#GRAVIS BLACKHAWK
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USA 1997
#USA1997#ADVANCED GRAVIS#HARDWARE#CONTROLLERS#IBM#MACINTOSH#GRAVIS GAMEPAD PRO#GRAVIS BLACKHAWK#GRAVIS GRIP GAMING SYSTEM#GRAVIS FIREBIRD 2#GRAVIS THUNDERBIRD
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is there a reason why Carolina is losing all their affiliates???
Other than being assholes to Erik Haula?
Okay, but in all seriousness, there's a short answer and a long one.
The short answer is two words long: Pyotr Kochetkov.
The long answer? Meet me under the cut.
Alright, hi there. So to answer this question fully, we need to talk about the AHL in depth. The AHL, or American Hockey League, is the second-highest league of North American pro hockey, under the NHL. Most people tend to believe it's just "where prospects play before they hit the NHL". This is... only a part of the story.
There are 32 teams in the AHL to match 32 NHL teams. The idea there is that every NHL team would have an AHL affiliate - the most recent expansion, for example, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, is the AHL affiliate for the newest NHL team, the Seattle Kraken. Many of these teams are owned by the same group as owns the NHL team - Harris Blitzer, for example, owns both the New Jersey Devils and the Utica Comets. Others don't - the AHL's Charlotte Checkers, for instance, are owned by Michael Kahn, whereas their NHL affiliate, the Florida Panthers, is owned by Sunrise Sports (aka Vincent Viola).
Why is this important? Well, if you're an NHL team that owns your AHL team, you can let that AHL team leak money. You're turning a good profit on the NHL team, so you don't have to make your AHL team economically viable on its own - you just put it in as a massive tax write-off and go on with your day. Thus, you can put all of your AHL team's resources into developing your AHL players to get ready to play at the NHL level. Of course you sign some vets and such of your own, maybe get a few undrafted guys for the AHL team too, but generally, an NHL-owned AHL team's sole purpose is to develop NHL players. Winning the Calder Cup (the AHL equivalent to the Stanley Cup, not to be confused with the Calder Memorial Trophy given to the best NHL rookie) is just gravy on top.
Contrast this to independently-owned AHL teams, where this is not the case. For these teams, making money is paramount. How do you make money? When you win. Fun fact - the Chicago Wolves, incidentally, used to be televised on main channels partially as a fuck you to Bill Wirtz, who didn't let the Chicago Blackhawks' home games be televised, presumably to drive ticket sales. The Wolves saw that and pounced on the opportunity to make some cash. So if nothing else, love them for sticking it to the Hawks. You can still watch Wolves games on My50, it seems, if you've got that channel, as well as AHL streaming options.
But back to independently-owned AHL teams before I go on my daily anti-Hawks crusade. You want to make money. You do that when you win. When you make the postseason. When you win in the postseason. Independently-owned AHL teams want to win, not necessarily develop for the NHL. So when your NHL team keeps taking your best player away for weeks and then giving him back... you get annoyed.
Let's now talk about the ECHL and the Norfolk Admirals. Thankfully, this is going to be a lot simpler. The ECHL, unlike the AHL, has only 28 teams. This means 4 NHL teams don't have an ECHL team. In addition, very few, if any, ECHL teams are owned by their NHL affiliates. This further incentivizes them to play for profit (winning the Kelly Cup, the ECHL version of the Stanley Cup) instead of development. On top of this, relatively few ECHL players actually make it to the NHL. ECHL affiliates change fairly frequently, especially due to many of the teams folding because of financial issues (most recently the Brampton Beast, Manchester Monarchs, and Quad City Mallards). So if an ECHL team decides to drop its NHL affiliate, or vice versa, there are four other suitors, all of whom would probably want to pay the ECHL team decent money to be their associate. For the Admirals, it's easy - they see the Canes lose their AHL affiliate and decide they'd rather take the Jets' offer instead, whether it be for the money (Carolina's supposedly notoriously stingy) or for the security. It's just really fucking funny that it happens at the same time Carolina loses their AHL team. Get fucked lol.
Now let's play Chicago Wolves Simulator. You are Don Levin and Buddy Meyers, the Wolves' owners. Your goal is to win the Calder Cup or at least come pretty damn close so you can pay the bills. You have a good team - hell, you won the Calder last year! - but your best asset is this star goaltender named Pyotr Kochetkov. When Koochie's in net, you usually win because he bails out your team. When he isn't there to help you win, you kind of don't. Now, Carolina's going through its own issues in net, so they keep calling Koochie up and down. And, as previously mentioned, you kind of suck without Koochie. To be fair, you're not all that great with him, but you suck without him. And you have no control over when he goes up to Carolina, even just to sit on the bench.
You miss the playoffs by one point. One. And your three-year contract with the Canes is up. What do you do?
Waddell Young, GM of the Wolves, says their philosophy and the Canes' fundamentally differed. The Wolves develop and win. Winning develops, to them. The Canes wanted the Wolves to focus solely on development. Not winning. So, when their deal with the Canes was up, the Wolves said "no thanks, we're not going to continue this, we're going independent". This decision makes them the first non-NHL affiliated team in almost 30 years. Now, this isn't to say all independently-owned AHL teams are doomed to fail in partnerships because of divergent philosophies. Look at the Hershey Bears and the Washington Capitals for a prime example of that - the Bears are one of the best teams in the AHL and have won four Calder Cups with the Caps as their affiliates since their affiliation began in 2005. But the Wolves were quite unhappy with the Canes, and so the two split. Also notable is that the Canes have also poisoned the waters with who should be their local AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, to the point where the Checkers affiliated with the Panthers instead. So... there's that.
So what can the Canes now do with non-roster players? They can affiliate with another AHL team (co-affiliation); one instance of this was when the Seattle Kraken affiliated with the Charlotte Checkers in 21-22 because the Coachella Valley Firebirds weren't yet ready. Supposedly the plan is to get an affiliate for 24-25. But what do they do this year? Especially if they can't find an affiliate to share, which seems more and more likely as the summer drags on? Well, you can't sign players to two-way deals with the Wolves anymore, so you can't really keep veterans around in the AHL to call up if needed. So you... sign nine defensemen to NHL contracts and carry them on the roster at all times. Yep. Don Waddell, Canes GM, has basically stated outright that his roster is probably going to have to carry 22 or 23 players at all times to be sure to have replacements in case of injury. And your prospects? They either go to Europe, where they're basically inaccessible for the whole year, or you loan them to other AHL clubs. Waddell has said plans are in place with several teams to send 2 or 3 players each to several different AHL clubs. For your youngest, they go back to major junior in the CHL and related leagues. Same for your veterans - if you want to keep them, you'll have to sign them one-way (I believe) and then loan them down to scattered AHL teams across the league. Prospects who you could have signed to play in the AHL and develop? You're probably going to have to let them go to free agency (see: Kevin Wall, leading player for Penn State and Carolina draft pick, who just inked a deal with the Milwaukee Admirals, AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators). And then you can send your worse prospects to your ECHL tea- wait. Oops. They just lost that too. Can't do that either. Well, shit.
And remember, one of the Canes' biggest assets is their system of play (with strong defense) that they execute well. The Wolves needed to teach their players the Canes' system and prepare them so the jump from AHL to NHL wouldn't be that tough. The Canes put their coaches on the Wolves for that purpose (the Wolves have since cleaned house and instated their own). Loaning your players to another AHL team? Why would that team be incentivized to teach your player(s) the system? So now even when you're calling up someone to play for the Canes, you have no idea how well they know the system and no idea how well they can play in it.
This now begs the other question - how will the Wolves fill their roster? Well, they've got options. Generally, an AHL team takes the prospects of its NHL affiliate and then fills the rest of the roster with AHL veteran free agents that the AHL team signs to AHL-only deals. But without an NHL team, it's a smidge more complicated, or perhaps easier. Firstly, other NHL teams can loan their prospects to the Wolves instead of their own AHL teams if they consider the Wolves better at developing them, for instance. The Wolves can now also sign whatever free agent players they find roaming around that could be a good fit for their team - undrafted college players, good ECHL players that can't seem to get called up enough, AHL veterans, players on European teams (especially Russians who might want the chance to get the fuck out of Russia) and so on. These free agent players could see the Wolves as a stable AHL team that can pay solid money (the AHL doesn't have a cap) with a strong chance at contending for the Calder as well as a possible stepping stone to an NHL contract. The Wolves also don't have to worry about these free agents taking ice time away from the Canes' prospects, who would need to be prioritized under an affiliation, which would also be a strong incentive for AHL free agent veterans to sign with them - they'd be able to get a truly fair chance, unlike under an affiliate system where prospects are the priority and free agents are generally playing fewer (and worse) minutes.
And remember - Chicago just drafted Bedard. The city's getting back into hockey and Hawks tickets are expensive. Want to watch some quality hockey on the cheap? Why not come to Wolves games! They're only 18 miles away from the Hawks, too!
TL;DR stan the Wolves for rejecting the system. Canes Suck.
