball union head, Donald Fehr, in a search committee that will look for a new executive director. The five players are Ryan Getzlaf, Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Rafalski, Brian Rolston and Mathieu Schneider. Says Fehr:

"These players recognize that this is a critical process, the outcome of which will affect all current and future NHLPA members. I am confident that they will discharge this responsibility in the thoughtful, careful and deliberate manner that the circumstances require."

See full release at the NHLPA website.

December 16, 2009

2009-12-16T22:23:00.000-08:00

The Canucks dropped a game at home to the Ducks tonight. Mathieu was held off the scoresheet, but had a shot and finished the game a +1 after 15:47 of total ice time.

6th Night of Hanukkah / Chanukah... 2009

2009-12-16T16:01:00.000-08:00

On the old site, I used to do something to celebrate Hanukkah (Channukah, חנוכה). Last year, I revived the tradition by presenting 8 days of Mathieu gifts for the 8 days of the holiday. This year, I thought I'd pick a key part of the holiday (a tradition, a symbol, something of historical significance) to share... and connect it in some way to Mathieu.

So, with that said... I present to you gift number 6:

One of the most recognizable traditions of Hanukkah is the dreidel. The dreidel itself is simply four sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side. Nun, Gimmel, Hay, Shin are the first letters of the phrase "a great miracle happened here" (referring the to the oil lasting 8 days).

Here's how it works. You get a group of people and each take turns. You each start off with an equal pot of loot (change, candy, etc). Everyone puts one piece of their pot into the center (Eventually, more starts ending up there). If you land on נ (Nun), you do nothing on your turn. If you land on ג (Gimmel), you get all of the loot in the center pot. If you land on ה (Hay), you get half of the center pot. If you land on ש (Shin), you have to put half of your pot into the center pot. At the end of a set number of rounds, who ever has the most in his/her personal pot won the game.

You can play with real coins, fruit bits, candy... anything. But one of the best things to play with is gelt, or chocolate coins. (Here comes the stretch....) Mathieu makes a whole lot of gelt. In fact, with his salary this year, he could buy 778,894 bags of gelt (a 5 ounce bag is $1.99 at my local Trader Joe's). Last year, he could have bought three times as many, or 2,889,447 bags!

Here are some break downs:

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. =) And special thanks to Spencer for his advice and Hebrew spellings of things.

5th Night of Hanukkah / Chanukah... 2009

2009-12-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

1 pound potatoes, peeled (Yukon gold works well)
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped onion
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup oil for frying

Grate the potatoes. Add grated potatoes to a bowl of ice cold water. Soak potatoes for at least 2 minutes, then drain. Wring out as much water as you can (tip: spread the potatoes AND the onion on a towel, roll up the towel and t.

Put the potato/onion mixture to a bowl and add the egg and salt.Toss until well mixed

Heat 1/4 cup oil in a pan until hot (but not smoking). Add about 2 tablespoons of the to skillet and flatten out gently with the spoon (should be about a 3 inche round) . Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes each side (until lightly brown). Remove from the pan and drain the extra oil off by placing on a paper towel. Keep warm in the oven (set to low heat, about 250).

Serve with sides of sour cream and applesauce.

As for a Mathieu connection... well, ok, I'm stretching here. A lot. Did you know that Prince Edward Island is known for growing a lot of potatoes?* I didn't until Brad Richard, proud PEI native, revealed such in a radio interview. I also learned from B-Rad that people in Canada refer to PEIers as "spuds" (it is in part 2, at about the 19:45 minute mark).** So... how many times has Mathieu played the most famous hockey playing spud of today?

Four times, with Mathieu having the slight advantage of 2 wins to B-Rad's 1 (and there was a tie in there, when ties could still happen):***

3/8/2004: Tampa Bay @ Detroit, 1-1
12/17/2005: Detroit @ Tampa Bay, 6-3
3/19/2008: Dallas @ Anaheim, 1-2
1/27/2009: Dallas @ Atlanta, 2-0

But B-Rad has 4 wins to Mathieu's 3 in the 2007-2008 playoffs.

