Suds fight back to tie Jacks

Schlitz (13) vs Inglewood Jacks
Wednesday August 5
Dedham 9:10

4-4 Tie


The Gold made what they could out of an uneven performance, and somehow found the grit to pull off a come-back and earn a tough tie against the Inglewood Jacks. The Schlitz would play the majority of the game behind 3-1 to the undermanned (7 skaters) but always sharpshooting Jacks. Late in the third they would again be down 4-2 but would score the last two to earn a draw on an exhausting night in Dedham.

The suds would have an even 10 players after Jeff showed up as the Zamboni was nearly halfway done. CEO/GQ Madd Matt Kilroy was back in the pipes after a brief “I think I hurt myself” hiatus of nearly 2 weeks and would “look sharp” all night. The D was anchored by the pairings of Capt.George, Matvey and Campbell, Fosdick, who were also playing together for the first time in what seemed like a long time.
The forwards would be ably manned by centers Pete “That’s crap George” Capraro and Neil “Just give me rookie of the year now, dude” Shah. Wings included Nelson Greybeard Sharfman, Chuck Slate, Dr. Pounds, and Howard Heppleman. Howard and Neil were nice enough to bring along some fans, and they were nice enough to hang out and watch us play. Major props to Sarah and April for supporting the Suds, although in April’s case, it seems Howard brought her in order to prove that he’s really joined a hockey team.

The game would start on a good beat. The Suds were clearly at an advantage given the Jack’s short bench and seemed to take the game to them right away. The Gold were able to keep things in front of them and in general kept the play away from their most dangerous players, and in their end or tied up at center ice. That would last for the first 5 to 6 minutes of the game and it looked pretty good, we were getting decent chances and Kilroy had already made some solid stops and showed he would be there all night.
Then Dr. Pounds would plop home a nifty rebound after Jeff would make a play at the point corralling the puck and sending back down to the crease. Good guys up 1-0.

Are you ready? Can you feel it coming? You should. The “worm would turn” when Howard would get called for a rough/hold on the guy that was busy sparring with him in front of the Jack’s keeper. Both guys had been frisky but Howard would go to the box and George would have something to say to the Zebra. The Zeebs were our old portly friend with glasses and his beak-nosed toothless partner who immediatley engaged George in some discourse that could only mean bad things for all of us.

That would lead to a tieing goal by the Jacks as they got a bit of a lift. Classic breakdown in our end and suddenly the Suds legs were not nearly as strong as they had been in the early going. The Jacks would score the next two goals, on plain old let down plays, poor coverage, and some good shooting by the guys in white. This would leave the Beercans down 3-1 halfway through the game and to be honest, sucking wind and not looking particularly impressive. The pace of the game had slowed and we showed that we couldn’t consistently push the play but were still doing a serviceable job breaking up their passes and getting occasional chances.

The next “shoe to drop” would be when Howard would take another roughing call, and then ran his mouth, which would buy him a double minor around the 11 minute mark of the second. It seems this is something we collectively just cannot get through our heads. No one should talk to the Zeebs. Blogger included. Ever.
This wouldn't have been so bad but as the penalty wound down we would take another penalty, this time on Matvey on a pretty good takedown in front of Matty. Then things got a little confusing.
During the stoppage George said something to the Zeebs. This resulted in said Zeebs realizing, apparently with George's help that Howard now had 3 penalties and should be asked to leave. He was. In the confusion it seems the Zebras forgot about Matvey's penalty as he went to serve for the now ejected Howard. It saved us a 5-3 I suppose but one has to scratch their head over just what George was thinking. This move reduced us to 9, the D now down to 3 as Matvey would skate the rest of the way in Howard's spot up front.

The second ended with the Suds in the game but wheezing. Now 9 players and in serious need of stepping it up a little. It would take nearly half the period but the Suds would indeed start to make some progress. Jeff would again keep the puck in the zone at the left point and shuttle it back in front where Nelson would dish or shoot and Neil R.O.Y. Shah would finish it nicely to bring us within one. This was with less than say 10 minutes or so to go.

Now getting some better chances and actually taking advantage of the winded IJ's the Gold looked to be on the right path. Then another breakdown. Jeff pinched a bit and a Jack's forward got outside and raced up ice when he got the puck. He got off a good shot that beat Matt while being chased. The Jacks were back up two, 4-2 and Jeff was frustrated for sure. He had a front row seat for most if not all of the Jack's goals and was none too pleased about it.

