Time to say goodbye to 2008 in our usual crazy way!! This took an immense amount of time to do but thanks to the bloggers on our site to make this all possible and all the people behind the scenes who also help us out on a day to day basis. You folks rock!!! Now with my trusty cider in hand, it is time to go out with a bang!
July 1st begins the Free Agent Frenzy. There were the usual winners and losers from day one. Then came Day 2 and Day 3! On the fourth, Dan Boyle found his way to San Jose and Shark fans were stoked and Lightning fans were bummed! Tampa would be mentioned quite a bit in the last half of 2008. Do not fret! There was some FA analysis in parts. It became Captain Vincent in Tampa Bay. The Battle Of The Blogosphere was getting in gear. The Winter Classic was going to be held in Chicago on January 1st. Hockey Around The Horn struck again! Danada hates OSU fans for not respecting the Blue Jackets. Then there was Stamkos and the World Juniors…weird stuff. Have you Seen Stamkos yet? I am still looking along with many others. We asked if ESPN should bother with a hockey guy, then Stamkos got paid. There was a noble cause for a good friend and then Antoine Vermette got signed (what a bust!). There was even a waiting game.
Finally there was August! For those scoring at home, the podcast debuted on July 27th by the way. Scotty B. ended up in Chicago which shocked some Detroit fans. Steve tried to fill some space. There was a BOTB update, the Sundin saga began in earnest, and Avery decided to do Dallas! The podcast was already growing. We reflected on the Gretzky Trade at 20. There was the debut of point/counterpoint and Joe Sakic was our first topic. I needed another drink, hit Vegas, then got hurt. No one is sure how these things happen either. The Olympics ended, there was more Battles, and Sakic signed! Then Tampa was in the headlines again! August ended with an Ogre of sorts.
September meant fantasy hockey leagues were popping up! Our intern became a blogger! We had a prophetic post on what if your goalie goes down! Brad brought along his damned opinion, an argument over the best fantasy player, and September 11th…7 years later. Even the turkeys returned! Plan B came and went, we unveiled the Stevens Insider, We lamented about Spike TV, Bulgaria got BLOWN OUT, a little Vegas love, and we said goodbye to a really good blogger. I ranted about Renney, Rick got The Cold War all fired up, and of course there was Kevin’s classic Video Blog. I remembered the sweep! The sports world went mad, and Your Slot Here looked at The Power Play blog. The Ducks made a move, we said goodbye to a Slap Shot legend, “Ducky” was right, and another BOTB update!
October was a time of much change. We debated the best defensemen of all time, offensive wise that is. Danada previewed Ottawa’s season (I hope he reads this). Remember that fantasy draft marathon? There was something about Lindsey, the season started, we told players to let up, Versus spewed, and someone was too EAGER. The guide to the true opening night in hockey, a special blog weekend, Hockey Fights Cancer again, Just to add in….our new evolution began October 7th…that is all I will mention for now. Steve admitted a mistake, Alexei Cherepanov died, signs your fandom is hurting, another blogger goodbye, and I take on the Caps bloggers. There were more battles, hello Columbus, Yahoo boo-boo, I got interviewed, a reacquaintance, and there was Mike! Something even smelled funny! There was the wrath of experts of sorts. October ended with a crazy shootout!
November was a time of thanks and the biggest injury of all for me at least. There was more Brodeur fallout, optimism for Columbus, Brad laments about role models, a puck facelift maybe, and a where are they now. Burke left Anaheim, a special wedding, Melrose gets canned, an interview of Jonathan Toews, time to fix this with Danada, and some respects paid. Thanks to my Dad of course. Patrick Roy debate was talked about as his number got retired. Jeff Carter grew up! Down went Luongo, a dumb hit before Thanksgiving, more hits from behind, there were some goalie controveries, and Tkachuk finally hit 1000 points….eventually. The month ended with David Frost…enough said!
December finally came and it was a weird month! Rick left for Italy and then Sean Avery spewed out “Sloppy Seconds”. The story kept going and going as Avery is now in limbo so to speak. He will probably get bought out over the summer. We found an Atari classic. There were diseconomies of scale. It was a strange month filled with letters even to Ranger fans. The month grew more odd, Rick came back, it SNOWED in Yucca Valley. down went Selanne, and Rick helped interview Brian Engblom. Round 2 of The Battle got underway. Rick had a wish list, Fresno folds, and then Christmas. Now it is all about the WJC, the best of Fantasy Hockey so far, more Battles, and of course an odd streak of sorts to close out the year!
It really has been some second half to the 2008 year. We are also appreciative for everyone sticking with us through all the transition. I cannot wait till 2009 naturally and from all of us at The Program, we wish you a Happy New Year and the hopes for a better 2009!!!!
Happy New Year!