#stereanswers#stereanalysis#stereducation#carolina hurricanes#chicago wolves#norfolk admirals#ahl#echl
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Patrick Kane firma per porre fine al libero arbitrio senza restrizioni
La carriera di Patrick Kane non manca di titoli di campionato e riconoscimenti personali. Ha lasciato i suoi Chicago Blackhawks preferiti. L'attuale roster dei Chicago Blackhawks si orienta verso giocatori più giovani, con Patrick Kane che diventa un free agent senza restrizioni in offseason. Ora che Patrick Kane metterà fine alla sua free agency, vedrà la sua nuova sconti maglie nhl rossa.
Patrick Kane vedrà una maglie Detroit Red Wings nello spogliatoio della sua nuova squadra e non ha ancora scelto un numero preferito. Anche se il 35enne Patrick Kane non ha alcun vantaggio in termini di età, è un ottimo portatore e passante. Patrick Kane ha ricevuto offerte da altre cinque squadre e alla fine ha scelto i Detroit Red Wings in una lotteria divertente. Ha mancato le offerte dei Toronto Maple Leafs, dei Dallas Stars, dei Boston Bruins e dei Buffalo Sabres, e non ha rimpianti per aver scelto una nuova squadra. Patrick Kane si sta attualmente riprendendo da un infortunio ed è ansioso di tornare in gioco il prima possibile. Gli è mancata l'emozione della partita, ma anche gli applausi dei tifosi. Patrick Kane non ha paura di lasciare i Chicago Blackhawks in free agency, è solo preoccupato per il suo recupero dall'infortunio.
Ciò che i giocatori professionisti temono di più sono gli infortuni gravi e per loro l’età non è importante. Finché saranno in salute, forniranno maggiore aiuto alla squadra. Anche la pressione sull'allenatore della squadra si riduce. Dopotutto, la lista degli infortunati è l'ultimo posto in cui vogliono vedere i nomi dei loro giocatori. L'arrivo di Patrick Kane non inciderà sulla struttura salariale dei Detroit Red Wings, e la squadra vuole solo liberarsi dell'imbarazzante record di aver mancato i playoff per sette anni.
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Grab the mining helmet because I'm headed down the nostalgia rabbit hole.
Watching X-Files I looked up Gillian Anderson to see if I knew her from anything else. Turns out she voiced the computer system for Hellbender, a PC flight simulator game that had a free demo on Windows 98 CDs. I never played the full version but I played the shit out of the demo.
Hellbender was actually a sequel to an earlier game called Fury3. A demo version was featured on the Windows 95 CD which I also played extensively but with Fury3 I managed to score the full version from a friend.
I was hoping to find the games on GOG assuming they'd need a compatibility fix through DosBox. Sadly GOG didn't have it. I did manage to find Fury3 on an abandonware site. I haven't looked for Hellbender yet but there's a pretty good chance they have it.
Fury3 ran pretty decently on Win10. There was an issue getting the sound to work but I figured it out. I don't seem to be able to save but at least there are cheat codes to warp to specific planets.
My biggest complaint is that I suck using keyboard controls. I might be able to get my USB controller to work but honestly I'd rather use a joystick.
My grandpa had a Gravis Blackhawk I used to use a lot. I really liked the ergonomics of the controller. Sadly I lost it when we moved out of my childhood home. I looked it up on Amazon and they're available. Unfortunately they use a hardware port that's not available anymore.
I can get a USB adapter and I'm fairly confident that it will be plug and play but the controller and the adapter are $50 and I'd hate to spend that much to find out I was wrong. I think it was plug and play for WinXp but I know for a fact you needed special drivers and control software for 95/98 so there's a good chance I'm wrong.
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kraken bait 2: no stats just vibes
hello and welcome back to another installment of the kraken bait list, where i make random predictions about who i think is ending up in seattle come the expansion draft! i’ve got a special edition today, as i didn’t just do a few players. no, i did an entire mock expansion draft, with a player pulled from each of the 30 teams participating. i followed the expansion draft rules and had the help of corwin @chaos-hockey as my CapFriendly consultant (and solver of indecision), but for the most part, this is, as The Broadscast says, no stats, just vibes.
so without further ado, let’s get into it!
Anaheim Ducks: Danton Heinen
thank @charliemashavoy for this idea
Arizona Coyotes: Lawson Crouse
i don’t know many yotes players, so might as well pick one whose name i at least recognize
Boston Bruins: Jake DeBrusk
corwin and i went back and forth on this one a little. it was between debrusk and trent frederic, but corwin as the bruins fan said frederic was too good to give up
Buffalo Sabres: Anders Bjork
this slot was occupied by taylor hall until he got traded, so why not the guy hall got traded for?
Calgary Flames: Matthew Tkachuk
i’m gonna throw them under the bus- this one was all corwin. it seems pretty unusual to me that the flames would leave tkachuk exposed, but hey, weird things happen, i guess
Carolina Hurricanes: Brock McGinn
this slot was originally occupied by haydn fleury until he got traded. finding a replacement was a bit tricky since i don’t know a whole lot about the canes depth type players, but corwin and i settled on mcginn
Chicago Blackhawks: Dylan Strome
one of my original kraken bait picks! (thanks @jakejuentzel) corwin argued with me on this one (they thought it should be adam gaudette), but again, no stats just vibes
Colorado Avalanche: Ryan Graves
i like gravy a lot, but with the avs defensive depth, he’ll definitely be exposed. however, he’s a good enough player that seattle taking him is a good possibility. from one of my favorite teams to another!
Columbus Blue Jackets: Boone Jenner
similar deal to the canes. i originally had one of the goalies here, but apparently elvis isn’t eligible for the expansion draft, and i also don’t really know the jackets roster. corwin tossed out jenner and i said sure
Dallas Stars: Jamie Oleksiak
don’t have much commentary here. the vibes are right
Detroit Red Wings: Christian Djoos
isn’t christian juice just wine? (i’m sorry i’m sorry)
Edmonton Oilers: Tyson Barrie
another original kraken bait! it just seems right
Florida Panthers: Mackenzie Weegar
i do not know the panthers at all and neither does corwin, but i recognized this name and decided to go for it. i will take advice from a panthers consultant for the next edition of this list if you are upset
Los Angeles Kings: Trevor Moore
i don’t know who this is but it seems right enough
Minnesota Wild: Matt Dumba
i kind of protested this one a little because i like dumba as a player, but i could see him getting exposed and taken by seattle
Montreal Canadiens: Jesperi Kotkaniemi
it took me three tries to spell that right. oops.
Nashville Predators: Juuse Saros
corwin and i disagreed on this one again. i thought saros would be the goalie the preds protect since he’s significantly younger than rinne, but corwin argued the preds like rinne too much to leave him exposed (not that i could see seattle taking rinne), so i gave them this one
New Jersey Devils: Nathan Bastian
OUCH OUCH IT HURTS the idea of nate being separated from mikey in the expansion draft is painful. but i was having a tough time thinking of the devils expansion draft situation so corwin tossed out a name. to quote them, “ron francis doesn’t care about your feelings!”
New York Islanders: Sebastian Aho
the inferior sebastian aho gets shipped to seattle. it makes sense.
New York Rangers: Kevin Rooney
it just seems right for this former devil to rejoin the cryptid gang with the kraken.
Ottawa Senators: Victor Mete
i don’t know a whole lot about him aside from the fact that the habs let him go on waivers, but he seems like the kraken bait type
Philadelphia Flyers: Nolan Patrick
again with the controversy! and again i’m blaming corwin. this seems kind of far-fetched to me, but they were adamant, so...
Pittsburgh Penguins: Brandon Tanev
maybe he’ll find some more ghosts in seattle
San Jose Sharks: Mario Ferraro
sharks fan friends i’m sorry! it feels right though. (and just imagine how good @18minutemajor‘s kraken drawings would look...)
St. Louis Blues: Jacob de la Rose
i could not tell you who this is. i am also accepting blues consultation
Tampa Bay Lighting: Blake Coleman
pickles to seattle has become my favorite kraken bait theory of late and i am not getting off this boat anytime soon
Toronto Maple Leafs: Travis Dermott
i don’t know much about the leafs so i’m trusting corwin’s judgement here
Vancouver Canucks: Jake Virtanen
this slot was originally occupied by adam gaudette before he got traded, but i feel like virtanen has equally the right vibes
Washington Capitals: Vitek Vanecek
the only thing i really know about the caps roster is that they’re old as dirt, so this seems about right
Winnipeg Jets: Laurent Brossoit
i’m still a little iffy on this one but corwin and i couldn’t think of anyone better. i think we can do better on the goalie situation for the next go-around though...
and that is that for kraken bait: no stats just vibes edition!
i will probably do another list soon, maybe around the end of the regular season, so if you have strong kraken bait opinions or just know a team that i don’t, drop me an ask or a DM and i’ll cite you as a kraken bait consultant on the next list!