Maybe the old boy should get frustrated more often as right after the face off Jeff would take the puck from the Gold end and make a nice rush through several Jacks all the way to the other end. Neil would again provide the nice finishing touch and would bring the Beercans back within a goal with about 5 minutes left.

Things continued to go pretty well. Matt made a pair of very nice stops in the late going, and then George would take a turn rushing the puck. On a feed from Matvey, George would weave through the zone and get off a nice shot that would tie the game with just under 2 minutes to play. The 'cans would keep it up, but the Jacks would get a dangerous chance squelched by Matt in the closing moments. The game would end in a tie, but there was certainly a pretty good feeling about the comeback among the very tired Suds.

Postgame was interesting with George having a few items about our play that weren't totally off the mark, but still not particularly well recieved after the hard fought tie. No one at this point really knew that he had told the Zebras about Howards penalties until Howard spoke up.

The beer was cold and plentiful and was very easy going down in the parking lot. Thanks to Howard and wife April for bringing the packed cooler, and to Sarah and Neil for bringing suds as well. All in all a satisfactory night at the rink. Thanks again to Sarah and April for supporting the team... and watching the whole game... which brings us to:

Game Stars

3rd Stars: Superfans April and Sarah. Thanks for cheering the slow Suds on and hanging out after the game.

2nd Star: Jeff Fosdick for a 3 assist night and the end to end rush that resulted in the 3rd goal. Must have been the chicken burrito he had earlier in the evening.

1st Star: Neil Shah for a two goal night and a bucket load of hard work up and down the ice. Many times Neil could be seen doing some nice back checking to help out in our end, and creating chances all night. Nice job. He even brought a fan and beer! This guy is clearly a keeper.

Ok. One more bit of business.

We haven't heard from this dude in a while but after Captain George's... ahem... indescretions on the night we now have...

THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF THE COON OF SHAME.

George just couldn't resist pointing out the Zebras mistake and took a man off the roster when we were only 10 tired guys only halfway through the night. Come to think of it, his initial conversation with "The Beak" kind of set things off in a bad way. There is some redemption in the fact that it was his goal that tied the game for the Suds. Kudos for that... but the Howard thing has earned you the inglorious honor of .... The Coon.

Better yet, during the email thread this morning that included the players from last night George had something to say about this. Here, in a Blog first is George with a 'Coon acceptance speech.

"All, I'd like to apologize for being a bit too fired up after the game, and for my comments in the locker room. I should have been happy with the come from behind tie. And my apologies to Howard. I don't know what I was thinking. I was upset at the refs and wanted to point out how they were continuing to screw up... But, the instance that I pointed out wasn't in our favor. Complete brain fart on my part. With that in mind, I didn't give Howard his total of 3 minor penalties. I just got confirmation of the league rules. ;-) I willingly and shamefully accept the coon of shame.

Sorry."

Big ups to George for being a standup guy. You're truly one of us George... imperfect. We're glad to have you with us.

That's all from here. Updates at the begining of the week on upcoming games and Hockey on the Beach plans. Stay tuned.

Lets end on an up note. Thanks to Pete for chipping this in this morning as well:

"The whole thing is beautiful, seriously I love this shit, banging it up out there, getting on each other, passing to the other team mid in front of our goal, making up the next day, getting put in the box, driving people into the net, people learning new positions, sushi, beer, 4th period, the BLOG.

What more could you ask for?"

Word up Pete. Thanks.

Zombies and Jacks Grind it up.

Cadavers (4) vs Inglewood Jacks
Monday June 8th
Canton 9:20pm


1-0 Loss



Some of the new look 'daveurs gathered last night in Canton to take on occasional rival the Inglewood Jacks. The Jacks have had the better of us the last few times we've played them and frankly they are the type of team that usually gives us trouble. The majority of the roster is average guys like most of us, but they clearly have a few gems. They have two guys with Harvard shirts one better than the other, both rock solid. This complemented by a "you know the type" no shield dude with the home made number on a filthy old generic white shirt. Number 17, red seven , black one. He would make a few nice moves, but didn't ever take over the game thanks to the hard working Dead in Red. Speaking of... There were some late arrivals as per usual now that the summer Southeast Expressway Paving is in full swing... but this is what we looked like.
Brian Carey in the pipes
D1: Steve Baker, and Kevin Parker
D2: The Fosdick Brothers
O1: Larry, Neil, and Chuck
O2: Roman, Matvey, and Hammitt, who filled in on D for the whole 1st period.
O3: iJosh, Ken/Mitch, and Mike (Goody) Goodwin