*Did you know that despite being TINY (just over 2,000 square miles), PEI produces 30% of the potatoes grown in all of Canada? I looked that up. I didn't learn that from B-Rad. But I would have been most impressed if he had busted out stats like that.

**This post is about Mathieu, but really, that interview is awesome. About 16 minutes on, when they go over his Wikipedia page, is pure gold.

***I originally looked this up last year when they played each other in Atlanta. I only had to add the score from that game, because in the 2 times their teams have played each other since, one or the other has been out of the game.

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. =) And special thanks to Spencer for his advice and Hebrew spellings of things.

December 14, 2009

2009-12-14T22:26:00.000-08:00

Nothing of note to report in tonight's game. Mathieu played 15:53 of the eventual Canucks win, but was zeros across the board.

4th Night of Hanukkah / Chanukah... 2009

2009-12-14T14:17:00.000-08:00

On the old site, I used to do something to celebrate Hanukkah (Channukah, חנוכה). Last year, I revived the tradition by presenting 8 days of Mathieu gifts for the 8 days of the holiday. This year, I thought I'd pick a key part of the holiday (a tradition, a symbol, something of historical significance) to share... and connect it in some way to Mathieu.

So, with that said... I present to you gift number 4:

In 168 BCE, the Syrians/Greeks seized the temple in Jerusalem and made it into a temple for Zeus. Emperor Antiochus went a step further and outlawed the practice of Judiasm and forced all Jews to worship the Greek gods instead. Those who did not comply were killed. This didn't go over well, and a when some soliders made a high priest bow before an idol, well, he kind of flipped out and killed a bunch of folks. That priest than went into hiding, built a small army of fellow rebels, and came back to town to push the Syrian/Greeks out of the land and rededicated the temple to their God. Those rebels are best known as "the Maccabees."

The Maccabees are most known by the books in the (Apocryphal) Bible and the Olympic-like games that share their name. Every four years, Jewish athletes from around the world head to Israel for these elites games.

Again, a pretty tenuous relationship, but Mathieu does have a connection to the Maccabi Games. His brother, Jean-Alain, represented Canada (the country in which he was living as he attended college). He and the Canadian team, under the coaching of legendary Jacques Demers, won the gold medal in hockey that year.

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. =) And special thanks to Spencer for his advice and Hebrew spellings of things.

3rd Night of Hanukkah / Chanukah... 2009

2009-12-13T14:11:00.000-08:00

On the old site, I used to do something to celebrate Hanukkah (Channukah, חנוכה). Last year, I revived the tradition by presenting 8 days of Mathieu gifts for the 8 days of the holiday. This year, I thought I'd pick a key part of the holiday (a tradition, a symbol, something of historical significance) to share... and connect it in some way to Mathieu.

So, with that said... I present to you gift number 3:

Oil is a big deal in Hanukkah. While the holiday is essentially about the survival of the culture and religion, it is represented most prominently by the story of the lamp burning for 8 days when there was really only enough oil for one night. The burning oil is represented by the 8 nights of candles, and even by the frying of the potato latkes.

Oil is kind of a big deal to use today. It runs our cars, boats and planes; it heats our homes; it makes our plastics. There are several "hot spots" of oil production around the world: the Middle East, Venezula, Texas, Alaska, Alberta. Oil is such a big deal in Alberta that they even have a team named, well, the Oilers.

Some Mathieu connections to the Oilers? Well, kind of tenuous. He's never played for the team, but he's played against the team. So far in his NHL career, he has played 25 games in Edmonton, recording 9 points (2 goals and 7 assists) and 18 penalty minutes; he has been a -5.

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. =) And special thanks to Spencer for his advice and Hebrew spellings of things.

December 12, 2009

2009-12-12T22:40:00.000-08:00

Mathieu wasn't a healthy scratch tonight, and it was a good thing. He had a hand in the game winning goal. That makes up for the silly penalty he took early in the game (that luckily didn't lead to a goal). He ended the game with 15:25 of total ice time, and was even. Game summary: (boarding), 8:57 of 1st; Kesler (Schneider, Raymond), 6:44 of 3rd (PPG).