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take me back to where i belong
take me back to where i belong – nokantrol for @babrielandeskog
words: 6k, last time i checked?
warnings: language & one brief, brief mention of the blackhawks. beyond that, nothing I can think of beyond a gratuitous love letter to whataburger with a side of tyler seguin/jamie benn
notes: a belated happiest of holidays to you, b! thanks for your patience on this wild behemoth of a fic. the holidays are just as good a reason as any to bring together dumb colorado boys and dumb dallas boys, esp over airplanes and biscuits & gravy.
as one of my favorite writers ever, it was an absolute honor to be able to write for you—hope you enjoy!!
title taken loosely from “home” by morgxn, which I only came across after it played in the background of a dylan larkin video haha
It’s dawning on you that you definitely should’ve taken up your mom on her offer of earplugs and a sleep mask as you were hurrying out of the house this morning. It’s been a headache of a day—you’d woken up early to help her cook Thanksgiving lunch, then spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with your cousins and tickling the little ones while their dads sat around the TV watching football.
You’d even managed to slip away into your old bedroom to FaceTime with Tyler and Jamie, and Jamie’s friend Tyson. He seemed nice enough, though clearly unprepared to meet new people given that he was in the middle of shoveling down a DQ Blizzard when Tyler turned the camera to him. You might’ve been preoccupied with stuffing your belongings back into your suitcase, but you were genuinely relieved that Tyler had found someone to hang out with during the brief holiday.
Tyler had straight up begged you to stay in town for Thanksgiving, claiming he needed your company to get through the loneliest holiday for a Canadian in America. You just snorted and patted his head, which had been in your lap like always, shushing him with a finger to his lips.
“You’re so full of shit, you know that Ty?” He waggled his eyebrows in response. Part of you did feel sorry for him, though. He’d spent last Thanksgiving with Rads “going stag”, as they called it, but the older man had worked out a visit from Makar and his parents over the long weekend and looked like he was going to keel over from excitement. Which wasn’t really a stretch from his normal self, but still.
Last you’d heard, Jamie was having a BC friend visit, and even Jackie had booked an Alaskan cruise with her girlfriends after Tyler insisted he’d be fine on his own. Now, you just feel bad for the poor guy. He’d been taking a break from going out—I’m just trying to look out for my liver, (Y/N)—and you knew he’d be a sad sack and spend the night in with the pups.
So you compromised and took the beginning of the week off to spend with your family in Chicago, and promised Tyler you’d be back by Thursday night at the latest. It all worked out perfectly since he and Jamie didn’t have a game again until Saturday…which brings you to this moment right here, sitting in a darkened plane with the hottest guy you’ve ever laid eyes on. And you regularly find yourself around some pretty fucking beautiful people. Klinger still won’t tell you what he uses for his skin.
The worst part about flying from Chicago to Dallas is there are never any direct flights with a legitimate shot of you getting on. You can’t complain, considering the fact that working for an airline means you fly for free, but after a jam-packed day like today, you’d like to put your feet up and skip the layovers.
Luckily, the flight you’d managed to get on flew through Denver without a plane change, which meant you were peacefully out for the count while the second batch of passengers got on. You’d been on so many flights for work within the past few months that falling asleep was just second nature to you now. Plus the luxury of a window seat? Score.
Of course, things don’t always work out like they should, so you were jolted from your nap with a loud snort and slurp before spotting the straight up god sitting at the end of your row. Seriously, you’d taken enough flights to know that meet-cutes just didn’t happen, but here you were now.
The blond man has his reading light on, which is a definite faux pas in your mind, but you pause at the fact that he’s actually reading a physical book. Not just any book at that, but you recognize the dark purple cover and intricate detailing of one of your favorite reads of the year. He must notice you staring, because he just turns the page and smiles before asking, “See something you like?”
You blush and scrub at your cheek before realizing the man hasn’t even lifted his eyes from the page.
“Actually, I do.”
That’s enough for him to raise his head and give you a full look at his face. He has gentle eyes that you can just bet are a blue you could get lost in, given what you can see in this lighting. The man’s beard is cropped clean and short, and you wish you could send a photo of his face to Tyler with a message reading, Real men don’t leave spaces in their mustaches.
“And what might I interest you in?”
“The book you’re reading, it’s one of my favorites,” you admit. You know you’re not the type to play coy and charm the pants off this guy, so you decide to do the best with what you’ve got. If he doesn’t like that, it’s not your problem.
It must be a good open though, because his eyes light up in response.
So it begins, from talking about how good All You Can Ever Know is, and how the author makes the nuance surrounding adoption and racism so poignant and real to their audience. You find out the man’s name is Gabe, and there’s a barely noticeable lilt to his words that he attributes to being from Sweden. Gabe glares at you when you jokingly ask for help setting up the new IKEA bookshelf in your living room, and in turn you offer him the extra cookie you’d saved from your earlier flight.
He tells you his plans got derailed last minute and that he was planning on crashing a friend’s Thanksgiving, because there just isn’t enough time around this holiday to head all the way back to Sweden. After a few hours with him, you’re not sure you want to let him go just yet, so you offer to drive him to his friend’s place since you’d left your car at the airport anyways.
You cringe inside when you realize how creepy that must sound and are a second away from laughing it off when he looks you in the eye gratefully and accepts.
After telling him about your travels, which is something you have in common, Gabe probes deeper and asks about the things that make you you, and something stops you from giving him the canned answer you give everyone else who asks.
“I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Walk into a bookstore and see my name on the shelves, you know?” You sigh wistfully at the dream you’ve had since you were a kid toting around a notebook and pen everywhere you went.
“Imagine that: (Y/N)… what’s your last name?” He quirks an eyebrow at you.
“You’re not getting that out of me—you could be a stalker, for all I know!” You laugh when he rolls his eyes in response. “It’s (Y/L/N),” you finally offer. “(Y/N) (Y/L/N).” Worst comes to worst, he’ll probably just find your LinkedIn and ask to connect or something.
“Wait…(Y/N) (Y/L/N).” His eyebrows scrunch up and you can see some kind of gears turning in his head. You’ve never seen this guy before in your life (you definitely would know if you had), so you wonder how he could suddenly be so familiar with your name. There’s nothing to do but laugh again when his face literally bursts into a sunbeam in recognition, the smile overtaking his eyes. You want to take a photo of it; it’s too much to take in with the naked eye all at once.
“You wrote that article in the inflight magazine, the one about the travel tips to Chicago!” You freeze, your grip running tighter on your phone.
“How do you even know that?” You exclaim, eyeing him suspiciously. “I was asleep for like 10 minutes before you started talking to me!”
“I get bored,” the man explains easily. “And I always check the Hidden Gems features because I travel a lot for work. It didn’t hurt that you wrote about one of my favorite cities.” He winks at you and you know you’re blushing now. Guys don’t really bother to flirt with you, let alone big, beefy ones with big, rugged hands and soft blue eyes.
“Oh, well. That’s quite a compliment, considering I write all of them. Thank you,” you manage to get out. Goodness, why did you have to be so awkward all the time.
“You’re welcome,” he replies earnestly.
“Listen, if you’re not in a hurry to get to your friend’s place…have dinner with me.” Something about Gabe makes you feel bold, like you’re the Sun and it’s up to you to rise and seize the day. You know you shouldn’t trust this stranger you’ve literally just met (your mind supplies that you were the one to offer him a ride in the first place) but the alarm bells aren’t going off in your head just yet, so you figure it’s worth a shot.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I know a place.” Actually, you can’t think of any places that might be worthy of housing Gabe, but you’ll act first, and deal with the repercussions later.
“Sure, let’s do it,” he replies easily, smiling up at you from his perch atop his carry-on.
Of course, you have to keep up the bravado from just moments before, all the while racking through every restaurant you can think of nearby. You’re not sure where Gabe’s headed, and while you’ll most likely stop by Tyler’s before heading back home, you want to stay relatively close by.
“How do you feel about fast food?” You blurt out, your mind immediately jumping to the Whataburger you frequent on your way to work in the mornings.
Gabe smiles wryly at you before nodding. Patting his stomach lightly, to which you vehemently fight against imagining the abs that must live beneath his sweater, he musters out a nonchalant, “I’m sure I can break my diet tonight, just for you.”
You roll your eyes and shove at his arm; you feel like you’ve known Gabe for years as opposed to the few hours you spent with him 35,000 feet above ground. Maybe time doesn’t exist that high up in the air.
“Your parents live in Chicago. You live in Dallas,” Gabe checks off as he shoves a spicy ketchup smothered fry into his mouth. “What’s the deal with that?”
“It’s not that complicated, really. I grew up in Chicago, loved it, got an internship in Dallas during college and loved the work, and I’ve been here since I graduated. I get homesick a lot though, so the flight perks come in handy.” You bite your cheek to keep from getting emotional; any mention of missing your parents still gets you teary.
“Wow,” Gabe breathes. You’re too preoccupied with trying to discreetly blink the tears away before he notices, that you don’t have time to gauge his reaction.