Big props to Hammitt for legging it out on D for the whole first period. Once again we seemed to be a little bit short on regular D skaters for this one. Hamm did a good job and held the fort ably until Kevin Parker showed up. Kudos also to Chris "I'd rather be playing wing" Fosdick for sucking it up and playing very solid defense all night long. Parker also turned in a number of good shifts in his time working with Steve "gotta pick up a cage" Baker who has been yet another plus added to the combined 'daveur roster this season.
This was all backstopped by Brian "Government Bailout" Carey who was doing his best to bail us out all night whenever he was tested. Another very solid night overall for Brian. Don't look now but all three goalies have played very well here in the early going... its a shame we dont have a win or two more to show for it.
The game was tight. There were some solid chances on both sides, and both keepers seemed to jump right into form as the game heated up. So aside from a hand full of chances and stops there wasn't much more to report from the first. Except for a costly breakdown by the Red with 2 and half minutes left. Jeff would pinch on the left and miss badly on trying to intercept the outlet. That left brother Chris with a 2-1 and not much help. He left the shooter but the shot was wicked and beat Brian up high and put the Jacks up by 1. By the time the last shifts were taken in the opening frame, iJosh, Mitch and Parker had joined the fray and we settled into the three full configuration. Down 1-0 after the first.
The second was just a flat out grind. Good chances. Hard work. Zombie pride saw the red slowly work the momentum of the game to their favor as everyone did a good job of keeping the legs moving and the shifts short. Its the blogger's opinion that if we keep playing like this the results will come... we kept expecting them last night... we just couldn't grasp them.
There were a few more breakdowns but none as costly as the one in the first. There was a sketchy outlet from Brian to Jeff that nearly resulted in a goal, if not for a "superman" move by B-Care to save us and himself.
The Red had a few really good chances in the Second and the momentum was clearly on our side by the end of the period, just no goals to show for it. Neil just missed on a very nice tip play. There was another quality set up or two and nice cycles from the forwards but time and again the Jack's goalie stood up to the task. As time expired in the Second Larry would go for an elbow along the boards, called by our longtime friend and colleague... Butterball.
The Red were up to the task of the PK and proceeded to kill it off in the early going. Some of the momentum was gone. More of it went when ol' Butterball struck again this time at 11:36 remaining and a questionable interference on Chuck Slate. Again the Red performed ably on the Penalty kill and again emerged unscathed. The trouble was we never really got going again.
Typifying this was a baffling sequence where Rookie Phenom Neil Shah briefly morphed into Roman and danced along the blue line just long enough to keep the play alive and put all of his line mates offside. Luckily this transformation seemed temporary... we already have one Roman... We just couldn't seem to put it together.
The Zombies ground it out, got more chances than the Jacks for sure in the last 5 minutes, even pulled Brian with about a minute to go... to no avail. 1-0 loss in a game that many of us thought we should have for sure. Tough one, but a good skate. Great effort by all Zombies last night. Thanks for coming out.
No Game Stars.
But... there are 4th period beer credits Parker, Hammitt, and the Blogger hisownself.
Another enjoyable evening in the Canton lot.

This week's nostalgia prize goes to Chris Fosdick for mentioning the old Combat Zone, in particular that great piece of American culture the neon sign from the Naked I ... which, if you are old enough to remember had the eye placed just perfectly... cant be seen in the photo here... but i couldn't find a good shot of it.










Ok. Check for roster updates tomorrow for the game thursday night.
Edited to add....
Forgot to mention the empty netter that was missed completely in the third period on the first occasion that we had the Jack's keeper really dead down and out.
Also a funny scene from before the game...

Hammitt is chatting up the two Zeebs that had just come off duty from the previous game. One of them is telling the other about this game last week and how this guy, a big guy, reaches out and just labels this dude to the boards and he says "Nice hit... but you can't do that"... then Hammitt realises that the guy was talking about him. Pretty funny once they recognised each other.

