Monday, May 08, 2006

Emotional Rollercoaster, Sports Fashion

A Message From The Author: I am overdramatizing a little for the sake of some humor. Although I am a die hard sports fan and a career in sports is my dream, I do have my priorities in order and I know it is just a game. Still I get very into it.

Yes, I am female, but my emotional rollercoasters usually occur during high pressure sports games. Tonight, was one of those nights. The Yankees are playing Boston tomorrow night so at least I only had to deal with hockey. The Devils began tonight down 1-0 in the series against Carolina (a 6-0 blowout on Shabbos which I'm thankful I missed), and game 2 was pivotal. Langenbrunner's early first period goal was a great sign and the Devils played very well early on. However, a one goal lead is very shaky and the game can change in a second so needless to say I was on my toes. Carolina scored late in the 2nd period to tie it up. It was turning out to be a great game, or so it seemed. Brodeur was great, and the Devils had the lead. But, the Devils were not taking enough shots and were not taking enough rebounds. They were not challenging Carolina's rookie goaltender (who had not played in back to back games). A little detour for a second, Brodeur, the Devil's goalie, and arguably one of the best goalie's ever, is Ward's idol, Carolina's goalie.

Anyways back to the action, with the minutes ticking away in the third period it certainly seemed that the game was going into overtime. 5 minutes left, 4 minutes left, 3, 2... All throughout the game the announcers keep reading off the time minutes and seconds and you can feel the suspense. It builds and builds. It was down to the final minute. The countdown in seconds began. Then suddenly the Devils took control of the puck and stormed into Carolina's defensive zone. Parise, my favorite player, (because he is my age so it's cool to follow his progress and maturity into a quality NHL player) passed the puck to Gomez who ultimately deflects it in. SCORE!!!!!!!!! With 20 seconds left in the game the Devils had the lead, 2-1. I was so excited. But, Carolina protested the goal so it was reviewed "upstairs." Oh the stress. But, the goal was ruled legitimate!!!! To me I thought the game was as good as over and the Devils had tied the series. But, no, that would be too easy. The Devils had control of the puck as the clock wound down 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 BUT with 3 seconds left a Hurricane player managed to deflect the puck behind Brodeur and the game was tied. I went from elation to shock, disgust, and letdown. How cruel? In a split second everything had changed. The game, the series, the playoffs, and the season. In sudden death overtime there are no second chances. The first person to score wins. Sure, we had the best goalie in the NHL in Brodeur, but I was not happy with the Devils offense. Sure enough three minutes in, after some good Devil opportunities, Carolina scored the winning goal. The air went out of the "balloon". After winning 15 straight before this series the Devils were now down 2-0 to a great hockey team who now had all the momentum. Yes, the Devils are going back home for games 3 and 4 where they have the opportunity to tie up the series, but in game 3 all the pressure is on the Devils because it is a must-win for them. Hopefully, they can get hot again because it would certainly be a shame to lose it now. To go on a real losing streak now. Bad timing. After that great second half comeback this season they "can't" lose now. I'm sure most of you have long since tuned out. For those who are still with me I hope you enjoyed the saga. Stay tuned as the emotional rollercoaster rolls on to game 3. Go Devils. Go Go Go Devils.

Tomorrow I will write the post I originally intended to before this devestating loss that just called for some emotional release. I am all tired out now so I think I'll catch some rest before tomorrow's Yankee Red Sox showdown, where once again it will be a battle for first place even as the Yankees lead a mere percentage points. One note on Johnson, I couldn't resist ;-), last year he dominated in Yankee Stadium and owned the Red Sox; however, this year he is definitely not the same pitcher he once was, so it remains to be seen which Randy will show up to pitch. That is the key to the game, in my humble opinion.

8 Comments:

Blogger Ze'ev said...

Reminds me of the Devils - Rangers series of 94', w/ the late second goals, OT's - that wasa real roller coaster...

Ah... the good old days.

On a different note, it's always nice to read something written by someone who is passionate about the subject.

5:49 AM  
Blogger bellanny said...

T- True. Thanks maybe one day. I'll let you know if I ever publish anything. This is great practice.

Z- I'll take your word for that because in 94' I was, unfortunately, clueless about sports. Thanks.

12:05 PM  
Blogger Ze'ev said...

I guess even though the 94 series seems like it happened yesterday, really did happen a very long 12 years ago...

Wow, I feel old.

12:56 PM  
Blogger Nephtuli said...

Wow, you were right on about Johnson, who sucked last night. I havent seen a single game this year, so I can't tell you what's wrong, but wow is he bad.

12:27 PM  
Blogger bellanny said...

Unfortunately. Sometimes it stinks to be right. It got so bad I had to turn off the game. I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon, but he may be done for good. He has never had to face such humiliation before and he doubts himself, which is effecting his pitching even more. His age is certainly not helping.

Sure many of the runs last night were unearned, but he still put the runners on base enabling them to score on the errors. Errors are part of the game.

Now it seems the Yankees really need a new number one starter. I hope the Rocket decides to land in NY.

3:34 PM  
Blogger bellanny said...

Actually, I want to edit a part of my comment. I don't think Johnson is done, but in order for him to find success again he has to acknowledge that he might never get back his 98 mph fastball and adjust his methods accordingly. He must also get back some of his "snarl" that made the opposing batters afraid of him as well as his confidence.

6:56 PM  
Blogger Nephtuli said...

Well considering how Mussina has pitched, he might be their ace now. And I'm not sure Johnson is capable of changing pitching methods because he's relied on heat his entire career. It'll be a fundamental change for him and that's not looking good.

9:18 PM  
Blogger bellanny said...

He definitely is their ace and there most dependable pitcher. Besides for those 2 homers he gave up tonight, he was great.

It's not looking good for Randy and he still has almost 2 years left on his contract so either he delivers or quits (which I don't see happening). Some people have been saying that they would rather have this Randy than another pitcher, but I'm not sure I agree. Even this offense can't score 7+ runs every start to get to even. I guess we'll see what happens in his next outing.

10:35 PM  

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