It’s the truth, though. You never thought you’d leave the Midwest, with its ability to shift through all four seasons in a day. But you did, and you can’t feel bothered to apologize for the fact that you’re still not sure where you would call home. What you loved about Dallas the first time around was that it was your space. Everyone you knew in Chicago had practically known you since you’d been in diapers, and you never realized how heavy that burden had been until you left.
You’re just about to say something when Gabe clears his throat to speak.
“(Y/N), I can’t believe you moved over a thousand miles away from home right out of college and have been sticking it out this entire time. You’re really brave.”
“Oh, um. Thank you?” You wipe your nose and sniff before taking a bite of your burger. No one had ever reacted like that before. You’re used to people ribbing you for your flight benefits or joking about how there’s no way you can go back to Chiberia after a few years in the South.
“I get it, though,” Gabe continues. “I moved to Canada when I was in, what do you call it, high school? Then after a few years, I settled down in Denver for work, and that’s where I’ve been ever since.” You quirk an eyebrow, wondering if his parents had been in the service given how he’d had to move all over the world. Now, your move seems small in comparison.
“And you mentioned you were born in Sweden, right? I’ve always wanted to go,” you say wistfully. One day, you’d get your backpacking trip around Europe. One day.
Gabe nods eagerly, and thankfully doesn’t comment on your blatant change of subject. He reminds you of a big golden retriever with how often he smiles and seems to enjoy every moment he’s in. He runs a hand through his hair before diving into what it was like growing up in Stockholm, and how he feels like he’s back home anytime he can smell salty sea air. It’s not all too different from Jamie’s childhood, you realize belatedly. You think they’d get on well.
The two of you continue to trade stories back and forth in the tiny Whataburger down the street from Love Field, and you can’t ignore the want bubbling up from deep within.
When Gabe inputs the address into Google Maps and holds it up for you to see, you have to blink and bring his phone closer to your face to get a better look.
“Wait. Gabe. Whose house are you going to?” Gabe pauses, looking uneasy for the first time since you met just a few hours ago.
“I told you, he’s like my best friend’s best friend. Jamie.”
“Oh. My. God. Oh my God. Gabe. Gabe.” You burst into peals of laughter and have to hit your steering wheel multiple times over because no fucking way. This cannot be real life, right now.
“(Y/N)?” He still looks hesitant, and you’re sure you know why.
“Gabe,” you wheeze. “Gabe. Oh my god. You’re going to Jamie Benn’s house right now? How do you even know him?”
His eyes narrow for a long moment, assessing your frankly embarrassing stature, and he shifts to take his phone back. You’re aware of how you probably look, like a huge Jamie Benn stalker or something, but this turn of events is just too ridiculous to wrap your mind around, let alone, stop laughing at.
“Do you…know him, too?” He asks warily.
“Gabe,” you repeat. “He’s one of my best friends here in Dallas.”
If real life played out the way it did in cartoons, you know you’d see a series of anvils falling from the sky or something equally ridiculous to depict his surprise. Gabe looks flabbergasted, and at a complete loss for words if his sputtering is any indication.
“No fucking way, (Y/N). You sure you’re not just messing with me right now?” He’s finally able to squeeze out right when you start wheezing again. You nod and wipe at the tears streaming down your cheeks; it’s unbelievable how this guy’s got you crying twice for two astronomically different reasons, all within a span of 30 minutes. Gabe must be just as delirious or amused as you are, because he joins you quickly after.
When your giggles finally subside and you trust yourself to drive, you slot your key into the ignition and get started on the drive over to Preston Hollow. You make this exact drive nearly every day, what with the airport being so close to work, but the drive from the airport to Jamie’s house is one you know all too well, having literally gone straight from various work trips to movie nights at his place numerous times over. Just a few weeks ago, Tyler had been walking Gerry over and you’d nearly run the puppy over when he bounded into the street at the sight of your car.
“So, (Y/N),” Gabe starts when you pull out of the Whataburger parking lot. “How exactly do you know all these Stars players?” You bite back a groan; Tyler always gets a kick out of how much you hate telling this story.
“I told you I interned here during college, right?” Gabe nods, and you just barely keep yourself from slamming on the brakes when he flits his tongue to swipe across his upper lip.
“I fell in love with Dallas, and with my line of work being what it is, it’s all about who you know. So after I moved back to Chicago to finish school, I knew I had to make some connections if I wanted to find a job in another state. There weren’t many networking events here, so I kind of had to improvise. My friends took me to a lot of Stars games when I was interning, and I remembered that Casino Night was coming up…” you trail off as you slowly come to a stop at the next red light.
“So I’m guessing you went and seduced some big, sexy hockey players, huh?” Gabe moves closer to dig his elbow into your arm.
“That’s exactly what happened, how did you know,” you deadpan.
“No, for goodness sake’s, Gabe, I didn’t seduce them. I’ve never followed hockey that closely, so I didn’t recognize their faces. Jamie talked to me for almost 20 minutes about working in the Metroplex before a random PR girl came to take him away.” You laugh at the memory of a bumbling Jamie Benn trying to talk to you about taxes and insurance benefits before Tyler had swooped in and hip checked him before winking at you.
With the help of alcohol and some distance from the cameras, Jamie was all soft excitement and fun innuendos while Tyler had just melted into a literal puppy after the event ended. Jamie had asked for your number after you shared some drinks with him and Tyler that night, and you’d always wondered what would’ve happened if you hadn’t had to fly back home the next morning.
Regardless, you kept in touch with the boys until you got a full-time offer with the company you’d interned for the previous summer. When finally making the move to the Big D, you suddenly had 15 fully-grown hockey players at your service when you pulled in with your giant U-Haul. No way could you have imagined any of that from your failed attempt at networking.
“So…your best friends are hockey players, then,” Gabe trails off. You’re not sure where he’s going, but you just nod.
“Yeah, I go to their games and I can finally tell them apart on the ice, but I’m more of a baseball girl myself.” It’s true, you’d grown up in Cubs territory and their World Series win ranked in your list of favorite moments from your entire life.
“Do you know any other hockey players?”
“Mmm, I don’t think so. I guess I know who Sidney Crosby is? But that’s only because Tyler’s obsessed with him.” Gabe laughs brightly and you hear an of course he is under his breath.
“Wait…do you know Tyler, too?”
“Um, yeah (Y/N). I kind of have to, considering I play hockey, too.” This time you really slam on the brakes, which is just fine because no one’s on the road, anyways. You’ve only got another mile or so until you make it to Jamie’s place, and you’d like some time to wrap your head around the fact that this dream of man regularly plays against your best friends.
“You’re a hockey player from Sweden…who plays in Colorado,” you utter our slowly. “You’re somehow friends with Tyson, who’s friends with Jamie, which probably means that Tyson’s a hockey player too, right?” Everything is wild and nothing makes sense.
Gabe at least has the courtesy of looking sheepish. He scratches at his neck and shrugs.
“Yeah, Tyson’s one of my best friends in Denver. You can’t tell him that, though, or else he’ll get a big head.”
“Okay, just give me a second to wrap my head around this. Also, get out your phone because we need to record their reactions when we walk in together. Good thing I have a key,” you whisper conspiratorially.
“I think I kind of like bossy (Y/N).”
You know Jamie’s already expecting you, especially since Tyler had texted he was still hanging out with the guys. Gabe’s already got the video rolling on his phone when you slide the key into the lock. You call out a hello as you slip off your shoes and gesture for Gabe to follow when you hear an “in the kitchen!”
Marshall and Cash come bounding up to you while Gerry takes a moment to survey the new guest. Gabe gives him a generous amount of pats, which has Gabe on his knees scratching the puppy’s belly in no time.
“And that’s why we gave a key to (Y/N) in the first place—she somehow always brings us free Whataburger.” You roll your eyes at Jamie’s bravado, he’s clearly raised his voice so you could hear him.
“Holy shit! Landesnerd!”
You turn and mouth Landesnerd? to Gabe in question, to which he shrugs and probably just zooms in on your face with the camera.
Tyson runs over to see Gabe, bypassing you completely. Jamie’s slower to stroll out and he raises an eyebrow at you before pulling you in for a squeeze. He smells like cedar and soap like always, and it’s so familiar to you now that it almost hurts. Tyler comes steamrolling out of the kitchen yelling your name and throws himself into your arms when Jamie finally lets go. This one’s all Aveda shampoo and Armani cologne, and you playfully bite at his shoulder, which has him yelping and jumping away as always. It’s only been a few days, but you’ve missed your boys something fierce.
Plus, it’s only a matter of time before they realize who you walked in with.
“Hold up, hold up, hold up.” Tyson finally pauses, literally scratching his head at the sight of you. “Do you guys know each other? Gabriel, how did you even get into this house?”
Gabe’s still getting everything on video, and you’re so glad it’s all getting caught on tape. Tyler tilts his head side-to-side, glancing between you and Gabe before finally turning and elbowing Jamie in the ribs. He makes a few contemplative noises before finally whispering to Jamie, who’s eyes shine with mirth when he lands his gaze on you, of all people.