Failtacular night at Bavis. Jacked up by Jacks

Cadavers (20) vs Inglewood Jacks

Monday February 9th

Bavis Arena 9:00pm

7-0 Loss

Um... this one didn't sound like it went that well. Here is excellent guest blogger Mark Reynolds to let us all in on what went down in the land of Rock last night.

Here's Mark:

This game was as bad as it gets. 7 – 0.

The Red skated with 20 lbs of lead in our asses. Poor break outs, soft passes, no back-checking, and hardly any shots on goal.

The zebras had it in for us (well maybe we deserved most). I can’t recall the number of penalties we took, but 5-on-4 and 5-on-3 seemed to be the theme of the game. At least we didn’t give up any goals on the 5-on-3 penalty kills. The Red had one ejection (read the roster and place your bets) and a couple of guys with two (including this guest blogger). You know it’s a bad penalty eve when even Pete C ends up serving time in the sin bin.

Lizzy in Net.
Defense
Hammitt – Reynolds
Pearlman – George
Forwards
Parker – iJosh – Pete
The Doctor – Ken D – Elliot
Ken G – rotation

No game stars…we all sucked.

Hopefully the guys that bailed to go to the Beanpot had a good time; sorry for the dig guys, but we could have used you.

Well... that's ah... great. Thanks Mark. We had a few other players chime in. Dr. Pounds sent an email with these 4 pics in it titled 4,000 words. Thanks Doc... I think we get the picture.

Then Pete Capraro decided to chime in with this short message of hope:

Here is my assessment of last night: "U-G-L-Y ... you ain't got no alibi, yo ugly.............oh ah............yo ugly".

Spanked.
Beaten.
Embarrased.
Humiliated.

Uhhh ... I'm getting the feeling that things really didn't go well, aren't you? Lastly we will hear from old pal Billy Pearlman about how he saw the evening.

4-0 after 1st period…we were turnstyles out there….everyone watching the talented D leaguers do their thing…and then we decided to get in their face a bit, stand ‘em up at the blue line, forecheck and we only gave up 3 more goals the rest of the game. We killed something like 8 penalties, Hammitt got the boot in the second period as well leaving us shorthanded. Final tally 7-0 and aside from some long shots deflected, we had no scoring chances.

Alright... that about wraps this one up from here. Thanks for coming out everyone. Lets get the W next time.

Cads Jacked in Inglewood!

Cadavers (11) vs Inglewood Jacks

Monday December 15th
Bavis 9:10pm

7-1 Loss

The first game of the double header was a tough one... just like the second but more on that later. The Cads had a tough matchup with the Inglewood Jacks and while there was no shortage of skaters (the Red had 14! by the start of the second) it didn't make much difference against a team that certainly had some decent talent on the ice. The Red showed plenty of Zombie Pride but it just wasn't in the cards for them on this night.

Lizzy in Net.

Campbell, James, DWH, Valenti, and Daley on D

Larry, Reynolds, Roman, Nelson, Carl, Matt E, Gregson, Mitch, and Chuck up front.

The game started out pretty well. Depsite some early confusion, probably due to the Blogger trying to stand on the bench and coach... the Dead in Red held their own for quite a while against the guys in White. In fact the Red would jump out to a 1-0 lead when Nelson Sharfman (who else) would land one on the feed from DWH. That lead would hold until the end of the period even after killing 2 penalties, Greg James for Tripping, and Mike Campbell Roughing.

Let it be known right now friends that Our Gal Liz was having a very solid night in the pipes. There were several saves made throughout the first and well into the second that were terrific. She was keeping the Red in the game as the Jacks started to turn the tide.

They wouldn't be denied all night and they broke through to tie it in first 5 minutes of the second. Then the would go ahead a short time later on another good goal after spending a long time in the Red end. The killer would come at the end of the second though. On a power play (Valenti) they would make it 3-1 going into the third.

Thats where the train went off the tracks a bit. Another pair of penalties for Valenti and the Jacks would rack up 4 goals in the period as the Red seemed to get slower and slower. The last one was a real in your face job with about 15 seconds left in the game. Ouch.

Too bad because up until the start of the third this was a very competitive game.

Oh well.... here are some pics from the bloggers cell phone for you.

Valenti gathers and clears

Campbell scoops one up in front of Liz

The Red Bench... with iJosh looking on...

