2013 Santa Fe Sweet Leafs

If you are not a hockey fan, you may want to skip this post

Saturday evening was our annual fantasy hockey draft - 15 weeks later than usual due to the NHL strike

Gary Chekan (pictured below, left) is the Commissioner this year




Our league has 2C, 4W, 3D, 2G and 2 Utility positions. Categories are G, A, +/-, PIM and PPP for skaters and W and Save % for Goalies

Ladies and Gentleman, your 2013 Sweet Leafs

Ryan Getzlaf, Centre
Ryan has a Stanley Cup and a Gold Medal for Canada. Last year was not great: 57 points, 75 PIMs and a minus 11. The 6'4" Saskatchewan native has hit 90 points and 120 PIMs in the past and at 27 should be in his prime




Brad Richards, Centre
I don't get Brad Richards. A Stanley Cup and playoff MVP and just one year ago signed a 9 year $58M contract with New York - but coming off a mediocre year (66 points) and generally is a minus player. Hopefully being on a line with Nash and Gaborik gets him back to a point-a-game



For fuck sakes, Brad, put your clothes back on




Mike Richards, Centre
Drafting Mike Richards was an accident. My friend - and fellow GM - had his dog jump in my face as I was trying to draft either Tobias Enstrom or Loui Eriksson. I missed making a pick and ended up with Mike Richards

Given he has won a Memorial Cup, a Calder Cup, a Stanley Cup and a Gold Medal for Canada he will serve as Team Captain until he is placed on waivers Tuesday - he had 44 points last year and has none after 4 games this year

We wish Mike all the best








Daniel Sedin, Wing
Last April I ordered a Vancouver Canucks car flag, tumbler and shot glass - they arrived 2 days before Vancouver was eliminated in the first round by Los Angeles. Daniel Sedin and the Canucks have a lot to prove

Daniel had 67 points last year after 104 points the year before when he won the scoring title. At 32 his best years are likely behind him but 85 points is realistic






Thomas Vanek, Wing
The pride of Austria, Thomas is a two-time 40 goal scorer and has 9 points in his first 4 games




T.J. Oshie, Wing
The only NHL payer from Mount Vernon, WA, T.J. has good upside on a good St. Louis team




Teddy Purcell, Wing
From St. John's, Newfoundland, Teddy Purcell is coming off a 65 point season and is off to a good start with 6 points in 5 games




Alexander Semin, Wing
Guys from Russia - wonder why they often fade? Hanging out with Alex Ovechkin can't help

The former 40 goal scorer from Krasjonarsk is coming off back-to-back 54 point seasons (not good) but I drafted him in the twelfth round (good) and he is now with Carolina (not sure)



Only two girls?




Chris Kunitz, Wing
Chris is a strong utility player coming off a 61 point season. Hopefully he gets some quality minutes with Crosby or Malkin




Ryan White, Wing
Ryan White had 33 penalty minutes after 4 games so I took him with my final pick - since we get stats retroactive for roster players as of Wednesday. He'll be on waivers Thursday - but good job gooning it up, Ryan. Brandon, Manitoba is proud




Erik Karlsson, Defense
The reigning Norris trophy winner, Erik had an amazing 78 points last year for our nation's capital. That's why he's at the NHL awards with a hot girlfriend




Tobias Enstrom, Defense
My top 2 defensemen are from Sweden - both pretty strong offensively but a little light on the penalty minutes...




Kevin Bieksa, Defense
...so we added Kevin Bieksa, who has average 1.5 penalty minutes per game



Kevin also scored one of the best goals ever (for me) when he scored in the second overtime to eliminate San Jose (hahaha) and send the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Finals




Ryan Miller, Goalie
I was hoping Tuuka Rask would still be available when I took my first goalie but am very pleased with the great Ryan Miller from Lansing, Michigan. Ryan has put up back-to-back save percentages of 91.6% with a winning % of over 50%






Carey Price, Goalie
I couldn't resist taking Carey Price - also coming off a 91.6% season on a mediocre Montreal team that should be better

That's Carey with the 3 cigarettes in his mouth





Still - something almost mystical about great Montreal Canadians goalies






Tomas Vokoun, Goalie
Despite fucking me over last year (by getting hurt and then losing the starting job and then getting hurt again), Tomas is a good goalie and as my third goalie I only need him to play 10 games - and on Pittsburgh that should be 5-6 wins




The Santa Fe Sweet Leafs - your 2013 Champions

Winter in Redmond

The past few weeks have been a mix of good times and some good runs with gloomy weather and boredom here in rural King County. We've "lost" three rentals we thought we had back in Boulder. Hope #4 is better luck

Here in the neighbourhood is a great set of trails - the Redmond Watershed. Maybe 10-15 miles of wooded trails





30 minutes away in Monroe is the Lord Hill trail system. This was Hud's favorite place when we lived in the area. Saturday he even saw two old buddies - Lonnie & Bear









Hud at a dog park in Issaquah



I was excited to run on the Iron Horse trail - an old railway line that is over 100 miles long. Sadly the 7 miles I ran was rather repetitive as far as views. The trail was awesome - smooth - but boring









Mt Si - something I want to do before we head out. Over 4,000' of gain in 4 miles



Found an outstanding trail here in Redmond - the 14 mile Tolt Pipeline trail. Ran it on a sunny cold Sunday. Everyone was happy with the sun. 9 fun miles







Went to an ENT specialist yesterday. Essentially the answer was "your hearing is great but nothing we can do about those noises - hope they go away and don't worry about it"

And then thye gave me this pamphlet with an 80-year old on it. Thanks



At least Hudson had all good news yesterday when he visited the dentist. Even said he was "great" to work with

Back to Work

Will try to stay positive about work (pic below) this year and be thankful like everyone seems to tell me I should be



After a week in Shirley we realized that our ideal scenario would be a place somewhere up Sugarloaf and a place on Vancouver Island with an ocean view. When fire danger is high during Colorado's summers - go to Vancouver Island. When the rain comes to the Pacific Northwest - back to the sun of Colorado

The last days of vacation were awesome, especially Saturday morning with Hud at China Beach. The area is a surfing "hot spot" - relatively speaking. It's driving distance from Victoria (unlike Tofino) and maybe half a kilometer down the beach were 40+ surfers. Timing was great - 2 hours pre-high tide so lots of sand for Hud to run crazy on







Later in the day ran the "Sheringham Point Lighthouse View" trail - a fantastic hilly trail layered with damp pine needles and leaves but ironically only a brief view of the lighthouse (near our house)





The ferry ride back to Tsawwassen - first pic is from our table at lunch





Mt Baker on the drive back to Seattle




As far as goals for 2013:

• Buy a house somewhere
• Jemez & Breckenridge half-marathons
• 1 mile at sub 6-minutes

And race with either a llama or a donkey