“Hey, Landy, what’s up man? How do you know our girl (Y/N), here?” Tyler continues smoothly, pulling Gabe in for one of those complicated handshake turned bro taps. Jamie does the same, but you can tell from the way Gabe shoves at his chest that Jamie’s chosen to chirp him. Of course.
Tyler just waggles his eyebrows at you suggestively when Gabe finally responds, ruffling Tyson’s hair at the same time.
“It’s just gotta be fate, right? We were on the same flight over, we had Whataburger together, and here we are now.”
“You watch yourself, Landeskog, throwing around words like fate and together. Our (Y/N)’s too good for Colorado scum like you!” You lunge to tackle Tyler to the ground, which just begins an all-out brawl once Marshall and Cash get word of the fun.
Jamie just sighs all too knowingly, and stops in the kitchen to grab the bags of chips he only saves for special occasions. Something tells you it might be a Goon night after all.
When Jamie officially deems it too late for you to go home, he sends you to the guest room on the second floor to spend the night, just as you have numerous times before. You’re thankful he’s pulling the trigger and has a shit ton of extra rooms for everyone to stay in, one of which already has a new toothbrush and one of Jamie’s spare hoodies.
When you wake up the next morning, it’s to the smell of hazelnut which has you out of bed and downstairs almost immediately. Tyson doesn’t even look half awake yet, but Jamie slides over a mug of black coffee to you wordlessly. The shower’s going down the hall, which tells you exactly where Gabe is.
“Can we do breakfast,” you whine at Jamie. He’s become the big brother you’d never had, and you know he dotes on you as a result of being a lifelong youngest child. Jamie just grunts in response as Tyson flops his hands over his ears with a long, pronounced groan.
“Let’s do Norma’s, I want biscuits,” you continue. Jamie nods and pulls out his phone, presumably to check in with Tyler.
“It’s good, I promise,” you reassure Tyson. You pat his head of curls gently and get another sad moan in return. Poor guy, sleeping in must definitely be a BC thing.
You and Gabe are the first ones to arrive at Norma’s an hour later, Tyson texting that he and Jamie would pick Tyler up on their way over. You knew if you were to confront either of your friends about what they were trying to do, the big dumb cow eyes would come out to play, and you really didn’t have time for that right now. You just want to enjoy the time you have with Gabe before he leaves, and be able to keep moving forward without even more unrequited feelings weighing you down. Fuck, you don’t even know if it’s been long enough to characterize these feelings as feelings.
As Gabe steps into the bustling diner, you can see the exact moment everything begins to process in that big, blond brain of his. He opens his mouth, then shuts, just smiling down to himself. He stands off to the side while you give your name to the hostess, and make your way over to join him against the wall.
It smells like heaven, if the celestial beings cried tears of grease, and the diner itself is packed with people of all ages. There’s a booth just next to the bar that’s opened up, and you can’t suppress the giggle that erupts when you imagine yourself and four massive hockey players squeezed into it. Gabe calls your name quietly, and you look up to see mirth dancing in his blue, blue eyes.
Completely unaware of the image burned in your brain, he asks, “What’s with all the Texas flags everywhere?”
You have to chuckle at that. Norma’s is known for straight-up Southern comfort food, and their infamous booths decked out in full Texan attire. It was the first thing you’d noticed your first visit, after the giant pies up front that were easily the size of your entire torso. You still remember trying to take sneaky photos to send to your parents all those years ago. Now, they all knew you by name.
“G, it’s Texas,” you reply simply. There really is no other way to put it. “Sweet tea, Whataburger, and good ol’ American football—that’s the Texas way,” you drawl exaggeratedly.
It’s only a couple minutes before the rest of the boys make it to brunch, and if y’all didn’t stick out before, you definitely do now. Tyson’s the closest to you in height, but there’s no denying he’s just as capable as the others in easily benching your weight.
While the people in Texas can be a little softer in the middle, they’re that much kinder in spirit. The city boy in Tyler has slowly been weathered away over the years, and you can’t even pinpoint the Canadian in Jamie anymore. Which is why Gabe with his perfect face and eyes and hair and everything sticks out like a sore thumb in this establishment. It’s like trying to stuff the Sun into a one story home, and telling yourself you still need a lamp.
Tyler kicks at your foot lightly, and it snaps you out of your reverie. The hostess is already leading Jamie, Tyson, and Gabe to a larger booth in the back, so you and Tyler pull up the rear. He offers you his arm, just like always, and he leads you to your seat with a flourish. Jamie’s already saved a spot for Tyler right next to him, patting the cushion with his paw-like hand, which leaves you with the seat next to…Gabe. Of course.
Jamie’s smirking at you when you look up, so you pointedly gesture to the arm he has stretched out behind Tyler to get him to stop. His smirk turns into a shy grin then, and he just shrugs good-naturedly before turning back to his menu. You already know what you’re getting—a Number 7 with extra gravy, as always—so you turn your attention back to Gabe, who’s bouncing between studying the laminated menu and looking around the diner to see what everyone else is eating.
“The biscuits here are the best things I’ve ever tasted,” you offer. Gabe’s brow is still furrowed, eyes flicking back and forth between the menu choices.
“Okay, but can it beat Denver Biscuit Company?” Tyson all but yells from Gabe’s other side. Some other customers nearby turn their heads in interest, and the curly-haired guy is straight up lucky there’s no one with a fishing vest on in your vicinity right now. Don’t mess with Texas is right.
“Oh my god, Four, we can’t take you anywhere,” Gabe hisses, reaching under the table to pinch at Tyson’s thigh.
“Gabe! What the fuck! It’s a free country, Landesnerd!” Tyler’s straight up giggling now as he leans even further into Jamie’s side, and you’re always a sucker for his giggles.
“This has to be a Colorado thing, why are you guys like this?”
“Oh yeah, Benny? Wanna tell Tyler and (Y/N) about the shit we got up to in Kelowna? Don’t kid yourself, bud, you’re not that great.” Tyler’s eyebrows shoot to his hairline and he mouths over a what to you before turning back to Jamie, who’s huge eyes are looking extra cow-like with a side of feigned innocence.
This time, it’s Gabe’s turn to laugh and turn the conversation to shenanigans he and Klinger got into when playing at Worlds together. You don’t know for what, but you feel like you’ve been rewarded with something when he turns to give you a private smile after ordering an extra side of biscuits.
“For us to share away from the hooligans,” he whispers.
Jamie and Tyler had a quick practice over in Frisco after breakfast, so you’d brought Gabe and Tyson back to your place to hang out before meeting the guys again later. Tyson had holed up in your den to call his girlfriend Emma, and last you had checked he had fallen asleep on your futon. You hadn’t expected anything less. Now, you and Gabe are left watching Love Actually in your living room while sipping on some leftover apple cider you’d reheated on the stove.
“Hey Gabe?” It comes out as barely a whisper, but his eyes flick to yours as he murmurs in response. He taps your ankle with his toes, stupid fuzzy socks nudging against your bare skin. You wish you had the liberty of reaching over and tucking your hand into his, pulling him to wrap his strong, wiry arms around your frame. He looks like a scene on your couch, with your favorite throw strewn across his frame.
“Yeah, (Y/N)?”
“What happens now?” You’re scared to even utter the words, afraid he’ll just brush it all off. Luckily, he seems to have given this a lot more thought than you have.
“Well, I know I really like you, and I think you like me,” he replies easily. “We can be really good together, and I want to give it a shot—give us a shot.”
This is crazy. You’d met him only 24 hours ago, and here he was talking about a long distance relationship. Friends of yours had done this in the past, but you never imagined a whirlwind meet-cute like this for yourself. It was ridiculous to even wrap your head around—this legitimately only happened in rom-coms.
“You sound crazy right now, Gabe.”
“Here’s the thing, though. I’m all in. I don’t mean to sound cocky or presumptuous here, but I have the means to fly us both back and forth even if you didn’t get free flights. I don’t know how we got here over the past day, but I do know that I trust you and I’m willing to try. Are you?”
“Pinch me.”
“What?” Gabe barks out a surprised laugh.
“Pinch me, Gabriel. Prove to me that I’m not dreaming.” And because it’s Gabe, he does.
“Ow! Okay, I get it, I’m not dreaming. You didn’t have to pinch me so hard with your dumb big hockey player fingers!”
“(Y/N), come on. Seriously?”
“I have thin skin! Also…if you’re that committed to this, I can be too. I really like you, too. Also, mess with my heart, young Gabriel, and I’ll send the dogs after you.” You point a finger at his amused face and realize that yeah, maybe it’d be nice to allow good things to happen to you.
“Don’t worry, I can take Tyler in a fight. Jamie…maybe not. But you can’t tell him that.” You don’t get the chance to respond as he pulls you in for the first kiss of the rest of your life.
One Year Later – Chicago, IL
“I love Chicago—ever since a buddy of mine forced me to explore with him a few years ago, I fell in love with the architecture.” You expect the tips of his ears to go pink sheepishly or something equally indicative of embarrassment, but he sounds bold, confident. It’s always a turn-on when guys are unapologetic about their passions, but you never would’ve expected his to be architecture—even then, that of your hometown.