Schlitz Open Summer 08 with a Win!

Schlitz (1) vs. Inglewood Jacks
Tuesday May 20th
Quincy 10:10pm



4-1 Win.




The Beercans opened the summer season at our summer "home" rink Quincy Youth Arena with a nice matchup against the Inglewood Jacks. Sounded like a good game with some luck going the 'cans way and then some going against them, but not enough to keep the team from its winning ways.
Here are a bevvy of Guest Bloggers to tell you all about it.
First off a nice summary from frequent GB... iJosh.

"A win and a loss.
A pretty good way to start the season on the ice and a disappointment off it. The Schlitz would come into this game still high off its Winter Season Championship. Early on a little rust showed as the Beer Cans were not yet in mid summer form. A chippy trip from Hammitt behind the Good Guy's net would give the Jacks a power play opportunity. About a minute into the advantage the Jacks would get the puck at the left corner of their offensive zone. The winger would skate in toward iJosh who was playing D on this PK. He would send a relatively weak pass under iJosh's stick through the rest of the defense and off the pad of Brian. It then found the smallest of gaps to make its way into the net.
However the Cans would not just sit back and take it. A shift or so later, the line of Reynolds, Capraro with Matvey at center would capitalize on their chance. After a shot went wide and landed behind the net, Capraro would collect the puck and somehow tuck it in to tie up the score. The period would end at a 1-1 tie.
In the second a ton of chances for the Gold and Maroon. This time rookie Mark Reynolds would net his first goal with Schlidaveur Incorporated and Schlitz would go up 2-1.
***Warning Artistic License***
Before the game Hammitt was thinking to himself that he was still upset that he was beaten out for the semi-annual Mike Campbell Award. He made the promise to himself that he would once again reclaim the Award that seemingly is named for him or at least will be renamed for him sometime in the future. ***End of Artistic Licensing***
So Hammitt, with an opponent nearby with the puck, gave him a little shove and as is the equation P=MV where the V for both players is equal and the M for the opponent is...well....less than Hammitt's. You can certainly see where this is going. So with the play obviously about to end with a PK for the Gold, Hammitt decides to cement his early lead on the MCA and shove the guy again. The end result: A double minor and an early exit from the game.
This would juggle the line-up a bit and would take some time for the team to find its rhythm again. But before that would happen things would get a little better for the Cans. The best player on the Jacks tried to take a pass from deep in the defensive zone to the blue line. As the puck flew towards him he would try to stop it with one of his skates.
That would result in an explosion of plastic as parts of his skate flew over the ice. He would hobble to the bench and register a DNP for the rest of the game due to his equipment malfunction.
Heading into the final frame Schlitz seemed confident that they could take this team. There had already been tons of opportunities and at least a little success. So the belief was that it was just a matter of time before the floodgates opened. Now all they had to do was finish the plays. And that is just was the Beer Cans would do. After netting the 3rd goal, Schlitz still tried to take it to the Jacks and finished with a nice goal by rookie Mark Reynolds for his 2nd goal and 3rd point of the night. That would end the scoring, but not before more pressure was put on the opposing goalie.
In the end everyone looked good. 1st star and newcomer Mark Reynolds looked great. That is one in the books and hopefully many more wins to come.
Now the disappointment off the ice. The Jacks, unfortunately kicked our ass in the 4th Period with more participants and a grill going. There is just no excuse for being beat in the 4th.
Preliminary Stats report.
Scoring:
1: Capraro from Mark Reynolds and Matvey
2: Mark Reynolds from Capraro
3: I forget [ Roman... ]
4: Mark Reynolds from iJosh and Mitch
Penalties:
1:30 Hammitt - Tripping
3:00 Hammitt - Interference and Roughing
1:30 Matvey - Roughing (though it should have been Interference)
Very nice recap as always Josh. We'll get a handle on those official stats after tomorrow.

Now here is another recap from a star of the "Vodka" line Matvey Nikhamik...
We won 4-1. The other team scored first. However Schlitz fought back led by our rookie Mark Reynolds. Mark at least had 1 assist and 2 goals (I think).
Our 1st goal - I took a shot a little wide of the net and the puck bounced off the boards back to the goalie. However goalie didn't completely cover it and Mark kept battling (there was no whistle) and knocked the puck out right in front for Peter to put it in.