It makes you love him that much more.
“It’s the clean lines of all the modern buildings,” he continues, “and the way it contrasts with everything around it. Look at the Wrigley building or the Tribune building and compare it to the Sears Tower.” He sighs contentedly as he peers out the window of the train car, skyline still just about the size of your thumb from this distance.
“You really know your stuff, eh, Blondie?” Gabe’s head whips around at that, and you bite your lip to keep from snorting right then and there.
“Blondie, huh?”
“It figures, though,” you continue. “Big head must mean a big brain for all that random shit you know.” If anything, spending time with Gabe and the boys in Denver has only provided you with more material to help keep the big Swede in check. It must show, since all you hear is a muffled, “Fuckin’ Four” in response.
It feels good to hop off the Orange Line and feel the cold air on your face. Having spent the last few winters in Dallas, it’s disorienting to feel the pins and needles pricking your face again. Gabe slots his fingers through yours and smiles toothlessly as he presses a chaste kiss to the back of your gloved hand. This city might not be home for you anymore, but this smart, kind, hilarious, ridiculous human being next to you has proven himself more than worthy of that title.
“Oh come on, you sap. You said we had dinner reservations!” Gabe had, indeed, told you in explicit detail what he looked forward to doing to you that night, and it encompassed a lot more than just dinner plans. You’re glad it’s so chilly outside, because you can blame your cheeks flaming pink on the weather.
The two of you walk for a bit in comfortable silence, and the familiar streets make way for a slew of old memories. You remember running from campus to the old train station with your college roommate so you could catch the last train to Schaumburg, sitting in front of the Bean with a box of macarons crying over your ex-boyfriend, and even the time you’d somehow ventured into the shady part of town late at night and had called your dad in a panic.
They’re all fond memories, of course, crucial parts of the saga you call your life. But when Gabe tightens his grip and smiles down at you with so much warmth in his eyes, you can’t imagine ever looking back at this city without thinking of him and all that he adds to every moment of your life. You have all the tools and willpower to make your life yours—just like he pointed out that first night, you moved to Dallas on your own and made an entirely new life for yourself. But he adds so much color and meaning you’d never even considered before, that he makes everything more. If you were functioning on a solid 7, he’s the one that dials everything up to a 12.
And you’re struck with this huge revelation as you’re walking down Wacker in the freezing cold that you want this, want him, forever. It doesn’t make any sense, but your heart starts pounding in your ears, and you never really were very good at keeping a poker face, because all you want to do is tell him all of it now now now.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too, babe.” Gabe chuckles and runs a thumb across your cheek. “But I have a feeling that’s not all you want to say.”
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
His eyes widen almost comically, and if you weren’t so nervous about what you’d just said, you might be making fun of him for it.
“Seriously, (Y/N)? You couldn’t wait just three more hours?” His voice is suspiciously watery, and he sounds like you’d just sucker punched him in the solar plexus.
“Wait. What?”
Gabe shakes his head fondly. “Look up,” he whispers.
Too caught in your thoughts earlier, you hadn’t realized where he’d brought you. The sun’s just setting and the sky’s an inky violet lit up by the various buildings comprising your favorite skyline. You look up and gasp at what beholds you because, goddamn.
The first time Gabe had come to Chicago with you, he’d brought you to this exact building on his impromptu architecture tour of the city. Gabe had told you how it was urban legend that the architect of this building had scrapped all his original designs after the death of his fiancée, and designed the building to take after her engagement ring when looked at from the sky.
“No. No fucking way. Gabe.”
There’s no response, so you turn to grab his arm but he’s no longer where you left him. Panic comes over you for a brief second, but it all melts away when you turn to find him kneeling on the ground next to you. He has a huge smile painted on his face, and it almost distracts you from the little jewelry box engulfed by his huge hands.
“(Y/N), I should’ve known that you’d ruin the surprise somehow, but I guess it’s okay because it just brings you one step closer to being my wife. When we came here the first time and I told you that story of the architect, that was me promising you that one day you’d be back with an engagement ring of your own.
“You complete me in a way I never could’ve imagined—you’re it for me, you complement me in every way. You inspire me every day because I see how hard you work for every single thing, and I’m so damn lucky to have found someone that brings that kind of resilience into our relationship. I love you to the end of this earth, and there’s no one else I would rather choose to build my life with.
“Man, it’s really fucking cold down here, (Y/N). Marry me?” The tears have been spilling down your cheeks for quite some time now, so it should come as no surprise to Gabe when you nod and throw yourself into his arms.
“Of course, Gabe, of course. I love you so much.” Gabe presses a loud, wet kiss to your temple in response and laughs heartily when you groan.
“Thank you for choosing me,” he whispers before untangling your limbs and taking your left hand in his. Pulling off your glove and holding it between his teeth, as he does, he slips the ring onto your finger, and you know you’re crying again at just how perfect everything feels. So you pull your new fiancé close and press your lips against his, while Gabe sweeps his tongue in little kitten licks against your lower lip in an effort to deepen the kiss. It only serves to make you laugh though, pure joy coursing through your veins.
“I can’t wait to be your wife,” you say when you finally pull back.
“Don’t you mean, you can’t wait to be Mrs. Babriel Landeskog?” You shove at his shoulder as he smiles unapologetically, taking the opportunity to nuzzle his face into your neck.
Your ring finger suddenly weighs more than it ever has, your favorite human has his arms wrapped tightly around you, and you can hear faint remnants of the carolers singing just a few blocks away at the Christkindlmarket. But what really gets you is the promise of the future as you feel Gabe smile against your skin. A crucial part of what makes a home is having him by your side, and luckily, that’s where he’ll be for the rest of your lives.
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A Past Joy(stick)
I got into a discussion with friends today about game controllers. Someone brought up the Microsoft Sidewinder, and I mentioned the Gravis Blackhawk. Then I asked if any of them remembered the Epyx 500XJ joystick.
I believe it was due to this device that I first learned the word “ergonomic.” It was the first joystick to be designed to fit comfortably in your hand, rather than the typical rectangular base. I spent many an hour playing games on my Commodore 64 with one of these. It also employed higher-quality microswitches, making it easier to manipulate and providing better performance.
I wish I still had one, as it’s a great, historic example of user-centered design.
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https://gravis.joysticksi.biz/
GRAVIS BLACKHAWK DIGITAL JOYSTICK GAME CONTROLLER PRE OWNED TESTED WORKS
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USA 1997
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I just added this listing on Poshmark: Gravy Boat Large Ceramic Cream color 10" x 4".
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Long time, no talk
My publisher pulled me aside yesterday and told me that my company wants to promote me and groom me for a long-term role at the paper -- but on my own terms. My "homework" for the next couple weeks is to think about where I ultimately want to go career-wise and what tools and resources I will need to get there. Very cool.
Tonight I'm going back to CrossFit, and we're pressing, push pressing and push jerking. On a Friday! My favorites! And I have new Nanos to lift in! Yes!
We're supposed to get a lot of freezing rain this weekend. I'm looking forward to spending two days curled up, reading my book and getting work done in my clean, clean house. We stocked up on supplies yesterday, and now have biscuits and gravy, pizzas, steak, veggies and tacos to make and eat.
We're starting hello fresh delivery soon, and I'm excited to look through and pick our meals. I especially can't wait for my husband to learn some basic cooking skills!
I've been going through all the "On the Media" podcasts lately. They do a good job explaining what's going on in the news and offering criticisms and critiques of how media and journalists handle things. Probably my favorite podcast right now. Worth the listen.
Next month I'm going to my first-ever Blackhawks game in Chicago (and possibly seeing Michael Ian Black the night before). The week after that, I am going to see Against Me! in Arlington Heights because the venue is literally in my best friend's backyard. Can’t wait to get drunk and scream my lungs out to “Cavalier Eternal” and pretend I'm 18 again! Also planning an IKEA birthday trip to St. Louis with my mom.
Robbie and I finally jumped on the home improvement train, and in the past week I've swept/mopped/dusted floors and baseboards; deep cleaned the oven and stove; sorted through kitchen cupboards for excess dishes we never use / don't need (fun fact: everyone buys you cups when you get married). Robbie bought us a fancy sound bar and sound system for living room TV and hung art in our dining room, living room, hallway, office / gym / guest bedroom and bathroom.
My work is hosting a "Burger Week" in two weeks, and I've been tasked with eating a bunch of cheeseburgers from local eateries and writing reviews on them. Life is rough sometimes.
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Pilfered Jersey now things that really surprises me it
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How a mayor’s crazy idea put a Chicago suburb into the bowl game spotlight
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — If you’ve ever traveled through Chicago’s O’Hare airport, there’s a good chance you’ve flown over Elk Grove Village’s industrial park.
There is zero chance you’ve given it a second thought.
Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson wants to change that. When Friday’s “Makers Wanted” Bahamas Bowl kicks off, his northwest Chicago suburb of 33,000 people will officially join the eclectic list of bowl game sponsors that includes snack food, automobile tires and fast-food restaurants.
“Makers Wanted” is the village’s marketing slogan and Johnson hopes the people watching will have their interest piqued and be inspired to search the meaning of the phrase online. Once they do, they’ll be hit with a host of results touting the benefits to relocating or expanding your business to Elk Grove Village (the municipality’s name will be printed on both 25-yard-lines).
“We want to reach some guy in California, who’s thinking about opening a second manufacturing plant in the Midwest,” Johnson said while sitting in his office earlier this month. “His realtor walks in and says, ‘I’ve got Milwaukee, I’ve got Elk Grove Village and I’ve got Sheboygan.’ We want to have that guy in California to know what we’re about when that time comes for him to make a decision.”
Johnson isn’t offended if you think he’s crazy that sponsoring a bowl game will fill his industrial park or the new 85-acre technology park the village is constructing. His wife shot him down 30 seconds after he came up with the idea last winter, saying he was “[bleeping] nuts.”
So did the people he works with.
“They didn’t use the [f-word] but they also basically said I was nuts,” Johnson said with a laugh.
But the story of how Johnson saw how he could turn $300,000 of his marketing budget into an attention coup for Elk Grove Village is an interesting one involving President Donald Trump, the Chicago Cubs and a warm Christmas in Wisconsin.
What’s more interesting is that it may have already worked.
“We hit a grand slam,” Johnson said.
Craig Johnson gambled that a $300,000 bowl sponsorship would help Elk Grove Village attract business. (Courtesy of Pat Dahl/Banner Collective)
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Trump and the Cubs lead the way
The largest industrial park in the nation is a mishmash of unremarkable buildings spread over six square miles and 62 million square feet of industrial space. It’s home to 100,000 employees from surrounding communities and a variety of businesses that thrive on the area’s easy access to air, land and rail.
All of that makes Elk Grove Village the second-largest manufacturing base in Illinois — Chicago is the first — and the list of products that are put together here is a varied one. Pinball machines are manufactured in Elk Grove Village. So is the floor for the Final Four, as well as more mundane things like frozen food and countertops.
Over 3,600 businesses call Elk Grove Village home, but they do come and go. Which means that Johnson — a fast-talking and energetic man who has been mayor since 1997 — is always thinking of ways of keeping those buildings full.
Back in 2015, the industrial park was still recovering from the recession and its vacancy rate was just over seven percent. Johnson and his board knew it needed to get proactive, so they started exploring the possibility of regional TV ads.
With the rise of Netflix and DVRs, Johnson was only interested in programming that people still watch live: news and sports. So a plan was quickly hatched: Elk Grove Village would take out regional ads on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC to reach business owners in southern Wisconsin, eastern Iowa and northwestern Indiana.
It would also negotiate a season-long deal with the Chicago Cubs to become a sponsor. Sure, the team had averaged 93 losses a season the previous five years, but the price ($175K) was right.
Story continues
The timing was perfect. Not only did the Cubs blossom into a perennial contender that would set record ratings on its way to the 2016 World Series crown, but a guy named Donald Trump would make each news station must-see television each night.
Elk Grove Village’s name was out there. And over the next three years, the park’s vacancy rate plummeted. It recently checked in at a record-low 2.6 percent in the second quarter of 2018.
“You’re f—in’ nuts”
Johnson isn’t sure how big of a role marketing played in the industrial park filling up. The strength of the economy obviously played the most important part, as did a bevy of infrastructure improvements made to the highways and interchanges that surround Elk Grove Village.
He was certain, however, that the village would have to remain vigilant in keeping that rate low in future years, which meant maintaining a vital marketing presence.
The only problem was that rates for the nightly Trump and Cubs shows had skyrocketed. Continuing on the same path didn’t present the same value for Elk Grove Village as it once did.
So Johnson started doing some thinking outside of the box.
“I get bored and I think of different things,” Johnson said. “I drive [my staff] nuts with some of the things I come up with.”
Johnson knew he wanted to make a big splash. He looked into running an Elk Grove Village ad during the Super Bowl or Oscars, but both were cost prohibitive, running millions of dollars the village didn’t have for just 30 seconds of airtime.
Then, one day last December, he and his wife were at their second home in Wisconsin. The weather was unseasonably warm. Johnson couldn’t snowmobile or ice fish, so he sat on the couch watching bowl game after bowl game.
During one of the games — he can’t remember which — an idea popped into his head.
“Look at the television,” he said to his wife, who was sitting nearby.
“Yeah, another bowl game,” she said. “What about it?”
“Look at the logo on the 50-yard-line,” Johnson said. “Can you picture ‘Makers Wanted Bowl’ on the 50-yard-line?”
“You’re [bleeping] nuts,” she said.
“That’s all I wanted to hear, thank you,” Johnson said.
Return on investment
Though he faced initial skepticism from his wife and co-workers, Johnson found that his enthusiasm was shared by a few marketing experts whose opinion he values.
From there, they started looking into sponsorship options. ESPN Events manages 15 different bowl games and Elk Grove Village zeroed in on three of them: the Hawaii, New Mexico or Bahamas Bowl.
Johnson didn’t like Hawaii’s late-night slot and New Mexico wasn’t a warm-weather locale like Johnson was picturing in his head, so the Bahamas Bowl — a game previously sponsored by Popeyes Chicken — ended up being the choice.
For $300,000, about half of the village’s annual marketing budget, Elk Grove Village would make sponsorship history as the Bahamas Bowl title sponsor. The village board approved the deal with a unanimous vote at a special board meeting at the end of July and a public announcement was made.
Johnson was staggered by the response.
“Our goal all along was that we wanted 95 percent of the benefit by kickoff,” Johnson said. “In the first 24 hours, we got five thousand times the return.”
The Associated Press wrote an article that landed Elk Grove Village in three of India’s largest newspapers. One of Johnson’s friends was traveling through Berlin and saw his hometown mentioned on “SportsCenter.” All of Chicago’s television stations came out to interview him for the nightly news.
They all asked: Is this really worth it?
“You’re out here, aren’t you?” Johnson asked right back.
In the middle of the initial rush of attention, Johnson took a call from Elk Grove Village’s most famous resident. John McDonough is the president of the Chicago Blackhawks and is known as one of the best marketers in town for his decades of work with the Blackhawks and Cubs.
“Craig, you’re a genius,” McDonough said, according to Johnson. “You got all of this for just $300,000? We have to win the Stanley Cup to get this kind of attention.”
’This is not a junket’
Three weeks before the game, Johnson sits in his office doing yet another interview about the Bahamas Bowl. Framed printouts of internet articles about the game hang on the walls.
The reception from Elk Grove Village residents has been a good one, he said. The news channels and Cubs sponsorships got them used to the idea of advertising the village as a business destination, plus property taxes are staying flat.
Additionally, Johnson has made a point of stating in every interview that any village official wanting to attend the Bahamas Bowl will foot their own travel, hotel and food bills.
That includes him.
“This is not a junket,” Johnson said.
Elk Grove Village has an option to extend its Bahamas Bowl sponsorship to the 2019 game for the same price and must do so by March 1.
Since the novelty of a suburb sponsoring a bowl game will have worn off, it’s unlikely the village will draw the same sort of attention from the media. But Johnson is open to renewing if he sees results from an advertising campaign done by Banner Collective and a six-week internet advertising campaign that is targeting business owners who are also sports fans. If those owners click through to see what Makers Wanted and Elk Grove Village are all about, it will be considered a success.
Even if it doesn’t, that’s OK, too.
“Everything we get from here is gravy,” Johnson said. “[The sponsorship] did everything we wanted it to — it got our name out there, it got our community out there. If you go and Google ‘Makers Wanted,’ Elk Grove Village is going to come up.”
More from Yahoo Sports:
• President Trump has to sell his Tebow helmet
• The 10 biggest NFL Pro Bowl snubs
• 5-star spurns Alabama, flips back to Michigan
• Haynes: Kings star says he’s ‘fastest’ in the NBA
Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/mayors-crazy-idea-put-chicago-suburb-bowl-game-spotlight-170031301.html?src=rss
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Ramblings: Draisaitl, Bjorkstrand, Kuemper, Tatar, & Assessing Binnington’s Future
The Panthers have officially hit the wall. They could only ride Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov for so long. Those two were on the heater to end all heaters the last month or so. Alas, all good things come to an end. And for my finals' opponent (who owns them both plus Keith Yandle) it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
The Panthers were smacked around 6-1 by the Habs on Tuesday. Tomas Tatar scored two goals and added an assist, Carey Price stopped 33 and the Canadiens moved to within a point of the first Wild Card.
Florida was officially eliminated from contention.
Tatar has been a godsend off the bench for many squads this month. The 28-year-old has 10 points in 12 March contests – nine of which have come at even-strength. His 57 points in 75 games represent a new career-high. All the metrics are right where they need to be. This is a rejuvenated player who should be capable of posting 55-plus again next season.