2nd (I think goal) was also similar in having Mark battling for the puck (puck was in the vicinity of the goalie again) until the whistle, he got it free and put it in the net - don't remember the assists.
3rd goal was from Roman - We had a very good pressure in the opponents zone that ended with Roman taking a good low wrist shot through the screen. Again, at some point the puck landed on the back of the net in their zone, but Roman didn't stop playing (not waiting for a whistle) and knocked the puck off the netting and we kept the play inside the zone.
And Mark scored the last goal as well...
Some highlights:
Early leader for Campbell awards - Mike Hammit - taking a minor and then a double minor in the first game.
Roman checking me on offside call...
I was called for penalty while back checking and trying to prevent a breakaway (ref said I clothe lined the guy - for that we had a nice little chat with a ref while I was in the sin bin - it was absolutely friendly conversation - I tried to reach around the guy to knock the puck away, but the ref made a call on it...the worst part was my momentum still carrying me into Brian and me flipping over him in the goals while the other team was trying to score. Somehow Brian was able
to make a save on that though...)
The other team's best player, wearing something resembling hockey pants, had to leave the game when his skate blade or holder was shattered by a puck.
All in all, all our goals were due to good hard work and playing until the whistle.
Good start for defending Champs and Welcome Mark!

Sweet! Great in-game recollection Matvey. Nice to have someone recount where everyone was during a given play. But wait... there's more! Another veteran has tapped in his tale and we have yet another account of the game from old friend Dr. Scott Pounds!
New guy Mark Reynolds tried to give us low expectations during the pregame laceup, then proceeded to score two goals and assist on another. (My recollection without the score sheet.) He has officially passed the physical and cleared waivers and will be in uniform for his first
Schlidaveur.
The Gold started strong, but the Jacks scored first on a goal that looked to the bench like it slipped under the side of the net. Allegedly it went in through a crack between Brian's pad and the pipe - according to Campbell, who admitted he had a way too good view of it. Shortly after that, Captain George politely requested that the goal be tallied on the scoreboard because we like to know, you know, the score. The official reacted as if George had insulted his mother. No penalty was called.
The Gold found their legs and began to skate and pass quite remarkably, leading to a grudging compliment from the Captain again that the game was at times remarkably similar to hockey. We scored several more, they did not.
Rookie Mark figured out how to eliminate the opponent's best player without drawing time in the box. He wristed a puck square into the guy's blade holder, shattering it beyond immediate repair. Clever trick, but it doesn't get him any closer to the Campbell Trophy.
Speaking of which, Hammitt was called for a single minor early followed later by a double minor and game ejection. The second penalty was for breaking up the opposition's three-on-one by launching himself elbow-first into the puck carrier. The double was for following the player after he had gotten back up and abusing him further. The Jacks have not yet learned that when Hammitt knocks you down, for God's sake, stay down.
The only other penalty I recall was on a hustling Matvey, who backchecked in support of the defense - who were both caught up, lollygagging. Matvey used a move that I have seen many times in the rodeo but rarely in ice hockey, then sat in the box telling the ref (not arguing, as he later pointed out, but giving constructive feedback) that it was only the ref's bad viewing angle that made it appear to be a penalty.
And the rain held off long enough for a relaxing fourth period, thanks to Campbell for the Bud Light.

Holy Crap! Excellent Game story Scott! Some nice commentary work there, and humor to boot!
The Blogger is impressed with the quality of the GBs this week. Keep up the good work.
One more voice heard from before I wrap this one up... It's Goalie Brian Carey...

Great game by everyone. Outstanding fore-checking to the point that the other team couldn't get the puck pasted the red-line too many times. They score early in the first period that literally squeezed under my right pad. This is probably the best game that I have seen Campbell play on both sides of the puck.
Brian (1-0-0)
I don't know about anyone else... but is there nothing better than a goalie that signs his email with his record after his name? I think not. I like your style Brian... I think we'll keep you. Here's hoping that the middle number stays a zero for quite some time.

Thanks again to everyone who chimed in. The more voices the better... The Cads open up tonight in Brockton against RT138 Autobody... whoever they are... if you are skating then I'll see you tonight.

According to Mike Campbell the "Jacks" even had arm patches with Jules from Pulp Fiction on them... that is about 7 shades of Awesome... as far as the Blogger is concerned...