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Speaking of the Panthers, Roberto Luongo didn’t dress in this one but recently had some words for reporters about his future. The gist of it is he’s unsure. To me, that speaks volumes. The 40-year-old's decision to hang them up holds massive implications for the Canucks.
If you recall, he was signed to a monster 12-year deal that found a sneaky way to circumvent to old CBA by front-loading the dollars. The current CBA slid in the recapture penalty that forces the Canucks to eat a big stinky sock’s worth of cap if he decides to retire early. Seems fair, eh? Penalize something that was technically legal when it happened. I know a lawyer or three who would have a field day with this in any other setting.
Here’s how that looks if Bobby Lu retires early:
Here’s what I think of it:
I maintain that it will be absolute bullshit if the league actually punished the #Canucks for the Lu deal if he retires early.
The deal was legit at the time. The change came after.
Plus, who remembers that 1st NJ was supposed to give up in the Kovy fiasco?
Yeah, exactly.
— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) March 27, 2019
I guess we’ll have to wait and see if he simply finds a way onto LTIR to collect his cheques and save his former club.
**
Sergei Bobrovsky is showing up when it matters most – for his squad and for his fantasy owners. The Blue Jackets’ netminder rattled off his second consecutive shutout on Tuesday evening. This time making 26 stops to blank the Islanders 4-0.
Much has been said about the pending unrestricted free-agent and the likely anchor of a contract he may sign on July 1. Well, the two-time Vezina winner has been near the top of the heap for the last three months. Stretching back to the beginning of February, Bobrovsky is 14-7-0 with six shutouts and a 0.930 save percentage make. He’s had a few clunkers mixed in there, but the overall theme is positive.
He remains a tier one guy heading into 2019-20 – especially if he finds himself on a contender next fall.
Cam Atkinson (1+1) and Matt Duchene (0+2) led the way for CBJ. But Oliver Bjorkstrand looked strong as well. He tallied his 17th goal of the season and peppered six shots on goal. He has three goals in his last four games.
#MARCH26 #NYIvsCBJ 3rd period
Oliver Bjorkstrand (17)
3-0 #CBJ pic.twitter.com/A0utd0E0Vk
— John Smith (@NJviDs) March 27, 2019
The 23-year-old has seen his production dip in his second full campaign, but with Artemi Panarin all but gone this summer, he’s in line for a major uptick in deployment.
You’d be wise to take a long look at him in drafts next fall.
**
Reports came out on Tuesday that Hurricanes prospect and Hobey Baker finalist, Adam Fox will return to Harvard for this senior year and test unrestricted free agency in August 2020. This is a big blow for the Hurricanes who targetted Fox in last summer's blockbuster trade with Calgary. It's great news for all the teams in search of a young, super offensive right-shot defender though.
Fox will have plenty of suitors next summer.
**
In another 4-0 affair, the Sens defeated the Sabres. Both these teams are pretty bad so I’m going to just leave it at that. Okay, maybe a bit more. Thomas Chabot recorded two assists in this one. 52 points in 64 games for the sophomore blueliner is… nutty. He’s the real deal.
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Evgeni Kuznetsov tallied three helpers, Alex Ovechkin scored his 49th, and Braden Holtby made 27 stops as the Capitals defeated the Hurricanes 4-1. Nicklas Backstrom finished this one off with an empty-netter to give him 70 points on the season. He joins and surpasses, some lofty company with that point.
Burying an ENG, Nicklas Backstrom ties Mike Gartner for the 2nd most 70+ point seasons in @Capitals history & Henrik Sedin for the 3rd most such campaigns by a Swedish player in NHL history (8)
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) March 27, 2019
Backy remains one of the most underappreciated stars of this generation. I like him for 70 more next season too.
**
The Oilers dropped a touchdown and two-point conversion the lowly Kings in one of the late games on Tuesday. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each had four points. McDavid went the 1+3 route to set career-highs in assists (73) and points (112). Meanwhile, Drai scored the hat trick and added an assist. His 46 goals sit second behind Ovechkin with a handful of games left on the schedule for each team.
Draisaitl now has 99 points on the season. Just think, the Oilers will have two 100-point scorers on their team and be NOWHERE NEAR CONTENDING. As my good buddy, Jason Botchford says, It takes an army.
**
Jon Quick allowed five goals on 11 shots. He doesn’t even look like an NHL goaltender anymore. Turns out netminders who rely on reflexes and desperation saves don’t age well. Who’d have figured?
**
Chicago and Arizona met on Tuesday with real playoff implications. The Yotes came into the evening two points back of the Avs for the final Wild Card spot. The Blackhawks sat five back – technically still in it, but we all know they aren't.
Darcy Kuemper continued to be a rock for the desert dogs. He made 31 stops for his fourth shutout of the campaign. This season could've easily been a write-off when Antti Raanta went down in November. But thanks to Kuemper, Arizona has a legitimate shot at some playoff revenue. He's posted a quality start in 34 of 51 outings, while his 0.924 save percentage on the year is fourth amongst regular starters.
His value lies at this moment, as we won't be seeing him earn this amount of starts next year. That is unless we see a team make a play for the 28-year-old via trade. He makes 1.8 million next season before hitting unrestricted free agency.
**
The late game featured two more non-playoff teams as the Ducks visited the Canucks. While the players are trying to win games, each fan base is rooting for regulation Ls.
Sam Steel scored a hattrick through two periods of play and was buzzing throughout. He has four points in the two games since being recalled. The 21-year-old has had a strong first professional season. He’s hovered around the 0.8 point-per-game mark in the American League – no easy feat for a youngster, and now appears to be finishing the year off on a high note with the big club.
Personally, I prefer Troy Terry between the two young Ducks’ forwards, but Steel has a nice set of skills and should slide nicely into a top-six centre position; potentially as early as next season.
The Ducks took this one 5-4 after the Canucks scored two late third period goals.
Obligatory Elias Pettersson highlight.
Pettersson lays out Sam Steel with the reverse hit#Canucks pic.twitter.com/U9rQ2gzGal
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) March 27, 2019
**
Let’s talk about Jordan Binnington for a moment. For years, the Blues have swung wildly with the tides of mediocre goaltending. Jake Allen, long pegged as the goaltender of the future, became the goaltender of now. It started out so promising.
As a 24-year-old, Allen came in and posted a 0.913 save percentage in 37 games back in 2014-15. He followed that up with a 0.920 over 47 contests in 2015-16. The ball was officially given to him in 2016-17 and he rewarded the organization with a 0.915 in 61 games – including a 54 percent quality start rating.
Since then, things have not been so rosy. Over the next 103 contests, the now 28-year-old has a 0.905 save percentage and has made a habit of blowing up and giving up softies. He’s been a clear Achilles heel on a team that on paper should be a contender most years.
Enter Binnington. Well, not exactly. Heading into 2018-19, the expectation was for Ville Husso to make a play to peel starts away from Allen. Huuso had produced spectacular numbers in the Finnish Liiga and followed that up with a 0.921 over his first 60 AHL contests. He had the size (6’3), pedigree, and recent production boxes all checked off.
Personally, I had Husso ranked very high amongst goaltending prospects and fully expected him to make some noise this season. Conversely, Binnginton was a bit undersized and was shipped off to Providence to get starts because he couldn’t push Husso out of the crease in San Antonio.
What has happened since is nothing short of miraculous. We know the story, Binnington has arrived and has slammed the door shut on many an evening. His .930 save percentage trails only Ben Bishop for goalies with at least 20 games. His 68 percent quality start mark also sits second in the NHL.
His 0.942 mark at even-strength leads all netminders by six points.
It’s been nothing but gravy in Missouri for the Ontario-native. So what the hell do we do with this heading into drafts next fall? We can’t pencil this guy down for 45 wins and a Vezina, that would lunacy.
Is he Andrew Hammond or Devan Dubnyk?
If I’m being completely honest, I can’t say. I can say that he’s been producing these metrics in a somewhat reasonable manner. He’s making clean saves, controlling rebounds like a veteran, and recovering from tough goals and outings. Those are traits I love to see. It doesn’t hurt that he has a decent defensive core in front of him and a team that has found their mojo. There’s little reason to expect the Blues to fall back off that cliff early next season like they did this year.
If I’m sitting down to draft a one-year league next fall, I’m pencilling Binnington into a tier two position. I feel that’s as aggressive as anyone should be. We’re constantly burned by the masked men, that drinking the kool-aid too quickly will send you on a not so welcoming trip.
**
Follow me on Twitter @Hockey_Robinson
from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-draisaitl-bjorkstrand-kuemper-tatar-assessing-binningtons-future/
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Last Call for Whomever Wants This Beast before Wednesday!!! Just Top 31K with some real gravy and IT’S YOURS!!! (at Blackhawk, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu5uRADHJKw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1r5tcelh9179
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BLACKHAWKS/BLUES TOMORROW -GRAVY BOAT GIVEAWAY! PAYPAL/SECURE TRANSFER (300 LEVEL 1st ROW) $95
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